LCD, plasma, HDTV, home theatre, the works
Just Binos
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LCD, plasma, HDTV, home theatre, the works
Don't know whether this qualifies to be in the computers forum but here it is. As retirement approacheth, those silly toys so beloved of some but which I have ignored for so long in favour of the Binoettes' dancing lessons, uni fees, emergencies etc, suddenly come on to the radar screen. Chief among them would appear to be the home theatre experience.
I would appreciate some learned input here, but because the field is so wide I'll ask specifically for suggested sites where someone who is in no immediate hurry but starting off from a knowledge level of just above zero can find what he needs to know in layman's language. HDTV, set top boxes, DVD recorders with hard drives, all these things are still Swahili to me. (An Australian input would be welcomed here).
However, let that not stop the geeks and nerds from posting their own personal preferences and why. I'm not after ultimate performance, but if I'm going to be paying a chunk of money for an all singing all dancing TV screen to watch the 875 channels of **** available to me, I think it's reasonable to expect at least that a good picture is available from wherever you sit. Doesn't appear to be my experience from the large screen plasmas or whatever in pubs. Should I just settle for a HD CRT?
On these and other matters all input is welcomed. Feel free to thread drift as required to wax apoplectic about your own preferences.
I would appreciate some learned input here, but because the field is so wide I'll ask specifically for suggested sites where someone who is in no immediate hurry but starting off from a knowledge level of just above zero can find what he needs to know in layman's language. HDTV, set top boxes, DVD recorders with hard drives, all these things are still Swahili to me. (An Australian input would be welcomed here).
However, let that not stop the geeks and nerds from posting their own personal preferences and why. I'm not after ultimate performance, but if I'm going to be paying a chunk of money for an all singing all dancing TV screen to watch the 875 channels of **** available to me, I think it's reasonable to expect at least that a good picture is available from wherever you sit. Doesn't appear to be my experience from the large screen plasmas or whatever in pubs. Should I just settle for a HD CRT?
On these and other matters all input is welcomed. Feel free to thread drift as required to wax apoplectic about your own preferences.
PPRuNe Handmaiden
We got ourselves a nice little set up now we have the space. An oldish Pioneer surround sound NXT speaker set up. Yes, NXT is a bit left field but they sound fine and look good.
Tv. Lovely 42" Panasonic plasma number. Good colour definition, High Definition read and it is brilliant, good contrast as well.
A Panasonic Hard drive/DVD recorder too.
Tv. Lovely 42" Panasonic plasma number. Good colour definition, High Definition read and it is brilliant, good contrast as well.
A Panasonic Hard drive/DVD recorder too.
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After looking at these things for hours a day and then selling them, i would say the following are the best, in the order they are in.
Plasma
1) Pioneer
2) Panasonic
3) LG
4) Samsung
5) Sony
LCD
1) LG
2) ACER
3) Philips
4) Tosh
5) Sony
Home Cinema
1) Panasonic - By Far!
2) Denon
3) Techniques
4) Sony
5) Samsung
Best Selling Makes
1) LG
2) Samsung
3) Philips
4) Sony
5) Goodmans (really)
6) Panasonic
Get out there and look at them all, dont take some ones word for how good they are as every-ones eyes are different and people like different screens. Skin tones are more nateral on Panasonics but some people love the Vibrance of the Sony, others prefer LG's colours, etc. DLP should not be ruled out either, they are great. Acer LCDS are uncommon for TV's but trust me, they are great, and you can get a proper 1080 LCD for a good price. We pass 90% of our HD from a computer to the screens, this looks better than Sky HD. HD DVDS (BlueRay and HD-DVD) Will be out soon so keep a hold onto your cash till they do, they will be the next big thing as the normal DVD will be out-dated by the end of the year, well thats when we're getting HD-DVD. Most HD DVD Players at the moment might say HD on them, but they just upscale normal DVD's to 1080 or 720.
BlueRay and HD-DVD are a new format of DVD, I belive they have 30gig capacity and a rumour of upto 90gig on blue ray with tri-layer discs?
Not much else to say, i am talking from a sales persons point of view, and some-times we are washed with what the company and manufactures want us to belive there products do.
One more think, buy good cables but dont go over the top. Monster Cables are good if you can afford them and dont forget the surge protector, many a customer wishes they would have belived us and got one before the storm hits and knocks the satalite dish out and in-turn damage all that gear. Some surge protectors clean the power to, many think this is a Gimic, and it is to a degree, but it really does clean the power, it provides constant power, as normal power spikes and surges, its very rare to get it dead on 240v, it ranges -/+5 or so they tell us. Belive it or not the sound is clearer with a power cleaner, it just sounds more definate and sharper, but then i get 10% commission for selling these things so maybe i am just brainwashed to the lot...
Plasma
1) Pioneer
2) Panasonic
3) LG
4) Samsung
5) Sony
LCD
1) LG
2) ACER
3) Philips
4) Tosh
5) Sony
Home Cinema
1) Panasonic - By Far!
2) Denon
3) Techniques
4) Sony
5) Samsung
Best Selling Makes
1) LG
2) Samsung
3) Philips
4) Sony
5) Goodmans (really)
6) Panasonic
Get out there and look at them all, dont take some ones word for how good they are as every-ones eyes are different and people like different screens. Skin tones are more nateral on Panasonics but some people love the Vibrance of the Sony, others prefer LG's colours, etc. DLP should not be ruled out either, they are great. Acer LCDS are uncommon for TV's but trust me, they are great, and you can get a proper 1080 LCD for a good price. We pass 90% of our HD from a computer to the screens, this looks better than Sky HD. HD DVDS (BlueRay and HD-DVD) Will be out soon so keep a hold onto your cash till they do, they will be the next big thing as the normal DVD will be out-dated by the end of the year, well thats when we're getting HD-DVD. Most HD DVD Players at the moment might say HD on them, but they just upscale normal DVD's to 1080 or 720.
BlueRay and HD-DVD are a new format of DVD, I belive they have 30gig capacity and a rumour of upto 90gig on blue ray with tri-layer discs?
Not much else to say, i am talking from a sales persons point of view, and some-times we are washed with what the company and manufactures want us to belive there products do.
One more think, buy good cables but dont go over the top. Monster Cables are good if you can afford them and dont forget the surge protector, many a customer wishes they would have belived us and got one before the storm hits and knocks the satalite dish out and in-turn damage all that gear. Some surge protectors clean the power to, many think this is a Gimic, and it is to a degree, but it really does clean the power, it provides constant power, as normal power spikes and surges, its very rare to get it dead on 240v, it ranges -/+5 or so they tell us. Belive it or not the sound is clearer with a power cleaner, it just sounds more definate and sharper, but then i get 10% commission for selling these things so maybe i am just brainwashed to the lot...
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I found that CNET helped me a lot when looking at my set up. Don't know if there is an Austrailian version or not though. It covers specialist reviews and owner reviews for alsorts of equipment.
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I would be careful with buying any HD screens right now.
One needs to be very clear about where the material is going to come from. Currently, Sky TV is the only option. With all other data sources there are compatibility questions.
This is partly because of HD security. Hollywood doesn't want HD data cracked the way that DVD's CSS security was cracked several years ago, by disassembly of a piece of PC-based DVD player software. This time around, there won't be any PC based HD DVD players. The data stream will be encrypted all the way from the source to a decryption chip inside the display device, or a chip on the PC's video card if you want to play a HD DVD in a PC.
There are all sorts of other measures going in, like blacklists of known compromised keys which will be distributed on all HD DVDs as they are pressed, and every HD player (or anything else that decrypts HD data) will have to download this blacklist and update it's internal blacklist.
It's quite a nightmare. I used to work in comms security so know a fair bit about the challenges. They will probably fail too, a few years down the road, but they will cause a lot of users to get screwed with expensive HD gear that is next to useless.
There is a lot at stake for the movie business, because if a true HD version (i.e. 1080 lines) of a famous movie gets compromised, that movie will be done for good. It won't be like cracking a 625 line DVD of the same movie; a cinema will always be better quality.
In a lot of respects, a lot of the HD screens that litter the floor at the High Street outlets are a massive con, because they are good for Sky only, and work natively only for 720 line data.
Most of the HD screens currently out will never be able to play HD DVDs - except via their analog inputs.
Cables are the biggest con going. I used to design power amps, 0.001% THD at 400 watts RMS. That was before the bottom fell out of the hifi market, and to stay in there people started selling gold plated mains plugs, solid silver speaker cables, and phono leads (made in China for £5) for £300. Even Comet etc are playing this ripoff game, selling gold plated SCART cables for £75 (made in China for £1).
One needs to be very clear about where the material is going to come from. Currently, Sky TV is the only option. With all other data sources there are compatibility questions.
This is partly because of HD security. Hollywood doesn't want HD data cracked the way that DVD's CSS security was cracked several years ago, by disassembly of a piece of PC-based DVD player software. This time around, there won't be any PC based HD DVD players. The data stream will be encrypted all the way from the source to a decryption chip inside the display device, or a chip on the PC's video card if you want to play a HD DVD in a PC.
There are all sorts of other measures going in, like blacklists of known compromised keys which will be distributed on all HD DVDs as they are pressed, and every HD player (or anything else that decrypts HD data) will have to download this blacklist and update it's internal blacklist.
It's quite a nightmare. I used to work in comms security so know a fair bit about the challenges. They will probably fail too, a few years down the road, but they will cause a lot of users to get screwed with expensive HD gear that is next to useless.
There is a lot at stake for the movie business, because if a true HD version (i.e. 1080 lines) of a famous movie gets compromised, that movie will be done for good. It won't be like cracking a 625 line DVD of the same movie; a cinema will always be better quality.
In a lot of respects, a lot of the HD screens that litter the floor at the High Street outlets are a massive con, because they are good for Sky only, and work natively only for 720 line data.
Most of the HD screens currently out will never be able to play HD DVDs - except via their analog inputs.
Cables are the biggest con going. I used to design power amps, 0.001% THD at 400 watts RMS. That was before the bottom fell out of the hifi market, and to stay in there people started selling gold plated mains plugs, solid silver speaker cables, and phono leads (made in China for £5) for £300. Even Comet etc are playing this ripoff game, selling gold plated SCART cables for £75 (made in China for £1).
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Hey I0540, I was lucky enough to be in Las Vegas for CES this year and i have seen both BlueRay and HD-DVD drives in PC's. Sony had a Vaio playing a BlueRay Movie, the name of the Movie is on the tip of my tounge but i cant remember it, some Japanese thing. I have seen a difference with some cables compared to others, a £30 cable we well is better than the cheap £5 one, but the £30 is not better or worse than the £120 thx one, so i guess there is a con there to a degree. Getting the right conectivity is the key as scart is not the best connection going.
Remember there will be four types of HD 720I, 720P, 1080I and 1080P, Canon and Sony make a Camcorder that records 1080I.
I dont follow this stuff in depth, just touch on the basics, but i am sure there will always be a work around for copying, i remember when DVD's couldn't be coppied, then they could. Security is tighter on the next Generation, but i doubt its impossible to crack. I am told that Sky HD is copy protected, but i have downloaded a HD version, or what says is HD version of a few discovery channel shows. I cant tell if they are real as a 30 minute show in HD will be three gigs i think.
http://www.blu-raydisc.com
http://www.hddvdprg.com
Remember there will be four types of HD 720I, 720P, 1080I and 1080P, Canon and Sony make a Camcorder that records 1080I.
I dont follow this stuff in depth, just touch on the basics, but i am sure there will always be a work around for copying, i remember when DVD's couldn't be coppied, then they could. Security is tighter on the next Generation, but i doubt its impossible to crack. I am told that Sky HD is copy protected, but i have downloaded a HD version, or what says is HD version of a few discovery channel shows. I cant tell if they are real as a 30 minute show in HD will be three gigs i think.
http://www.blu-raydisc.com
http://www.hddvdprg.com
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OK, I am not saying you can't play HD data on current equipment.
What you can't do, on stuff currently in the shops, is play data that has been copy protected.
I have a Sony HD camcorder (the "cheap" £1000 one) and it makes great HD movies. The quality (ignoring my cr*p movie making skills) is stunning, and the stuff plays back on anything that will handle 1080i data; typically this means WinXP and the latest Media Player.
Similarly, the fantastic quality shop demo material which is being played continuously, using those specially built DVD players they have in the shops for driving their HD screens, is unprotected.
But copy protected movies? No way. Only possible via the analog input.
It's worth doing a google on HD security. It's pretty amazing what they are doing.
Yes it will be cracked. Probably not as quickly as CSS was cracked. However, this won't be relevant to Joe Public and the [in]capability of the £1500 HD screen he has bought from Comet to show anything in native HD other than Sky broadcasts.
I am puzzled though about e.g. Sony. They make a huge marketing case of their laptops playing movie DVDs. I can't believe that they will go away from this capability with HD movies. Perhaps only future models, with the appropriate decryption in the video subsystem, will play HD movies. Can't see how it's going to work otherwise, because if you can get access to the unencrypted digital RGB data at any point, the whole system will fall over because you will be able to make an exact digital copy of the movie.
What you can't do, on stuff currently in the shops, is play data that has been copy protected.
I have a Sony HD camcorder (the "cheap" £1000 one) and it makes great HD movies. The quality (ignoring my cr*p movie making skills) is stunning, and the stuff plays back on anything that will handle 1080i data; typically this means WinXP and the latest Media Player.
Similarly, the fantastic quality shop demo material which is being played continuously, using those specially built DVD players they have in the shops for driving their HD screens, is unprotected.
But copy protected movies? No way. Only possible via the analog input.
It's worth doing a google on HD security. It's pretty amazing what they are doing.
Yes it will be cracked. Probably not as quickly as CSS was cracked. However, this won't be relevant to Joe Public and the [in]capability of the £1500 HD screen he has bought from Comet to show anything in native HD other than Sky broadcasts.
I am puzzled though about e.g. Sony. They make a huge marketing case of their laptops playing movie DVDs. I can't believe that they will go away from this capability with HD movies. Perhaps only future models, with the appropriate decryption in the video subsystem, will play HD movies. Can't see how it's going to work otherwise, because if you can get access to the unencrypted digital RGB data at any point, the whole system will fall over because you will be able to make an exact digital copy of the movie.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
If you want to be sure, in the long term, of being able to play copy protected material you will need a TV/screen with a HDMI input. It also has the advantage of carrying all audio and video on one thin lead so tidying things up.
Presently, up to 32" LCD screens are better, Above that Plasma probably still has the edge. But, if you can wait a year or so, wait for SED screens to become available. They are just starting to arrive, but only at the top end of the market.
Presently, up to 32" LCD screens are better, Above that Plasma probably still has the edge. But, if you can wait a year or so, wait for SED screens to become available. They are just starting to arrive, but only at the top end of the market.
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I am a little confused here too. I have seen a Sony Vaio Playing a BlueRay HD Video, same as i have seen a Tosh HD-DVD Player. I am sure that Sony will sell Blue-Ray drives for Laptops towards the end of the year, but i have to say i dont have enough knowledge to say if they will play a proper BlueRay HD Video (Pre-Recorded). I seen a demo, but this was a writeable duel layer BlueRay disk. I am sure that there must be a plan for Sony with them playing Video BlueRay disks as Sony PCS are entertainment PC's, there normally aimed at that. I wish i knew more about this subject, will read-up.
One more thing to say is, where will this all end? As i have seen an Apple MAC Playing back 2500 X 1600 of a TV Advert. Wallis and Gromit was made with an EOS 1-II 16.? Mega Pixel Camera. So in theory that can be played back at more or less 5000 x 3000.
There are not many about at the moment but a 1080 x 19?? screen is amazing (1920? cant remember) they are True HD. That Sony Camcorder you have is an amazing feat for the price. You cant get close to it without making your wallet at least 3k's lighter.
M$ Have a good HD section on there Windows Media Player Website, Got great footage of the Blue Angles and a heap of other planes like C130 With JATO Bottles, etc.
One more thing to say is, where will this all end? As i have seen an Apple MAC Playing back 2500 X 1600 of a TV Advert. Wallis and Gromit was made with an EOS 1-II 16.? Mega Pixel Camera. So in theory that can be played back at more or less 5000 x 3000.
There are not many about at the moment but a 1080 x 19?? screen is amazing (1920? cant remember) they are True HD. That Sony Camcorder you have is an amazing feat for the price. You cant get close to it without making your wallet at least 3k's lighter.
M$ Have a good HD section on there Windows Media Player Website, Got great footage of the Blue Angles and a heap of other planes like C130 With JATO Bottles, etc.
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There is absolutely zero problem in playing any HD video on a PC. You just need a decent video card.
The resolution itself in not an issue; sufficient resolution was available 10-15 years ago as a routine matter.
Well, assuming you have a player that can play it; typically you need the latest Media Player which implies WinXP and not Win2000 etc. Or some other media player; there are loads of them.
Likewise there is no problem is setting up a really impressive shop demo. The shops use a box basically containing a PC, a DVD player, and a high end video card. One can't get a 2 hour HD movie on a DVD but they don't need to; their demos are only minutes long.
The salesman will even tell you it's coming off a blue-ray DVD player...
The other day I walked all the way down Tottenham Court Road, to be fed all kinds of bu11sh1t, and not one shop had an HD DVD player of any kind, nor did they have any imminently arriving.
The issue, as I mentioned before, is playing back copy protected material. On HD, the decryption has to be done inside the display device. Anything else is a cheat. Which is not to say many people will notice when feeding analog video to their £1500 "HD" screens.
The cam I have, HDR-HC1
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...HC1-Review.htm
is very good but poor for moving images. The image movement gets very jagged; a bit like early 100Hz-processed TVs were on anything that was moving fast.
You do need a really top-end PC to transfer the data from the cam though. It has to use XP, 3HGz+, 1GB RAM, SATA HD (pref 10k RPM), and I use Pinnacle 10 (very basic but does what I need). I had to take my boys' gaming PC and put in the fastest SATA HD I could get
The resolution itself in not an issue; sufficient resolution was available 10-15 years ago as a routine matter.
Well, assuming you have a player that can play it; typically you need the latest Media Player which implies WinXP and not Win2000 etc. Or some other media player; there are loads of them.
Likewise there is no problem is setting up a really impressive shop demo. The shops use a box basically containing a PC, a DVD player, and a high end video card. One can't get a 2 hour HD movie on a DVD but they don't need to; their demos are only minutes long.
The salesman will even tell you it's coming off a blue-ray DVD player...
The other day I walked all the way down Tottenham Court Road, to be fed all kinds of bu11sh1t, and not one shop had an HD DVD player of any kind, nor did they have any imminently arriving.
The issue, as I mentioned before, is playing back copy protected material. On HD, the decryption has to be done inside the display device. Anything else is a cheat. Which is not to say many people will notice when feeding analog video to their £1500 "HD" screens.
The cam I have, HDR-HC1
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...HC1-Review.htm
is very good but poor for moving images. The image movement gets very jagged; a bit like early 100Hz-processed TVs were on anything that was moving fast.
You do need a really top-end PC to transfer the data from the cam though. It has to use XP, 3HGz+, 1GB RAM, SATA HD (pref 10k RPM), and I use Pinnacle 10 (very basic but does what I need). I had to take my boys' gaming PC and put in the fastest SATA HD I could get
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I agree with the BS you talk about. We get very very poor training, and the trainers dont know what they are talking about half the time. When these "HD Dvd" Players came out, we was told they would play HD-DVD's and upscale normal DVDS. The TRUTH is they wont play HD-DVDS or BlueRays, they just upscale normal DVD's. So in retail stores, unless you talk to some one who reads about this stuff in their spare time, the sales person knows the same or less that the average jo. Everyone knows, or they should do that most of what a sales person tells you is rubbish as its normally made up on the spot.
We are expecting the real HD-DVD players, which are Tosh's technology towards the End of the year. Sony;s BlueRay Players are for sure a 2007 thing. It will be interesting though with two HD technologies that you can buy into, both Tosh and Sony have the goods and bads.
You are right, we have a PC running our HD demos. High End? Well not really, cheap ATA 128 Dedicated Card with DV out and a HDMI converter. The video is played from the HD. We are upto 45 Mins of loaded video now, this drives you crazy, but i never get tired of the Blue Angles C130 with the full JATO take off.
I think the Camcorder you have is great, ok its got some issues, i have never seen it on a PC but the LG screen i have seen it on, it looked great, i think LG LCDS have an Anti Aliasing feature though, maybe why i never noticed the jagged edges.
We are expecting the real HD-DVD players, which are Tosh's technology towards the End of the year. Sony;s BlueRay Players are for sure a 2007 thing. It will be interesting though with two HD technologies that you can buy into, both Tosh and Sony have the goods and bads.
You are right, we have a PC running our HD demos. High End? Well not really, cheap ATA 128 Dedicated Card with DV out and a HDMI converter. The video is played from the HD. We are upto 45 Mins of loaded video now, this drives you crazy, but i never get tired of the Blue Angles C130 with the full JATO take off.
I think the Camcorder you have is great, ok its got some issues, i have never seen it on a PC but the LG screen i have seen it on, it looked great, i think LG LCDS have an Anti Aliasing feature though, maybe why i never noticed the jagged edges.
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It isn't so much edges; the whole image looks like it's breaking up, if you move (pan) the camcorder around too fast.
If you want good quality you have to hold it steadily and pan it around slowly.
I am suprised most of the reviews didn't pick this up. Apparently it is caused by the image sensor; it scans one line at a time, whereas a high-end progressive (non-interlaced) cam (or the old DV ones, if supporting progressive mode) captures the whole image in one instant, so you don't get movement within the image.
This isn't related to DV though.
Interesting about the video card in the demo box. Is this running under XP? The data rate isn't that high; it's the Windoze bloatware that needs a fast PC.
If you want good quality you have to hold it steadily and pan it around slowly.
I am suprised most of the reviews didn't pick this up. Apparently it is caused by the image sensor; it scans one line at a time, whereas a high-end progressive (non-interlaced) cam (or the old DV ones, if supporting progressive mode) captures the whole image in one instant, so you don't get movement within the image.
This isn't related to DV though.
Interesting about the video card in the demo box. Is this running under XP? The data rate isn't that high; it's the Windoze bloatware that needs a fast PC.
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Bino's - hubby and I toddled up this path only a couple of weeks ago.
Check out Choice articles - you may have to join to get the full report ..
We did settle on JVC 32" LCD - bloody nice it is .. wasn't keen on the 'burning pixel' problems of the plasmas' everyone mentions, and also have friends that have 12mth old screens that are u/s ..
got a great deal during the end of fin. yr sales (can you wait till next year?) seriously, saved nearly 1k ... have in fact connected it to the sony stereo system and it is a beauty!!
the catch with these things .. the $ spent on the cabling required to hook it all up .. my next trip into the shops will be to buy the DVD recorder thingy as it isn't just that easy to hook up the mighty VCR!!
Check out Choice articles - you may have to join to get the full report ..
We did settle on JVC 32" LCD - bloody nice it is .. wasn't keen on the 'burning pixel' problems of the plasmas' everyone mentions, and also have friends that have 12mth old screens that are u/s ..
got a great deal during the end of fin. yr sales (can you wait till next year?) seriously, saved nearly 1k ... have in fact connected it to the sony stereo system and it is a beauty!!
the catch with these things .. the $ spent on the cabling required to hook it all up .. my next trip into the shops will be to buy the DVD recorder thingy as it isn't just that easy to hook up the mighty VCR!!
Psychophysiological entity
This is about me trying to catch up on a subject that I used to know a bit about. When I did me City&Guilds in the 50s, we all looked forward to a world with a common standard. Maybe in my next life. If I need to know about current technology, I ask me grandson. But this is what I have gleaned in the last while.
A year or so back, SIL in Texas got the 60" Sony LCD. [there is a 42 and a 50] It's okay, and it's certainly big, but as I said at the time it had a screen surface that was fine in fixed frame, then showed up when the image was panning. It looked like the old anti-reflect coating on the surface of a PC's monitor.
At that time I deemed it the best buy cos of the problems with flat screens. The bulb on the LCDs seemed the only issue. [claimed 10,000 hrs $c350]
Then came the new model.
I have looked at T/Vs for 55 years, a lot of the time with a professional eye. The new 50 or 60 was stunning. Non interlaced 60HZ [here] and 6m pixels. With some clever 3 dimensional configuration. I had never seen anything like it. No sign of a pixel from 2 ft away, and every hair of some blond guy's head was a clearly defined thread.
I was standing next to a middle-aged couple in a Sear's store in Austin. They guy said, in a British north country accent, ‘that it looks more real than the real scene....if you were there, it wouldn't look that real.' LOL, but I knew what he meant.
Yesterday, I was offered the 60" old tech one at $2,000, about half what SIL paid. But then the salesman threw a new die. "There is a new one coming out soon, this is why we can offer the current 50" NI 1080 6mpix at $2,500 ish. I threw away my plan for the new Yamaha digital piano...well, my playing is crap anyway, let's have the telly. But what will I feed it with?
Camera. Colchester last summer, £c1,250 blew away the pix from my old [broadcast quality] Sony BVP200 ..[.today's money would be about £45,000.] but........I read above that it does not process the panned image quickly enough. Interesting comment, I will be forearmed. But still, it was stunning.
DVD player. Okay, there are some cheap players that will simulate HD. They do this by a clever algorithm filling in the missing lines. Eeeech! Like the old drop-out correction. Sony on sale at $119. It's a way of filling a big screen. It needs the single cable mentioned [with a plug a bit like a wide USB] or the T/V switches back to DVD standard.
HD players are there, and not all that costly, but the movies to put in them???????
HD DVDs not offered by Net flix and the like yet, but it will happen. For me, science/nature and the latest films in HD will hack it, everything else can be at DVD quality.
Most cable companies offer a few HD progs...but how do you record them? And do you want to see them anyway? HD Tivo-type machines are expensive and the clued-up will use computers, but several companies will offer a recording service as part of a [not cheap] package.
A year or so back, SIL in Texas got the 60" Sony LCD. [there is a 42 and a 50] It's okay, and it's certainly big, but as I said at the time it had a screen surface that was fine in fixed frame, then showed up when the image was panning. It looked like the old anti-reflect coating on the surface of a PC's monitor.
At that time I deemed it the best buy cos of the problems with flat screens. The bulb on the LCDs seemed the only issue. [claimed 10,000 hrs $c350]
Then came the new model.
I have looked at T/Vs for 55 years, a lot of the time with a professional eye. The new 50 or 60 was stunning. Non interlaced 60HZ [here] and 6m pixels. With some clever 3 dimensional configuration. I had never seen anything like it. No sign of a pixel from 2 ft away, and every hair of some blond guy's head was a clearly defined thread.
I was standing next to a middle-aged couple in a Sear's store in Austin. They guy said, in a British north country accent, ‘that it looks more real than the real scene....if you were there, it wouldn't look that real.' LOL, but I knew what he meant.
Yesterday, I was offered the 60" old tech one at $2,000, about half what SIL paid. But then the salesman threw a new die. "There is a new one coming out soon, this is why we can offer the current 50" NI 1080 6mpix at $2,500 ish. I threw away my plan for the new Yamaha digital piano...well, my playing is crap anyway, let's have the telly. But what will I feed it with?
Camera. Colchester last summer, £c1,250 blew away the pix from my old [broadcast quality] Sony BVP200 ..[.today's money would be about £45,000.] but........I read above that it does not process the panned image quickly enough. Interesting comment, I will be forearmed. But still, it was stunning.
DVD player. Okay, there are some cheap players that will simulate HD. They do this by a clever algorithm filling in the missing lines. Eeeech! Like the old drop-out correction. Sony on sale at $119. It's a way of filling a big screen. It needs the single cable mentioned [with a plug a bit like a wide USB] or the T/V switches back to DVD standard.
HD players are there, and not all that costly, but the movies to put in them???????
HD DVDs not offered by Net flix and the like yet, but it will happen. For me, science/nature and the latest films in HD will hack it, everything else can be at DVD quality.
Most cable companies offer a few HD progs...but how do you record them? And do you want to see them anyway? HD Tivo-type machines are expensive and the clued-up will use computers, but several companies will offer a recording service as part of a [not cheap] package.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
hddvd.org, reviews of the available players and the movies already out.
I have read a few reviews of the players in the last few weeks, the reviewers were not particularily impressed and recommended waiting a while till the quality goes up and the price comes down, but the Toshiba HD A1 looks reasonable at $500.
I have read a few reviews of the players in the last few weeks, the reviewers were not particularily impressed and recommended waiting a while till the quality goes up and the price comes down, but the Toshiba HD A1 looks reasonable at $500.
Psychophysiological entity
Today offered a 50 inch Sony LCD for $1300 ex demmo. Said okay. they said sorry no box.....oooooh sorry no bubble wrap or cardboard. Did i hear that Sears was going bust? Or was it that they were buying Target. Amounts to the same thing I suppose. Just plain daft.
The DVD for Hi def it seems comes in two main flavors. The one I mentioned, and the blue beam for reading progressive [non interlaced] DVDs. That one retailing for $1,000. [Sanyo i think] Mmmm not so attractive.
Leads from $40 - $120. Computer monitor RGB leads could be this kind of cost....until folk caught on and got Tiwanese products for $10. [they were better ]
The very pleasent and learn-ed young man in Sears, pulled the bulb from the LCD to show me. This cluster of plastic and bulb is $199 plus post and tax. It would only take 60 seconds to change. $100 a year for full in house maintainance. Well sort of, cos you would get the first year anyway...but they will even repair scratches to the case for that and give you a new one if you get trouble.
A popular cable broad-band and HD T/V deal is about $105 / month. this gives 2 BBC progs as well. Bit over budget for me, but not for a young [well paind] family I suppose.
The DVD for Hi def it seems comes in two main flavors. The one I mentioned, and the blue beam for reading progressive [non interlaced] DVDs. That one retailing for $1,000. [Sanyo i think] Mmmm not so attractive.
Leads from $40 - $120. Computer monitor RGB leads could be this kind of cost....until folk caught on and got Tiwanese products for $10. [they were better ]
The very pleasent and learn-ed young man in Sears, pulled the bulb from the LCD to show me. This cluster of plastic and bulb is $199 plus post and tax. It would only take 60 seconds to change. $100 a year for full in house maintainance. Well sort of, cos you would get the first year anyway...but they will even repair scratches to the case for that and give you a new one if you get trouble.
A popular cable broad-band and HD T/V deal is about $105 / month. this gives 2 BBC progs as well. Bit over budget for me, but not for a young [well paind] family I suppose.