News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
The linked article gives a breakdown on tech gear that may seem like a good deal but which should probably be avoided. In many cases it’s possible to get a much better item for just a little more money.
Here’s the short version of what not to buy:
Link: http://www.komando.com/…
In the older, analog world of video, any degradation in the signal due to cheap cabling would cause a corresponding degradation in the picture. So super-high-quality, gold plated, and hideously expensive cables made a certain amount of sense. But in the digital world, you can have a severe amount of signal degradation without any loss in picture quality. The $6.00 cable really is just as good as the $250.00 cable. In fact, you may see more degradation from your cable or satellite provider than you’ll ever get from cabling.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
If you want to view 3D television at home it’s not necessary to shell out big bucks for new HDMI 1.4 cables. High Speed HDMI 1.3 cables, which many people already own, can support all HDMI 1.4 features except the HDMI Ethernet Channel. It’s the HDMI 1.4 protocol that’s required for 3D television.
Link: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/…
(via The Consumerist)
The linked article explains the general differences between LED and LCD monitors.
Link: http://komando.com/…
Much like the DVD of The Matrix which I believe was the first major release to fully exploit the new medium, the Blu-ray version of The Dark Knight has a bunch of bells and whistles. Note that you’ll need a Profile 2.0 player to use BD-Live.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
With the expected price drop in HDTVs this holiday season, the linked article has some basic tips on what to look for when purchasing one.
Link: http://gizmodo.com/…
(via digg)
Been waiting for the right time to switch from that clunky old analog television to a sleek, new flat-panel HDTV? According to the linked article, the upcoming holiday season may be the time to take the plunge. (Especially with the upcoming analog-to-digital switch.)
Link: http://apnews.myway.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
Regular Chad’s News readers are now familiar with the various HDTV modes (e.g., 720p, 1080i, etc.). And I’ve always associated larger picture sizes with higher quality. I was surprised, therefore, to read the linked article which contends that this is not necessarily the case—that the quality of the signal has little to do with the number of pixels. It turns out that broadcasters compress the digital signal to conserve bandwidth, and the compression algorithm is lossy. The compression reduces the quality of the picture regardless of the number of pixels, and if used “overzealously,” it will make a visible difference.
Link: http://www.popularmechanics.com/…
(via digg)
Thinking about purchasing one of those monster-sized LCD/plasma TVs for thousands of dollars? Well you may want to hold off for a couple years and get an OLED TV instead.
Link: http://news.smh.com.au/…
(via Kim Komando)
HDTV color, brightness, and contrast levels are set by the manufacturer to look great in brightly-lit retail stores, and once you get it home, the picture quality isn’t nearly as good. Thus the need to calibrate your HDTV. You can do it yourself, or pay a professional.
Update: Getting a professional to make the changes may not be such a good idea.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
No official numbers are available yet, but the Nikkei business daily estimates that Toshiba will book a $986 million loss in its high-definition business. This is due to Toshiba’s HD-DVD format losing out to Sony’s Blu-ray.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/…
(via Engadget)
Update: Toshiba has released official numbers estimating its loss to be about $666 million.
The high-definition format war is officially over. Toshiba has thrown in the towel on its HD-DVD format, and the remaining holdout studios have announced their decision to switch to Blu-ray.
For the early adopters, here’s how to convert HD-DVD discs to Blu-ray,
Link: http://www.toshiba.co.jp/…
(via Engadget)
