Plasma TV Info

My my what a nice Slingbox you have

2006-10-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

SLINGBOX
Sounds so dirty to me, like donkey punch or screaming eagle. Truth of the matter is that if you have not gotten one of these you should be donkey punching yourself.

What, what, what, watch live TV and your favorite recorded shows from your laptop, office computer, or cell phone? If you are one of those sports nuts that has all of the sports packages on your Dish TV the Slingbox Pro is a must. It supports HDTV and allows one to remote access their TiVo, DishTV, or cable DVR and watch recorded shows or make changes to scheduled recordings. As I was saying, the ability to watch my NFL package without having to be in my den has opened a whole new world.

Video IPOD Rip

2006-10-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Recently got the revised 80GB IPOD, it is fricken sweet. Finally got all my music in one spot. I remember how excited I was back in day when I bought the first ever 100 disc CD player. The IPOD is better.

However, as a Microsoft Windows user there is no apple software to rip my DVDs to the pod (really sucks). I have read about something called Handbrake that does exactly this task for Mac users. Not sure if it’s any good, any body got feedback about this free program? They are supposedly making a version for Windows users but this seems like a major oversight.

Regardless, the IPOD is awesome. Definately recommend it to everyone.

It's not TV. It's ShitBO

2006-06-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Some of you have heard of Big Love and the Sopranos, well if you were watching last night you saw that HBO did not air new episodes as promised, instead they showed Big Stink, and Crapranos.

Big Stink had a lot of potential, however was able to deliver on the name. A season finally that was all of 46 minutes and knowing the M.O. on HBO I am sure it will be 18 plus months before we ever see another ep.

Crapranos followed a similar path. They had a somewhat uneventful episode as usual, followed by the big announcement that the season is not over. They will take 6 month break before they film the final 8 episodes. It must take them about a week to film 8 episodes, but HBO wants to make they piss off every fan of the show so that they do not have to film any more seasons. I guess everyone got too rich and from the show and making millions for 16 hours of filming a year is just too hard.

so stay tuned the next ep. of Crapranos will be out in 6 months.

Draft Day Special

2006-04-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Revenge is a dish best served in Hi-Def!

Here is where the high definition really pays for itself. I could see the tears in Leinarts eyes as he slipped to 10th overall. This stupid MoFo could have been the #1 graft pick last year (way overrated), and instead he stayed in school to win the national championship. Nope, USC lost the national championship which they should not have been in anyway. Their conference is so shitty any half way decent team can go undefeated.

Anyway, let us recap last year….

Preseason – USC Overrated
All Season long – USC beats bottom of the barrel teams (USC still overrated)
National Championship – USC blown out

And the kicker is that Leinart goes 10th. It reportedly cost him around 10 million in bonuses.

Now the pros say he has a baby arm. This is so sweet. And this moment was even sweeter in Hi-def.

Dellerella

2006-04-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

Mirror, Mirror on the wall where can I find the cheapest computer of them all?

Search Dell.com to find your match

(Please stop me if you have heard this one)

I searched long and far for the best computer to buy. From the hills of HP to the Apple valley, and as far as the Sony shores would take me, all along it was hidden the under my eyes. Dell is the cheapest of them all, how can their prices be so much less?

I customized my piece and when all was said and done the damage totaled $3000.

The Prince was happy and all was great, until the 1 yr anniversary of when the Dell the purchased. 1 day after the warranty was up the CPU crashed and all the kings the people with all the White Guis could not get the Dell to work properly again.

The princess beautiful Dell had turned back into a pumpkin. So it was back to the HP hills and Apple valley to find a real computer not a piece of shit Dell!!

XP Media Center

2006-04-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

So XP Home is for typical home computer or home office solution, XP Professional is for the corporate world, where does Media Center fit?

I use my home computer for pictures and music and I want to figure out this Web TV.

Windows Media Center is the answer. It is a platform designed for intensive media applications. Run your LCD or Plasma TV through it along the cable box and now you can record all of your favorite movies and shows directly to your hard drive.

Even put home surveillance camera in and record directly to the PC. It is possible to use Media Center in your office or store for CCTV as part of your retail security system. XP Professional may be easier to remote access but Media Center is easier to use.

HD Monkey

2006-03-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

Cant ya see
Cant ya see

What this hi-definition is doin to me

HD is taking the world by storm! Some of you may remember the first time you ever logged onto the internet on a high speed connection . . . I had it installed in my house the next day.

But you know what they say; once you go HD you never go back. TRUE

Hi-def is the high speed of 2006.

The dreaded task

2006-03-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

Time to replace the old 23” in the Kitchen, and you know what that means. I have to venture to the land of the damned . . . Brandsmart!! If you have ever traveled on Southwest you will understand my pain.

Southwest will line everyone up all 300 passengers and similar to NASCAR the attendant comes over the PA, ready, set, go! All 300 customers rush the gate kicking, screaming, and clawing to get an aisle or window seat. There are no assigned seats, no special treatment; it is almost as if there is a behavior study being conducted on humans to see how we will react in a lawless environment.

If you can visualize that, then you will have no problem picturing a Brandsmart. An oversized warehouse where vultures circle, yes it is true . . . no one can beat their prices but can you run the gauntlet and get out alive? Even if you manage to get the item you are looking for there is the dreaded checkout counter. I have stood at the edge arms full and tired, 8 lazy droids at their station helping no one. The term customer service has gone the way of the Blue Footed Booby (still alive but never seen).

For me the task is difficult, a 26” LCD flat panel TV. I want the Sharp Aquos, or a Phillips. Sony will be too expensive, but Samsung might work. I have heard that the Dell is not bad and they are priced well too. My Liquid Cristal Display must be able to mount on the wall or all is lost and the mission failed.

Can I complete the mission and get alive? Well the answer is not at goarmy.com, stay tuned for battle updates.

IPOD cont.

2006-02-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Maybe I need to rethink this HD Ipod?

I am picturing sitting on a airplane ready for my 3 hour flight to NYC, about to plug my 750 GB HD video ipod into the built in docking bay in the arm rest. The first commercial carrier to come out with that is going to clean up!!

Think of it, all of your favorite movies at the touch of a button. Even better the flight should offer new movies for a fee that you can download to your IPOD (OK that will probable never happen, but it would be glorious). And yes I did say 750 gig hi-definition pod.

What is the hold up? Apple is the company that has been able to pull off so mush memory in such a small device. They need to stop screwing around and start making the ultimate Ipod. The NANO should already offer 250 GB.

I am waiting for every automobile manufacturer to make this an option. Monster Cable has a close range frequency transmitter for you car but the sound is not as good as your factory system (not always) and the IPOD docking stations sound great.

Apple should approach these manufacturers and push for it….it could lead to Apple dominated world. I can not live without my pod!

HD Ipod, yeah baby!

2006-02-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

Someone told me that they couldn’t wait for the IPOD to have high definition video playback.

Did I miss something? There must have been a meeting that decided the future of HDTV viewing and my invitation got lost in the mail!

I just bought a Samsung 50” plasma television for my wall. The salesman didn’t inform me about the special meeting where the world decided we only want 2.5” LCD TV screens. What the hell is going on? I thought the whole video IPOD was stupid to begin with, but at that time no one said is was going to be in HD.

Decision has been made, the 50” television is going back. My IPOD is getting mounted on the living room wall TODAY! Just think of the Super owl party next year, 30 drunken guys chowing burgers and dawgs all staring at my 2.5 inch hi-def LCD Screen.

Blue Ray DVDs and Hi-Definition

2006-02-10T06:41:00.000-08:00

Blu-ray, blu-ray blu-ray

What the $%^* is blu-ray?

Everybody I ask thinks they know what blu-ray is, but no one has got a clue.

Blu-ray is a fancy name for a new style format DVD that was designed to allow consumers to record, rewrite, and playback in HD. Blu-ray also as a much larger storage capacity than previous DVDs, manufacturers claim single-layer blu-ray disc can record up to 25 gigabytes. 25 GB is about 2 hours of high definition or a little more than 13 hours of normal TV. Manufacturers say there will be a 50 BG version or dual layer disc that can hold twice as much data.

Blu-ray technology was developed by a group of manufacturers which include; Sony, Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, LG, Pioneer, TDK, and Thompson.

It all seems like a scan to me to get everyone to buy new DVD players and accessories, so these manufacturers can get even richer. I mean with the ability to save everything to a hard drive why not advance that technology, I would rather carry some sort of miniature storage device that can hold 10 or 20 HD movies than 10 or 20 DVDs. They have those flash memory storage devices that can fit on your key chain, and these huge multi-billion dollar companies are saying the best they can come up with is a blue-violet laser. That is where blu-ray gets it name; it uses this special color laser instead of a red one.

Gaming in HDTV

2006-02-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

I remember a day when dorm rats would gather 4+ to room, with nothing but the faint glow of Bond basement battle background resonating from the television. Yes a time when Nintendo 64 ruled and Sega Dreamcast conspired in the shadows. It was a simpler time then, plasma TVs were still new, rear projection screens bullied the locals.

That was then, hi-definition is now.

Someone told me they were in the Target and it was so glorious, there were six Xbox 360 consoles just sitting there. Has the day actually come when a man-boy can come out of the fox hole they’ve been waiting in? Man-boys once walked the land proud, dreaming of Madden plays, battles lost and won of Star Wars, and missions still to conquer in Bond.

I’ve seen the signs and I believe the stories. It has been written that in the far off galaxy of Microsoft there a planet Xbox 360. The legend claims that the world is populated with gamers and everything is in HD. Could it be so….is there truly a console where everything you see is in hi-definition?

Man-boy folk lore says that the answers to gaming in HDTV are kept at Hidefster.

Flat-Panel, Projection, & CRT TV Displays

2006-01-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

CRT – Cathode-Ray Tube

This is your typical tube television. The picture is produced by an electron beam that scans the back side of a phosphor-coated screen. As the beam moves back and forth it illuminates horizontal lines of phosphor dots inside the tube, which create the images you see.

Thumbs Up: inexpensive, good picture, black blacks
Thumbs Down: oversized & overweight, limited screen sizes, non digital display

Flat-Panel – Plasma & LCD

Plasma television picture is created by gas caught between 2 layers of glass.

Thumbs Up: hang on wall, visually appealing, great picture & color
Thumbs Down: expensive, screen burn-in, medium quality blacks, high maintenance costs

LCD or Liquid Crystal Display get its picture from an electric current that passes through the liquid. The current causes light to pass through or not pass though creating an image.

Thumbs Up: hang on wall, visually appealing, great picture & color, NO burn-in
Thumbs Down: expensive, poor side angle viewing, fair to poor blacks

Projection TV

Front Projection is the same style that you see in movie theatres. A projector mounted in the room beams a picture onto a large screen in the room. It is possible to get a Hi-Definition display on a front projection.

Thumbs Up: huge screen options, great experience
Thumbs Down: expensive, requires lots of up keep.

Rear Projection TVs are self contained units that project an image onto the back of the screen. These rear projections were once the standard for Super Bowl parties. HD display is possible, however has to be build in.

Thumbs Up: CHEAP, good picture.
Thumbs Down: require some maintenance, overly bulky

Top 5 Things About Being The Boss

2006-01-28T07:04:00.000-08:00

YOU are “The Man”
No one calls to tell you you’re late.
30+ inch HD Plasma TV on your office wall!
When you’re out of coffee…delegate!
When you’re wrong…everyone agrees with you anyway!

What I got, the 32 inch Sony LCD Flat panel HD TV model KLV-S32A10.

2006-01-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

I picked up this little beauty about 6 months ago, put it in the bedroom and haven’t left since. LCD television is one of the best products on the market and with hi-definition broadcasting appearing to be the future, the only thing my room is missing now is a stove.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of people scare to leave the castle. I could never quit my day job fighting for freedom, but when I’m not kicking a little ass I enjoy watching some HD football, some UFC Unleashed, even basketball when I can find it on in hi-def.

I know everyone likes a little movie called Dune, and if your lucky you tivoed it in HD.

Back to the point, my 32 inch Sony KLV-S32A10 LCD HD ready TV. OK, yes it does require your own HD tuner but remember I bought it 6 months ago. Today these are practically standard in the newer models. This Liquid Cristal Display doubles as a PC monitor. I got in my bedroom, and I work a lot from my laptop, so when I’m not catching all my favorite U of Miami pro stars on Sunday I run the cord from my laptop over the bed and into the TV. If you work on the computer a lot nothing is better than have multiple monitors linked together.

The picture is awesome, and Sony’s wide screen mode allows you to watch your favorite shows in a 16:9 aspect ratio. If you have kids the Sony KLV-S32A10 has a build in V-chip to monitor or block programming you don’t want you children viewing. Two of the cooler features are Steady Sound® and automatic light sensors. One allows the television to self adjust the picture brightness to optimal viewing for the amount of light in the room, and the other automatically adjusts the volume levels the so you get a consistent output between scenes, shows, and commercials.

This Sony has built-in speakers and an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface). The KLV-S32A10 also has the usual stuff: several component video inputs (DVD 480p and 480i, Digital set-top box 1080k, 720p, 480p, and 480i), closed captioning, PC inputs, wall mounting holes, CineMotion®, and WEGA GATE™.

All in all this HD LCD TV is sick and it is not one of those fake LCD TVs that is really a DLP Television. I mean DLP is great technology but don’t lie to me, is it LCD or DLP.

DELL W3201C 32-inch HD LCD TV

2006-01-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that Dell could make such a great hi-definition LCD television?

Dell, after doing well in the computer industries has had a huge HDTV LCD monitor / television campaign for the last year or so. This HD LCD TV is almost too large to put on your desk, but it is great for DVDs and video games. If you are an XBOX 360 fan, this is a must have for your home or office.

Features: Dell W3201C 32-inch HD LCD TV

Diagonal Size: 32”
Viewable Size: 32"
Display Type: LCD TV
Depth: 8.21" (with stand)
Features: HDTV-ready, Picture-In-Picture (PIP), Picture-Outside-Picture (POP), Picture-By-Picture (PBP), Thin design, Wide Aspect display
Height: 22.72" (with stand)
Weight: With stand: 47.1 lbs, With speakers/stand/display: 51.5 lbs
Image Max H-View Angle: ± 85°
Image Max V-View Angle: ± 85°
Connectivity Technology: Cable
Audio Output: 30 Watts
Device Type: LCD TV
Dimensions (WxDxH): With stand: 31.02" x 8.21" x 22.72", With Speakers: 36.69" x 8.21" x 21.62"
Dot Pitch: 0.51075 mm
Image Brightness: 450 cd/m² (typical)
Image Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 (typical)
Image Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (wide screen)
Input Device: Remote Control
Max Resolution: 1366x768 Pixels
Max Sync Rate (V x H): 75 Hz x 64 kHz
Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 4 x Composite / 3 x S-Video / 2 x Component / 2 x Coaxial TV-In / 18 x Audio (RCA L+R) / 1 x HDMI / 4 x Speaker / 1 x SPDIF (RCA + Optical) / 1 x RS232 / 1 x VGA / 1 Audio (PC) Connectors
Speaker(s): Integrated 30-Watt Detachable Speakers
Compatibility: PC

Best 42 inch Panasonic Plasma Television

2006-01-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

The TH-42XVS30 is the best 42 inch Panasonic plasma television on the market. This plasma TV is perfect for wall mounting; it has cablecard slots that allow for reception of standard broadcast as well as HDTV digital broadcasts. Finally it is possible to get away with out a cable box. This plasma television has a built in HDTV tuner. You are seconds away from hours of HD TV viewing, all we need is a six pack and a blunt. plasma TV has never been this good, with the TH-42XVS30 boasting a 3000:1 contrast ratio. This allows the plasma to have deep blacks making an exceptionally view during dark screens. We also have HDMI connection that gives high quality digital and audio all in one small plug.

This is the ultimate Panasonic plasma television, aesthetically appealing with crisp hi-definition picture. If you love your digital camera you will love this HD TV. Built in SD card slots let you show/view all your favorite digital pictures or slideshows.

This plasma TV is sick, and as to HD, it can’t be beat. Just make sure you shop around and get the best HDTV plasma television on the market.

Plasma Vs LCD

2006-01-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

In tonight’s heavyweight bout we have LCD TV in the in the Red corner, fighting for its life against Plasma TV in the Blue corner.

Round 1 – Screen Size
Plasma is off to the early start making up to 60 inch screen, however it could turn out to be a weakness that there are no plasmas under 32 inches. LCD is having trouble, their screen size ranges from 13 to 46 inches. Look for LCD screen sizes to catch up soon.

Round 2 – Viewing Angle
LCD is slow out the gate again, unable to keep up with Plasma TVs 160 degrees. Wow, can this be? Newer LCD TVs are coming out with angles up to 175 degrees.

Folks, it’s going to be fun watching these two duel it out.

Round 3 – Lifespan
LCD is all over Plasma this round! It is almost unfair; the ref may need to stop this one if this continues. Plasma TVs are running on average 20,000 to 30,000 hours, that’s about 4 hours a day for 20 years. LCD screens average about double that at 50,000 to 60,000 hours. All of these numbers are based on an average of 4 hours a day.

Round 4 – Response Time
Plasma appears to have back on track this round, developed to handle rapid movement we have seen times as low as 15 milliseconds (ms). LCD a little slower here average near 25 ms, but we have seen improvement with response times as low as 16 ms.

This round is all about which TV can get the pixel to go from active to inactive then back to active fastest.

Round 5 – Image Burn In
We have our first know down of the fight. LCD TVs are NOT susceptible to image burn in, 4, 5, 6. Plasma TV is getting back up, some new plasma TVs are adding features to combat image burn.

Round 6 – Color Saturation
Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking the amount of grey in a color. The lower the saturation, the higher the grey count is.

Plasma has a much better method of blocking light and clearly has an advantage in this round.

Round 7 – Contrast Ratio
Earlier in the week I watched plasma TV practice, and it looked real good. Amazing, under these real world viewing situation LCD appears to have the advantage, I am very surprised.

Round 8 – Brightness
Plasma boasts a great record in this area, but again when put to the test under the same realistic viewing situations LCD TVs seem to have an advantage.

TO THE SCORECARD…..

Judges have scored it 2 to 1 in favor of…

HDTV

Know Your Plasma Allies

2006-01-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Our first mission will be to discover the truth about Plasma Vs LCD, But before we go to war it is good to know a little about the person you're getting into battle with. So I am going to share a little bit about me, here is a shot of me and the little lady:
This was just after we had eloped. Our families didn't approve and we didn't care, it was true love. Here's a good one of me and guys, we were getting a little rowdy:

Yeah that's me in the face paint, I don't know it is about that stuff. This next one is painting we had commissioned after my first victory; I was so proud.

Now we are ready to for our mission, so stay tuned for Plasma TV vs LCD screens.