Home Theaters

At first you might ask what this has to do with home theater. Well, many of us have satellite reception in our home theater setups, and some of the background things are quite interesting. It is good to see how some of this has worked toward changing the landscape of the cable and satellite industries. Soon it will be the cable card tuners that will be hacked, and similar tales will certainly come to light.

Christopher Tarnovsky has led a wild existence in the last few years. At thirty-seven, he seems to be the pre-eminent cracker of existing smart card technology.

Christopher Tarnovsky at his lab in San Diego

In an amazing tale told to Wired, Mr. Tarnovsky outlines exactly how being given a satellite dish and a couple of non-working smart cards, while in Europe working for our government, started him on his way to being a pirate and then a consultant for the satellite company he had been hacking.

The interview was granted just after he had been acquitted of the charges in a trial that took five years to unfold. Along the way, many charges have been leveled at him, both by the company he was working for, NDS Group (one time owner of DirecTV), and Nagrastar, a competing firm.

Although fired 2 years ago by NDS, he states he would like to go back and help them compete against new threats that are starting to develop. Of course, he also offered his services to the competition as well.

The story shows how the private sector is involved with technology and espionage every bit as amazing and intriguing as the military of almost any nation. The game of cops and pirates is played on almost every continent, and the only difference (one hopes) is that espionage of the industrial type should not be as conducive to losing one’s life.

By the way, over at the Wired website there is a fascinating short video of how he cracks the smart chips, including steps of cutting the chip out of the plastic card holders, applying fuming nitric acid to the protective layer, and then acetone baths before scratching off the last layer of protection, while increasing protection of other, vital areas, with the application of women’s red fingernail polish.

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Technorati Tags: cryptography - satellite hacking - smart cards - microelectronics - ECM - 5 year trial - industrial espionage

I know I was going to talk about a couple of speakers that, through the years, have been updated, and continue to amaze. I am still going to do that. However, something I don’t think I have really stressed in the time of this offering is very important to your total enjoyment of the system you build.

I know I have stated that one must go out and listen to real music, not reproduced, but produced, from non-electronic instruments. This is getting harder and harder to do, as not only are most of you inconveniently located to a place where symphonies are performed,  other types of music are rarely performed fully without amplification these days. Nonetheless, you should make every effort. Perhaps listening to non-amplified music is a goal to not be achieved, but strived for - kind of like the concept of limits in calculus.

The other thing might seem much more crazy than the first. Find  a high-end stereo store and go in for a demonstration. Be frank with the salesperson (I know about this, I used to be one). If you have no intent of purchasing anything, tell him or her. Truth is wonderfully refreshing, and hope springs eternal. Both of these truisms are what audio salespeople live by. On the one hand they are going to hope you change your mind and buy something, even if not today. On the other, you have been truthful from the start - that scores you major points. Salespeople approached in this fashion will usually be kind, patient, and amazingly generous with their time. This is especially true if you do one more thing - tell them at the outset to quickly move to any other customer that might appear.

  Not many have the budget to purchase a multi-thousand dollar tube amplifier (some would not want one if they could), such as these Audio Research models pictured here - nevertheless, being familiar with their sound is a good thing - it allows a reference to judge against

Now you can inquire about things that interest you - like the best (name your piece of gear here) that the store has to show off. If you show some intelligence, or at least some eagerness to learn, you will be surprised at what you pick up. You will be rewarded with a very nice time, listening to music of great quality, on great equipment.

This is one of those speakers I’m going to speak about soon.  If you’re lucky, you might get to listen to a pair of these on your ‘crazy’ outing! If you see one - definitely ask to listen!

Now the point of this is twofold. First, you will no longer be able to fool yourself into the idea that people who spend ‘that kind of money’ on equipment are crazy. Second, although you may not have the words to describe it (you know, not technical jargon, but the vernacular that the really rabid audiophiles use - words that you may have never heard before put to use in description of sound) but you will be able to say you heard the difference between bland sound provided by mediocre equipment, and the best sound available at a price. You will also be able to listen for flaws in things you are able to purchase, and know which flaws you can live with, and the ones that simply can no longer be tolerated.

If all you learn by this experience is why cables like this for speakers are better, you’ve accomplished something.

If you become friends with a dealer of ‘that kind of equipment’ two things might happen. You may become privy to sales coming up, allowing you to purchase some great stuff at a fraction of the list price - a boon to your system and your enjoyment of it, or you may simply continue the education that allows you to critique sound very competently, and allows you to build, within  the limits of your budget, the very best sounding audio/home theater system available.

Would either possibility be so bad?

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While this is not strictly a home theater piece, it is something that will affect us all in some way, and may affect your large screen HDTV - as some were built without the DTV tuner needed next February - there are many sets that were built before the standard for transmission was ratified, yet the sets have non-tuner inputs capable of HD performance.

perhaps you thought the government was paying the $40 for that certificate? You aren’t really that naive are you?

While the government is busy congratulating itself on the progress of the transition to Digital Television (DTV), the GAO report on it points out how ineffective our government is at what it does.

The report, issued in April, states how the transition is going well, and gives those who only skim the reading  thinking that all is going according to plan.

The report shows how many stations are already broadcasting the digital signal, and how many will be doing so soon. What is there, under a thin veil, is that the ‘facts’ are being distorted. Most of you are saying, “This is the government, what’s new about that?” You would be right.

The total facts - ooh, a new term, I think I’ll trademark it, and maybe license it to Fox News! - are that the report only speaks of the 66% of station licensees in the nation who bothered to respond to the inquiry. So when the term ‘vast majority’ is used in speaking of stations already broadcasting a digital signal, it really means those stations that the GAO is aware of. Suddenly it seems as though this might be an area where the FCC could do some good - this is their bailiwick.

Part of the ‘transition’ that is not being spoken about it the fact that not all stations will be forced to discontinue analog transmission in February 2009. That was a bit of a shock to some that I spoke to, but this is one of those ‘dirty little secrets’ the government is so fond of keeping. Many stations that are classified as ‘low power’ will not be forced to make the changeover, which, if you’ve been reading the news, should make the case for Best Buy completely.

Best Buy, and 6 other large retailers were hit a few weeks back with large fines for continuing to sell analog televisions. Now, I’m sure the government will push the fact that the point of the fines was the sign stating the television would be useless after February 2009 without some external help.  The ‘low power’ exemption will make the point very murky, as even in areas where no low power station exists, it can be argued that sets might be purchased for usage in those low power areas. This is simply another area where,  if it was so very important to go to digital television, the transition should have been 100%.

The way it currently reads is similar to what I’ve stated before - the government wanted to shift around some frequency allocations, so it could resell the space and make money - this is fact, as it was part of the ‘Debt Reduction Act of 2005′. Anyone who doubts the real reasons for the imposed switch to digital television should simply look more closely at the evidence. By the way, this was a pet project of John McCain, as he wanted to have some way to pay for the outrageous debt that was caused by the war games in Iraq. Also, to ensure that the force was made, Darth Cheney had to make an emergency exit, stage left, to return from the Middle East, to break a deadlock - this almost did not pass.

Back again to the GAO report - there are several stations across the country who think the transition will be so smooth as to not do any transmission in digital format before the 17th of February in 2009. Somehow these stations believe that the change will be so effortless that no problems will occur. Good luck to them.

Another problem with the upcoming transition is the problem of those little boxes. The nifty little boxes that are going to allow those nasty old analog televisions to continue to serve many - well, it has been predicted that they will be purposely shorted in supply, to force purchase of brand new digital television sets. You did not think any differently did you? After all, it is the television producers that are making the nifty little boxes. Would you, as a purveyor of equipment, not rather sell a $500 television over a $75 dollar add-on tuner? (and let us not be coy about who really pays for those $40 certificates…)

The winners in this, if you can call them that - they are still paying for the cost of transition - are those who have cable or satellite in their homes. No sharp pains of television withdrawal will occur next February, and these same people don’t have to shop for the last set top box available on February 16, similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s problems  in ‘Jingle All the Way’.

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That was something my grandmother used to say to me. It makes no more sense about some things today as it made back when she was alive. However, some instances lend themselves to this sort of inscrutable logic.

So it is with the choices I make here, when I write. I am writing about home theater, yet in the back of my mind, with nearly every word written is the thought that for many, and always me, the home theater system is also the stereo system, and it will see much more duty as that. For me, I watch a movie and rarely watch it again for some time. For many movies, I never watch again. This is not always because I did not like the movie. Sometimes, it is simply so good at doing its job that the story and visuals stay with me, not needing to be refreshed.

For music, it may have something to do with the fact that we remember less of what we hear than what we see, but I think it is something very primal. Music does indeed soothe. That may be why I choose to listen to music much of the non-working waking hours, instead of watching something.

With this in mind, I always try to think of how the system will sound as a music reproduction unit, and it makes choices different, and more difficult.

If a subwoofer is being chosen for what the usual ‘theater types’ refer to as LFE, or low frequency effects, it matters little how the unit sounds with real music. The subwoofer in these cases is being called upon to cause excitement, to enable the ‘like you are there’ nature to bombastic events, like explosions, jet aircraft takeoffs, and the obliteration of large objects.

this is the Original VMPS subwoofer, it sounds great with music, and does a good job with LFE, a really great buy if you can find one used. I have a pair of these used with Infinity Infinitesimal RS 0.12s. The sound is marvelous, and puts much more expensive systems to shame. (These are old now, but work well. Point here is that quality like this was normal in the 80’s, before people were convinced that great sound quality for entire room could be had from something the size of a toothpick [small exaggeration])

On the other hand, if my choice is a subwoofer because I want to hear the first octave of music, it is usually much harder a choice, as the sonic character of the sub will be much more noticed. The way it rolls off, and the main speakers take over must be much more smooth. The frequency response curve must overlap just so, and the upper harmonics of the sub must either match the drivers of the main system, or be eliminated. The subwoofer used for LFE simply has to be loud.

Apologies to George, but every THX setup I have ever heard is nowhere near what I call good sound - either in quality or quantity.

The choice of a good sounding low frequency device is made harder by the fact that so many people choose to compare against music, as is shown by the abhorrent sound quality of many THX-certified theaters. The low frequency effects are there, and in great volume, but they rarely sound convincing - at least to anyone who bothers to listen and compare. 

this is a current VMPS subwoofer design, it will give your system the punch you want for ‘effects’ yet sound good with music - what a concept!

When choosing the main speakers, the home theater user only casually interested in stereo reproduction will choose speakers that sound good, and make certain that the center channel speaker is almost identical to the left and right speakers. This is fine for the purpose of viewing movies, but when using this system as a stereo, for critical music listening, it is very close to impossible to have great sound from this type of setup.

if you’re looking for this

you definitely don’t want this!

The reason is simple. The two types of systems here are at odds, and so getting a dual purpose speaker system here is like having Hulk Hogan fill in for your favorite ballerina in a production of Swan Lake.  In a good stereo system, the two speakers are chosen to produce a sound field in front of the user, and the field must be a panorama. There is no center channel, and a good stereo pair will have no problem with a musician in the exact center, or anything else, for that matter. The thing that most do not understand is that this type of reproduction is relying on a great recording. That is to say that this is high fidelity reproduction. The system merely reproduces what is on the recording, whether tape, compact disc, or FM tuner is being used. If good sound is not in the original recording, it will not be reproduced by this system.

The home theater system, comprised of 6 or more speakers, unlike the stereo system of 2, or possibly 3 speakers, is designed to  sound less natural, to force the extremes of sound, and of directional cues in that sound. For this reason, the makers of many of these home theater speakers will purposely limit the sound field that the speaker is capable of recreating. This becomes especially apparent when going from 3 speakers in front for theater, to 2 speakers for music. The ‘hole in the middle’ is apparent, yet with a good stereo setup no hole in the middle would exist, if the recorded material was done properly.

All of this is written as a preface to the next couple of entries, where I will be talking about a couple of really fine speakers, that have been acclaimed as quality of both build and sound, and have been around for some years. These would make a great choice for the dual purpose system most of us have, and then the rest of the 5, 6, or 7 channel system can be acquired, trying closely to match the characteristics of the center, sides, and rear speakers to the really fine stereo pair.

(Can you guess what speakers I might be talking about?)

the HDMI interconnect - not only a demon of DRM, but also a positive force in control of componentry

Standards are a wonderful thing. The establishing of standards allows everyone to be on the same page. It allows cost reductions by streamlining the ways things work together. It would seem that all who manufacture in a market segment would be happy for standards, and adhere to them.

 and you thought the wiring inside was simple!

In 2008, it still is not so. Only the standards with the most stringent control are followed. Each manufacturer somehow feels that they must get ‘a leg up’ on the competition. So it is with the HDMI CEC standard.

As most know, HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interconnect, and now the CEC stands for Consumer Electronics Control. CEC is a feature of the HDMI 1.2 standard that should be implemented on every device with HDMI 1.3. Strange…you bet.

think about the connection mess that HDMI can save you from!

The CEC is designed (by a housewife masquerading as an engineer, no doubt, who detested any wires showing in her living room!) to allow things plugged together to work from one remote. Sounds great, and that’s how it was designed to be, eliminating extra remotes, IR blasters, and many other problems.

The problem is that not many people know about it, and the public needs to pressure all the manufacturers to standardize on a ‘cute’ name for it, and also allow full interoperability.

Right now, LG calls its version of CEC, SimpleLink. Toshiba calls its version CE-Link. Other manufacturers don’t bother with the cute names, allowing the prospective buyer to either dig for the specification, or remain ignorant. Ignorance can be a good thing, or so the folks at Sony think. You see, their CEC version only allows interaction and control of other Sony products. The unaware will probably think Sony has done them a huge favor, if only the customer will stay within the brand, not realizing that they are confining them in a way not necessary at all.

Remember, this is still an evolving standard, so it can change for the better.

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Panasonic DMP-BD30 - sleek, compact, and snappy!

One of the problems of almost all ( well, every one I saw) of the first generation Blu-ray players was the excruciatingly long start time from disc insertion to play. Perhaps this was due in part to the amount of anticipation that was supposed to build while the disc was loading, but it was frustrating.  The Panasonic DMP-BD30 improves upon this slow time to ready by a wide margin, and brings pictures up much more like a standard DVD player.

The unit works well with upconversion of standard DVD titles also, so keeping an older player around for that purpose is no longer necessary. Old Faithful can be retired to the bedroom, a kid’s room, or perhaps the den.

The unit is very compact, measuring 2.3 by 16.9 by 12.6 inches (HWD). This is significantly smaller than many other components, but fortunately the width is close to the 17 inches that has become a de facto standard. It will blend.

a good layout of rear ports

On its rear panel, the DMP-BD30 provides a wide array of video ports, including HDMI and component. Audio output options (in addition to HDMI) include coaxial and optical digital as well as stereo and 5.1-channel analog. Audiophiles will appreciate the BD30’s ability to deliver bitstream audio output to a compatible AVR (via HDMI) with high-quality audio formats such as Dolby Digital + , Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD (regular and Master Audio).

One thing a little absurd, especially after the latest shakeup in DVD players, is the lack of an easy way to update firmware. There is no ethernet port, an although there is an SD card reader, updates cannot be loaded from it. No, the method is downloading an update on a computer, then burning to compact disc, then loading into the player. It should work fine, but seems a little convoluted for the largest electronics company in the world to produce.

The SD slot loads and shows pictures very easily, and has a good browser for viewing in an order of your choosing. Perhaps another compact disc update will allow the SD slot to load firmware, so that compact discs will not need to be wasted on updates.

Picture quality is good, with all inputs, the controls on the front panel and remote are thoughtfully laid out, and the unit is a good value at its list price of just a nickel under $500. Hopefully, the unit will come down with further competition, and larger adoption by the viewing public.

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Have you ever wondered why some people pay ridiculous prices for speaker cables, while others will use anything that conducts electricity? The science and arcane magic of speaker wire is something that many people have no real idea about, and so terrible decisions are made, making for inferior quality sound, and sometimes money completely wasted.

thick with lots of individual strands - yes, that’s the ticket!

As I’ve spoken before, speaker wire of good quality is essential for a high damping factor, and the speaker control that it provides. What many simply do not understand, as evidenced by the choice of wire, is that since music reproduction is complex, there is no easy solution when it comes to speaker wire. Bass reproduction depends on a large amount of current moving through the wire, so a wire as thick as can be tolerated is what is needed. On the other hand, high frequencies travel on the outer part of the wire strand, due to something known as ‘corona’ or ’skin effect’. This means that a single strand of wire of a low gauge (low numerically, high in diameter) will not get the job done well. What works best is extremely fine strands of wire, bundled together to make a rope of sufficient size for the quality expected.

Kimber cable is one of the better designs, with many pairs per set, leading to lots of outer surface area, and great high frequency transmission

The other thing about speaker wires is length. Whenever a longer length is needed, the increased resistance offered by the run must be offset by a greater diameter. This is why, when making very long runs of wire, no less than 12 gauge should be used, and choice of a lower gauge still would, of course produce superior results. Finding gauges of finely stranded copper wire lower than 12 can be a problem for many, as the wire 10 gauge or lower is specifically meant for musical use, and those selling it know they can get top dollar. In cases where availability, or cost, is a problem, using multiple runs of 12 gauge is certainly acceptable. ( A few years ago, I had a living room set up where I needed to have speaker wires 36′ long to my Infinity Reference Standard 4.5s. This meant 4 runs of 36′, as this was a stereo, and the speakers were bi-amped. I used 12 gauge Monster Cable (the standard stuff) in quad runs to each connection. This meant I needed 576′ of cable, but this was much cheaper than using something much thicker, such as a very large Kimber Cable or AudioQuest Red, and it produced fine results.

if you are wiring a big job, like the whole house, bulk rolls are the best buy.

Later I changed to having the power amplifiers between the speakers, and using much smaller runs of 9′ per side. This shows the next thing in our lesson about quality. Keeping the amplifier to speaker connections as short as possible, and using high quality interconnects between preamp and power amps.

One last thing, In every case, what is needed for speaker wire is the purest copper wire that can be found. That is because copper is the best conductor of electricity among non-precious metals. Gold is better, and silver the best conductor, but obviously they are costly and would be prohibitively expensive. Also, with silver, oxidation would necessitate almost constant cleaning to keep the conductivity high.

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Several weeks ago the components for a Home Theater PC were discussed, with thoughts on possible choices of case, motherboard/processor combinations, and perhaps the most important item, a tuner or pair of tuners. Two tuners are necessary for those who wish to be able to watch one program while recording another, or recording two programs while another source is being used.

Over at Ars Technica an article recently gave a rundown on the components the editors would use on a HTPC/DVR, and for the most part, I would agree with the assessments made. Where differences are found is in the tuners, where the Ars article calls for tuners by Hauppauge, a well known name in the PC television tuner arena. The Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800 tuners are PCIe, which allows a very fast connection for all data, however, if a PCI connection is needed the WinTV-HVR-1600 can be used, which is functionally identical.

When making my recommendations, I chose units from ATI, which I knew to be of good quality, and few conflicts when installing with either Linux or Windows solutions. I knew of the Hauppauge models, but had heard several bad things about drivers. Those problems seem to have been resolved, as the recommendation was without reservation, so I will go with their recommendation, as the feature set of these models exceeds the ATI models by a fair amount.

The other area of divergence was in the processor needed. I tend to go a tad overboard (but just a tad), as I always like to be sure I am going to cover the very worst circumstances and still have optimal performance. Here I will stay opposed to their recommendation of a dual core Athlon64 5200, as I can see problems when recording two HD data streams and watching a third HD source from elsewhere, like a Blu-ray movie on disc. Remember that the system is juggling 3 streams of data, using part of the CPUs power to deliver sound, and helping with video decoding if the onboard video is being relied upon. The last thing I would want is a mangled recording of something not to be re-broadcast for some time.

So for a system where the highest level of HD is being used (1080i), I would think a quad core would give the best results, especially if using Windows as the operating system - it always has lots of overhead with running processes started and completed at times unable to be controlled by the user. There is also a possibility that a tri core would do it, but right now the AMD pricing structure dictates that anyone who isn’t brain would pay the extra $20-$25, and get the 4th core.

make sure your motherboard can handle the power requirements of the processor chosen

When I made the last set of choices, I was calling for a motherboard using the 780 chipset from AMD, and that was a good choice for a dual core CPU. The time since has seen quad cores come out, and down in price, so they have become a choice instead, for the reasons stated above, Other factors have been discovered since the 780 chipset recommendation, and this may not be the best choice if a quad core PCU is used. It appears that not many of the 780 chipset boards can supply enough clean power for the quad core chips. There are some manufacturers that say the board is quad core compatible, but when checking further it is found that the power delivery system was skimped on, and should not be used with a Phenom processor. Check to make sure so that no heap of useless fiberglass and metal is created in your lab, Dr, Funkenstein.

As always, a good power supply is needed, and will further help with the possible overheating, as enough power actually creates less heat, and quality supplies usually have better heat extraction.

Sound is another area where differences in taste will make users wish for better than onboard sound. This may cause other changes to need to be made. MicroATX  motherboards will typically be hard to get a sound card in, after adding a higher quality video solution and the two tuners, so a move to a larger case and ATX motherboard may be dictated.

I will be reporting the the latest in sound cards in the nest few days, including the obvious choices from Creative, and lesser known but high quality cards from Asus and M-Audio.

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In a move to increase awareness and promote the sales of an upcoming DVD release, the producers of the documentary ‘Leading to War’, a summation of the steps to the invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration, are offering a 72 minute Quicktime download of the movie. The 440 MB file is being offered free of charge, and is promoting sales of the disc release. Also available is the ability to view the entire film online.

This seems counterintuitive, as many will certainly download the file, and watch at their convenience. Others will watch online, avoiding the space taken on a local drive. But why would anyone then purchase the DVD?

The site, LeadingtoWar.com, has no word on whether the DVD, offered through Amazon, will have any special features, or investigative files not included in the movie. The ability for the easy worldwide understanding has already been provided, as the subtitles are available in 19 different languages.

from itwire.com

They say their strategy is  "pushing the boundaries of film distribution beyond the new media strategies of even the most forward-thinking Hollywood studios," and claim that "This is a far more powerful distribution system than is possible in theatres, as this release is available on demand, around the world."

They describe their business model as being: "what noted venture capitalist and blogger Fred Wilson named ‘The Freemium Business Model’," namely: "Give your service away for free, possibly ad supported but maybe not, acquire a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, etc, then offer premium priced value added services or an enhanced version of your service to your customer base."

In this case the premium offering is the movie on DVD, available for purchase from Amazon.com, which provides a higher viewing experience. The producers expect that DVD sales will be significantly increased by the higher viewership and awareness  resulting from free availability.

The movie, ‘Leading to War’ runs for 72 minutes and can be either watched in streaming mode or downloaded as a single file (440Mbytes in QuickTime format). In conjunction with the movie, a companion website, www.LeadingToWar.com , "examines the strategies and rhetorical techniques used by Bush officials." The film and website together are claimed to "create the most comprehensive online resource about the build-up to the Iraq War."

Leading to War is available with subtitles in 19 languages and, according to producer, Lewis Wheeler, "Within days of LeadingToWar.com going live, the film was viewed in each of the 19 subtitled languages, and within two weeks the site was visited from 142 different countries… We are amazed at the initial results." (However he does not disclose the number of downloads).

To optimise the online Leading To War the producers are using the Akamai content delivery network which has 20,000 edge servers worldwide. This, they say "improves the quality of the streaming as well as the speed of download in virtually every country."

Leading To War was directed by Barry Hershey and edited by two-time Emmy Award winner Marc Grossman. It has been constructed from selected news footage.

 

I personally believe that if the content was more entertaining (like most home theater content), and less disheartening, the purchase of a DVD would be assured. The thing is, no one really wants to see this more than once. It does point to the fact that content producers are thinking ahead to downloadable content, certainly fee based, and getting a look ‘at the lay of the land’.

Certainly many will eschew the purchase of a hard copy, thinking that the packaging, including any notations, additional information, and printed pictures are unnecessary. Should I feel inclined to see this again, I would certainly purchase the DVD, in the same vein as musical content - downloading the (possibly adulterated) material is simply not enough.

Perhaps the producers are not crazy after all.

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This morning, after scouring for more deals on home theater equipment (yes, I was looking yesterday, I did not forget!) I happened across an article in Wired about the coming changes in the state of broadband, which the article calls ‘Broadband 2.0′. The article states that the landscape of broadband will change significantly in the next 2 years.

these will be the companies bring most of the digital goodness in the next 2 years

As someone who follows this daily, I was a bit surprised at the time frame, and the claimed increase in speed. I was also surprised by the claimed impetus for the entire change. The next two years, according to largest national purveyors, Verizon and Comcast, will bring us speeds in the vicinity of 60Mb/s average downloads, and uploads in the 15 Mb/s range. And the reason for this almost order of magnitude difference? Why YouTube, of course! The video giant apparently has everyone but the neighbor’s cat excited about the ability to enjoy the embarrassment of anyone caught unaware. The service is taking the form of early television’s ‘Candid Camera’ with its ability for anyone to put interesting content up for the entire connected world to see. Arthur Godfrey is smiling from somewhere right now!

The article states that with the help of FiOS and DOCSIS 3.0, Verizon and Comcast will bring us up to at least these average speeds, up from the paltry 4.8Mb/s we now have as a nation. Currently Verizon is building out the fiber in 17 states, and Comcast seems to be preparing its upcoming claimed 200 Mb/s  ( the top speed of the DOCSIS 3.0 specification) network everywhere it has presence.

With this speed available, perhaps video streaming of HD movies won’t be the pie-in-the-sky concept it seems now. At even the full capability of standard definition, downloading missed television episodes would be trivial for anyone in the family.

and a tower PC in the corner, quietly providing everything but the popcorn

What is going to be needed for this? An HTPC with the latest processor, a quality video card (no current onboard graphics will do - we’ll see what nVidia has upcoming), and hard drive space like you’ve not imagined in your wildest dreams. Most motherboards have 4 or more SATA ports on them now, and you’ll want a terabyte-sized drive on each one of them. If you really want to be prepared, perhaps a Promise SATA controller allowing 4 more drives can be added. Cost? Well, it won’t be cheap, but it won’t cause a run on the Fed either. Big drives are getting scarily cheap. Perhaps Iomega will be able to make a comeback with the number of Rev drives purchased for backup of content.

So in the next few days I’ll be looking forward, and giving  a complete assessment of the new, next generation HTPC will look like, both inside and out.

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For so long, there just have not been that many things on sale (at one time) involving home theater. Now, there are finally some deals that make sense to speak about. So, without further delay…

Frys.com offers the Panasonic Viera TH-50PX80U 50" Widescreen Plasma HD Television for $1,199 with free shipping.  Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include built-in ATSC, NTSC, and QAM tuners, 1024×768 16:9 native resolution (720p), 15,000:1 contrast ratio, Secure Digital Card slot, and HDMI, component, S-Video, and RCA video inputs. Deal ends April 29. This is one of the newest lines from Panasonic, many accolades have been heaped upon these designs already.

CompUSA.com offers the factory-refurbished Vizio GV52L 52" Widescreen LCD HD Television for $1,449.99 with free shipping. That’s a $412 drop since February and the lowest total price seen for any 52" Vizio LCD. Features include a native resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p), 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, integrated ATSC and NTSC tuners, and HDMI, VGA, component, S-Video, RCA, and coaxial video inputs. A 90-day Vizio warranty applies. Vizio is an acknowledged leader in LCD value. Don’t let the 90 day warranty scare you, if the unit makes it through 90 days it should have a good long life. Don’t forget to protect the unit from voltage problems and buy a good surge protector or UPS!

 Yet another deal from Frys.com,  offers the Samsung LN-T4669 46" 1080p 120Hz Widescreen LCD HD Television for $1,799 with free shipping. That’s  the lowest total price ever seen for a 120Hz Samsung 46" LCD TV, excluding refurbished units. Features include a 120Hz refresh rate, 1920×1080 (1080p) native resolution, ATSC, NTSC, and QAM tuners, 20,000 dynamic contrast ratio, 550 cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time, and three HDMI, VGA, component, S-Video, and RCA inputs. Samsung at a great price, and 1080p!

Frys.com offers the Sony BRAVIA W-Series 46" 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. KDL-46W3000, for $1,799. With free shipping, that’s $100 under the mention from a month ago and the lowest total price seen. Sales tax is added where applicable. It features a native resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p), ATSC and QAM tuners, 1800:1 contrast ratio, three HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, S-Video, and RCA video inputs. Deal ends April 29. Sony top of the line from Fry’s!

newegg.com offers the Linksys WRT150N Draft 802.11n 4-Port Wireless Router for $59.99 with free shipping. That’s the lowest total price we could find by $20. This router uses a draft version of the 802.11n standard. It features MIMO technology. This is one of the best prices seen for a draft N router, and this unit has gotten a couple of great reviews. Another nice thing is knowing that it will be flashable to the N standard once ratified, due to Cisco quality assurance.

Dell Home offers the Logitech MX Air Wireless Air Laser Mouse, model no. 931633-0403, for $99.99. With free shipping, that ties our mention two weeks ago as the lowest total price we’ve seen by $30. Sales tax is added where applicable. This gyroscopic mouse allows you to operate it in the air, without the use of a desk. It features a USB receiver / cradle, 30-foot range, polishing cloth, and more. Deal ends May 1. This unit is perfect for those running XP Media Center Edition, or any Linux version as a DVR/ Media Center.

Logitech quality at a great price - jump on this quick!

Staples has a great deal for those looking for a new computer monitor that will also do duty as a small theater screen. The Dell 22" widescreen LCD has a native 1440 by 900 resolution, a 5 ms response time, and 1000:1 contrast ratio. The 5ms response may be a tad slow for gamers, but should give beautiful results with video. It is currently $50 off at 279.98. Also available is the 24" widescreen monitor at $50 off standard pricing. No picture available - unit is black on black with no accents.

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Still looking, more later today!

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Much ado is made of the On Demand services offered by several purveyors of content. The word is bandied about as though it was a foregone conclusion that it was true.

Let us be clear. There is no On Demand for anyone. On Demand connotes that the user can order anything ever committed to video tape or DVD and have instantaneous results. At best, the On Demand that I have seen is a small subsection of the content of a few purveyors available in a few minutes time.

the basic Series 2 unit - a model of simplicity that pleases like nothing else for the avid television fan!

TiVo is the best design of DVR software that I have ever seen. It outclasses the offerings of any cable or satellite purveyor, and has usability that must have been worked on by many people who genuinely cared about the outcome. Everything works as you would expect, kind of like the original Apple Mac operating system. The only other thing today that I can compare usability with and not be talking about another level of convenience would be the best of the Nokia cell phone offerings.

the  HD unit will make you, and your LCD or plasma screen very happy…

Times have been tough for TiVo, and lots of red ink was used on their profit charts. However, with the updates to the software, the deals with content providers to bring content directly to the units from the internet, and the outcome of the litigation against Dish Network, the future looks rosy for the foreseeable future. also, with each one of the updates, the TiVo itself gets closer to the ideal of the instantaneous concept of On Demand. The provisions being made for content to be made available proves that the same sort of care to design the ergonomics is used with content acquisition.

With purveyors of upgrades and repairs like Weaknees, the ability to personalize, update and care for each TiVo is possible. The only thing that will cause devastation is catastrophic hard drive failure, and thankfully, that happens less and less.

sometimes deals can mitigate the up-front cost, but even if you can’t find a deal, biting the bullet leads to lots of happiness!

It’s too bad that Dish Network did not have the sense to work with TiVo, as they could have been the envy of all the customers of other cable and satellite services. Those of us who have DirecTV cling to our DirecTiVos for dear life, as the powers that be seem to have forgotten how happy these units make their subscribers. With the move to HD by many, and the extra dollars generated by classification of that as premium content, it would make sense for every content provider to make a deal with TiVo, but sadly, humans don’t always choose the best course.

Although buying a TiVo outright isn’t as appealing for some as renting one from their content provider, the joy that the unit provides must be factored in - simply recording the content is not enough. Getting to the content, working the controls, and classifying and prioritizing is also important, and cannot be easily quantified. It’s like driving a great car versus a Yugo - both might get you from A to B, but how happy you will be when you arrive is wildly different.

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First, for those not familiar:

Occam’s razor - n.   A rule in science and philosophy stating that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known. Also called law of parsimony.

also - when two competing hypotheses explain the data equally well, choose the simpler. Named for Eng. philosopher William of Ockham (c.1285-c.1349).

- from Dictionary.com

like the straight razor, the concept of Occam’s Razor gets to the point - the best way of doing things is usually the simplest

Knowing that Occam’s razor works in science in mathematics, I thought it might be good to apply it to home audio reproduction.  The trend these days is to go the other direction, and I feel that is wrong.

The very best example is well mic’ed, well recorded productions of an orchestra. When reproduced on very good quality equipment, there is absolutely no need for a center channel, for rear speakers, or for any manipulation of the signal, such as surround processors or time-delay devices. When looking at the signal from a scientific standpoint, anything changed or modified from the original signal is distortion. Now we look at components like amplifiers, and look for the lowest possible total harmonic distortion, the lowest intermodulation distortion, and the lowest transient intermodulation distortion. We would not think of accepting an amplifier with 5% TIM distortion, yet we introduce changes in sound of 10% and above routinely, not realizing this is also distortion.

That was the example of best circumstances. Not that it happens that often. What often happens is that the source material is not recorded well, both in terms of quality of equipment used, such as inferior microphones, but also the placement of the microphones does not allow correct soundstaging. This is precisely what multichannel sound was made for.

so many microphones, so many types, how does one choose? It’s not only a problem for the average human, professionals often argue about choice of, and placement.

Microphones not correctly placed? Putting more of them in the setup will pick up more of the total performance, hopefully gaining more realistic sound. This is how the theory goes.

On the other end of things, where we are trying to reproduce the sound, there are reasons why we don’t want omniphonic sound.  Each speaker we introduce into the mix means more hardware that must be purchased, and, for the same amount of cash we have lesser quality. Lower quality speakers and lower power amplifiers do not yield the same quality sound. As a matter of fact, given all else being equal, it would be preferable to have 5 full-range channels, as opposed to  the current 5.1 arrangement, where bass is only reproduced in one place, with a mix that many times produces strange aural clues.

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Today gives us the release of yet another contender in the online media maze, as Adobe releases AMP, or Adobe Media Player. The release version is 1.0 and comes in at only a little over a megabyte, but that is deceptive, as the installer calls up the installation of the AIR platform, also from Adobe.

another winner it seems

While the player might be dismissed as simply another attempt to get a piece of the multimedia online pie, Adobe seems to have done things right, as they have enlisted the help of some heavyweight content providers to assure the success of the project. Users can find, then sort their favorite content and can search for new material. They can also subscribe to favorite shows that are featured, and are then reminded when new episodes are available.

During the product’s beta period of almost exactly one year, it had already obtained official partners — including CBS, MTV Networks, and NBC/Fox joint venture Hulu — which began using the non-release version anyway as an alternate delivery platform for their shows. So the player was already receiving widespread attention before its official release.

some content heavyweights have been enlisted

The player was designed from the start to be advertiser supported, so it will, ostensibly, remain free throughout its life - nice to know, since many things begin as a labor of love, then the profit motive rears its ugly head. At least here both sides are getting what they want, with only minor inconveniences to the users.

The guys at Adobe know how to appeal to many, with things like full episodes of programs like CSI: Miami all the way to 79 episodes of the original Star Trek, complete and uncut.

Another nice thing is that the content will be available for online or offline viewing. The media player will also be delivering high definition content in either 720p or 1080p. Very nice since this will allow machines with less raw power to share the high def experience, albeit slightly truncated.

For the budget home theater user (discussed here) this means another way to get quality high definition content on the cheap.

Just a few hours old, and the player looks like another winner from Adobe. (and something else for Microsoft to try to copy!)

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Adobe, Media Player, AIR, CBS, MTV, high definition content, FOX, NBC, television programming

It’s a welcome thought for all users of TiVo, as the software now in place, although rock solid, could use some refinements. It seems that customer dissatisfaction with a couple of points of service has not escaped the powers that be, and a new software update, revision 9.3, will address the lack of speed when setting up or modifying a Season Pass.

with the updates, you’ll be seeing less of this, if only a few seconds less

Reported by Betanews is that the TiVo software version 9.3 will significantly speed up nearly all of the common tasks that customers do with a TiVo. No longer will the DVR pause for nearly a minute while it reorders Season Pass priorities or stall for half a minute when a Season Pass is created. Users will see between 10 and 30 second speed improvements in these areas

the Series 2 TiVo, not as pretty as Series 3, but a workhorse that many cling to

All changes to programming are said to feel snappier, with a two to 6 second speed change for all choices. As someone who owns two DirecTiVos, I am certainly hoping that the changes will be made available to us, but I won’t be holding my breath, as the past two change cycles reported to be passed on by DirecTV were not, and the ‘droids of Customer Service seem to have their heads in the sand, as they seem unable to state anything, save that which is on a script in front of them.

will DirecTiVo users get the update? Maybe, as it has nothing to do with DRM or other content management

These changes will find their way only to Series 2 TiVo units, which the DirecTiVos are, but as usual, the best thing for standalone Series One users is the upgrade cycle. For standalone Series 2 users, the update is currently available on the TiVo website, if you’re feeling anxious - otherwise the update is scheduled for the next few weeks, and as all others will certainly be staggered.

So again TiVo gives its customers what they want, a sure way to engender loyalty, and something to look forward to in an otherwise bleak year.

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