^^^ Please excuse the Ad. I can thank Shaw for that. ^^^
Ramblings of a Technology Nut |
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A techno-weenie based in Victoria BC, Canada reveals how he wastes all his time on computers and electronic entertainment.
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High Definition Television (HDTV) againThis is an update on my previous post about HDTV.If you're a Shaw customer who is thinking about going HiDef, there's a new Digital Cable Terminal box available: the Motorola DCT 6200. So don't bother with the old DCT 5100's now, you may as well get the new box. They look very similar, so check the model number. Here's some links about the DCT 5100 and the new DCT 6200: Motorola High Definition STB (unofficial) FAQ Motorola Guide to HD and SD Video Processing on the DCT-5100 (.pdf) (also applies to 6200) Motorola High-Definition Cable Receiver DCT5100 Motorola High-Definition Cable Receiver DCT6200 Motorola DCT5100 product detail Motorola DCT6200 Series product detail Motorola HDTV Basics Motorola HDTV Information And in Victoria, Shaw is now up to 6 channels of HDTV (129, 130, 136-139). Edit Dec 10, 2003: This just in... Shaw says they will be introducing the DCT-6208 around Feb 2004. If so, some people who would consider the DCT-6200 might want to hold on and wait for the DCT-6208, which adds PVR functions (digital recording of SD and HD). Motorola High-Definition Cable Receiver DCT6208
New Advanced PDAsSome interesting new PDAs are on their way in the next few months. Here's two of them (not yet released). Unfortunately neither meet my "ultimate PDA" criteria of running embedded WinXP. Looks like I may be waiting a bit longer still.Palm Tungsten T3 Sony CLIE UX50
The (unofficial) InFocus X1 Projector FAQThe definitive resource for InFocus X1 owners or those considering buying one.OK, it's not quite there yet. In fact, it's just at the DRAFT stage still.But that's what I hope my new InFocus X1 FAQ will become over the next month. I spent quite a bit of time on it last week, and I plan to spend a lot more time on it. If all goes according to plan, by this time next month it should contain an astonishing amount of information about the InFocus X1. I've become unexpectedly caught up in the hobby (or at least that's what we addicts-in-denial call it) of Home Theater. Not that I can afford to be, and not that I have a particularly impressive home theater. But that's really the point. You no longer have to be rich and you don't have to own top of the line equipment to have a very satisfying system. Front projection in particular has really come down in price, to a point where it is competitive with large screen TVs. And besides just being a great source of entertainment, there is also a lot of technology involved, most of which I haven't paid much attention to until now. At this point I'm caught up in the visual aspects: the projector and HDTV. But one day, if the budget allows, I may eventually shop for a new sound system as well. At which time I'll get serious about Dolby 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital and all that good stuff. However, in the meantime I will be collecting all the information I can find about the X1 and trying to distill it down to something of interest to anybody with an X1 now or in their future. My motivation is to not let all my research go to waste benefitting only me. I may as well take the time to document it so that others can benefit as well. Check back soon, there should be frequent updates to the FAQ over the next few weeks.
High Definition Television (HDTV)Earlier this month I took the plunge and added HDTV to my list of technology toys. It was a natural addition to my recent Home Theatre setup.I needed another Shaw digital cable terminal for the theatre room anyway. But even just last month my only choice would have been to buy another Motorola DCT 2000. However, I was aware that some HDTV channels had just been added to the cable lineup (ch. 130, 136, 137, 138, 139) even though Shaw had not announced HDTV's availability in Victoria yet. Those same channels had previously been introduced by Shaw in Calgary and Vancouver and HDTV was officially available in those areas. It seemed like all I needed was to get the HDTV digital cable terminal (the Motorola DCT 5100) and I'd be set!  But when I called the Victoria Shaw office they said they were still just testing HDTV here. However, I discovered that a retailer in town actually had some of the new DCT 5100's in stock. I knew it would just be a matter of time until I could get it activated, so I bought one. Well after I brought it into the Shaw office they agreed to activate it for me, but warned me that they really were still just testing. The only other 5100's in town were in the homes of four Shaw managers and one unhappy customer who had picked up his box the day before. Shaw asked that if I experienced any trouble with it would I please be patient. Since I've been a beta guinea pig many times before, I had no problem agreeing to their terms. As it turns out, after just one evening of difficulties getting Shaw to add the HDTV channels to my account, it has actually been relatively trouble free. There are a few dropouts, particularly audio dropouts with some of the demo channel material. And there still isn't a whole lot of content in true HD format yet. But when you see some of the programs that are in HD... well the clarity and resolution is nothing less than astounding! It looks even better than a DVD when projected to a 7 foot image, and really it has the potential to be much better but my projector resolution becomes the limiting factor. I won't go into a long explanation of what HDTV is in this post (maybe I'll get back to it in a future post), but here's a link to a bit of an HDTV overview from Motorola. If you are interested in more information about the Motorola DCT 5100, there are the usual guides and manuals but the best (most technical) document is rather well hidden. It used to be at that site for a little while, but for some reason Motorola took the link down. However, they didn't actually remove the document from the server and I know the URL for it. And you don't! ahahahah! OK, ok... I'll stop stringing you along. What you want is the Guide to HD and SD Video Processing on the DCT-5100 (and I suggest you right-click on that link and do a "Save Target As..." to keep a local copy in case Motorola decides to actually remove the document and not just the link). Believe me, if you are at all interested in the technical side of the DCT 5100, you want that document. I wish more products had technical documentation like this available to the public. Edit June 21/2003: For some reason, Google has this post very high in the search results for the DCT 5100 and is sending me quite a few hits. I highly recommend that anybody looking for more info about the DCT 5100 also look at the Motorola DCT5100 FAQ. Edit Dec 6/2003: See my updated post for new information. There is another DCT available on Shaw now, the DCT6200. The bottom line is that I'm now one of the few people that actually has HDTV, I'm certainly one of the very few that can project it to a 7 foot or larger picture, and I love it!
Ultra-Portable ComputersI'm still keeping an eye out for my ultimate PDA (should run XP), and in the process I'm running across some very interesting portables that are smaller than a laptop or notebook but not quite small enough to be a PDA. Here's a sampling:Sony VAIO PCG-GT3/K
A combination PC/Video Camera Sony VAIO PCG-U3
Vulcan Mini-PC
InFocus X1 Projector
My new Home Theatre purchase, after extensive research, was the InFocus X1 Projector. It may not be a thing of beauty on the outside, but it projects a beautiful image. My main criteria was affordability, and this projector fits the bill. It is one of the least expensive projectors available at this time, at around $2,000 Canadian. That may sound like a lot if you haven't looked at projectors before, but the price range starts there and goes up to $10,000 or more. A good Home Theatre projector can easily cost $5,000 without being extravagant. But I decided that for my first projector, I should stay at the low end of the price range so long as I wasn't having to compromise too much. And if I couldn't find something decent at the low end, then I was going to hold off until prices came down or until I won the lottery. I mean, it's not like I need a projector, this is a luxury item for me. But the great thing about the X1 is that I don't feel that there are a lot of compromises. You get a heck of a lot for your money. I won't go into too much depth about the features and specs, you can read those for yourself at the product site. The highlights for me are that this is a DLP projector, so I don't have to worry about burn-in even if I use it for computer and video games (a drawback for CRT and Plasma screen technologies), and it includes high quality Faroudja DCDi signal processing, which is often not included in projectors costing much more. But don't take my word for it that this is a fantastic bargain-priced projector, I urge you to read the review at Projector Central for an independent opinion. Perhaps in awhile I'll write a more critical review on my experiences with the X1. It is not completely without flaws, but I'm very happy with it. Given a choice between this and a rear projection TV or CRT TV in the same price range, I like this. I'd even pick it over a more expensive Plasma TV. Of course, each of them has their pros and cons for a particular situation, but none of them can match my 7 foot (yes, that's 84" diagonal) widescreen picture. Not big enough for you? Just move the projector back a bit further. If you're looking for a movie theatre type of experience, you can't beat it. More about Home Theatre coming soon. I've done a lot of research lately, and I'll try to share some of what I have learned.
technut returnsYes, I've neglected my weblog for over a month. I don't have a great excuse, but I think I can explain it. I've been distracted by several things.For one, I'm a news addict. Especially television news. If there are any big stories, I'm glued to the TV. And Space exploration, manned or unmanned, is also one of my favourite subjects (lots of technology). So with the loss of the shuttle Columbia, there was lots and lots of news that I couldn't tear myself away from. It also brought another of my interests into play, which is problem analysis and failure analysis. I've always been fascinated by shows that analyse why something failed or why an accident happened, but usually those shows come out months or years after the fact. The failure analysis of the Columbia has been played out in public in real time with an almost unprecedented degree of openness. Even though the investigation has mostly dropped off the news now, there is still lots of information coming out of NASA and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board hearings on NASA TV. Another distraction has been my indepth research into a new purchase I recently made and the time I've spent with it since. I'll save the details for another post, but it has to do with Home Theatre. This is not a subject that I had looked at much (other than with envy) because decent equipment seemed out of reach for my budget. The good news is, as a result of all that research, I found something I could afford and it works great for my purposes. Stay tuned for more. And finally, the distraction I'm almost ashamed to admit to, Reality TV. I can't get enough of it. And the networks have been loaded with it this season. I find Reality TV much more entertaining than scripted shows. It's not that I care who wins the money or who gets the guy/girl. But I find human nature and behaviour very unpredictable, especially compared to the logic-driven devices I spend too much of my time with. So I like watching how people react in a situation, no matter how contrived the situation is. Even if the situation is contrived, their reactions are real based on the situation they find themselves in. You can't fake a reaction. Even if you are faking a reaction that is different than what you are really feeling, that act of faking is still your reaction to the situation. You can't get escape it. Whatever you do, it is a genuine reaction. I wouldn't dream of staring rudely and remarking on people's reactions in real life, but put it on TV and I can stare at it with fascination and comment all I want, and I feel pretty guilt free about it. That is, except for knowing that a lot of people look down their noses at people who enjoy Reality TV. But I'm not alone in my passion for it, all you have to do is look at Reality TV's rising Nielsen ratings to realize why the networks are putting more of it on TV than ever before. So now that you know what distracted me, you can probably predict that I am still pretty distracted. Big news stories? We've got 'em with the Iraq situation. My Home Theatre purchase? Still loving every moment I spend with it. Reality TV? A bit of a lull for the moment, but that won't last long. And of course there is family life, which believe it or not has to take precedence over my weblog. But I will make more of an effort to add a new post from time to time, if for no other reason than to document my interests so that I can return to them later when I have more time.
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