Ecoustics has information on optimal HDTV size and viewing distances. The formulas and tables are based on the work of Bernard J Lechner who was an EE and VP at RCA. For 1080p, the optimal viewing distance works out to be about 1.6 times the diagonal screen size. Since the HDTV is becoming rather common [...]
Gizmodo describes a stereo mic for your iphone with the idea that it’d make for a “sneaky bootlegging tool.” That’s really only the old way to do it. One of these days, a group of concert-goers, maybe tens or even hundreds strong, will team up. Each will record the concert on their personal communications device. [...]
The ‘net neutrality’ thing was about billing and bundling. I’net access is something usually bundled. The cable companies bundle it as an add-on to their traditional media delivery. Telephone companies added it to their land line voice services. Cell phone companies bundle it in with their voice, and now, text services. When it comes to [...]
Lisa Gerstner has a good rundown on Budget-Friendly Alternatives to Cable TV as it stands at present. This is an area where pricing schemes are still in their infancy. Broadcast TV depends upon inline advertising, Cable and Satellite depend upon user fees. Both of those supported the infrastructure for delivery as a part of their [...]
Amazon has joined Netflix in offering video programming via the I’net. Ainer.org is happy because Ubuntu & Linux Mint Compatible Amazon Prime Unlimited Instant Video Streaming Now Available!. Amazon is not only a bit cheaper, they use standard Flash so any browser with a functioning Flash plugin will do to utilize the service. This is [...]
The big story this week seems to be a new cable standard for high definition TV’s. “Valens, LG, Samsung and Sony teamed up to work on an entirely new cabling system named HDBaseT.Valens, LG, Samsung and Sony teamed up to work on an entirely new cabling system named HDBaseT.” (Tech.Blorge). This is an ‘about time’ [...]
You may have heard (PhysOrg A computer scientist in France has broken all previous records for calculating Pi, using only a personal computer. The previous record was approximately 2.6 trillion digits, but the new record, set by Fabrice Bellard, now stands at almost 2.7 trillion decimal places. Which is impressive but there is more in [...]
HandBrake has just release version 0.9.4. It is one of the easiest ways to transcode recorded video or DVD’s to modern compressed multimedia files. This version supports 64 bit processors and narrows the focus somewhat towards m4v output with constant quality. If you are copying your DVD collection to electronic storage for convenient use with [...]
The tour bus, which took 100 hours of design time and 300 hours of installation time to complete, has seven miles of of cabling from Liberty Cable, five miles of Cat5 wiring and 3,000 feet of CresNET. The pre-wiring was done before the walls on the tour bus went up, requiring large bulks of wiring [...]
There are some folks who prefer listening to vinyl records run through a tube amplifier rather than a CD with a modern amp. There is a similar situation with video that is starting to show up with high definition fast refresh displays. Help Key: Why 120Hz looks “weird” at Crunch Gear takes a look and, [...]