Last week was positive in my HDTV adventure. I am able to receive Directv's HD signal and am very satisfied with Directv HR20 DVR. The software seems solid, although not as intuitive as Tivo, it is definitely heads and shoulders above Scientific Atlanta's 8300HD. HDMI works and so far I found the picture quality to be excellent, however when too much compression is applied to the signal it is very noticeable. Yesterday, the quality of the video of the Masters on CBS was excellent, change to hockey on NBC and it was horrible compared to the off air signal. Directv has been a pioneer in the transmission of digital video and compression is a big part of the game given the limited satellite bandwidth. They have received awards for their management of bit rates across multiple channels. However with the much higher bit rates required for HD, bandwidth management becomes much more complicated. I can see the point in Philip Kent Cohen's (see article here) lawsuit with Directv, but it seems TV stations are starting to employ the sames tricks to transmit multiple HD channels on one frequency. With digital transmission you also have to account for the source of the video and the old computer adage "garbage in garbage out" is quite appropriate. In the end picture quality is in the eye of the beholder, but there is no doubt that higher bit rates = better picture as long as your display can support it.
Jumping over to audio, the $.30 extra for EMI tracks without DRM on iTunes, also gets you a 256Kbps bit rate, twice that of the current 128Kbps of protected tracks. The 128Kbps tracks are reasonable for everyday listening with ear buds, however once you try to use a decent stereo with your iPod, there is a noticeable difference between content ripped from CDs and purchased from iTunes. I rip CD content at 160Kpbs as a balance between quality and file size, however the theoretical bit rate for CDs is 192Kpbs making the EMI unprotected content better than CD quality. Albums will be priced at the same $9.99 as protected ones, which makes it a no brainier if you are interested in the entire album. It will be interesting to see how well the EMI unprotected tracks sell, I hope they do, although the risk is that it may force iTunes into tiered pricing which I do not believe is good for the consumer.
I am now using my new Lenovo Thinkpad X60 Tablet with Windows Vista Business to blog. Lenovo has tweaked the original IBM X41 design and so far I like it. Given my previous Vista upgrade experience, I have decided not to transfer my settings, I copied the locals files I wanted, set up file synchronization with my Vista Ultimate, and I am installing applications from scratch.
This week I will have more to say on:
- My HDTV adventure with HDMI, component outputs and SlingPlayer
- My Lenovo X60 Tablet
- The Verizon Aircard 595 I am reviewing for pocketnow.com
My review of the BlueAnt V12 LCD Bluetooth headset is in the queue to be published at pocketnow.com.
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