A bit of a correction.. in the US, to call something Bourbon there's very specific rules as to the barrel types. At least two years in a charred unused white oak barrel. You can make other whiskey in a re-used barrel though it's much rarer. You just can't call it Bourbon legally.
Generally a Scotch Whisky that's carries a label with a specific type of wine finish isn't aged entirely in that barrel. The things you see marketed as Sherry, Madeira, Port, etc. finishes are aged a certain amount of time (usually in Bourbon casks these days) and then "finished" for a year or so in the wine cask.
But it's true, the only type of whisk(e)y aging you'll get once it's in the bottle is the bad kind. This is difficult to do luckily, unless you have a poor seal or you leave an inch or so in the bottom. Even then it often takes a long time.
If you want to see this in action quickly, pour about half an ounce of Bourbon into a brandy snifter and let it sit for a while. Eventually it should turn cloudy and the taste will be terrible.
I know this is anathema to the Slashdot crowd, but I wonder if one could use this to watch four sporting events at once like sports bars do with big projection screens. There's enough HD feeds on most systems to make this look pretty nice. ESPN, ESPNHD, the various broadcast networks, FSNHD, NFL Network HD, INHD special events, etc. Just switch the audio feed around as needed.
Also would be cool when they do ESPN Full Circle where you get the same game but with different camera priorities on ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, ESPNEWS, and ESPNU. That's a sports geek's dream! Talk about sensory overload.
The do not iron warning on the lottery ticket makes a lot of sense. How many people (outside of computer geeks) really know that most lottery tickets are printed on thermal paper? Get that warm and all of a sudden you have a black ticket that's pretty much ruined. Combine that with the fact that some people like to iron their crumpled up money and I can totally see how some people might need this warning.
Oh sure, put MacOS on the right. This is a blatant attack on Mac users by Windows users to associate them with politics that many aren't familiar with. Come on everyone knows Mac users are liberal emo hippies. This is just insulting!
Most SACDs are hybrid discs. This means they have two layers, a CD and a SACD layer. This allows them to be played in normal CD players however you don't get the extra features like 5.1 surround and higher resolution audio. Generally the music will sound better than the CD only equivalent since many times SACDs are remastered and are a better quality mix than the original CD. But not always.
A lot of the other comments cover reasons why using a PC might not be the best even if the video quality is superior. One thing I want to add is SACD support. My $500 Denon DVD player will play SACDs in addition to all the various DVD things, progressive scan output, etc. I haven't found anything PC or Mac based that will do this. MLP too, but that's less of a concern.
I don't know about energy, but if you're the typical geek who doesn't eat right, check out Emer'gen-C packets. I tend to mix the Strawberry with the Super Orange. Tastes pretty good too.
The docket number is FAA-2005-23449 but all you should enter in the search field is 23449. Right now there's only one comment. I don't know if the DOT has electronic commenting enabled like the FCC does.
You obviously haven't seen a good HD broadcast. First you need a good TV. I recommend a LCD rear projection (like the Sony Grand Wegas) or a good Plasma. Size does matter. Mine's 50" for sitting about 10-12 ft. away and it works quite well.
Then you need to find some good content. Law and Order isn't going to do much for you. Find a sporting event, like a football game, or a baseball game (not on Fox though!) in 720p. Or 1080i. Don't bother with 480p because it looks alright (better than standard definition) but doesn't show off what HD can do.
Or if you don't like sports, check out some shows on PBS. They're very good at showing things like tours of various European cities, or nature shows, or shows about art.
It really is pretty impressive. Out of probably 50 people I know who've been over and seen good HD content since I got my 50", I can't think of a single person who said man, that sucks, I'd rather watch standard definition.
Heh, no, I'm not expecting the last 50 years of TV to suddenly become HD. However, it would be nice if the major networks would broadcast things like the NHL playoffs in HD. Or film more new content in HD. I realize it's young, and the networks are providing more and more. It's just something to gripe about on a boring Sunday.
One of the things that annoys me is the sporting events that are in half assed HD. Like the wide shot of the field is HD, but half the other shots aren't. I know this will eventually get better as HD cameras get better. Though I have to say that Fox doing all their sports in 480p 16x9 really doesn't cut it. But at least they're planning on getting better in the next year or two.
I think the main thing to take away from HD and digital broadcasting right now is that you can get some content, but it's not easy. And don't expect an amazing signal every time you turn to a digital channel. But the networks are definitely getting on the bandwagon and things should be getting noticeably better sooner or later.
The problem with HDTV right now...
on
CableCARDs and HDTV
·
· Score: 5, Informative
The problem with HDTV and digital broadcasting right now is there's very little HD content. Some examples..
PBS around here (San Jose/San Francisco) only broadcasts HD starting at 8pm. They however have pretty decent content and it's all HD when they say it will be. It looks great, it's just limited in what they show.
The rest of the broadcast networks have very little content. Maybe one or two shows a day at best and the occaisional sports event. NBC had the Kentucky Derby in HD yesterday, but it wasn't even advertised as such and I didn't know if it would be HD until I turned it on.
And one of the problems with some of the "HD" broadcasts is that a lot of the cameras they're using aren't even HD. They're standard definition that's then upconverted to either 720p or 1080i. Or if you're Fox, 480p 16x9. So a good bit of "HD" sports is actually just clean SD.
Then there's stuff like ESPNHD. They usually just take the ESPN feed and stretch it to 16x9 which is really lame. They have maybe 4 or 5 events in actual HD per week.
And then there's also the question of how do you get the content? I tried over the air with an antenna and that was just painful. Even a fairly high gain one didn't work too well for me. You can't get broadcast HD over any of the DBS services (Dish, DirecTV, Voom) except CBS. You have to generally get Cable TV for that. So I got Comcast out here and get all the broadcast stuff. But it's still more cost effective for me to have basic digital HD service on cable for HD broadcast content and also have Dish Network 200 service for all the other content.
And I hardly watch TV. Sigh. But I got a HDTV so I really want to watch HD content when I can.
The service I'm currently looking at switching to is Voom which is a DBS service from Cablevision that has something like 30 HD channels, many of which are their own content. It's about the same price as Dish Network, but has fewer channels. Luckily mostly the ones I watch from time to time. I'd have to keep cable for the broadcast channels.
Some people might say it's a waste of time. And they're probably right. But HD does look awesome so at least it's kinda fun.
Actually this is rear projection integrated into the set itself. So you can't really move it around very easily as it's all enclosed in the 50" set. It's pre-aligned so you don't have the problems that you get with CRT projection systems and convergence, etc.
Note that's an insane URL, so if it doesn't work, search for the model KF-50WE610.
The only problem I've found with it, which I consider minor, is a small amount of screendooring on very bright white spots near the center of the screen. So when Gandalf returns as Gandalf the White and is glowing like mad you see a bit of it for instance. This is annoying, but bright whites like that rarely happen in movies and TV so it's not enough to make me want to return the set. The other 99.99% of the time it's amazing.
One of the problems with both DLP and LCOS is that about 10% of people see rainbows when there are fast moving bright spots on the screen. If you can't see them, DLP and LCOS are pretty nice. But if you can see them (like me unfortunately) the experience is terrible.
With DLP this has to do with the spinning color wheel that illuminates the DLP chip with the proper light color. I've read that if they could speed up the spinning by about 5x it wouldn't be noticeable. I guess the reason you see the rainbows is because the colors reach your eye at different times. Someone else can explain it better I'm sure.
I was very excited about LCOS because there's no color wheel and the rainbow problems weren't supposed to be there. I was very disappointed when I went to look at Philips Cineos LCOS units however because I saw rainbows as well. Not as pronounced as DLP, but they were there. Not good.
Luckily soon after that I came across Sony's Grand Wega LCD projection sets. These are beautiful and worth checking out if you want a TV now. I got the 50" one and am extremely happy with it.
A far cry from "35 trillion". To give you an order to this magnitude, some Australian scientists recently announced that there are 70 sextillion stars (give or take) in the known universe.
It may be pedantic, but someone who is so blinded by their work that they make hysterical claims that there's no word for the number they're pushing doesn't make me want to buy into their idea so quickly.
For those who track these bills, it has been assigned bill number HR 2752. This link goes to the Library of Congress Thomas website status and summary page for the bill.
Slashdot Mirror
Generally a Scotch Whisky that's carries a label with a specific type of wine finish isn't aged entirely in that barrel. The things you see marketed as Sherry, Madeira, Port, etc. finishes are aged a certain amount of time (usually in Bourbon casks these days) and then "finished" for a year or so in the wine cask.
But it's true, the only type of whisk(e)y aging you'll get once it's in the bottle is the bad kind. This is difficult to do luckily, unless you have a poor seal or you leave an inch or so in the bottom. Even then it often takes a long time.
If you want to see this in action quickly, pour about half an ounce of Bourbon into a brandy snifter and let it sit for a while. Eventually it should turn cloudy and the taste will be terrible.
At least Star Children get gorgeous views of Earth. RIP sir, your art shaped my youth.
The last picture is possibly the best... "Nutrition Carrier egg yolk pie"?!? That sounds simultaneously disgusting and wonderful.
I know this is anathema to the Slashdot crowd, but I wonder if one could use this to watch four sporting events at once like sports bars do with big projection screens. There's enough HD feeds on most systems to make this look pretty nice. ESPN, ESPNHD, the various broadcast networks, FSNHD, NFL Network HD, INHD special events, etc. Just switch the audio feed around as needed.
Also would be cool when they do ESPN Full Circle where you get the same game but with different camera priorities on ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, ESPNEWS, and ESPNU. That's a sports geek's dream! Talk about sensory overload.
The do not iron warning on the lottery ticket makes a lot of sense. How many people (outside of computer geeks) really know that most lottery tickets are printed on thermal paper? Get that warm and all of a sudden you have a black ticket that's pretty much ruined. Combine that with the fact that some people like to iron their crumpled up money and I can totally see how some people might need this warning.
Oh sure, put MacOS on the right. This is a blatant attack on Mac users by Windows users to associate them with politics that many aren't familiar with. Come on everyone knows Mac users are liberal emo hippies. This is just insulting!
Most SACDs are hybrid discs. This means they have two layers, a CD and a SACD layer. This allows them to be played in normal CD players however you don't get the extra features like 5.1 surround and higher resolution audio. Generally the music will sound better than the CD only equivalent since many times SACDs are remastered and are a better quality mix than the original CD. But not always.
A lot of the other comments cover reasons why using a PC might not be the best even if the video quality is superior. One thing I want to add is SACD support. My $500 Denon DVD player will play SACDs in addition to all the various DVD things, progressive scan output, etc. I haven't found anything PC or Mac based that will do this. MLP too, but that's less of a concern.
Don't know if anyone's posted this link to the ruling on the District Court of DC website:
0 06-MS-11~11:4:55~2-7-2006-a.pdf
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/opinions/2006/Hogan/2
I don't know about energy, but if you're the typical geek who doesn't eat right, check out Emer'gen-C packets. I tend to mix the Strawberry with the Super Orange. Tastes pretty good too.
r oducts.mdb,tbl=products,DB_code=107,DBCOMP=ABS,tem plate=/products/returntitle.htm
r oducts.mdb,tbl=products,DB_code=46,DBCOMP=ABS,temp late=/products/returntitle.htm
Strawberry: http://www.alacer.com/cgi-bin/dbsearch.exe?mdb=/p
Super Orange:
http://www.alacer.com/cgi-bin/dbsearch.exe?mdb=/p
Also, if you want to see the DOT docket for this, go here:
http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm
The docket number is FAA-2005-23449 but all you should enter in the search field is 23449. Right now there's only one comment. I don't know if the DOT has electronic commenting enabled like the FCC does.
That link doesn't seem to be working. Here's the link to it in the Federal Register:
1 800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-24555.pdf
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan2005
It's worth pointing out that Google is traded on the NASDAQ, not the NYSE. A bit different.
The engine is entirely in-house, developed by Guild Software. See:
http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/faq_tech.html
Some of these are amusing, but nothing beats Clarus the Dogcow of Apple fame. See for instance Apple technote TN1031:
h tm l
http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn1031.
Or the original, TN31 which Apple seems to have removed from their website recently.
Moof.
Actually you can find it on the DVD called Short 10 - Chaos:
V 8/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004Z4
I have it, but have to admit that I think I've only watched the THX-1138 short. But that's why I got it.
You obviously haven't seen a good HD broadcast. First you need a good TV. I recommend a LCD rear projection (like the Sony Grand Wegas) or a good Plasma. Size does matter. Mine's 50" for sitting about 10-12 ft. away and it works quite well.
Then you need to find some good content. Law and Order isn't going to do much for you. Find a sporting event, like a football game, or a baseball game (not on Fox though!) in 720p. Or 1080i. Don't bother with 480p because it looks alright (better than standard definition) but doesn't show off what HD can do.
Or if you don't like sports, check out some shows on PBS. They're very good at showing things like tours of various European cities, or nature shows, or shows about art.
It really is pretty impressive. Out of probably 50 people I know who've been over and seen good HD content since I got my 50", I can't think of a single person who said man, that sucks, I'd rather watch standard definition.
Heh, no, I'm not expecting the last 50 years of TV to suddenly become HD. However, it would be nice if the major networks would broadcast things like the NHL playoffs in HD. Or film more new content in HD. I realize it's young, and the networks are providing more and more. It's just something to gripe about on a boring Sunday.
One of the things that annoys me is the sporting events that are in half assed HD. Like the wide shot of the field is HD, but half the other shots aren't. I know this will eventually get better as HD cameras get better. Though I have to say that Fox doing all their sports in 480p 16x9 really doesn't cut it. But at least they're planning on getting better in the next year or two.
I think the main thing to take away from HD and digital broadcasting right now is that you can get some content, but it's not easy. And don't expect an amazing signal every time you turn to a digital channel. But the networks are definitely getting on the bandwagon and things should be getting noticeably better sooner or later.
The problem with HDTV and digital broadcasting right now is there's very little HD content. Some examples..
PBS around here (San Jose/San Francisco) only broadcasts HD starting at 8pm. They however have pretty decent content and it's all HD when they say it will be. It looks great, it's just limited in what they show.
The rest of the broadcast networks have very little content. Maybe one or two shows a day at best and the occaisional sports event. NBC had the Kentucky Derby in HD yesterday, but it wasn't even advertised as such and I didn't know if it would be HD until I turned it on.
And one of the problems with some of the "HD" broadcasts is that a lot of the cameras they're using aren't even HD. They're standard definition that's then upconverted to either 720p or 1080i. Or if you're Fox, 480p 16x9. So a good bit of "HD" sports is actually just clean SD.
Then there's stuff like ESPNHD. They usually just take the ESPN feed and stretch it to 16x9 which is really lame. They have maybe 4 or 5 events in actual HD per week.
And then there's also the question of how do you get the content? I tried over the air with an antenna and that was just painful. Even a fairly high gain one didn't work too well for me. You can't get broadcast HD over any of the DBS services (Dish, DirecTV, Voom) except CBS. You have to generally get Cable TV for that. So I got Comcast out here and get all the broadcast stuff. But it's still more cost effective for me to have basic digital HD service on cable for HD broadcast content and also have Dish Network 200 service for all the other content.
And I hardly watch TV. Sigh. But I got a HDTV so I really want to watch HD content when I can.
The service I'm currently looking at switching to is Voom which is a DBS service from Cablevision that has something like 30 HD channels, many of which are their own content. It's about the same price as Dish Network, but has fewer channels. Luckily mostly the ones I watch from time to time. I'd have to keep cable for the broadcast channels.
Some people might say it's a waste of time. And they're probably right. But HD does look awesome so at least it's kinda fun.
Actually this is rear projection integrated into the set itself. So you can't really move it around very easily as it's all enclosed in the 50" set. It's pre-aligned so you don't have the problems that you get with CRT projection systems and convergence, etc.
i ty /eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-S tart;sid=fdaB69U8K3-B6-rddAqL4JowWtzL32jBYYk=?Cate goryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_43to53TVs &ProductSKU=KF50WE610&Dept=tv
Here's a URL for the unit to give you an idea:
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfin
Note that's an insane URL, so if it doesn't work, search for the model KF-50WE610.
The only problem I've found with it, which I consider minor, is a small amount of screendooring on very bright white spots near the center of the screen. So when Gandalf returns as Gandalf the White and is glowing like mad you see a bit of it for instance. This is annoying, but bright whites like that rarely happen in movies and TV so it's not enough to make me want to return the set. The other 99.99% of the time it's amazing.
With DLP this has to do with the spinning color wheel that illuminates the DLP chip with the proper light color. I've read that if they could speed up the spinning by about 5x it wouldn't be noticeable. I guess the reason you see the rainbows is because the colors reach your eye at different times. Someone else can explain it better I'm sure.
I was very excited about LCOS because there's no color wheel and the rainbow problems weren't supposed to be there. I was very disappointed when I went to look at Philips Cineos LCOS units however because I saw rainbows as well. Not as pronounced as DLP, but they were there. Not good.
Luckily soon after that I came across Sony's Grand Wega LCD projection sets. These are beautiful and worth checking out if you want a TV now. I got the 50" one and am extremely happy with it.
Which is: 340 undecillion, 282 decillion, 366 nonillion, 920 octillion, 938 septillion, 463 sextillion, 463 quintillion, 374 quadrillion, 607 trillion, 431 billion, 768 million, 211 thousand, 456.
A far cry from "35 trillion". To give you an order to this magnitude, some Australian scientists recently announced that there are 70 sextillion stars (give or take) in the known universe.
It may be pedantic, but someone who is so blinded by their work that they make hysterical claims that there's no word for the number they're pushing doesn't make me want to buy into their idea so quickly.
For those who track these bills, it has been assigned bill number HR 2752. This link goes to the Library of Congress Thomas website status and summary page for the bill.
Would be pretty interesting in a club or a concert to see just how damaged my ears are getting.
Probably it's used for the automatic volume control and someone figured it'd be a fun little toy to let the user have access to it as well.
And Bill Gates is laughing all the way to the bank. A united front against Microsoft would be so very nice. Not like we'll ever see it.