I jumped on the HD bandwagon from day 1. Front projector, HD cable, etc. I recently dumped it for lack of decent programming. Honestly, DVD upconverted is fine for me (anamorphic). OTA HD is enough, and MCE supports 2 SDTV tuners and 2 HDTV/ota tuners. I watch maybe 3 shows in HD.
CableCard doesn't matter to me. In fact, I record 90% of my SDTV shows in "Fair" (read: crap) mode and they look just fine at 110" width.
When HD finishes its growing pains, it'll be so bogged down with DRM as to be unwatchable in my home. I'll happily watch upconverted DVDs and still get the wow factor.
For me, great audio > high contrast > high resolution. Grey screen, bright projector, awesome sound system and lighting control give me amazing nights of DVD viewing.
After 19 years of dating I can give a few good reasons for living under the WAF:
10. Less chance of catching VD. 9. Laundry always clean 8. Personal Memory Backup 7. Cheaper insurance rates 6. Morning Sex 5. Ego boost (she's hott) 4. Someone to procreate with without threat of lawsuit or ridiculous child support hassles 3. Inside jokes get better 2. Introduction to non-AnCap views 1. Morning Sex
My MCE services run on boot. I don't login automatically (have 3 user environments), but my shows get recorded after a power outage. I'll soon tie in a UPS but haven't had to.
My one Windows disaster was losing MBR after a power failure, heh.
My MCE connects to the Net via Bluetooth to my cell. EPG updates nightly are transparent and work GREAT. MythTV hates my Bluetooth network it seems.
The MCE team seems pretty dedicated. I foresee the broadcast flag working in our favor, which is why I support it in MCE. Let the distributors enact it and it'll give me more shows to not watch.
I've built 5 MCE systems for others using 5 different hardware setups. They all work. The Wife Acceptance Factor necessitates it.
Every MythTV I've built has involved future phone calls. I've followed guides and tried various installs. When my home MythTV burped, it was hours of hitting forums to resolve.
I've been building PCs (Win & Lin) for 19 years. I love Linux, but MythTV is ill supported.
Funny thing... I had to call MS once for an MCE issue, and tech support figured it out in 10 minutes.
I currently run MCE05 after years of Tivo and love it. It never fails, the interface is usable by the lady, and it was a breeze to install.
I tried EVERY other Win & Lin PVR and none were as stable or easy to install/use. The new Rollup2 for MCE adds copy/view restrictions but they're relying on the video driver and encoder to pass the flag. I found a driver that doesn't pass the flag, and I'm happy.
I'd love to switch to Meedio or MythTV but recent trials a few weeks ago vetoed the idea. Stability and ease of use weren't there yet. MCE is a performance hog but it works. No kludges, never crashes and really integrates well in my house with the Xbox Extender.
My brother always listens to music after mastering on a car stereo, ipod and boombox. Powered monitors are unusually bass heavy it seems, which causes the source to be light on the low end.
Gold plating, thoug , does help. Copper is a better conducter than gold but corrodes easily leading to possible noise in the connection made evident from vibrations in the room.
I have done testing A/B between 10 different cables and there was a noticeable "air" in the $$$ilver cables but I wouldn't have paid for them.
I pay more for good cabling for 3 reasons:
1. Cut to custom length 2. High quality build/assembly 3. Warranty and trade-in value
I disagree. CD's output is digital. But you have to encode that continuous digital output (44.1khz--192khz) into an IP stream of packets. After transport, you need to confirm that packets are received in order, and decode these IP packets back into a stream that the DAC coverts to analog to amplify.
This takes time. It also needs hardcore syncing and you can't afford to lose any packets.
If its a 2 speaker audio only system on a dedicated network, no problem. Throw in 8 audio channels and the need to sync to video, I can foresee problems.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5668601.html 60% down: If the is sync error is above the limit of the human audio sensitivity, a listener/viewer will notice the discrepancy. Generally, the sensible limit of the lip sync error is said to be about several milliseconds.
With the onset of high quality television transmission systems, even the small difference of 20-40ms of video/audio delay can cause programme impairment for the viewing audience.
So can most people. Some are more sensitive than others. I can also detect video refresh rate differences and frame rate differences quite easily.
2ms latency over a network IS minimal, but add digital encoding, ADC/DAC delays, and other delays inherent in this type of delivery and you'll see they can add up quick.
Heck, same link above:
However, multi-link MPEG transmission can also result in noticeable delay and loss of lip-sync.
1 frame (33ms) is HUGE especially when watching people talk. I've been to movies where I had to change seats from the delay, and I'm not OCD.
My brother owns a recording studio, and mastering suites vary greatly in quality. Nowadays, mastering isn't about source transparency but about sounding good across every playback system. Mastering suites are optimized to give an accurate rendition but with walkman and car stereo and home audio output considered.
I have had a few "audiophile" systems in my life, but the lack of quality source material mastered for neutrality made it a wasted venture.
I couldn't load TFA from my PDA, so take with that knowledge:
Remote digital speakers are a great solution for lowfi and mid i systems, but true audiophiles will not accept them.
Integrated amplifiers greatly reduce customizing, additional ADCs and DACs reduce resolution, increase the noise floor and change the sound.
Also, IP isn't my favored priority stream transport. I'd recommend a separate network for sound and I'd be weary of any delays incorporated in the IP transport. Think ping times! Also, encoding with the ADC does not include encapsulation into an IP packet, which can lead to worse lip-sync problems. Even 20ms delay makes me crazy (~1 frame). Of course, if its digital all-the-way, things can look brighter.
But a start is a start. Here's to hoping it continues to improve. Polk has a decent hifi range and a great R&D team. If anyone can find a better solution, its them.
...is that they're not supplying region code "functionality" because region codes definitely have increased piracy as a whole. When someone in a given country can't get a DVD because its not available in their market yet, they'll more likely just download the movie.
Region coding worked fine before information traveled so fast and so easily. You'll also see European release dates much closer to the U.S. release dates for the same reason -- if the movie isn't in theatres in your market, just download a bootleg and see it first.
Here again is another proof that information not only wants to be free, it wants to be available to everyone at the same time.
I was fighting FUD with FUD. I don't trust statistics.
I definitely feel less safe in Chicago and London (where I can't carry my defense) than in other large towns where I can.
My lady and I went through a carjack attempt 2 years ago in Chicago after pumping gas. When I yelled to her to get my gun, the 2 thugs took off. She later replied that my defense was at home.
No one threatens my body or my person without answering me. I plead the 2nd.
Yes, the two thugs did run off, and yes I'd have shot them both illegally without warning.
I also scared off a robber at one of my retail stores with my defense. He was more scared by my calm demeanor than by a tiny.22. If it was loaded, I'd have shot him, too.
I believe in my basic human rights:
1. I can say anything, on my property. You can not. 2. I will defend my property wit lethal force at the first sign of a threat. 3. I will never allow a soldier to use my house for shelter. 4. No agent of the State can enter my car or home without a warrant. Even at a traffic stop. 5. I have nothing to say to the police, ever. My property will not be taken from me without proper compensation. 6. If I am arrested, I expect a speedy trial... 7....by Jury. 8. If arrested I will pay a reasonable bail and nevere tortured.
Simple enough. If any of these rights are denied, see #2.
Gun crimes in the UK have more than doubled since the current Labour government took control.
and
people in London are now 6 times more likely to be mugged than people in New York City
The prisoner percentage is FUD, too. The supermajority of US prisoners are non-violent drug users. The UK is far less likely to prosecute petty drug crimes (see US Rockefeller laws and on).
* Bootleg Chinese DVDs to sell on every market corner in the US * Make a US region and sell unlocked US-made DVD players in China * Terribly mispell Chinese words in our manual * Make badly lip-synced English voice overs on the DVDs * Open Caucasian-run DVD stores in China with thousands of bootlegs, and canned American food 3. ??? 4. Profit!!!
How many people get arrested for lying to the police? Martha Stewart, that runaway bride, this guy?
I'm not sure I understand the point of convicting someone of a crime unassociated to the lying part. For me, the fact that police are involved in all 3 of these nonviolent actions is the real crime.
The thing to note is no never talk to the cops. Ever. Let your lawyer say what needs to be said. Shut up, defend yourself at trial. You have no reason to talk, as you're innocent until they get facts to find you guilty.
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I jumped on the HD bandwagon from day 1. Front projector, HD cable, etc. I recently dumped it for lack of decent programming. Honestly, DVD upconverted is fine for me (anamorphic). OTA HD is enough, and MCE supports 2 SDTV tuners and 2 HDTV/ota tuners. I watch maybe 3 shows in HD.
CableCard doesn't matter to me. In fact, I record 90% of my SDTV shows in "Fair" (read: crap) mode and they look just fine at 110" width.
When HD finishes its growing pains, it'll be so bogged down with DRM as to be unwatchable in my home. I'll happily watch upconverted DVDs and still get the wow factor.
For me, great audio > high contrast > high resolution. Grey screen, bright projector, awesome sound system and lighting control give me amazing nights of DVD viewing.
After 19 years of dating I can give a few good reasons for living under the WAF:
10. Less chance of catching VD.
9. Laundry always clean
8. Personal Memory Backup
7. Cheaper insurance rates
6. Morning Sex
5. Ego boost (she's hott)
4. Someone to procreate with without threat of lawsuit or ridiculous child support hassles
3. Inside jokes get better
2. Introduction to non-AnCap views
1. Morning Sex
My MCE services run on boot. I don't login automatically (have 3 user environments), but my shows get recorded after a power outage. I'll soon tie in a UPS but haven't had to.
My one Windows disaster was losing MBR after a power failure, heh.
My MCE connects to the Net via Bluetooth to my cell. EPG updates nightly are transparent and work GREAT. MythTV hates my Bluetooth network it seems.
The MCE team seems pretty dedicated. I foresee the broadcast flag working in our favor, which is why I support it in MCE. Let the distributors enact it and it'll give me more shows to not watch.
Hey! Get off my lawn!
:)
I'm supposed to be the only Austrian here.
Good post.
I've built 5 MCE systems for others using 5 different hardware setups. They all work. The Wife Acceptance Factor necessitates it.
Every MythTV I've built has involved future phone calls. I've followed guides and tried various installs. When my home MythTV burped, it was hours of hitting forums to resolve.
I've been building PCs (Win & Lin) for 19 years. I love Linux, but MythTV is ill supported.
Funny thing... I had to call MS once for an MCE issue, and tech support figured it out in 10 minutes.
When a F/OSS PVR passes the WAF, I'll keep it.
I currently run MCE05 after years of Tivo and love it. It never fails, the interface is usable by the lady, and it was a breeze to install.
I tried EVERY other Win & Lin PVR and none were as stable or easy to install/use. The new Rollup2 for MCE adds copy/view restrictions but they're relying on the video driver and encoder to pass the flag. I found a driver that doesn't pass the flag, and I'm happy.
I'd love to switch to Meedio or MythTV but recent trials a few weeks ago vetoed the idea. Stability and ease of use weren't there yet. MCE is a performance hog but it works. No kludges, never crashes and really integrates well in my house with the Xbox Extender.
More reverb and delay :)
My brother always listens to music after mastering on a car stereo, ipod and boombox. Powered monitors are unusually bass heavy it seems, which causes the source to be light on the low end.
Gold plating, thoug , does help. Copper is a better conducter than gold but corrodes easily leading to possible noise in the connection made evident from vibrations in the room.
I have done testing A/B between 10 different cables and there was a noticeable "air" in the $$$ilver cables but I wouldn't have paid for them.
I pay more for good cabling for 3 reasons:
1. Cut to custom length
2. High quality build/assembly
3. Warranty and trade-in value
I disagree. CD's output is digital. But you have to encode that continuous digital output (44.1khz--192khz) into an IP stream of packets. After transport, you need to confirm that packets are received in order, and decode these IP packets back into a stream that the DAC coverts to analog to amplify.
This takes time. It also needs hardcore syncing and you can't afford to lose any packets.
If its a 2 speaker audio only system on a dedicated network, no problem. Throw in 8 audio channels and the need to sync to video, I can foresee problems.
Check my other replies, numerous studies show some can detect 7-15ms delays in lipsync.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5668601.html 60% down: If the is sync error is above the limit of the human audio sensitivity, a listener/viewer will notice the discrepancy. Generally, the sensible limit of the lip sync error is said to be about several milliseconds.
I can easily detect a 20ms delay.
http://www.calrec.com/product/lipstick.htm
With the onset of high quality television transmission systems, even the small difference of 20-40ms of video/audio delay can cause programme impairment for the viewing audience.
So can most people. Some are more sensitive than others. I can also detect video refresh rate differences and frame rate differences quite easily.
2ms latency over a network IS minimal, but add digital encoding, ADC/DAC delays, and other delays inherent in this type of delivery and you'll see they can add up quick.
Heck, same link above:
However, multi-link MPEG transmission can also result in noticeable delay and loss of lip-sync.
1 frame (33ms) is HUGE especially when watching people talk. I've been to movies where I had to change seats from the delay, and I'm not OCD.
When the law becomes to tyrannical, revolt is allowed.
How about an FPS game where the hero (a videogamer) starts an armed revolt against the California government?
Rate it at M or AO, sell it to minors, challenge the law when you're arrested.
Hmm...
Introduce video. Delays matter.
My brother owns a recording studio, and mastering suites vary greatly in quality. Nowadays, mastering isn't about source transparency but about sounding good across every playback system. Mastering suites are optimized to give an accurate rendition but with walkman and car stereo and home audio output considered.
I have had a few "audiophile" systems in my life, but the lack of quality source material mastered for neutrality made it a wasted venture.
I couldn't load TFA from my PDA, so take with that knowledge:
Remote digital speakers are a great solution for lowfi and mid i systems, but true audiophiles will not accept them.
Integrated amplifiers greatly reduce customizing, additional ADCs and DACs reduce resolution, increase the noise floor and change the sound.
Also, IP isn't my favored priority stream transport. I'd recommend a separate network for sound and I'd be weary of any delays incorporated in the IP transport. Think ping times! Also, encoding with the ADC does not include encapsulation into an IP packet, which can lead to worse lip-sync problems. Even 20ms delay makes me crazy (~1 frame). Of course, if its digital all-the-way, things can look brighter.
But a start is a start. Here's to hoping it continues to improve. Polk has a decent hifi range and a great R&D team. If anyone can find a better solution, its them.
...is that they're not supplying region code "functionality" because region codes definitely have increased piracy as a whole. When someone in a given country can't get a DVD because its not available in their market yet, they'll more likely just download the movie.
Region coding worked fine before information traveled so fast and so easily. You'll also see European release dates much closer to the U.S. release dates for the same reason -- if the movie isn't in theatres in your market, just download a bootleg and see it first.
Here again is another proof that information not only wants to be free, it wants to be available to everyone at the same time.
:)
.22. If it was loaded, I'd have shot him, too.
...by Jury.
I was fighting FUD with FUD. I don't trust statistics.
I definitely feel less safe in Chicago and London (where I can't carry my defense) than in other large towns where I can.
My lady and I went through a carjack attempt 2 years ago in Chicago after pumping gas. When I yelled to her to get my gun, the 2 thugs took off. She later replied that my defense was at home.
No one threatens my body or my person without answering me. I plead the 2nd.
Yes, the two thugs did run off, and yes I'd have shot them both illegally without warning.
I also scared off a robber at one of my retail stores with my defense. He was more scared by my calm demeanor than by a tiny
I believe in my basic human rights:
1. I can say anything, on my property. You can not.
2. I will defend my property wit lethal force at the first sign of a threat.
3. I will never allow a soldier to use my house for shelter.
4. No agent of the State can enter my car or home without a warrant. Even at a traffic stop.
5. I have nothing to say to the police, ever. My property will not be taken from me without proper compensation.
6. If I am arrested, I expect a speedy trial...
7.
8. If arrested I will pay a reasonable bail and nevere tortured.
Simple enough. If any of these rights are denied, see #2.
FUD.
Murder rates are higher in the US but violent crimes are much higher in the UK.
http://panda.com/advocacy.html
Gun crimes in the UK have more than doubled since the current Labour government took control.
and
people in London are now 6 times more likely to be mugged than people in New York City
The prisoner percentage is FUD, too. The supermajority of US prisoners are non-violent drug users. The UK is far less likely to prosecute petty drug crimes (see US Rockefeller laws and on).
Anything that takes away someone's life or property or harms their body (against their will) is violent.
House burning and car stealing are both violent activities.
Now we can:
* Bootleg Chinese DVDs to sell on every market corner in the US
* Make a US region and sell unlocked US-made DVD players in China
* Terribly mispell Chinese words in our manual
* Make badly lip-synced English voice overs on the DVDs
* Open Caucasian-run DVD stores in China with thousands of bootlegs, and canned American food
3. ???
4. Profit!!!
The fact that he was arrested for performing a nonviolent act is the first abuse by authorities.
After finding no cause to charge him, they instead convicted him of lying. So he was wrongfully accused, but during interrogation he lied.
Crazy world we live in. Why not arrest every tenth person for murder. See if they slip up some fact, then book them.
In my mind, if the original arrest is unfounded, take no action.
How many people get arrested for lying to the police? Martha Stewart, that runaway bride, this guy?
I'm not sure I understand the point of convicting someone of a crime unassociated to the lying part. For me, the fact that police are involved in all 3 of these nonviolent actions is the real crime.
The thing to note is no never talk to the cops. Ever. Let your lawyer say what needs to be said. Shut up, defend yourself at trial. You have no reason to talk, as you're innocent until they get facts to find you guilty.
Oops, meant to type liberty. My autocomplete on my PDA has liberal below liberty and my thumbnail must have slipped :)