Re:Screwed by Laserdisc? No way.
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The Joys of HDTV
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· Score: 1
Err, Laserdiscs are analog video, and either analog or digital audio (depending on disc). They are about as old as VHS. They were first demonstrated in '72, and hit the market in '78.
Laserdisc are 100% digital. What you're thinking of is the method by which you connect from the laserdisc player to a television and/or stereo reciever, which is usually analog.
Yes, it looks better (when it works at all, and HDTV is significantly less robust than analog television) but it's a quantitative difference rather than qualitative. That's why HDTV is such a hard sell and why it's adoption is way slower than most HDTV advocates expected.
Actually, it's more the fault of broadcasters that HDTV's entrance into the US market has been slow. They (understandably) do not wish to spend the money to upgrade studio and broadcasting equipment to handle HDTV's requirements. The most stagering example of this is the transmission towers - current transmission towers cannot be used to broadcast HDTV signals, meaning local broadcasters will have to build new towers to accomodate HDTV. This is an extremely expensive venture, and a huge turn-off to broadcasters.
One of the main problems with the HDTV campaign is that HDTV is being pushed toward the wrong audience. The general public doesn't want to spend the money to have a nicer image on their TV. The people who are interested in HDTV are movie watchers - the same people who bought the very first DVD players on the market, who have 5.1 dolby digital surround sound systems, etc. Unfortunately for HDTV, that audience is not large enough to sustain the industry, which is why it's being pushed to the general populace.
It is also important to realize that the FCC has mandated that all broadcasters switch to HDTV within "10 years" (10 years of what I don't remember - 1999 or 1998 perhaps). So far, they aren't really making much move to keep up with this, but if the FCC enforces it, then we may all HAVE to buy HDTV's sometime along the line.
By then the technology will be less expensive, and it won't be so painful.
How, praytell, are they choosing for me what to buy? I buy what I want to buy, regardless of what the marketing industry tries to sell me. If a person is so susceptible to advertising that they actually run out and buy something just because they saw a TV advertisement for it, then perhaps they NEED to be told anyway.
Seriously, when was the last time you actually took advertising into account when deciding to buy something? Personally, the last time it affected me was when I was too young to go out and buy something on my own anyway.
Marketers are going to pry into our tastes whether we like it or not. That's what they do. Frankly, I'd be happy to see the junk mail I get be better targetted. Most likely, that would translate to less of it, because the marketing people will know not to send crap to me that I don't want.
Why the paranoia? It's just TV for chrissakes. So what if they log what channel you watch when, it's not like they have a camera in their cable box pointed at you when you veg out.
Seriously, I'm not trying to troll here - it just seems a lot of people on this forum suffer from severe paranoid delusions.
Microsoft says site operators could insert a metatag disabling Smart Tags
It's good to see Microsoft is smart enough to give the option to opt-out, but it seems to me that this technology is invasive enough that it really ought to be an opt-in situation. I think I would rather have to put a metatag in my page if I DID want the Smart Tags to appear.
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Laserdisc are 100% digital. What you're thinking of is the method by which you connect from the laserdisc player to a television and/or stereo reciever, which is usually analog.
Actually, it's more the fault of broadcasters that HDTV's entrance into the US market has been slow. They (understandably) do not wish to spend the money to upgrade studio and broadcasting equipment to handle HDTV's requirements. The most stagering example of this is the transmission towers - current transmission towers cannot be used to broadcast HDTV signals, meaning local broadcasters will have to build new towers to accomodate HDTV. This is an extremely expensive venture, and a huge turn-off to broadcasters.
One of the main problems with the HDTV campaign is that HDTV is being pushed toward the wrong audience. The general public doesn't want to spend the money to have a nicer image on their TV. The people who are interested in HDTV are movie watchers - the same people who bought the very first DVD players on the market, who have 5.1 dolby digital surround sound systems, etc. Unfortunately for HDTV, that audience is not large enough to sustain the industry, which is why it's being pushed to the general populace.
It is also important to realize that the FCC has mandated that all broadcasters switch to HDTV within "10 years" (10 years of what I don't remember - 1999 or 1998 perhaps). So far, they aren't really making much move to keep up with this, but if the FCC enforces it, then we may all HAVE to buy HDTV's sometime along the line.
By then the technology will be less expensive, and it won't be so painful.
"They" are choosing for you what to buy.
How, praytell, are they choosing for me what to buy? I buy what I want to buy, regardless of what the marketing industry tries to sell me. If a person is so susceptible to advertising that they actually run out and buy something just because they saw a TV advertisement for it, then perhaps they NEED to be told anyway.
Seriously, when was the last time you actually took advertising into account when deciding to buy something? Personally, the last time it affected me was when I was too young to go out and buy something on my own anyway.
Marketers are going to pry into our tastes whether we like it or not. That's what they do. Frankly, I'd be happy to see the junk mail I get be better targetted. Most likely, that would translate to less of it, because the marketing people will know not to send crap to me that I don't want.
Now I ask you, how is this a bad thing?
Why the paranoia? It's just TV for chrissakes. So what if they log what channel you watch when, it's not like they have a camera in their cable box pointed at you when you veg out.
Seriously, I'm not trying to troll here - it just seems a lot of people on this forum suffer from severe paranoid delusions.
Microsoft says site operators could insert a metatag disabling Smart Tags
It's good to see Microsoft is smart enough to give the option to opt-out, but it seems to me that this technology is invasive enough that it really ought to be an opt-in situation. I think I would rather have to put a metatag in my page if I DID want the Smart Tags to appear.
Computer owners have the will and ability to pursue problems and correct them.
Try telling that to my mom when her machine crashes while she's checking her email.
I can't be the only one thinking this technique could be used for some really trippy effects in a sci-fi film...