Thursday, February 16, 2006
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Thursday, February 09, 2006
BFA Vs MP3
‘There is considerable consumer apathy to high quality sound reproduction from popular contemporary portable media gadgets and today's music fans are happy to download and listen to low bit-rate music files – which, despite some absurd claims - often don't come even close to CD quality. The excellent alternative, the CD portable, is quickly losing ground to the fashionable but potentially poorer quality solid state or hard disk portable.’
The BFA’s boffins have concluded that downloads at inadequate bit-rates are to blame. Listening tests carried out by various members of the Federation, using assorted portable audio units, indicate that the standard recording rate of around 128kbits per second results in reproduction that is audibly inferior to CD.
“ It is known that higher bit-rates of 256k and above deliver a far better performance bur still not as good as that from CD. Non lossy compression systems, for example Apple's Lossless compression, still allow for plenty of music on an iPod and the sound quality is far better - more akin to a budget specialist CD player.”
The BFA is keen to encourage users, using higher bit-rates, to connect their portable music devices to their Hi-Fis as the performance can be very good indeed.
The BFA has pledged to instruct its members to ‘educate its customers into taking the time to set their portable music gadgets to the highest possible bit-rate and to make sound quality as high a priority as convenience. The difference in the overall sound experience is quite striking – and very rewarding.’
For more, contact Stephen N Harris, Chairman, BFA, on steveh@british-audio.org.uk , or visit www.bfa.org.uk
MP3
hi-fi
All's REL that ends REL
Richard Edmund Lord, the mastermind behind all the company’s previous award winning products, and affectionately known as The Lord of Bass, is no longer involved.
Rising from the ashes of REL is an entirely new company, REL Acoustics.
Its upcoming 'R' series subwoofers have been conceived by Sumiko and will be built in China . Further distancing themselves from previous REL products, they will utilize digital amplification. More news as we get it.
subwoofers
home cinema
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Ain't these cool?
Class-leading headphone maker Sennheiser has released two cool-looking open-back headphones – the £30 HD 415 and £40 HD 435. The latter comes with an in-line volume control, a detachable single-sided cable and a protective pouch, but beyond that’s there’s not much between them. Bundled with both is a 3.5 mm gold-plated jack plug for portable use and a gold-plated 1/4" screw-on jack adapter for home. The single-sided cable ensures tangle free wearing. Sennheiser cans have trademark drivers for a smooth bass response and treble, but don’t wear these babies and expect them to block out all sounds. Such super-comfy lightweights are intended for use in quiet environments.
MP3headphones
Denon builds ultimate DVD player
Denon has upgraded its battleship DVD player, the A1X. The new
Disc compatibility includes DVD, DVD-A, SACD, MP3, WMA, JPEG, PHOTO CD, DVD / CD -R +R. With no clear indication how the high definition format war will shake down, making more from traditional DVD sources makes a lot of sense. Probably the best DVD player anyone will ever build.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Intel chief and the case for HD DVD
Donald MacDonald, vice president of the Digital Home Group and general manager of the Digital Home Group for Intel Corporation, is in no doubt that HD DVD is the future of home entertainment. ‘The reason why we think HD DVD is the best option is simple. As a consumer, I want to be able to have a copy of my content on my PC so that I can enjoy it in new and exciting ways. I want to be able to distribute it in this digital connected lifestyle we’re putting in place and watch it in different rooms in my house; so the ability to support mandatory managed copy on all discs is a huge consumer benefit.
‘HD DVD should also be easier to buy and use than it is to pirate; the ability to copy content in a managed way is the best defence against piracy. Secondly, we’re an increasingly mobile community, so people want to be able to take content with them. So we want to endorse the ability to make legal copies for portable devices as well.
HD DVD is not only a beautiful, beautiful technology – but it’s also incredibly user friendly, so for that reason, Intel is very pleased to support HD DVD.’
PS3 chief and the case for Blu-ray
‘The introduction of any new platform bearing the Playstation name has been synonymous with presenting revolutionary ways for consumers to enjoy new content. The PS3 is no different. In addition to the image quality, BD is ideally suited to gaming when it comes to both capacity and transfer rate. We all know that an abundance of capacity will not of any value to creators if there is a limitation on how quickly that data can be accessed and transferred to where it’s needed.
I think it’s clear to everyone in the game industry that Blu-ray delivers on both of these requirements. There’s no doubt in my mind that PS3 will pull its weight and significantly contribute to the adoption of the Blu-ray format.’
Monday, February 06, 2006
Samsung TV model sells a million!
The Korean giant Samsung is stomping all over its CE competition. The brand recently announced sales of over 10 million units of its SGH-E700 clamshell and SDH-D 500 slider camera phones. Now the company also has a million-unit-selling digital TV in its portfolio.
Its "V"-shaped LCD TV series broke the million mark in sales on January 31, one year after the product went into mass production in February 2005.
The “V” series is so-called because the bottom half of the TVs gently slope to form the letter, with the speakers incorporated as part of the motif, (confusingly this range has also been dubbed the
Sangheung Shin, senior vice president of the Visual Display Sales & Marketing Team at Samsung Electronics, stated, "In the future, design will be an important factor in determining the winners and losers in the flat screen TV market. Samsung Electronics will continue to apply a design differentiation strategy to LCD TVs as well as plasma TVs and DLP TVs to create more 'million seller' models."
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Home Cinema Vs Professional Cinema
hands down. In three demonstrations looking at digital projection, Jon Thompson from
the BKSTS put DVD to the test. Although primarily looking at picture quality, one of the overwhelming comments made by each audience member was that the sound of DVD was far superior when compared head-to-head with a 35mm print.
At the Warner Preview Theatre in London, representatives from KEF, Denon, DTS, Barco, Snell & Wilcox and Warner Bros, as well as some film industry luminaries, such as two-time Oscar winning cameraman Freddie Francis, Oscar winner Ronnie Taylor and Oscar winner Billy Williams, were present to cast their eyes over picture quality. To assess the audio side were mixing engineers from Abbey Road Studios and various sound designers from the films shown.
The aim of the demonstration was to compare picture quality of DVDs with their 35mm counterparts. The films that were viewed side-by-side were Michael Collins, Out of Sight, 12 Monkeys, Singles, The Avengers and Austin Powers. Thompson began by projecting a show print, which is an original print made from the original camera negative and then looked at a released print, which is made from an inter-negative, which is three generations down from a show print. These were shown on a standard Westrex 35mm projector, with a 2kw Xenon lamp behind it.
To project the DVDs he used a Meridian 800 DVD player and a Snell Wilcox
interpellator, with a pair of stacked Barco projectors. The interpellator was used to upscale the DVD image from its native resolution of roughly 740 by 480, to 1200 by 1024. As well as doing this, the interpellator removes the 3:2 pulldown that is inherent in an NTSE transfer of a motion picture film. In doing so, the output of the interpellator is in progressive scan. The superiority of progressive scan over a traditionally interlaced film is startlingly obvious, as there is no line structure, which is an inherent bain of home cinema.
To begin, a show print was projected, this is the highest quality print available of a film. Unfortunately, most cinemas only show released prints; therefore most people do not see the true potential of the film. Roderick Snell, of Snell & Wilcox, commented that from a show print to a released print there appears to be a drop in resolution of about 50%, due to the copying stages that film goes through.
DVD detail
The DVD picture being compared to the original 35mm print was obviously not as sharp or with as much contrast this was to be expected due to the compression and the amount of loss in the MPEG 2 encoding system. However, most people commented that the picture was far better than they expected, and were surprised that the difference between 35mm and DVD on a screen 12ft across, was not that great: the films could be reasonably enjoyed. Roderick Snell commented that this could give a new lease of life to low budget films that otherwise could not be exhibited on 35mm due to cost. However, in a comparison between the Steven Sodenburg film Out of Sight, the DVD, taken from a high definition master, despite looking sharp and as vivid as the original 35mm print, lost many of the original subtleties, this also became apparent in the opening scene of The Avengers on DVD. Roger Pratt had used a lot of delicate filtering which was completely lost in the transfer.
From a technical standpoint, films that had been telecined using high-definition transfers or using the Philips Spirit Datacine (also high-definition) were much preferred and gave a much more filmic look to the DVD than films telecined on Rank Cintel telecine machines.
On the video side the equipment used was almost professional end. But on
the audio side, mid-range, mid-price domestic equipment was chosen. Thompson used Denon's new THX AVC-A1D surround amplifier and KEF's reference THX speaker system. These were competing with a professional JBL theatre system and professional Dolby Digital decoder, which were roughly three times the price of the home cinema equipment it was being compared to.
Audio supremacy
The Denon and KEF system consistently outclassed the professional system.
The overall audio resolution of the DVD was higher and the positioning of the sound appeared to be a lot more solid, due to the KEF speakers. KEF rear di-poles were used against a rear array of JBL speakers; this produced more dynamic front to back panning, whilst the bass was tighter and more robust. The Denon system was set up by Roger Batchelor from Denon, in one hour. He stated that if he had had longer, by tweaking some of the parameters he could have achieved an even greater overall sound. One can only imagine how that would have been, as the results produced at the time were staggering.
When comparing the two versions of The Avengers, the DVD sounded so different that it was like listening to another film. It was noted that the Dolby Digital track on the 35mm print was inferior as it was competing with dirt, dust and scratches. It was apparent that the Dolby Digital System on film, has to do a lot of error concealment, thus reducing the resolution of the overall sound. The DTS theatre system in comparison suffers from none of these problems, but it was remarkable as to how superior the Dolby Digital track on DVD was to the DTS Theatre System, with the DTS DVD System sounding better again. Chris Haliborne of DTS commented that it was not surprising, as the DTS DVD System used the latest technology in its
algorithms, and its coding system is far superior to its original theatre systems' encoding; thus producing far higher resolution sound. Chris was pleased, but not surprised that DTS DVD had sounded so good, stating that, "It is simple mathematics, our track has a far higher data rate, thus preserving more of the integrity of the original sound."
This article was written circa 2000. Jon Thompson FBKS is a cinematographer and motion picture consultant. Contact Jon at at info@theworx-digital.com
DTS
Dolby Digital
home cinema
35mm
Free Ticket Offer - Smart Home Show 2006
To claim yourself some, visit www.smarthomeshow.co.uk/gateway/homecinema
It’s as easy as filling in a form!
Sony launches in-car MP3 Flash head unit
Sony has released a new in-car CD/MP3 head unit. Its GIGA Panel system has a removable front panel with a USB port, which connects directly to aPC. Users simply remove the panel, connect it to their PC, choose the music they want, drag and drop it onto the GIGA Panel, and then reattach in-car. Job done.
With 1GB of Flash memory, there's enough capacity for around 500 tracks (if a 4 minute tune is encoded at 64 kbps), which equates to approx. 60 hours of music. Its ‘drag and drop’ interface makes it easy to use and no software is required. All you have to do is stare at the red LED as data is transfered. A USB cable is supplied, so the kit is ready to be plugged into any PC out of the box. There are cheaper units around - but this is a Sony, so even if your car is an old banger, you can still hold your head high in company.
MP3
Sony
in-car
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Underworld Evolution - Kate speaks
fantasy
The critics hated the original Underworld, and have been less kind about it's sequel, Evolution. But what's not to like about Kate Beckinsale in black latex, big guns, vampires and werewolves? Click here to Sony's Radio News Feature promo for the film.
Porn free internet?
In this digital age it’s no surprise that 87 percent of children regularly use the Internet. While going online may be a great resource in the pursuit of knowledge, the US Department of Justice has reported that one in four children will have an accidental encounter with online porn.
This issue has forced many schools to block popular search engines like Google and use a targeted educational search engine like NetTrekker.com. Currently used in thousands of schools and homes across the country, the search engine links students with only appropriate resources via teachers who approve every web page listed in results, and powerful technology that blocks links to pornography with 100 percent certainty. It is now available to parents for home use for the first time.
Kids are easily distracted and experts say only 6 percent of the web is relevant for schoolwork. This new resource is proving to help keep both kids and research for homework focused. For more information, visit nettrekker.com.
pornography
censorship
Have You Checked the Children?
horror
fantasy
Blu-ray Vs HD DVD. Who'll win?
Blu-ray
Top
HD DVD or Blu-ray? My advice is to enjoy both – using one for movies and the other games.
As a DVD replacement, HD DVD is ideal. The title choice is strong (what isn’t available I’ll just watch on Sky HD) and the $500 ticket price right. $1000 Blu-ray decks seem perversely expensive in comparison.
HD DVD hardware is also amazingly sophisticated. Unlike Blu-ray, decks are internet enabled from the outset. Hook up your player via broadband and you’ll never have to watch the same trailers every time you spin a disc. Instead, the unit will go online and download new ones (in HD). HD DVD movies can even be legally ripped for viewing from/on your PC or mobile device.
But owning an HD DVD player will not stop me getting a Blu-ray-based Playstation 3; 25GB BD discs will offer a depth of gameplay that the DVD-based Xbox 360 can’t hope to match. I just don’t plan on making a noisy games console my high definition movie player of choice.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Nintendo dead in Japan - Retro Gamers unite!
The following story was written in 1999. It's interesting to look back at it now, because nothing much has changed. Substitute Game Cube for Nintendo 64 , PS 2 for PS1 (and disregard X-Box, as much of
Regardless what any European hype machine may declare, the inevitable truth is if you really want to see how the game terrain lies, you need to visit the neon chaos that is Akihabara (aka
Just a few stops off the Yamanote line, from my hotel base in Shinagawa, I went on a fact finding mission to Akihabara, via Ginza. For those who’ve never been there before,
brand in the world. It was only a few years ago that Sony stepped into the games world, then dominated by Sega and nintendo, and cleaned house. Now it’s influence dominates the games selection in every software shop in town.
But it was my journey to Akihabara that cemented in my mind the Playstation’s total dominance. In the towering ‘soft’ stores of
not bright blue plastic toys) and every conceivable variation of joystick. And if you were turned onto to RPGs by Final Fantasy 7, then you would freak at the mountains of tasty looking RPGs available. Sadly, unless you can read Japanese, though, their playability was severely limited.
Also surprising, was the resilience of Sega’s Saturn. Officially dead in
But as usual, the landscape in
completely enraptured with her Zelda adventure, promised much. I was left with the impression that Nintendo has all its hopes riding on the back of this adventurous new title. If it fails, then maybe Nintendo should start to move their next generation console ahead of schedule.
Much depends on Sega's success with Dreamcast. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the games giant has given its most famous character a Dreamcast makeover. But is Sonic The Hedgehog (whose games reputation was flattened in the multimedia highway by the juggernaut that was Sony) the right way to relaunch their brand. personally, I think not.
Big RPGs
Despite it’s relative old age, I found plenty of new Playstation releases that were innovative and entertaining. Of course, in Japan the big thing is manga, and at times it’s difficult to tell where anime action leaves off and the games begin. Consider the latest disc based on the Mobile Suit Gundam series. The TV show is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary, and a new game title Char's Counterattack, has fully animated cut-scenes that rival anything released on VHS. Quite splendid. Strange but true: You can also buy a Gundam digital camera.
Although it looks like a toy, with its Earth federation Space Force embellishments, it’s £250 worth of fully fledged digital camera! Finally, a nod of the hat to another phenomenon peculiar to
God, I love
Nintendo
Playstation
retro games
Japan
Shopping with robots
‘I would like to make a lot of friends,’ the Enon declared the first day on the job, adding: ‘I will do my best, so all people may like me.’ An admirable sentiment, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Co-developed between Fujitsu Frontech and Fujitsu Laboratories, the futuristic metal man can detect if a person is nearby, and issues a greeting when someone stands in front of him. He can also be used to move heavy objects about the store and will act as a photo-opportunity for small children.robots
Japan
