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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Sunday June 7, 2009
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
Tech News
Leo’s first impressions of the Palm Pre
Is the Pre the reset that Palm needed? After two days of using it, Leo is convinced it is. Amazing invention. Gorgeous interface, with a new OS called WebOS, feels good in the hand. A great iPhone alternative. 3MP camera, 320×480 screen. Multitasking. Automatically syncs to your Google address book. Palm emulator. And elegant! Makes Leo’s iPhone look a little out of date.
But will it beat out the iPhone? No. With 35,000 applications and two years down the development road, and with iPhone vs. 3 coming this week at the WWDC, Apple’s firmly entrenched.
But the Pre is still a worthy contender. A close second. And Palm is smart not having an exclusive deal. Palm wants to be like Nokia, not Apple and as such, not only Sprint will have the Pre. So will Verizon and many others.
But the worry for Palm at the moment is limited availability.
Scott Wilkinson, Ultimate AV Magazine
Scott’s in studio today to talk home theater for three hours!
Hour 1
Q Vern, Torrance, CA - Got the Pre
Vern got the Pre and thinks it’s incredible. Likes the inductive wifi charger. Battery life is limited, however. Leo agrees. Doesn’t think it’ll make it through the day with heavy use. Similar to the G1. But even the iPhone had limited battery life until a firmware update fixed it and increased the life time.
Vern also says the network internet access is twice as fast on the same network. Navigation is fast.
Q Andrew, Denver, CO - Home Theater Recommendation
Andrew has a “man cave,” and would like to create his own home theater system to use for parties and movies, etc. 7.1, 5.1, 2 channel? Which should he get? He doens’t think he’ll need a whole lot of power. Leo is going to put on Andrew with Scott Wilkinson tomorrow to help. But generally, with a $600 price range, there’s plenty of “Home Theater in a Box” options. Leo’s a fan of Onkyo.
Scott has a few thoughts. He agrees that a Home Theater in a Box is a good idea. 5.1 or 7.1? Scott isn’t a big fan of 7.1. There’s no material that’s really mixed in 7.1. Some titles have 7.1, but it’s derived and not natural. And Scott quotes Tomlinson Holman (the TH in Thx) saying that 7.1 isn’t really effective.
Scott also likes Onkyo’s HTiaB. Look for model number HT-S5100. And since you want a Blu-ray player, Leo thinks that why not pick up a Playstation 3 and get a gaming platform to boot? Scott agrees. There also some that have Blu-ray players in them like Panasonic and Samsung.
Q Marti, Los Angeles, CA - SubWoofer question
Marti has a LCD HDTV and it’s connected to a wireless subwoofer that’s really booming. Strangely unnatural. Scott says that there should be a volume knob on it which can enable you to turn it down. You can also turn it down in your receiver - look for the subwoofer volume control in the menu system. Leo wants to know if she can tune it in an EQ so it won’t overwhelm with too much bass. Scott says there’s a standard crossover of about 80hz where the sound gets routed to the subwoofer. So you don’t want ot mess with the EQ. Just turn it down.
Is it typical that the TVs sound doesn’t sync? It’s a common problem. Scott says the reason is video processing takes a lot longer than audio processing. That’s why today’s TVs have an audio delay to delay the audio to resync it as the video gets processed. Scott says that sometimes a TV channel can be out of sync from channel to channel because there’s no standard between broadcasters. Time code also fixes it. How can she fix the sync? There’s an audio delay menu setting you can adjust to bring your audio back into sync. And if you have a separate sound system in your Home Theater, TURN OFF the TV sound. That only serves to throw your viewing off.
Q Brian, Alta Loma, CA - Camcorder options
Brian has a Samsung 52″ HDTV. He wants a camcorder which can do the his TV justice. Budget $1,000. Leo suggests that for just a wee bit more, the Canon Vixia HFS10, which everyone including Alex Lindsay raves over. Records in AVCHD. You’ll want a more powerful PC and upgrade your software to handle it as the HF10 encodes in an unusually high bitrate.
Hour 2
Q Darth Emma - buying a projection TV
Our own “Darth Emma” is looking at projection TVs. Is an LCDTV a better choice. For a well lit room, yes. But it does have off axis viewing issues. For the bedroom or home theater, go Plasma.
But is front projection still around? Absolutely. But you really need a dark environment. Blocked off windows, darkened paint, etc. Advantage, you can make a HUGE screen with them. But the larger screen you get, the more the colors will wash out.
Magic number/specs? Not really. Manufacturers go to great lengths to come up with largest possible numbers for contrast ratios, etc. But that’s usually over ideal conditions. When Scott tests TVs, he finds the specs to be FAR lower than they’re advertised. SO how do you choose? Look at the reviews for accuracy of color, black level (deepness of black, the lower the better).
Projector brands … Epson. Cost range around $2,000. The Epson 6500 is $3,000 and Scott says it’s incredible. Break-in period? There is. About 10–20 hours before the color “settles down.But don’t forget a good screen. Don’t forget to factor a good screen into your budget. Between $200–1000.
Be aware of “lens shift.” Some projectors have a lens shift feature which allows you to put them just about anywhere. But if yours doesn’t, you’ll be mounting them in the ceiling. DLP is great, but expensive.
Is OLED the future for the big screen? Scott says no. They look great on small screens like computers and media players, but they will never be affordable enough for sizes needed in home theater.
Q Shirley, So. Pasadena, CA - Digital TV Changeover this week
Shirley worries that the Digital TV Transition will affect her VCR. Leo says that if you’re getting your TV reception from Satellite or Cable, there’s nothing to worry about. Only those with an antenna. But what about TV/VCR combinations? Leo says that if you can watch the TV, you can record it. The issue will be channel changing - which, if you’re using an antenna, will be handled through the converter box. So, you’ll need to put your VCR to channel 3 and then record from there. But that will affect your unattended recording. You’ll need to get a box that will allow the VCR to command and change the channel on the converter box. And there may not be one.
J5_jhallgren from the Chatroom - DTV Pal Plus is what you need to be able to change channels while recording with your VCR. It probably uses an IR blaster to do it. But it also has a timer in it and enable you to change channels while recording.
Also, Jerry called in to say that the Zinwell Model ZAT950A will also change your channels for time shift recording of your VCR. Look for it at Albertson’s grocery store.
Q from the Chatroom - What about SED?
Is SED on the horizon? Scanning something or other. It probably won’t ever make it. First, it’s WAY too expensive. Secondly, there’s a spectre of litigation around it which may take so long to clear up that SED wont’ ever see the light of day.
What about OLED? They look fabulous, thin as a rail. Extremely expensive.
Q Paul, Lincoln, RI - Audio system shuts down
Paul’s audio system will shut down while watching an action movie with loud action sound effects. Odd. Could be a blown fuse. Leo also thinks that some speakers come with overload protection circuitry which protects the speaker from blowing out. And now that the circuit has been tripped once, it may now be prone to tripping. Or, it could be a fault in the soldering which happens when the solder heats up. But Scott’s pretty sure it’s some sort of circuit that’s tripped.
And from the Chatroom - if a speaker wire goes bad, this can happen. Try replacing your speaker cable.
Hour 3
Q Ed, Westminter, CA - Radio interference on HDTV
Has a 50″ 720p Plasma HDTV and gets radio interference when his radios are on. Leo says that Plasma TVs can put out some serious RF and as such, this can happen. But it’s likely it’s also a power issue. Leo suggests to put some filtering/surge suppressors on your power. In fact, even a battery backup can help. Talk to an electrician to get a surge suppressor or even install a dedicated AC line for your TV.
Q Larry, Iowa - Replacement for a malfunctioning remote control
Larry has an old SGR Sony Home Theater receiver with an “Egg” master remote that handles everything. But it’s now malfunctioning. What can he use as a replacement. Scott thinks a Universal remote from Logitech - the Harmony One - is fantastic. Check out myremotesetup.com for information on how to set up your universal remote.
You can also go to Remotes.com to buy a replacement EGG, if you need one. Model STRG3. But it’s been discontinued, so you should look to the Harmony from here on out.
Q Kenny, Walnut, CA - DLPTV Lamp burned out
Kenny has a DLPTV where the lamp burned out. Is there a generic replacement and is it okay to buy? Scott says he can’t imagine much of a problem. But generic’s are half the price. Leo says that saving $100 on a bulb is probably a foolish economy. It can throw off the color, have half the life span.
Q Jim, Flint, MI - 1080p vs. 720p
Is it really better? Does it really make a different with home viewing? Most signals are 1080i, but when you watch it, it has been converted to 720p. Can you get by with 720p display? Well, the human eye can’t discern the detail distance at a specific distance. But you can run into scaling artifacts which makes it far worth it to go with a 1080p HDTV. And the price difference isn’t all that much.
Q Bob, Belmont, CA - Downloading content for Home Theater
Bob wants to use his PC as a home theater setup and wants to know what to do to hook it up, just an HDMI cable? Leo says that HDCP copy protection may run afoul if your hardware isn’t HDCP compliant. All along the way, everything needs to be compliant. If you’re playing back premium content, it will insists on HDCP.
Q Steve, Chico, CA - DLP Lamps
Steve is a tech which services most major DLP brands. He says that use either Philip or Osram lamps. You can order the original bulb from the manufacturer and save 50–75% on the cost. And if you don’t install it right, you can actually misalign the color wheel. You also don’t want to get skin oil on it as it will burn out the lamp prematurely.
Have a great geek week!
