tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78158014130656399282024-02-06T20:33:53.102-08:00VideoCrib Home Theater BlogHome Theater Minus The NoiseRuss Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-64128096933724790592021-05-14T17:56:00.008-07:002021-05-14T20:18:45.604-07:00Not Your Average Movie<p>Movie: The Man In The Hat (2020)<br /></p><p>Starring: Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Dillane, Sasha Hails</p><p></p> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKBZ8c-o1awFLHV4VLMNL7VsA5gpARY7yqOIRud_7S1LinEoaxZX1E5ziFPsg5XQwbAxeDgYlhOAoEwv_w1V1To0zmX8E_I1GQ8uJRQJ_BxeiC9btOt_6hyNQ7u3wzHG2Z73ecNd3SehM/s740/The-Man-In-The-Hat_Art-scaled.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKBZ8c-o1awFLHV4VLMNL7VsA5gpARY7yqOIRud_7S1LinEoaxZX1E5ziFPsg5XQwbAxeDgYlhOAoEwv_w1V1To0zmX8E_I1GQ8uJRQJ_BxeiC9btOt_6hyNQ7u3wzHG2Z73ecNd3SehM/w216-h320/The-Man-In-The-Hat_Art-scaled.jpg" title="The Man In The Hat (2020)" width="216" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>OK, I have to admit, when I first saw the movie title, and the promo photo, I immediately recognized the lead actor, Ciarán Hinds. I was instantly intrigued. Ciarán Hinds? The 'Man' in the Hat? I mean, this is the dude who played Julius Caesar, among other notable roles, in HBO's massive series 'Rome' that aired from 2005-2007. Could he pull off what seems to be a sure oddball role, that I noticed was listed as a comedy on IMDB? A 'man' (in a Hat) who journeys thru France in an old Fiat 500? Interesting.</p><p>Answer: YES - Bravo, Mr. Hinds.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>What he have here, is a movie that feels like an old comedy, even like a Silent movie from the 30's. But the brilliance here, is that, even though the movie is almost entirely silent, there is some sparse dialog which is used only at crucial points during the film, which makes some of the scenes even more compelling. Except for those few scenes with some dialogue, we are left to interpret the actors' body language and incredibly emotive facial expressions, as demonstrated to a phenomenal extent by Mr. Hinds himself. I mean, who knew?</p><p>I do not wish to give away the plot, but there are some mysteries regarding a missing woman, a witness to a body dumped in a river, and perhaps a man who continues to be damp. Sound kooky? You bet. But the movie has a breezy quality to it, and the varied soundtrack is just right for the silly, sometimes dead serious antics and plot scenes. Not your average movie, and certainly not a movie that you come across everyday.</p><p></p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtOr0v5uURnyf5uH777zkBuLtHU31CtQcWFVuYI90UT1ZD_IIBJezz4UTXzsSygLzHjrgr20VBB6hHx5rAsybaQT93NQKVcnRZn1NLUOGKncGzmshxpqG9NuVQ4eJkmjpi7rQoTuLPU0N/s740/Ciaran-Hinds-The-Man-in-the-Hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="740" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtOr0v5uURnyf5uH777zkBuLtHU31CtQcWFVuYI90UT1ZD_IIBJezz4UTXzsSygLzHjrgr20VBB6hHx5rAsybaQT93NQKVcnRZn1NLUOGKncGzmshxpqG9NuVQ4eJkmjpi7rQoTuLPU0N/w320-h180/Ciaran-Hinds-The-Man-in-the-Hat.jpg" title="Man in the Hat and the 'Damp Man'" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man in the Hat and the 'Damp Man'<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>(images courtesy thepeoplesmovies.com)</p>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-42913974685000588502016-06-15T17:15:00.000-07:002019-08-11T12:43:53.875-07:00Kiosk Movie ReviewsWhat are Kiosk Movie Reviews, you say? <br />
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You know, that automated DVD and Blu-ray dispenser that's located at your local supermarket, drugstore, etc. Names like <a href="http://www.redbox.com/" target="_blank">Redbox</a>, <a href="http://www.mydvdxpress.net/" target="_blank">DVDXpress</a>, and more.<br />
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We know that if you're picking movies up at these things that it's very likely you don't want to waste much time. Get in, shop, get your movie, and get out. Well in keeping with the spirit, VideoCrib's going to spit out a whole list of short and sweet Kiosk Movie Reviews, especially for you, and bottom line, we'll tell you if you should waste time wrestling with the movie kiosk, i.e., whether or not you need to rent a particular movie. Here goes, before we WASTE ANY MORE TIME:<br />
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<a name='more'></a>'IN THE CRIB' - yes, rent it. 'OUT THE CRIB' - don't waste your time renting it.<br />
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<u>BRIDGE OF SPIES</u> - Cold War drama based on the true story of the American spy plane downed by Russian military. Tense, even keeled thriller/biographical drama with good acting.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>THE H8FUL EIGHT</u> - Post US Civil-War Wyoming. Bounty hunters, hangmen, criminals, all snowbound at a stagecoach stopover. Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Enough said.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>THE FOREST</u> - A woman travels to Japan to find her missing twin sister in the notorious Japanese Suicide Forest. Poor screenplay. Don't rent it unless it's very late and you're drunk.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpHXL35nWXkJQQ41naIes9Gu9xcAdA9E7-xlUqBfZKL3jMFkvZf5y6L_pfJkC1CmGbgDyLZSyzTFck_MRGdGfaDtrYi-k7MJvL757l6kcHulrIXMITd2fAnNO5j9RgY_u_hclAQld206r/s1600/VC+the+forest.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="scene from 'The Forest'" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpHXL35nWXkJQQ41naIes9Gu9xcAdA9E7-xlUqBfZKL3jMFkvZf5y6L_pfJkC1CmGbgDyLZSyzTFck_MRGdGfaDtrYi-k7MJvL757l6kcHulrIXMITd2fAnNO5j9RgY_u_hclAQld206r/s1600/VC+the+forest.jpeg" title="scene from 'The Forest'" /></a></div>
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<==OUT THE CRIB<br />
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<u>THE REVENANT</u> - In 1823 a frontiersman suffers brutal injuries from a bear attack, and is left for dead by a member of his team. Not for the faint of heart (I still remember the bear attack scene), but an incredible story of survival and revenge.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>DEADPOOL</u> - A rogue experiment leaves a former special forces operative with special powers and a twisted sense of humor. Gratuitous violence, albeit well done, and the perfect antidote to all of the cookie-cutter superhero movies that we've been barraged with in recent years.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>TRIPLE 9</u> - Again another movie about gangsters and corrupt cops working together and blurring the lines of justice, and oh yeah, enter a new morally straight 'rookie' cop to come on the scene and save the day. The plot and screenplay were as bumpy as the car chases. Save your rental fee.</div>
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<==OUT THE CRIB<br />
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<u>ZOOLANDER 2</u> - OK, we know this movie's dumb. You do too. But if you like movies filmed in Italy, and you go for the Saturday Night Live humor, example, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, etc., you will get a few good laughs from this film, which satires the modeling industry (among other topics). Otherwise you should pass on this one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsnZNrjwfP6_2UwrgepZ-iXNsrwvwV4BeB3BdUM2rb9yvXTpANlWO00At9TK_tkPudeJdicgxnYQS8gWy2d_vJKhuqx5oox-kOtuq4nA8huHMq7_CEV5190IADxCa2cBRaG-onwGzYrER/s1600/VC+ZOO+960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Zoolander 2 Cast" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsnZNrjwfP6_2UwrgepZ-iXNsrwvwV4BeB3BdUM2rb9yvXTpANlWO00At9TK_tkPudeJdicgxnYQS8gWy2d_vJKhuqx5oox-kOtuq4nA8huHMq7_CEV5190IADxCa2cBRaG-onwGzYrER/s320/VC+ZOO+960.jpg" title="Zoolander 2 Cast" width="320" /></a></div>
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==>IN THE CRIB (conditional - read above)<br />
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<u>FORSAKEN (2015)</u> - Classic western set in 1872 Wyoming about a retired gunfighter and his estranged father, who must deal with a corrupt businessman and his gang of thugs. Great father and son drama (Donald and Kiefer Sutherland), some brief parts of crisp action, and Michael Wincott's performance as the somewhat sympathetic thug is excellent.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>BATMAN V SUPERMAN DOJ</u> - The showdown we've all been waiting for, right? Wrong. Fun? Not so much. These guys have plenty of baggage, and you're gonna see maybe a lot more than you wanted. Screenplay disjointed. Violence - oh yeah, but don't bring the small kids to see this one. A very good 'almost movie', filled with many 'what was that?' moments.<br />
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<==OUT THE CRIB<br />
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<u>GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)</u> - Let's get this out of the way. It's not as good as the original. However, it comes pretty darn close, thanks to director Paul Feig's new approach, and some of the funniest actors in the biz. Love the subtle attention to plot details.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>THE NICE GUYS</u> - Easily one of the best movies of 2016, this movie produced several belly laughs, about 2 mismatched detectives in 1970's Los Angeles who team up to investigate a missing girl and the death of a porn star. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe have blockbuster chemistry.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>KONG: SKULL ISLAND</u> - OK people, the Kong thing, again? Seriously? Have CGI, will create. Shallow characters, and no Oscars for acting happening here, though John C. Reilly is enjoyable as a war vet. Some cheesy effects but the good fight scenes are good. Go if you are an action effects junkie, otherwise, PASS.<br />
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<==OUT THE CRIB<br />
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<u>LA LA LAND</u> - Yep, I waited a little bit to see this one. The corny musical number in the beginning almost confirmed my hesitancy. ALMOST. After that, what we have is a pretty amazing, breezy yet meaningful story of love versus pursuing your dreams, all done in a style that is retro, harking back to old Hollywood musicals, and yet is also modern and quite hip. Worth a look unless you really hate musicals.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB<br />
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<u>ALIEN COVENANT</u> - After discovering what they believe to be an unknown paradise, the Covenant crew meet a survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. This one amps up the creature violence and suspense and is a return to form for director Ridley Scott. A great Friday Night rental. No real memorable characters, though.<br />
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==>IN THE CRIB</div>
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<u>APPROACHING THE UNKNOWN</u> - A low-key, slightly offbeat sci-fi adventure about the first solo manned mission to Mars, which manages to make statements about not only the engineering and courage required to survive it, but also about our precious environment. Lead actor Mark Strong's commanding voice narration makes the film that much more interesting, and we are able to get inside his head.<br /><br />==>IN THE CRIB</div>
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Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-67956793368070279162016-02-21T15:09:00.005-08:002021-05-05T09:11:34.847-07:00Streaming Movie ReviewsAll films reviewed below are available on Netflix, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&docId=1000739191&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Amazon Instant Video</span></a> or <span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Vudu</span></a>.</span><br />
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Want to see what's upcoming in theaters? Visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/p/previews.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><b>Previews Page</b></span></a><br /></div><br />
<b><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018HJ03UC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B018HJ03UC&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=NGK5SQY4XLM2VCI2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>The Martian</b></a></u></b> - 2015 - 141 minutes - Rated PG-13 - Sci-Fi and Fantasy<br />
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The plot: In 2035, during a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind and presumed dead after a fierce storm. He must then summon all his courage and wits to survive, while maintaining hope of being rescued.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018HJ03UC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B018HJ03UC&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=NGK5SQY4XLM2VCI2" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B018HJ03UC&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vide099-20" /></a></div>
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The Crib says: after a few recent misses, Ridley Scott finally hits the mark with a techy-type tale that is not too geeked-up for the public to understand and enjoy. Matt Damon reminds us of why he is still a top actor and his easy-going charm and comic grace are on full display here. The movie runs along at a good pace and may seem much shorter than its actual runtime.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=vide099-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B018HJ03UC" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br />
<b><u><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252Fmovies%252F%2523%2521content%252F366356%252FIron-Sky" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Iron Sky</a></u></b> - 2012 - 93 minutes - Rated R - Action Sci-Fi and Fantasy<br />
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The plot: In 1945, the Nazis had secretly retreated to the far side of the moon. A space shuttle mission exposes their diabolical plan to invade Earth.<br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252Fmovies%252F%2523%2521content%252F366356%252FIron-Sky" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Sky on Vudu" border="0" height="250" src="http://images2.vudu.com/poster2/366356-l" title="Iron Sky on Vudu" width="180" /></a>
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The Crib says: a fun, Sci-Fi Noir flick that entertains and never takes itself too seriously. Although a bit cheesy around the edges, Julia Dietze's charm helps to keep it interesting.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0LPYXG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B0LPYXG&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flight</a></u></b> - 2012 - 138 minutes - Rated R - Suspense Drama<br />
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The plot: After a skillful safe landing of a damaged commercial airliner, a veteran airline pilot begins to have questions about the incident, and a subsequent government inquiry threatens his reputation and <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">career.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0LPYXG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B0LPYXG&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=T6W36KEWSHVJBRTI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="Flight on Amazon" border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00B0LPYXG&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vide099-20" title="Flight on Amazon" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=vide099-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00B0LPYXG" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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The Crib says: A very modern take on alcoholism that is not just about substance abuse, but about accountability and responsibility for one's own actions. Superb acting all the way around. A heavy social drama that is worth checking out.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F2BHGE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005F2BHGE&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Assassination Games</a></u></b> - 2011 - 101 minutes - Rated R - Action Thriller<br />
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The plot: Rival assassins team up to fight a global drug cartel.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F2BHGE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005F2BHGE&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=AG6G57H2VTRSK2NG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="Assassination Games on Amazon" border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005F2BHGE&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vide099-20" title="Assassination Games on Amazon" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=vide099-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005F2BHGE" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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The Crib says: One of Jean-Claude Van Damme's best, most understated performances, with sharp directing and cinematography, and a rousing soundtrack.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252Fmovies%252F%2523%2521content%252F440699%252FParker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Parker</a></u></b> - 2013 - 118 minutes - Rated R - Action Adventure Thriller<br />
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The plot: Parker is a thief, but with his own personal code of ethics. When his crew double-crosses him, he joins up with an unexpected partner to try and even the score.<br />
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<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252Fmovies%252F%2523%2521content%252F440699%252FParker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="Parker on Vudu" border="0" height="250" src="http://images2.vudu.com/poster2/440699-l" title="Parker on Vudu" width="180" /></a>
<img alt="icon" height="1" src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&bids=251672.1&type=10" width="1" />
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The Crib says: Some excellent fight scenes, that are probably too few and far between for real Jason Statham fans. Jennifer Lopez does not match her prior acting chops from films like 'Out of Sight' - (1998 - remember that one with George Clooney?), or even 'Monster-In-Law' (2005) but she does show up. Bottom Line - if you're not a Jason Statham fan, you may want to pass on this one.</div>
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<b><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BUCW54Q/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00BUCW54Q&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jack Reacher</a></u></b> - 2012 - 130 minutes - Rated PG-13 - Crime Action Thriller</div>
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The plot: Former military cop Jack Reacher teams up with a beautiful defense attorney to investigate the killing of five people by an expert sniper (based on the novels by Lee Child).</div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Crib says: Good adaptation of the Lee Child novel 'One Shot'. For those of you who are not Tom Cruise fans, if you view the movie with little expectations, you may be pleasantly surprised. Although there are some bumps in the plot line and the pace is slow towards the beginning, Cruise's understated acting(for once) and the movie's ultimate delivery of many suspense filled action scenes delivers the goods.</div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQLF35I/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00HQLF35I&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><u>Captain Phillips</u></b></a> - 2013- 134 minutes - Rated PG-13 - Biographical Drama, Thriller<br />
<br />
The plot: A re-telling of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQLF35I/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00HQLF35I&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=52UJXEZJJXMKMCD4" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Captain Phillips on Amazon" border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00HQLF35I&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vide099-20" title="Captain Phillips on Amazon" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
The Crib says: Although the story is not presented entirely fact by fact, it is a taut, tension-filled thriller which also showcases the adverse effects of globalization. A must see, if only to enjoy the superb face-offs between Tom Hanks (Phillips) and the pirate leader, played by newcomer Barkhad Abdi.<br />
<br />
<b><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJ4A9NO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00GJ4A9NO&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=vide099-20&amp;linkId=JVOTONQFXTN4PS66" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Family</a></u></b> - 2013 - 111 minutes - Rated R - Crime Action, Gangster Movie, Satire<br />
<br />
The plot: The Manzoni's, an infamous mob family, have been relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program and have some challenges laying low and fitting in.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJ4A9NO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GJ4A9NO&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=JVOTONQFXTN4PS66" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Family on Amazon" border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00GJ4A9NO&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vide099-20" title="The Family on Amazon" /></a></div>
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<br />
The Crib says: If you like satires about the Mob, this one has it all. Of course, it does not hurt to have Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer all in the same movie. However, this film is not for the politically correct, but then again you probably knew that!<br />
<br />
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</div><p>
What's an audio/video filter? You've heard of coffee filters, right? OK, so where am I going with this. </p><p>Well, let's say you're one of the many people who drink drip-brewed coffee. Have you ever not used the paper filter, run out of them, or substituted the permanent gold-tone ones? What do you end up with. Yeeeeeech!<br />
<br />
You get gritty, crunchy coffee, laced with grinds, that is bitter and chewable to the last drop. Sludge. But you can run to the store and get some more paper filters and then life is good again.<br />
<br />
So how does this relate to a home theater A/V filter? Let's examine the similarities.<br />
</p><span><a name='more'></a></span>First of all, your coffee maker is hungry. So what do we feed it to make coffee. Hot water and ground beans, which flow thru the system's 'plumbing', and on the way to creating your perfect cup they are passed thru a filter, which removes the loose sludge and impurities in both the water and bean mixture.<br />
<br />
So what does a home theater system eat? POWER!! Electricity!! And just like the coffee maker, how do you keep your system's electrical 'plumbing' from accumulating and putting out electrical sludge, resulting in a poorer video picture and distorted sound, full of noise and interference?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2015/06/home-theater-sludge.html" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Power Conditioner Status Panel" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBaeauLPTfp2o-RPcmVJF_MYEd3YqFwYNLQjbdRWnmBI26bfw-KhHZ-6GuoaBvu4Moq3m0eZxM2pCoN0DcI0drk0U148EUDTLqDdRiQHmee5EoK7TIF8Bt8Btf6ke_CFut5zta0O9E1RMv/s320/IMG_0694.jpeg" title="Power Conditioner Status Panel" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-size: small;">Everything A-OK Captain!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You get an A/V filter, also known as a power conditioner and surge protector (most power conditioners also include surge protection to guard your components from damage caused by random power spikes or surges delivered by your friendly local energy companies, when they experience problems with their power grids).<br />
<br />
Many major manufacturers carry these, like Monoprice, Furman, Belkin, Monster, even Power Sentry. We prefer the slim-line ones, which work well if combined with good quality cabling, and they also fit more easily into your component rack.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBxMKIsDoiKZlNUtsngo6vZhEDaBkTqcobD15sB5wPX8AVrAQzcPm9rLg2M_n-VCQf1Q1GUYiwZwip2cqAKkxKA_OnzsenWNDFyLxQMseHcgnCJIsXwxH5EK-PdzJaVFo9ohyphenhyphenDaCw9H5X/s1600/IMG_0695.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Power Conditioner" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBxMKIsDoiKZlNUtsngo6vZhEDaBkTqcobD15sB5wPX8AVrAQzcPm9rLg2M_n-VCQf1Q1GUYiwZwip2cqAKkxKA_OnzsenWNDFyLxQMseHcgnCJIsXwxH5EK-PdzJaVFo9ohyphenhyphenDaCw9H5X/s320/IMG_0695.jpeg" title="Power Conditioner" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Belkin Power Conditioner (in silver)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So get out there and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BQ91Y6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003BQ91Y6&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=ZPA2JKYQEJ4C7AGH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">clean and protect your home theater power</a>. Your components might even last a lot longer on a healthier power diet.<br />
<br />
<i>"Good Luck, and Happy Power Conditioning"</i><br />
<br />
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</script><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-31219262503336526862014-12-23T15:53:00.003-08:002021-05-03T08:53:02.757-07:00The Files of X<div style="text-align: left;">
</div><p>
Do you watch shows like Bones, Fringe, and of course, are you enjoying for years the many various Crime Scene Investigation or 'CSI' television series until you were blue in the face with criminal forensics?</p><p>Well, now that many of these shows or their spin-offs have come and gone, maybe it's time to go back to the one that started it all, to really appreciate it.<br />
<br />
What's that famous old saying? 'You've tried the rest, now try the best?' Or is it more like, 'The original, and best'.</p><a name='more'></a>However you put it, we and many others personally feel that some of the best writing ever for dramas that dealt with crimes and the paranormal came out of a little known show that showed up on TV screens in 1993. It was called, of course, 'The X-Files', a show created and written by Chris Carter, but Chris also had a pool of other excellent staff and guest writers that contributed and wrote many of the series' episodes as well.<br />
<br />
Going back and watching the show now, it is truly remarkable to reflect upon the actual structure of the show. Using a method that was hardly (if ever) used before, the X-Files episodes consisted of:<br />
<br />
1) A main thread of what we call a series sub-theme that would re-occur and pick up and continue where it had left off a few episodes prior, and then in-between the sub-theme episodes would be:<br />
<br />
2) Various other episodes that were written about and uniquely covered another popular and random sub-topic within the paranormal realms. Of course, the main thread dealt with UFO's, aliens, and their clandestine plot to develop (along with shady government figures) a successful alien-human hybrid to employ as a slave race to accommodate their eventual colonizing and taking over of planet earth. The random episodes would deal with things like astrology, Bigfoot, Moth-man, ghosts, matters of the occult, and so on.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/12/the-files-of-x.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="X-Files - agents Mulder and Scully" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiqTxe43EgcvsVilfJ6CCH6-zWPQxr3jBiFJlKVkyMzWznFiwtI1wgTwoabBJEppKpL1RlNzogvYz8zYqiaiBMLpQqU_uUWWwJeETOMcjs0pkeVSLO79Rs2Wpg3C0Gml_F669fq4P5UBt0/s320/X-files-show-amazon.jpg" title="X-Files - agents Mulder and Scully" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Many dramas today use this method of recurring main thread or sub-theme intertwined with other random episodes, which is a testament to the ground-breaking show that was the X-Files.<br />
<br />
The X-Files also seemed to have helped bolster the Sci-Fi resurgence that occurred in Hollywood during the mid to late nineties, and has continued to this day.<br />
<br />
The show lasted for 9 seasons, now 11 if you count the recent 're-boot', and spawned 2 feature films that carried on the TV series' subject matter.<br />
<br />
When you go back to re-visit the X-Files, we are sure that you will notice some things:<br />
<br />
First of all, the show is still hell-a-scary! Its trademark, what made it what it was, and why you will always have a post-viewing discussion with your pals, or 'water-cooler' talk. <br />
<br />
Another thing would be all of the young actors or no-names that were in the show who are famous now. Some of them are a little hard to spot, but you can always watch the credits at the end if you are in doubt. <br />
<br />
Finally, you will start to realize that given the year the show came out, that there are so many shows you watch now that are dead copies of the X-Files, or are borrowing some of the story-lines or approach to the style of directing and acting.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CRVL5ZE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CRVL5ZE&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=OY4E3XSLK6I2AE3K" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00CRVL5ZE&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vide099-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=vide099-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00CRVL5ZE" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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</div>
To stream or not to stream? Well, have you decided? If the answer is 'yes', I want to stream, and if you have been streaming and using Wi-Fi to do it, like many of us have been, then maybe, after seeing just how 'well' <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/09/video-streaming.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">basic streaming</span></b></a> works, your next wish would be:<br />
<br />
How Can I Stream Faster?<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this is truly not a one-word answer. It will depend on a few factors, which we will attempt to break down for you:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>1) The presence (or lack thereof) of other devices in your house<br />
<br />
2) Your Internet Service Provider (or ISP) connection speed<br />
<br />
3) Your wireless Router and Network set-up<br />
<br />
4) If using Wi-Fi, how far away your Wi-Fi Router signal is from the streaming device or Smart TV<br />
<br />
<u>Factor 1 - Devices</u> - Cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens, baby monitors, alarm systems, wireless speakers, or anything else that usually uses the 2.4 GHz band can interfere with your Router's wireless signal, which like many laptops, or even the new 'Roku 2' streaming device, will be capable of handling only the 2.4 GHz band, unless otherwise noted in the specs.<br />
<br />
5 GHz Wi-Fi networks, on the other hand, are not susceptible to this interference since they occupy a totally different frequency band.<br />
<br />
<u>Factor 2 - ISP</u> - from our tests, even though the original Netflix requirement was for around 1 MBPS (megabits per second data transfer rate), we saw a marked improvement in streaming performance when speed was tested between 20 to 30 MBPS, as delivered by our ISP.<br />
<br />
<u>Factor 3 - Router</u> - In theory, any kind of video streaming should be smoother and more defined in the 5 GHz band, due to the absence of interference in this frequency range (Factor 1), and also due to more efficient 'channel blocking' (techie talk), meaning the way the internal video data is assembled and transmitted across the wireless network when you stream using 5 GHz bandwidth.<br />
<br />
<u>Factor 4 - Distance</u> - Generally speaking, though, the higher the frequency band, the less further a Wi-Fi signal can actually travel, in theory, hence the reason for most all 2.4 GHz signals to have a better range than their equivalent 5 GHz signal.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/05/faster-streaming.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Faster Streaming - IPAD" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6S5afnNzGfOTW18rGMhkNmBZIGQbimeFsUYrxSE_6Mk98ZzH1QEn737ZQ9jIM4f3ir62IqAp7Pu67MzWyNYax4mcOA2Rtvys8fP1D_wwrjVtEaog83rS5Jm566V7zBMSF2JKP1GLoknou/s320/dreamstime_xs_37850146.jpg" title="Faster Streaming - IPAD" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Streaming on tablet</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So...what does this all mean? How do I stream faster?<br />
<br />
Let us make some suggestions:<br />
<br />
First of all, the wireless technology keeps evolving, and some of the latest Routers even have more powerful 5 GHz radios built-in, with better range, but here's what we can recommend at this point:<br />
<br />
1) Make sure you have a fairly high-end Router - capable of both 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands.<br />
<br />
2) Make sure your ISP download speed is acceptable, at least 20 MBPS or more.<br />
<br />
3) If your streaming device/Smart TV is say, 20 feet or less from your Wi-Fi Router, you may want to try using the 5 GHz band and test your streaming to check for any marked improvements versus the 2.4 GHz setting.<br />
<br />
4) If your components are much further away from the wireless signal source, and you do not have a late model higher-end Router, stick to the 2.4 GHz band and ask your ISP for a 'speed-boost' (for more MBPS) which may or may not come with an additional charge, depending on your service contract.<br />
<br />
5) Check with your streaming provider to make sure you are getting the most out of your 'data usage' or 'data bandwidth' setting from the provider, also known as 'playback settings'. For example, with Netflix, make sure that your playback settings are always set to 'HD' and not some lower performance setting.<br />
<br />
And as we say here at VideoCrib:<br />
<br />
<i>Give it a Try, and Happy Streaming!</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuuPmSyA9LXun1bJdBkNxflq8y8Y9G7GnecEEE9hgQwJRBI6nt8R47NH0Ya-i6p-Q_69KcMsKRD7DW__xo4EhweMmLimHQDLUxrfKwv6fzJ09DSLtXhrdn0Elog6G2gMcWfnx_RsLYwdy/s1600/dreamstime_xs_21103836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Faster Streaming" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuuPmSyA9LXun1bJdBkNxflq8y8Y9G7GnecEEE9hgQwJRBI6nt8R47NH0Ya-i6p-Q_69KcMsKRD7DW__xo4EhweMmLimHQDLUxrfKwv6fzJ09DSLtXhrdn0Elog6G2gMcWfnx_RsLYwdy/s1600/dreamstime_xs_21103836.jpg" title="Faster Streaming" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
References<br />
<br />
<u>Current ISP Speeds required, Netflix streaming</u>:<br />
<br />
.5 MBPS - original basic requirement<br />
<br />
1.5 MBPS - Netflix recommended (original)<br />
<br />
3.0 MBPS - SD - Standard Digital<br />
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5.0 MBPS - HD - (includes 720p or better)<br />
<br />
25 MBPS - Ultra HD 4K<br />
<br />
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<u>Basic Wireless chart</u>:<br />
<br />
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<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvatica, sans-serif; height: 161px; width: 546px;"><tbody>
<tr><td bgcolor="#003366" style="font-size: 12px;" width="92"><span style="color: white;"><b>Band</b></span></td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="224">2.4 GHz</td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="211">5 GHz</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#003366" style="font-size: 12px;" width="92"><span style="color: white;"><b>Channel</b></span></td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="224">Three (3) non-overlapping channels</td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="211">23 non-overlapping channels</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#003366" style="font-size: 12px;" width="92"><span style="color: white;"><b>Standards</b></span></td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="224"> Wireless B, G, & N</td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="211"> Wireless A, N, & AC</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#003366" style="font-size: 12px;" width="92"><span style="color: white;"><b>Network Range</b></span></td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="224"> Longer Range</td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="211"> Shorter Range</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#003366" style="font-size: 12px;" width="92"><span style="color: white;"><b>Interference</b></span></td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="224"> More</td><td style="font-size: 12px;" width="211"> Less</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYPlgRGbhT50a7PUNP0P2Pq4cq2aiYdTWVBoPem935PVa-VkBo2oToqsgtLemApUXxaQQ8bNLVmcX8-Ax1wmgyt0zgKV3eB-WOXcNcRiDBt7GVsZIw19TGzRbzykMztKcq6RM6lFqwWxt/s1600/Asus+Router+IMG_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wireless Dual-band Gigabit Router" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYPlgRGbhT50a7PUNP0P2Pq4cq2aiYdTWVBoPem935PVa-VkBo2oToqsgtLemApUXxaQQ8bNLVmcX8-Ax1wmgyt0zgKV3eB-WOXcNcRiDBt7GVsZIw19TGzRbzykMztKcq6RM6lFqwWxt/s1600/Asus+Router+IMG_0401.JPG" title="Wireless Dual-band Gigabit Router" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: Asus RT-AC66U Wireless Dual-band Gigabit Router</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Find it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ABOJKS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008ABOJKS&linkCode=as2&tag=vide099-20&linkId=52YHUFZ5OO5LKFVI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here.</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=vide099-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009F0EV6A" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-67882994524208072962014-05-28T11:45:00.000-07:002016-08-21T08:24:25.297-07:00Video Files to DVD<div style="text-align: left;">
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A computer DVD burner makes it easy to convert video files to dvd.<br />
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These files use a lot of memory - up to 10 gigabytes for every hour of your recorded data - so converting to a DVD disc can free up your hard drive space.<br />
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The computer or laptop must be equipped with a DVD burner to record videos to disc. Most computers with a burner will also have DVD software installed to manage the recording. With a supply of blank recordable DVDs, videos can be moved off the computer's hard drive and onto long-lasting media discs.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Items you will need:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #e69138;"></span></b>
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<a name='more'></a>Computer with DVD burner<br />
Video files stored on the computer - (e.g., from a video camera, webcam or smartphone)<br />
Blank DVDs<br />
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Step-by-Step Instructions:<br />
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Step 1</span></div>
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Insert a blank, recordable DVD into the media tray of the computer, and close the tray.</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Step 2</span></h4>
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Open the program that manages the DVD burner, such as Windows DVD Maker or iMovie (Mac).</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Step 3</span></h4>
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Click the "File" button, and select "New" or "New Project," depending on the software.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/video-files-to-dvd.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Video Files to DVD - Import" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJAsTy_ca0h4LdcHiT5scM1CVDP2EVwxtvm1J1aOm0wZhOpMbvaPylMiRRy3l3VmnnQsOzoeCwWFav6gpn93r9OYUiYuO_WOBm6wtW11jxeO4jZxaJPto2EiLxC0lBsRZRs8QBTcvXUx5/s1600/1_clip_image023.jpg.1379353832596.jpg" title="Video Files to DVD - Import" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Transfer video files to DVD</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Step 4</span></h4>
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Click the "Add Items" or "Import" tabs, then select the videos to be burned to the DVD by clicking (or dragging) each video file. This will move copies of the videos into a list of files for recording to disc.</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Step 5</span></h4>
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Click "Next" and/or select menu styles (themes), recording options and other preferences.</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Step 6</span></h4>
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Click the "Burn" tab to record the video files to DVD.</div>
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**Note to Mac owners <span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">(Macs bought 2011 or later)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">: iDVD is no longer available to use to burn your video files to DVD. You will have to use the 'Share' option in iMovie to format your video files and save them to your computer, then:</span></div>
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You can download either of these free, easy-to-use apps from the Apple store to complete the DVD burn of these files:</div>
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1-Click DVD Creator</div>
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Free DVD Creator</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Or download freeware 'Burn' located at: </span></span><a href="http://www.digital-digest.com/software/Burn.html" target="_blank">http://www.digital-digest.com/software/Burn.html</a></div>
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Looking to transfer your video tapes to DVD? Visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/vhs-tapes-to-dvd.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">VHS Tapes to DVD page</span></b></a>.<br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Video Files to VCD - Another Option!</span></u></b></div>
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<b>Question:</b> Did you run out of blank DVD's? Do you have photos, camcorder video files, etc., that are not longer than 74 minutes of total playing time or not bigger than 700 mb?</div>
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<b>Answer:</b><span style="font-weight: inherit;"> Then if you have some blank CD's laying around, you can try burning and creating a VCD (Video Compact Disc).</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Advantages to VCD's:</span></u></b></div>
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1) They are usually cheaper than blank DVD's, usually only costing somewhere between 25 and 10 cents each.</div>
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2) VCD's can store both audio (CD) and video files (DVD). However, like an audio cd, the storage limit is around 700 mb per disc.</div>
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3) VCD's usually use the MPEG-1 format, which is highly compatible with most computers' CD players and virtually any kind of DVD player.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Trade-off's:</span></u></b></div>
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1) Picture and sound quality are usually inferior to a DVD, especially if the video file(s) are larger than 700 mb, because some compression has to occur to store the video on the disc, which can lower the resolution from 720x480 (DVD) to 352x240 (VCD).</div>
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2) Surround sound may be degraded a bit, however, any stereo sound should be pretty much un-affected.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-SxQYe1KZnc-XhOO9SqyAduG0idCPDMPZWGfRF2wS6GvQZV44pcVb6NzCgts1K68pW0ldHhlDiAHFAtHzjcWUr0GA86cTOC32kFU358NBLhUo2ycKrWOnv6Hu5LhqlGC2g4rx1o9s1nb/s1600/dreamstime_xs_12597749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Computer DVD Burner" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-SxQYe1KZnc-XhOO9SqyAduG0idCPDMPZWGfRF2wS6GvQZV44pcVb6NzCgts1K68pW0ldHhlDiAHFAtHzjcWUr0GA86cTOC32kFU358NBLhUo2ycKrWOnv6Hu5LhqlGC2g4rx1o9s1nb/s1600/dreamstime_xs_12597749.jpg" title="Computer DVD Burner" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: Computer with DVD Burner</span>
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<u><b><span style="color: #e69138;">How Do I Burn a VCD?</span></b></u></div>
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1) You must first have a video file that is already in MPEG-1 format. For example, a video that you took with your camcorder and then transferred to your computer's hard drive. This file must be encoded in the MPEG-1 format before burning it to disc.</div>
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2) Usually encoding software is used for this, like<b> <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=823215&b=505077&m=48890&afftrack=&urllink=www%2Eaiseesoft%2Ecom" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Aiseesoft Software</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span></b> which also offers a free download and trial.</div>
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3) Once encoded to MPEG-1, you may use your normal CD burning software to burn the VCD. Just insert a blank, recordable CD into a CD recordable drive, open your CD burning application, and follow the prompts.</div>
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4) Viewing a VCD - it will be viewable in almost any computer drive as well as a vast majority of DVD drives.</div>
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<b><i>'Give it a try, and Happy Burning!'</i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: small;">></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: inherit;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=video%20files%20to%20dvd&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Video files to DVD on Amazon</span></a></span></b>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tips</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Deleting video files from the computer is a separate step. The original video files will remain on the computer's hard drive after copying them to VCD or DVD. Get rid of unwanted files by selecting each video for removal, right-clicking and selecting "Delete."</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Warnings</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Wait for the DVD to finalize before removing it from the computer. Finalization prepares a disc for playback on other equipment. Removing the DVD before it finalizes can ruin the recording. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Test your VCD or DVD to see if the recording is complete and plays properly with no errors, before deleting the original file from your computer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 16px;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/vhs-tapes-to-dvd.html"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><VHS Tapes to DVD page></span></b></a> <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/08/copy-blu-ray-to-dvd.html"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><Copy Blu-ray to DVD page></span></b></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">No time to do it yourself?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">To have a look at some sites that do most or all of the work for you, </span></span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 16px;">go here for some great </span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 16px;"><b><a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-7357699-11779315-1398450858000" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">assistance with video transfer</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span></a></b></span></span></div>
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Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-25458522539414808202014-04-29T07:21:00.000-07:002016-09-11T10:18:49.936-07:00What is 4K TV?<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Technology inevitably marches on. '4K TVs', 'QuadHD TVs', or 'Ultra HD 4K TVs' as the manufacturers are calling them, are new to the market and here's what we know about them so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you are video geeks like us here at VideoCrib you may want to look for one to purchase, or at least go to the store to check one out. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's a quick breakdown...</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Please keep in mind that some of this info may be subject to change, but we'll make sure we keep you up to date).</b><br />
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<a name='more'></a>(You can also view some 4K UHDTVs for sale <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=4k%20tv&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">here</span></a></b>.)<br />
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<li><b><span style="color: #e69138;">The resolution -</span></b> right now it's (3840 x 2160) or simply (2160p), as opposed to the current standard of (1920 x 1080) or (1080p). So it's twice as many horizontal lines of resolution as regular HD and also 4 times the pixels, 8 million versus 2 million.</li>
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<li><i><b><span style="color: #e69138;">Can most people notice the difference in picture resolution? </span></b></i> From what we've seen, mostly no. Most people will sit 5 feet or more away from their TVs, that's just the way it is. Studies show that the closer you get to your TV, the more you can notice the picture resolution quality (see chart below).</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/what-is-4k-tv.html"><img alt="What is 4K TV?" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-G-FMbCBLxqTSFXyJIQMx_AVe0SLeBHNDIiIKM875M3I9KT8eAf4Iuzs6ZviaWWcs04CjhsHcquSeEhjnI2RSnFlswraVZyeguxAECA8aIa18cUHIz3kgdF_cughCjxym2SigCdmiPHod/s320/4k+sony+84+inch.jpg" title="What is 4K TV?" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: 84-inch LCD (Ultra High Def 4K TV)</span></td></tr>
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<li>To compensate for loss of picture quality effect (or resolution) of 4K TV as the distance from the TV increases, manufacturers have, at least from what we've seen, <b><span style="color: #e69138;">made the screen sizes bigger,</span></b> many of them between 70 and 80 inches measured diagonally. (Note: motion blur, contrast ratio, color accuracy, refresh rates, compression artifacts are all separate issues from the 4K increased resolution that still need to be improved going forward, so be sure to check that each TV's specifications are to your liking for these other items).</li>
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<li><b><i><span style="color: #e69138;">If I get one, will I be able to play or view my old content?</span></i> </b> Yes. 4K TVs will upscale your content (like 1080p) to 2160p. For viewing discs in 4K you'll have to buy a new Blu-ray player that upscales to 4K, for example. There are even some Home Theater receivers and video projectors now on the market that upscale video to 4K. Of course, right now there is little or no actual source content available in 4K, but we've got some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=dvd&keywords=4k%20movies&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3d85c6; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">4K Movies here</a><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-weight: bold;"> </span>if you're interested.</li>
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<li>Remember when 1080p TVs first came out? That was 10 years ago (wow!), and people asked the same types of questions back then, so it looks like we're going to experience some Deja vu. As we gradually move to 4K TVs, people will be complaining about how there's just not enough content (like from TV Networks, Cable/Satellite providers that are not up to the new standard yet) and also not very many discs available. <b><span style="color: #e69138;">We'll be in</span></b> <b><span style="color: #e69138;">'up-convert heaven'</span></b> until all the various industry providers scramble to catch up to the new formats. Oh, and yes, these TVs carry pretty steep price tags at the moment, just like in the 'old days', and maybe even 'more steep' than back then.</li>
</ul>
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<li><b><i>HDMI 2.0 is currently the latest HD Version that is 'standard'. <span style="color: #e69138;">Can I use older Version 1.4 HDMI cables if I buy a new 4K TV?</span></i></b> Yes. Just make sure you are using 'High Speed Category 2' cables, Version 1.4 or higher. You can get more details by visiting our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/hdmi-releases.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>HDMI Releases page</b></span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCIx8B5Q43t1OnnunTw6iinpHeCMpsBJbH2ge3-_V-LV9XYSWntSZ0zjgTuuHRRWlIYejZLZY2tAqoolu8KCFHaV7SgxjKhNQaru2qcT83bFOllkyIZuZOPoLI3PzVphMY5uo9LeYU6_F/s1600/Pic-FullHD_vs_UltraHD-x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="1080p vs 4K TV" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCIx8B5Q43t1OnnunTw6iinpHeCMpsBJbH2ge3-_V-LV9XYSWntSZ0zjgTuuHRRWlIYejZLZY2tAqoolu8KCFHaV7SgxjKhNQaru2qcT83bFOllkyIZuZOPoLI3PzVphMY5uo9LeYU6_F/s1600/Pic-FullHD_vs_UltraHD-x600.jpg" title="1080p vs 4K TV" /></a></div>
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<li><b><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="color: white; line-height: 1.25;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Bottom line -</span></b><span style="color: white; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.25;"> </span></span><b style="color: white; line-height: 1.25;"><i><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">should I get a '4K TV', 'Quad HD' or 'Ultra HD 4K TV' right now?</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></i></b></span></b> As with any new technology, only serious videophiles may opt for it at this point. If you work in the business or medical world, are a video gamer or are feeding your computer signal to your TV, you may want to immediately take advantage of this new technology, which is said to closely rival 35mm film stills (photos) and motion pictures, which 1080p does not. Otherwise your need may not be as great. But as we say here at the Crib, if you want to check one out to see for yourself, go to your local store and:</li>
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<b>Give it a Try, and Happy Viewing!</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdkSwWIkbXCxewFiCL5vjRzl-n1qOgLm1ffwpeDLCI1x7QvLkxyGS_2wsDptg-HC0Z0wtQ7Hv1O7INeoMZINKs-TRNDlIF-9J5hgc-2mvYKOT3_7rtFuQbUCnBRXmromETgLnDBfIF71p/s1600/4k-televison-size-optimal-distance.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="optimal viewing distance by TV size and resolution" border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdkSwWIkbXCxewFiCL5vjRzl-n1qOgLm1ffwpeDLCI1x7QvLkxyGS_2wsDptg-HC0Z0wtQ7Hv1O7INeoMZINKs-TRNDlIF-9J5hgc-2mvYKOT3_7rtFuQbUCnBRXmromETgLnDBfIF71p/s400/4k-televison-size-optimal-distance.png" title="optimal viewing distance by TV size and resolution" width="400" /></a></div>
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-31128966412396571812014-04-28T07:20:00.000-07:002017-01-14T18:55:42.430-08:00Disc CleanersYou've seen them in stores, or online. They may be in the form of wet or dry cloths or wipes, or simply a dry anti-static cloth accompanied by an alcohol based spray cleaning bottle. Does this product really do its job, do you really need to spend 15 to 30 dollars (or more) to clean your CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc, and will it even be worth it? What will you expect to get? Improved sound, more crisp and clear, and a sharper, clearer video experience? Maybe...<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Well, we here at VideoCrib have tried some of these products. To be honest with you, although in our opinion they haven't actually taken away from the experience, made the video or audio appear or sound distorted, for example, we cannot really say that we've seen a significant improvement over not using these products. We feel you can get just as good or better results using another option.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/disc-cleaners.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Disc Cleaners" border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnV8-pI_oXKlelZT04-5Yij2QGEHV6U7tUzUdaQkRNtLzlPCQy5NxDVe6LjJ4O63eF0M3Q4Shpi-ZOxM3aOfzoPfharUZh_VVlAvNc2QyeEm_BtaKXbb75KvkeSTfCHUpva_gSiLkPWROV/s320/disc-cleaners.jpeg" title="Disc Cleaners" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Are disc cleaners worth it?</span></td></tr>
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Chances are you have exactly what you need to achieve good performance just laying around your house, say under the kitchen sink, in the laundry room or at any spot in your house where you keep your household cleaners and rags. If you want your discs to look and sound their very best each time you play them, then just round up the following household items:<br />
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Items Required:<br />
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1) 1 paper towel or lint free, non-abrasive cloth<br />
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2) 1 spray bottle of natural 'green type' household cleaner.<br />
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We like to use 'Green Works' household cleaner. If you don't have this brand or some similar type of 'green' household cleaner, then a spray bottle of window cleaner will suffice. We prefer the green type of cleaner since it is usually coconut-based and a little gentler on the disc than using window cleaner or rubbing alcohol with a cotton swab, which can also be used as a last resort.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44uq6zz2zuGhSokgk9Cx2GOt-XkNs37agjZfOoSnZd8agaQunoUPkEgt82ZQQUX1zt-W1c1AE_FJ27uqYiQqHw4js5cXIRlpHoqQDXPjLTrsYTja-J5aX5ZRJBhA_0O6kFoW2AjfbH3xY/s1600/IMG_0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44uq6zz2zuGhSokgk9Cx2GOt-XkNs37agjZfOoSnZd8agaQunoUPkEgt82ZQQUX1zt-W1c1AE_FJ27uqYiQqHw4js5cXIRlpHoqQDXPjLTrsYTja-J5aX5ZRJBhA_0O6kFoW2AjfbH3xY/s1600/IMG_0184.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Instructions:<br />
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1) Spray some cleaner onto the paper towel or cloth<br />
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2) With the paper towel or cloth, gently wipe the underside of the disc (the side that has no lettering printed on it like 'DVD-R' or the movie name), wiping from the center of the disc out to the edge in a straight line. Avoid circular motions so as to mimic the encoding patterns of the disc itself (cleaning in a spiral motion), as this could cause loss of data from the disc. Make sure the disc is dry before step 3.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsjtfxtkiackRBGzC5A1KUGMEB2ytj6m5yaByfhl-M0Bj28FfiZYQ9uftC84XZQzv6iz-YpSMSrn72fI06J3SOGRYt6HI8QTcLxtSnXhP-dUpd6-M-pqS33IfJsvRvj_d2FWRAK1KFOjx/s1600/cd_wipe_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsjtfxtkiackRBGzC5A1KUGMEB2ytj6m5yaByfhl-M0Bj28FfiZYQ9uftC84XZQzv6iz-YpSMSrn72fI06J3SOGRYt6HI8QTcLxtSnXhP-dUpd6-M-pqS33IfJsvRvj_d2FWRAK1KFOjx/s1600/cd_wipe_001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3) Voila! - Pop it in the player and enjoy your movie or CD at its very best!<br />
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...and no need to spend $$$ on a disc cleaning kit.<br />
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Give it a Try, and Happy Viewing!<br />
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It's been over 5 years since the first modern 3D TV's have hit the market (back in March 2010), giving viewers a chance to enjoy 3D Blu-ray movies, 3D TV programming, and play 3D games. The technology behind it continues evolving, so let's attempt to dig in and answer some of the questions...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">So what is 3D TV?</span></u></b><br />
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3D TV is a general term for a type of display design that adds the illusion of a third dimension, namely 'depth', to high def TV displays, which otherwise typically only display 'height' and 'width', or what we call a '2D' TV.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">How Does 3D TV Work?</span></u></b></div>
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A 3D screen displays 2 separate images of the same scene at the same time, one for the viewer's right eye only, one for the left eye only, and each at separate angles. <span style="line-height: 1.5;">Without the glasses, the images appear intermixed and skewed or distorted together. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">When viewed with the 3D glasses, the two images are 'fused' together as a single image. Additionally, the natural phenomenon of 'stereopsis' is re-created for the viewer, which is the power of the human visual sense to add depth to what the brain sees in nature after processing and translating the 2 separate images coming from both eyes, which usually lie about 2 inches apart and are seeing each image from slightly different angles. The glasses take the 2 images on the screen and re-create these angles and effect for the viewer, making an otherwise flat image or '2D' image appear to have depth.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">What is 3D TV?</span></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">3D Glasses</span></u></b></div>
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Historically, there are 2 types, 'active' or 'passive' types of glasses. The 'active' ones need batteries and sync to the TV signal via infrared or radio signal. Sound clunky? Well, fear not , because in 2011 Vizio, Toshiba, and LG introduced new 'passive polarized' glasses that are thinner, lighter, inexpensive, and actually compatible with the passive 3D used in movie theatres. In this scenario the TV screen is actually coated with a polarizing film that allows each eye to view every other line to create the 3D effect. The active glasses are generally not compatible across different TV manufacturers, whereas the passive glasses may work pretty well across brands.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: 'active' 3D glasses</span></td></tr>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></u></b>
<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">How Do I Do It?</span></u></b></div>
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1) You need a TV with 3D - you'll need to decide on an 'active' versus 'passive' 3D TV, based on your preference for the matching 3D glasses described above, the TV's performance, and your own budget.<br />
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2) You'll need a 3D source, like a 3D Blu-ray player, a cable or satellite box that shows 3D content, or a 3D video streaming device or game console.<br />
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3) A pair of 3D glasses for EVERY VIEWER - you'll receive at least 2 'active' pairs with 'active' 3D TV sets and 4 'passive' pairs with 'passive' TV models.<br />
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4) If you have an A/V receiver, it needs to be able to switch 3D sources. If you're using fairly recent HDMI cables, you should be ok (see our <b><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/hdmi-releases.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HDMI Releases Explained</span></a></b> page for more details on 3D functionality with regards to HDMI cables).</div>
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<b style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.25;"><u><span style="color: #e69138;">With What?</span></u></b></div>
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Blu-ray discs - there are over 200 titles available now, look for discs with the 'Blu-ray 3D' logo on the box.</div>
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TV - ESPN 3D channel, DirecTV '3Net'.</div>
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Streaming - <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Vudu</span></b></a> was first, but most recently Netflix added 3D streaming services (limited availability).</div>
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There are a few games available on Sony PS3 and Xbox 360 as well.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">How Best to View 3D at Home?</span></u></b></div>
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The closer you get to the screen, the better the effect is. But industry recommends no closer than 2 meters from the TV for a 50 inch-screen, to reduce eye fatigue and headaches, which have been reported in industry studies.</div>
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The formula is roughly 3 times the screen height away from the TV for the minimal distance.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Cost of a 3D TV</span></u></b></div>
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In 2012, the the cost of a new 3D model versus a new 2D model was on average about $300 more.</div>
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In 2013, expect the prices to even out a little more.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Can I toggle the 3D effect on and off?</span></u></b></div>
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Yes, all 3D TV's can display 2D if desired and from what we have seen, there is no degradation in picture quality.</div>
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Blu-ray discs also include 2D versions of the movie, so 2D TV's can also play them.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">3D Formats</span></u></b></div>
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There are currently 3 formats, 'frame-packing' for Blu-ray, 'side-by-side and top and bottom' for TV and gaming, and 'checkerboard' used by the older DLP models.</div>
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(ALL new 3D TV's can handle all of these formats).</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Things you can do, things you can't do</span></u></b></div>
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You CAN wear the 3D glasses over your existing prescription glasses.</div>
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You CANNOT wear them and get the 3D effect while lying down (sideways) on a couch (this mainly pertains to 'passive' 3D glasses).</div>
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You CANNOT wear them and get the 3D effect from a far-off point (this mainly pertains to 'passive' 3D glasses).</div>
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Note: we understand many viewers complain about the discomfort of having to wear the glasses. Hang in there, 'glasses free' HDTV is in its early (we mean early!) stages but it's in the works and we'll keep you posted on its development for the mainstream markets.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">Performance</span></u></b></div>
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Right now, we give the edge to 'active' 3D TV models versus 'passive' ones, since they exhibited less ghosting or artifacts. We also prefer Plasmas to LED TV's, because they exhibited less ghosting and better colors. These are general observations and may change in the near future as we expect the 'passive' and LED 3D TV technologies to narrow the gap as they evolve.</div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">So...Should I buy a 3D TV or is it just another gimmick to get me to spend money?</span></u></b></div>
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</u></b></div>
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3D TV has come a long way, and still has a long way to go. If you are looking for a smaller TV, which has less 'wow 3D effect', or not wanting to spend any extra money on an 'upscale TV', we would say 'No'.</div>
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But if you are looking for a better and larger model of TV, you may find (especially in 2013 and beyond) that most or all of the larger models include 3D as just one of their many standard features.</div>
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That being said, 3D is not for everyone, and we recommend as with all TV's that you go to the store and view a demo of it to decide for yourself.<br />
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At this time you can still purchase a model with or without this technology, and if you do decide to go for it you can always 'toggle it off' when desired (as mentioned above).</div>
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You may also want to see a 3D movie in the cinema to get more acquainted with it as well. (Here you can browse a great selection of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=3d%20tv&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">3D TVs online</span></b></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=dvd&keywords=blu-ray%203d&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>3D titles</b></span></a>.)</div>
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As we say here at the VideoCrib, <i><b>'Give it a Try, and Happy Viewing!'</b></i></div>
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<b style="color: #e69138;"><u>TIPS</u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-weight: bold;">Center Channel speaker:</span> place it centered, directly above or below your TV. The tweeter of this speaker should be close to the height of the Front Left and Right speakers' tweeters, within 2 feet or less. Make sure the distance from all 3 front speakers to the listening position is the same. Try to make the distance from each Front Left/Right speaker to the Center speaker as similar as possible.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;"> Front Left and Right speakers:</span></b> the tweeters should be at your ear level when you are seated in the listening position.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;"> Surround speakers:</span></b> can be placed to the left and right of the listening position, in line with it, or just behind it. If you cannot do this using any side walls or speaker stands, you can place them on the left and right sides directly behind your listening position, facing the front of the room, mounted on the rear wall. Whichever of these options works for your particular space, the surrounds should be placed high enough so that the speaker drivers do not fire directly at you ears when you are sitting down. This will overpower the Front speakers. To get the proper height of the surrounds, you can start by placing them at ear level or higher when you are actually standing up, not sitting (but in any case, please make sure the speaker is at least 6 inches below the ceiling).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/12/speaker-layouts.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="7.1 Speaker Layout" border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kqlqTaP2KP4gRVqkzXPJeuDo2HSNLeavb6SHpExZ54kYgeyWRZLLgWsROFH0yEkJdjWzcE0WS6U_tcO0BH_St_Rzr17ZSPnHCkP1vVzVNDDMDObptlo3kZuTlLgOzuYUSt_0-rJwybPd/s320/7-1_surround_diagram.gif" title="7.1 Speaker Layout" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: medium;"><u><span style="color: #e69138;">7.1 Layout</span></u></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Note:</span></b> with some audio/video receivers, instead of connections for Surround Back (Left and Right), you will have 2 additional channels up front for 'height' or 'width' channels that give you a bigger front soundstage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/12/speaker-layouts.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="5.1 Speaker Layout" border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7FoccK3Byl-unJ9OYZAeuHsdzZrz5u1CGsetB3IPb9dyBd4TCuoGRL7UFSroATxeZ2oPDaC9KzQoAvso8W5LAokMKG9TXbEBv1_mEpvetB7648u8cuq_qGYRA9tQy2NnjI-W_fcvkFtZ/s320/5-1_surround_diagram_large.gif" title="5.1 Speaker Layout" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: medium;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><u><span style="color: #e69138;">5.1 Layout</span></u></b></span></u></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Subwoofer:</span></b> subwoofers create non-directional sound, so they may be placed almost anywhere in a room. Typical placements are in the front or front corner of the room, at least six inches from walls. The closer you get to the corners, the more 'boom' your bass will have, the less 'boom' if you move it away from the corners and walls. Another thing you may want to try is to walk around the room until you reach a spot where the music or soundtrack bass sounds the best to you. Then, you may move the subwoofer to that spot.<br />
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Pictured below from left: Left, Center, Subwoofer and Right channels in the foreground, with Left and Right wall surrounds. </div>
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Watch the <b><span style="color: #e69138;">YouTube</span></b> video below for <b><span style="color: #e69138;">Basic 5.1 Setup.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u></u></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b><u><a href="https://youtu.be/FGPmyE7I7XY">Video 1 - Basic 5.1 Home Theater Setup Explained</a></u></b></span><span style="color: #e69138;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<b style="color: #e69138;"><u><a href="https://youtu.be/r64fHlgcvg0"><span style="font-size: large;">Video 2 - Best Home Theater System for the Least Money</span></a></u></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<b><u><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/ekiWDtMEcSg">Video Archive - Original 5.1 Setup</a></span></u></b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><b><u>More - Speaker Layout Designs</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/12/speaker-layouts.html"><img alt="Speaker Layout Designs Diagram" border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyytmgpL_HKSRhNnkBxHOz1A86mvC8c-g0FSNFkG2tuFDhzXt73NX4_tdr7ToVTTJjBmaZo6tzEKPZkbPzL5rj9Zw3YmdOcbaIWs7xvJFn8dbw1sY0OJQxD2brfNG8ltwBf5Dbj3YpTaV/s1600/HomeTheaterGuide_0110_fig01.jpg" title="Speaker Layout Designs Diagram" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Center Channel speaker:</span></b> place it centered, directly above or below your TV. The tweeter of this speaker should be close to the height of the Front Left and Right speakers' tweeters, within 2 feet or less. Make sure the distance from all 3 front speakers to the listening position is the same. Try to make the distance from each Front Left/Right speaker to the Center speaker as similar as possible.<br />
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<a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/12/speaker-layouts.html"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Read More...</span></b></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So you've got a Home Theatre Amp or Receiver, and you're trying to solve the mystery of sound, as in which of the many possible connections should I use to get the best possible sound out of my 'monster speaker system' or even just a compact space-saving one, while using either a set-top box or DVD/Blu-ray player as input.</span>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, let's try to decode the mystery...</span></b><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Getting the best audio connection</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">First, let's get one thing perfectly clear. Old analog audio cables (i.e., the red and white RCA type) are absolutely a last resort. Even though we are firmly in the digital age, most equipment still carries these in the interest of being backward compatible with older gear, but unless you are a fan of having a 2 channel stereo signal reconstructed into a simulated ('matrixed') surround field, we better go digital to take advantage of all that our current technology has to offer.</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">DVD/Blu-ray Player, Cable/Satellite set-top boxes</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Digital Optical Audio Cable or 'Toslink' versus Digital Coaxial Cable - some people may have differing opinions on this one, but we prefer Toslink overall. Although a high-end Digital Coaxial Cable can deliver crisp, detailed sound, we find it to be a bit harsh at times (think action movies) and can lead to audience fatigue. Sound delivered by way of Toslink, however, has a bit more airy quality to it and seems to create a more enveloping sound stage (it should, the signal is literally carried by light waves over a fiber-optic cable). Good quality Toslink cables are still very easy to find and very affordably priced on the various internet cable sites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">These cables (Toslink and Digital Coaxial) are both capable of carrying Dolby Digital(5.1), DTS, 2.0 Stereo Surround, and PCM signals, the common audio formats that you normally find on DVD players and set-top boxes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can even use them with Blu-ray players, you just won't be getting the best possible sound. Hmmm....curious? Let's do some more decoding...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="line-height: normal;">Pictured above: Digital Coaxial, Toslink (Digital Optical Audio Cable) and HDMI Cable (from top to bottom)</b>
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<b style="line-height: normal;"><u><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Cause Now You've Got a New Receiver that can receive the HDMI cable from your devices</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you've bought a Surround Receiver in the last few years, chances are it can receive HDMI inputs from your various devices and then output the same video and audio to the TV of your choice. In this scenario, the Receiver is actually acting as a 'switcher', changing the audio and video on the TV to match which device input you have selected to 'receive' on the Receiver itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have a Blu-ray player (or DVD player with HDMI up-conversion), or a set-top box with HDMI output, we recommend that you use the HDMI connections going from that device to the Amp/Receiver and then from the Amp/Receiver to the TV (all the way around).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Why? Well for one, it cuts down on the total number of cables used, since HDMI cables carry both the audio and video on one single cable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Secondly, even the newest HDMI cables are fully backward compatible with the older formats and will still carry Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, 2.0 surround, and PCM audio signals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thirdly, and most importantly, when you play a Blu-ray disc, you will now be able to take advantage of the new loss-less audio formats, namely Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. Toslink or Digital Coaxial cables cannot carry these new audio signals since they do not have the required bandwidth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">These formats are totally loss-less audio bit-streams, unlike 6 channel Dolby Digital 5.1, and offer 8 discrete channels of audio (the surround format is actually '7.1', the (.1) always indicates the sub-woofer channel). With Surround 7.1 you'll get 4 surround speakers (and discrete channels) instead of 2, a very nice upgrade if you like the potential for awesome Home Theatre sound. Any HDMI cable made in say, 2007 or later (after HDMI 1.3 released) should provide (you can visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/hdmi-releases.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HDMI Releases page</span></b></a> for more info on this topic).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;">So if you already have Toslink or Coaxial connected and you don't want to get up from the chair to start pulling apart connections, relax, you can still watch the newer stuff (like Blu-ray and HD DVD) with regular old Dolby Digital 5.1, etc., since just about every Hi-Def disc or player we have seen on the market is backward compatible in this way. But if you want to take advantage of these new loss-less audio formats, start picking up some more HDMI cables and get ready for some awesome sound (of course, don't forget to set your player to 'bit-stream' mode to ensure you are getting the best possible sound). </span><b>(By the way, you can always go here for great low prices on</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=hdmi%20and%20a%2Fv%20cables&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HDMI and all other A/V cables</span></b></a><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">)</span>.</b></span><br />
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Looking for the best video connection? Then visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/best-video-connection.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Best Video Connection page</span></b></a>.</div>
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-62539092675741190472013-11-03T01:44:00.000-07:002019-08-14T11:29:14.161-07:00VHS Tapes to DVD<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>Converting VHS to DVD - Do It Yourself and Save Lots of Money.</u></b></span><br />
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If you would like to transfer VHS tapes to DVD, there are several options, and if done correctly, the DVD's can look even sharper than the original VHS tapes (and even though we focus here on VHS, this process can also apply to VHS-C, SVHS, Hi8, regular, and even Beta).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: normal;"><u><b>Methods to Do the Conversion:</b></u></span></span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">-</span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">(Preferred)</span></span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">Connect your VHS VCR or camcorder to a standalone <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=dvd%20recorder&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">DVD recorder</span></b></a> that works much like a VCR. This VHS to DVD recorder basically gives you a DVD copy of your tape in real time. You don't have a lot of flexibility as far as menus, buttons and chapter settings, but it's the fastest and easiest way to convert VHS to DVD. If you get a "DVD VCR" with Firewire connections you can plug a</span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">DV/Digital8/DVCAM camcorder or VCR into it and transfer the tapes to DVD at even higher quality than by using the analog connections.</span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">- Capture the VHS video to a computer video editing program using an analog-to-DV converter (which includes many DV/Digital8 camcorders as well as standalone analog-to-DV converters), encode it to MPEG-2 and author a DVD. This is the most time-consuming method but it gives you the flexibility to edit the video as much as you want, adding transitions, special effects, music, etc. But, between the capture time, the editing time and the often considerable time it takes for software encoding to MPEG-2, this can result in several hours of work for your computer (and you) for each hour of video.</span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Convert VHS to DVD</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">- Capture the video to the computer as MPEG-2 using hardware capture devices that convert the VHS to MPEG-2 as they capture, and then author and burn a DVD. A one-hour video is captured and compressed to MPEG-2 in one hour, but you are generally limited </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">t</span><span style="line-height: 16px;">o doing "cuts-only" editing of the MPEG-2 files. However, if your original tape doesn't need editing this is a fast way to convert VHS to DVD, but still have the flexibility to create custom DVD menus. Many of the inexpensive hardware analog-to-MPEG boxes can deliver very good quality, in part because the analog source video does not have to be converted to DV before being encoded to MPEG. Converting VHS to DV can add artifacts that make it harder to get good MPEG compression.</span></span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">No matter which method you use, you need to ensure that the analog video has the highest quality possible: flaws in the original video may be greatly magnified when you encode it to MPEG-2 and convert it to DVD.</span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times"; line-height: normal;">Looking to transfer your computer video files to DVD? Visit our </span><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/video-files-to-dvd.html" style="font-family: Times; line-height: normal;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Video Files to DVD page</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times"; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><u><b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some Points to Keep in Mind for Better Quality DVD's:</span></b></u></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">- Clean the tape heads on your analog VCR or camcorder. Older tapes, especially, can deposit a lot of residue on the heads, resulting in dropouts and other picture flaws.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">- If your VHS VCR has a sharpness control, turn it down. A softer image has less noise and that enables the MPEG-2 encoder to do a much better job. Some tape players also have an "Edit" button which </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">affects playback sharpness. Put it in the position that provides less sharpness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">- Connect a video processor to the output of your analog tape player and then connect the output of the processor to your capture device. So-called "proc amps" and timebase correctors (TBC's) provide tools </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">for stabilizing analog video, changing brightness and contrast levels and adjusting color. Just being able to adjust levels and color can result in a DVD that looks much better than the original VHS tape.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">- If you want to convert Hi8 and 8mm to DVD, one of the best ways to import it into your computer is with a Digital 8 camcorder. Several models of D8 camcorders can playback analog tapes and convert them to </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">DV and have built in digital noise reduction and TBC's to clean up the analog video before it's converted to DV and sent to your computer via the Firewire cable.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">- If you transfer two hours of VHS to a DVD it can result in a significant loss of quality unless you have a high quality MPEG-2 encoder or use methods that encode the video at "half resolution." The normal </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">DVD video resolution is 720x480 for NTSC, but </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">some encoders and DVD authoring programs allow you to use 352x480 resolution. When you convert VHS to DVD this smaller resolution can still deliver very </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">good results at the low data rates (bitrates) required to fit two or more hours of video on one DVD, especially if you use an analog-to-MPEG2 encoder or a standalone VHS to DVD recorder that bypasses the </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">analog-to-DV step.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">- Try to use compressed audio on your DVD's. Uncompressed - PCM - audio takes up a lot of space on the DVD that could better be used for higher-quality video. Dolby Digital/AC3 is the best choice for </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">audio compression.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">></span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=vhs%20to%20dvd&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">VHS to DVD on Amazon</span></a></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">A warning:</span></span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> </span></span>if you do convert your analog video to DV before putting it on DVD, don't be shocked when you see the size of the DV file it captures to your computer. DV files take up almost 14 gigabytes per hour so you may wonder how in the world we're supposed to fit a 14GB movie on a 4.7GB DVD? That's what the MPEG-2 encoder does: it compresses the video to a much smaller size so that video, audio and menus all fit on a DVD (which actually holds 4.37GB of computer data).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Tips:</span></span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">if the analog-to-DV option sounds like the best one for getting your video into the computer when you start to transfer VHS to DVD and you don't already own a DV camcorder or one of the analog-to-DV converters, we recommend getting a DV camcorder with analog inputs instead of a simple converter box. The DV camcorder will allow you to save your edited projects back to tape as a high quality DV master and, you will have something to shoot new video in the DV format. Some DV camcorders cost only slightly more than a converter. If you have a lot of old Hi8 or 8mm tapes, then consider purchasing a Digital8 camcorder with analog inputs and the ability to playback those older analog 8 tapes. In addition to "analog inputs," some camcorders also advertise "analog pass through." This means that the analog signal does not have to first be recorded to DV tape before being sent down the Firewire cable as DV. This can save plenty of time and tape if you plan to do a lot of VHS to DVD conversion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><b><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Is video transfer just too much hassle?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px;">To have a look at some sites that do most or all of the work for you, go here for some great<span style="color: #333333;"> </span><b><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-7357699-10624799-1398443748000" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">assistance with video transfer</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span></a></b></span></div>
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-35887825130274547782013-10-14T15:06:00.000-07:002016-09-11T10:30:38.143-07:00HDMI Releases<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20px;">(Courtesy </span><a href="http://hdmi.org/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;" target="_blank">hdmi.org</a> and <a href="http://wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">wikipedia.org</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 20px;">)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><b><u>HDMI</u></b></span> - stands for 'High Definition Multimedia Interface'. A compact, digital audio/video interface standard that offers a replacement to existing analog standards. <br />
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(Here you can view a great selection of <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=hdmi%20and%20a%2Fv%20cables&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HDMI and all other A/V cables).</span></a></b><br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><b> HDMI Spec Release Dates:</b></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>The initial HDMI 1.0 specification was released in December 2002.<br />
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Version 1.1 was released in May 2004. <br />
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Version 1.2 was released in August of 2005. <br />
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Version 1.2a was released in December of 2005. <br />
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Version 1.3 was released in June of 2006.<br />
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Version 1.4 was released in May 2009.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/hdmi-releases.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HDMI Audio Video Cable" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjcPhvSr1UqwcNKVmTG3S4Nc9aX2xaLUmfjaornA-V2_wKQctAqQ0ZSo3nkcKF8h5g5NzYPfqFbHo-L7kqzVajZK-vq49kzZVA6Kn1eN6dXSR2Q6VLdAcNJ5nrcsKvI-bPT1IJdCw1pfZ/s320/hdmi+cable.jpg" title="HDMI Audio Video Cable" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: HDMI Audio/Video Cable</span></td></tr>
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Version 1.4a was released in March 2010.<br />
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Version 1.4b was released in October 2011.<br />
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Version 2.0 was released in September of 2013.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Functionality that was added to each version of HDMI:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 17px;">HDMI 1.1:</span><br />
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<ul style="border-style: none; line-height: 17px; margin: 5px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Support for DVD Audio.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">HDMI 1.2:</span></span></div>
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<ul style="border-style: none; line-height: 17px; margin: 5px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Adds features and capabilities that increase HDMI's appeal for use in both the CE and PC industries. Specifically, the features and modifications for HDMI 1.2 include: Support for One Bit Audio format, such as SuperAudio CD's DSD (Direct Stream Digital), changes to offer better support for current and future PCs with HDMI outputs, including: availability of the widely-used HDMI Type A connector for PC sources and displays with full support for PC video formats, ability for PC sources to use their native RGB color space while retaining the option to support the YCbCr CE color space, requirement for HDMI 1.2 and later displays to support future low-voltage (i.e., AC-coupled) sources, such as those based on PCI Express I/O technology.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">HDMI 1.2a:</span></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) features and command sets and CEC compliance tests are now fully specified.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Creation of version 1.2a of the HDMI Compliance Test Specification (CTS), which includes a CEC Supplement. HDMI CTS 1.2a has been updated for technical consistency with HDMI Specification 1.2a as well as to the recently released HDMI Specification 1.2.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Significantly, CTS 1.2a contains additional cable and connector testing and Authorized Testing Center (ATC) submission requirements. Specifically, under CTS 1.2a, the Adopter shall submit for testing to the ATC any new HDMI cable whose length exceeds previously tested cables.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;">Additionally, HDMI Licensing, LLC will maintain a list of approved connectors. For a device to pass CTS 1.2a testing at an ATC, all connectors on such device must appear on the approved connector list. To add a connector to this list, the vendor must submit to the ATC or HDMI Licensing, LLC full and passing testing results.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">HDMI 1.3:</span></span></div>
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<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b style="line-height: 17px;">Higher speed:</b> HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b style="line-height: 17px;">Deep Color:</b> HDMI 1.3 supports 10-bit, 12-bit and 16-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 8-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification, for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b style="line-height: 17px;">Broader color space:</b> HDMI 1.3 adds support for “x.v.Color™” (which is the consumer name describing the IEC 61966-2-4 xvYCC color standard), which removes current color space limitations and enables the display of any color viewable by the human eye.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b style="line-height: 17px;">New mini connector:</b> With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b style="line-height: 17px;">Lip Sync:</b> Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incorporates automatic audio synching capabilities that allows devices to perform this synchronization automatically with total accuracy.</li>
<li style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b style="line-height: 17px;">New HD lossless audio formats:</b> In addition to HDMI’s current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby® Digital and DTS®), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new lossless compressed digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 1.5em;">HDMI 1.4: </span></div>
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<li><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Increases the maximum resolution to 4K × 2K, i.e. 3840 × 2160p (Quad HD) at 24 Hz/25 Hz/30 Hz or 4096 × 2160p at 24 Hz (which is a resolution used with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_cinema" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Digital cinema">digital theat</a>res); an HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC), which allows for a 100 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbit/s" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Mbit/s">Mbit/s</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> connection between the two HDMI connected devices so they can share an Internet connection; and introduces an Audio Return Channel (ARC), 3D Over HDMI, a new Micro HDMI Connector, expanded support for color spaces, with the addition of sYCC601, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_RGB" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Adobe RGB">Adobe RGB</a> and Adobe YCC601; and an Automotive Connection System.</span></span></li>
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<li>HDMI 1.4 supports several <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Stereoscopy">stereoscopic 3D</a> formats including field alternative (interlaced), frame packing (a full resolution top-bottom format), line alternative full, side-by-side half, side-by-side full, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_plus_depth" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="2D plus depth">2D + depth</a>, and 2D + depth + graphics + graphics depth (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOWvx" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="WOWvx">WOWvx</a>), with additional top/bottom formats added in version 1.4a . HDMI 1.4 requires that 3D displays support the frame packing 3D format at either 720p50 and 1080p24 or 720p60 and 1080p24. High Speed HDMI 1.3 cables can support all HDMI 1.4 features except for the HDMI Ethernet Channel.</li>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">HDMI 1.4a: </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="line-height: 20px;"> Adds two additional mandatory 3D formats for broadcast content, which was deferred with HDMI 1.4 in order to see the direction of the 3D broadcast market.</span><span style="line-height: 11px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">HDMI 1.4a has defined mandatory 3D formats for broadcast, game, and movie content.</span><span style="line-height: 11px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">HDMI 1.4a requires that 3D displays support the frame packing 3D format at either 720p50 and 1080p24 or 720p60 and 1080p24, side-by-side horizontal at either 1080i50 or 1080i60, and top-and-bottom at either 720p50 and 1080p24 or 720p60 and 1080p24.</span><span style="line-height: 11px;"> </span></li>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">HDMI 1.4b: </span></span></div>
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<ul style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Adds support to 1080p video at 120 Hz.</span><span style="line-height: 10px;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">All future versions of the HDMI specification will be made by the HDMI Forum that was created on October 25, 2011. </span></li>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">HDMI 2.0</span></h3>
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<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Increases the maximum single-link bandwidth from 10.2 Gbps to 18 Gbps. This allows for support of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolution">4K resolution</a> at 60 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate">frames per second</a> (fps). Other features of HDMI 2.0 include support for 4:2:0 chroma subsampling, support for 25 fps 3D formats, improved 3D capability, support for up to 32 channels of audio, support for up to 1536 kHz audio, support for up to 4 audio streams, support for wide angle theatrical 21:9 aspect ratio, support for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Efficiency_Advanced_Audio_Coding">HE-AAC</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Resolution_Adaptation">DRA</a> audio standards, dynamic auto lip-sync, and additional CEC functions, such as expanded command and control of consumer electronics devices through a single control point. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">HDMI 2.0 does not define new cables or new connectors. Current High Speed cables (Category 2 cables, Version 1.4 or higher) are capable of carrying the increased bandwidth needed for 4K with 3D.</span></li>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 17px;"><b>**Note: All HDMI versions are fully backward compatible with all previous versions.</b></span><br />
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-56057394740065666222013-10-07T15:03:00.000-07:002016-09-21T07:01:24.013-07:00Best Video Connection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/best-video-connection.html"><img alt="Composite Video Terminal" border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpK1vA_Tz1mbY_yUKY5apwCwU9EV9WDYBx9nqdxtCzp01jg3aUYBuqjI5P2AwjYl1Smr00-H9ZmImZVunihrIrpP9b5JYCt9LJjS7Gy9Zwt2PrpVHTJ4DknwhO5bU7qZPCyp4qkRicdUSS/s320/VC_composite.jpg" title="Composite Video Terminal" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Composite Video Terminal</i><br />
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<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i><b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMPOSITE VIDEO</span></b></i></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">These video terminals are the old standard "A/V" jacks you're probably familiar with. A composite video cable delivers both chrominance (color) and luminance (light/dark or grayscale) information along the same cable. While composite video is far inferior to Component Video, it's still capable of producing a good picture, and may be your only option for VCRs and some cable boxes. Be sure to use a high-quality composite video cable for best results.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqRNmzKPUcFf1p8wyJeh_myL2zegIn6Mh2XbNRVQb9W-p1nY4OKracO5Ocy9WceOqsVhIhRU2OHnkW1_NBeudszhHsgamLNru6naXMIi9hJ6-Jh9q6PwcHWqy3WHUaCofZKuYN_y2NINa/s1600/VC_s-video-4pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="S-Video Terminal" border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqRNmzKPUcFf1p8wyJeh_myL2zegIn6Mh2XbNRVQb9W-p1nY4OKracO5Ocy9WceOqsVhIhRU2OHnkW1_NBeudszhHsgamLNru6naXMIi9hJ6-Jh9q6PwcHWqy3WHUaCofZKuYN_y2NINa/s320/VC_s-video-4pin.jpg" title="S-Video Terminal" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><i>S-Video Terminal</i></span><br />
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<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i><b><span style="color: #e69138;">S-VIDEO</span></b></i></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">S-Video uses a 4-pin rounded plug to separate the chrominance and luminance signal, which theoretically should improve picture quality over the standard composite video "A/V" connection. In practice however, we've found that most of today's HD televisions perform just as well, or even better, with the composite connection: the video processing circuits in the TV will do a fine job of separating the information once it reaches the monitor.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQRoyLXjWngsefSZi8SYqyBviZElO7CQuiACLtLHYzUvaWng8iX_0NrUpWhPWsQ7PbJh6vlHLiKDxg-Zb1QyauVDohYbHgreVXDSgNqYtZAxNbLjY8XetwAoTJX3xJJYsPkhmPN97yOky/s1600/VC_component.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Component Video Terminal" border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQRoyLXjWngsefSZi8SYqyBviZElO7CQuiACLtLHYzUvaWng8iX_0NrUpWhPWsQ7PbJh6vlHLiKDxg-Zb1QyauVDohYbHgreVXDSgNqYtZAxNbLjY8XetwAoTJX3xJJYsPkhmPN97yOky/s320/VC_component.jpg" title="Component Video Terminal" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><i>Component Video<br />
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<u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i><b><span style="color: #e69138;">COMPONENT VIDEO</span></b></i></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The best of the analog video connections, component video terminals are found on almost any HD TV you'll be considering, and can be used for progressive-scan DVD, HDTV, and your higher-end cable and satellite boxes. One important note is about the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">bandwidth </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">of the component video terminal: if you want to use component inputs for HDTV, look for component inputs called "high-bandwidth" or "HDTV component video" to ensure the terminal can handle the extra information passed through an HDTV signal.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFCbttlBRpRrq4RKnS225IyqjxCDutUZK6gMGd0mhj33jMTsSvQMGKQmRJjtow3vbKx2NL_3hC4_Nt0n6xbOJgfN8_LGPTgHP0i4bvtX1N_BbNCAsjDFW8RiIApViiRkGaHFuKgrU0T4a/s1600/VC_dvi-d-duallink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="DVI Interface" border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFCbttlBRpRrq4RKnS225IyqjxCDutUZK6gMGd0mhj33jMTsSvQMGKQmRJjtow3vbKx2NL_3hC4_Nt0n6xbOJgfN8_LGPTgHP0i4bvtX1N_BbNCAsjDFW8RiIApViiRkGaHFuKgrU0T4a/s320/VC_dvi-d-duallink.jpg" title="DVI Interface" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>DVI Interface</i><br />
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<u style="color: #e69138; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i><b>DVI (DIGITAL VISUAL INTERFACE)</b></i></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DVI is a multi-pin plug used to transfer video information in an all-digital format. Because the signal undergoes less digital-to-analog conversion, DVI should result in a sharper picture with less conversion artifacts. Most DVI outputs provided by Home Theatre gear will be of the DVI-D type, which only carries digital signals, and usually supports the HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) standard of copy protection used by many HDTV providers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">Many PC video cards use DVI outputs as well, and you may find HD TVs with </span><b style="font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">DVI-I</b><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"> terminals, which support both digital and analog signals. If you see a DVI-I terminal on a TV which does not support HDCP, it's most likely intended for PC use.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRbG0MNb_ks93zNn7OskzcXYFJblKVGUkYj4MmhRAePIK5dYVeQ_op3ONK_1yU6iH7ZZCjBTZC-37C798VTnsM8UscU6FYLPCilktTN9QIy3Rj3wCu8y3F7Hxh6EQkvTluDycqEFGy9d9/s1600/VC_hdmi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HDMI Interface" border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRbG0MNb_ks93zNn7OskzcXYFJblKVGUkYj4MmhRAePIK5dYVeQ_op3ONK_1yU6iH7ZZCjBTZC-37C798VTnsM8UscU6FYLPCilktTN9QIy3Rj3wCu8y3F7Hxh6EQkvTluDycqEFGy9d9/s320/VC_hdmi.jpg" title="HDMI Interface" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>HDMI Interface</i><br />
<i><br /></i><u style="color: #e69138; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i><b>HDMI (HIGH-DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE)</b></i></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">To take advantage of the latest and greatest, you'll want an HD TV with an HDMI input - or the option of adding an HDMI terminal board to your TV. With a bandwidth of up to 10 Gbps, the HDMI standard allows for transmission of high-quality digital video (up to 1080p) along with up to 8 discrete channels of audio, all on the same cable. Found on the latest HDTV set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and a growing number of DVD players - many with HDTV-quality up-conversion, HDMI has proven more than a home theatre fad, and should be around for years to come. Backwards compatibility with the older DVI standard means you can use an adapter cable ("DVI to HDMI cable") to use DVI output devices with your HDMI-enabled HD television.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">(Images courtesy </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.tweaking4all.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Tweaking4ALL</span></a>)</span></div>
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(Here you can get great (low) prices on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=hdmi%20and%20a%2Fv%20cables&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HDMI and all other A/V cables</span></a><b style="color: blue;">, </b>as well as <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B=595875&U=823215&M=38812&urllink=" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">gadgets and accessories</span></b></a>.)<br />
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Looking for the best audio connection? Then visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/best-audio-connection.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Best Audio Connection page</span></b></a>.<br />
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-63990638348839431332013-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:002016-08-06T17:12:45.521-07:00Best TV Picture<div style="text-align: left;">
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If you have shopped for and now own a High-Definition TV, the one thing you may have noticed is generally how bright, perhaps overly vivid, or in general just how 'jacked-up' the HD TV pictures look in the retail or<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span>video store showrooms. There is a reason for this...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>This is Sales 101, folks, and the electronics vendor is doing whatever is necessary to get the TV to catch your eye and make a sale. Now, when you bring the TV home and settle it into your 'perfect spot' in your home, there are a few things to keep in mind so that you may optimize the viewing experience and ensure that your TV is set up for viewing for hours at a time, without creating unnecessary eye-strain (where perhaps the picture is not sharp enough) or viewer fatigue (where perhaps the picture is too bright).<br />
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First of all, if you own an HD TV (not a clunky analog 'Tube TV' - remember those?), by definition it is producing and displaying a digital picture. What you will find with most quality digital TV's is that the optimal picture adjustment settings can be quite different from the ones you may have used when you owned an analog tube TV.<br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Getting the best TV picture</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">Here are some of the most significant settings to adjust and why...</span></b>if your TV picture doesn't look much better or 'way-tuned-up' after applying them, then either you have a TV/brand that is way different from most of the other HDTV's on the market, or you are just a minor tweak or 2 away from TV picture nirvana and need to play a little trial and error until you get the picture that you like.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">1) Contrast -</span></b> slide it all the way to the right - as mentioned earlier, you have a digital picture and 100% contrast ratio should only make the picture clearer and more defined.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">2) Brightness -</span></b> since you have maxed the Contrast setting (above), you can now lower the Brightness to 50%. You are now on your way to getting an excellent picture that is not 'showroom bright' or overly 'jacked-up'.</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><b>3) Color -</b></span> adjust to somewhere between 50% and 40%. Again, the factory settings for TV's generally overload the color settings. You'll find that you gain more picture clarity by lowering the color setting and eliminating the color wash that may appear on some stations. You may notice that people's faces and flesh tones look clearer and more natural after applying this adjustment.</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><b>4) Tone or Tint -</b></span> leave it where it usually defaults, right in the middle. Again, you have an HD TV which has built in circuitry to handle balancing color tone and blending, and we do not need to override it to give it more of a certain tone.<br />
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5) Sharpness -</span></b> put sharpness at 50%, then add just one more 'tick' to it, for example, adjust it to 51% or whatever units your TV uses to move one step or bar on the adjustment. Normally this gives the picture just the subtle focus adjustment that it needs. Again, you have a clean, digital picture and should not need to sharpen it excessively.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">6) Noise Reduction -</span></b> turn this off. As long as you have a good quality cable/satellite/DVD signal or other quality feed coming to the TV, turning Noise Reduction 'on' will only soften and dull your picture, removing necessary detail.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">7) Color Temperature -</span></b> cool(blues), medium(standard) or warm(reds). The viewer may have their own personal preferences for this setting, but we have found in our testing that we prefer the Cool setting. Many of the top brands (like Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, etc.) will already tend towards accentuating the warm setting in their design, so we find using the Cool setting balances out the overall picture.</div>
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<i><b>Give it a try, and happy viewing!</b></i></div>
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<i><b>(Let's also browse some </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Televisions/zgbs/electronics/172659/ref=as_acph_ce_btv_522_on?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HDTVs</span></b></a><b> , or some </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=dvd&keywords=movies&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Movies(DVD's, etc.)</span></a><b> to help maximize our viewing experience!)</b></i></div>
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Smart TV refers to the combining of the Internet and Web 2.0 functions into televisions or set-top devices.<br />
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Like a 'smartphone', with its integration of the Internet, Web widgets, and various software applications, so too does a TV integrated in this way become a 'Smart TV'.<br />
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<u>What Can They Do?</u><br />
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<a name='more'></a>Smart TVs allow you to access video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, and more on your TV. Other computing abilities may also be present, like having access to Twitter, or to the news or the weather.<br />
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<u>How Do They Do It?</u><br />
<u><br /></u>Smart TVs either have an Ethernet port or WI-FI functionality built-in so you can connect to the internet, making this type of computer-enabled TV much different from a basic TV, and generally costing a bit more than a regular TV.<br />
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Like computers and smartphones, they have an operating system that allows them to run the various widgets and apps needed for these video services.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/09/what-is-smart-tv.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="What is Smart TV?" border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1SHz5Lh6KHszCEXtW-ZFnz9FJ7J801lruV6GNTbx8Yb5rWAYAS-xRZ3ne13ifL_7EUYhwAZ4Fq4x9ma3HtP-sjg28EuajQoneWul_soTzCizwCXdMTwtbsNPW6eoPbYs178RpKwu_P5H/s320/Google_TV_Screenshot.png" title="What is Smart TV?" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">A Smart TV and its 'Apps'</span></span></div>
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<u>Web Browsing</u><br />
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Some Smart TVs even come with pre-installed internet browsers which allow you to surf the internet on your TV itself. Of course since the operating system is not the same as that which is found on desktops or laptops, you may not be able to do all of the things with your Smart TV that you do on your home computer.<br />
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But if you do intend to use your TV for some serious web surfing, we recommend you look for one that has the ability to pair with a wireless keyboard made specifically for Smart TVs, or with a fairly large remote control with a QWERTY keyboard, or perhaps just a smartphone or tablet companion app that you can use for typing.<br />
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Sound appealing to you? Then get over to your TV store and <span style="font-size: large; font-style: italic;">Get Smart! </span><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/" target="_new"><b>VideoCrib</b></a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=google%20smart%20tv&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Google Smart TV" border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bCWvQPuyum2_rMVRnz4ldstp5Gc6E61Hi3IYMmfpmdEXptf8-tWSzJgybEPTXyqyUpbl-nOX4Erhhzgnu6FKvTwGPTgBaXX_8q95gL2DTydAWMSBAjxWfdoiZaobuMuakSJIZa_QrWHZ/s400/costar-herogoogle+tv.jpg" title="Google Smart TV" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Pictured: Google 'Smart' TV</span></td></tr>
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Before we can properly answer this question, let's take a moment to describe the current High Definition Display technologies. After that, we'll list out the Pros and Cons to help us be more informed and make a better overall decision.<br />
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<a name='more'></a></div>
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**Note: we are leaving 'Tube TVs' or old CRT televisions out of this discussion. No doubt there have been many fine models made over the years, but we'll restrict the discussion to HDTV since we assume we all want higher picture resolution, the newest audio/video connections on the TV and may also want to save space, so simply put, <b>we want to know whether to upgrade our existing HDTV to a new one</b>.</div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #e69138;">Current HDTV Display Technologies</span></b></u></div>
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1) Projection<span style="line-height: 1.5;">('Front' or 'Rear')</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;"> - A Video Projector, also known as a 'Digital Projector', may, whether mounted on a ceiling or placed on a desktop, project an image onto a traditional reflective screen so built for projection('Front'), or it may be b</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">uilt into a cabinet with a translucent rear-projection screen ('Rear'). In either case these 2 parts form a single device for display, made up of (1) a projection device and (2) a screen.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;">
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">**Note: Mitsubishi, the last maker of rear-projection TVs, ceased producing them in December 2012.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">(Ceiling Mounted 'Front' Video Projector w/retractable screen) </span><br />
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2) Plasma - A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display that is usually larger than 32 inches diagonally measured. Plasma technology utilizes millions of small cells that contain electronically charged ionized gases, chambers often referred to as 'fluorescent lamps', that collectively form a visual image on the display.</div>
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3) LCD - A 'Liquid Crystal Display' or LCD display uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals to produce images. The picture quality comes from 'TFT' (Thin-Film-Transistor) LCD technologies.</div>
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4) LED - Refers to the type of backlighting used for an LCD TV. Traditional LCD TV's use CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent) backlighting, which may be a tad bulkier and consume more power. An LED/LCD TV refers to a TV which still uses the TFT picture technology, but employs an array or cluster of LED's for its backlighting. As you can see this can cause some confusion. In fact if you see an ad today for an LED TV, remember it is actually an LED/LCD TV. The industry has (for now) allowed companies to get away with just using the 'LED' tag, which was started fairly recently by Samsung and went on from there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLI5hGmTQRe8MbUEC80ybjUJDASyUx5PoG137eM1tOItl0SyFMe27tkucx-x-Rvmo-35KHy5uYqval_NTACJKIw8rmUTKAx_SIb7YikwJjz2cKxHT5g5Z2JxW4rf2Eko7fuchwPjZ5NZQQ/s1600/led+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="32 inch LED/LCD TV" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLI5hGmTQRe8MbUEC80ybjUJDASyUx5PoG137eM1tOItl0SyFMe27tkucx-x-Rvmo-35KHy5uYqval_NTACJKIw8rmUTKAx_SIb7YikwJjz2cKxHT5g5Z2JxW4rf2Eko7fuchwPjZ5NZQQ/s1600/led+32.jpg" title="32 inch LED/LCD TV" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Pictured: 32 inch LED/LCD TV</span></div>
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OK, so enough of this technical stuff, let's get to the comparisons. Hopefully you'll find out something you did not know before...and be better prepared on whether to keep or ditch your existing HDTV for a new one. </div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.5;"><u><span style="color: #e69138;">HDTV Display Technologies - Pros and Cons</span></u></b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;"><u><span style="color: #e69138;"><br />
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<u>Projection TVs</u></div>
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Pros - can be much cheaper than flat-panel TVs, Front-projection picture quality is outstanding and 'cinema like', Front-projectors and screens take up little space. Rear-projectors are not susceptible to burn-in (LCD/DLP ones) and glare (all types of rear-projection TVs).</div>
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Cons - Front-projectors are difficult to set up/mount, Lamps may have to be replaced after heavy usage for both types (Front and Rear). There are also smaller viewing angles (Front and Rear), and rear-projection TVs are much bulkier than flat-panel TVs.</div>
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<u>Plasma TVs</u> </div>
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Pros - Thin profile, can be mounted on a wall, lighter and less bulkier than rear-projection TVs, wider viewing angles, even wider than LCD, little or no motion blur, due to inherent high refresh rates and faster response times (up to 1 microsecond), which makes them perfect for action films or sports programs, more accurate color (68 billion vs 17 million for LCD) and superior contrast (up to 1 million to 1) than LCD.</div>
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Cons - Early models were susceptible to screen burn-in and image retention, newer models can offset it; they are also susceptible to glare in bright rooms, <span style="line-height: 1.25;">consume a lot of power, and are heavier than LCD TVs.</span></div>
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<u>LCD TVs</u></div>
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Pros - Thin profile, <span style="line-height: 1.5;">can be mounted on a wall, lighter and less bulkier than rear-projection TVs, not affected by glare in well-lit rooms, generally consume a little less power than plasma TVs, less likelihood of screen burn-in.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;"><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;"> Cons - Poor black levels, which leads to worse contrast ratios and image detail, (which can be offset by LED illumination arrays to improve black levels, hence the impressive 'LED/LCD TVs' described above), narrower viewing angles and some image warping can occur, slower r</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">esponse times than plasmas, that is why we see LCD TVs or LED/LCD TVs on the market with enhanced refresh rates mentioned in their marketing strategies.</span></div>
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So...that's it. Are you surprised by some of this? Maybe so. But our thought is this, unless you have got to have 3DTV and/or have a super-slim panel display with all of the newest features like <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/09/what-is-smart-tv.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Smart TV</b></span></a> with Internet streaming and such, you may want to stick with what you have for now, unless your TV is say, 6 years old or more and you <b>really like what you see in the store</b>. We suggest you try our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/10/best-video-connection.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">cable upgrades</span></b></a> and <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/01/best-tv-picture.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">TV adjustments</span></b></a> tips first, and if they still don't quite do it for you, then as we say, go to your favorite TV shop and:</div>
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<i><b>'Give it a Try, and Happy Viewing!'</b></i></div>
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Here you can view an <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=hdtv&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">excellent selection of HDTVs</span></b></a><b>!</b></span></div>
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'Multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a provider.'</div>
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How did it come about?</span></b></u><br />
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Mainly due to the old dialup Internet connections (remember 56K modems?) simply being too slow to show video. Several years ago, before broadband access came out, you would need to download the entire video itself before you could even start to watch it - and on an old 56K modem this would take an extremely long time. So the industry worked diligently to create a better technology for video delivery, i.e., 'streaming'.</div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #e69138;">So how does Video Streaming work?</span></b></u></div>
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Once you click or connect to a Streaming Video URL or link, the process will start to transfer part of the video over to your device. As you're watching the initial part of the video, the video server continues to transmit the rest of the video file in the background, so there is no waiting for the whole video file to finish transmitting over to you before you can start to watch your content. Awesome.<br />
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<a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/09/video-streaming.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Video Streaming TV" border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkiZRvAfUTkBuN_jbuQr3SqtQj5YOP49nmCd4A5vtyilCJHUNqpzeKOosigGxZWyTYhT3HFArsQtpVJKzEUKdCjTTvAGLpO98n9W-Hac2U8dVVBc0ZTjiZdQaHrnSckdqkBED9WnsHQPH/s320/video-streaming01_450.png" title="Video Streaming TV" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #e69138;">When did Video Streaming really become popular?</span></b></u></div>
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The technology has been around, but really took off after high-speed Internet access like Broadband and DSL became available to the general consumer.<br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><b>
What are the system requirements and other items needed to Stream?</b></span></u></div>
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Taking the largest provider, Netflix, as an example:</div>
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- A broadband network connection</div>
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- Paid streaming membership to the provider (in this example, Netflix)</div>
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- A streaming device - for computers, you'll need one with Windows XP SP2 or newer, or Mac OS X Operating Systems with OS 10.4.11 or newer. Other compatible devices include: Participating Gaming Consoles, Blu-ray players, <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/09/what-is-smart-tv.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Smart HDTV's</span></b></a>, Streaming Set-top players (example, Roku), smart phones, and tablets which all allow you to download their own appropriate connection software for the participating streaming provider.</div>
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- Netflix requires Microsoft's Silverlight software to be installed if you're streaming directly on your computer. 1 Ghz processor or faster and a minimal of 512 MB of RAM is also required.</div>
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- Required download bandwidth, 1.5 Megabits per second for the lowest tier (DVD quality), 3 to 5 Mbit/S for up to 720p HD quality, and 8 Mbit/S for 1080p (for Blu-ray streams) - Netflix has thousands of video titles (that we enjoy) and you can check them out in over 40 countries worldwide. Visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/12/movie-reviews.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">streaming movie picks</span></b></a> page to get video streaming movie reviews from the Crib. Already know about streaming and want to do it better? See our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2014/05/faster-streaming.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">faster streaming page</span></b></a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=streaming%20boxes&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=streaming%20boxes&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxSol84gF7C9PMkKDEa02hyusfYW61_u6S1dPDyBaSB9pTAC4Vp44HdZZyIfeniIcs2HUwF2QLnRvp7g6URJxihphSe2YtKvUat8E-XWVKuG3RrD3KaOs2Zm2Vjniwb9UsC6IkasbqyRM/s1600/Roku-2-streaming-video-box.jpg" title="Video Streaming Device" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">Roku Video Streaming Device</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="display: inline;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: small;">></span></b> <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/primesignup/ref=as_acph_pr_piv_71_on?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Money Saving Amazon Prime Streaming Package</span></a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
** Remember - with some of these devices, if you have and use an HDMI cable connection, you will only need 1 cable and it will transfer both the audio and video to your TV or Amp on this same cable. A Roku box, for example, has such a connection. We own a few of these Roku boxes, and you can <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=roku%20boxes&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">check them out here</span></b></a>. </span>You can also click to get <b>worldwide free shipping</b> and <b>very low prices</b> on lots of <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=hdmi%20and%20a%2Fv%20cables&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">accessories and electronics gear</span></a></b><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
** Also Note - even though we used Netflix as an example of a video streaming provider, there have been several new ones to come along in the past few years. For example, today's Roku boxes cannot only stream content from Netflix but from other providers such as Hulu Plus, <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&docId=1000739191&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Amazon Instant Video</span></a>,</span></b> HBO GO, <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QbDGyrdeQzE&subid=&offerid=251672.1&type=10&tmpid=9417&RD_PARM1=%252F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Vudu</span></b></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">,</span> and many more appear to be on the way.</div>
<div>
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<noscript><img height="1" width="1" alt="" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/offsite_event.php?id=6012648711874&value=0&currency=USD" /></noscript>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-67891107537104412362013-08-30T16:49:00.000-07:002016-06-10T15:13:42.287-07:00Copy Blu-ray to DVD<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
We don't know about you, but we've had the need to do this from time to time since we do not often burn Blu-ray discs and like the flexibility and compatibility of DVD.<br />
<br />
The video quality of the resulting DVD is quite good as well, most likely a bit above normal DVD (perhaps from high 500's to 700 lines of resolution). The recorded sound will be stereo that can be matrixed to Dolby Surround with many Home Theater receivers. In fact, most late model amps can do a great job of rendering the simulated 5.1 Matrix with this stereo feed, utilizing Dolby Pro Logic 2, etc.<br />
<br />
<u>Here's What You Will Need:</u><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>1) Blu-ray player<br />
<br />
2) DVD Burner<br />
<br />
3) Blank DVD disc<br />
<br />
4) 1 S-Video Cable<br />
<br />
5) 'RCA' type composite audio cables (the white and red)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/08/copy-blu-ray-to-dvd.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Copy Blu-ray to DVD" border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvOMvK24ETQ7wuXJjNsqGmBM2XBMBFz8oe5urlY7cBW6f38trgI-X37mtpD6Xg53GMCdecDOHNeN1OlwWNA8rbt-7eHyQGOjaKhGYOi5ZHBqbjEm8PVejvbbtq0di9AItWc0VW7b8aoim/s320/pm_sonywifi4rent_130811.jpg" title="Copy Blu-ray to DVD" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Copy Blu-ray to DVD</span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Instructions:</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
1) Blu-ray player - change the system settings so that the video out is using S-Video and the audio out will be output from the red and white composite jacks (normally red and white are always outputted).<br />
<br />
2) Connect the S-Video Out and the audio outs of the Blu-ray to the S-Video input and audio inputs on the DVD burner.<br />
<br />
3) Insert blank DVD disc to the DVD burner.<br />
<br />
4) Play the desired Blu-ray disc in real-time, and press Record on the DVD burner.<br />
<br />
5) Voila! In 2 hours or so you'll have a good DVD copy of your Blu-ray, unless you run into any copyright issues with your particular Blu-ray player!<br />
<br />
'Give it a Try, and Happy Burning' - <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/" target="_new"><b>VideoCrib</b></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsxKRbigWv62-EQXFqMDaCMohLGW4SKZyuXhtrC_Ojzvj1M9T1mncUU-HMriLtzMUctpAsTN9ei7t_EkJKdMIrWl31kALa_xbqUg-dLNmCpFSyyKeDAjztQEG-ev4meWyIQGsxFReZbha/s1600/S-Video+IMG_0222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="S-Video Cable" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsxKRbigWv62-EQXFqMDaCMohLGW4SKZyuXhtrC_Ojzvj1M9T1mncUU-HMriLtzMUctpAsTN9ei7t_EkJKdMIrWl31kALa_xbqUg-dLNmCpFSyyKeDAjztQEG-ev4meWyIQGsxFReZbha/s1600/S-Video+IMG_0222.JPG" title="S-Video Cable" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: S-Video Cable</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-90705093909710528752013-08-23T12:34:00.000-07:002017-01-10T15:16:44.553-08:00DVD vs Blu-ray<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Before we begin the comparison, we at VideoCrib would like to remind you that <b><span style="color: #e69138;">your</span></b> <span style="color: #e69138;"><b>individual results or preferences may vary</b></span>, according to your budget (what you are willing to spend), the performance of your TV and cables, your particular device settings, i.e., how you set up your components, and last but not least...<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>the quality of the feed, for example from your cable/satellite provider, or your dvd/blu-ray player.<br />
<br />
<div>
At VideoCrib, we feel though at face-value the Blu-ray offers superior performance to DVD, if you are not able to switch to Blu-ray for whatever reason(s), you can still achieve 'almost Blu-ray performance' through the use of good quality cables, the right picture adjustments and good quality components. For everyday viewing, this is not too shabby, and many of the newer model TV's and DVD players have gotten better and better at 'upconverting' your DVD picture to 1080p than in years past.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
OK...Here we go:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><b><u>Picture Quality</u> -</b></span> </div>
<br />
Blu-ray's maximum lines of resolution is 1,920x1,080 (1080p), DVD is limited to 720x480 (480p). <br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Winner => Blu-ray</span></b><br />
<br />
What it means => More detailed images, like clearer face detail, wrinkles on clothes, individual hairs. Blu-ray may look even better than your HD feed from your Cable/Satellite provider.
<br />
<br />
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/08/dvd-vs-blu-ray.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="DVD vs Blu-ray" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDrx1CAJbLoCfUSRxdVc9A8mTMierJhBjdZIugSfLaGPSfPt0gsmhqNXvrQbaVK1MjQc4y4JpB4ataHjIT1mIbVif41ELnq-Qew6w0xkPfK-8SLx2S0NRPUX3k0lNPCSOLnJzPl_3puEz/s1600/blu-ray-vs-dvd-3.jpg.1379351639915.jpg" title="DVD vs Blu-ray" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictured: DVD(left) vs Blu-ray(right)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><b><u>Audio Quality</u> -</b></span> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Blu-ray has new high-resolution soundtracks, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.</div>
<div>
You will need a late m<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">odel receiver/amp, though, to take advantage of them.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Winner => Blu-ray</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>What it means => You'll be hearing special effects and other sounds as the film studio director/engineers intended. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #e69138;"><u>Extras</u> -</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Blu-ray adds the 'pop-up' menu feature, which provides access to menu functions while the movie continues to play.</div>
<div>
Also adds picture-in-picture video commentary.</div>
<div>
Ability to download new content.</div>
<div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Winner => it's a tie (not everyone is interested in these added features, which have been fairly mediocre to date).</span></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;"><u>Load Times</u> -</span></b> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </b></span></span>Was ridiculously slow for Blu-ray in the past, but has been improved. <br />
Today, Blu-rays can still take from 30 seconds up to 1 minute on average to load.</div>
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<td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important; width: 728px;"></table>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />
</span></div>
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<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"> <b><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Winner => DVD</span></b></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">
<br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;"><u>Available Titles</u> -</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </b></span></span>At present time, there are over 3,500 Blu-ray titles available. <br />
At present time, there are over 100,000 DVD titles available.</div>
<div>
<br />
(Here you may view an excellent selection of these <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=dvd&keywords=movies&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">titles at great prices</span></b></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span><br />
You can also view some <a href="http://www.gopjn.com/t/TUJGRkZGTkJGRUlOS05CRklKRUZO?website=197886" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Movie Classics</span></b></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">).</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"> </span><b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Winner => DVD (simply much more to </span></b></span><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">watch and enjoy)</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important; width: 728px;"></table>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;"><u>Cost</u> -</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span>At present time, prices for Blu-ray players start at $150 and up (to $400), and the actual movies cost about $25. <br />
Trying to build up a Blu-ray library versus DVD could really add up to a lot of $$.<br />
DVD players are as cheap as $40 and you can probably get a good HD upconverting one for under $100.</div>
<div>
<br />
Whichever one you choose, you can get some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=electronics&keywords=blu%20ray%20players&linkCode=ur2&tag=vide099-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">awesome player deals</span></b></a> right here.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b>Winner => DVD</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal;">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: initial; background-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important; width: 748px;">
<tbody style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important;">
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important;">
<td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important; width: 728px;">
<tbody style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important;"></tbody>
</table>
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
</span>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;"><u>Compatibility/Portability</u> -</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </b></span></span><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">DVD discs<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="font-family: arial,helvetica; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #e69138;">will play</span></b> </span>in any Blu-ray player.</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></span>Blu-ray discs<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #e69138;"><b>will not</b> </span><b><span style="color: #e69138;">play</span><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></span></span><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">in any DVD player.<b style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> </b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica"; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: black;"> </span><b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Winner => DVD</span></b><br />
</span></div>
</div>
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</span>
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<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"> So...maybe you'd like a cheap and easy way to copy some of your Blu-ray discs to DVD. Visit our <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/08/copy-blu-ray-to-dvd.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Copy Blu-ray to DVD page</b></span></a> to find out.</span>
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</span>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lCF2PQ3KjmOCIYEpXfScjmjZ7UtnVhLv8ZJfXFCn5hJ5djSEgb4xignzKYhEm4CUKLa5e3VRZuVdzhIEYkGe6UXurTpoAyfle73W-zUlGz1lir-wxCI5K4yoINH0BOzu3v6q5tZF5Yol/s1600/12111684-water-droplets-on-black-plastic-material-with-cd-disk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Digital Disc" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lCF2PQ3KjmOCIYEpXfScjmjZ7UtnVhLv8ZJfXFCn5hJ5djSEgb4xignzKYhEm4CUKLa5e3VRZuVdzhIEYkGe6UXurTpoAyfle73W-zUlGz1lir-wxCI5K4yoINH0BOzu3v6q5tZF5Yol/s1600/12111684-water-droplets-on-black-plastic-material-with-cd-disk.jpg" title="Digital Disc" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<b>Additional Comparisons</b><br />
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 568.0pt;" valign="top" width="568"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" style="mso-cellspacing: 1.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;">
<tbody>
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<td style="background: #EED38C; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Item Compared</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #EED38C; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>DVD</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #EED38C; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Blu-ray</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Total Disc Storage Capacity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">4.7GB (single layer)<br />
8.5GB (dual layer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">25GB (single layer)<br />
50GB (dual layer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Video storage capacity (per dual-layer disc)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">SD: approximately 3 hours<br />
'Standard Definition'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">SD: approximately 23 hours<br />
HD: 8.5 or 5.6 hours, depending on the method of encoding<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Compatible video game consoles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">PlayStation 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Player prices<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">$99 and less<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">$150 to $400<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Movie prices<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">$6 and more (retail)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">$20 to $30 (retail)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Availability of set-top recorders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">No<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Region coded players and discs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Copy protection/digital rights management<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Macrovision, CSS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: white; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">BD+, BD-ROM Mark, AACS, ICT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: inherit; vertical-align: top!important; width: 529px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><b><u>By the way...To stream or not to stream? Are discs obsolete, should I just stream my content?</u></b></span><br />
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Although there have been many improvements to Video streaming sites, especially in terms of video quality (more so than audio quality), in our opinion Blu-ray disc is still overall a superior choice, and with the discs you are not tied to having to use a specific streaming device to view your content. However, if collecting or lugging those discs around is too much of a hassle for your 'on-the-go lifestyle', then you may want to try <a href="http://www.videocrib.net/2013/09/video-streaming.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">streaming</span></b></a> since many of the providers (like Netflix) have recently begun streaming in 1080p Blu-ray resolution (keep in mind there may be additional charges to view these titles).<br />
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So...given all we have discussed here, we sincerely hope that you now have enough info to make the best possible choice(s) for yourself. <i><b>Good Luck and Happy Viewing!</b></i></div>
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</script>Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7815801413065639928.post-55373549298228386292013-08-16T12:42:00.001-07:002016-06-10T15:18:12.091-07:00VideoCrib On Blogger<a href="http://www.videocrib.net/" target="_new">VideoCrib</a> is now available on Blogger. Enjoy the tips and deals, and let us know what stuff you'd like to see more of. Here's hoping you have a great home theater day. Thanks for visiting!<br />
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P.S. - Don't forget to check out the VideoCrib Store for <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/vide099-20" target="_blank"><span style="color: #7ba8f3;">Electronics Deals & New Video Releases! >></span></a> </div>
<br />Russ Cappiccillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12439859814846386013noreply@blogger.com6