Author Archives: Stephen Dawson

Disproving cable claims?

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

A while back I wrote to the Australian Skeptics regarding its $100,000 prize. It offers this to anyone who can prove capable, under agreed protocols, to perform some actual paranormal task. For example, divining water, moving stuff through the power … Continue reading →

Posted in Cables, Imperfect perception, Mysticism | 2 Comments

How 3D TV Works

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

[This was published in Sound and Image magazine last year] In one sense, the developers of Blu-ray 3D had it easy. They were allowed invent a new video standard, essentially doubling the amount of video data compared to standard Blu-ray. … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, DTV, HDTV, How Things Work, Page | Leave a comment

Kogan repeating its HDMI cable giveaway in UK

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

Earlier this year Kogan was giving away HDMI cables to people who had purchased a TV from JB HiFi. Looks like it’s repeating the trick in the UK.

Posted in Cables, HDMI | Leave a comment

Thank you Microsoft

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

For sucking six hours of productivity out of my life. It turns out that if you install a smaller MS Office package over a larger one, using the default settings, the extra bits of your old installation get zapped. Oh, … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer | 10 Comments

Metropolis … Reconstructed … Restored … Blu-ray

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

Metropolis is one of those movies the absence of which necessarily renders any movie collection incomplete. It may not be all that enjoyable, but it is important, and should be familiar to any film buff. Especially in the most complete … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD, Giveaway | 3 Comments

The Sharp Edge of the Gladiator

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

Do you have Gladiator on Blu-ray? You should, but only if you get the correct one. The original release was deeply unimpressive. The remastered version, gorgeous. Why the difference? Here’s a clue (original left, remaster right): How do you tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD | 2 Comments

Some more Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons, plus a review

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

I’ve added two more Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons. One is for the vastly underrated Denzel Washington movie The Siege, while the other is for another movie from 1998, Shakespeare in Love, which unaccountably won the Best Picture Academy Award (plus … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD | Leave a comment

Dithering again

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

Years ago I put up a piece I had published in Australian HI-FI on ‘dither’, the technique which, theoretically at least, can reduce objectionable distortion in digital audio recordings. Long since forgotten, I imagine, but just in case anyone is … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, How Things Work | Leave a comment

On a more positive note …

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

I’ve put up a couple more Blu-ray vs DVD comparisons: Cool Hand Luke and Falling Down. You will use neither as demo material for the wonder of Blu-ray. Nonetheless, both movies are nicely watchable on Blu-ray — far more so … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD, Giveaway | 3 Comments

And we have a mechanism!

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

I have been asked whether Mr Hughes, author of the loopy pamphlet ‘A Decade of Tuning Tips (Part 2)’, has given any explanation as to why putting a piece of paper under one leg of a couch, or snipping the … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Imperfect perception, Mysticism | 1 Comment