Author Archives: Stephen Dawson

Fine music and fine wine

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Sometimes I think the art of listening to hifi — not for the music, but for the performance of the system — is somewhat like the art of tasting wine. Long time readers would realise from that association that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Giveaway, Imperfect perception, Mysticism, Testing | 4 Comments

Digital Radio trial for Canberra

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Well, it looks like Canberra is going to be the first ‘regional centre’ to receive digital radio, after its introduction into State capital cities last year. This will be a trial, commencing from July this year. Apparently the stations that … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Radio | 1 Comment

Edge enhancement

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

In so many ways video technology replicates what the eye does naturally. Consider the illusion called ‘Mach Bands‘. I’ve lifted the following graphic from the Wikipedia entry to which I’ve linked: What you can see is a light grey block … Continue reading →

Posted in Imperfect perception, Video | Leave a comment

3D Crosstalk

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

When I went to the Sony 3D TV launch a couple of months ago, and to the Panasonic 3D TV launch a couple of weeks ago, both the spruikers of the new 3D technology highlighted the superiority of their system … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Video | 11 Comments

Energy Saving Switch

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I’m just setting up a 52 inch Sony TV. After putting it on its stand, I loaded the remote with batteries, hit the remote’s standby switch, and nothing happened. That’s fine, all I had to do was find the hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Eco, Equipment | Leave a comment

Retrofitting TVs for 3D

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Reader Sam emailed me with a very interesting question: Your review of a 3D TV on Monday was very interesting. I have an LCD HD TV which handles 1080p 50Hz inputs,  as would most, if not all, HD TVs. It … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Video | 8 Comments

The Art of the Title Sequence

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Really, the title says it all. If you find the way some movie titles are presented interesting, go to The Art of the Title Sequence. My favourite titles of all time are in Panic Room, deal with by ‘The Art … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema | 1 Comment

Super Slow Motion Zombies

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

The other day I noted that the Blu-ray of Michael Jackson’s This Is It has some trailers hidden on the disc, apparently inaccessible via the play menu. Well today I discovered that there are zombies hidden on another Blu-ray disc. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details | 1 Comment

Is This Really It?

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

In a comment to an earlier post, Craig makes some astute observations about the insertion of apparent SD material into Michael Jackson’s This Is It. I have now belatedly watched the movie and have been trying to work out what … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Video | 1 Comment

Blu-ray vs DVD comparison: This Is Spinal Tap

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

This is the classic, of course. Being shot in 1984, and done in a documentary shaky-cam style, it is far from the sharpest of Blu-rays on the market … Hang on. I was just about to write: ‘In fact, it … Continue reading →

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