Author Archives: Stephen Dawson

What’s all this about 1080p?

Posted on March 31, 2006 by Stephen Dawson

I had a chat with one of my editors yesterday about a piece I’d done on high definition video, in which I hadn’t mentioned 1080p. In Australia, the legislated high definition TV standards are 576p, 720p and 1080i. The ‘p’ … Continue reading →

Posted in How Things Work, Interlacing, Scaling, Video | Leave a comment

More DVD reviews online

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Stephen Dawson

Well, I’ve added ten DVD reviews to my review page: The Simpsons–The Complete First Season (Collector’s Edition) , The Sopranos–The Complete First Season, Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversay Edition (1988/99), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 25th Anniversary Special Edition … Continue reading →

Posted in Disc details, DVD | Leave a comment

Is recording from TV worth it?

Posted on March 29, 2006 by Stephen Dawson

The combination of digital TV and DVD recorders can, unlike VCRs and analogue TV, make it worthwhile to record broadcasts for permanent retention. In general, purchasing the DVD of a movie or a TV show is better, quality-wise, but not … Continue reading →

Posted in DTV, DVD, Recorders | Leave a comment

PVR & DVD player, or STB & DVD recorder?

Posted on December 13, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

John from Canberra writes: I was after some independent advise on the best way to go forward on some electronic purchases, and was wondering if you would help.We currently have a 5 year old Sony Trinitron TV, a cheap unreliable … Continue reading →

Posted in DTV, DVD, Recorders | Leave a comment

More technical discussion of ‘RMS Watts’

Posted on December 13, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

David Brigden has written to tell me about an article on his Web site that discussed the concept of ‘RMS Watts’. I’ve previously dealt with this on this site, but the article he publishes gives a much more mathematically rigorous … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Equipment, How Things Work | Leave a comment

The Great DVD Giveaway–2

Posted on August 23, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

Once again I have some surplus DVDs that readers may like to have for nothing, or at least, only the cost of postage. These are mostly DVDs that have been sent to me for review purposes. Note: These DVDs should … Continue reading →

Posted in DVD, Giveaway | Leave a comment

Denon introduces the nearly perfect home theatre amplifier

Posted on August 23, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

Denon’s $13,000 AVC-A1XV home theatre amplifier is overkill, with its ten channels of amplification and 45 kilograms of mass. Now Denon has introduced the much more affordable ($6,999) and lighter (23kg) AVC-A11XV, with seven channels, each rated at 140 watts. … Continue reading →

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Panel TV Price falls continue

Posted on August 18, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

I’ve just received a press release from NEC Australia saying that the selling price of its 40 inch (100cm) widescreen LCD TV, the NLT-40W, has been reduced from $9,999 to $5,499 (as I write, the NEC Web site lists the … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Value | Leave a comment

Consumer DVD recorders go dual layer

Posted on August 16, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

Well dual layer recordable DVDs have been around for about 18 months now, without too much happening with them. With their expense (still over $8 each here in Australia), their use has been difficult to justify. Might as well just … Continue reading →

Posted in DVD, Recorders | Leave a comment

The flexible eye

Posted on August 15, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

The eye/brain mechanism for seeing is remarkable. We rely intensely on its ‘defects’ for home theatre. Consider a projector. It is casting an image onto a white screen. Yet with a good projector in a dark room, the black areas … Continue reading →

Posted in How Things Work, Imperfect perception, Testing, Video | Leave a comment