Author Archives: Stephen Dawson

CD Copy Protection Woes

Posted on September 3, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

Ian writes: I’ve just read your article on copy-protected CDs and I must say it was a very interesting read. I received the Robbie Williams album today but am having problems ripping the tracks to mp3. I have always used … Continue reading →

Posted in CD, Computer, Copyright | Leave a comment

Room deadening and CRT projectors

Posted on September 2, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

Gary from Spectra Engineering in Western Australia writes: An idea for your reader Dave would be to add some acoustic deading material to his sound room. This would cut the reflections and make the Bass sound field more even throughout. … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Equipment, Video | Leave a comment

DVD Menu Conveniences

Posted on September 1, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

The famous InstaPundit makes a valid point about the inconvenience of many DVDs: The new Simpsons’ [Third Season DVD box set] release has a selection that basically lets you play each disc from beginning to end, like a video tape, … Continue reading →

Posted in DVD | Leave a comment

Plasma advice

Posted on August 27, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

Neil writes: … making sense of the plasma thing. We are getting conflicting messages from different hifi magazines. The last online review we found sang the praises of the Hitachi 32 pd3000. The size is right for our room. Any … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Video | Leave a comment

Room size and bass

Posted on August 27, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

Dave from Cheltenham writes: I came across a comment on an audio website recently that said something to the effect that a small room or a large room will reduce bass response from speakers. I have a pair of Tannoy … Continue reading →

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CD emphasis calls for caution in ripping

Posted on August 26, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

There is a little-known feature of CDs called emphasis. This is primarily a noise and distortion reduction mechanism, provided for when CDs were first designed over twenty years ago. In short, the idea is that the engineer boosts the treble before … Continue reading →

Posted in CD, Copyright | Leave a comment

A socially useful application of home entertainment technology

Posted on August 25, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

While I have no doubt at all that my current line of work is far more socially useful than my previous employment as a government servant, I am still sometimes niggled by, what shall I say … perhaps a lack … Continue reading →

Posted in CD, General Tech | Leave a comment

Phase 2 of the Home Entertainment Dictionary complete

Posted on August 24, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

Well, I’ve worked my way through the Dictionary of Home Entertainment, fixing up the silliest entries and richly cross-linking terms. So now I’m happy with it, but only as far as it goes. Phase 3 will consist of adding the (gasp!) … Continue reading →

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Recording 96kHz, 24 bit PCM to DVD

Posted on August 24, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

I had this wonderful idea for an article, which I promptly put to the editor of Australian HI-FI and which he equally promptly accepted. The idea: Obviously recording LPs to CDs is old-hat. But now that DVD burners for computers are coming … Continue reading →

Posted in Analogue, Audio, DVD | Leave a comment

The Home Entertainment Dictionary improves a little

Posted on August 22, 2003 by Stephen Dawson

I’ve been doing a bit of work on the Dictionary of Home Entertainment. I’ve added a number of terms and definitions, filled all but one of the missing definitions, and enriched the internal links up to and including dither. In the process … Continue reading →

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