Category Archives: Video

Twinkles in the picture, but from where?

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

If you’ve been reading this Blog lately you will know that I’ve been using some inexpensive HDMI cables lately, marvelling at how well they work (ie. just like expensive ones). But then, last night, I was watching ABC’s ‘Media Watch‘ … Continue reading →

Posted in Cables, DTV, Testing, Video | 4 Comments

The next big advance?

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

So it turns out that Peter Jackson is shooting his Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, in 3D and at 48 frames per second. Virtually all filming for cinema is done at 24fps of course, and one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Blu-ray, Cinema, HDMI, Video | 15 Comments

Tilting the lens on The Social Network

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

The other night I watched The Social Network on Blu-ray, and soon I’ll be writing a review of it. But I wanted to highlight here one brief part of it: a section starting around 84 minutes into the movie, called … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Imperfect perception, Video | 2 Comments

The imaginary world of colour

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

Colour is a construct of the mind. Out in the real world what we perceive as colours is simply a small subset (less than an octave) of the wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. Evolution has endowed us with a mechanism … Continue reading →

Posted in Imperfect perception, Video | 1 Comment

Splitters!

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

I wonder if there could be a good market for a certain type of HDMI splitter. The scenario I have in mind is this: you have a high end home theatre receiver from a couple of years ago, but it … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Blu-ray, Equipment, Video | 4 Comments

All Hail … Analog?

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

My brother kindly pointed me an article in the Wall Street Journal by Francis Fukuyama, entitled ‘All Hail Analog?’. Fukuyama is best known as a kind of historical analyst, generally of a conservative bent. In the late 80s and early … Continue reading →

Posted in Analogue, Audio, Video | 8 Comments

Mad Max is 1080p24

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

When I mentioned the forthcoming Blu-ray release of Mad Max a couple of weeks ago, the view was expressed in comments that the interlacing problems with the DVD wouldn’t be replicated on the Blu-ray since it would be 1080p24, and … Continue reading →

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

Apples and Oranges

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

I must say, as soon as I saw ‘The Biology of Home Entertainment‘ tweeted, I thought I’d be reading something interesting. It promised to explain ‘How your senses influence your level of enjoyment!’ That makes a great deal of sense. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Rant, Video | 2 Comments

Do Video Bitrates Matter?

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Stephen Dawson

Well after my little rant yesterday, how about something rather more positive? The answer to my question in the title is: ‘Of course they do.’ The more important question is: how much? My view is that once you get up … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Codecs, Compression, Video | Leave a comment

Imagining colour

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

On the most recent Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast the normal ‘Science or Fiction’ segment was run by Richard Saunders, the famous Australian skeptic, known for amongst other things The Skeptic Zone podcast. His first science or fiction question … Continue reading →

Posted in Mysticism, Video | 2 Comments