Category Archives: Video

1:1 pixel mapping – why your 1080p display should have it

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Stephen Dawson

Last night I started working on a blog entry on this subject, but soon after I started I realised that I was putting in too much work to just give it away. So this is just a brief taste. Full … Continue reading →

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How good is HDTV anyway?

Posted on June 26, 2006 by Stephen Dawson

Of course, I love high definition. As I sit here writing, my son is playing ‘Call of Duty 2’ on an XBox 360, set to 1080i output, playing via a Denon AVR-4306 receiver (with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio) to an … Continue reading →

Posted in DTV, HDTV, Video | Leave a comment

What output resolution to use for HDTV?

Posted on June 15, 2006 by Stephen Dawson

Okay, you have a nice shiny new high definition TV receiver. You work through its setup menus and discover you can set its high definition output resolution to 576p, 720p or 1080i. Which should you use? Preferably, none of them. … Continue reading →

Posted in DTV, HDTV, Interlacing, Scaling, Video | Leave a comment

To Interlace or De-interlace

Posted on April 9, 2006 by Stephen Dawson

Interlacing is becoming an important matter these days. Why? Because our TV screens are getting bigger, so the problems it can cause are becoming far more obvious. So what is interlacing? Back in the early days of TV, the engineers … Continue reading →

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

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

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

Samsung lowers HD plasma prices

Posted on February 15, 2005 by Stephen Dawson

For the first time I can recommend a plasma display that retails for less than $AUS5,000. For years I’ve been whining about the 852 x 480 pixel resolution of so-called ‘standard definition’ plasmas as being unsuitable for Australian, Indian and … Continue reading →

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Philips hobbles performance of DVD+R/+RW DVD recorders

Posted on October 18, 2004 by Stephen Dawson

Some time back I mentioned the aspect ratio limitations of the DVD+VR recording format, as used by consumer DVD+R/RW DVD recorders. I took the opportunity to draw this to the attention of Philips Electronics — the inventor and controller of … Continue reading →

Posted in DVD, Recorders, Video | Leave a comment

PAL-60 is good?

Posted on September 22, 2004 by Stephen Dawson

Aaron writes: I’m an avid reader on consumer electronics especially DVD-related standards and to say that your feature on PAL-Progressive Scan and Analog to digital DVD-conversion and their fallacies was an eye-opener would be to put it modestly. Fantastically well-written … Continue reading →

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Accurate timing of videos

Posted on August 17, 2004 by Stephen Dawson

Rod, who runs the excellent The Chopping List, has asked me: I was talking to a friend who has also adopted a censorship watchdog role about VHS running times for movies. To get a duration for a film on tape … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, How Things Work, Video, Video tape | Leave a comment