Loewe Aconda Insider

2002-10-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm still alive!!!

Well, I have to admit, I'm a bit embarrassed at having neglected the site for this long. Don't know if it is even still read by anyone anymore, but I thought I'd put up a quick post.

My time is being sucked up by my latest passion: My Apple Titanium Powerbook G4 Laptop

My Aconda still continues to work flawlessly and I am still VERY hapy with it. But here are some interesting tidbits:

If you're looking to get a new HDTV, you may want to make sure that it has DVI ports if you want to be completely "Future Proof". Apparently my inside sources tell me that DVI is the future standard for HDTV ditigital interfaces. Just a warning though, this standard is designed to be "Piracy Resistant" and will be DTCP compliant. Your older legacy (ie the Aconda's analog inputs) will still work with the current crop of HDTV decoders in the future, at least with Over the Air HDTV broadcasts.
A product to keep an eye on is the Sony Grand WEGA line of HDTV's. I just saw the 60" Letterbox version at Sony's Metreon while visiting here in San Francisco (priced at a very reasonable $6,000) and was VERY impressed. Apparently an equally impressive 50" version will be out in the next year at a very competitive $4,000 US!!!! That may very well be my next HDTV.

OK, that's all for now. Thanks all for staying tuned in despite the infrequent postings. I will attempt to keep this siteup as a source of information (namely the FAQ and Service Menu stuff) for all to use.

Dave

2002-03-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

Artificial Intelligence

I just rented this one and I gotta admit, I really liked the story. I can however see why it didn't do very well in the theaters, too brooding, too dark and a bit too moralizing. Great movie for you who are avid Science Fiction genre readers/fans though. Sort of a modern/futuristic Pinoccio (did I spell that right?) meets Gataca meets Wizard of Oz. The DTS soundtrack was also terrific.

One disappointment though was that there were many (too many, like greater than 20 in the whole movie) visible MPEG artifacts in shots that didn't look like they were that complex or fast moving enough to give an MPEG encoder pause. Perhaps they were just using too low a video encoding rate? Or maybe it's my older Sony DVD player showing its age? If you watch this DVD, let me know if you are seeing as many MPEG artifacts on your DVD player and let me know what model player you're using. Just kinda curious if my stuff is getting stale...

Dave

P.S. Still haven't gotten around to watching the SuperBits yet, but seeing these MPEG errors makes me want to look at a few key sequences in these SuperBit DVD's really closely.

P.P.S. Updated the previous post about the Home Theater Hi Fi site, they ain't perfect, but a nice resource none the less. As with anything offered to you as advice from anyone, always take it with a grain of salt and realistic skepticism even if there are alot of pretty pictures and numbers to go along with it.

2002-03-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

Another really good Resouce

I don't think I've mentioned this one before, but the Home Theater HiFi web site has some of the best written, comprehensive and informative articles I've come across on the internet. They do get very technical and their writeups far surpass the level of detail I've seen in MOST print Home Theater/HiFi rags. Best of all, they are free.
Here are 2 really good ones to check out for starters:

Understanding DTCP (and it's implications for the HDTV buyer/viewer, a must read)
Progressive Scan DVD Players (perhaps the most detailed and intelligent article I've found discussing how progressive scan DVD players work and don't work. Many myths shattered, new problems revealed, another must read!)

The only downside I can see is that they are occasionally prone to endorsing extremely expensive solutions and miscellaneous strange "tweaks" (example here) that make absolutely no sense from a scientific standpoint. I suppose all high end HiFi magazines are a bit prone to these types of excesses though. I personally fall on the pragmatic side of things (see r3mix.net for some interesting counterpoint and criticism AND great information on making good MP3's) and REFUSE to pay like $2000 for a pair of interconnects and I also can't hear the difference between two good quality optical and coaxial digital conections no matter what anyone says (and I have the engineering papers and data to back it up too!! :). Save your money for what'll really matter folks.

So much good reading, so little time.

Dave

2002-03-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Back in Town, Snowboarding and stuff about Spam

OK, no new Aconda or HDTV news with this posting. Well, actually, just one: Watched "Blow" on DVD yesterday, quite a good movie but the DVD transfer had quite a few mpeg encoding artifacts during fast panning sequences. Maybe the way to go is with those "Superbit" DVD's I haven't gotten around to looking at yet...

I was just in Colorado Snowboarding (yeah, I know their snow sucks right now, CA is going off however and I'll be going up to Mammoth next week). Luckily, we were checking out some Snow Cat operations and the new Silverton Mountain operation. The snow wasn't the best to show off these areas but if you like steep trees check out "San Juan Snowcats" operating out of Purgatory ski resort. I personally liked the terrain served by "El Diablo Snowcats" for snowboarding. Both operations are run by really mellow, nice guys that'll let you do much more (ie. less handholding) than anything you'd find in Lawyer saturated California. If you REALLY like steep expert only terrain, you've got to check out Silverton. Sure you have to hike a bit to really get to the really good stuff, but believe me, they have perhaps the BEST lift accessed terrain I have ever skied in the continental U.S. "Powder" magazine had a few writers skiing there when we were there, look for a write up there soon. WARNING, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART or ABILITY. It is truly lift served backcountry terrain and you'd best know what you're doing. I like their slogan: "Skiing for CORE skiiers/riders NOT real estate buyers."

BTW, for those of you sending me e-mail, you will notice that I've removed the original e-mail address and changed it to an anti-spam version "at" instead of "@" and "dot" instead of "." I've been forced to do this b/c my poor e-mail account is innundated with 100-200 spam messages in a 24 hour period and I'm pretty sure that the spammers have been harvesting my address from this web-page. Just edit the e-mail into it's correct syntax in your e-mail program and you can get through to me just fine. I have even begun to use a e-mail filtering program Spam Eater Pro which is highly reccomended. It has given control of my e-mail account back to me, successfully getting rid of 98-99% of all spam. Maybe I should set out a Spam Bait Trap like these guys did too? (Don't follow the link unless you want to see a never ending loop of randomly generated links and e-mail addresses designed to screw with automated e-mail harvesting programs. Why make their job easy eh? :) Too bad it's come to that.

OK, I promise, a "Superbit DVD" review soon. Hmmm...wonder if I should just convert this page into a Snowboarding/Backcountry Skiing page? : ) just kidding.

Dave

2002-02-28T02:03:00.000-08:00

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life

I saw parts of this wonderful 4 segment documentary produced by the BBC on the Discovery Channel about a month ago. It was beautifully written and filmed. If you are a Nature show addict like me, it is a must see.

Nicer still is the 2 DVD set that is now available. You get the original series and some really nice "making of" extras as well as a still picture gallery and some nice trivia. For the most part, the extras aren't that impressive compared to the documentary itself which can more than stand on its own. A really nice surprise was that though it is listed as being in "Full Screen" format (I was expecting 4:3 aspect ratio), it is acutually presented in a 16:9 Anamorphic aspect ratio so it looks REALLY nice on the Aconda.

Definitely worth checking out and adding to your collection. I also bought 2 Super Bit DVD's while I bought these discs at DVD Planet (also known as "Ken Crane's DVD Superstore on Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach, CA): "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The 5th Element". What can I say, I'm a really weak man :) A comparison of these "SuperBit" DVD's will be posted as soon as I can sit down and do a critical comparison to my original non-SuperBit versions.

Dave

2002-02-24T23:49:00.000-08:00

Well I was afraid of this...

I've talked about the threat DTCP copy protection poses to current HDTV equipment owners in terms of making our current equipment incompatible with a protected HDTV broadcast before. At it's worst, we'd be left with a 480p signal not the 1080i we've all spent so money to get. There is an interesting thread a www.Slashdot.org on how New HDTV Encryption Obsoletes Sets. See also this Home Theater Hi Fi article that the Slashdot thread references.

They do bring up an interesting point though, with how slowly these HDTV standards are being implemented, my good old Aconda may be long dead before it is actually made obsolete...

Dave

2002-02-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

Yet another article on the sad state of HDTV

I've gotten my HDTV setup working, but honestly, it's pretty limited when you compare what is available on cable and sattelite. Of course I still assert most of what's out there being pushed out by the networks is pure crap anyways, only PBS and a few cable offerings like The Discovery Channel or The National Geographic Channel really seems to consistently put out quality programming HDTV or not.

Check out this article: Tube Tied - We still want our HDTV. By Fred Kaplan

It nicely summarizes the current dilemma for most consumers looking to go to HDTV. Realistically, except for those who are early adopters or HT enthusiasts like you and I, HDTV really isn't worth it for the average consumer. In the end, the very fact that widespread adoption and reaching critical mass in the marketplace has been so difficult to achieve may kill the whole thing before it has a chance of really getting going. We may be relagated to a really mediocre digital SDTV world and that would be really lame.

Dave

2002-02-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Back from Snowboarding again and other stuff...

Whoo Hoo!!! We broke 20,000 page views!!!! Sorry about the infrequent posts and slow e-mail responses folks, I am gone Snowboarding an awful lot during the winter, maybe things will get a bit better after...er...June?

Gregory Singer wrote in with this interesting tidbit:
"You may be interested to know that Bose and Loewe have teamed up together and Bose is actively marketing the Loewe sets through its retail stores. The sales person I spoke to said something about "exclusive distribution" but I am pretty sure he was mistaken on the exclusive part since it is available in several different places."

I do appreciate all the cool e-mail and nice comments people write in with. I'll try to respond to technical questions as best I can, but understand that I'm not any sort of a hardcore Electronics Tech guy but just a hobbyist. If you have any real technical questions, I encourage you to consult your manual and Loewe's Customer Support department (see a couple posts down).

If anyone out there would be interested in being a regular contributor (NEWS and INFO not $$, the rent is free here after all) or a co-editor, please contact me as I do feel bad about the infrequent postings. Updating and maintaining this site properly is getting to be a bit too much work for just one really part time guy.

Dave

2002-02-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

Some more HD Offerings coming soon

I think most of what is on broadcast TV is an absolute waste of time, but I do love movies and the Olympics (if they'd only get rid of some of those sappy "Human Interest" stories and just show more of the dammed events!!!).

HD Movies

'Breakdown', February 20th on CBS

'You Only Live Twice', February 23rd on ABC.

'The Rosa Parks Story'. February 24th on CBS.

'Tarzan', February 24th on ABC.

'Practical Magic', February 25th on ABC.

'Diamonds are Forever', March 2nd on ABC.

'Crossed Over', March 3rd on CBS.

'Live and Let Die', March 9th on ABC.

'The Man with the Golden Gun', March 16th on ABC.

'Beyond the Prairie II', March 17th on CBS.

'The Spy Who Love Me', March 30th on ABC.

'Moonraker', April 6th on ABC.

'For Your Eyes Only', April 13th on ABC.

'The Pilot's Wife'. April 14th on CBS.

'Octopussy', April 20th on ABC.

'Two Against Time', April 21st on CBS.

'Living with the Dead', April 28th on CBS.

'Living with the Dead, Part Two', April 30th on CBS.

Olympics in High Definition

Wednesday, February 20 -- Day 13
3-5:30 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Semifinal, womens
5:30-7:30 p.m. ET - Speed Skating Men's 1500 meters final
7:30-8 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Semifinal, women
8-11 p.m. ET - Figure Skating Ladies' Short Program

Thursday, February 21 -- Day 14
3-5 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Quarterfinal, men
5-6:45 p.m. ET - Speed Skating Women's 1500 meters final
6:45-8:45 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Quarterfinal, men
8:45-11 p.m. ET - Short Track Women's 3000 meter relay and men's 1500 meters finals

Friday, February 22 -- Day 15
3-5 p.m. ET - Nordic Combined Sprint, K120 Competition
5-5:30 p.m. ET - Olympic Recap
5:30-8:00 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game, women
8-11 p.m. ET - Figure Skating Ladies' Long Program

Saturday, February 23 -- Day 16
Noon-1:30 p.m. ET - Speed Skating Men's 10,000 meters final (limited)
3-5 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Semifinal, men
5-7:30 p.m. ET - Figure Skating Champions Gala
8:30-11 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Semifinal, men

Sunday, February 24 -- Day 17
3-5 p.m. ET - Short Track Women's 1000 meters, men's 500 meters relay finals
5-6 p.m. ET - Olympic Recap
6-8:15 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Semifinal, men (encore)
8:15-9 p.m. ET - Speed Skating Women's 5000 meters final
9-11 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Bronze Medal Game, men

Sunday, February 25 -- Day 18
3-5 p.m. ET - Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game, men
5-7 p.m. ET - Closing Ceremony

Enjoy,

Dave

2002-02-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

The 27 GB successor to DVD's

You know how I've been holding out for a REALLY big jump in DVD technology (beyond Progressive scan cuz my Aconda does line doubling well enough for my myopic eyes) before upgrading? Well the next big step may be just around the corner.

BBC's web site is carrying this article about the Next Generation DVD format. Also see this Matsushita Press Release.

It is nice to see that the various DVD player makers will be collaborating on a unified standard for this higher density DVD format rather than splintering into multiple incompatible or semi-compatible formats that is the current situation with DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD+RW.

Sure having 13 hours of regular video on one higher density DVD is nice I guess (you know, if you want the entire 1st season of the Soprano's or the X-Files on one handy disc), but what I'm really salivating for is full resolution High Definition movies in 5.1 surround sound...heh, heh, heh....: )

Dave

2002-02-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Update on the U.S. Loewe Warranty Situation

I have been corresponding via e-mail with Paul Fredrickson (V.P. Marketing) who has provided some valuable information about the status of current and future Loewe owners here in the U.S. Loewe's U.S. subsidiary, Loewe Opta Inc., has begun operations. They are in the process of getting their IT infrastructure in place so they don't have a web site, customer inquiry 800#'s, customer inquiry e-mail addresses and such in place..yet. However they can be reached for any questions or inquiries at the address and phone number below:

Loewe Opta Inc.
10 Cordage Park Circle, Suite 213
Plymouth, MA 02360
Phone: 508-830-0025

Loewe Opta's staff is made up of many of the friendly faces formerly employed by Sensory Science that were working to support the Loewe brand. I am assured that the transition should be essentially painless for U.S. owners. Loewe Opta will honor ALL Loewe warranties on currently purchased Loewe products and future products.

Here are the answers to some of the questions I posed Loewe Opta about the current owner's warranty situation, I think this should clear up most concerns. (Note I've paraphrased some of the responses given to me, so these are not verbatim, but I believe it accurately reflects Loewe Opta's position):

If you purchased a product and registered your warranty with Sensory Science/Sonicblue or have proof of purchase that the product is within its warranty period, then Loewe will have a record of this and the product is covered by the warranty that came with the set. The warranty remains unchanged: 2 years parts and labor.
Like other products, you should always go through your dealer first. Many of the Loewe dealers also have the ability to service the product directly. If they can not service the product, they have a relationship with an authorized service center that they use to support their customers.
Product service will be handled locally by authorized service centers who have been selected by the manufacturer. These service centers have been have trained by the manufacturer in the repair/adjustment of Loewe Televisions, they have been provided with service and support information, and have access to Loewe parts.
Typically, most service issues can usually be performed by servicers in the field (ie. on site, in your home). Failing that, the unit may need to be taken to the service center for off site repairs.
Payment for any service on a Loewe Television is handled by the local servicer who now sends all of his warranty claims to Loewe if the product is in the warranty period. Of course, if it is outside the warranty the owner will have to cover the costs of the repair and any needed parts.
Loewe plans to continue to serve the market with it's existing dealer and service network established over the last several years and expects to continue to selectively expand this network through high-quality specialty retailers and installers throughout the country.

Hope that helps, it sure puts my mind at ease that we are not (and were probably were never) in a warranty/support limbo. To tell you the truth, I haven't had a single problem with my Aconda to date (14 months and counting) so it all hasn't been an issue, but I'm glad we have a definitive place to go for answers now.

Dave

2002-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Loewe now without a U.S. Distributor

Yup, bad news folks as this may be a real inconvenience. Many have written in pointing out that Sensory Science has apparently been absorbed by Sonic Blue. In the process, Loewe lost it's U.S. distributor as Sonic Blue has decided not to pick up the Loewe distribution contract. See this article for the details.

Ouch!! So what do we Loewe owners do now? I dunno, I haven't had a problem with my Aconda yet, but I'm not looking forward to finding out. I guess I'll have to go through "The Good Guys" where I bought mine, sure glad I ended up buying that 4 year extended warranty now that my 2 year warranty, as offered by the company formerly known as Sensory Science, is in question.

The Sonic Blue web site lists as their ReplayTV/Go-Video/Cal Audio/Loewe PR guy, someone named Jonathan King (jking@sensoryscience.com). I'm gonna e-mail him and see what the official support for current U.S. Loewe owners will look like. I encourage you all to write in, after all, we are entitled to a 2 year factory warranty. Hopefully it's still good given how expensive this bugger was (even more $$$ for the 38" Aconda owners out there).

In the mean time, check out these support links offered up on the Sonic Blue web site (well, I had to dig around a bit to find them but here they are for all to share):

A rather weak looking Loewe Support Page
A Loewe Service Center Locator
Sensory Science Warranty Registration
(looks to be of dubious value, but if I were a new owner, I'd probably go ahead and fill it in to make sure you get on some sort of database as the owner of record and register your date of purchase)

I have looked up the approved Loewe "Service Centers" in my area and I'm making note of it for prosterity as this may be my only source of help until a more permanent U.S. presence for Loewe comes into being. I'd advise you all do the same.

We should all write/call/E-Mail Loewe as well as to this Johnathan King fellow and try to get some information as to what is really going to happen to our warranty coverage!!!

Dammit, I hate getting back from vacation to have this crap waiting for me :( At least my Aconda still looks nice...

Dave

2002-01-27T23:38:00.000-08:00

Yet another reason to hate broadcast TV

Yup, back again. Sorry I was out of town for awhile snowboarding in Whistler B.C. I'll try to get back into the swing of things again and start posting more...

You know, I don't think I ever really can say that I miss watching TV. In fact, our whole country as a whole would probably be better off NOT watching TV at all (except for perhaps PBS and some other rare quality offerings). Here is an article on Slashdot about how broadcasters are Trimming Television to Sell More Ads. As if digital cable didn't already look crummy, now they're shaving off one in every 44 video frames to get another ad in. There is nothing these whores won't do for another 30 seconds of Advertising revenue.

Yup, that's why I use my Aconda mainly for DVD movies...that and video games!! Take back your life folks, dump the cable/broadcast crap, use the money you save to get a HD Decoder, pull in GOOD quality video for FREE and rent lots of DVD's!!! That and get out of the house more and have a life. And for god sakes get the dammed kids out from in front of the TV mind suck; They're getting way too fat and juvenile diabetes is becoming a REALLY big problem here in the U.S.!!!! For shame.

OK, rant over, go back to watching re-runs of Friends now. I think I'll go out for a run instead :)

Dave

2002-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

James Bond in HD on ABC

Back in town now and it looks like I'm going to get some really good play out of my HD Decoder now that I've gotten a decent outdoor antenna hooked up to it. Just in time too because during the next couple of months, ABC's going to show the following classic James Bond movies in HD:

On January 26th "Dr. No", on February 2nd "From Russia with Love", on February 9th "Goldfinger", on February 16th "Thunderball", and on February 23rd "You Only Live Twice".

My LA ABC affliate KABC's HD broadcasts are in the full 16:9 aspect ratio with Dolby Surround audio. I wish the other stations did things this well. CBS has the most primetime HD programming but alas, their broadcasts are seldom in full 16:9 (unless there is something wrong w/ the Sony HDTV decoder that I'm using and someone else is seeing them in full widescreen! If so, write in and let me know). It looks like ABC is giving them a run for their money. NBC better do a good job with HD Olympic coverage or risk falling a distant 6th or so.

Other movies of note in HD on ABC: "Mary Poppins" on January 19th. "101 Dalmatians" on January 20th. "Alien Resurrection" on January 21st.

Enjoy,

Dave

2001-12-28T04:45:00.000-08:00

Going out of town...

OK, I'll be snowboarding for the next week. Mammoth is going off right now and the backside/backcountry calls. I've been putting up longer but more infrequent posts lately so check back in about a week and I'll try to find some more interesting stuff to write about (gonna borrow a "X-Box" and I'll write up about it ASAP). Thanks for all the e-mail, keep it coming, I'm still having fun doing this. I hope you all are still having fun reading this.

Hope you all had a very Merry X-Mas and have a Happy New Year. May the coming year offer a better, kinder and more peaceful world for everyone.

Be good, be safe,

Dave

2001-12-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

My HDTV Saga continues...

Well, I got my HDTV decoder back from my friend and decided to give it another try. If you remember, I was getting pretty pitiful reception with an indoor amplified UHF/VHF antenna (read: glorified Rabbit Ear antenna). The reception with the 1st Generation RCA DTC-100 I was borrowing earlier was actually BETTER than with the newer Sony HD SAT-100 that I'm borrowing now. So in anticipation of the upcoming Winter Olympics to be broadcast in HD by NBC, I got off my duff and set up an external antenna.

Part 1: First, I had to sneak onto the roof of my Condo building by...er...bypassing a few locks here and there (luckily I'm on the 3rd floor so dropping the wiring down and routing it discretely wasn't a big problem). Heh.

Part 2: Went to my friendly local Radio Shack on PCH in Newport Beach where there was, amazingly enough, someone (the manager) who knew about pulling in HDTV/OTA broadcast signals. He reccomended a very economical package which consisted of the following: U-75R UHF Antenna $20, 5' Gray Antenna Mast $8, Wall Mount $7, 100 ft Low Loss Coax Cable (Indoor/Outdoor, get this type as the cable will be exposed to the elements) w/ ground wire $30, 75-300 Ohm Coax adapter $3, and some miscellaneous coax hammer in clips $2. Grand total: $76 w/ tax. Nice, much cheaper that I thought it would be. Actually, come to think of it, almost cheaper that that crappy indoor UHF antenna I have that doesn't do squat!!!

Part 3: Routed the wire (biggest pain in the ass of them all, I'll spare you the knuckle skinning details) and put up the antenna only about 4 feet off the deck of the 3rd story roof. Pointed it vaguely in the direction of Downtown L.A.

And.....Voila, we are now watching HDTV!!!! Actually, for how little fudging and how little money I spent, I'm pretty impressed with the reception. I could pull in almost ALL the LA HDTV stations and even a couple of San Diego ones!!! The Sony reciever re-maps the Physical Station to whatever the broadcaster defines as it's a Channel # that corresponds with it's actual channel number (ie. even though KABC is on UHF channel 53, the HD-100 remaps it to 7.1 b/c ABC is usually channel 7 in this market). I don't recall the RCA DTC-100 doing that, though on that one you could re-name the text labels for the channel which you can't do on the Sony.

Here's my line up (sorry if it comes out cluttered on a narrow screen):
(Station - Local Affliate - Channel on the Sony Tuner [ Physical Channel ] @ Signal Strength 0-100% : Comments)

CBS - KCBS - 2.1 [60] @ 100% : They're not broadcasting in full 16:9 and the framing is a bit off center.

NBC - KNBC - 4.1 [36] @ 97-100% : Also not quite full width but better than CBS. Centered.

local - KTLA - 5.1 & 5.2 [31] @ 100% : Full width 16:9 broadcasts. Great 5.1/Pro Logic surround sound. Channel 5.1 is English, 5.2 in Spanish when available.

ABC - KABC - 7.1 [53] @ 98% : Full width 16:9 broadcasts. Great 5.1 Surround/Pro Logic surround sound.

local - KCAL - 43.1 & 43.2 [43] @ 0-95% : I don't think this one broadcasts at night.

FOX - KTTV - 11.1 [65] @ 100% : The Simpsons but in SDTV upsampled to HDTV, doesn't look that good. Doh!!

UPN 13 - KCOP - 66.1 [66] @ 91% : Sitcom hell, just like the SDTV UPN station. Just my opinion though :)

local - KWHY - 42.1 [42] @ 97% : The Spanish languange Channel, Telemundo in HD? I think I'm too white/asian for this one.

local - KSCI - 18.1 & 18.2 [61] @ 100% : Asian programming. Korean mainly on 18.1 and Chinese on 18.2. I'm too white for this one too, even though I'm technically Asian :)

San Diego - KGTV - 10.1 [25] @ 95% : Who are these guys?

PBS - KPBS -- 15.1 & 15.2 [30] @ 0-90% : Man I wish I got this signal more clearly, some broadcasts have weird horizontal bars across the picture. Interference? I think it is a signal protocol problem actually. Good looking stuff in full 16:9 width too, too bad my Sony reciever has problems with their signal. Lots of wattage though. I don't think they broadcast at night either.

ABC San Diego - KFMB 8.1 [55] @ 52-90% : Not as wide screen as 7.1 and the surround sound isn't as good. Man these guys are cranking out some serious wattage for me to pick it up from here!

The Ones I Don't recieve:

PBS - KCET - 59.1 [59] @ 0% : The local Huntington Beach HDTV affliate, I don't think they are actively broadcasting any DTV signals at this time. I'll keep looking for it though.

San Diego - KNSD [40] @ 0%
San Diego - KSWB [19] @ 19%

Alot of the programming is just SDTV/NTSC resolutions or video sources upconverted to 1080i so it still looks a bit crappy. The big 4: CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS have some programming produced in HD natively though. PBS has some especially nice stuff.

I wish more of the stations broadcast in full screen 16:9 but many broadcast in 4:3 unless they are showing programming produced for HD or filmed in HD. The black bars are a bit bowed in on my Aconda coming from the Sony tuner, I think the problem was less severe w/ the RCA unit but still present. I was able to stretch the image proportinately by playing with the VGA geometry settings to get most programs to fill the screen, unfortunately, the settings for one channel sometimes aren't good for a different channel. That and the geometry you set in the service menu for regular TV/DVD/VHS viewing doesn't seem to apply when viewing in the VGA/480p/HDTV 1080i mode. Also, some channels are shifted to the left of center, namely CBS compared to the other channels. Dammit!!! For what it would cost for one of these HDTV Tuners (if I'd actually paid for one that is), it SHOULD be perfect. Dammit, another early-adopter tax.

Sorry for the long post, hope some of you find it interesting. Feel free to write in about your HDTV experiences. I'll update my channel information list as I play around some more.

Dave

2001-12-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

A nice DTS source

You know, I'm not really a Sting fan but he does put out some really well produced/engineered albums and he has always been on the cutting edge in terms of pushing the medium (ie. big proponent of the DTS format). So I was trying to find a copy of "Brand New Day" in DTS and I began to realize that most record stores don't really stock the surround audio formats (DTS, SACD, DVD-Audio), in fact, many didn't even know what I was talking about.

Forget your run of the mill Record stores or places like Barnes and Noble. Even the Virgin Megastore here in Costa Mesa didn't stock any surround audio formats. Tower Records had a weak little section buried in an obscure corner w/ a total of maybe 30 titles (though admittedly they're stocking more and more in the last few months). Amazon.com for the longest time didn't even have DTS as a search term and doesn't have a DTS/Surround Audio listing that I inow of.

Where did I finally find this thing? Actually, there was this place called "Ken Crane's Laserdisc Superstore" over on Beach Blvd. in Westminister/Huntington Beach but it has morphed into DVD Planet which offers some pretty darned good prices (about 10-25% off retail) in the store and over the internet AND they have a REALLY GOOD selection of Surround Audio titles. Heck, they even bother indexing stuff by DTS, DVD-Audio and stuff. I like it and I like that they're actually just around the corner so I don't have to wait for shipping!!! (P.S. Usual "I don't work for these guys and they don't slip me any $$" disclaimer cuz they don't. This effort is purely an act of love baby!)

Dave

2001-12-12T23:59:00.000-08:00

Dave takes a look at the 38" Aconda

I finally got a chance to check out the 38" Aconda at the Good Guys here at the Tustin Marketplace in So. Cal today. Keep in mind that this was only a brief viewing under less than ideal conditions: There was alot of really bright overhead lighting (not at all representative of how you'd be viewing it at home) that made the screen look washed out and required cranking up the contrast (not good for the lifespan of the phosphors on your tube). Also, the unit in question wasn't calibrated with any sort of test patterns so in addition to there being too much contrast (with very visible blooming) to compensate for the lighting environment, the color and saturation were all off. I tried to adjust it by eye but we all know that this isn't really an accurate way of doing things. Luckily a very knowledgeable salesman by the name of Rob Manassero was there to help me adjust things. I've spoken with Rob on a couple of previous occasions and he is refreshingly well versed in the finer points of Home Theater, HDTV and the Acondas (as well as all the RCA's/Proscans, Sonys, Mitsubishi's and all the other 16:9 HDTV's this flagship branch of the Good Guys stocks. OK, I'm a bit jaded having met too many salesmen who are obviously just making things up and throwing around big terms/words to intimidate/impress to just make the sale. It's nice to meet someone who's an actual enthusiast and who knows what he's talking about). If you want to see this set in So. Cal, this is the only location that has one to show that I know of and you should ask for Rob as he is quite helpful, and a nice guy too (the guy spent all sorts of time with me knowing I absolutely WASN'T in the market for another Aconda. What?! I'm not made of money you know!).

The first observation: I have to agree that the Sony XBR 40" does look much brighter (as someone else who's written in has commented on) and has better color saturation. The picture is quite clear and I think that with some adjustments and a darker viewing environment the 38" Aconda could look much better but I am pretty sure that the Sony 40", the 30" Aconda and the 34" Sony 16:9 tubes are much brighter. I don't know if this is a limitation of the 38" Tube size or if it is a problem with the RCA/Thompson tube the 38" Aconda uses. The resolution and detail on this TV was quite nice despite the lack of brightness, it seemed to be at least as clear as the 40" and 36" Sony XBR's but not quite as good as the 30" Aconda. The picture just doesn't seem as vibrant as on the 30" and seems, well, more subdued. On a HD source you could make out the fine details quite nicely with good reproduction of the "Depth of Field" effect that gives a HDTV image it's "3-Dimensionality" as described by some. This was done much more nicely than on let's say any of the non-DLP rear projection TV's in the store (you loose some of this "Depth of Field" reproduction due to the softness introduced by convergence problems in a non-perfectly lined up CRT projection TV in my opinion). The Mitsubishi 65000 being the exception as it's DLP driven projector has to be seen to be believed, I think the Mits is even nicer than most of the Plasma displays I've seen, but man that $12,000 price tag is a bit heavy.

The good news is that the 38" Aconda's comonent video inputs seem to work just fine w/ the Denon 2800 Progressive Scan DVD player and Sony's newer Sony DVP-NS900V Progressive Scan/Multichannel SACD player. I don't know what the problem is with the chipset or signal timings on the DVP-S9000ES that gives the Aconda such a fit. They had one in the store but it was hooked up to the 40" XBR and I didn't get a chance to get them to hook it up to their Aconda. I think the 38" Aconda they had on display had either a problem with the Component Video cabling or one of the input jacks on the Component Video input cluster as there was a bit of a shimmering/jittering when playing back DVD's from the NS900V and the 2800 in the top 1/3 of the screen that wasn't present when you view the HDTV source. Also, the overscan and Horizontal and Vertical amplitudes/offests on the demo 38" Aconda unit were a bit off with the DVD picture being just a bit off center and a tad too small and thus showing some wierd lines at the top of the screen. We played around w/ the Service Menu settings and were able to correct these problems easily. However, Rob is going to have their Tech guy come by in the next few days to really get the set adjusted well. Maybe the sucker got a bit knocked around a bit on the long ride over from Germany? : ( If you get one of these, you may want to have it unpacked and checked thoroughly in the store before you go. For the money you're paying, I should think you'd have a right to see it adjusted perfectly before you take it home unless you're feeling really brave.

Also Steve brings up a really good point, bring your DVD player or get them to hook up an identical model (assuming they stock it) in the store to make sure it works w/ the Aconda. So far, it's only been the Sony S9000ES Progressive scan that has been reported to give the Aconda fits but it's a bit too much money to gamble with in my opinion and well worth the hassle of unhooking/hooking up your preferred DVD hardware. A little of headache now will save you alot of headache later.

This is a REALLY BIG TV, and really heavy too. You'd better make sure your floors can take the reported 220 lbs of weight, not to mention your furniture. I think the same styling of glass stand may be available for the 38" as was for the 30" but this store didn't have it. Make sure whatever furniture/cabinetry you put it on is stout. It is a very nice looking set w/ the surrounding black laquer border curving off to the same degree as the tube itself. Altogether a really nice looking package, though I am a bigger fan of flat screen TV's. I think the amount of geometry distortion you get at the corners when you go up to a 38" screen makes a Flat Screen Tube TV not workable (Someone correct me on this point if I'm mistaken).

Man, this is getting a bit long in the tooth. OK, realize that I only spend about an hour with the thing and only auditioned 2 DVD players and the HDTV mode (via a Loewe HDTV Decoder box) in the store (as stated before, a less than perfect setting) without a perfectly calibrated TV. So, What do I think?...

Honestly, I'm a bit dissappointed with the flatness/dullness/lack of brightness of the tube. I think for the serious $$$ involved, it should be a bit more of a stunner. It doesn't have any Firewire or DTCP expandability so it does seem a bit dated compared with the Sony XBR units (though much prettier asthetically) which are looking like a bit more of a bargain considering the Sony 34" 16:9 comes WITH a HDTV decoder built in. I would like to see the Aconda again after it's been adjusted properly and parked in a better viewing situation before passing final judgement though, I think it has potential. Loewe, I know you can do better!!!

Dave

2001-12-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

A 38" Aconda Owner's initial impression of his new toy...

Steven Madoff was kind enough to write in and share his thoughts on his new 38" Aconda.

"The picture is terrific, but it doesn't give the impression of depth that a really fine flat-screen TV offers. That would include the Aconda 30" and the Sony 34". I've spent a good deal of time looking at the Sony in their anchor store in New York. It's a superb picture, but it doesn't have the fineness of either Aconda. The color of the Aconda 38", after tweaking, is wonderfully subtle. It captures motion perfectly, without any artifacting that I can tell--and I've watched a lot of movies with it now. If this were a flat screen, I think it would have definitely been more impressive--and yet it's still incredibly good. There is no question that if I could use the progressive scan of my Sony, the picture would be even better. I think it's a shame, and a bit astonishing, that Loewe and Sensory Science didn't catch and correct the chipset issue with the Sony player that forces me to use the TV's progressive scan, while putting the DVD on interlace."

"I'm using a B&K AV307, two pairs of Vienna Acoustics Bach speakers, the Vienna Acoustics Maestro center channel, a REL Strata III subwoofer, and the Sony 9000ES DVD/SACD player. It's a knockout system."

"I'll try to write more about the TV soon. But definitely tell your readers to watch out for this problem by finding out about compatibility with the Aconda 38" and their player before making the big investment."

Thanks for the writeup Steve, I just got to see one in person today and I'll post a write up later tonight (gotta go to the gym and work out some post X-Mas party flab). I don't own a 38" Aconda personally so I don't feel qualified to post more than some superficial impressions but those of you who went and bought one of these babies pipe up and send in your reviews/thoughts and I'll put it up for all to read.

Dave

2001-12-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

Dave's Aconda turns 1 year old

That's right folks, my Aconda is now 1 year old (well 1 year plus 5 days) with 1,746 hours of viewing time on it according to the Service Menu. Whoohoo!!! That and the Aconda Insider web site had over 10,000 hits as of a week and a half ago. Forgot to commemorate that milestone.

But, I think a summary of my personal ownership experience would be a more usefull thing for you guys:

Overall: I am VERY happy with the Aconda. It's gotten to the point that I can't really stand watching "regular" TV's any more. I have all the connectivity I need in my current setup (5 Disc DVD Changer, VCR, HDTV Tuner and all audio played through my Denon Reciever/Amp to my 5.1 NHT Home Theater speaker setup) and room for a few more components yet to boot. The picture quality remains unparalleled by any other set I've seen recently except maybe the new 40" Sony XBR (but that's the nature of technology: constant forward motion and improvement for cheaper. As things should be : ).

I have not had any major reliability or functionality issues. The geometry problems seen with the side black bars bowing in at the lower left and right corners were easily corrected with some tweaks via the Service Menu. There appear to be for slightly "Hotter" spots (lighter patches when the screen is showing a completely black image when viewed in a completely dark room) that were of some concern but honestly, when I am viewing an image/movie/DVD/broadcast, I don't even notice this. Apparently a ROM upgrade might correct this (and I have an older ROM version) however it hasn't bothered me enough to go through the hassles of getting an upgrade (that and I'd have to re-calibrate w/ Home Theater Essentials afterwards, a 1-2 hour affair that I don't relish having to re-do. Come to think of it, I think I'm supposed to re-calibrate every 6 months according to the really anal experts right? Yeah right!).

The Aconda works well with my (now rather old) DVD player in interlaced mode. As I've expressed before, I'll wait for the next really big jump in image quality/performance (ie. HDTV DVD's) rather than invest in the minor incremental improvements in video quality of a Progressive Scan DVD player (a hassle as I'd have to run it through the VGA port so that means a European or custom modified DVD player or using a Component to VGA transcoder). I do enjoy hooking up my PC and playing some really nice looking video games in 640x480p. I gotta tell you, even in such a low resolution and with the weak i810 based graphics accelerator on my poky 466MHz Celeron PC, it looks WAY BETTER than any PS2 or console based video game I've ever played.

At 1,746 hours of useage on the Aconda, I'm averaging 4.72 hours a day of useage. I'm pretty sure this is well below the national average for this country (it's like what, a really disturbing 6-8 hours a day of TV viewing right? No wonder our kids are getting dumber and fatter!!) and most of the viewing time is my girlfriend watching Animal Planet several hours a day. This number works out to about
1000 DVD's of viewing time assuming about 1.75 hours per movie (and I'm pretty sure I haven't watched 3 DVD movies a day for the past year!).

Oh yeah, I did accidentally break off one of the four plastic retaining tabs off the rear cable cover/clutter cover so it doesn't stay on quite as well anymore, oops. This happened on the day I brought it home when my friend took a turn too fast and the Aconda slid across the back of his Toyota 4 Runner and tilted over. Man did my heart stop, I think I yelled at him too. A tense situation, but the sucker is built SOLID and none the worse for wear even after Eric's driving and one year of use. I suspedt I'll be getting many more years of great viewing from this set, that is until something better/cheaper comes along and it gets retired into the bedroom...how decadent.

Projects for the new year: A better TV stand that also holds all my HT components behind some dark glass doors so that nasty rats nest of cables is hidden from sight, a nice look rack/storage system for my expanding collection of DVD's and Surround Audio CD's/DVD's, sneaking up onto the roof and putting up a better antenna for HDTV reception, finding a HDTV quality VGA cable, and upgrading my amp to a Denon 2801 or 3801 (but then I'd have to figure out how to add wiring for a second set of REAR Speakers, dammit!). The saga continues...

Thanks to all the regular readers and fans and thanks for all the kind mail. Keep the questions , informations and E-mail coming. Especially needed are reviews of 38" Acondas from those out there who have gone out and bought one. I have only seen the 38" Acondas in a store and don't feel qualified to comment on them except in passing. We'll all keep going as long as this stays fun eh?

Dave

P.S. I know, I write with ()'s way too much but wasn't an English major OK?

2001-12-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

The Winter Olympics in High Definition

NBC & NBC'S DTV Affiliates in association With Mark Cuban's HDNet (Mark Cuban's High Definition Sports Network) will be providing selected 2002 Winter Olympic coverage from Salt Lake City, Utah in High Definition (1080i) and 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. The broadcasts will be available via local NBC Digital TV Affliates as well as HDNet on DirectTV Channel 199. This is quite nice as those of us who are not DirectTV subscribers can enjoy the Olympics in it's full High Definition glory via OTA (Over The Air) HDTV broadcasts for my favourite price...FREE!!

Check out this article on Excite.com for more details: NBC and HDNet To Present Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games In HDTV. Good stuff!

Dave

2001-12-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

Great Deals on DTS Audio/Videos

Those of you who have been following this site know that I personally really like DTS soundtracks/audio products. They just sound better to my ears and on my system. Unfortunately, they are a bit hard to find and tend to be a few bucks more expensive than standard audio CD's and non-dts DVD's. Check out the DTS Online Store where they have comprehensive lists of what is available on the DTS format as well as great prices on some clearance items. Some DTS CD's are at over 60% off the MSRP!! (Note, I do not work for DTS nor do they give me anything for my endorsement...but they could if they wanted to : )

Dave

2001-11-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

Problems with Progressive Scan signals and the 38" Aconda

A couple of people have written in saying that the new 38" Aconda isn't accepting a progressive scan (480p) signal properly via it's component video inputs. Namely with high end Progressive scan Sony DVD players. I'll have to look into this when I get around to visiting my local Good Guys. If there are any 38" Aconda owners out there, please write in and let me know so we can help figure out what is going on here. Maybe it's only w/ Sony DVD players? Maybe other brands will work? Maybe this is a problem with particular units?

I hope this is not a design flaw with the 38" Acondas as one of the promising features was the ability to accept Progressive Scan (480p) signals via BOTH the VGA and Component inputs. If it is a problem that can't be fixed, this thing's got some real issues. I figure for the very high price tag and as a high end Video product, such a problem is absolutely unacceptable!

Dave

2001-11-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

Another great HDTV Tutorial

You know, I have always liked the "How Stuff Works" series of children's books. In fact, I'm not convinced that the books are only of benefit to children. MOST so called "adults" could learn quite alot from the book. I stumbled across an excellent tutorial on How HDTV Works on their web site that is worth checking out.

This is a good resource to pass on to those friends who come over and keep asking you about getting HDTV themselves. There is also a great list of links at the end of the article.

Dave

2001-11-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

More 38" Aconda Sightings

Here are some recent Ads spotted around the country:

Good Guys (Los Angeles Times): Loewe ACO9383PB 38-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $5499

Harvey (New York Times): Loewe Aconda ACO9383 38-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $5499

Also, Matt wrote in after seeing a 38" Aconda being unpacked at "Domes" in Chesapeake, Va.

Looks like $5499 is the going price. However, given that there are other 38" direct views for much less (ie. the RCA and the Proscan) and that the Aconda still doesn't offer any Firewire/DTCP capabilities, it is looking a bit overpriced and obsolete in the grand scheme of things. I'll head by my local Good Guys in Huntington Beach and Irvine to see if they have one set up to look at. At five and a half grand, it'd better be REALLY good looking and much better than the competition to garner that price.

Dave

2001-11-06T02:56:00.000-08:00

Bad DVD carries an inconvienent virus...

OK, not that I think many of my readers are interested in the "Powerpuff Girls" but who knows, some of you may have kids. If you've bought the Powerpuff Girls DVD make sure you don't play it in your PC or Laptop as it's install files (executables) have been contaminated with a really annoying virus, see this article on C-Net.com:

Powerpuff DVD packs viral punch

Rest assured, this will not effect your stand alone/regular DVD player (unless it happens to have a Window$ Operating System that is). Man, this sort of thing should NOT be happening.

Yet another reason to make sure your internet security is up to snuff. Remember, your friendly neighbourhood Aconda fan reccomdends you always:

1) HAVE A GOOD UP TO DATE VIRUS SCANNER RUNNING AT ALL TIMES.

2) RUN A GOOD FIREWALL, IF NOT A HARDWARE ONE, AT LEAST A REALLY GOOD SOFTWARE ONE LIKE ZONEALARM (the price is right...FREE, available at www.ZoneAlarm.com).

Don't say Dave didn't warn you.

Dave

P.S. I don't work for Zonealarm, they just have a really kick ass product. If you want to test your system for vulnerabilities and learn about internet security and hacker proofing your system in general, I also highly reccomend www.GRC.com

2001-11-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

Other ways to turn your Aconda on...

OK, so I thought I'd discovered all the little features and quirks of my Aconda. Ran across one today that was pretty cool and unexpected. Maybe some of you have noticed it already:

Turn off the Aconda, hit one of the numeric keypad buttons (0-9) and the Aconda will turn on and go to that channel.

That's it. Kinda of anti-climatic eh? OK, it's no earth shaking discovery, but still an interesting and convenient quirk. If you want more interesting stuff, I'm frankly running out of things to say and I'm probably repeating myself alot at this point. So write in and keep this interesting. Tell me what you've found out and we'll share the info/wealth. OK, back to watching TV.

Dave

2001-10-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

Access DTV HDTV Tuner card for your TV

This looks like a really promising product, it's been mentioned here before, but here is a full review on AMDPower.com.

One of the notable features is it's PVR or TiVo/ReplayTV capabilities of being able to RECORD full bandwidth HDTV signals! This takes alot of hard drive space though at 9 Gigabytes per 1 hour of programming. However, with the price of large capacity hard drives coming down so quickly, this is a very viable alternative to waiting for HDTV capable VCR's and DVD Recorders which will probably be priced much higher than this card and a large HD. I'm not sure if this thing also records regular NTSC to the hard drive as well, that would be sweet as then you don't need anything else!

Interesting...might be time for me to move beyond my poky old 466Mhz Celeron system and build a REAL system to act as my progressive scan DVD Player/Scaler and HDTV Tuner/PVR unit...

Dave

2001-10-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

Choosing a TV?

Richard wrote in: "I was checking out your Loewe site and wondering if you still would recommend one at this time relative to what else is out there. I'm thinking of forking out the bucks to buy this thing because I like the picture, but there sure are some larger sets with many more features now."

Actually, a couple people have asked similar questions so I thought I'd put up the unexpectedly long reply I sent back to Richard. Just my little humble/common-sense opinion right? Feedback and responses appreciated. Too bad the comments feature is dead, this would have been a good use for it. Hmmm...gotta figure out how to put up a forum section.

Reply to Richard:
This is a pretty complex issue that I probably couldn't do justice, here are a couple of points but the links to the on-line HT magazines I have listed on my site have some good intro articles on them if you browse around a bit.

Probably the most important thing to consider first is your budget. Set a firm budget of what you are willing to pay and try to stick with it as it is VERY easy for things to escalate out of hand. There is always a point of diminishing returns and you'll have to establish it early on. As with most consumer electronics/audio, there is a big price hit for added performance. As they say, you usually end up spending twice as much to add that extra 10% in performance. Be assured that the salesman will always try to sell you up so avoid the temptation. Remember dicipline!

Then, determine your viewing environment. How bright is the room and how big a screen do you need? The former determines how good the particular TV will look. For example, Front and Rear Projection and LCD's don't look good at all in a bright room. For these you will really need a dark viewing environment. The Plasmas are a bit brighter but not as bright as a Direct View (ie. Tube TV). Your distance from the TV to the seating position(s) determines what size you'd optimally like to have. If you would like a screen that almost completely fills in your field of vision, some say the screen size should be at least 1/3 to 1/2 the distance from the TV to the seating position. Any closer and the pixel effects become noticable and annoying.

Also consider the Aspect Ratio you would like. 16:9 TV's will for now cost nearly double that of regular aspect ratio TV's (at least that is how it is here in the U.S.). If you only watch broadcast TV programming and aren't really into HDTV or DVD's w/ letterboxing formatting, consider saving the money and going with a 4:3 or using the $ difference and go for a bigger 4:3 set. HDTV and Progressive scanning capabilities are really nice and will also cost you. Personally, I consider progressive scanning capabilities a MUST if you're going to spring for a nice TV. Remember not all line doublers are the same, you would like Inverse Telecine or 3:2 pull down compensation if you can get it (makes Film sources look GREAT, no effect on video sources). I only know of the Loewe and the Sony XBR450 series that have these built into the TV's themselves. You can get external line doublers/scalers but that is major $$.

Next consider the picture quality, you need to go and look for yourself to really get an idea. Be aware that most HT/Video stores have their TV's displayed in dark areas and have the brightness and contrast turned way up to make the pictures look more appealing but probably not at settings representative of how you would set your TV up at home. Kinda like using the bright shiny objects to attract kids, animals and buyers kind of paradigm...

For example, I don't have a large living room, seating position is about 12 ft from the TV. I didn't have a fixed budget but I tried to be reasonable (sort of :) and I have a bright viewing environment. I also wanted a tasteful looking TV that wouldn't dominate the room's decor. I watch alot of DVD's and not much broadcast TV and am getting into HDTV as well. So in my situation, the Loewe was a fairly good fit. I probably could have saved some $$ by going with some of the Toshiba or Phillips 32" 16:9 offerings, but I felt the Loewe's picture was MUCH better and liked having the built in VGA capabilities. The Loewe's design also REALLY stood out and I'm a big sucker for good design.

I have been impressed by the Proscan 38000 38" 16:9 as it seems like a good deal and alot of TV for the price. There is a RCA unit that is nearly identical to it also. BTW, the new 38" Aconda uses the RCA tube so springing $5500 for the Loewe versus $3400 for a Proscan 38000 is a bit of a reach as far as I'm concerned.

Sony has a nice 34" Letterbox set that runs about the same as the Loewe that looked nice but the picture seemed a bit dimmer and coarser/less film like. Don't know if it has a decent line doubler or merely Sony's DRC (480i -> 960i) process. I don't like DRC very much personally but you should check it out for yourself.

The Princeton Graphics monitors are very impressive but are expensive considering you can go up to a 34" - 38" tube for the price of their 30" unit. This is a conniseur's/Power User's monitor.

It seems the price of 16:9 TV's in general are coming down and their feature sets are getting better. One technology that is still quite expensive but very promising are the DLP Projection TV's. They offer the size of projection TV's with nearly the same brightness as a Tube. These guys are the one to watch.

Also consider that the Loewe doesn't have a 5C/Firewire port so as the HDTV copy protection standards evolve and the products are developed, your Loewe may end up with limitations. I don't think it is a big deal as things in the HDTV realm have pretty much stalled as of late and I enjoy having a good TV TODAY as opposed to always waiting for things to settle down. Only a couple of sets out there have a 5C/Firewire port and some aren't even DTCP compliant.

OK, that's just a very brief, superficial survey. There are many other subtle issues that are very relavant. I encourage you to browse around and take your time reading up before buying. Don't be in a rush to purchase and make sure you take your time playing around and critically viewing each candidate (play around with the video settings too and tune things down to normal levels as well, see if they will let you fire up the Home Theater Essentials or Avia DVD's test patterns and calibrations on them.) before dropping the big bucks.

Happy Hunting,

Dave

2001-10-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

More on the Phantom Menace DVD

Wow, there is actually alot more extra material on the second DVD in the set that I wasn't initially aware of. The second disc alone is almost worth the $18.00 I paid for the set. In addition to what I mentioned in the first post, there is artwork, story boards excerpts and 2 additional mini-documentaries (the 12 part one originally seen on www.StarWars.com and another 6 part one) on the making and design of the movie. This is alot of extra footage.

BTW, if you are watching the restored deleted scenes, there is a little surprise for you if you watch the complete Deleted Scenes with the Documetary on completing the deleted scenes. Kinda of a bunch of outtakes/spoof sequences like the end of "A Bugs Life" in the credits. Haven't seen anyone mention this in the reviews, maybe they hadn't seen the whole documentary yet.

Lots of fun despite the Jar-Jar presence. Why can't all DVD releases have so many goodies? I wonder how hard it would be also to create 2 edits on the same DVD, one the Theatrical Release and the other "Director's Full Edit" with such deleted scenes worked in where they would have gone as well as any other scene sequence changes/edits. You could select which edit you want from the main menu much as you currently select a sound option.

Dave

2001-10-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Digital Television sometimes looks pretty lousy...

At least when you are referring to non-High Definition Sattelite and Cable Ditigal transmissions. Many people have been asking my opinion of Digital Cable. I personally like the way ANALOG cable pictures look than the highly mpeg compressed signals used in digital cable. Unfortunately, in an effort to increase the number of channels (which also equals more revenue and drawing in more subscribers), both Digital Cable and Sattelite Cable companies have been really pushing the limits of digital video compression. Often at the expense of picture quality. See this New York Times article that talks about this bandwith issue (It is primarily addressing Sattelite cable, but the issues are similar with Digital Cable).

I'm personally sticking with my analog cable for now as the Aconda's internal line doubler really seems to bring out all those annoying mpeg artifacts that I see with highly compressed digital cable stations. That and you can't use the internal dual tuners/Picture in Picture if you have to use the digital cable tuner box and if you've ever tried digital cable, the changing of channels is AWFULLY SLOW, even slower than the Aconda's internal analog tuner which pushes the limits of my patience already. I don't mind having fewer channels, after all most of it is rubbish anyways... : )

(Ooops, I originally posted this on Oct 9th...to the FAQ section accidentally. So here it is in it's rightful home)

Dave

2001-10-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

38" Aconda sighting...

Well an advertisement for one anyways. Harvey's in the New York Times is advertising the Loewe Aconda 9383 38-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV for $5500. Ouch!!! No sightings yet here on the West Coast, I'll try to stop by The Good Guys some time and see if they've come in. Hmmm, they were supposed to call me, those flakes!

If you want to see pictures of the 38" Aconda, check out the FAQ section of this web site or the Sensory Science web site (links to both are to the left).

Dave

2001-10-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Phantom Menace on DVD

The reviews sounded good, and though I wasn't completely overwhelmed with the movie when I saw it in the theaters (and I HATE the Jar-Jar character and the slightly watered down plot), I said what the heck. It wasn't too painfull, $17.99 at Frys (Retail around $24.00) for a 2 disk set.

I have to say, the Video transfer is VERY high quality. I couldn't detect any visible MPEG artifacts at all which is pretty impressive considering the number very high speed, complex action sequences there are in this movie. The colors are vibrant and the images are extremely crisp and film like on the Aconda. Someone was really paying attention and optimizing the video transfer. The sound, while not in my favorite format DTS, is still a very impressive mastering in Dolby Surround EX (if you have that extra rear channel, it's in here) with lots of Low Frequency Effects to show off your Sub Woofer and bug your neighbors (I had to turn the LFE's to -10dB to keep it managable when I watched it last night, we'll try cranking it this afternoon ; ). The deleted scenes were apparently worked up to nearly full production quality just for the DVD release and the 60 minute "Making Of" documentary is excellent.

Over all, I'm happy with this DVD. It is one you should rent if not outright purchase as a benchmark/demo disk to show off your Aconda and your Home Theater system. Now if they would only offer a DVD "Jar-Jar" free edit...sort of a "By Popular Demand Cut" rather than a "Director's Cut"...

Dave

2001-10-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hockey Fans Rejoice

NHL in HD begins on HDNet Oct. 4. It's nice when promises are actually delivered. HDNet, the all HD 24 hour Sports Network is bring 65 NHL season games to Direct TV subscribers.

Hey, where are the OTA HD Sports for the rest of us?

Dave

2001-10-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

HDTV Program Guide

Hey, didn't notice this one before, but I stumbled across Home Theater Magazine's HDTV Program Listing/Summary. Showtime has a surprisingly large number of HDTV offerings, I had thought HBO had more programming but I may be wrong. CBS is again the leader in broadcast/over the air HDTV.

This one quite usefull and probably worth bookmarking.

Dave

2001-10-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Better HDTV Reception with ATSC transmission enhancements

Stereophile Guide to Home Theater's web site has an interesting article: An End To Fuzzy DTV?

The ATSC transmissions that currently exist are prone to multipath interference problems and those of you who own a ATSC/HDTV decoder can testify that Indoor Antennae reception is often terrible if you are not in close proximity to a transmitter. Interestingly it also seems that, according to several posts on AVS Forum, some of the reception problems may be due to the broadcasters not pumping out a truely ATSC compliant or poorly formatted ATSC signal.

Anyways, hopefully these enhanced transmission protocols and recievers will hopefully make HDTV reception more consistent and desireable. The fact that the reception via current ATSC set top boxes won't be effected is nice, but little solace for those who have sprung for the 1st and 2 nd generation HDTV STB's and are stuck with them.

Sigh, another example of the infamous "Early Adopter Tax".

Dave

2001-10-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

Countdown to HDTV Deadline

Well, it isn't much of a count down as it doesn't appear that there will be any real consequences for the stations not making the FCC mandated deadline for conversion to Digital TV/ATSC broadcasting.

According to Mark Schubin's Monday Memo there are only 212 days left until the May 1, 2002 deadline for this conversion to take place. Of which only 208 stations in 70 markets (38 of which are Public TV stations! Go PBS!!!) have made the jump to digital broadcasting.

The good news is that if you happen to live in or near one of the major broadcast markets, you're in luck. If not, all that expensive HDTV capable equipment is rotting unless of course you are a Direct TV or Dish Network sattelite subscriber.

Ah the trials of being an early adopter.

Dave

2001-10-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

FAQ Updated

I put up some pictures of the 38" Aconda and some specs with a link to the .pdf document with the full specs from the Sensory Science Web site are also present (Now that Sensory Science finally updated their web site a couple months ago). The link to the manual is broken, but I suspect that it is the generic manual for all the Loewe Digital TV's (ie. the Aconda). Still no word on availability or final pricing though.

Also, some assorted typos were fixed on the FAQ.

Dave

2001-10-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the infrequent posts

I have been distracted by my other various other projects lately and haven't put much onto the Aconda Insider in the past couple of weeks.

One thing that has been taking up lots of my time is playing with and hacking into my new 3Com Audrey. For those of you not familiar with this thing, it is a dedicated internet appliance that has recently been discontinued by 3Com and is now selling for a measly $89.00 (original price was around $500). It is based on a very compact/small footprint Unix like real time OS called QNX that has a built in Web Browser, E-mail client and PalmOS compatible Address Book/Datebook/Palm PDA Hotsync functionality. For more information, see the Audrey Hacking web site.

This thing is really neat, you can even add on additional features like .mp3 playback, ftp, X-term/X-Windows, VNC, telnet, and home automation integration capabilities. If you're looking for a cheap second computer or thin client for your house this thing will do the trick. You shoud get one before they're all gone!

2001-09-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Phantom Menace coming on DVD

I think everyone is anticipating the upcoming release of this movie on DVD, well, except for all the Jar-Jar scenes anyways. There is an excellent preview/review of this disk on Wide Screen Review, see: The Phantom Menace Review

The best part may be in the DVD Special features: deleted scenes that have been brought up to full production/CGI to make for a finished scenes (George Lucas spent alot of time on this part) as well as an excellent 66 minute documentary about the production of this movie.

This one is definitely on my "Must Have" list.

Dave

2001-09-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

JVC Announces 'HDVideo' Recorder Capable of HDTV Recording and Playback

According to the "I Love HDTV Newsletter":

JVC is introducing a new D-VHS format digital recorder, the HM-DH30000U, which is capable of recording HDTV broadcasts at full quality. Its D-VHS HS (High Speed) mode operates at a 28.2 Mbps data transfer rate, more than fast enought for the 19.3 Mbps needed for ATSC HDTV broadcasts with 50 GigaByte of storage capacity per cassette which provides 4 hours of full HD recording on a single cassette*, it will be possible to record an entire feature-length HD movie without having to change tapes midway. This model also features the D-VHS STD mode (14.1 Mbps transfer rate) for standard-definition digital recording in MPEG2 format, and the LS3 mode (4.7 Mbps transfer rate) which enables an incredible 24 hours of MPEG2 digital recording per cassette*. Although D-VHS is a totally digital recording technology separate from analog VHS, with the HM-DH30000U's multi-format recording/playback capability, users will be able record and view in analog VHS, Super VHS, and Super VHS ET, in addition to digital D-VHS.

Dave

2001-09-15T04:39:00.000-07:00

All HDTV Sports Network Web site

For those of you interested in the details and the schedule for the new all HDTV sports network available to Direct TV subscribers, check out HD Net.

Dave

2001-09-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

Not even HDTV makes it palatable...

The events of September 11th were terrible beyond comprehension. I haven't been posting because like many of you, I've been fixated on the terrible tragedy that has befallen New York and Washington. What a horrible and senseless loss of life for nothing more than mindless hatred and zealotry.

Interestingly enough, I've been noticing that MOST of the really good reporting has been from sources like NPR Radio News and BBC World News. The reporting is much less sensationalistic, better researched and better thought out than the short sighted, all too visually oriented tabloid journalism that has unfortunately become the norm on TV.

I guess back to the routine, we ALL need to get back to our normal lives as best we can. Here are some posts though somehow they all seem pretty unimportant and rather frivilous in the grand scheme of things...

FAQ has some new info and updates too.

Dave

2001-09-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

Setting up for recieving Over the Air HDTV broadcasts

This used to be a real chore when there were relatively few HDTV tuners available (and not really worth the effort considering how little native HDTV programming was actually available) but with ABC and CBS offering so much more in native HDTV this upcoming season and the advent of many more HDTV stations coming on line, it may now be really worth the effort.

Home Theater Magazine online has a nice article on Receiving OTA HDTV Broadcasts.

Dave

2001-09-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

A truly Terrible day in American History

What can I say but that the 11th of September 2001 has been a day beyond rational comprehension.

I can only hope that reason will prevail in the end and that justice will be served. The hatred and rage in my heart is tempered only by the feeling of sorrow for those who have perished and for those who have lost loved ones today. I hope justice will be swift and precise though as we know, this is often not the case. Only time will tell whether reason and civility will prevail over mindless zealotry and bigotry.

My world, and that of all Americans (my Arab American friends as well, do not let the impulse for rash bigotry exclude them!!) as been changed forever by the infamy that has occurred today.
No other news is relevant. Only sadness today.

Dave

2001-09-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

George Lucas on Digital Filmaking

Here is an interesting story on Sound and Vision Online about Digital Filmaking. There is a provacative quote from George Lucas where he states that “I will never, ever make another film, on film.” referring to his complete convergence to using Digital Filmaking equipment/HDTV Cameras for film production.

An interesting read about some of the technical details of digital filmaking.

Dave

2001-09-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Lots of HDTV Programming for the Fall season on CBS and ABC

CBS has always been on the cutting edge of HDTV programming and they're pushing the envelope again according to this Yahoo News article which says that CBS in conjunction with Panasonic will offer all 18 of its primetime comedies and dramas in High Definition in the upcoming 2001-2002 television season providing an average of nearly 24 hours of HD programming per week this fall. See the article above for CBS's tentative fall programming schedule in HDTV.

ABC made a similar announcement as outlined in this New York Times article. About 60 percent of their on air programming is expected to be produced in HDTV. For you sports fans, ABC hopes to have production capabilities in place by next year that would allow "Monday Night Football" to be regularly broadcast in HDTV.

Both networks have commited to producing all filmed programming in HDTV. Lower production value programming will still be filmed in standard definition video and probably transmitted in upconverted SDTV as they do currently. This is excellent news for HDTV fans, maybe now we'll finally hit critical mass and HDTV will really take off...time to sneak up onto the roof of my Condo and hook up a better antenna.

I do wonder where NBC is in all of this, sitting on their SDTV laurels?

Dave

2001-09-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

More details on Mark Cuban's HDNet all HDTV Sports station

This came out Wednesday on Yahoo but I was working so I didn't get around to posting it but here you go: HDTV Network to Debut.

Olympics coverage in HDTV?!!!! Nice!

Did anyone catch their first broadcast? If so, how did it look?

Dave

2001-09-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

Good article about Progressive Scan DVD Players

I have gotten many e-mails asking about how well progressive scan players would work with the Aconda and I always reference back to this Home Theater Magazine article that I read (in the print version) awhile back. Well, the article on Progressive Scan or Progressive Scam? The truth behind progressive-scan DVD players is now on line in their Archives section. Good reading and an excellent primer for those starting out.

Dave

2001-09-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

Micro$oft X-Box to support HDTV

But you'll have to pay for it as it is an add on component called the Xbox High Definition AV Pack. The real question is if there will be any software available that will support HDTV resolutions?

The AV Pack apparently will also put out Dolby Digital 5.1 signals via a TOS link (Optical digital output) as well. You know, with the DVD Movie Playback Kit and this AV Pack, this could be your bargain Home Theater PC. Hopefully it is more stable than windows...

Dave

2001-09-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

New all HDTV Sport Channel coming real soon...

Check out this TVinsite Article about HDNet a new all HDTV Sports channel that is planning to debut on Direct TV this Thursday with a baseball game.

This is a GREAT use for HDTV, I wonder why ESPN hasn't seen the potential here for a pay-per view/subscriber model for HDTV sports coverage? They are always griping about lost revenue to bars that show their games on a big screen (that usually looks pretty lousy, you know how well bars maintain their mediocre projection TV's...). Up the ante and really make it worth while to pay for ESPN footage...

Dave

2001-08-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

Photos of Loewe TV's posted

Well, I added a whole slew of Photos and Specs of the various Loewe digital TV's to the end of the Loewe Aconda FAQ page. Check it out...

Also, if any of you could pipe up with the local pricing in your area on these Loewe Models, I'll try to put up the prices so we can all see how much these suckers run. Most of these models are only available in Europe so we here in the U.S. don't know how much they go for. Just drop me a e-mail.

Dave

2001-08-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sensory Science Web Site Updated...finally!

Well, I haven't visited their site in a long time because it just wasn't up to date. NO mention of the 30" Aconda at all for more than a year. In case you didn't know, Sensory Science imports Loewe TV's to the states. Anyways, it seems that they've finally gotten around to updating their site. They even have some details on the 38" Aconda though I don't know if this is an indication that we're moving away from vaporware status.

Dave

2001-08-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

FAQ finally taking shape...

OK, I finally got off my duff and I'm getting the FAQ section written. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, plese drop me an e-mail and I'll try to put it up in the FAQ.

What finally motivated me to getting around to doing this? Well, I was doing a search on the Aconda on Google the other day and surprise, surprise, my site was coming up pretty prominently...including the blank FAQ page. That made me feel kinda lame so I got to typing...

Dave

2001-08-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

Aconda's Settings Preserved by Reserve Battery

For those of you residing in Southern California, you are no doubt familiar with the rolling black-outs that have been happening here. Consequently, I have ALL my expensive electronics on surge supressors and power isolators. Funny enough, I got through almost the whole summer without one hitting me....until this morning that is.

The power died here in my section of Newport Beach from around 11am to 12 pm yesterday morning. No big deal, just had a few clocks to reset. But the one thing I wasn't looking forward to was re-creating the settings and channel labels on the Aconda (BTW, the Aconda will automatically label the channels that broadcast their station ID's too or you can label any of the channels w/ up to 4 letters or numbers of your choosing). The option bytes and display geometry settings are preserved in the flash rom but I wasn't really sure if the Aconda had any backup power for the other stuff (ie. brightness, contrast, channel labels, etc). Well apparently it does and the single hour of zero power was no problem. The internal clock did have to be reset however.

Set works fine, no re-adjustments needed, whew.

Dave

2001-08-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

More on Superbit DVD's

The Consumer Electronics newsletter reports that Columbia/Tri Star Entertainment Superbit DVD's (see this post for more details) will not have regional coding restrictions, with the first ones will be released October 23, 2001.

Wide Screen Review has some additional details as well. According to them, the MSRP will be $27.96. Steep, but according to WSR, they will feature BOTH Dolby Digital Surround and DTS (my personal favourite) sound tracks.

This is nice, no regional coding restrictions, but it does confirm my theory that this could be a sneaky way to get consumers to buy the same movie twice as the region free Superbit DVD's will have to be released AFTER the complete world wide release of the standard DVD is completed. Thus if you have to see it as soon as the movie is released, you'd probably be better off just renting it first and waiting for the REALLY well mastered version to come out later to add to your permanent collection.

Then again, this could be a rather niche product designed for really hardcore videophiles as 90% of the folks out there don't honestly have AV system's that could make use of the doubled video bit rate, not to mention that most people happen to LIKE the little extra features (the Director's commentaries are my favourite...when they actually stay on subject and talk about the movie that is).

Which reminds me: I'm bummed that I bought the original DVD release of "Silence of the Lambs" (Dolby 2 channel audio only). Since "Hannibal" was recently released on DVD, they have also released a special Widescreen edition of "Silence of the Lambs" w/ a Dolby Surround soundtrack and it looks like it has even MORE extra features than the original release. Doh!!!

Dave

2001-08-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Review of 2 HDTV Tuner cards for your PC

Check out this CNET.com article about HDTV Tuner cards for your PC. They liked the AccessDTV card much better than the Hauppauge Computer Works WinTV-HD. I have also heard good things about the AccessDTV on AVS Forum. You can record HDTV programming onto your hard drive, but be prepared to use 9 GB (!!!) per hour to do it. Hope you have a big old drive.

Unfortunately, at this time, if you also want to record NTSC/Regular broadcast TV or cable but you can VIEW NTSC broadcasts just fine. If you want TiVO/Replay TV capabilities, you'll need a separate TV Tuner card and software as these HDTV cards don't have that feature as well. Talk about redundant cards and overlapping functions, wish they'd get both HDTV and TV recording features up and running, then it'd be nearly perfect. I thought the wiring of my HT setup couldn't get much bushier...

Dave

2001-08-24T03:06:00.000-07:00

On-Line HDTV Program Guide

This looks like a pretty nice on-line program guide. It actually will list programs based on what broadcast source you are looking at, ie. NTSC Over the Air/Cable/Sattelite/etc. It also localizes to your zip code so the program information reflects local broadcast programming as well.

One really nice feature is that programs that are broadcast in HD (Native HD vs. just upsampled NTSC) are labeled as such with a "HD" designator. Nice.

Check it out at: titanTV.com Program Guide

It looks like it is being developed to use w/ various PC based TV Recorder software programs w/ one button programming by hitting the little video cassette looking icon, cool.

Dave

2001-08-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

DTCP Sucks in more ways than one...

OK, so you think I'm a grump about DTCP because my older HDTV doesn't have a Firewire/5C DTCP compliant port and I'm bitter that I'll be SOL when they start restrictiing HDTV playback on non-copy protected devices. Yeah, it's true, that does piss me off.

But, it does seem that DTCP does suck in that way, AND in the fact that it has been cracked (at least in it's current form).

See these links for details:

SecurityFocus.com article
Keith Irwin's article
AVS Forum thread

It kinda makes me happy, but sad in a way knowing this will most likely further delay the release of more HDTV content as the Major Film Studios will be VERY hesitant in light of DTCP being cracked.

Dave

2001-08-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Promises, Promises

TJ Sandell forwarded me a copy of some e-mail correspondence about the long overdue 38" Aconda. It reads:

"From: Mike Santos at Sensory Science...
...we are now looking at late August to early September.
Mike, Consumer Relations"

OK, I'm really getting tired of these constant delays and I'm not even in the market personally for one of these...sheesh, as I said, I just HATE vaporware...

Dave

2001-08-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

College Football in HDTV

To tell you the truth, I just am not a sports fan. But, the only time I've watched more than 10 minutes of sports on TV in the last year was when I caught some Football games and college Basketball games broadcast in NATIVE HDTV. The picture was incredible, I swear I could see the sweat on their faces and the paint coming off the helmets during the tackles, I could see the field being visibly torn up during good running plays. It overcame even my notoriously short attention span for televised sports...

Here is a schedule of some upcoming College games to be broadcast by CBS in native HDTV.

September 15th: Tennessee vs. Florida
September 22nd: Arkansas vs. Alabama
September 29th: Miss St. vs. Florida, Alabama vs. SC
October 6th: Florida vs. LSU
October 13th: Alabama vs. Miss
October 20th: Tennessee vs. Alabama
October 27th: Georgia vs. Florida, Miss St. vs. Alabama
November 17th: Florida vs. Florida St.
November 23rd: Arkansas vs. LSU
December 1st: Army vs. Navy

Once again, CBS proves itself as THE major proponent of HDTV amongst the major broadcasters.

Dave

2001-08-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Network Congestion Headaches

I know this doesn't have alot to do w/ Acondas and Home Theater, but I gotta whine somewhere...

You know, I don't think the various Code Red worms are really hitting any of our personal computers directly (Unless you are running an unpatched Windows NT anyways), but it is still pissing me off royally as my previously fast DSL connection is kinda poky and sluggish since this latest Code Red worm propagation cycle started again. I checked my Firewall (and if you aren't running one shame on you, go to ZoneAlarm and download a copy of the BEST software firewall product I've come across, and the price is FREE for personal users, can't beat it!) logs and found a HUGE number of Code Red port scans (HTTP port 80 for you techies). Man do I think this dammed worm is slowing my net connection and am I irritated.

OK, public service announcement and griping complete. But really, you all should think about running some sort of Firewall, even from a dial up connection, and especially if you are on an always on connection like Cable or DSL. For details on why, check out the well regarded Gibson Research web site and do some reading. Hostile takeovers of your PC/MAC over an Internet connection are a reality and w/o a Firewall, you might as well be leaving your computer on your front porch.

Dave

2001-08-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

Downloadable Movies from the Internet?

Pay per view downloadable movies may soon become a reality according to this New York Times Article.
(You may have to create a free login account to read the article if you haven't already estabilished one. I set up a dummy account every couple of months as they purge the ones I've made with fake hotmail.com e-mail addresses. What can I say, I just HATE getting spammed!!)

MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures have agreed on a proprietary file distribution system and downloadable movie format that allows viewing anytime within a 30 day period but for 24 hours from the first access only.

What is not yet determined are some really important details, namely:

1) How much will it cost? The article mentions a price at around a Pay Per View Movie: $3.00-$5.00

2) How big a file size are we looking at? The article claims that the files will be about 500 MB in size (I am assuming it is a 1 1/2 hour flick) and optimistically estimates a download time of 20-40 minutes. I roughly calculated that at optimal DSL speeds of 1.5 Mbps, you're looking more around 45-55 minutes. Faster if your Cable Modem connection is running faster than that at the time.

3) What kinds of resolutions or sound formats are going to be in a measly 500 MB file? Probably pretty lame, heavily MPEG compressed videos at low resolutions and bitrates far below that DVD w/o surround sound at these file sizes is likely.

4) How are we supposed to play these things? Only a small percentage of Home Computer users have their PC's/MAC's hooked up to their TV's. Or are they planning to sell us yet another Set Top Box to download and control/monitor our viewing?

I am skeptical for one. Unless the downloadable movies are VERY value priced, I'll continue to buy and rent DVD's. At the Pay Per View price point, something like Netflix still seems like a better deal AND you get an actual DVD quality movie w/ extras! (Note, I am not paid by nor do I work for Netflix, I just like their service alot and I think they are a reasonable compromise between price, convenience and selection.) Note the release windows for these downloadable movies is AFTER the official DVD releases. I think all this is a big price to pay for the marginal convenience of a 1 hour long on demand download, I mean, Blockbuster is just 5 minutes away from my house...

Dave

2001-08-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

More information on Superbit DVD's

Check out this article on the Stereophile's Guide to Home Theater Web Site that gives some details on the new higher bitrate/resolution DVD's being released by Columbia/Tri Star Entertainment. Man, DTS and higher bitrates, I will end up buying the same DVD twice dammit!

Dave

2001-08-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

Required Reading

I have added some links to the On-Line/Web versions of the following print HT Magazines to the nav bar at the left for your convenience:

Wide Screen Review (My personal favourite)
Home Theater Magazine
Stereophile Guide to Home Theater
Sound and Vision Online

They are an excellent source of FREE information and news about the Home Theater scene.

Dave

2001-08-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

Must Have for your Home Theater collection

Sure they aren't the cutting edge in terms of visuals but the sound is EXCELLENT (even if they aren't in dts but just plain Dolby Surround 5.1) and you can't beat the musical performances on them...

They are "The Best of Sessions at West 54th Volume 1" and "The Best of Sessions at West 54th Volume 2". I mean, I've played both discs nearly daily for 2 weeks after getting each one. The performances are that good. Even in the genres I usually don't listen to (ie. Country).

They also have 2 other single band/artist full concerts available for the Keb Mo and Neil Finn sets, the John Prine set is coming out soon. I HOPE that they eventually release all of the performances that they've recorded on DVD like this. Here is the infomation about these extraordinary DVD's at Amazon.com (No, I am NOT endorsing Amazon, they are just a good place to get info on stuff. Go buy the DVD's at your local Mom and Pop's DVD/Stereo shop instead if you can and support them. That's what I like to do if I can..:).

Do yourself a favour, go buy these discs!

Dave

2001-08-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

Higher Bitrate DVD's

I thought DVD's looked pretty good except once in awhile, you see some MPEG artifacts in really complex scenes that also have lots of action. Here is a possible solution as posted on Mark's Monday Memo in the 8/13/01 issue:

"Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will be introducing "Superbit" DVDs that double the average coding bit rate by eliminating bonus features. The first titles will be "Air Force One," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Desperado," "The Fifth Element," and "Johnny Mnemonic." DreamWorks, on the other hand, will be loading their "Shrek" DVD release with 11 hours of material (on two disks)."

So you get something cool but you lose the special features. Darn. The problem with this is I already own "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Fifth Element". Is this some sneaky way for the Studios to make me pay TWICE for the same DVD? How did they know Home Theater hobbyists were so dammed obsessive...

Dave

2001-08-14T02:49:00.000-07:00

More Details on the "Aconda Select"

Thanks to Mike Rikovsky for the information about the CES concept product: The Aconda Select as seen to the right ->
This was supposed to be a special light silver colored Aconda w/ a matching silver speaker grill that came with a Loewe Planus like TV stand w/ integrated Powered Sub woofer and 4 surround speakers priced at approx £3000 (Pounds Sterling or about $4261 USD). Presumably, it had integrated Dolby Surround and maybe even TOS link digital inputs? Anyways, it did look dammed fine!

Mike was kind enough to forward me a copy of an e-mail from Sensory Science detailing why they choose to drop this model and more importantlly, what they might replace it with: The Aconda Premium...

"The short answer is there no longer a "Select" in the works."

"While we showed a prototype of this at CES in January, the purpose of this was to get market feedback to determine acceptance of this product concept."

"While we felt this concept was very well received, this model was eliminated from our roadmap during our product planning meeting in London this summer, due to conflicts with other models being planned in the future and due to difficulties in Loewe engineering a proper active subwoofer power supply for North America on a timely basis."

"Instead, the Aconda Light Silver will be coming this fall - to be followed early next year with a matching consolette base, similar to the one we showed with the Select concept at CES. The Aconda Light Silver, is similar to the Select cosmetics, in that the grille is metal and painted to match the front bezel of the set, giving it a monochromatic look. When fitted on the optional consolette base, this gives a striking appearance, like the Select. The only change is that the subwoofer will be passive, driven from the set - just like we do when a Planus consolette base is used with the Planus TV. We do not yet have pricing on this consolette base, but overall,
this package will be a more affordable one than the Aconda Select shown at CES."

"For those looking for something more high-end, like the Select we were showing, we'll have a solution that will be an even more high-end 30" concept - code named "Premium" for the first half of next year. This will be designed with some more interesting stand solutions as well as a matching range of home-theatre audio components that will be utilizing acoustic technology from Bose."

While I'm not so hot on the Bose speakers, the way this system looks with is matching speakers is quite appealing. The little Bose Acoustimass(tm) speakers are very discreet and inconspicuous, but I find they are too much of a compromise in terms of sound reproduction as they are especially lacking in the low midrange/upper bass registers. This is a direct result of the small size of the speaker enclosures that necessitate very small drivers that just cannot produce this midbass range.

A passive Subwoofer and Stand is a bit pricy for the additional $1000.00 price difference of the Premium over an Aconda alone, however if this Premium Aconda (aptly named) price were to include all 4 sattelites, some amplification and some pre-amp capabilities as well...that would be a pretty good deal as a Bose Acoustimass Surround system starts at around $900-1300.

Dave

2001-08-14T02:19:00.000-07:00

Funky Formatting Fixed!!!

Thanks to Evan Williams, who is none less than the co-founder and CEO of Blogger, for debugging my HTML code (which was my really amateur customization of a really pretty Blogger default template) and fixing that really annoying formatting problem.

Apparently, in my zeal to remove the defunct comments feature, I probably nuked some subtle but essential formatting and brought all this grief down upon myself. I have since gone through the code and found and corrected some other stylistic and coding errors. Ooops, what do you expect for self taught HTML scripting eh?

Once again, I am VERY impressed at the quickness of the response and diagnosis of my little problem by the very nice folks at Blogger and SOOOOOO happy with this very cool free Blogspot service. Thanks for bearing with me y'all.

Dave

2001-08-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Something Funky with the Page formatting...

For some reason, each successive post is being indented so that the page is being displayed in a really annoying "wider than the browser window" width. Trying to root out the source of this problem, please bear with me.

Dave

2001-08-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the Aconda models now available

Well, I finally got off my lazy butt and uploaded some pictures to a small web server space I have access to. You can see the following pictures:

30" Aconda (Black on the Loewe Glass Stand)
30" Aconda in Stratos (Silver color)
38" Aconda (as seen at CES 2001)

Thanks to Mike Rikovsky on the details of the Aconda Select which had it's debut at CES. Unfortunately this model WON'T be going into production (more details to follow in a later post), but Mike was kind enough to provide this picture:

30" Aconda Select

It does look tasty, but still only in the 30" / 81 cm tube.

Dave

2001-08-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

38" Aconda's release in the U.S. Delayed again!!!

Man I hate vaporware. It seems that unfortunately the 38" Aconda is falling into this category at least in the U.S. I have recieved many reports via e-mail from our European readers about the availability of the 38" Aconda in the EU but alas, the U.S. release has been pushed back yet again.

I spoke with a very knowlegeable fellow at The Good Guys and I was informed that the release date has been pushed back to September or October at the latest (we hope!). The exact reasons seem to be unknown, perhaps it is due to a shortage or difficulty in making enough 38" 16:9 picture tubes on RCA's part? I understand that these large tubes are very difficult and costly to make.

One consolation though, with RCA/Proscan dropping the prices on their 38" 16:9 HDTV Sets (with built in Direct TV decoders too!!), the salesman at The Good Guys suspects that Loewe may be forced to MSRP below the originally forecasted $5400.00 USD price. As the $5400.00 price was based on the RCA/ProScan price not being discounted...a slimy sales pitch? Who knows, time will tell. However, more power to Loewe fans if this delay in release does force a bit of a price drop...

Keeping my fingers crossed,

Dave

2001-08-13T00:05:00.000-07:00

Removing Comments Feature

Well, it looks like the free service (Blogvoices) powering the comments feature is down for good, so I'm taking this non-functioning and confusing link off the page. Sorry, it would have been nice to have interactive forums. I have some web server space available, perhaps I can put up something at a later time. Thanks for bearing with us.

Dave

2001-08-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

HDTV over IP/Internet

Does anyone else out there read Slashdot? They aren't about HT or HDTV primarily, but the discussions seem to cover anything in the Technology sectors; the discussions can get a bit technical, but are pretty cutting edge and interesting. Check out this thread about a NASA experiment in which a live HDTV transmission was sucessfully sent over the Internet. Could this be the future of HDTV?

Dave

2001-07-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Really Gory Insider details...

Don't ask me how, but I got to read through a copy of the "Aconda Dealer Manual" which lists lots of pretty interesting stuff. Unfortunately, it is listed as a confidential document so I don't feel right about disseminating the information widely. I will however try to get familiar with it so I can better answer any future technical questions that are addressed by this document. Most of the information is a bit beyond me and probably not for general consumption anyways. I wouldn't reccomend playing around with random settings (ie. Option byte settings) w/o really knowing what you're doing anyways. I'm pretty happy with my Aconda the way it is and personally won't risk hurting it (or anyone else's set for that matter) by screwing around too much.

Sorry to seem like I'm hoarding information (I am really greatfull to my source however!!) but I don't want to cause any headaches for Loewe or Sensory Science, nor incurr their wrath. Any really deep technical or service questions should be referred to them FIRST. As a second information resource, please feel free to send any inquiries to me via e-mail and I'll try to help out as best as I can and as benignly as I can.

Dave

2001-07-31T02:51:00.000-07:00

Geometry Problems for Australian Acondas

I didn't think being on the other side of the world and equator would have this much effect on the performance of a TV set but...

Steve Ulrich writes in from Australia with the following information:
"FYI there appears to be geometry problems with the Loewe Aconda models imported into Australia. I understand that the supplier of the picture tubes, Phillips and Loewe are in discussions about the quality of the tubes that are being supplied to Loewe off the production line."

"At the moment in Australia alot of these models do not operate properly due different magnetic field expereinced in the southern hemisphere. The Australian Importer, International Dynamnics is apparently in contact with Loewe on on a weekly basis and is working with the company to ensure the stock that does arrive in Australia will work properly."

"Its specifically the southern hemisphere, however Phillips are doing a special production run of super-flat tubes specifically engineered for the southern hemisphere which is expected to correct the problems. I expect to get my replacement model in
November (fingers crossed). The importers in Australi (international dynamics) have been hassling Loewe every week apparently."

Interesting, hope the problem is fixed real soon...

Dave

2001-07-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Better CD Ripping Software

If you're particular about having PERFECT rips (extraction of digital data) from Audio CD's you have to check out:
EAC - Exact Audio Copy

This program is FREEWARE (actually Cardware, the author just wants you to send him a Postcard) so you can't beat the price. It is regarded by many as the BEST CD-Audio Ripper/Extraction program available. Many drives are supported and it also has many nice features like CDDB access (labels CD Titles, Artist and Track names from the Internet database), CD-Text support, MP-3 encoding, and many more features.

The reason I bring this up is if you are backing up dts CD's, you especially need a perfect Rip/Extraction of the data as corruption of the compressed dts datastream (due to a scratch or a bit of dust on the disc) will have a much greater effect on the resulting sound than a similar error on the regular uncompressed PCM data on a normal audio CD. The resulting inchoerent noise could last quite a while and potentially damage your speakers at high volume levels. Be sure you turn off the Normalization feature (off by default) when ripping dts discs to avoid corrupting the data.

Besides, why would you want anything but a perfect copy?

Dave

2001-07-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

What? Going out of Town again?...

As I said, this is a busy travel month for me. I will be in New Orleans through Sunday. I did post some fat reading yesterday to pre-occupy you for a couple of days (especially that long Slashdot discussion, I think I read their forums as much for the sarcasm as I do for the information content...). See you all when I get back.

Dave

2001-07-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

A lively discussion on HDTV/DTV

For those of you who follow the Uber-Geek of Geek sites (I mean, I think I'm pretty geeked out and I can only follow about 10% at most of what is going on at this site) www.Slashdot.org, here is a Slashdot.com thread on The Joys of HDTV.

The opinions are heated and entertaining as always.

Dave

2001-07-25T23:14:00.000-07:00

I think we've all been there...

Here is an amusing LA Times article on installing a HDTV system that outlines the various trials and tribulations of it's author.

As much as I enjoy my home theater system, I sometimes wonder if it would have been as much fun to have set up and tweak if it wasn't such a challenge? I suppose some people do crosswords, some do jigsaw puzzles...

Dave

2001-07-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

dts CD's back up just fine thanks...

I don't know if it is just in my head but I swear that I like the sound of dts (192 kHz, 24 bit) disks over that of regular CD's (PCM 44.1kHz, 16 bits). Lately, whenever I've had the choice between purchasing a disk (CD or DVD) in dts vs. the regular old version, I have been going with dts. This is of course a bit of a more expensive path as dts Audio disks run about $25.00 versus $10-15 for regular old CD's. Consequently, I'm a bit concerned about destroying these expensive disks.

dts Audio disks are just like CD's except that they have a compressed dts datastream in each track on the CD instead of the PCM coding (uncompressed audio data) found on regular CD's. Thats how come they can hold so much more information on a regular CD. For more information, check out the technical articles at www.SorroundMusic.net for the nitty gritty details.

It is nice to know that dts CD's back up and copy just like regular CD's via your CD-R/RW reader and burner using the existing software. Just don't try to play them back on your computer as it most likely doesn't have a dts decoder. Once I have enough dts audio disks around, I may even try to create some mixed track dts disks, I'll let you know how that goes.

Dave

2001-07-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, my DVD Player does read CD-RW's after all...

While most of the newer DVD players now out on the market have no problems dealing with the lower reflectivity of CD-R's (and may of them even support MP-3's in a DOS/Sub Directory file structure natively!), those of us who bought DVD players a while back haven't had such good luck. The earlier model's laser pickups just didn't seem to read CD-R's at all.

A CD-R/RW FAQ I was reading mentioned that most older DVD players that can't read CD-R's can still read CD-RW's just fine. I have a 2 year old Sony CDP-C650P 5 disk DVD Changer that is working just fine except it has never been able to read CD-R's. I had just kinda assumed that CD-RW's would fail just as miserably. Lo and behold, I burned an Audio CD as well as a Video CD (VCD) onto CD-RW media (treating the CD-RW just as I would a blank CD-R, do not format the disk with UDF as most DVD players won't recognize this) the other day and both worked flawlessly. I didn't know that...

Now I can download fuzzy low res movies from the internet and burn VCD's to watch on my over qualified Home Theater system...

Most likely, I'll be using it to play back the Audio CD Mixes I make up for parties. Give it a try and let me know if it works for you.

Dave

2001-07-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

More HDTV programming via Sattelite?

Read this on www.Tech-Notes.TV and it sounds great!

"EchoStar Communications Corporation and CBS Television will offer eligible DISH Network customers access to CBS's extensive schedule of high definition digital television programming, it was announced today by Michael Schwimmer, Vice President of Programming for EchoStar, and Martin D. Franks, Executive Vice President, CBS Television. Together, DISH Network and CBS will provide the highest resolution format of digital television with the best picture clarity available to satellite TV customers across the nation.

DISH Network will launch east and west coast CBS HD feeds by the start of the 2001-2002 television season for DISH Network customers and will demonstrate the CBS HDTV feeds at the annual 2001 Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association convention in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 2-4. Depending on where they live, DISH Network customers will be offered one of the CBS HD feeds as long as they meet one of several criteria. Interested parties are directed to contact Dish directly for details."

News item is originally from www.ILoveHDTV.com, where they have a really good DTV newsletter available for subscription.

Dave

2001-07-24T03:55:00.000-07:00

I don't think my female friends appreciate my Home Theater like I do...

This Non Sequitur Cartoon about sums it up. Is this mainly a "Guy" hobby?

Dave

2001-07-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

Progressive Scan Primer

One of the most common e-mail questions I still get is about the difference between Interlaced and Progressive Scan images.
Here is a decent Progressive-scan video Article on CNET.com that has pretty nice simulated Interlaced and Progressive Scan images displayed side by side.

The Aconda displays all it's video sources in Progressive Scan WITH 3/2 Reverse Telecine or Pull Down. I think it looks pretty darned good this way as long as the source signal is clean, dirty or noisy signals may have additinal video noise as a result of the line doubling implemeted by the Aconda.

Dave

2001-07-22T03:59:00.000-07:00

Sony and Warner Brothers sign onto DTCP

Here is an interesting LA Times Article about how Sony and Warner Brothers Studios have jumped onto the DTCP bandwagon. This may hasten the acceptance of HDTV capable recording devices and VCR's for the general public. Up to this point, the Firewire/DTCP standard has been in a bit of limbo in that no one is really integrating Firewire ports into their products due to fears about piracy. One interesting facet of this article is that apparently, the DTCP agreement WON'T limit the recording of OTA and Satellite HDTV broadcasts. Instead, it seems the intent is to provide content copy/permission protection for Pay Per View programming.

"...The rules won't apply to programs received over the air, so local broadcasts on digital TV channels won't face limits on recording. Nor do the long-term, royalty-free licenses signed by Sony and Warner Bros. allow the companies to limit recording on basic cable and satellite channels..."

This means that your Aconda isn't obsolete, not even close. I suspect that STB HDTV decoders will have Analog outputs to keep them compatible with existing 1st Generation HDTV Sets but the added FIrewire port capabilities will be used primarily to connect with a HDTV VCR or DVD-Recorder that will in turn output to the HDTV Set via either another Firewire port or a set of analog outputs. The fact that this article states that OTA or basic Cable and Satellite HDTV programming won't be fettered by DTCP is encouraging.

I for one am glad that I've been enjoying my superior picture on my Aconda instead of waiting forever in HDTV limbo.

Dave

2001-07-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

Back in Town

No, this isn't a dead site. I got back from Korea on 7/15/01 but since I'm only in town 10 days out of the month total, I'm having to work ALOT when I am around. I apologize for the delay in updates and news. Frankly, I just haven't had the time to cruise the Home Theater Web sites and do some grubbing around for tasty tidbits.

Korea was fun though. I only saw 3 models of 16:9 TV Sets there, one was from Samsung a 30" that I saw in some University Chancellor's office (didn't see it on and don't know what features it had, only assuming it was HDTV). The other two were from 2 strictly Korean companies, don't think we'll see them here in the U.S. as there are not a recognizable brand name. Perhaps under someone else's label... Sorry, couldn't read Korean and the salespersons didn't speak enough English to get me any information about their features. They were priced around $2000.00 U.S. for 30" tube models. Didn't see much else in terms of HDTV in Korea. I don't think there is a very big market for it there as I'm not sure HDTV broadcasts are even available and I think the price is WAAAAY too high considering the average working wage.

I did see a whole slew of MP-3 players, both solid state and about 5-6 models of CD-R/CD-RW based players. Seems like MP-3 mobile players are REALLY big there. I saw 2 other models of really small MP-3 players that hold the Mini CD-R's that hold about 200 MB and are the size of the disk in a floppy disk. Much more compact than the full CD sized versions. All priced between $100-150 U.S.

That's all for now, just wanted to say hi and thanks for looking in. I'll be back with more news and tidbits in a couple of days.

Dave

2001-06-30T03:56:00.000-07:00

Heading to Korea until July 14th

Hey folks, I am heading on yet another trip, this time to Sout Korea until mid July. Updates may occur but don't hold your breath as I may be too busy or unable to access an internet account to post stuff.

If I do find some internet access however, I will try to post on any nifty Consumer Electronics I find out here. It seems that Asia in general (ie. Japan, Taiwan, Korea, etc) are veritable hotpots of new Consumer Electronics items that haven't yet surfaced in the West. In the mean time, enjoy the Magazine links I've posted a couple of days ago and check back on the site after July 14th when I get back.

Laters,

Dave

2001-06-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

Home Theater PC How-To

If you are looking to set up your own Home Theater PC, here is a good article on how to approach the task:

Stereophile Guide to Home Theater - HTPC How To

Dave

2001-06-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

Home Theater Magazines On Line

OK, I'm giving up my sources. Here are the on-line Web Magazine versions of some of my favourite Home Theater Magazines. I gotta admit the geek in me likes the Wide Screen Review site the best out of the bunch for it's in depth technical articles. Book Mark them and be prepared to while away lots of time reading.

I'm just worried you won't need me anymore...snif.

Dave

Wide Screen Review
Home Theater Magazine
The Stereophile's Guide to Home Theater
Sound and Vision Magazine

2001-06-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

HDTV DVD players coming soon?

Forget upgrading to a Progressive Scan DVD Player, this is the upgrade I'm waiting for. Unfortunately, it may be a couple of years away yet as the development of "Blue Light Lasers" is in it's early phases. The shorter wavelength of these lasers would allow for greater data density and read/write times increasing the capacity of the DVD medium from it's current 5.4 Gbytes to around 50 Gbytes (G for GIGA). A real necessity if you are going to be able to handle the 19 - 24 Mbits/sec data rate that HDTV bandwidth requires (I've heard numbers ranging from 19-24 Mbps). With current DVD technology, you could only get under a 30 min HDTV program on the disc, and I'm not sure that is using really good audio encoding (ie. No surround sound).

See this article in Stereophile Guide to Home Theater for a nice summary.

This article on Planet Analog gives all the gory details.

Dave

2001-06-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Funny article about the Addictive nature of Hi-Fi Audio

The Washington Post has a really entertaining article about hobbyists who go Sound Crazy. I really worry about going too nuts with this HT Hobby thing but I think I have kept things in perspective thus far. However, I wonder if this recent speaker upgrade is one more step down the slippery slope...

Dave

2001-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Great Resource for Surround Music Info

Oh yeah, when I posted about WideScreen Review's web site, I forgot to point out a nice sub site they have dedicated to information and reviews of Surround Music DVD's, CD's (DTS), DVD-Audio Titles and SACD Titles (most retailers and on-line sites haven't even heard of the latter two formats much less any information on what titles are available). Check it out at:

SurroundMusic.net

Also, here is a nice introduction to the various Surround Sound Music Formats available.

I have been using my Home Theater Setup more and more for just enjoying concert footage. I am most pleased.

Dave

2001-06-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

New Speakers for Dave

If you've ever checked out the My Aconda Setup section of this web page, you'll have seen that I have a pretty modest Home Theater System in terms of speakers. I was running 4 NHT SuperZero/Xu's as symmetrical Front R/L and Rear R/L speakers. This was working fairly well, as my original intent was to have small unobtrusive satellite speakers. I knew there would be a bit of tradeoff in terms of the range of my Frequency Response. As impressive as these SuperZero's are in their Frequency Range (85Hz - 25 KHz), I was starting to notice that I was sorely missing my Lower Midrange/Upper Bass Frequencies. This was becoming more noticeable as I was starting to listen to more surround Concert/Music DVD's and DTS CD's on my system. It is a great setup for just movies but playing music was just too demanding for this system, so...

I recently noticed that NHT was clearing their Super 2 series speakers at very good prices from various NHT Dealers. At the $750.00-$800.00 / pair full buck MSRP, these are considered to be VERY good values and to sound great for this price range. Specs below:

System Type: 3-way, vented
Drivers: 6.5" long-throw subwoofer, 6.5" midwoofer, 1" fluid cooled soft dome tweeter (video shielded drivers)
Response: 35Hz-25KHz +/-3dB
Sensitivity: 87dB @ 2.83V/M
Impedance: 8 ohms nom.,(3.8 min.)

Many places on the internet are offering these speakers at BELOW $600.00/pair. And I caved in after hearing the pair that a friend purchased. I am very happy with these new speakers and my system sounds even better. It was nice that these new Super 2's are tonally matched to my other existing speakers too and consequently blend in seamlessly. The only problem with this is that I may be straining my Amp a bit and might be "forced" to upgrade that too...dammit! If you haven't gotten into Home Theater yet, don't start, it's like CRACK!!! : )

These are a great buy in speakers right now so if you are also in the market for an upgrade...(A buddy called up Crutchfield's 800 number and found them for around $550/pair as clearance items. Don't know for sure if they have any more, you may want to check.)

Dave

2001-06-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

Great Source for DVD Reccomendations

I've been getting E-mails since the last post about reccomended DVD's from many readers. Actually, there is a source of information that I can't believe I haven't mentioned yet which is Wide Screen Review. They have a very well written monthly print magazine as well as the web site I just mentioned. Be warned, this is a pretty hardcore magazine that has articles that get VERY technical (see this month's issue outlining the differences between Dolby AC3/5.1 Surround versus DTS 5.1 Surround as argued by their respective companies Dolby and DTS, it is not light reading).

They also put out comprehensive listings of current DVD offerings as well as basic information about which are in Surround Sound (Dolby or DTS) or some lower grade audio format like Pro Logic, plain Stereo, or Mono, screen format and aspect ratio, anamorphic images and other important details (details that aren't unfortunately not obviously apparent from the ambiguous DVD labels/logos).

Video/Home Theater hardware is also reviewed and their Year End Annual is always worth buying. I use this magazine to pick out movies to get on Netflix. Their DVD reviews encompass both a rating as to the technical excellence of the DVD transfer as well as a rating of how good the movie was in terms of storyline/plot/acting/etc. These guys are as anal about movies as I am!

Dave

2001-06-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not watching regular TV anymore...

You know, this may seem like a plug but I really think the Netflix on-line DVD rental service is great. Basically, for one low price, you get unlimited access to their large 10,000 plus DVD catalog of DVD titles including many hard to find Foreign, Art and Indie, Music and Concert, Documentary as well as all the major Hollywood released DVD's. I subscribe to their basic service where for $20/mo, I get to keep 3 DVD's at a time for an unlimited period of time and unlimited exchanges for new DVD's from my Rental list. No late fees, no postage either, all DVD's come first class (usually within 2 days to my So. Cal location) with a pre-paid return mailer. No running to the video store only to be disappointed by the lame selection of only Hollywood Blockbusters.

I find nowadays, I always have some movie, documentary or musical/concert DVD that I want to see at hand at home (watched the entire 1st season of "Sex and the City" 2 DVD set over a weekend recently) at any given time. I almost never watch broadcast TV at all anymore. Next few DVD's on my list: Complete "Sex and the City" Season 2 (3 DVD's, for my girlfriend...), "3000 Miles to Vegas" (will be added too my list automatically when it comes out in August), Lawrence of Arabia (recent re-mastered, cleaned up film re-release on 2 DVD's), Complete 1st Season of "The Sopranos". Why watch lame pan and scan broadcasts of bad movie transfers with commercials on cable or what the Networks think you should watch (more dumb Survivor knock offs anyone?) when you can watch a DVD in it's full Widescreen glory? That is until HDTV becomes more available, whenever that happens.

BTW, I don't work for Netflix nor are they slipping me any $$ (though they can if they want... : ), I just think they have a really kick ass service.

Dave

2001-06-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

A Great Deal on an Aconda in Huntington Beach, CA

The Good Guys on Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach CA have an "Open Box" Aconda selling for around $2600.00. This is a whole grand off the MSRP so depending on the condition of the set, could be a REALLY good deal. I cannot vouch for the condition of this thing myself, but it looked to be in good shape. You may want to check it out and find out if it was in someone's home or a floor model. Make sure the factory warranty is good from the time of YOUR purchase and you may consider the extended service contract. In general, I avoid extended service contracts as they are a really poor buy...except for 16:9 letterbox TV's where replacement tubes (usually the first thing that goes) are VERY scarce and very expensive. I myself DID buy an extended service on my Aconda, and it may be even more important given that this would be an open box unit. I was charged $400 for a 4 year extended on top of the Loewe warranty, make sure they don't charge you more than this.

Hope someone can benefit from this.

Dave

2001-06-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Whoo-Hooo!!! Over 1 thousand Page Views!!!

Apparently there are a quite few Aconda owners out there looking for more information. Good to know I'm not the only one geeking out. Sorry about the sporadic updates to the page, just having a tough time coming up with good information. If any of you out there have any info to share, please e-mail it in and I'll gladly put it up for all to partake. Also, any other subjects you guys want to hear more about? Less about? Let me know if I'm getting annoying : )

Thanks for all the really nice feedback too.

Dave

2001-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Visually Stunning DVD's on the Aconda

I think I might start putting together a list of exceptionally mastered DVD's that look great on a set like the Aconda. I recently purchased a copy of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and it looks GREAT!!! If you want to know what is ment by the description "Film-Like", run this disc on your Aconda.

I also recently rented "The Cell" which has some incredible visuals, though the plot and acting aren't as strong. The CGI Special Effects really show off the Aconda's ability to display knockout, vivid colors. The film is a bit disturbing which is probably why it didn't really do all that well in the U.S. market of rather pedestrian movie viewers.

Other DVD's considered good Visual Testpieces:

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Fantasia 2000
The FIfth Element
Heat
The Matrix
Ronin
Three Kings

Dave

2001-06-15T04:02:00.000-07:00

Another VGA Switcher

Man, these things are coming out of the woodwork. Gotta love the AVS Forums.

DA1907SX Ditto-Amp: 1-in 2-out VGA Distribution Amplifier

DA1916SX: 2-in 1-out VGA Auto Switcher with Loop Output

Dave