The A/V Arena Frequently Asked Questions

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King Hotpants: Apr 11, 2005; Clint.
Fucking.
Eastwood.

The A/V Arena Frequently Asked Questions
Now collected in one place

:siren:

Video

King Hotpants posted:

Q. Do I want a PS3 for my Blu-Ray player?
A. Not necessarily. This used to be true, but that was during the days of $1000 standalone players that didn't perform as well as the PS3 did. The PS3 is still a very good choice, but you can get very good standalone models now for $250 from a variety of manufacturers. Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG all make pretty nice ones.

Q. What kind of cables should I get?
A. These.

Q. Yeah, but I have really expensive gear, and...
A. No, really. These. I don't care what the guy at Best Buy or madeofmoney456 on AVSForum told you. Expensive cables are snake oil mixed with bullshit.

Ironhide Delta posted:

What is this Blu-Ray profile crap? What the hell are you talking about?
A. Profile 1.0:
This allows BluRay playback, just like your regular plain vanilla DVD player, However, with glorious HD picture, and superb HD sound.

Profile 1.1:
Ironically, a feature HD DVD had from the start, this enables the ability to incorporate a picture in picture mode. This allows the viewer to open a small window during the movie and see a small featurette or alternate angle in this window. An excellent example would be on the HD DVD version of 300, showing the blue screen stage version of a particular scene while simultaneously watching the completed scene in the main window.

Profile 2.0:
This profile adds an ethernet port on the BluRay player. Interactive web features, such as having a real time map open onscreen showing where each scene might have taken place, or deleted scenes only available through the player's interface online.

vanilla slimfast posted:

Q: What is the difference between DVI-D, DVI-A, DVI-I?

A: DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface and has been the standard for hooking up digital displays since its introduction in 1999, and is designed to replace the old analog-only VGA interconnect. DVI connectors are easily distinguished by their white color (whereas VGA connects are blue), and by the unique pin configuration that consists of up to 24 pins in three rows of 8, plus 4 pins arranged around a cross on the other side

Sometimes, you might see DVI listed with a letter after it, so the question is, what do these letters mean and what's the difference? In order to maintain backwards compatibility for hooking up analog displays via DVI, the connector was designed to carry *both* digital and analog signals.

DVI-I stands for "Integrated" meaning that both analog and digital signals are present
DVI-A stands for "Analog" meaning that only an analog signal is present (usually on one side of a dvi-to-vga adaptor)
DVI-D stands for "Digital" meaning that only a digital signal is present. This means you *cannot* hook an analog device up, as there is no analog signal!

If it's not labeled, how can you tell which one you have? Simple, just look at the pin configuration

Q: What's the difference between DVI and HDMI?

A: Quite simply, HDMI is a combination of DVI-D and digital audio into a single cable. If you compare the pinouts for the two connectors, you'll see that they match up. This means that you can connect a DVI-D device (such as a computer) to a display that takes HDMI in. HDMI to DVI cables are well suited for this purpose. In this kind of arrangement, you can supply the audio on a separate input (usually via S/PDIF) as DVI inherently does not carry any audio signal.

Q: I have a Powerbook/Mac Mini/Macbook, and it has a "Mini-DVI" connector, whats this?

Apple, for whatever reason, decided that they needed their own special connector for their smaller/lower-end laptops and as such they introduced the Mini-DVI connector. In order to plug this into any regular device, you need to get an adaptor. Apple, of course, sells these adaptors for about 20 bucks a pop, although you can usually find them cheaper at bigbox stores that carry Apple products (such as Best Buy). Also, Dynex makes their own version of the same adaptors, if you are not afraid to plug a non-Apple brand adaptor into your laptop

One important thing to note about these adaptors is that the Mini-DVI to DVI adaptor made by Apple outputs DVI-D only! They don't label this clearly on the packaging so if you need to hook up an analog source, you must use the Mini-DVI to VGA adaptor instead. The Dynex equivalent adaptor does have DVI-I as the connection, but apparently they don't pass the analog signal either

Saukkis, King Hotpants, pim01 posted:

Q: I don't need to worry about interference with HDMI, right? It's all digital!

A; Sort of. On short runs, that's correct, you won't run into any problems. However, Digital connection can still have artifacts in the picture if the cable is too long and it would be silly to blank the picture just because there are minor transmission problems. Some reports that I have read described blue noise in dark sections of the picture, but this was with 10 meter DVI cables. You should use beefier, shielded cable over longer runs. Just as you should use well-shielded balanced cables for longer audio runs, and high-quality coaxial cable for long runs of analog video. The point is, for most consumer applications (media stand near the TV) noise issues are quite irrelevant.

For long-run cables (like 30-50 feet) you should definitely pick up some well shielded cables, but even then the 24awg HDMI from monoprice should be just fine. No need to go Monster. Ever.

[quote="seiferguy"]
Q: Can my Computer monitor display my PS3?
Yes, under certain conditions. You'll need a HDMI>DVI adapter (Monoprice sells them), and your computer monitor needs to be HDCP compliant. Otherwise, connect and go. You'll need to have something else output sound (use the optical out, or connect the composite cables and plug the audio ends into a receiver of some sort).

The Jizzer posted:

Q: I just bought this newfangled whiz-bang widescreen HDTV. Why do all my movies still have black bars on the top and bottom of the screen? gently caress!

(A well-written explanation is here at High-Def Digest, but I have a simplified version below)

This is probably one of the most common questions among new HDTV owners, and the answer is easily explained if you can stop from freaking out for just one minute. The answer is Aspect Ratio. I can see your eyes already glazing over in anticipation of tech-speak, so I'm making this really easy. Aspect Ratio is the size of the original image of the material you are watching. Think of it as the director's canvas. There are many, many different ratios, but the majority of material fits the descriptions below.

Here is an example of 4:3 aspect ratio. It is 4 units long by 3 units high. This is a set standard for SDTV and broadcast material.

This is also the aspect ratio of a standard 35mm film frame. When TVs first came around, this is what studios shot in, so it was the logical choice to use. With the rise of TV came a plunge in attendance at movie theaters. So Hollywood came up with the idea of making the frame wider to differentiate their material.

Here is an example of 1.85:1 aspect ratio. (For comparison with SDTV, it is equal to a 5.55:3 ratio). This is the "standard" aspect ratio for most Hollywood movies:

Even if you are mathematically impaired, it is easy to see how this box does NOT fit in the box above.

Now, one of two things happen:
1) You just lop off the overhanging sides, since *most* of the information is in the center anyway (this is called "Pan and Scan").
2) You shrink the 1.85 image to fit in the 4:3 box.

Obviously, if you give half a poo poo about the movie you're watching, the correct answer is #2.

Now we have the correct image on screen, but due to the different proportions, there are black bars at the top and bottom.

Q: Okay, that's all fine and good, but HDTV was supposed to fix that!

It does, mostly. Here is an example of 16:9 HDTV aspect ratio:

Now, you will notice that it is slightly less wide than the 1.85:1 ratio of films. This is because 16:9 (1.77:1) is a compromise between Hollywood's 1.85:1 and Europe's common 1,66:1 film ratio. However, 1.85:1 fits very well on an HDTV with minimal black bars.

The reason you still see bars on some movies, is because many films are filmed in an even wider format of 2.35:1 or 2.39:1 for dramatic effect. Here is a 2.39:1 film frame:

Wide, isn't it? Now obviously you don't want them chopping a third of the image off the movie by displaying it full size on your screen:

So this too is shrunk to fit on an HDTV:

Hopefully this has created some understanding on your part, and you are no longer upset that you are "wasting" a portion of your screen with black bars. If you're still pissed off, deal with it because it's not going to change.

vanilla slimfast posted:

Q: How can I hook my Wii up to my HDTV and have it not look like crap?

A: Unfortunately, the best output that the Wii is capable of is 480p. In order to achieve this, you must hook it up with component cables. You can buy the official Nintendo cables from someplace like Best Buy for 50 bucks, or save that cash and go with the 6 dollar equivalent from monoprice.

Once you've got it wired up, you can go into the Wii setup screens and turn it on for widescreen. Note that progressive scan support is on a per game basis so some games may not support it. Some Gamecube games also support progressive scan and will look great when played back through your Wii.

Q: Ok, what about surround sound?

A: The Wii does not support "true" surround sound, but it does support Dolby Pro Logic II. In order to make use of this, you will need to hook the stereo audio output of the Wii to a pro logic-capable receiver. Audio pass-through from your TV to your receiver should work fine as well (as the pro logic data is encoded in the audio signal itself)

vanilla slimfast posted:

Q: What are my options for (HD)TV capture for cable, satellite, and over-the-air (OTA)?

A: There is a lot of confusion surrounding what you can and cannot do for TV and HDTV capture on a computer (namely, in the application of a HTPC or homebrew-DVR). How you capture and at what quality is dependent on your service, your service provider, and the hardware investment you are willing to make. Let's go through based on service type (US-centric):

Over the air (OTA) - SD and HD channels that can be picked up by a standard antenna. A popular option if you want free HD programming and have good range/line-of-sight to an HD broadcast tower. Most HDTVs come standard with an ATSC tuner built in (if you have a coax "ant in" or "air in", you probably do).

What you'll need: An antenna (obviously) and be in good range (check http://www.antennaweb.org/ ), and an ATSC-capable tuner card (PCI or USB). Any HD tuner card should support ATSC (8VSB) at a bare minimum but check the specs just to be sure.

What you'll be able to get: full MPEG2 transport stream, unencrypted, at whatever broadcast quality for a given channel (480i/p, 720p, or 1080i).

What is available: these will be the local versions of the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CW). Check antennaweb to see what channels are available in your area and at what quality.

Cable (analog) - the old NTSC standard for analog cable is easy to work with.

What you'll need: Any NTSC-capable tuner can capture these channels straight off the coax. Most HD tuner cards are also backwards compatible with NTSC (check the box)

What you'll be able to get: up to 480i, not HD compatible. Depending on the type of capture card, the analog stream might get compressed to mpeg2 on the fly

What is available: Whatever channels you are paying for with your cable service, NOT INCLUDING digital cable. Be aware that there are plans to stop broadcast of analog cable altogether in the near-ish future. Chances are your cable company has already pushed you to switch to digital cable for exactly this reason.

Cable (digital) - Here is where things get tricky and confusing, especially when it comes to HD content. Digital broadcasts are sent along the same coax line using a type of modulation known as QAM, with QAM64 and QAM256 being the most common. Most HDTVs come standard with a QAM tuner built in (if you have a coax "cable in" connector, you probably do).

Here's the rub; QAM transmissions can (and usually are) encrypted by the cable company. This is why digital cable requires the use of a set-top box (STB), to demodulate and decrypt these signals. However, the channels that are freely available over the air (local networks) are generally available "in the clear" as unencrypted QAM on a cable line as well (sometimes referred to as "ClearQAM"). This is true even if you are not paying for digital cable service, as they are sent along the coax to your house the same as the analog channels.

Because of the encryption schemes used here, you have a few choices on how to capture digital cable:

Option 1, QAM capture: You'll need a QAM-capable HDTV tuner card (check the box and make sure that it states that it supports QAM). You'll be able to tune any channels that your provider is offering as unencrypted or "clear" QAM. Again, this will likely be limited to your local channels (same as what you could get over the air). The channels you will be able to tune will range from 480i to 1080i, depending on what the stations broadcast in. Because most of the channels you are paying for won't be available in the clear, you won't be able to use the QAM tuner to capture or record this data. Which leads us to...

Option 2, STB analog capture: No matter what encryption or DRM is put in place, it is always possible to capture an analog signal. If you have digital cable, you will have a set top box (STB). This STB will likely have assorted analog outs, including composite and svideo. Many people use a standard analog capture card that has svideo or composite in to capture this stream data directly, and then control the STB using an IR blaster. Sadly, this limits you to 480i as svideo/composite are not HD-compatible.

However, hauppauge has just recently announced a new capture device that can take HD component inputs and capture and encode on the fly. The device is slated to be released in March at a price point of about 250 bucks. For most people with digital tv service, this is the only way to record every possible channel at their original resolution.

Option 3, STB firewire capture: a relatively new method of capture that works well for some but not others. The FCC has mandated that any HD STB provided by a cable company must have a firewire (ieee1394) port enabled for digital data capture. The nice thing about this is if you have a STB that supports this, and the appropriate software, you can capture this data as if the STB was an external hard drive (the raw transport stream data). There is no conversion or signal loss, so this is ideal for the highest possible capture quality. There's a catch though; while the FCC mandates the port, they don't specify that the cable companies are obligated for any data to be provided beyond the channels that are freely available over the air (local channels). So much like with QAM encryption, it's completely up to your local cable provider on what channels will be available on the firewire port as well. The cable companies protect channels they don't want you to record with an encryption scheme known as 5C. The nice thing about firewire is that you can control the STB without the need for an IR blaster, so some people have made use of firewire + analog capture together.

One additional note about firewire: your DVR/media center software will need to support this type of capture if you hope to use it. MythTV has support for it in their upcoming 0.21 release, but I can't speak for other packages that are popular as I don't use them

Satellite - Much like with digital cable, your options are fairly limited.

Option 1, analog capture: Same as above with digital cable, you can record the analog output from your satellite receiver and control channel changing with an IR blaster.

Option 2, firewire capture: There are a few gray market companies that offer modding satellite receivers to add a firewire port that works much like the firewire port on a cable STB. More information:

http://169time.com/
http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/home.htm

Audio

pim01 posted:

Q. I want to connect my computer/ipod to my receiver!

Well, your computer uses a minijack for its headphone/line out, and your receiver will need the dual white/red RCA connectors for it's input. No worries, though, because you can just get one of these cables and connect it to a spare red/white input on the back of your receiver (NOT phono, because that's reserved for record players and will sound bad). Tada, done.

But!

There's a better way, and that's through a digital connection. Digital means that your receiver will do all the decoding to make an analog signal, which generally means better sound. The digital protocol for music is calles S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format, quality name right there), and comes in two flavors: coaxial and optical. You have to make sure that both your source (pc) and receiver support the same format!

Coaxial looks like a normal RCA plug, and you need to get a Digital Coaxial Audio cable.

Optical or TOSLINK is the nicest, because it electrically decouples your PC from your receiver, so there's no chance of the humming or buzzes that you might get with an analog or Digital Coaxial connection. The connector looks like a recessed squarish thing, and might have a little flap of plastic or a plastic plug in the opening. You'll need this kind of cable.

pim01 posted:

Q. What's all this about Watts? More is better, right?

No, more is not better. The amount of power (in Watt) that an amplifier can put out or that speakers can use is just one of those things marketing guys like to run with.

What is important is the combination between the maximum wattage of your amplifier/receiver, and the sensitivity (also called efficiency) of your speakers. I'll give some background:

The basic unit of loudness is the decibel (dB). The decibel is not a linear scale (but a logarithmic one). There's a rule of thumb worth remembering about the decibel: A 3 dB rise in power means a doubling of energy (watts) needed. So if you get 90 dB at 50 watt, you'll need 100 watt to get to 93 dB. The weakest sound you can theoretically pick up is 0 dB. The point where your ears start to bleed is somehwre between 125 and 140 dB, but sustained exposure to everything up from 90 dB will cause permanent damage to your hearing.

To get a feel for what different values of the decibel scale sound like, I stole some values form here:

Whisper Quiet Library 30dB
Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB
City Traffic (inside car) 85dB
Subway train at 200' 95dB
Power mower at 3' 107dB
Sandblasting, Loud Rock Concert 115dB

Right, now that that is out of the way, we get to the practical bits.

The efficiency of speakers is the amount of decibels that 1 watt of power produces,
measured at one meter distance. Typical tower speakers have an efficiency of 90 dB or greater, typical bookshelf-type speakers start at ~87 dB, small home-theater speakers can go as low as 82 dB. A 9 dB gap in efficiency between two different speakers is the difference between needing 32 watt or needing 256 watt to reach the same volume (doubling the needed power thrice)

As you can see above there's a correlation between size and volume: the bigger the speaker, the less powerful your speaker has to be to drive them to nice volumes. With a sensitive bookshelf or tower speaker, you'll never use more than 32 watt per channel, except to annoy the neighbours. If you've got tiny insensitive speakers, you'll actually need the 500 watt the shouty packaging of your HTiB promises to achieve the same volume.

Pick your amplifier based on your speakers and the volume you want to listen at, don't just stare at the big wattage numbers.

King Hotpants fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Jul 17, 2009

# ? Feb 29, 2008 17:01

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 13:54

King Hotpants: Apr 11, 2005; Clint.
Fucking.
Eastwood.

Q: So how do I contribute more to this FAQ?

A: Easy. Just post it in this thread. If it's a good addition, it'll get worked into the OP, and then included in later versions as well. I have one condition, though. You can't just ask a question - you have to answer it. If you have a question you need answered, we have megathreads/quick question threads stickied at the top of the forum for that.

This thread is not to help you fix your personal problems. If you're not contributing a question AND AN ANSWER, you're in the wrong place. Anyone just asking for help with their own personal problems in this thread will be probated.

# ? Feb 29, 2008 17:05

CygnusTM: Oct 11, 2002

quote:

Q. I want to connect my computer/ipod to my receiver!

Well, your computer uses a minijack for its headphone/line out, and your receiver will need the dual white/red RCA connectors for it's input. No worries, though, because you can just get one of these cables and connect it to a spare red/white input on the back of your receiver (NOT phono, because that's reserved for record players and will sound bad). Tada, done.

You might want to note here that using headphone outputs for this purpose may sound pretty bad. Maybe something like this:

quote:

Line-level output is preferred over headphone output. Most computers have a line-level output, usually called "line-out." Live-level output can be coaxed out of the iPod's dock connector via most docks available on the market or via an adapter like one of the PocketDocks from SendStation.

SA Forums RSS - GBS - Games - SH/SC - TV IV - SA-Mart - D&D - Ask/Tell - Coupons - Others

# ? Feb 29, 2008 19:46

fahrvergnugen: Nov 27, 2003; Intergalactic proton-powered electrical tentacled REFRIGERATOR OF DOOM.

Q: How do I use a universal Remote with my PS3?

A: There are several options available to you.[list=1]
[*]The easiest but least functional way is to use an infrared USB dongle. With these receivers, you can use the Playstation 2 codes in your universal remote to run the PS3. However, there are some limitations. Some remotes require tuning to avoid direction button repeat issues, and because the PS3 does not power the front USB ports when on standby, there is no way to power the PS3 on and off with the universal remote. Even if these ports were powered, there is no button on these remotes that serves the same function as the SIXAXIS/Dual Shock 3 'home' PS button to use for remote power on/off.

Of course, if you're using the PS3 as a DVD/BD player, you're going to have to get up to swap disks anyway, so to many users this isn't a very big deal. If your primary use of the PS3 is as a streaming media client, this is more of a pain in the rear end.

If you want a mass-produced device, the Nyko blue-wave remote or (if you can find one) the original "thick" ps2 dvd remote kit both ship with a USB receiver that can be fitted to the USB ports on the front of the PS3. If you're willing to go with a smaller vendor, there are more attractive options currently available from an entrepreneur who runs his own small business at Schmartz.com. This site sells a USB/IR dongle which, if you have a PSP configured for remote control of your PS3, can power the PS3 on and off. At the time of this writing (PS3 firmware 2.2), this functionality is broken by Sony. It's unknown if they will re-enable it in future software revisions.

[*]The other more esoteric but more technicaly elegant option is an infrared to Bluetooth bridge. These devices pair with the PS3 as emulated bluetooth remotes, but have an IR receiver on them. They then translate standard IR remote codes from universal remotes into bluetooth remote codes for the PS3. This is a new field, and the devices here are still first-gen, but they are at this time the only way to get full PS3 integration with a universal remote.

The only known currently shipping device is the IR2BT, which like the schmartz devices is also hobbyist-made. This is a brand new product, just shipping, so limitations/quirks are unknown yet, but the initial impressions of the device are extremely promising. It looks to add full universal remote capabilities to the PS3, including power control and home button emulation.

Shipping in the near future is the Schmartz Bluetooth bridge, the PS3IR-PRO. While twice as expensive as the ir2bt solution, it's also flash-upgradable. This device should ship sometime in mid-april.

[*]There are no currently shipping consumer-level universal remotes with bluetooth support.
[/list]

fahrvergnugen fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Mar 29, 2008

# ? Mar 28, 2008 17:06

Juriko: Jan 28, 2006

Q: Is it true LCD TV's have video lag

A: Yes and no. To understand why they can have lag is more important than if. You also have to realize that all tv's can suffer from this.

Have you ever wondered why there is an echo when you are at the Electronics store TV section? The answer is video lag! The TV is delaying your audio to match the lag caused by video processing.

LCD's in and of themselves don't have lag. Yes, they have a response time, but when people talk about lag, sync delay and any other of a million ways to say "the image on the tv is out of sync with my game input/dvd video audio" they are talking about a very particular kind of delay that is normally introduced by the processing on the TV.

LCD, Plasma, LCoS and just about every other current display technology on the market is what is known as a fixed pixel display. The TV's display only has one true resolution, and every other resolution needs to be upscaled or downscaled to fit the resolution of the TV.

This is were the lag is most apparent. Most tv's, in an attempt to make the image look as good as it can after scaling, use a chip that isn't that responsive. It saves them money and most people will never notice. This becomes even worse when handling standard definition video which is interlaced. Interlaced video doesn't just have to be scaled, but de interlaced and scaled. Combine this with all the other processing technologies a TV tries to use to make the video better, and you start to see why there might be some delay from the moment the tv gets a frame of video and when they display it.

So the answer here is that all tv's that support multiple resolutions, including some CRT's, can have lag. Typically there is minimal (sub 9 ms) to no delay at a tv's resolution but 60+ms when dealing with SD material and ~30 when dealing with all other non native resolution material. This varies from TV to TV. For example, my previous samsung DLP only introduced delay on interlaced signals, almost 120ms, while my current Sony and Samsung exhibit the delay mentioned previously. It just depends on the hardware in the TV.

So how do you know what to expect? Bring a game that is timing specific when you go shopping. Rock band and guitar hero 2 are excellent choices because they have delay calibration that will let you see how bad the lag is on 480i and 480p material, where the lag is normally most preset. This also means you have to bring and hookup a console to the potential tv, but any decent retailer os OK with this.

If you don't game then don't worry as much. As long as your receiver has an audio sync option, which most decent ones do, you will be fine. The TV will also delay audio to match the video if passed through the TV first.

What about the much talked about game modes? Set's with game modes allow you to bypass the signal processing used to clean up the image. It looks worse but runs better. Keep in mind though that there is no standard set for this, and it is important to test it for yourself. Game modes don't necessarily get rid of the lag entirely.

Casual gamers will also never notice most likely. Outside of timing intense games the delay is negligible. Even timing exact games are playable with the lag, just much harder.

Juriko fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Mar 29, 2008

# ? Mar 28, 2008 19:45

King Hotpants: Apr 11, 2005; Clint.
Fucking.
Eastwood.

Juriko posted:

Have you ever wondered why there is an echo when you are at the Electronics store TV section? The answer is video lag!

Wouldn't the echo be due to audio delay? Video lag doesn't explain why the audio would be wrong. Or are you referring to something else?

# ? Mar 28, 2008 20:42

tk: Dec 10, 2003; Nap Ghost

King Hotpants posted:

Wouldn't the echo be due to audio delay? Video lag doesn't explain why the audio would be wrong. Or are you referring to something else?

Well the only reason the audio is being delayed is because the video isn't ready to be shown yet. I would say it's a fair statement, but probably a small stretch and not the best example of video lag.

# ? Mar 29, 2008 00:41

Juriko: Jan 28, 2006

King Hotpants posted:

Wouldn't the echo be due to audio delay? Video lag doesn't explain why the audio would be wrong. Or are you referring to something else?

That is technically true, I can update it to say A/V lag, which is what it is. It just gets a bit confusing since normally people come in asking strictly about Video lag/delay, and then there is the whole separate issue I touched on with having delayed video but non delayed audio since if you don't pass audio into the tv the receiver will play it straight from the device while video is still being processed on the tv. The echo effect at stores, in general, is just an interesting way to gauge how many sets suffer from the issue. In a row of tv's you can see how varied the delay is.

Edit: I actually hate referring to it as lag anyways. It is that whole clash of gaming vs. av nomenclature.

Juriko fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Mar 29, 2008

# ? Mar 29, 2008 00:54

admiraldennis: Jul 22, 2003; I am the stone that builder refused
I am the visual
The inspiration
That made lady sing the blues

King Hotpants posted:

Wouldn't the echo be due to audio delay? Video lag doesn't explain why the audio would be wrong. Or are you referring to something else?

I think he's referring to an echo effect found in electronics stores where there are often a bunch of sets lined up at once playing the same channel, with different rates of lag.

# ? May 23, 2008 10:31

Sizzlechest: May 7, 2007

Is there a definitive guide to calibrating your TV/HDTV? What about getting access to the maintenance menus on some of the more popular sets?

# ? Jun 7, 2008 05:05

weaaddar: Jul 17, 2004; HAY GUYS WHAT IS TEH INTERWEBNET, AND ISN'T A0L the SECKZ!? :LOL: 1337
PS I'M A FUCKING LOSER

try using an avia disc, or THX optimizer from many Dvds.

# ? Jun 23, 2008 03:48

Stares At Floor: Mar 4, 2007

Nevermind, I don't have an answer so I will post elsewhere. Sorrys.

Stares At Floor fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Jul 31, 2008

# ? Jul 31, 2008 21:55

Chopper: Feb 13, 2006

Q. What is the width and height of a X inch TV/Monitor?

A. http://www.quickmind.co.uk/screensize.php

# ? Nov 11, 2008 23:47

Ecojiro Desu: Feb 19, 2005

I done hosed up.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Mar 23, 2009 23:32

King Hotpants: Apr 11, 2005; Clint.
Fucking.
Eastwood.

Ecojiro Desu posted:

I'm buying a new computer for graphic design/gaming and I want to get a great monitor, but I don't really know what "great" is, technically. Size (24-30 inches or so) and color accuracy jump out to me as crucial factors, but I'm sure there are other things to think about too. Can anyone recommend a model I might look into?

Also, what's the consensus on Apple monitors? They're magically bright but I havn't had a chance to with them. I'm asking because those new iMacs look appealing.

No. Bad.

# ? Mar 24, 2009 02:34

PlayStationGayStation: Jan 23, 2004; ^________^

Because I'm tired of having to answer this question:

Q: What is 120hz and do I need it or should I want it?

A: 120hz technology allows your TV to display 120 frames per second (FPS) unlike most standard TVs that can only display 60 (NTSC) or 50 (PAL) frames per second. This is desirable for a few different reasons. The most technical reason is that movies are encoded at 24 frames per second, so in order to be displayed at 60 FPS, the sequence of frames displayed is first frame twice, second frame thrice, third frame twice, fourth frame thrice, etc. which turns 24 frames into 60 frames (do the math). This is called 2:3 pulldown since the 1:1 frame order of the 24 fps film is "pulled down" into a 2:3 frame order. Since this display of frames is uneven, the picture tends to jump a bit (called "judder") which is especially noticeable in panning shots. 120hz allow each frame of a 24 fps to be displayed an even 5 times. This is called 5:5 pulldown.

This sounds marginally useful doesn't it? Well, it isn't even that good. For broadcast television and standard definition DVDs, the 24 frames per second have already been hard transcoded to 2:3 pulldown to 60 FPS. This means that your 120hz TV will still experience judder when watching movies on broadcast TV or SD DVD. HOWEVER, blu ray discs are encoded at 24 FPS which means that a 120hz TV will eliminate judder when watching a blu ray.

There is a little added bonus of 120hz sets, though. Well, a bonus to some. Most 120hz sets come with a setting that allows frame interpolation, that is, each frame of a 60 FPS video can be "interpolated" (think of it as averaged) with the next frame causing the illusion of very smooth movement. For example, Samsung calls this setting AMP ("Auto Motion Plus"). This effect is somewhat akin to the apparent smoothness of British soap operas which gives this frame interpolation the nickname "British soap opera effect". Some people love this effect, and even its detractors can appreciate it in something like a sports broadcast. However, many feel that the smoothness causes the video to lose the cinematic effect that people have gotten so used to with 24 fps media and makes the video look too "realistic". It's really just personal preference although its detractors are quite vocal. Some people call this frame interpolation "120hz" for short, but that's not really entirely accurate. You cannot turn off 120hz on a 120hz TV, but you can turn off the frame interpolation.

You can also turn on 120hz frame interpolation in video games but this introduces a very large amount of video lag which, depending on the game, can be distracting. For twitch gaming it would not be recommended, but something like a turn-based RPG might not be so bad.

PlayStationGayStation fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Mar 24, 2009

# ? Mar 24, 2009 21:04

G-Philez: Feb 11, 2005; Drinking, Driving, Thinking of You

I should not ask personal questions in the FAQ thread.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Nov 12, 2009 19:45

davepsilon: Oct 12, 2009

I should not answer personal questions posted in the FAQ thread.

Somebody fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Nov 13, 2009

# ? Nov 13, 2009 04:25

G-Philez: Feb 11, 2005; Drinking, Driving, Thinking of You

Somebody fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Nov 13, 2009

# ? Nov 13, 2009 04:59

King Hotpants: Apr 11, 2005; Clint.
Fucking.
Eastwood.

King Hotpants posted:

This thread is not to help you fix your personal problems. If you're not contributing a question AND AN ANSWER, you're in the wrong place. Anyone just asking for help with their own personal problems in this thread will be probated.

# ? Nov 13, 2009 16:52

BoldFrankensteinMir: Jul 28, 2006

Question- What's the difference between composite and component RCA cables?

Answer- Component and composite video are different ways of transferring a visual signal, where the latter combines the signal into one source and the former breaks it into color channels. But that's not the question I'm really addressing here- this is for people wondering if the cables themselves are different. No, they are not.

If we're talking about the actual types of cables themselves, nothing. Zip. Nada. Different individual cables vary in quality, sure, but for hooking up your home system you don't really need to go out and get cables that have been painted red, green and blue. You can use ones painted red, yellow and white just as easily, a three-set for the component video (you might want to use tape to re color code them, that's the only downside) and a simple stereo pairing for sound. It works just as well as similarly gaged component cables would.

Now, the caveat- usually component RCA cables are made a little heftier. Usually. There are actually equally hefty composite cables out there, you just don't see them very often- they're used more for video assist and teleprompters and whatnot. Go ahead and use the shrimpier cables- frankly if you're worried about such a minor possible change in signal quality then you won't be hooking your television up with component cables in the first place. So trust me, as someone who has stripped a LOT of audio snakes and grafted a LOT of jacks, they are the same EXACT type of cable.

# ? Mar 27, 2010 07:58

Hippie Hedgehog: Feb 19, 2007; Ever cuddled a hedgehog?

Q: I have a <TV> and games look fantastic but television and most movies look a bit strange.
The movement and lighting looks more like British television than American.
Right now the LOST finale is reminiscent of Benny Hill or a straight to DVD sci-fi flick.

A: Turn off SmoothMotion or MotionPlus or whatever.

# ? May 24, 2010 14:31

nerd_of_prey: Mar 27, 2010

Not sure if this is the best place to post-if not my apologies!

I have voice recordings on my mobile phone (HTC Desire) and the file type is .amr I was wondering whether anyone could recommend a simple converter to change these to mp3?

There seems to be plenty when I do a Google search but I have no idea which sites to trust!

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Jun 6, 2010 23:19

vanilla slimfast: Dec 6, 2006; If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Angry Dome

nerd_of_prey posted:

Not sure if this is the best place to post-if not my apologies!

I have voice recordings on my mobile phone (HTC Desire) and the file type is .amr I was wondering whether anyone could recommend a simple converter to change these to mp3?

There seems to be plenty when I do a Google search but I have no idea which sites to trust!

Jesus christ, really? Several other peopole have been probated in this very thread for this very thing

Besides, you're in the wrong forum. http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=192

King Hotpants posted:

This thread is not to help you fix your personal problems. If you're not contributing a question AND AN ANSWER, you're in the wrong place. Anyone just asking for help with their own personal problems in this thread will be probated.

# ? Jun 7, 2010 19:16

Hob_Gadling: Jul 6, 2007; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Grimey Drawer

Q: I want new speakers, can you recommend them for me?

A: Probably, but we need some basic information.

How many speakers do you want? Ie. do you need a stereo system, a surround setup for your home theater or something else?

What's your budget? Cheap speakers start from $10 and go up to hundreds of thousands per pair. There's diminishing returns for money, but most people should be able to hear the difference between $50, $500 and $5000 pair of speakers.

What size speakers are you looking for? There are roughly speaking three sizes: satellites (plus a practically mandatory subwoofer), bookshelfs and floorstanders. They vary in capabilities, as well as space requirements. It is possible to get a good sound out of each type of speaker, bigger does not necessarily mean better here.

What's your other equipment? Are you looking to replace any of that at the same time? Because there are every now and then nice combo deals that you might want to learn about, and it makes a pretty big difference whether your main use is LP records or Xbox games.

One more thing to note: if you don't have a amplifier (or receiver as they're also called) you need active speakers. This is mostly the case when you're buying computer speakers.

Q: I got some recommendations, what now?

A: Once you've had a couple sets of speakers recommended to you, try to listen to them personally before making the purchase. The most important thing about the speakers is that you like how they sound. When listening, use the same songs/movies for every speaker to get a honest picture. Make sure they're the type that you most often listen to. Speaker performance varies between different types of music/movies, get ones that reproduce your favorite types the best. Just because 500 people liked the speaker in Amazon reviews doesn't mean you will.

Buying "temporary" speakers and aiming to upgrade them later is usually a bit of a waste. It's better to get a good pair of speakers and a cheap receiver than vice versa: 10 years from now who knows what ports your home theater receiver will need but good speakers will still sound good.

# ? Jul 20, 2010 19:54

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 13:54

Hippie Hedgehog: Feb 19, 2007; Ever cuddled a hedgehog?

Q: I would like to wall mount my TV. Where should I put it?

1. How high?

In short: Not too high. Above the fireplace is usually too high.

The general recommendation seems to be that no more than 1/3 of the screen should be above eye level for a seated viewer.

http://www.ehow.com/way_5717077_high-mount-flat-screen-tv.html posted:

THX recommends an eye level line of site for the back row, with no more that a 15 degree of tilt required for viewers in the front row.

The reasoning is that when looking up, the eyelid has to be completely open, leading to dry eyes. When viewing straight ahead or at slight down angle, the eye is partially closed (and happier).

Read this excellent guide from the THX consumers' programme:

http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/home-theater/hdtv-set-up/

2. How far away?
This depends on whether you're building a dedicated home theater room with a projector screen, or just trying to squeeze something into your living room. THX (see above) has recommendations for the former, but they are usually too close for most people. Tastes vary wildly in this.

THX posted:

  To determine the best seat-to-screen distance in your living room for a 1080p display, THX recommends dividing the diagonal screen by .84. For example, a plasma or LCD TV with a 65-inch screen divided by .84 equals a 77-inch viewing distance (6.5 feet).

# ? Oct 5, 2011 11:59

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