The Fog Gently Cloudifies

Indecisions, indecisions! The fun bit about not having taken the big bite and actually bought the “dream TV”, is that I don’t have to regret any glaring weaknesses for that particular product… On the other hand, I also don’t get to enjoy the glaring glory of my “dream TV” either!

My latest reason not to get the big rear projection flat screen: processing delay. Many DVR victims are familiar with those instances when the sound and picture don’t sync up and while you can’t always tell which of the two is lagging the other, you can tell that something just isn’t right. This problem can be turned into a constant time warp by new HDTVs by way of too much video processing taking too long to put the finished pictures on the screen, thus the processing delay. Most decent Audio/Video Receivers perform some amount of processing and also incorporate delays to account for different speaker distances. Audio processing is pretty much cake compared to some video processing at this point. With the newest TVs displaying images at 1920x1080 (progressive “scan”) and most programming being presented in (some number)x480 (interlaced), there are a lot of picture to be pulled out of nowhere so it can look it’s best on the big screen. It’s no wonder the TV picture lags a little. There’s so many techniques involved, and many of them done on top of each other, that I am left rather amazed at what we are asking these magical machines to do. Some folks use a device which delays the audio before it gets to the receiver. I don't want to add this complication, or spend extra money to fix a "feature" of the TV I already spent so much on. Here's the one my wife won't like: it'll make video games suck.

My solution? Find the TVs that don’t have too many people complaining about sync problems, then feed it only 1080i signals so that the biggest job, short of minor picture tweaks, is to de-interlace the signal. This will require source devices that can supply video signals that are pre-scaled to 1080i. I’ve got the temporary measures in place. Our DVD player is a Samsung HD850, which is MUCH better than the 1st generation JVC player we had previously. It has what I’ve heard is an acceptable HDMI output, which is the key to making current DVD’s sing visually. The other temporary measure is the Comcast provided Motorola 6412 DVR. This one has a DVI output, and I have cables for each one to connect to the two HDMI inputs on whichever TV we get.

In near future, these boxes will be replaced by more capable hardware. The ideal machine would be a series 3 Tivo, and some sort of universal Blue-Ray/HD-DVD transport/changer. Even better: Have the Tivo control the disc player. There is a Sony media PC that comes with a similar 200 DVD transport/changer, which is connected via Fire wire to the PC. Can someone say Linux drivers? That shouldn’t be too hard right? I know. I shouldn’t be dreaming so much when I can’t even pick out the right TV.

Long story shortened, I am thinking about the one of the JVC models at this point now. DLP has too many moving parts and seems expensive to keep up (replacement lamps), so LCOS looks really good, but Sony has too much processing delay for its wonderful picture. JVC looks good, has cheap lamps, and doesn’t seem to induce too much processing delay.

Of course you know, the 2006 models are just around the corner. I’ll keep wiping the drool off my chin and tell you when I need another towel.

Under-Appreciated Audio

I’m feeling the need to express my feelings for the under-appreciated audio components used in our home theater. This would mostly mean the speakers (which I will get to later), but credit is also deserved for our receiver, a Pioneer VSX-815S.

For the price (we got ours a grand total of $255), I don’t think you can find any better unless you already have the necessary equipment to accurately set up the EQ / crossover / time-alignment for your system. I didn’t have anything but my own ears, and I didn’t want to leave it to them alone if some certain persons of small stature were to inadvertently press the wrong buttons. I won’t go on much longer about the receiver, as it has already gotten much credit and has a bit of a following in the Bang-For-The-Buck camp. Let’s just say that it is Very Flexible, with assignable component video and digital audio inputs, and line outputs to mirror each amplified speaker output. Add decent power output and choice of manual or automatic calibration, and this is an amazing deal. Really. If you don’t have a home theater receiver, or (like me) have an older model with no digital audio capabilities, this is a great way to get your foot in the door. One misnomer I have read a number of times is that this receiver comes with a learning remote control. It doesn’t. It does have a preprogrammed remote which can be set up to control a variety of components. I’ll tell you right now that I don’t enjoy using it. It provides access to virtually every function possible, but that also complicates it beyond my desire to hold it in my hand. Get a good aftermarket universal remote for everyday use. Because I’m cheap, I have to recommend a UEI (One-For-All & Radio Shack) non-kameleon model. To get an idea of what these remotes can do, run on over to www.hifi-remote.com.

On to the speakers! While our home theater speakers don’t have some remarkable pedigree, they perform wonderfully well for our living room layout. We have a mix of speakers from Pioneer and KLH.

The Pioneer XW-HT1 wireless speaker system is a nice little package consisting of a processor/transmitter and an amplifier/speaker cabinet. The processor features Circle Surround from SRS, and has 3 modes for each of its two inputs. I leave ours on all the time, set to Wide Stereo, and feed it the line outputs from the back surround channels of our receiver. It also has a subwoofer output which can be used if you need more low frequency response. Audibly speaking, this system isn’t much by itself, but I’m lazy enough about running speaker wires that this was worth it, especially when our receiver has the required line outputs. This system is more ideally suited for folks with just a TV and DVD player, as its processing can be used to generate rear-channel information all by itself. The one fun bit about using these speakers is that, like so many other consumer electronics, it uses the 2.4GHz band. Thus it is possible to produce audible effects from the speakers by way of interference. It was fun to juggle frequencies to get our cordless phones, wireless network, and wireless speakers to all get along without stepping on each other’s toes. It’s more fun when my neighbors also have wireless devices. A few months back we started hearing some strange clicks coming from the speakers and found that somebody had set up a network access point using a conflicting frequency. Don’t tell anyone, but I checked out their setup from my laptop and found that they hadn’t enabled any encryption or security settings on their system, nor had they changed the default factory password. I took it upon myself to change the channel they were using to something less obvious to my speakers. I don’t think they will know or care.

Our main speakers are a set of KLH MP06HTs. KLH does not go out of their way to advertise themselves, but they have quite a following, and are known for producing high-quality products. This set literally came with everything you need: Subwoofer, five matched speakers, wires, mounting brackets, and wall hardware. Right now we are only using 3 of the 5 sats, but it is comforting to know that our 7.1 channel receiver is ready to make use of the two spare speaker should we so desire to use them. While these speakers can be had for a very low price, don’t be fooled. They are very well constructed and have gold-plated 5-way binding posts that can accept huge wires.

All of these components work very well together and should easily meet the requirements of most budgets. I still consider myself lucky to have found them all, and then to have found great deals when purchasing them. They look great and, more importantly, sound phenomenal. Everyone has their favorites, but if you are in the market you really should check them out!

Good things come... Eventually

I’m glad to have waited. Toshiba has finally come out and admitted to the apparent quality issues associated with the light engines of their 2005 1080p DLP televisions. This was one reason I was more than happy to wait it out a while before trying to purchase one. They have set up a web page so you can determine if your set shipped with one of the possibly defective components, and if yours is one of them you are notified that your engine is covered by an extra year of warranty. Nice Job, Toshiba! I feel much better now. The bad part is that it is now so late in the year that it will be easy to just wait to see what else starts showing up in the stores from the 2006 model year. Help!!

New Tools for Fools

This is my first attempt at using the Blogger for Word Toolbar. We’ll see how it does here. Up until this point I’ve been emailing my blog posts to allow easier formatting and keep a separate record of posts. I thought I’d try this one out as it sounds even more capable.

So you may be wondering if anything interesting will ever happen here. The answer is: I don’t know. It’s nice to just have a place from which I can pronounce the silly thoughts that waft gently from my enigmatic inner machinations. I’m still looking for the ideal TV and the stand for it. I’m certain we’ll find the right ones.

In other news, we have decided to move on from our goals of finding a Saturn Vue to purchase, to the goal of finding a 2006 Toyota Rav4. I liked the distinctive styling of the pre-2006 Vue, and loved the Honda V6 that it picked up beginning in 2004. My wife was not as enthusiastic as I was, but slowly warmed up to it. The slight redesign for 2006 made her like it a little more, but had the opposite effect on me. When I saw a commercial for the 2006 Rav4, I had to go take a look at it some more. At this point, both my wife and I are really excited about it. We went to our local Toyota dealer on Friday to take a look at one in person. One of the salesmen walked us around the lot to see if they had any he wasn’t aware of. There weren’t any at all! They aren’t shipping big numbers yet, so as soon as a couple of them show up they are usually gone in a day or two. I called a couple of other dealers and got the same answer.

If you are interested in configuring a Rav4 for yourself, I would recommend visiting www.edmunds.com. Toyota’s “Build Your Own” tool is not complete in that you are limited to the 4-cylinder Base model if you want to build a Front-Wheel Drive Rav4.

Well, that didn't help much...

My attempt to use the Adsense box above did not ever pay off, but that's alright. We are going to take a step back in the quest for the perfect TV and TV stand. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. I keep finding wonderful TV stands that either look great, but don't seem to fit things right, or can't be found for purchase anywhere.
2. The Toshiba TVs (62HM195 & 62MX195 ) which I have become a fan of seem to have been hiding a dirty little secret regarding lamp life. The replacement lamps are reported to be more robust than the original, but I think more time needs to pass before this can fairly be called true.
3. The Bonus Money got eaten up by other things.

Ah well, that's the way it goes. I'm really not too disappointed, considering what we are up against. From what I've seen the best thing you can do for a nice DLP or LCoS Television at the time of purchase (or shortly after) is to purchase an extended warranty. I am very opposed to extended warranties because I'm pretty darn good at keeping my gadgets running for a nice long time. Why should I do it for my new TV? The reason is simple: While they are exquisite marvels of technology and engineering, they aren't good enough to consistently last for a long time without failure. The biggest weakness is the "light engine". This process appears to be slowly getting solved by a few companies. The first out the gate has not been my favorite, but I'm happy that they can step up as guinea pig: Samsung. I have to give the idea credit. Elimination of the color wheel means no more Rainbow Effect, and replacing the the HID lamp with a multicolored set of LEDs has forever been waiting for the right time and application to show up. They last so much longer and require much less in the way of safety measures. Requirements for power conditioning and a UPS, not to mention the 15 minute cool down period for the lamp are now happilly missing.

I guess the 32" CRT non-HD Television will last a little longer. Hey, at least it was built to!