#277339 - 13/03/2006 07:15
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: g_attrill]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Secondly satellite television still has a negative image in the UK
I only have 4 gripes with Sky+:
1. Despite being 40 miles inside Yorkshire, somebody has decided (Presumably from a great distance), that we're in the Tyne Tees area.
If I was an advertiser, I'd be furious: Car dealers as far away as the lake district are in my commercial breaks, yet Leeds dealerships, my nearest connurbation, don't reach me.
2. My daughter's 23, I think we can make our own decision on parental control, without having pin numbers forced upon us: Very irritating when it's Michael Palin they're protecting us from!
3. The Call Centre.
4. Reliability, I'm on my third Sky+ box; No cost, just inconvenience and missed programmes.
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#277341 - 13/03/2006 09:03
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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1. Despite being 40 miles inside Yorkshire, somebody has decided (Presumably from a great distance), that we're in the Tyne Tees area.
Can't you ring them up and change that?
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#277342 - 13/03/2006 09:24
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: andym]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Can't you ring them up and change that?
No, they just tell you it's not them it's the (I think) ITCA. You can put the channel in manually, as the other Andy pointed out, but that's not the point, the two advertising associations are aware of the anomaly and pursuing it. However, anything with commercial breaks, we make a point of recording on Freeview and then VideoReDo obligingly tells me where the commercials are, so that I can edit them out before we watch. That one half hour of local news we watch on the Beeb, where Sky curiously have us in the Yorkshire region.
After a year or more of me, and presumably countless others, pursuing Sky on the after 9.00 p.m. parental control, having told me that the software couldn't accept it, they gave me "1111" as a pin number. Sky tell us they are about choice, so I should be free to choose if I need a pin number or not.
N.B. "1111" is not my pin number for cash machines, ebay, Amazon or anything else! that, of course is "1234"!!!!!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#277343 - 13/03/2006 10:35
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Because they are hooked on BBC7
I started a reply to say, I know it's not ideal, but they could always listen on the 'net, but I suppose if they haven't got any of those things, they won't have broadband!
They do actually have broadband (or will have when the move in properly), but as you say that it isn't ideal.
I wish there was a portable, wifi based, player than I could recommend them. Instead I have told them to get two Sky boxes and a Sky Gnome (a portable wireless player, designed to be plugged into a Sky box, that lets to change channels remotely).
Maybe someone should design some sort of portable docking station for the Slim player, with a builtin rechargable battery and an amp and speakers.
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Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday
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#277344 - 13/03/2006 12:30
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: DWallach]
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veteran
Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
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The trick with DLP, LCOS, or any other rear-projector, is that they've got a very bright bulb driving the thing. That bulb will eventually burn out and they're not cheap to replace. You may want to purchase a spare when you buy the TV.
I just bought a new TV and this was one of the questions that came up while we were talking about the one I wanted. I was told that I could expect the bulb in mine to last about 3-4 years depending on how much TV I watched, but it would cost about $250 for a new lamp unit. It looks ridiculously easy to replace, at least.
-- Tim
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#277345 - 13/03/2006 13:09
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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Very irritating when it's Michael Palin they're protecting us from!
Well, those former Pythons should never be trusted. You never know what's coming next.
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#277346 - 13/03/2006 16:30
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: boxer]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 1904
Loc: Leeds, UK
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If I was an advertiser, I'd be furious...
I hardly ever watch live TV, I use my Tivo to skip the adverts everytime, isn't that half the point of Sky+
Not that I would have Sky+ here! It lasted about a day and a half set up until I packed up the box and told Sky to come and pick it up. Why can't they put Tivo in those things???
Cheers
Cris.
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#277347 - 13/03/2006 16:44
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: Cris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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I now use DigiTv for Freeview and DigiGuide as a program guide, linked together by a little program called DabDig, it's about the best of all worlds IMO.
I'll show you on drilling day! Another delay occurs, as the snow caused the roof of my Homebase shed to cave in - imagine if we had had real snow. I think Homebase, Harrogate regard me as a serial complainer after my office chair collapsed after 2 weeks use!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#277348 - 13/03/2006 18:36
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: andym]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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The problem is that the front of the house is south-facing so if I wanted a dish it would have to go slap bang on the front of the house.
My house also faces the satellite. Obviously, I don't know how your house is built, but I solved that problem by putting the satellite dish on the roof just on the lee side of the ridgeline so that you can't really see the dish, or at least only the top of it, from the street, but the dish still has clear view of the southern sky.
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Bitt Faulk
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#277349 - 13/03/2006 21:19
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 05/01/2001
Posts: 4903
Loc: Detroit, MI USA
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Quote:
Quote:
The problem is that the front of the house is south-facing so if I wanted a dish it would have to go slap bang on the front of the house.
My house also faces the satellite. Obviously, I don't know how your house is built, but I solved that problem by putting the satellite dish on the roof just on the lee side of the ridgeline so that you can't really see the dish, or at least only the top of it, from the street, but the dish still has clear view of the southern sky.
This is very easy to do in most cases. When I installed my own dish, I was able to do this and you could not see the dish from the street. Because the signal bounces off of the dish, you can hide it further back than you might think.
Interestingly, when I had another dish installed professionally on the same house (for the same providor), the installer mounted the dish just high enough so that everyone could see it. I imagine that DirecTV recommends doing that so they get curbside advertising with each customer.
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Brad B.
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#277350 - 14/03/2006 06:48
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: Cris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Last night's gadget show had a fairly straightforward run down of this subject, it's repeated on Saturday, Ch 5, 12.10.
I find 3 out of 4 of their presenters to be the most irritating on TV, and Suzi whatsername is one of the 3!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#277351 - 14/03/2006 11:40
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: SE_Sport_Driver]
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veteran
Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
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Interestingly, when I had another dish installed professionally on the same house (for the same providor), the installer mounted the dish just high enough so that everyone could see it. I imagine that DirecTV recommends doing that so they get curbside advertising with each customer.
I don't think that is a DirecTV thing, but an installer thing. I had two DirecTV installs done, from different installers. One, my house faced south, and they installed it just over the rise so it is impossible to see from the front of the house. On the second, the house faces east and the installer tucked the dish behind the chimney so it is mostly unseen from the front (there is a little space where you can see it just before the neighbor's house blocks the LOS).
When I specifically asked about it on the first install, the installer told me he didn't like putting the dish where people could see it. People just driving by have no reason to know what is in your house. It made sense to me.
-- Tim
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#277352 - 14/03/2006 14:48
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: boxer]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 1904
Loc: Leeds, UK
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Last night's gadget show had a fairly straightforward run down of this subject, it's repeated on Saturday, Ch 5, 12.10.
I find 3 out of 4 of their presenters to be the most irritating on TV, and Suzi whatsername is one of the 3!
I just caught the end of it, I must set Tivo to get it for me! Their review of plasma screens was a little pathetic I think, they didn't really look at other panel technology.
I agree about the presenters, almost at Linda sofa woman levels (can't bring myself to type her name).
Cheers
Cris.
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#277353 - 14/03/2006 15:05
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: Cris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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I agree about the presenters, almost at Linda sofa woman levels (can't bring myself to type her name).
Woof, woof, woof...
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#277354 - 14/03/2006 16:41
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: Cris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Their review of plasma screens was a little pathetic I think
They generally are, they remind me of some Which reports, I remember, in the era of reel-to-reel tape recorders, they came up with different conclusions for 5 machines which were badge engineered versions with the same mechanics and electronics!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#277355 - 14/03/2006 20:32
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: boxer]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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Quote:
Last night's gadget show had a fairly straightforward run down of this subject, it's repeated on Saturday, Ch 5, 12.10.
I find 3 out of 4 of their presenters to be the most irritating on TV, and Suzi whatsername is one of the 3!
My boss gets all his ideas from that show!
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#277356 - 18/03/2006 07:26
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: Cris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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According to my Daily Mail, this morning (The article doesn't appear to be on their website): "Why your HDTV may only be half as clear as you think" ; HD broadcasts offer up to two million pixels, but 99% of TV's being sold as "HD Ready" have only 921,600 pixels (44%); Only one set on the market, the: Philips 37PF9830, meets the full spec.
"Dixons insisted that most consumers would not be able to tell the difference between images on a 720-line and a 1280 line sets(sic): 'Our technical experts would defy anyone to see a difference in the clarity' said a spokesman, It would be, however, on a new generation of huge 65" TV's about to become available".
Aware people like Empeggers will note two things:
1) Marketing hype is marketing hype and relies on not giving you reliable, unequivocal information.
2) Whatever the metrication fanatics and Neil Kinnock think, far from needing to spend millions on Km. road signs, before the Olympics, we shall all still be watching them on sets measured in inches!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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#277358 - 19/03/2006 10:13
Re: Just What Does "HD Ready" Mean?
[Re: bonzi]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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Seriously, I lament demise of imperial units
What I miss most is that when I first started drinking (11 years after the demise of the farthing), you could go out for the evening with a ten bob note (50p), now it won't even buy you a 1/4 of an imperial pint.
....and now you mention it, my first suit was 9 guineas!
....and my mother told me off for my extravagance....
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