I have yet to get Blu-Ray, but now I see 3-D coming out for the home (with this email blurb from Amazon). Actually I saw a demo unit at Best Buy and was kind of impressed.
So far the pickings are slim. It looks like SamSung is the only company to come out with 3D TVs or monitors so far. And also the only company to come out with a 3-D Blu-Ray player. And the only 3-D movie out so far that I see is Monster vs. Aliens that comes in the SamSung 3D Starter Kit.
I'd say it would be at least a couple of years before 3-D becomes mainstream. The first sign would be Avatar out on 3-D. But this story still ties it to Blu-Ray which is still being far outsold by DVD. OK, more than a couple of years.. I did happen to see the Avatar menu being played on a HD-TV today at Costco, and have to admit that even the menu looked kind of impressive.
[4/26/10] Blu-ray Discs have been around less than four years with the first titles being released in June 2006. There were seven movies released then: 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, Underworld: Evolution, xXx (all Sony), and MGM's The Terminator. And it was only two years ago, when all the major studios gave up on HD-DVD and went solely to Blu-ray.
[4/27/10] A review of Avatar. It's kind of fun (in a disturbing sort of way) reading these (insert adjective here) critics/reviewers making fun of the best-selling movie of all time. [Here's a clue, the guy has an OPPO BDP-83 player(!)]
[5/14/10] The 3-D Television Buying Guide (still not much content)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
global warming not in weathermen's forecast
The debate over global warming has created predictable adversaries, pitting environmentalists against industry and coal-state Democrats against coastal liberals.
But it has also created tensions between two groups that might be expected to agree on the issue: climate scientists and meteorologists, especially those who serve as television weather forecasters.
Climatologists, who study weather patterns over time, almost universally endorse the view that the earth is warming and that humans have contributed to climate change. There is less of a consensus among meteorologists, who predict short-term weather patterns.
A study released on Monday by researchers at George Mason University and the University of Texas at Austin found that only about half of the 571 television weathercasters surveyed believed that global warming was occurring and fewer than a third believed that climate change was “caused mostly by human activities.”
More than a quarter of the weathercasters in the survey agreed with the statement “Global warming is a scam,” the researchers found.
The split between climate scientists and meteorologists is gaining attention in political and academic circles because polls show that public skepticism about global warming is increasing, and weather forecasters — especially those on television — dominate communications channels to the public. A study released this year by researchers at Yale and George Mason found that 56 percent of Americans trusted weathercasters to tell them about global warming far more than they trusted other news media or public figures like former Vice President Al Gore or Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate.
The American Meteorological Society, which confers its coveted seal of approval on qualified weather forecasters, has affirmed the conclusion of the United Nations’ climate panel that warming is occurring and that human activities are very likely the cause. In a statement sent to Congress in 2009, the meteorological society warned that the buildup of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would lead to “major negative consequences.”
Yet, climate scientists use very different scientific methods from the meteorologists. Heidi Cullen, a climatologist who straddled the two worlds when she worked at the Weather Channel, noted that meteorologists used models that were intensely sensitive to small changes in the atmosphere but had little accuracy more than seven days out. Dr. Cullen said meteorologists are often dubious about the work of climate scientists, who use complex models to estimate the effects of climate trends decades in the future.
But it has also created tensions between two groups that might be expected to agree on the issue: climate scientists and meteorologists, especially those who serve as television weather forecasters.
Climatologists, who study weather patterns over time, almost universally endorse the view that the earth is warming and that humans have contributed to climate change. There is less of a consensus among meteorologists, who predict short-term weather patterns.
A study released on Monday by researchers at George Mason University and the University of Texas at Austin found that only about half of the 571 television weathercasters surveyed believed that global warming was occurring and fewer than a third believed that climate change was “caused mostly by human activities.”
More than a quarter of the weathercasters in the survey agreed with the statement “Global warming is a scam,” the researchers found.
The split between climate scientists and meteorologists is gaining attention in political and academic circles because polls show that public skepticism about global warming is increasing, and weather forecasters — especially those on television — dominate communications channels to the public. A study released this year by researchers at Yale and George Mason found that 56 percent of Americans trusted weathercasters to tell them about global warming far more than they trusted other news media or public figures like former Vice President Al Gore or Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate.
The American Meteorological Society, which confers its coveted seal of approval on qualified weather forecasters, has affirmed the conclusion of the United Nations’ climate panel that warming is occurring and that human activities are very likely the cause. In a statement sent to Congress in 2009, the meteorological society warned that the buildup of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would lead to “major negative consequences.”
Yet, climate scientists use very different scientific methods from the meteorologists. Heidi Cullen, a climatologist who straddled the two worlds when she worked at the Weather Channel, noted that meteorologists used models that were intensely sensitive to small changes in the atmosphere but had little accuracy more than seven days out. Dr. Cullen said meteorologists are often dubious about the work of climate scientists, who use complex models to estimate the effects of climate trends decades in the future.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sony Trinitron KV-27FV16
This was a nice TV that my neighbor up the street had on the road. It looked too good to throw away, so I picked it up. Pretty heavy.
Anyway, I lugged it home and plugged it in and it worked. The picture was pretty sharp, though the sound sounded kind of funny. But from the control panel in the front, I adjusted the sound. I think the bass was way too high. Anyway, after the adjustment, it sounded pretty good.
So that Sunday, I had Alvin help me carry it up the steps and set it up. After a little while though, I noticed the picture has a subtle blue haze that kind of tires my eyes after a while. But it's not too noticeable on certain pictures. Or to certain people for that matter. (Either that, or they don't want to complain.)
Anyway, I want to get rid of it (and get a new hidef flat screen) now but don't want to throw it away since it still works. Maybe freecycle. Or even get a few bucks on craigslist.
I wondered how heavy it was. I figured it's gotta be in three-digits. Found the manual on the internet. 108 pounds.
Stay tuned.
***
[4/26/10] All this time I was bothered by the blue tinge. Today I decided to adjust the picture again and I noticed that it was set on cool. I changed it to neutral. Hmm. Picture looks better to me. Actually the picture looks quite good now. Almost tempted to keep it now. We'll see how it looks and feels after a day or two.
Anyway, I lugged it home and plugged it in and it worked. The picture was pretty sharp, though the sound sounded kind of funny. But from the control panel in the front, I adjusted the sound. I think the bass was way too high. Anyway, after the adjustment, it sounded pretty good.
So that Sunday, I had Alvin help me carry it up the steps and set it up. After a little while though, I noticed the picture has a subtle blue haze that kind of tires my eyes after a while. But it's not too noticeable on certain pictures. Or to certain people for that matter. (Either that, or they don't want to complain.)
Anyway, I want to get rid of it (and get a new hidef flat screen) now but don't want to throw it away since it still works. Maybe freecycle. Or even get a few bucks on craigslist.
I wondered how heavy it was. I figured it's gotta be in three-digits. Found the manual on the internet. 108 pounds.
Stay tuned.
***
[4/26/10] All this time I was bothered by the blue tinge. Today I decided to adjust the picture again and I noticed that it was set on cool. I changed it to neutral. Hmm. Picture looks better to me. Actually the picture looks quite good now. Almost tempted to keep it now. We'll see how it looks and feels after a day or two.
Panasonic remote replacement / CCOH remotes
My remote for our Panasonic 27" TV hasn't been working for a while. I'm using a universal remote, but I miss being able to change the close caption on/off via remote (talk about lazy). So I was wondering if I a replacement was available.
Examining the back of the remote with a magnifying glass (my eyes are going bad OK?), the code is EUR7613Z10.
I see remotexperts is selling it on Ebay for $10.95 plus $3.25 shipping. So that's $14.20.
Amazon is selling it for $27.76 + $7.95 shipping.
Try Craigslist. No luck.
***
[12/31/11] After trying out Donna's giant remote at her house a month or so ago (and it worked on her Panasonic TV), I chanced buying the 8-in-1 Jumbo Universal Remote from Walgreen ysterday (WOW $5) and tried it out today.
I'm happy because it worked on the Panasonic and can now access the menu (and the Sony TV too! Plus the Apex DVD player!). The instructions are pretty tiny. They run 18 "pages" but are printed on one large sheet of paper with 9 pages on each side. I was a little confused at first because I went from the bottom of "page 13" to the top of page 16 (since page 16 was right underneath page 13) instead of going back to the middle of the paper for page 14.
Anyway, here's the instructions.
First locate the code (it's code 1819 for Panasonic TV, code 0414 for Sony TV, code 0023 for Apex TV, code 0252 for Scientific Atlanta cable box, code 1541 for Panasonic DVD player (which worked with my Panasonic DVD-Recorder), 0998 for Toshiba DVD-Recorder, 0324 for Emerson VCR [for some reason, close caption doesn't work with the Emerson], 0937 Quasar VCR, 0146 Apex DVD - some of the other codes work too but assign different functions to the buttons).
Press and hold the CODE SEARCH button until the LED lights up. Press and release the device button (TV or DVD or CABLE, etc.). The LED will blink and stay on. Enter the four-digit code. The LED will turn off. Then press the power button (the button on the top right) to see if it worked.
[1/4/14 update - not sure where I got the above instructions because when I looked at the instructions last night at CCOH, it said to press and hold the SLEEP button which flickered but didn't turn off. But now it works today, maybe because I took out the batteries overnight? Who knows? Anyway I tried it today and it looks like SLEEP works in addition to CODE SEARCH.
BTW the codes for the CCOH dining room (Sharp) TV is 0907.
For the Sony DVD/VCR it's 0540
For the lounge Samsung TV: 0112
For the Panasonic DVD/VCR it's 0345.
Or you can use the room 119 remote for the Samsung TV.
Or my Panasonic DVD-R remote for the Panasonic DVD/VCR
Testing further, the code 1241 works for my Sony Blu-Ray player. I even got to the setup menu by pressing the INPUT button. And 0618 seems to work best for my Panasonic Plasma (can use the up/down buttons when going to the TV menu).]
For the manual code search (didn't try it because all the codes worked so far). Press the CODE SEARCH button until the LED lights up. Press and release the device button. Press power repeatedly until the device turns off.
I wonder if the instructions are online?
There's a similar looking remote here, but the codes are different.
Whatever. I'm happy. $5 well spent.
[8/6/12] The giant remote control infested by ants :(
[4/1/16] Maybe this entry doesn't belong here, but it sort of does because it pertains to a remote at CCOH. Anyway, there's been a generic RCA remote in dining room the last week or two and it doesn't seem to control anything. Certainly not the TV. Nor the two DVD players near the TV. Plus it doesn't look like it was designed to work with a DVD player, just TV or SAT/CBL/DTC. (DTC stands for digital TV converter.)
So I couldn't resist. I opened up the cover to the battery compartment and it said to go to rcaaccessories.com. There's a place to enter the model number and it's RCRH02, (Currently $5.20 from Amazon.com.) There are links to the manual and to the code list.
Anyway, the instructions are to press the CODE SEARCH button until the light goes on. Press the component key you want to program. In this case, there's only two: TV or SAT/CBL/DTC. Press TV. Enter the four digit code. For the Sharp TV, it's 0818. The light turns off after entering the code. Press the POWER button to see if the TV turns off. Yep! OK it worked!
Let's try the Samsung TV in the lounge. The first code is 0812. OK, that worked.
The only thing with this remote is that there's no left and right arrow keys. So you can't navigate the menu. Actually, now looking at the menu, the volume up/down is supposed to go left and right. OK, never mind.
When in MENU mode, the red button blinks. Apparently to exit menu mode you have to press the TV key again. Or just wait without pressing any buttons.
Examining the back of the remote with a magnifying glass (my eyes are going bad OK?), the code is EUR7613Z10.
I see remotexperts is selling it on Ebay for $10.95 plus $3.25 shipping. So that's $14.20.
Amazon is selling it for $27.76 + $7.95 shipping.
Try Craigslist. No luck.
***
[12/31/11] After trying out Donna's giant remote at her house a month or so ago (and it worked on her Panasonic TV), I chanced buying the 8-in-1 Jumbo Universal Remote from Walgreen ysterday (WOW $5) and tried it out today.
I'm happy because it worked on the Panasonic and can now access the menu (and the Sony TV too! Plus the Apex DVD player!). The instructions are pretty tiny. They run 18 "pages" but are printed on one large sheet of paper with 9 pages on each side. I was a little confused at first because I went from the bottom of "page 13" to the top of page 16 (since page 16 was right underneath page 13) instead of going back to the middle of the paper for page 14.
Anyway, here's the instructions.
First locate the code (it's code 1819 for Panasonic TV, code 0414 for Sony TV, code 0023 for Apex TV, code 0252 for Scientific Atlanta cable box, code 1541 for Panasonic DVD player (which worked with my Panasonic DVD-Recorder), 0998 for Toshiba DVD-Recorder, 0324 for Emerson VCR [for some reason, close caption doesn't work with the Emerson], 0937 Quasar VCR, 0146 Apex DVD - some of the other codes work too but assign different functions to the buttons).
Press and hold the CODE SEARCH button until the LED lights up. Press and release the device button (TV or DVD or CABLE, etc.). The LED will blink and stay on. Enter the four-digit code. The LED will turn off. Then press the power button (the button on the top right) to see if it worked.
[1/4/14 update - not sure where I got the above instructions because when I looked at the instructions last night at CCOH, it said to press and hold the SLEEP button which flickered but didn't turn off. But now it works today, maybe because I took out the batteries overnight? Who knows? Anyway I tried it today and it looks like SLEEP works in addition to CODE SEARCH.
BTW the codes for the CCOH dining room (Sharp) TV is 0907.
For the Sony DVD/VCR it's 0540
For the lounge Samsung TV: 0112
For the Panasonic DVD/VCR it's 0345.
Or you can use the room 119 remote for the Samsung TV.
Or my Panasonic DVD-R remote for the Panasonic DVD/VCR
Testing further, the code 1241 works for my Sony Blu-Ray player. I even got to the setup menu by pressing the INPUT button. And 0618 seems to work best for my Panasonic Plasma (can use the up/down buttons when going to the TV menu).]
For the manual code search (didn't try it because all the codes worked so far). Press the CODE SEARCH button until the LED lights up. Press and release the device button. Press power repeatedly until the device turns off.
I wonder if the instructions are online?
There's a similar looking remote here, but the codes are different.
Whatever. I'm happy. $5 well spent.
[8/6/12] The giant remote control infested by ants :(
[4/1/16] Maybe this entry doesn't belong here, but it sort of does because it pertains to a remote at CCOH. Anyway, there's been a generic RCA remote in dining room the last week or two and it doesn't seem to control anything. Certainly not the TV. Nor the two DVD players near the TV. Plus it doesn't look like it was designed to work with a DVD player, just TV or SAT/CBL/DTC. (DTC stands for digital TV converter.)
So I couldn't resist. I opened up the cover to the battery compartment and it said to go to rcaaccessories.com. There's a place to enter the model number and it's RCRH02, (Currently $5.20 from Amazon.com.) There are links to the manual and to the code list.
Anyway, the instructions are to press the CODE SEARCH button until the light goes on. Press the component key you want to program. In this case, there's only two: TV or SAT/CBL/DTC. Press TV. Enter the four digit code. For the Sharp TV, it's 0818. The light turns off after entering the code. Press the POWER button to see if the TV turns off. Yep! OK it worked!
Let's try the Samsung TV in the lounge. The first code is 0812. OK, that worked.
The only thing with this remote is that there's no left and right arrow keys. So you can't navigate the menu. Actually, now looking at the menu, the volume up/down is supposed to go left and right. OK, never mind.
When in MENU mode, the red button blinks. Apparently to exit menu mode you have to press the TV key again. Or just wait without pressing any buttons.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Fox News on the San Diego Zoo on Global Warming
At the San Diego Zoo polar bears are now on thin ice, at least that's the word from the zoo as a new million dollar expansion to its polar bear experience opens this week. The zoo has spent considerable time and money to make the exhibit interactive, but some critics complain with this interaction comes politics and they argue the zoo should stay out of a policy debate.
As you make your way through this exhibit there's a carbon calculator, a walk that shows a shrinking ice cap and multiple displays showing the problems associated with climate change. For the consumer the displays are catchy, interactive and colorful. People here at the San Diego Zoo say the whole experience helps visitors better understand the arctic and the loss of habitat for polar bears as climate change continues. They tell me their exhibit features "the best science out there."
As you might imagine not everyone is happy with this display and claim the zoo is jumping into politics and a very heated (no pun intended) debate. Some scientists and a few supporters of the zoo contend that climate change is not happening as sold to the public and even if it is, man is not causing it. Some also argue that polar bears adapted before and can do so again and to assume that man can kill them off by CO2 emissions is an unfair and untrue claim.
When presented with this argument the Zoo stands strong. They maintain the Polar Bear Experience is all about the best science out there and whether you believe in climate change or not, what's wrong with cleaning and preserving the environment anyway. Officials here have heard some of these complaints, but they tell me the overwhelming response has been nothing but positive.
As you make your way through this exhibit there's a carbon calculator, a walk that shows a shrinking ice cap and multiple displays showing the problems associated with climate change. For the consumer the displays are catchy, interactive and colorful. People here at the San Diego Zoo say the whole experience helps visitors better understand the arctic and the loss of habitat for polar bears as climate change continues. They tell me their exhibit features "the best science out there."
As you might imagine not everyone is happy with this display and claim the zoo is jumping into politics and a very heated (no pun intended) debate. Some scientists and a few supporters of the zoo contend that climate change is not happening as sold to the public and even if it is, man is not causing it. Some also argue that polar bears adapted before and can do so again and to assume that man can kill them off by CO2 emissions is an unfair and untrue claim.
When presented with this argument the Zoo stands strong. They maintain the Polar Bear Experience is all about the best science out there and whether you believe in climate change or not, what's wrong with cleaning and preserving the environment anyway. Officials here have heard some of these complaints, but they tell me the overwhelming response has been nothing but positive.
Friday, April 09, 2010
scanning to pdf
I kept getting an error when scanning a document and trying to save to pdf.
The error message was:
Error!
An internal error occurred while processing the document.
Click OK to close the program, and then try one of the following:
- restart the program
- restart the PC and then try again
- reinstall the Photo & Image Software and try again
[I have an HP OfficeJet 5710xi All-in-One running on Windows XP.]
I decided to try again, running HP Solution Center and scanning to searchable pdf instead. And it worked!
I noticed that the software sets the dpi to 300 and can't make it smaller. So the file is comparatively big. Then I tried pdf again at 300 and it worked!
Hmm. Try 75 dpi again. Error.
100 dpi. Error.
150 dpi. Error.
Shut down firefox (to increase available memory) and try 200 dpi. It worked!
OK, was it a memory problem? Try 150 dpi again. Error. 200 dpi worked again.
So it works 200 dpi and higher and errors on 150 dpi or lower.
The file size for 200 dpi was 155 KB. For 300 dpi was 332 KB. For searchable dpi was 345 KB (scanning an old Fairholme Fund statement). So might as well use searchable if going 300 dpi. Otherwise 200 dpi.
It seems the files could be smaller though. The newer Fairholme files are 144 K (and are searchable). Heck, the Schwab files are as small as 13K! (and are searchable too).
[4/20/10] I posted my solution somewhere on the internet. I'll find it again one day. [A few minutes later... OK, here it is.]
In the meantime, here's another guy that had the same solution. Plus some others with other solutions.
[4/20/10] here's one way to get the files smaller. scan in grey-scale or black and white instead of color. Black and white is substantially smaller than color.
The error message was:
Error!
An internal error occurred while processing the document.
Click OK to close the program, and then try one of the following:
- restart the program
- restart the PC and then try again
- reinstall the Photo & Image Software and try again
[I have an HP OfficeJet 5710xi All-in-One running on Windows XP.]
I decided to try again, running HP Solution Center and scanning to searchable pdf instead. And it worked!
I noticed that the software sets the dpi to 300 and can't make it smaller. So the file is comparatively big. Then I tried pdf again at 300 and it worked!
Hmm. Try 75 dpi again. Error.
100 dpi. Error.
150 dpi. Error.
Shut down firefox (to increase available memory) and try 200 dpi. It worked!
OK, was it a memory problem? Try 150 dpi again. Error. 200 dpi worked again.
So it works 200 dpi and higher and errors on 150 dpi or lower.
The file size for 200 dpi was 155 KB. For 300 dpi was 332 KB. For searchable dpi was 345 KB (scanning an old Fairholme Fund statement). So might as well use searchable if going 300 dpi. Otherwise 200 dpi.
It seems the files could be smaller though. The newer Fairholme files are 144 K (and are searchable). Heck, the Schwab files are as small as 13K! (and are searchable too).
[4/20/10] I posted my solution somewhere on the internet. I'll find it again one day. [A few minutes later... OK, here it is.]
In the meantime, here's another guy that had the same solution. Plus some others with other solutions.
[4/20/10] here's one way to get the files smaller. scan in grey-scale or black and white instead of color. Black and white is substantially smaller than color.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Ed Roberts
Dr. Henry Edward Roberts, the developer of an early personal computer that inspired Bill Gates to found Microsoft, died Thursday in Georgia after battling pneumonia, said his son, David. He was 68.
The man better known as Ed Roberts developed and marketed the MITS Altair 8800 in the 1970s. The build-it-yourself kit was operated by switches and had no display screen, but it inspired Gates and childhood friend Paul Allen to found Microsoft in 1975 after they saw an article about it in Popular Mechanics.
David Roberts said Gates, who had remained close to his father over the years, visited Friday after hearing he was ill.
[Note: Ed Roberts is featured in Chapter 9 of the book Hackers (chapters 1 and 2 available on Project Gutenberg) and Chapter 2 of the book Fire In The Valley (two of my favorite books).]
The man better known as Ed Roberts developed and marketed the MITS Altair 8800 in the 1970s. The build-it-yourself kit was operated by switches and had no display screen, but it inspired Gates and childhood friend Paul Allen to found Microsoft in 1975 after they saw an article about it in Popular Mechanics.
David Roberts said Gates, who had remained close to his father over the years, visited Friday after hearing he was ill.
[Note: Ed Roberts is featured in Chapter 9 of the book Hackers (chapters 1 and 2 available on Project Gutenberg) and Chapter 2 of the book Fire In The Valley (two of my favorite books).]
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