| Video Noise October 2004
Home Theater Expanded
Most home-theater systems have a video display of
some sort -- five or more speakers, a subwoofer, a DVD player, and a cable or satellite
box. But a home theater can be a lot more.
Other sources now available
You can connect some video displays to computers and play
games or surf the Internet from your comfortable chair or sofa. Wireless keyboards and
gaming controls make both of these activities possible and practical -- wired keyboards
and controls will still work, of course, but they’re so last-millennium that
you really should consider wireless. For video displays that lack computer inputs, there
are some very impressive computer videocards that can output just about any type of video
you need to work with your HDTV.
Game machines such as PlayStation 2 and Xbox can become
very different experiences on a big screen with superior surround sound -- the large image
and amazing audio can make games even more immersive. The biggest problem is getting
gamers off the system so you can watch a movie or show. Beware of using game
consoles or PC games with video displays that are prone to "burn in" stationary
images. Portions of game screens, especially status displays, will cause this. Such
displays include direct-view TVs, rear-projection TVs employing three small CRTs, and
plasma screens. LCD, DLP, LCoS, and D-ILA technologies don’t suffer from such
problems.
Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) promise to change the way we
watch TV, and have done just that for many who readily adapt to high-tech products. You
can record digital video on an internal hard disk, then "pause" and
"rewind" live TV even as you’re recording it. You can also have a library
of shows to watch that are recorded automatically every week or every day. Whenever you
have a little time to spare, there will be something already recorded that you’ll
want to see -- you won’t have to settle for 57 or 570 channels of "nothing
on." Some DVRs even let you program them from a remote telephone, in case you find
out, while traveling, that something you want to record will be on before you return.
DVD recorders and blank discs are finally getting
inexpensive enough to be considered mainstream products. You can share programs or home
videos with anyone whose computer has a DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drive -- they don’t need
to have a DVD recorder of their own. You can record programs on DVD, and capture images
from those shows using your computer. You can watch the shows you record on your computer
or portable DVD player when you travel, so you don’t have to buy movies to have
first-run programming available on the go. You can make a library of all the episodes of
your favorite TV series. Home movies and photos can be transferred to DVDs that can then
be sent to other family members or friends who have computers or DVD players. Finally, DVD
recorders expand on the DVR by acting as additional DVR storage -- many DVRs have
"copy" modes that can send recorded programs to VCRs or other DVRs. DVD
recorders haven’t yet taken off, as VCRs did two decades ago, probably because they
can’t yet record high-definition signals, and the DVR is meeting the needs of
millions of customers without their having to deal with blank media.
HDTV broadcast tuners are still relatively expensive,
though not as reliable as conventional TV tuners at finding and displaying stations. On
the other hand, when they work, the results are amazing. Digital broadcasting does away
with the ghosts, interference patterns, and snow we all grew up with receiving TV signals
with antennas -- all the problems visible with earlier TV systems are gone. But there is
at least one new problem: If the digital signal is weak, you might not be able to receive
it at all. In digital broadcasting, there is a fine line between perfect image and sound
and no image or sound at all. HDTV tuners improve each year, but prices have not come down
much; this probably indicates that most people are getting their HDTV programming from
cable or satellite TV.
Emerging source
 Microsoft is testing the
high-definition waters with Windows Media 9, whose capabilities include 720p and 1080p
video with up to 24-bit/96kHz, 5.1-channel surround sound. As of early fall 2004, only ten
IMAX films and three features had been released in WM9: Terminator 2: Judgment Day,
Standing in the Shadows of Motown, and Step Into Liquid. Each WM9
release contains two DVDs: one mastered in 720p, the other mastered in 1080p. These discs
play in conventional DVD-ROM drives, but 5.1-channel playback requires a computer with a
5.1-compatible soundcard with 24/96 processing. Few home-theater display devices accept a
1080p signal; if your display can handle 720p or 1080i, you’ll probably have to use
the 720p disc. The price is reasonable enough; so far, the suggested retail for each title
is $20. Your computer will need to have a high-definition videocard with an output
that’s compatible with one of your HD display’s inputs. If the computer is a
desktop, the fan noise could be objectionable during quiet parts of the soundtrack.
Future sources
High-definition optical discs are coming -- the HD-DVD and
Blu-ray formats are vying for the software and hardware markets. Yes, there’s going
to be another format war. Blu-ray’s supporters include Hitachi, JVC, LG,
Panasonic-Matsushita, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Zenith. With a list of
power players like that, it would seem that the major supporters of HD-DVD, Toshiba and
NEC, would have little chance of getting their format off the ground. Their ace in the
hole is the fact that HD-DVD is the only format the DVD Forum has recognized as a hi-def
format for DVDs. But Sony and Phillips want to replace their expiring CD licensing fees
with a new revenue stream; it’s likely that both will put considerable resources
behind Blu-ray.
 Sony introduced the first commercial
Blu-ray player in Japan in 2003, and Panasonic released their first Blu-ray device there
in summer 2004. Numerous Blu-ray player-recorders are expected to be available in North
America by early 2005. HD-DVD hardware announcements have been no more specific than
"sometime in 2005."
The new formats will require new playback hardware --
HD-DVD and Blu-ray are not compatible with existing DVD players or DVD-ROM drives. Film
studios will have to decide whether to release films on Blu-ray, HD-DVD, or both.
It’s more likely that studios will support one format or the other. With two formats
duking it out, a critical mass will take longer to build, and hardware and disc prices
won’t fall as quickly as they did with DVD. Sony owns Columbia TriStar studios --
guess which format Columbia TriStar will support?
It’s too bad one of these formats can’t be
canceled so that consumers aren’t put in the position of having to choose. It was bad
for the VCR industry, it’s bad right now for DVD-Audio and SACD, and it will be bad
when these high-definition formats begin appearing in stores.
...Doug Blackburn
db@hometheatersound.com |
