Engadget HD Podcast 080 - 04.09.2008
By Trent Wolbe 
posted Apr 9th 2008 11:00AM
posted Apr 9th 2008 11:00AM
Some things in the world of HD stay the same, and some just keep getting better and better and on this week's show we cover a little of both. We continue to see new channels launched, but the new ones coming online now are MPEG4 at the source, but unfortunately it'll be some time till all of the channels are, so many will be forced to endure excessive amounts of compression in the name of more channels -- and other services like Internet access via DOCSIS 3.0. For the first time that we can remember, there isn't even one format war story, but there are a few Media Center posts as well as some talk of the latest HDTVs and whether they're any better than last year's. Get the podcast
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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh and Steve Kim
Producer: Trent Wolbe
01:00 - Comments from Engadget HD Podcast 079 - 04.02.2008
14:00 - U-verse ups the HD ante, helps launch HBO2 HD
18:40 - And we're off: Twin Cities get first DOCSIS 3.0 deployment
22:00 - Poll: Have you been affected by over-compressed HD feeds?
28:01 - CEA rolls out "Convert Your Mom" DTV campaign
30:02 - PPV movies get 24-hour clock on DirecTV
35:22 - HDPC-20 to be used in DirecTV Media Center beta test
37:57 - Hauppauge HD-PVR shows itself, pre-order said to be coming soon
43:57 - Niveus Movie Library (Beta) now available for download
49:30 - Pioneer European Kuro lineup sign of things to come?
53:16 - Buying an HDTV: Get the latest or Save on 2007?
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Seems like you guys missed the point that some people are frustrated about with DirecTV putting the 24 hour cap on the pay per view recordings. If I record a special event in HD, like a UFC fight, I am paying $50 for that recording. Once this 24 hour cap goes into effect, I will have to go out and buy the DVD of the event if I want to watch it again. UFC fights are not even available on Bluray at this time.
The $50 premium on the price is because you are watching the event live. I shouldn't have to pay again to own this event. IMHO this a totally different scenario when you are talking about getting to permanently keep a movie for far less than it would cost on Bluray.
beertroll,
Don't get us wrong we're not saying it doesn't suck, and you're right we completely forgot about events like UFC. But either way, I'm still surprised they let you record these events at all.
Personally I think that everyone should only be required to buy content once in their life, but the content providers don't see it that way.
So I heard Steve making fun of people whining about screen burn in on plasma and I think you're leaning a little too far into the plasma fanboy corner. You should atleast make fun of LCD fanboys with an honest disclaimer that plasma is not for everyone (namely HTPC users who intend to actually use the set as a monitor for Windows apps). Unless there's some secret anti-burn in technology that all the plasma manufacturers are putting into their sets and neglecting to tell us about, extended use of a plasma with a HTPC still equals a bad idea. I realize that HTPC use is still relatively rare, but I think MOST people are buying these sets with 5 or even 10 years of ownership in mind, and the HT landscape could shift towards a lot of PC integration into the HT environment in that period of time. Fine, yes, the plasma looks better, but it aint perfect for everyone.
You just reduced LCD owners to A/V ignorant (or A/V complacent).
I believe a properly calibrated higher end LCD can look great. I'd bet better than your average plasma. Or a higher end plasma thats uncalibrated (don't think people with money have sense)
I think the LCD we got at walmart makes a PERFECTLY capable floatation device when me and pa go bass fishin'.
I want to comment on the whole vod instant gratification.... I know you guys dont understand why people would like vod. To me the big advantage of the instant services is you can decide to watch a movie that night and get a big listing of everything available and start watching it then and there. I watch on my terms not when netflix decides to deliver me an envelope (its happened a number of times to me where i want to watch a movie that night and all of my movies are on the way back to netflix... this is less of an issue with the 3+ plan but id suspect a vast majority of people do the 2 at a time or less plans which it is a potential issue.)
There is no need to watch commercials to find out about movies (really who watches commercials anymore these days), go to the theater, etc. You get a listing and you choose from it and it starts playing instantly... end of story.
That was the BEST SHOW to date! Thank you Ben for purchasing a media
center and finally and discussing your experiences. I just got a
Blu-Ray drive working in my HTPC and am very excited to listen to your
experience in a future show!
I also would like to hear more about your thoughts on Media Center- what you like about the out of the box experience, what you have done to done to customize Media Center to your liking, and what Third parties/Microsoft could do to make it better. You mention that it's not a CE device. While I have my own thoughts on how VMC is still too computer centric (I find it easier to navigate via keyboard and mouse vs remote control) I would like to hear your thoughts on the experience.
I converted my mom this holiday when I bought her a television. QAM tuners make mom conversion easy if they are on cable.
I think the big reason Ben doesn't get non-premeditated viewing is because he is a movie watcher and not a television watcher. Television watchers are more like to randomly stumble upon shows while movie watchers make it appointment viewing. Of course it is the same reason he doesn't find the value of keeping HBO year around.
Hey guys, touching on the VOD and media extender ideas you have been talking about lately:
I am very new to the HD world, having just gotten a new LCD HDTV and a cable box/DVR. What struck me immediately as I was plugging in the cable from the wall to the box is that all that internet goodness is actually plugged INTO the DVR! Why are we having to go the long way around to get online content onto our nice TV's with media extenders and AppleTV's and streaming and networks, etc? Why can't they just build a modem right into the DVR and make it a seamless unified content source?
I could get Hulu and iTunes and similar download services, IPTV like Revision3 and the plethora of new content coming out, and maybe even a browser if they wanted? Why have to add in the hassle and potential hiccups of multiple pieces of hardware and systems and networking issues when the cable internet content internet content is actually plugged right into a cable DVR to begin with. It seems like something should be able to be done there. And, the cable companies could use this as a marketing tool against the satellites by offering their customers a wider variety of content, including HD content, than the sat's can provide.
Or, with cable cards out there, maybe a Tivo or other third-party manufacturer can make such a unified device.
What do you guys think? Is there something out there that does this that I am not seeing?
Not to get too deep into the lcd vs. plasma debate, but as someone who has yet to buy an HDTV (student loans + startup = poverty), I had a question and perhaps another way of looking at the value of contrast ratio vs. brightness. It seems unequivocally agreed by experts that plasmas offer better PQ. But to do this quasi-scientific, expert method of assessment, I suspect an attempt is made to remove any noise in the viewing environment. But real viewing environments are highly variable and not at all ideal.
For example, let's assume that you do a significant percentage of viewing in a fairly well lit room (watching live TV), a smaller percentage with the lights turned down low but not off (watching a movie), and a miniscule to nil percentage with the lights turned off completely (your favorite movie ever came out on DVD/BluRay and you must watch it with no distractions). This holds true for my house and I suspect also for many families. Given that most of your viewing occurs in a well lit to dimly lit room, is panel brightness more important than the expert analysis may suggest, and contrast less important (since your eyes never fully adjust to let in the full range of shadow detail)? How much higher does contrast really have to be for it to be noticeable in a bright room? It's an honest question, I'd really like to know.
This also gets us back to PQ being in the eyes of the beholder. But instead of it being an issue of the beholder having bad taste or poor perception, it could be that the beholder has made a tasteful decision given his viewing habits. And if you have a problem with his viewing habits, it no longer becomes a debate about technology. Is watching a movie with the lights on also "bad taste"?
hey-- i'd love to see people's home theaters. Maybe a post that showcases reader's setups. I don't make as much money as "too good for economy stimulus package" Ben, but its fun to see what others are living with.
I posted my current setup at avsforum (bottom of page, as locke6854)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=990726&page=6&highlight=acoustech
who's next??
I'd like to know how much it costs Ben to watch a blu-ray movie. This would include power to the 60" plasma, the blu-ray disc player (at least you don't have a PS3), and sound system for say 1.5-2 hrs. I'm guessing it costs you more than you think.
Hi guys,
I've got a few comment about recent shows.
First I'd like to say that I too used to watch CART (Indy Cars) way back when, but I couldn't handle all the yellow flag delays in the races - and when Tony George started a competing league I saw the writing on the wall. I haven't watched it in years and don't miss it whatsoever. I do love watching Formula One, no it's not a lot of on track passing but it is great action. For the best action around check out both World Rally Championship and MotoGP - fantastic stuff for sure. If you can't get them on your TV feed, check www.Racing-Underground.com
Plasma plasma plasma, god I'm going to puke if you guys don't move on to another topic. I think Plasmas look great, however, I do own an LCD (Samsung LN-T4061F) for two simple reasons, I was limited to the width of a TV and this is a narrow tv that fit my needs, and it looks great in my very brightly lit family room. A Plasma TV doesn't fit the bill for either of those two criteria. If I ever convince my wife that I need a quasi-theater I'll definitely get a 60+" Plasma. Just please remember that Plasma may look great in ideal setting, but they're just not the way to go for well lit rooms or for smaller sizes.
Media Center, I went away from an MCE2005 system and switched to a TivoHD and AppleTV in it's place. I love that I'm not a sys admin anymore. I do prefer the MCE single interface for all media, though the AppleTV is far nicer than MCE 2005 in my opinion. I had to change to get HD and didn't want to pay for MCEVista, glad its working out well for you. I'm happy with my TivoHD receiving ATSC signal and AppleTV for everything else - works out well for us.
Cheers,
Randy