The long - hyped digital convergence of home media is at long last under way . Digital TV is the key to bringing this unification to your own home . In this excerption , I briefly explicate how to fetch your boob tube - base and electronic computer - based systems together in gross concord .
Consider an A/V Receiver
Instead of attaching all your sound and video inputs to the dissimilar connectors on your DTV set , or daisy - chaining them in a potentially signaling - degrading sequence from one machine to another , you’re able to buy an A / V receiving system to act as the hub of your home base amusement connection . All your sources ( DVD , VCR , cable or artificial satellite box , CD player ) go into the A / pentad receiving system and back out to your DTV monitor and speakers . Almost all HTIB packages include an A / V receiver . Some A / V recipient includeambience processing , a chip of digital trickery to provide false environs effects to medicine cd .
Here are some pros and cons to using an A / V receiver :
•Pros : Stronger signal , cleaner connection , fewer remote controls , and logical decryption of surround speech sound . Some home - theater experts claim you should n’t attempt to addict up surround speaker without an A / atomic number 23 recipient to route signaling to them , even if your DTV set or DVD participant has separate surround - speaker electric receptacle .
•Cons : Less flexibility . It ’s an extra disbursal ( $ 200-$1,000 for some current model ) you might not absolutely require , particularly if you ’re only using two talker .
Consider a DVD Player
Until either Blu - ray or HD - videodisk players and disk find more consumer acceptance , today ’s DVDs are the best tangible source of video you may get . The tens of thousands of DVD title of respect exhaust in the past nine age ( yes , it ’s only been that long ) will still play on your DTV geartrain , peculiarly in widescreen and surround sound , and will await crisper and more elaborate than they ever did on an analog boob tube .
appear for the following features in current players :
Consider a DVD Recorder
Most plate computers these days have built - in DVD drive . Some of them can record discs , some can only play them , and some can record to regular CDs but not to DVDs . If your data processor does n’t let in a DVD recorder , get an external one . you’re able to also get a videodisk vertical flute that ’s made to attach to a TV , but a videodisc recording machine that attach to a computing equipment is far more utilitarian .
Everyone reading this book should have a DVD fipple pipe — not only to burn up backup man of your movies , but also — in some cases — to burn up regular backups of your computer datum . As even mid - price laptop now have hard drives bearing 30 GB or more , plunk for those gig up to certificate of deposit has become too tedious for many users to perform as regularly as they should . A videodisc recorder can record those 30 GB on as few as seven disk , each of which can get burned in as little as seven minutes look on the disc and vertical flute used ; the older candle - R technology needs as many as 40 record to hold the same data .
DVD recorders come in three main flavors — DVD - gas constant and DVD+R ( two rival recording system ) , and DVD±R ( which can put down and play both systems ) . DVD - R machines ca n’t record to DVD+R blank discs and frailty versa ; a DVD±R machine can enter to both disc types .
The software program supply with your videodisc record-keeper probably wo n’t work with copy - protect discs . You ’ll require a “ ripping ” program , to transfer the datum from a protect videodisk into an unprotected version you could then sting to a DVD - R. Ripping package for Mac OS and Windows can be found via a search locomotive .
Why you should back up your DVDs : I ’m play off to the commercial piracy of movies . But I ’m strongly in party favor of the right wing of consumers to make backup copies of the videodisc they own . These disk are , despite advances in manufacture , still capable to breaking , scratch , and simple overuse . You not only should have the legal right hand to conserve your investing by take in backup discs , you should do so .
Consider a Digital Video Recorder
Digital video recording recorders ( often abbreviated as DVRs ; also known as personal video recorders , or PVRs ) are the main way to show high-definition television fare , and the best way to time shift DTV wake , so you may follow your favorite show when you want to , not when they are send .
TiVomay be the first famous DVR sword , but it ’s not the only one . Its contender now let in many cable system and orbiter providers , who progressively offer DVRs built into their set - top boxes . If you use a cable or satellite company ’s DVR , it ’s an extra few vaulting horse on your monthly bill . If you utilize TiVo or a similar freestanding mathematical product , you have to bribe the box and also pay a monthly fee to relate to its electronic syllabus guide , or EPG .
DVRs are basically special computers . They record to , and play back from , internal hard drives . Some cable television fellowship models store distribution channel and schedule selective information in RAM ; if one of these DVRs recede power , its plan information is turn a loss and has to be mechanically redownloaded , but the appearance recorded to its hard drive remain .
A serial publication of compass point - and - clicks on your distant control guide you through the EPG ’s constantly update menu of upcoming shows , allowing you to promptly plant up next recordings days in advancement .
The vantage of using a DVR alternatively of a videocassette fipple pipe ( videocassette recorder ) to memorialize and play back TV show include having full digital quality ( including HDTV on some good example ) and enjoy easier programming , recording , and playback . However , a DVR ’s interior hard drive has a finite amount of space , and it takes know - how and equipment to move show from a DVR to anything except old - fashioned VHS tapeline .
Consider a D-VHS Recorder
One other way to record DTV and high-definition television material , D - VHS , is a digital form on the previous - fashioned VHS videocassette . ( Both organisation were originally developed by JVC . ) It can show up to 4 hour of high-definition television on one taping cassette , or 24 minute of received - definition video .
Consumer D - VHS recorders are rare , as are prerecorded D - VHS movies . ( D - VHS tapes wo n’t play on standard VHS machines , but regular VHS tape recording will play on D - VHS machines . ) you’re able to grease one’s palms D - VHS motorcar , and blank and prerecorded tape measure fromDVHSmovie.com .
Consider an HDV Camcorder
desire to make your own HDTV?SonyandCanonoffer consumer high-pitched - definition video ( HDV ) camcorders , starting at about $ 1,000 . They enter to standard Mini - DV tape recording cassette , which harbor up to an hour of footage in HD style . you may edit their output on your computer by using package such as Apple ’s iMovie HD . ( You postulate more information processing system processing power and a lot more strong - drive outer space to delete HDV than to edit standard digital video recording . )
Want better lenses and other advanced features ? Sony , Canon , Panasonic , and JVC presently sell “ pro - sumer ” ( gamey - end consumer or scummy - closing professional ) HDV camcorders , at prices ranging from $ 2,000 to $ 6,000 . To keep up with developments in this country , check into outHDVideoGuys.comandcamcorderinfo.com .
Consider a Game Console
Increasingly , people these mean solar day use TV screens more to play video games than to watch television set shows . A DTV monitor lizard makes the graphics shinier , the explosion louder , and the whole gaming experience more intense . An HD - able proctor does the same , on an even higher horizontal surface , especially for plot software and ironware that supports HD .
Sony ’s new PlayStation 3 and Microsoft ’s Xbox 360 can show secret plan artwork in HD : Sony includes a make - in Blue - irradiation DVD private road in the PlayStation 3 ; Microsoft offers an HD - DVD movement as an optional accessory for Xbox 360 . Nintendo ’s Modern Wii cabinet system , Wii ( pronounced “ wee , ” and antecedently codification - advert Revolution ) , lacks HD capabilities .
A honorable comparison of the consoles is atUSA Today .
Consider a Universal Remote
With all these gadget feed datum into and out of your DTV circle , you could collect a half - dozen or more distant control condition . rather or subsequently , you or a family memberwillget perturbed that the videodisc remote wo n’t change cable channels , the cable remote wo n’t sprain on DVD subtitles , the telecasting remote control wo n’t play back a DVR recording , and all of them can mute the sound ( but only the remote control that was used to take the audio away will bring it back ) . That ’s when you might want auniversal remote , a unmarried twist that you could programme to control all these component and more .
The cheap drugstore - example universal remote are still around , and still mold . But now , you could buy a fancy gamy - destruction model with a lit - up liquid crystal display touch screens ( a capital convenience in a darkened base theater ) . These can cost $ 350 or more , perhaps more than your sure-enough analog TV.Remote Centralmaintains an on-going body of review and product announcements .
Use Your TV as a Computer Monitor
As anyone old enough to have used a Commodore 64 home computer can differentiate you , analog video sets made lousy computer monitors . But digital ( and especially HD ) television sets make proficient computer monitors . Indeed , some HD and HD - quick set share the same ironware intestine as computer monitor .
you could at least pretend that your giant - blind DTV purchase was a productivity investment by now and then using it with your computer for digital - camera slideshows ; teleconference ; computing machine - based gambling ; PowerPoint presentation ; digital - camcorder home movies ; and , perhaps most importantly , downloaded euphony . ( pilfer the power of iTunes to those 5.1 speakers ! )
And while you ’re at it , you’re able to also institute material from your TV ( or rather , from your place - top box ) to your computer . With enough computing mightiness and hard - parkway space , you may commemorate DTV programming to your knockout drive or to a DVD - R ( though you ’ll want to use an intensive compression system , such as DivX or MPEG-4 , to store more than half an hour of HDTV on a unmarried - bed DVD R ) . And with a deluxe computer varan , such asApple ’s Cinema Display series , you might not even postulate a freestanding TV .
One way to ensure you may do this is to get a set that ’s equipped with UPnP ( Universal Plug and Play ) , a networking technology support by ( among others ) Philips , Samsung , LG , Toshiba , Sharp , Sony , Thomson / RCA , Hewlett - Packard , Microsoft , and Intel .
Computer / DTV connection systems for the Mac admit the following : Elgato’sEyeTV family of software and computer hardware ( include EyeHome and EyeConnect ) andMiglia’sTVMini and TVBook Pro DVRs process your image , sounds , and information for yield to or input signal from any DTV or monitor that suffer UPnP measure . Apple has announced its own gadget , to be usable in early 2007 and computer code - named “ iTV , ” to perform similar functions .
To hook a Mac to a DTV , join the devices using a VGA or DVI cable television , depend on which input port your DTV offering . ( Use DVI if you have both porthole , and both are every bit easy , because DVI is a more forward-looking standard . ) If necessary , you could grease one’s palms an cheap adapter to assist make the connection ; for deterrent example you might buy an adapter to convert an older Mac ’s ADC port to output to DVI .
Get DTV Content from Your Computer
Eventually , some estimator diligence pundits claim , we ’ll get all our multimedia content through the cyberspace . presently , many Web site offer video stream and clips ; most of these magazine are so small and crushed - res that you might as well view them on your calculator screen .
The availability of digital TV on the Internet has been slowly increasing , and not just due to BitTorrent and other data file - share-out systems . A few web web site offer feature moving-picture show , TV sequence , and short subjects as video recording - on - demand ( VOD ) products — and these site may charge for them , or charge for premium content .
To download video from the Internet , you need a loyal broadband connexion . Expect only SDTV picture quality at best ( belike less ) . Be forewarn that some VOD purchases give you access for a limited amount of time or act of showing before the downloaded files become unserviceable .
In October 2005,Apple began sell video recording downloads(for Mac and Windows ) at the iTunes Music Store . The selection has grown to let in hundreds of TV episodes and clips from ABC , NBC , and several cablegram duct , plus short films , motion picture trailers , and classic Disney animated cartoon shorts . Apple ab initio offer these telecasting downloads at the rather modest size of 320 - by-240 pixels , a sizing that work nicely on Apple ’s video iPod , though it play on computer screens as well .
In September 2006 , Apple added feature film , and declamatory - format downloads of short and TV instalment , to its rename iTunes Store . Thus far , the store ’s feature films are all from Disney . Apple claims “ near - videodisk quality ” in its current picture downloads .
[ Clark Humphrey is editor of theBelltown Messenger , a Seattle paper , as well as a former staff author forThe StrangerandThe Comics Journal . He wrote , among other things , the 1995 bookLoser : The material Seattle Music Story ; his latest Bible isTake Control of Digital TV(TidBits Electronic Publishing , 2006 ) . ]
