rewardingness
[personal]
posted by tom / February 09, 2006 / 
So the G gets an HDTV in her office. We have an HDTV here in the temporary office space, too, but it's kind of a letdown — it's out by the "CyberCafe" (= barstools and a Flavia machine) and is always tuned to CNN. Aside from sipping coffee while pondering what psychological defect could make a normal-seeming woman like Daryn Kagan volunteer to see Rush Limbaugh naked, there's not much entertainment to be had.
Still, the job is not without perks. Today we had to scan some user-submitted letters for objectionable content, which mean we had to make a list of stuff to flag. It's pretty great to be able to say "What about 'cocksucker'?" and have it be greeted as a valuable contribution to the meeting.
Comments
also, i have a flavia machine.
which makes poo-tasting hot water which only slightly resembles coffee.
Where do you get your content for your HDTV? Satellite? Cable? Over-the-air?
More importantly, why do I care?
Ray, I have no idea where we get our office feed from. Probably comcast. But when/if I finally buy an HDTV, I will probably need to pick your brain about how to get tivo for it without paying thousands of dollars. Also, all this 720p/1080i bullshit confuses me. What resolution are current-gen DVD players? Does progressive scan just mean 720p?
And G, don't hate my beloved Flavia. It may not make very good coffee, but it not-makes it AUTOMATICALLY. Which is pretty awesome.
Also: did you know there are several screens' worth of menu options? Including, but not limited to, "Choccoccino"? Not that Choccoccino is very good, but it's hidden and therefore awesome.
A former colleague of mine once worked on a product that did content filtering for objectionable words, and ended up drawing the short straw and having to meet with the (inexplicably) German consultant hired to draw up the list of words to block. He spent a very uncomfortable hour with her in a conference room, while she went down a list of proposed bad words.
Our favorite part, when he'd retell the anecdote was when he'd quote, in a German accent: "Look at this word: dong-gobbler? What a filthy word! Dong-gobbler."
Some DVDs put out 420p (that's 420 lines of progressive scan) which is NOT HD. There are currently no HD-DVD/Blu-ray movies available since there are no current HD-DVD/Blu-ray players (unless you're some kind of magical electronics guru or gadget nut shelling out with kidney). HD (or high-def for those not following) comes in 3 flavors: 720p, 1080i, 1080p. These define the number of horizonal lines on the screen at any given time.
p = progressive
i = interlaced
G, are you paying attention to all this? There'll be a test on Monday.
420 should read 480... for some reason I had 480 and 720 jumbled in my head. Call it HDyslexia.
i'm totally freaking out.
Warning: long, nerdiness ahead...
To expound upon Tomas's comments on progressive and interlaced scan:
Think of it like painting a wooden house.
Progressive players/TVs paint every horizontal board all the way done, all at once.
Interlaced players/TVs paint every other horizontal board, then come back to the top and paint the in-between boards they "missed" the first time.
Of course, all this painting happens extremely quickly (usually 30 frames per second [which, as an aside creates a problem when transferring movies shot on film, which are usually 24 frames per second; this topic may be covered in detail in a later, nerdier post]).
In theory, then, progressive is "better" because all the lines are there all the time. In reality, both 1080i and 720p look really fucking good (technical term, that is).
Technical mumbo jumbo aside, that's really all you need to know. Oh, and which HD sources are offered in your area, so you know what you'll be plugging into.
***
I asked about the source, because I was wondering if you guys are watching an true HD signal or not. Mostly so I could be jealous.
Beth and I have a swanky Samsung HDTV. But the only true HD content available in Charlottesville is our free, local, over-the-air NBC affiliate (and, on rare occasions, an PBS signal from o'er the mountain [Jim Lehrer in 1080i = hot!!!]). Adelphia currently offers no HD cable option. Backwards fucks.
But, man oh man, our local weather report looks amazing. And I don't think Beth really cares that American Idol is appearing in inferior 480i (at best).
gotcha. yeah, as a computer graphics nerd I'm down with the interlaced/progressive distinction. It's just a question of what sources offer what resolution(s).
And thanks for the info, Tomas. I didn't even realize that 1080p existed.
As long as I'm tying up our corporate bandwith here, I should try to make us some bucks:
Tomas is mostly right -- there are currently no HD DVD players that you can take home. But you can go on backorder. Sign up today!
Also, there are no current sources of 1080p (though many TVs will upconvert if you use the right cables). But the Rumor mill says Playstation 3 will do it. Blu-Ray, too. (Touché, HD DVD!).
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