Not Such Deep Thoughts; Special Worst to First Edition

It’s that time again; the old brain pan is full to bursting with random thoughts and opinions, and it’s time to spew forth and relieve the pressure. I will now proceed to entangle the entire area.

What better way to start than with; How ‘bout them Red Sox?

Wow, from worst to first, and could these guys be any more likeable? In the words of the ubiquitous Bob, I doubt it. I was pretty down on them the last time I did one of these rambling pieces, and I speculated that there was only one way for them to get back into our good graces. Read for yourself:

Not Such Deep Thoughts – Freaky February Edition

“Spring Training is cranking up, and the question on all good Sox fan’s minds is; can they pull their nards out of the fire? The team has pretty much self-imploded and it appears that things can’t get much worse, so that’s something to hang your hat on. But how they fare in the standings this year is of less importance to me than how they act and play. As long as they give it 100%, I’m behind them. Any less and I’ll be turning them off.

Note to Red Sox; forget the fancy demographic studies and bringing in high paid mercenaries. If you want a successful and embraceable team, start with the basics; hard working players with integrity and a love of the game, add in a little inspirational leadership, mix well and bake for approximately 180 days. It’s a no fail recipe.”

I guess great minds think alike, and I’m convinced that Ben Cherington has a pretty great mind. I’m almost tempted to think he may have been much of the reason behind Theo’s initial success here. Almost. Same with John Farrell and Tito, but no one does it alone. There was a brain trust in those heady days, and although Theo was a bright guy, it was group think, strong leadership, and team camaraderie that turned the tide and made the Sox the team of the new millennium, and it took the same mix to bring them back from the dead. Success can be the great spoiler though, as we’ve seen, and I hope they remember that. There’s no telling how they’ll fare in the post season, but for now, I’m happy, and I have high hopes, finally. Go Sox!

While we’re on the subject of sports; how ‘bout them Patriots?

3 and 0 to start out the season, but a shakier start I don’t think I’ve ever seen. Tom has looked downright un-Brady like, but I blame a lot of that on his lack of receivers. With a timing offense, you’re either all on the same page, or you’re looking bad and getting beat.

It’s been the perfect storm as far as Pat’s receivers go; they lose Wes to the Broncos (for the life of me I still can’t figure that one out), Gronk can’t seem to shake his injuries, and then you have the whole Hernandez thing. Sheesh, what a mess. They pick up Amendola and the promising rookie TE Sudfeld in the off season, and they both go down. Who does that leave? Edelman, Hoo-Man and a couple of rookies. Sudfeld came back for game 3, but he wasn’t much of a factor.

The defense has been the only bright light so far, and has been keeping them in the games. Although it’s tough to watch, it may be a good thing. In previous years, Brady has carried the team on his back, running up the score. Problem was, the D wasn’t very good and a lot of teams were hanging in there, matching them point for point. When they’d hit a team with a tough D, one that could stymie their high powered offense, they’d invariably lose. The Giants and Ravens, for example. I think a few ugly wins courtesy of a tough D bodes well. When the Offense gets it together, and they will, the Pats just might have the whole package. They certainly looked a hell of a lot better in the second half of the Tampa game. Brady started to click with the 2 rookie WR’s, Thompkins and Dobson, and they got some good production from their platoon of running backs. They looked sharp and crisp for the first time since camp.

Gronk will be back, and Sudfeld will find his stride again, and both will draw coverage and take some pressure off of the wide receivers. I see good things in the future, time will tell. For now, let’s just say they’re a really lucky 3 and 0.

OK, time to talk some tech. File this one under; ooh, shiny…

The new iPhones are here, and “ooh, shiny” is really all you can say about them. The 5c is basically just like the 5, only it’s composed of cheap plastic and comes in a variety of gaudy colors. The 5s has a faster processor, a fingerprint reader, and is now available in gold, silver and graphite. Both models have slightly better cameras, the 5s in particular, and both come preloaded with iOS7, but that’s about it.

iOS7 is being pushed down to the iPhone 4 and 5 also, so there’s really no big advantage there. There won’t be as many features available when you run it on a 4 or 5, but that’s hardly a reason to sleep on the sidewalk, people. And you never want to be an early adopter when it comes to a major iOS upgrade.

Never.

Ever.

Here’s the thing, if these were really new models, they’d be the iPhone 6 and 6c, but they’re not. 'Nuff said.

As for waiting in line to get one… OMG, please, these aren’t in limited supply, little children in China are cranking these out by the boatload as we speak. Whenever I see a news videos of someone coming out of an Apple store holding a new iPhone over their head in victory, my first thought is; there’s a sucker born every minute, and my next thought is; I bet I could sell them some really expensive accessories…

Speaking of tech, file this one under; the times they are a changin’.

Home entertainment has changed so much in recent years. Music has branched out from physical to digital mediums, allowing us to carry our entire music libraries with us wherever we go. Same with print. I can move seamlessly from my eReader to my smart phone to my PC, and always be on the right page. TV has gone High Def. The sets have gotten both larger and thinner, you can hang them on the wall like art, and there are literally hundreds of channels to choose from. Between the DVR, Video on Demand, the Internet and devices like Apple TV, it’s no longer necessary to watch on the network’s schedule anymore; it’s now possible to watch whatever you want whenever and wherever you like. Growing up in the Record Player, 3 channel TV generation, these are unimaginable advances.

Now I’m not telling you anything that you’re not already aware of here, but what’s truly amazing to me is that these changes have occurred in such a short period of time.

Digital technology makes all these things possible, and more. How cool is it that we no longer need film for our cameras? Way cool, and the list goes on and on. Why are things developing so quickly? I think in part it’s because we’ve hit a point where the workforce is largely comprised of people who have grown up immersed in 1’s and 0’s, never known a world without them. They don’t need to struggle to understand and accept the new technologies like my generation does, and consequently they see some things more clearly. Some things.

Anyway, it’s got me wondering what new technological advances we’ll see in the next 10 or 20 years, and I think we’re in for a mind blowing ride. Forget about 3D, I’m looking forward to the day when I can convert my man cave into a holodeck. Talk about getting into the game... that would be the ultimate.

Alright, that’s enough for now, but before I go, I’ll leave you with this; I saw a video of Louis CK on Conan titled “Everything's amazing nobody's happy” that’s worth watching. Pretty much sums up how we all tend to take amazing things for granted these days. Don’t.

That is all.

The Place To Be This Black Friday:

Home, in your fuzzy slippers.

Here’s the deal; there’s this thing called the interwebs, and you can get great deals with just the click of a button in the comfort of your own home, wearing your PJ’s and fuzzy slippers, no less.

All while chewing on a leftover drumstick.

It’s amazing!

Or, you can stand outside all night in the freezing cold, only to take part in an out of control stampede for a couple of loss leader items.

Hmmm…

Seriously, Cyber Monday has been slowly spreading its wings, and the online deals are now available as early as Thanksgiving Day, just like in the brick and mortar stores.

We’ve gotten some tremendous deals online the last few Black Fridays, and the one time in recent memory we ventured out, it was to Paul’s TV inside Jordan’s Furniture. Great TV, great price, no lines, and the new TV and stand were delivered and set up, for free, before the day was done. Nice

So, if you can’t stay home, pick your spots.

That is all.

Turn Your Laptop Into An HDTV

The Hauppauge WinTV- HVR 850 USB HDTV Adapter will turn your laptop into an HDTV with DVR functionality.

Back when my little 5” battery operated TV was rendered useless by the digital changeover, I started looking around for an alternative. There were very few digital portables on the market then, all in the 5 to 7” range. They started around $130 and went up from there, and that was more than I wanted to pay just for the security of having a way to catch the news in the event of a power outage. Then I found this bad boy that allows me to turn my 14” widescreen laptop into an HDTV with a 4 hour rechargeable battery, all for around $50. I jumped on it.

The Win-TV-HVR 850 receives both NTSC analog and ATSC HD digital over-the-air broadcasts, and also has an optional A/V input, and it comes with a USB extender cable and a remote antenna. The extender cable is great because you really don’t want a USB device that has a cable attached to it plugged directly into your laptop, it’s too easy to hit the cable and cause the USB adaptor to damage the port.

Setup was a breeze. It comes with its own tuner and DVR software, but it also will integrate seamlessly with the Windows Media Center application. Note: if your laptop has the Media Center app, don’t install the drivers that come on the included CD. Instead, go here and click on the Windows Media Center Install tab for the correct driver installation package.

Once the install is complete, reboot and then fire up Media Center. It will ask you if you want to scan for available signals, which you do, but before you do, you want to be sure you’re connected to a really decent set of rabbit ears, preferably powered, instead of the included remote antenna. The reason for this is so that Media Center will find and store the bulk of available channels. In my area it found about 20, as most stations broadcast multiple digital signals, ie: 7-1, 7-2. Once it’s found and stored the channels, the included antenna or a non powered set of bunny ears will work fine, although will need to be fiddled with on a channel by channel basis. That isn’t a big deal in the event of a power outage, but if you’re using it as a supplemental TV, say pool side for instance, or if your cable goes out, you’ll want to stick with the powered antenna. It’s much less work, as you can usually find a position and power setting that allows you to receive most of the channels without fiddling and diddling.

The picture quality is awesome, and over-the-air digital broadcasts include a wealth of program information which rivals the guide info available on cable. Both the included software and Media Center also have easy to use DVR features, which is pretty cool. Remember, it is a graphics and CPU intensive application, so for optimal usage you don't want to be doing too much else on your PC. Recommended minimum requirements are a 2.2 GHz Intel® P4 or 1.8 GHz Centrino processor or equivalent, with at least 64 MB of graphics memory. I’ve found that I can perform most functions on my laptop while having a small TV window open without problem, but if you’ve got an older laptop that only marginally meets the requirements, then you might have some trouble multitasking.

It also comes in both a 950Q and 1500 model for around $99. The only major difference with the 950 is that it comes with a remote. My desktop came with a Media Center remote that works on my laptop, plus if I’m using it, I’m usually pretty close to the laptop, so it’s not an issue for me. The 1500 however, has a twist; it docks to the laptop via an Expresscard/54 slot. While not all laptops have them, it is a pretty good option from a performance standpoint. Lastly, there’s the 1950 model, which retails for around $150. It’s a standalone unit about the size of an iPod dock that connects via USB, and it has an on-board MPEG-2 encoder, which allows your PC to run smoother while recording. All nice choices, but for my intended usage, and because of the $49 price point, I went with the 850.

Bottom line; the Hauppauge WinTV - HVR 850 USB HDTV is a great performer at a great value, and a much better solution for life's little emergencies than buying an overpriced handheld digital TV.


That is all.

Not Such Deep Thoughts: Countdown To Christmas Edition

From the Christmas can be dangerous department; This year I only whacked my head once getting the tree and ornaments out of the attic. As I was climbing down with the last load I was thinking that I had gotten out of it a little too easily this year, and sure enough, my load suddenly shifted and a large storage container of breakable ornaments started a slow slide off the top of the pile. Supporting the other container with my knee as I wobbled precariously on one leg on the drop down stairs, I snatched the escaping container before it dropped, and consequently smashed the back of my hand on the metal hinges. Although the knuckles bruised and the back of my hand has swollen up considerably, I still considered it a small victory. I usually end up sporting a bloody gash on my head at Christmas, so a gnarly hand is nothin, I can just keep it in my pocket. Plus, I didn’t smash all the ornaments. Win, win!


Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses are my new holiday favorites. Little crispy chunks of candy canes in them. Mmmm.


The best bang for your buck gift this year is LCD Televisions in the 32 to 46” range. You can find top of the line sets like Samsung, Sharp and Sony on sale from $300 to $800. The Samsung LN46C630 has been on sale for as low as $750, that’s just slightly more than half of what I paid for my 32” 2 years ago. Not bad. I know it’s late to still be shopping for big gifts, but if Santa were to leave you a few gift cards or some of the long green, you might want to think about it. Do your homework first though, cuz if you find a good price online, most places will match it. Also, keep in mind that some places (like Paul’s TV) will deliver and set the TV up, same day, for free. See, there are some good things about a bad economy!


Speaking of bang for your buck, if you’re looking for something less expensive that will still put a smile on your geek’s face, check out both the Roku Box and Apple TV. For under $100, you can stream movies, photos and music from the internet to your TV. The Roku comes in 3 flavors, HD ($59), XD ($79) and XDS ($99). I recommend the XDS, it delivers a 1080p picture, has better WiFi and a wider variety of outputs. You’ll need the additional optical audio output if you listen to your music or home theater soundtrack through a separate stereo system. There’s also the Apple TV device, which is very comparable and similarly priced at $99. It only outputs a 720p picture, but it also has an optical audio out. More importantly, if you’re already an iTunes centric household, this is the device you want. When you turn it on, it will automatically seek out and connect to any iTunes library on your network. How cool is that? It’s chilly, Willy.


And while we’re on the subject of gifts, unexpected ones are always the best. I was tense and uptight yesterday on my way to the mall. Work kept calling, even though I’m out on PTO, the traffic sucked, and I was way behind the curve in the Christmas shopping department. All my troubles melted away though when the CD I was listening to ended and I switched over to the radio. Who would have thought that a straight arrow, no nonsense kind of guy like Rex Ryan would be posting foot fetish videos on the interwebs. For the rest of the afternoon I chuckled every time I thought of him saying “Those are nice feet, Ma’am, would you mind if I smell them?” Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a “whatever floats your boat” kind of guy, but when you’re in the public eye as much as Rex is, you have to be a real dope to post videos of yourself and your wife on an internet fetish site. Oh wait, that’s a redundant statement, isn’t it? Well, as they say, if the shoe fits, smell wear it…


Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses are no longer my favorites. I’m really likin’ these cherry filled ones.


My favorite holiday albums are “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Two very different sounds, but both are great in their own right. Phil’s “wall of sound” production is a masterpiece, featuring Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector and The Ronnettes and a cast of literally thousands, infusing some old favorites with his pulsing trademark sound. Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is a must have for your collection and shouldn’t be dismissed as a silly cartoon soundtrack. The man was a true genius, and his piano work floats and soars through each track against a backdrop of incredible jazz bass and percussion. The recording quality is fantastic, to boot. When I listen to it, it feels as if each note reaches in and gently massages the stress centers of my brain.


How about those Patriots? Man, what a surprising turnaround. When they traded Moss I said we’d probably look back on this trade as the moment this year’s team jelled, and it looks like I was right. I love being right. Why did it make such a difference? Because Tom was always trying to force it in to him. Now he has to look to his other receivers, and he’s got quite the bunch. Branch is back in a big way, and Welker is as dependable as always. Add in the rookie tight ends Hernandez and Gronkowski, plus the slippery little Woodhead, and you have a stable full of sure handed overachievers. How do you defend against that? Blitzing is pretty much the sure bet, but with Mankins back, and these big tight ends, it’s not so easy. And if they do get beat, Brady has a bunch of options for the quick out. I love this team.


Update; these caramel filled kisses are pretty good too!


Speaking of sports, another great and unexpected holiday gift came from the Sox, in the form of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Good acquisitions for the team, and for the Sox’ bottom line; TV ratings and shirt sales had been trending downward, they needed fresh meat.


On a somber note, I haven’t seen our resident bunny in a while, but I have seen a very large fox. The other night I was out doing the trash and he trotted right by me, not more than 10 feet away. He wasn’t the least bit afraid, which leads me to believe he was hungry and on the hunt. My wife wants me to start bringing my cell phone out with me at night. I can see it now, me trying to dial with one hand with a fox clamped on the other. Yeah, right. I have a better idea. I bring out my short trenching shovel. If old Freddy Fox gets within arms reach, I’m gonna El Kabong him into next Christmas. KABONG!


Never mind the caramel filled kisses, these white and dark chocolate swirled ones are… Oh Sh*t! I think I just ate all of the candy for the stockings! My wife is gonna beat me with a stick, or my trenching tool!

I guess I’m not done Christmas shopping after all. Anything open on Christmas Eve?


Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Verizon FiOS Set Top Box Issues

Firmware download hoses up HDMI port

Verizon pushed down a firmware upgrade for their set top boxes on December 1st, and for the last week anytime you hit the guide function you were forced to see a message touting the new interactive services that the upgrade was enabling. You then needed to hit the OK key to proceed to the program guide, which was a pain, but a relatively small pain compared to the real problems that the upgrade caused for me.

Since the upgrade, my Motorola HD QIP 7000 set top box power cycles constantly when I try to shut it off. It wouldn’t be so bad if the box wasn’t in the bedroom, but it is.

The first night I noticed it, I had fallen asleep with the TV's sleep timer on, only to be awakened by a “Click”. At first I thought it was the TV turning off at the predetermined time, but it kept happening. Click, pause, Click, pause, Click, pause, over and over and over. It was very annoying.

I finally got up, flipped on the lights, and watched as the box first turned on, Click, then cycled through a couple of error code screens (8888 followed by ----), briefly showed the channel display, then… Click, shut itself off, only to repeat the process in an endless cycle. I had to unplug the darn thing so that I could finally get some sleep.

Next day I called Verizon and as soon as I mentioned the 8888/---- error codes, they knew what the problem was. Seems the new firmware update they’re so proud of breaks the HDMI port. When the QIP 7000 is connected via HDMI cable to a TV, and the TV is switched off, the box takes leave of its senses. Everything is fine as long as the TV is on, but once you shut it off, the box starts cycling. Sure enough, when I unplugged the HDMI cable from the TV, the box fell silent.

The good news is, they know what the problem is.

The bad news is, they don’t have a fix for it yet.

Until they do, you need to switch over to a set of component cables. You can also use coax or composite cables, but only component and HDMI give you a Hi Def signal on these boxes. The tech support person apologized for the inconvenience and promised to overnight me a set of composite cables. He also said that once the problem was fixed and I switched back to HDMI, I could hang on to the component cables, compliments of Verizon. Wowzers, such a deal…

Before I hung up, I asked how they were going to notify me when the problem was fixed. I got put on hold for a minute, and when the tech returned he informed me that I wouldn’t, I should just check and see if the HDMI cable works every once in a while. Nice.

I should mention that I haven’t had any problems with my HD DVR QIP 7216 downstairs; it works fine, HDMI connection and all. This problem seems to be strictly limited to the HD QIP 7000 model, although there’s also a possibility that the problem is with specific types of TV’s. I’ve got the 7000 connected to a 1 year old Vizio and the 7216 connected to a 3 year old Samsung. HDMI connectors and cables are required to be backwards compatible between versions, and the tech never asked me what type of TV I had, so it’s probably not an issue, but you never know. If I get ambitious maybe I’ll try swapping the boxes, just to satisfy my own curiosity.

As soon as the new set of component cables arrived I hooked them up, and the problem is now solved. No more power cycling, and I actually think the picture is a little bit better than it was with the HDMI cable.

How is that possible? Well, it’s hard to explain, but the quality of the picture is determined in large part by how the components (TV and cable box) process the signal being received. There’s a great write up here on the eacoustics forum that explains it better than I can. The quality of the cables also factors in, and the component cables I received today appear to be of much better quality than the HDMI cable they originally gave me.

By the way, while I was waiting impatiently for the arrival of my new component cables, I was unplugging the HDMI cable before I turned things off. It’s a better temporary solution than unplugging the set top box. If you leave the box powered down you’ll not only miss the guide updates, you’ll also miss the fix, when and if they ever send it.

Goodbye Cable, Hello FiOS TV

Verizon rolled out FiOS in our neighborhood a couple of years ago, and we were one of the first to jump on the bandwagon. Our old copper phone lines had gotten almost unusable. Loud static and pops, disappearing dial tone, cross talk from the neighbor’s line, it was ugly, and so was our DSL connection. Verizon had tried to repair our service several times to no avail, and finally admitted that the copper infrastructure in the neighborhood was beyond repair. They offered to cut us over to fiber at no charge, and I readily accepted.

At the time, they still hadn’t rolled out FiOS TV, but I was super happy anyway. I finally had a crystal clear phone line and a constant 5/2 Mbps internet connection to boot.

When they began offering FiOS TV service about a year later, I hesitated, because I would need a box for every connection in my house. PiP on the main set, a Media Center PC, spare bedrooms, yikes… that’s a lot of additional boxes.

There was no way around it, as FiOS is an all digital signal and you need a box to get anything on an analog set. Even on a TV with a built in ATSC/QAM digital tuner you get very little, just the local channels, and in my experimentations the signal seemed to confuse the tuner at times.

So I stuck to cable. Expensive, bad cable, at that. The signal was so weak that I had to install a bidirectional amp, and the cost kept going up. Plus I was paying two different companies. So when cable started putting little love notes in my bill telling me that they were going all digital soon and I would need a box for all of my TV’s, I decided the time was right to jump ship.

Verizon offered me their Triple Play deal if I added the TV service. They’d give me a new and improved wireless router, up my internet speed to 25/15 Mbps (download/upload), “Multi- Room” DVR service, free HBO and Skinamax for 3 months, and knock $30 a month off of my bill for the first 6 months. That’s a pretty hard deal to pass up.

The best part though, is that the overall cost of the three services, voice, internet and TV, is $20 less per month (before the $30 promotional discount!) then I was paying before in total through the two different carriers, plus there’s one less check to write each month, so my wife is lovin’ me (at least for now), and the quality is head and shoulders above the competition.

It’s without a doubt the best picture I’ve ever seen since I began my pay TV odyssey so many years ago. All the TV’s are crystal clear with no preamplification, save from the set top boxes, so I got to retire my little bidirectional digital amplifier. The guide feature is much better, and there’s also all kinds of widgets you can pop on the screen that show you local weather, traffic, news, there’s even a Twitter and Facebook widget so you can post while you watch (be careful with this one, Verizon says that the name of the show you’re watching appears in the post…). You can even program the DVR remotely via the internet.

How does that work, you might ask? Well, Verizon ties a cable run into your router, and all your boxes draw an address from it. Networked STB’s, too cool! They claim that you’ll be able to stream video from your computer to your TV’s very soon also. Sounds a lot like Windows Media Center to me, only without the need to add Microsoft’s “extenders”, or an Xbox. I’m curious to know if they plan on using Media Center as the tool for this, or if they’re working on a third party solution.

So, I have near perfect landline quality, a blazing fast 25 Mbps internet connection, smaaht boxes, an awesome picture, new channels, and I’m saving money to boot. Man, I’m livin’ the geekazoid dream...

If you can get FiOS TV in your area, you should make the switch, you won’t regret it.

And if you can’t,


Haa-Ha!


ahem. sorry. I couldn’t help myself.

That is all.

The Rabbit Ears Report - Revisited

Looks like there have been signal strength problems with WHDH, as well as with other stations nationwide. I sent them a link to my previous post "The Rabbit Ears Report", and they sent back a great explanation of what was going on. Here it is in part:

“WHDH is experiencing signal difficulties following the transition that took place on June 12.

The signal difficulties we are experiencing are a result of post-transition power allocation assigned by the FCC that is not sufficient to maintain the signal strength that we had prior to the transition. We are petitioning the FCC to adjust the technical parameters so that we will be able to improve reception. In the meantime, we will continue to simulcast on Channel 42 (our pre-transition digital channel) so that viewers will be able to receive our signal. We appreciate your patience as we resolve this matter.

Thanks”

Bravo for stepping up and acknowledging problems to your viewers, channel 7, and true to their word, a rescan last night brought back both 7-1 and 7-2.

As a long time technology guy, I know that in any large scale transition there will be unexpected problems. Dealing quickly with those problems and making a “spectacular recovery” is the real measure of success in such a large project.

So, last night’s rescan brought a total reversal of fortune for both 7 and 5, changing my color coded reception chart (black/good, blue/decent, red/difficult) like this:

5-1 WCVB-DT Boston, MA ABC
7-1 WHDH-HD Boston, MA NBC
7-2 WHDH-SD Boston, MA This TV

The rescan also added 9-1, 27-1 and 27-2 to the mix.

There’s a good article about the broadcast power issues on boston.com today, the highlight of which is the “double rescanning” info from the FCC at the very bottom, which recommends that with all the hopping around that the stations are doing right now, you should basically wipe your box by disconnecting the antenna and rescanning, then power cycling it, then hook it back up and do a second rescan.

This is excellent advice that I think I would take a step further by recommending a weekly double rescan until all this shakes out.

The Rabbit Ears Report

Well, they finally pulled the plug on analog broadcasts, and I’ve been ensconced in my little ramshackle pool house ever since, testing and tweaking. Initial reports are good, and I’m now sure of 3 things:

1. I should have cut over sooner.

2. The old rabbit ears with the bow tie UHF add-on work better then the RCA amplified HDTV antenna that I had picked up a while ago.

3. My wife thinks I’m certifiably insane, and has suggested that perhaps I should live out there.

While I’m tempted to take her up on the offer, I’m gonna have to pass for now. No heat, no fridge, no NESN.., no berry.

Ok, time to get down to business. On the antenna front, I truly got much better results with the “stock” rabbit ears that came with the TV. As a matter of fact, the powered RCA imparted a small amount of noise, evident in a slight but annoying screen shimmy that increased as I turned up its gain. Perhaps with a longer cable this wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m limited for space in the old pool house (think walk in closet). I actually considered trying it up on the roof, but then I realized a.) I’d really have a hard time adjusting it, and b.) If I didn’t fall off the roof, I’d probably fall through it, so I gave up and went back to the bunny ears.

Below is my new station list, color coded to indicate the amount of effort involved in getting a clear picture with an indoor antenna. Black indicates little or no manipulation was required. Blue indicates some fiddling and diddling required. Red indicates that you really have to work the antenna to get a glimpse of anything, and what you get isn’t exactly watch-able. Note: this result was after numerous repositions and rescans, you won’t get them all registered on the first pass.

2-1 WGBH-SD Boston, MA PBS
2-2 WGBH-HD Boston, MA PBS
4-1 WBZ-TV Boston, MA CBS
5-1 WCVB-DT Boston, MA ABC
7-1 WHDH-HD Boston, MA NBC
7-2 WHDH-SD Boston, MA This TV
25-1 WFXT-DT Boston, MA FOX
38-1 WSBK-DT Boston, MA Independent
44-1 WGBX-DT Boston, MA PBS
44-2 WGBX-DT Boston, MA PBS World
44-3 WGBX-DT Boston, MA PBS Create
44-4 WGBX-DT Boston, MA PBS Kids
56-1 WLVI-DT Boston, MA CW
66-1 WUTF-DT Marlborough, MA TeleFutura
68-1 WBPX-DT Boston, MA ION
68-2 WBPX-DT Boston, MA qubo
68-3 WBPX-DT Boston, MA IONLife
68-4 WBPX-DT Boston, MA Worship

One oddity I noticed is that when I first tested digital reception last weekend I got 7-1 and 7-2 as clear as a bell, and didn’t get 5-1 at all. This weekend, after the cutover, just the opposite is true. Hmmmm… interesting. Perhaps WHDH hasn’t gone full power yet, or maybe they were already at full power, and other stations are drowning them out now. Oh well, I can live without them for now, but I’m curious to hear what others have found, so be sure to chime in with your own results. I’m sure I’m not the only nut job out there.

At least I hope I’m not…

DTV Transition, T- Minus 5 Days And Counting…

Ok, so it’s finally here… again. This Friday, June 12th (barring any more government intervention), all full power television stations will cease analog broadcasting. This means that if you depend on an antenna for over the air reception, you’re going to need either a TV with a digital (ATSC) tuner, or a digital converter box for your old clunker, if you want to continue to watch your favorite shows.

Hopefully you’ve gotten your ducks in a row by now, but ready or not, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind as the winds of change blow through town this week.

First, even if the change doesn’t affect you, you should make sure that your elderly relatives and neighbors are all set. You know they can’t be missing Vanna, their world might implode, so do your part and help out.

Second, even if you’re already using a digital converter box, your work isn’t done. When the changeover happens you’re going to need to rescan your channels using your converter’s auto scan feature, because the “Great Channel Dance” is about to begin.

After the changeover, most stations will be received on new channel numbers. For instance, WHDH (7NBC) is normally received on channel 7 (analog), or channel 7-1 (digital). Likewise, its sister station WLVI (CW56) can normally be found on channel 56, or 56-1. As of next Friday, WHDH will be found on channel 42, and WLVI on 41. No need to look them all up or stress over it though. Just hit auto scan, and let technology work for you.

That’s about it in a nutshell. If you still need help getting set up, or setting someone else up, or if you’re not sure if the change will effect you, be sure to check out The Switch to All Digital Broadcasting Is Coming, Will My TV Explode? , where we esplains it all, complete with links for converter coupons, plus the skinny on how this will eventually effect cable viewers also.

I’ve had a digital converter for a while now. I got the Winegard RCDT09A as a power failure backup for my portable TV, as it can operate on batteries, and also to use on the old 13” RCA I have in the pool house (How old is it, you ask? Well, I got it at Lechmere Sales, so it’s at least old enough to vote!). This weekend I finally hooked it up out there, and now instead of 4 fuzzy channels and 2 relatively clear ones, I get 16, and they’re all crystal clear. Plus I get cable comparable programming info from the converter’s guide function. So fear not, change is good.

That is all...

until Friday, anyways!

Winegard RCDT09A Battery Operated DTV Converter Box

The February 17th shutoff of analog television signals is rapidly approaching, and one of the few actual casualties of the conversion to digital broadcasting is going to be your battery operated analog TV. The one you depend on when the power goes out.

There are currently only a handful of 7 to 10 inch LCD TVs with ATSC tuners available. They start at around $149, and are backordered on most sites. That’s a little pricey for me, especially when compared to my current 5” Coby set that I paid $20 for at CVS. Hey, it’s good enough to catch the news during a blackout, and that’s all it’s really for. It may seem like a little thing, but in an emergency it’s essential to stay informed.

Well, someone has finally come up with a solution. Winegard has come out with a converter box that has an optional battery pack and a 12v DC converter. It’s the RCDT09A, and although it’s not rated as “best of class”, it is a very serviceable little unit that features analog pass thru and a rudimentary program guide. Check out Cnet’s review here.

According to the manufacturer’s specs, it will run for up to 18 hours on battery power (6 D cell batteries), and it qualifies for the TV converter box coupon program. You can order it at Winegard Direct for $62.99, and the site is set up to credit your $40 coupon at checkout. Cool.

While the Winegard is the perfect solution for emergencies, for a straight up powered device I’d recommend the Zenith DTT901 converter. It rates highly in all categories on ConsumerReports.org, just look down the handy comparison chart for the device with the most dots. It has excellent reception, analog pass thru, easy channel tuning, universal remote and a much better guide.

I plan on using both coupons, one on a Winegard for emergencies, and the other on a Zenith for better reception in non emergency situations, like when the cable goes out and the big game is on. We’ve got a beautiful 27” Sony Wega flat tube analog TV that isn’t going anywhere until it dies of natural causes.

Be sure to check out our DTV transition survival guide for more detailed information on how the changes will affect you, and how you can get your coupons.

Samsung LN19A330 LCD HDTV

The Samsung Series 3 19” LCD HDTV is a great choice if you’re looking for a smaller TV for the kitchen, spare bedroom or office.

The Series 3 is Samsung's entry level, or plain vanilla line, but that’s what you want to look for in a small TV. You want the best quality for the best price, and you usually don’t need a lot of bells and whistles.

The LN19A330 has got the same wide viewing angles (178x178) that the higher series have, the same deep blacks and sharp picture, the same fast response time (No motion blur on Monday Night Football!). The only place it lacks is in the “extras” department. For instance, there’s only 1 HDMI input, no PiP, no memory stick or Ethernet ports, but this is all stuff you can live without if the TV isn’t meant for use in a main viewing area.

It’s an incredibly small and sleek set. Because of the narrow bezel and bottom mounted speakers, it really doesn’t take up much more space than a 15” set, but those few extra inches of screen really make a big difference in viewing pleasure. Also, the good viewing angles are a huge plus that you won’t get in a lot of smaller sets, and it’s an extremely important feature for a TV in a work area like a kitchen, where you’re moving around.

It’s also light, weighing in at just 11.5 lbs., making it easy to move from the kitchen to the patio, or down to Man Town for an extra TV on game day. It’s got an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner, which means you get Hi Def programming with an antenna or cable, both with or without a box, making it even more versatile.

There’s a very comprehensive review of the LN19A330 here on Crutchfield’s website.

While the manufacturers and big box stores are pushing the 40” and above sets, there’s a real need out there among consumers for high quality, lower priced sets. The LN19A330 is regularly priced at $379, but I’ve seen it on sale for as low as $349, so watch the weekly circulars. As the holidays, and the digital deadline approaches, prices will be dropping.

If you’re looking for something just a little bit bigger, but still a great value, check out our review of the Vizio VW26L.

The Switch to All Digital Broadcasting Is Coming, Will My TV Explode?

No, and it won't stop working either, although you might experience some slight discomfort.

I've been getting asked about the switchover a lot lately, and it really points out how little people understand about the change, and how poorly the message is being disseminated.

The whole thing is a bit convoluted, but in a nutshell, on February 17th, 2009 all full-power TV stations have to turn off their analog signal and begin broadcasting in digital only. In theory,this will only affect people who currently get their TV reception via antenna, and they will be able to add a digital converter box to tune in the new digital signals.

Kind of.

See, here's where it gets convoluted. Notice the wording "full-power TV stations". There are also low-power stations out there that will not be switching over to digital. These are community access and educational channels. Here's the FCC's description of Low-Power, Class A and TV Translator stations.

There's also Canadian TV that's received in some of the border states. That won't be changing over to digital just yet either.

So, people who depend on antenna service, and are planning on getting a digital converter box, should look for one that supports "Analog Pass-Through". This will allow you to use the converter to tune in digital broadcasts, or use the TV's tuner to continue receiving analog broadcasts.

The digital changeover may also affect cable subscribers, depending on the system you subscribe to, and here's why:

Right now most cable companies are sending out both digital and analog signals. If you don't have a cable box and plug your cable directly into an analog set, the TV's NTSC (analog) tuner searches out only the analog signals your cable provider is sending you, and displays them on the proper channel. You need a set top box to receive the digital channels.

If you plug that same cable directly into a new set with an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner, you'll get all sorts of channels you didn't know about.That's because the cable companies have already begun the switchover to digital.The NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners in the new sets allow you to tune in both the analog and the digital channels, including some High Def programming, without a set top box. You won't get ESPN or any of the other high end channels in High Def, but you will get all your local affiliates.

QAM tuners are to cable what ATSC tuners are to antenna, they both allow you to receive digital signals. Here's a great explanation of QAM tuners.

Because the analog channels take up more bandwidth than digital, the cable companies need to dump them so that they will be able to send us more digital (both Standard and High Definition) channels. They're not under a mandate to switch, but they will. The only requirement the FCC has imposed on them is that they have to support customers with analog sets for 3 years. Here's the FCC's take on it.

The way they'll do this is to require analog users to purchase or rent a cable version of the digital converter. They've already begun ordering them from suppliers and are well on their way to turning off the analog channels. Check out the story here.

All right, here's the facts you need to know:

Analog TV sets that use an antenna for reception will continue to work after the changeover with a digital converter box. They run about $50 or $60 a piece and you can get two $40 coupons per household to be used towards the purchase at https://www.dtv2009.gov/. Be sure to get a converter box that supports analog pass-through.

Analog TV sets that are hooked up to a cable box will continue to work after the changeover with no issues.

Analog TV sets that are hooked up to cable without a box may continue to work for a while, but will all require some kind of box, sooner rather than later.

Digital TV sets with an antenna will continue to work . They should have an NTSC/ATSC (analog/digital) tuner so that you will be able to pick up any legacy analog stations as well as the new digital ones.

Digital TV sets with cable, with or without a box, will continue to work . To work without a box the set must have an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner.

If you're gonna make the jump to a new TV, always look for a set with an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner. It will give you the most flexibility. Beware of digital monitors, as they don't have any kind of tuner. Be sure to check out our HDTV buying guide on berryjooks.com for more info before you make a purchase.

Bear in mind that not all digital broadcasts are high def. Digital comes in 2 flavors, Standard Definition and High definition. The term digital is only a reference to how the signal is broadcast, not the picture quality, although standard definition is a cleaner signal than analog and will look better.

Also bear in mind that digital signals do not "travel" as well as analog signals, so antenna reception may not be good in your area, even if you were getting great reception of analog signals in the past.

Told you it was convoluted.

The only real casualty of the digital conversion is going to be the small battery operated TV's with analog tuners. Most people buy these little cheapos for power failures or camping, and there are no plans for a battery operated converter box. The FCC suggests getting a generator, I swear. You can read it here.

Stupid advice. If I had a generator, I wouldn't use it to power a converter box and a 5" TV, I'd just switch on one of my LCD's hooked up to rabbit ears. Hopefully, someone will tap into this niche market and release an affordable battery operated LCD with a digital tuner. There's a few out there now, but they're all around $200. It would be nice if the portable DVD player manufacturers would begin incorporating tuners into their products. My Dad used to really depend on his during Florida's hurricane season. Sometimes he would be without power for days.

So, you're either going to need a box or a new TV pretty much any way you look at it.

Here's how I plan to approach it. I have cable, both with and without boxes. I've already replaced two analog TV's with LCD's that have NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners, so they're all set. I won't replace the rest of my sets unless/until they die. For now they'll work fine on cable, and if that changes I plan on using a cable box. There needs to be better and cheaper models in the 20" and below range before I jettison the 20" and 14" flat tube analog TV's in our spare bedroom and workshop. Talk about missing out on a market.

I'm also going to purchase at least 1 digital converter through the coupon program. Sometimes the 14" comes outside with us. If the Sox are on Fox, an antenna will do the trick. It will also come in handy if the cable goes out.

Here's a decent review of whats available now for converters. So far I like the DTVPal the best. It has analog pass-through and a nice program guide, and it's a little sleeker in design than some of the others. I'm going to hold off for a while though, as more will be coming out and the coupons are a 1 shot deal and only good for 90 days.

Minicom - Video over CAT5

I've mentioned these babys before but I had occasion to play with them again this week and I was so pleased with the results that I thought they were worth mentioning again.

The Minicom AVDS system broadcasts audio and video over CAT5 twisted pair wire. They're a Godsend if you have a need to pump audio and video feeds around your business and you don't want to clutter your data network or run coax everywhere. They have a VGA input, 8 RJ45 outputs, a mini audio out and a VGA out for a local monitor. You can also cascade them, like you would with a switch or a hub.

I feed them from a PC with a tuner card and use the existing voice and data infrastructure to plumb the signal to anywhere I've got a voice or data jack (which is pretty much everywhere). On the receiving end, I use a standard Ethernet office cable plugged into a receiver unit, which in turn gets plugged in to a monitor via the VGA and mini out. Voila, TV feeds at the drop of a hat.

The specs on these units calls for CAT5 shielded wire, but I'm a risk taker, so I tried pumping them into my standard CAT5e unshielded wiring, and they worked fine. I'm pushing all eight outputs on one unit varying distances up to 300' and the picture is good enough to show on a 50" plasma. When the company slide show is running the clarity of the picture is unbelievable, and the results when I pump CNN to them is almost as good.

There's a more detailed writeup on how they can be integrated into existing building infrastructure on my website www.berryjooks.com. Go to the Tech Tips page and look for the Video over CAT5 article.

I also use a variation of this at home to send video from my Media Center PC to various TVs. There's a nice hi def version, the DS Vision, that delivers hi def video and stereo audio in the same manner. The biggest plus for me with this method of delivery is that I'm not clogging up my data pipes by streaming video through the switches. I don't care how good your network is, if you can segment out the video without going to great expense, that's huge. Check 'em out.

Vizio VW26L LCD HDTV

OK, I finally bit the bullet and replaced our perfectly good but outrageously large Sony Wega flat tube TV in our bedroom with an LCD HDTV. Don't worry, the Sony has found a new home in one of the spare bedrooms that previously had a 13 inch "whack the side when the brightness drops" TV. I'd never put my beloved Wega out on the street.

I'd been holding off on the TV shuffle for a variety of reasons. First, the deteriorating TV was in a spare room, so it wasn't a priority. Second, I was still relatively happy with my "big baby" Sony flat tube, even though it ate up quite a bit of free space in our bedroom. And lastly, I haven't seen anything in the "can't pass that up" category for LCD HDTV's.

I love the Samsung LCD that I have in my man cave. It's part of the 53H line, which are their top 720p models. I love the picture quality, features and the space saving bottom mounted speakers on these TVs, but I don't love their price. A 19" 53H goes for about $400, a 23" is over $600, a 26" is over $700 and a 32" is over $800. I wanted at least a 26" in the bedroom but I just couldn't see shelling out $700+ for a bedroom TV. Although I would never skimp on our main TV, I'm thrifty (OK, a cheapskate) when it comes to the rest.

All the cheaper makes and models I looked at either lacked the picture quality or the features I desired. I'm constantly checking out the TV "lineups" in the electronics stores, looking for something that has the clarity and color of the big names, but with a smaller price, and lately one manufacturer has caught my eye. Vizio. The picture looks as good if not better side by side with the top of the line Samsungs and Sharps, and while not feature rich, they have a very nice assortment, including bottom mounted speakers so that the TVs don't look as big as most of the others in their size range.

It has a variety of inputs, most notably 2 HDMI's, and the NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners allow you to receive HD signals via antenna as well as digital SD and HD broadcasts via cable, both with and without a box. A little known HD factoid is that you can receive SD digital and some HD digital signals via Comcast cable without a box if you have a QAM tuner. You won't get the high end channels in high def, but you will get PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox in both standard and high definition, so you don't need to go adding cable boxes all over your house. The high def channels register as 7-1, 7-2, etc., just as they would if you were using an HD antenna.

Another feature I like on the Vizios is that when you set the screen width (aspect ratio) on one SD channel, the setting is applied to all of the SD channels. The choices are 16:9, Panoramic and 4:3 for SD channels. 16:9 stretches the picture to fill the screen, giving everything a slightly fatter look. Panoramic stretches just the edges of the picture to fill the screen, giving you a more natural look while still taking advantage of the wide screen. 4:3 gives you that square "regular TV" look that we're all so used to, but is an incredible waste of screen space. On a lot of wide screen HDTV's, SD broadcasts don't look as sharp as they do on a 4:3 set, but the Vizio does a nice job of 2:3 pull-down and the picture is sharp enough to expand to wide screen and still look pretty great.

I settled on the Vizio VW26LHDTV, which Walmart has for $474. It's a lot of TV for under $500. The only short comings with this set are the lack of RCA or optical audio outputs, it has mini stereo only (the larger Vizio sets have multiple audio outs), and the lackluster remote (no back light). These didn't influence my purchase though as my bedroom sound system has a mini stereo input and we've also got a back lit touchscreen universal remote. Gotta have two remotes in the bedroom, his and hers.

So I'm a happy camper. I didn't spend a ton of money, I can watch HD in bed, we gained all kinds of space, and overnight guests will no longer have to whack the TV in the spare room to watch it. Plus, I get to visit with my trusty old Sony whenever I've been bad...