Plasma TV boosts Gateway picture - (42 " HDTV flat-panel display for $3,000)

The San Diego Union Tribune ^ | December 28, 2002 | Bruce V. Bigelow

[bonesmccoy]

I like Plasma technology for direct display. Plasma is brighter and has a larger viewing angle.

If you look at the LCD projection TV's (where the gun is behind the screen), you find large 2001 like rectangular boxes.

LCD projection units for computer display is ok. That has a high resolution built in which is usually 2-3x higher res than NTSC (NTSC is the North American video standard for regular TV).

Step from side to side in front of an LCD projection screen. You will find that the brightness and contrast of the image varies with the viewing angle. When you do the same test with Plasma, no such problem exists (unless you are at extreme angles).

[bonesmccoy]

Re: Simon Campaign-
The regular media TV/Radio types were trying to ignore conservative protestors against the Davis regime. A guy named DennisDavid or DavidDennis (i forget the guy's login name) showed up on this site with homemade newsreports on the Freeping being down to protest Davis' nefarious conduct.

No media outlets were carrying the messages.

But, because of this one guy's heroic attempts to record history in the making, he created the only on-line record of protests against Hillary Clinton/Gray Davis during the recent governor's campaign.

When the media shuts down communication by attempting to set an agenda for us, it is incumbent upon Freepers to simply set into action a mechanism that permits us to ignore the TV/broadcast/print media leftist editors. Before the internet we could not even locate each other to communicate in print. However, now, with the advent of plasma and LCD technologies, the leverage of the ABC/Disney empires is about to crumble.

If we are like Jedi, the Eisner-esque CEO's are the Emperors. We need to overturn their control on our national agenda by using these websites and these technologies to set the agenda for politicians, rather than having our families negatively impacted by corruption in the media and in the politik.

Now, regarding projectors and plasmas, plasma TV is a direct view standard. Projectors are the units that beam out light to a wall.

Phillips discusses their commitment to HDTV and Projection screen TVs at http://www.widescreen.philips.com/ptv.html.

Basically, Phillips strikes me as the Apple Computers of the TV industry.

Plasma is discussed at http://www.widescreen.philips.com/ftv.html

I advocate for http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/images/products/large/A0042073.jpg

The reason I like LCD PC projectors is that Windows Media Technology allows you to view mpegs, avi's, and other PC generated video files. In addition, you can plug in your video signal via RCA cables to the LCD projector.

That lets you view TV in a BIG BIG way.

Precaution: When using LCD projectors for video games like Playstation 2 or XBox, we have noticed that gaming participants feel a bit quesy in first-person shooters. The reason is that you are watching a wall-sized image. You feel like the video game is an IMAX movie and your brain is confused (seeing you walking through a scene but your balance sensors in your middle ear don't feel your body moving).

I had one guy have to quit playing James Bond because of feeling dizzy.

[bonesmccoy]

Great idea... the DVD is usually standard with most laptops these days. People like flying coast to coast with DVD's playing (in blatant attempt to make adjacent first class passengers envious...then battery runs out half way through movie (one hour bat life)).

[bonesmccoy]

Kazaa?

LOL

Mark my words... Hollywood's liberal elite are gonna be the equivalent of silent picture artists in the next few years.

"Singin' in the Rain"

[bonesmccoy]

IN message published by Sharman Networks:

http://www.kazaa.com/us/news/microsoft.htm

Microsoft Using Kazaa as a Marketing Portal
By Jon Healey, Times Staff Writer
LA Times


In early September, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates staged a Hollywood gala to impress the recording and movie industries with his company's latest software for digital music and video, Windows Media 9.

A few weeks later, Microsoft started showing off Windows Media 9 to an audience reviled by the entertainment industry: the Kazaa file-sharing network, where users routinely copy digital songs, films and software free.

Microsoft has picked up the tab to distribute at least two companies' promotional videos on Kazaa in the Windows Media 9 format, representatives of those companies say. The videos not only show off the improved picture quality of Microsoft's latest technology; they also help distribute it. When Kazaa users download and play either video, their Microsoft media player software is automatically upgraded to Windows Media 9.

The dalliance with Kazaa seems risky, given the network's reputation for promoting piracy. But to Microsoft, the projects serve a legitimate purpose: to show the entertainment industry how the anti-piracy features of Windows Media 9 might tame the file-sharing beast.

The videos were put on the Kazaa network by Altnet, a Los Angeles-based company that uses Microsoft's digital-rights-management software to place electronic locks on the songs and videos it distributes. Those locks deter unauthorized copying, enabling companies to take advantage of the virtually free distribution provided by Kazaa without losing the ability to demand payment and limit usage.

"We're really interested in how peer-to-peer networks can be used for the legitimate distribution of content," said Jonathan Usher, director of Microsoft's Windows Media division.

A key question, Usher said, is whether Kazaa users will download an authorized, copy-protected Altnet file instead of songs and videos with no copy protection.

So far, "the number of [authorized] downloads has been pretty promising and actually has been surprisingly high," he said.

Altnet also helps Microsoft compete with other software companies in the burgeoning field of digital audio and video. Microsoft's goal is to make Windows Media the dominant format, but it has been overshadowed on popular file-sharing networks by industry-standard formats, such as MP3 for music. And for online movie trailers, Hollywood studios have favored the QuickTime video format from Apple Computer Inc.

Analyst P.J. McNealy of GartnerG2, a technology research and consulting firm, said Kazaa gives Microsoft a low-cost way to show media companies a variety of benefits that Windows Media 9 offers.

Still, McNealy added, "This smacks of a government wanting to do legitimate business with a known drug dealer.... I'm as surprised at Microsoft wanting to work with Kazaa as Bertelsmann wanting to work with Napster."

Bertelsmann, the global media conglomerate that owns the BMG recording and music-publishing companies, funneled more than $85 million to Napster Inc. before the pioneering file-sharing network shut down. A group of creditors recently sued Bertelsmann, claiming it sustained Napster's copyright infringements.

Paying for Distribution
Microsoft has paid Altnet an undisclosed sum to distribute promotional videos for Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam — a touring extravaganza of skateboarding, cycling and punk rock — and "The Rules of Attraction," a film by Lions Gate Entertainment, an independent studio in Marina del Rey. In addition to an upfront fee to start the distribution, Altnet charges Microsoft every time one of the videos is downloaded — a fee that it splits with the company behind Kazaa, Sharman Networks Ltd. of Vanuatu, a tax haven in the South Pacific.

The major film and music companies are suing Sharman and other companies involved with the Kazaa software, accusing them of aiding copyright infringement on a massive scale. Sharman contends that its software has legitimate uses, adding that the company is not liable for what consumers do on the network.

A good illustration of how Microsoft uses Kazaa to promote its format is the eight-minute promotional video for the Boom Boom HuckJam tour, a production of Mission Viejo-based Tony Hawk Inc. Craig Sneiderman, the tour's promoter, said the video was posted on the tour's Web site in QuickTime format and sent to sporting goods stores, but he wanted an inexpensive way to reach a much wider audience.

In particular, he wanted to use Altnet to reach the tens of millions of consumers on Kazaa. When the show's backers refused to cover Altnet's fees, Sneiderman's fellow promoter, Mike McGinley, turned to Microsoft, which agreed to cover the costs of distributing a Windows Media version of the video.

Microsoft even bought ads on Kazaa to promote the Boom Boom HuckJam video, said Sharman spokeswoman Kelly Larabee.

The Altnet projects pose at least two risks for entertainment companies: They encourage consumers to use Kazaa by making high-quality videos available there, and they bolster the arguments by Sharman's lawyers that the network has a substantial legitimate use.

"We think it's an excellent example of the growing commercial uses of peer-to-peer technology," Larabee said of Microsoft's work.

On the other hand, a lawyer close to the Hollywood studios said the projects may be a boon to their lawsuit against Sharman. Contrary to the company's claims that it can't control infringements on the network, the source said, the Microsoft videos show "you can run a peer-to-peer system and protect copyrights."

Disclaimer
With the exception of press releases issued by Sharman Networks, the contents of any media articles posted represent the author's views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sharman Networks.

[Dark Knight]

It depends on what your buying timeframe is. If you are looking to the future, either LCD or plasma is going to be kicked out. Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) is going to kick all the rest out. It is brighter, has more contrast than the eye can see, and can look like you are looking through a window, with the right input. A 15 inch prototype was shown at a trade show in October, so it is not vaporware. Here's the tech explanation:

http://www.universaldisplay.com/tech.php

The video fanatics page is a little more interesting. The OLED part is about half way down the page:

http://www.supervideo.com/NAB.htm

He has not be correct on his timeline (everything is later), but the rest is fascinating.

DK

[Cobra64]

Three years ago, I was working with a client of mine Fujitsu General America, based in Fairfield, NJ.

They were selling 42" plasma displays for over $10k. These were fantabulous devices. They can be fed by cable tv, personal computer, VCR, etc. They are merely plasma displays that replace a CRT, etc. that we're normally used to.

[Cobra64]

...but once TV manufacturers agree on a universal High Definition broadcasting format...

I thought that this had been resolved and decided.

[goldstategop]

It hasn't been. There's a collection of differing formats. Ultimately the consumer market will decide which one should become the standard for its easier if all hardware and software become interchangeable. Right now its a mess.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the great info!

[Gracey]

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) is going to kick all the rest out.

WOW!!!! Thanks for the enlightenment. I've browsed through the literature. So do I have OLED on my car monitor (GPS, etc)?

Got rather eager for a large screen and bought myself a Pioneer Elite 53" for X-mas. It was cheap @ 3.4K IMO, as new models were coming out in New Year. What you think? I really wanted a plasma or LCD but prices were "pricey." However, I'll keep my eye out for the OLED's...my next set. Will it be a monitor, similar to plasma TV?

Thanks so much for sharing.

[Cobra64]

14 what?

I know. I was wondering the same thing. Too many folks think that all of us are interpretors of their thoughts.

[Gracey]

Thanks so much for your input on "plasma vs LCD." I must agree that the plasma's I've seen, especially Pioneer and Sharp, are especially clear. The price was intimidating, so as I stated above, I've settled for a Pioneer Elite rear projection. It's the clearest I could find within my price range.

[Gracey]

I don't know if "it wears out" is the proper term, but you get the idea.

Thanks for sharing. I also read that the LCD can get "holes"... maybe that what you call waring out????

[Cobra64]

Since GTW is seeing plasma as a PC monitor...

Who is "GTW"?

[Gracey]

waring = wearing.

PS. Glad I saved you. LOL

[dennisw]

I saw a $3,000 plasma TV at Best Buy last week. Looked very nice. Made by Daiwoo. Actually it may have been just a plasma TV monitor to which means it needs to be hooked into a TV tuner.

http://www.bestbuy.com/Detail.asp?m=1&cat=24&scat=&e=11188103

 

[Cobra64]

I agree with you. Bonesmcoy's communication skills is daunting. Many here are trying to figure out what he's trying to say. "14 display"... what does that mean?

[Cobra64]

The folks at Fujitsu General America believe that plasma is good for about 10,000 hours. I worked with them about three years ago implementing JD Edwards software.

[bonesmccoy]

you bet... an investment of about $5000 nets you the display technology to match any cheapie $2.00 cinema.

Another 100 bucks per month lets you dish it out to the world over broadband.

Another $5000 bucks gets you the camera and editing equipment needed.

Total cost to surpass LA Times = $10,000

Say good bye to the LAT.