This week I am going to give some updates on topics that we’ve covered over the past six months. If there is one thing that is certain about new technologies, it is that they will change, and change often.
The Ford Motor company announced late last month that they will be the first major auto manufacturer to offer HD Radios in the 2008 models of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. This should be a real shot in the arm for the advancement of HD radio. While there are more than 1500 AM and FM radio stations in the United States broadcasting HD Radio, the number of radios able to receive the signals remains very small. HD Radio, unlike satellite radio (Sirius® and XM Radio® ), is broadcast from towers and serves much smaller local coverage areas. The difference from standard AM/FM broadcasts comes in the clarity of the sound and the capacity to have more than one program simulcast over the same channel. For example, WGUC 90.9 is a classical music station. If you have a HD Radio you can get both classical programming and a jazz service with the flip of a switch.
In August I mentioned that before February 2009 you would be able to buy DTV adapters for your analog TV sets making them able to receive digital programming after the analog transmissions cease. The federal government has authorized the first company to manufacture and sell these adapters. Digital Stream Technology got approval last month. The adapters will retail at about $70 each. Plans call for the federal government to provide each US household up to 2 - $40 coupons good toward the purchase of the adapters. Look for them in stores in mid 2008.
Last May I wrote about the money you can save installing compact fluorescent light bulbs in your home as replacements for the energy hogging incandescent bulbs. Duke Energy sent coupons to customers making the purchase of the new bulbs a real bargain. Not only will you save on the purchase of the new lights but the dollar savings over the year can be as much as 75%. Even without the coupons, switching out the old incandescents will save you money. The only places you may wish to use traditional bulbs are in areas that get high traffic with lights being turned on and off often. Rooms like bathrooms or hallways with the constant on and off cycles will reduce the life of compact fluorescent bulbs.
Are you planning to buy a new HD television? According to a recent survey of about 3500 Road Runner™ subscribers in the Cincinnati area by Time Warner Cable, about ½ of respondents said they either already had an HD set or planned to buy one shortly. With the prices dropping and more programming available in HD, look for the sales of HD sets to really take off during the holidays and peak right before the Super Bowl.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Saving old tapes and films
Earlier this month in his My World of Dreams column in the Harrison Press, Bill Baird posed some questions to me. Most of them center on assuring that his old films and tapes will be usable in this digital environment and for many years to come. These questions may seem simple but Bill actually has touched on one of the biggest conundrums resulting from this new digital age of “continuous technology improvement.”
Simply put, Bill asked about transferring his library of films and tapes to media that will be “playable” in the future. This same question has been the topic of great concern on a national and even international level for years. Here in the United States at the Library of Congress and the National Archives, archivists and librarians are huddling with technicians to decide how to preserve the collection of thousands of hours of films, tapes, discs and other media for the future. Unlike paper, which can be saved and read as long as it exists, the myriad formats of film, tape and digital media do degrade over time and all require the existence of a player.
Audio and Video tapes, which are basically long ribbons of plastic covered with rust, are prone to degrade as the glue breaks down and the “rust” falls off. This can happen over as few as ten years. Film, even when it is kept in a cool dry environment, also degrades. We don’t yet know how long CDs and DVDs will last.
It is not practical to keep a “player” for all the various formats that have been and will be created in the future. For example, if you have been to the store recently, you may have noticed that VHS machines are as scarce as buggy whips. They are no longer manufactured. If you have a collection of VHS tapes, what do you do when your machine dies? This is precisely the crux of Bill’s question and our friends in Washington, DC.
Bill noted that he has a library of films and tapes in a variety of formats, i.e. 8mm, super 8mm film, VHS, 8mm and Hi 8 mm tape. The first thing he should do is get them copied into some sort of digital form. Right now the best and most inexpensive option is to get a DVD recorder. While we don’t know the lifespan of the DVD media, at least it is a digital medium allowing for copying to another digital medium in the future without any quality loss. There are DVD recorders on the market with a VHS deck built in making the VHS to DVD copying easy.
The films pose a different and more complex problem. You can’t just project them on a screen and use a video camera to record them. The quality of the images will be unacceptable since the camera can’t capture the film image well and the 8mm “frame rate”, i.e. the number of frames that are projected on the screen each second, is non-compatible with the frame rate of the DVD or tape. So making copies at home could be a challenge without the investment of some pricy technology. An option is to have the films made into digital files by a professional. This costs an average of 10 cents per foot, so this can get expensive. There are several companies that offer this. Two examples are: www.mymovietransfer.com and www.homemoviedepot.com . I have NOT used either of these services, so I can not recommend them.
Once the files are created, they can be stored on DVD or even kept on a hard drive. The latter requires regular back up however.
Bill also asked about getting parts for his old 8mm and Super 8 mm projectors. This is actually not too hard. There are several companies on the Internet that have stocked up on parts. EBay is also a great place to find used VHS and High 8 video players. If you have a working player for the various tape formats, they can be easily copied on to DVD.
Gone are the days when technology was backward compatible. When color TV came out it did not render your black and white model unusable. In ancient times when vinyl records morphed from mono to stereo, you could still play them on the old machine. Unfortunately, too often our new technology changes faster and faster and does not concern itself with the impact of obsolescence and the archiving of media. This may be a steep price to pay for progress.
Simply put, Bill asked about transferring his library of films and tapes to media that will be “playable” in the future. This same question has been the topic of great concern on a national and even international level for years. Here in the United States at the Library of Congress and the National Archives, archivists and librarians are huddling with technicians to decide how to preserve the collection of thousands of hours of films, tapes, discs and other media for the future. Unlike paper, which can be saved and read as long as it exists, the myriad formats of film, tape and digital media do degrade over time and all require the existence of a player.
Audio and Video tapes, which are basically long ribbons of plastic covered with rust, are prone to degrade as the glue breaks down and the “rust” falls off. This can happen over as few as ten years. Film, even when it is kept in a cool dry environment, also degrades. We don’t yet know how long CDs and DVDs will last.
It is not practical to keep a “player” for all the various formats that have been and will be created in the future. For example, if you have been to the store recently, you may have noticed that VHS machines are as scarce as buggy whips. They are no longer manufactured. If you have a collection of VHS tapes, what do you do when your machine dies? This is precisely the crux of Bill’s question and our friends in Washington, DC.
Bill noted that he has a library of films and tapes in a variety of formats, i.e. 8mm, super 8mm film, VHS, 8mm and Hi 8 mm tape. The first thing he should do is get them copied into some sort of digital form. Right now the best and most inexpensive option is to get a DVD recorder. While we don’t know the lifespan of the DVD media, at least it is a digital medium allowing for copying to another digital medium in the future without any quality loss. There are DVD recorders on the market with a VHS deck built in making the VHS to DVD copying easy.
The films pose a different and more complex problem. You can’t just project them on a screen and use a video camera to record them. The quality of the images will be unacceptable since the camera can’t capture the film image well and the 8mm “frame rate”, i.e. the number of frames that are projected on the screen each second, is non-compatible with the frame rate of the DVD or tape. So making copies at home could be a challenge without the investment of some pricy technology. An option is to have the films made into digital files by a professional. This costs an average of 10 cents per foot, so this can get expensive. There are several companies that offer this. Two examples are: www.mymovietransfer.com and www.homemoviedepot.com . I have NOT used either of these services, so I can not recommend them.
Once the files are created, they can be stored on DVD or even kept on a hard drive. The latter requires regular back up however.
Bill also asked about getting parts for his old 8mm and Super 8 mm projectors. This is actually not too hard. There are several companies on the Internet that have stocked up on parts. EBay is also a great place to find used VHS and High 8 video players. If you have a working player for the various tape formats, they can be easily copied on to DVD.
Gone are the days when technology was backward compatible. When color TV came out it did not render your black and white model unusable. In ancient times when vinyl records morphed from mono to stereo, you could still play them on the old machine. Unfortunately, too often our new technology changes faster and faster and does not concern itself with the impact of obsolescence and the archiving of media. This may be a steep price to pay for progress.
Monday, October 15, 2007
DTV over-the-air, an inexpensive option
With more and more people buying Digital TV sets, some are confused about needing a cable or satellite service to receive the local stations’ digital channels In fact over a one week period I had two callers ask me about receiving digital TV channels over-the-air and what antenna they should get. Both wanted to get the new HD digital programs from the local stations in Cincinnati. Both wanted to know if an antenna, either indoor or outdoor, would be required.
Well, there is no easy answer. One caller noted that he lived about 40 miles north of Cincinnati. That distance places him within the potential coverage area but there are many other factors that can impact on his ability to receive DTV from the Cincinnati stations. In fact, the only way to know for sure is to actually install an antenna and see if it works. Another is to hire a technician with a signal strength meter. He or she can measure the quality of the signal and recommend an antenna. There are several models available that can work. There is absolutely no way to know “for sure” without actually installing the antenna.
Let me explain. An often overlooked by-product of the new Digital TV transmission format is the “cliff effect.” Simply put, the digital picture on your new DTV is either perfect or non-existent. With older analog broadcasting, the farther you lived from the TV transmitter the more the picture degraded, i.e. got snowy. Eventually it would be too bad to watch. With digital signals the new DTV tuner locks on to the TV signal and keeps the picture perfect until it no longer has enough “bits and bytes” of information to make a perfect picture. When that happens the picture vanishes. “It falls of the cliff.” From perfect to non-existent in an instant.
Since I don’t know if there are hills or buildings that might block or reflect the signal for the Dayton caller, there is no way of telling what, if any antenna, will work. We have two CET staff members who live in the Fairfield area of Butler County. While they live only a few blocks apart, one gets perfect reception from all Cincinnati DTV stations and the other gets none, no matter what antenna he tries.
As discussed in past posts, most people in the Cincinnati area do not receive local channels off the air. They subscribe to cable or satellite services and as such reception of local channels is part of the package. These individuals can also receive hundreds of other channels. As we get closer to the analog cut off date in 2009, more and more channels will be delivered in HD. Time will tell how many will choose to continue over-the-air only reception with the plethora of other options.
Well, there is no easy answer. One caller noted that he lived about 40 miles north of Cincinnati. That distance places him within the potential coverage area but there are many other factors that can impact on his ability to receive DTV from the Cincinnati stations. In fact, the only way to know for sure is to actually install an antenna and see if it works. Another is to hire a technician with a signal strength meter. He or she can measure the quality of the signal and recommend an antenna. There are several models available that can work. There is absolutely no way to know “for sure” without actually installing the antenna.
Let me explain. An often overlooked by-product of the new Digital TV transmission format is the “cliff effect.” Simply put, the digital picture on your new DTV is either perfect or non-existent. With older analog broadcasting, the farther you lived from the TV transmitter the more the picture degraded, i.e. got snowy. Eventually it would be too bad to watch. With digital signals the new DTV tuner locks on to the TV signal and keeps the picture perfect until it no longer has enough “bits and bytes” of information to make a perfect picture. When that happens the picture vanishes. “It falls of the cliff.” From perfect to non-existent in an instant.
Since I don’t know if there are hills or buildings that might block or reflect the signal for the Dayton caller, there is no way of telling what, if any antenna, will work. We have two CET staff members who live in the Fairfield area of Butler County. While they live only a few blocks apart, one gets perfect reception from all Cincinnati DTV stations and the other gets none, no matter what antenna he tries.
As discussed in past posts, most people in the Cincinnati area do not receive local channels off the air. They subscribe to cable or satellite services and as such reception of local channels is part of the package. These individuals can also receive hundreds of other channels. As we get closer to the analog cut off date in 2009, more and more channels will be delivered in HD. Time will tell how many will choose to continue over-the-air only reception with the plethora of other options.
Monday, October 8, 2007
I may be old but I still have a brain.
I don’t know about you but I am getting sick of reading stuff in the newspaper or catching stories on radio and TV about how old people can’t figure out all this new technology. First of all, I guess you need to define old. As the years pass, my definition of “old” seems to be getting a bit more liberal. You know, yesterday’s forties are today’s sixties.
Just recently there have been several articles about how analog TV is ending in 2009 and how “senior citizens,” brain addled as they all are, will be left staring at blank screens on the morning of February 18, 2009. Why some feel that age automatically renders people clueless to new ideas and new ways of doing things is beyond my comprehension. In fact, my experience seems to point in the other direction.
With baby boomers retiring from jobs that have been using a host of technologies in the workplace, it is ludicrous to imagine that when they leave those jobs they will go home and revert back to listening to AM radio and watching the “Price is Right” all day. Quite the contrary, having had access to high speed internet at work has accelerated the demand for broadband at home.
With families moving often and taking up residences far from the homestead, sharing photographs and even videos of Mary’s soccer game or Johnny’s band concert are common place. In many an empty nester’s home, sending email or chatting on-line are common place. More seniors are taking up the hobby of geocaching and have embraced GPS technology as an integral part of this new fad. Little white ear buds sprout from ageing ears and HD TVs are finding their way into living rooms, many of which really don’t have blinking VCRs displaying 12:00.
It is my opinion that an individual’s lack of knowledge of technology has little to do with age. When I get older, I for one don’t plan to hunker down in my living room and play my 33 1/3 versions of “Mantovani plays Def Leppard.” I’ll have an MP3 player.
Just recently there have been several articles about how analog TV is ending in 2009 and how “senior citizens,” brain addled as they all are, will be left staring at blank screens on the morning of February 18, 2009. Why some feel that age automatically renders people clueless to new ideas and new ways of doing things is beyond my comprehension. In fact, my experience seems to point in the other direction.
With baby boomers retiring from jobs that have been using a host of technologies in the workplace, it is ludicrous to imagine that when they leave those jobs they will go home and revert back to listening to AM radio and watching the “Price is Right” all day. Quite the contrary, having had access to high speed internet at work has accelerated the demand for broadband at home.
With families moving often and taking up residences far from the homestead, sharing photographs and even videos of Mary’s soccer game or Johnny’s band concert are common place. In many an empty nester’s home, sending email or chatting on-line are common place. More seniors are taking up the hobby of geocaching and have embraced GPS technology as an integral part of this new fad. Little white ear buds sprout from ageing ears and HD TVs are finding their way into living rooms, many of which really don’t have blinking VCRs displaying 12:00.
It is my opinion that an individual’s lack of knowledge of technology has little to do with age. When I get older, I for one don’t plan to hunker down in my living room and play my 33 1/3 versions of “Mantovani plays Def Leppard.” I’ll have an MP3 player.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Whose face is on a one dollar cell phone?
There is a major credit card company running a series of ads on TV that depicts a crowded fast food line coming to a screeching halt because a single customer has the audacity to use cash to pay for the “Biggie Burger and drink.” Is cash a thing of the past? Well for many of us it may be.
Been to the local Biggs store recently? As part of an upgrade to the computerized check out lanes they have added fingerprint recognition to the credit card terminal. While at this writing they have not activated the system, it is only one of several technologies that are being used to speed up transactions and tighten security. A quick swipe of your finger on the reader and you are identified, your purchase is authorized and the money is transferred from your bank account to the store’s. Since your finger print is unique to you, security is enhanced. This technology, once the province of a James Bond movie, is becoming common place in daily life. There are other similar technologies that scan your retina to accomplish secure identification.
Some of you may already have a “speed pass” that can be used at several major gas retailers. This plastic card can be waived in front of the pump instead of using a credit card or cash. While we don’t have many toll roads or bridges in the area, many in other parts of the country use a system that scans cars and trucks as they move through the toll gate without stopping.
The lowly cell phone is another example. Today’s phone has already morphed in to a camera, MP3 player, GPS receiver, web browser and email terminal. Tests in the US and abroad make your personal cell phone a sort of “magic wand” of purchasing activity large and small. Rather than putting coins in a parking meter or soft drink machine, you just wave your cell phone in front of the coin slot, enter a personal code and voila, the drink appears or the minutes are added to the
meter and your banking account is debited for the amount. There no coins, bills, credit or debit cards.
The same cell phone may give you access to the ATM, the gas pump, the highway toll both and of course the local supermarket.
It seems to me ironic that our Federal government is concentrating on making our paper money more difficult to forge at a time when fewer and fewer of us even use the stuff. But what do I know?
Been to the local Biggs store recently? As part of an upgrade to the computerized check out lanes they have added fingerprint recognition to the credit card terminal. While at this writing they have not activated the system, it is only one of several technologies that are being used to speed up transactions and tighten security. A quick swipe of your finger on the reader and you are identified, your purchase is authorized and the money is transferred from your bank account to the store’s. Since your finger print is unique to you, security is enhanced. This technology, once the province of a James Bond movie, is becoming common place in daily life. There are other similar technologies that scan your retina to accomplish secure identification.
Some of you may already have a “speed pass” that can be used at several major gas retailers. This plastic card can be waived in front of the pump instead of using a credit card or cash. While we don’t have many toll roads or bridges in the area, many in other parts of the country use a system that scans cars and trucks as they move through the toll gate without stopping.
The lowly cell phone is another example. Today’s phone has already morphed in to a camera, MP3 player, GPS receiver, web browser and email terminal. Tests in the US and abroad make your personal cell phone a sort of “magic wand” of purchasing activity large and small. Rather than putting coins in a parking meter or soft drink machine, you just wave your cell phone in front of the coin slot, enter a personal code and voila, the drink appears or the minutes are added to the
meter and your banking account is debited for the amount. There no coins, bills, credit or debit cards.
The same cell phone may give you access to the ATM, the gas pump, the highway toll both and of course the local supermarket.
It seems to me ironic that our Federal government is concentrating on making our paper money more difficult to forge at a time when fewer and fewer of us even use the stuff. But what do I know?
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