Matt

[Matt]

[quote=”joao12345″]
Hi,
Just wondering…i know that certain type of recorded content can only be accessed by the HTPC housing the card the only exception to this are MCE extenders. Does the same limitation apply to media players i.e Western Digital WD TV (supports WMV9) or ASUS OPlay (supports WMV)? can these devices access the recorded media freely like an extender????
[/quote]

Niether of those are certified Media Center extenders. They basically just pull whatever files it find on the network across, using your PC a file server. Further, neither support the newer WTV format that Media Center 7 uses.

A MCX (Media Center Extender) is actually a special thin client type device that relies on the Media Center PC as a host for a special MCX user interface session on the PC. To the system it behaves almost like another user is logged on, ala Remote Desktop. So it is much more than just a file server. This also means it is more secure and is in essense just an extension of the main PC, so copy protected content can be played.

[Matt]

To sucessfully pass the Digital Cable Advisor tool aren’t you required to have 4GB of RAM?

[img width=650 height=380]http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/blogs/CableChronicles/final.jpg[/img]

[Matt]

To sucessfully pass the Digital Cable Advisor tool aren’t you required to have 4GB of RAM?

[img width=650 height=380]http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/blogs/CableChronicles/final.jpg[/img]

[Matt]

[quote=”shadymg”]
couldn’t help but chuckling when i read this user’s comment…”Went to 2 Best Buys and it was by far the worse looking TV on the wall out of the 50 or so on display.”

still surprising to see it at such a low rating, but hey…that’s one person’s opinion 🙂 i’m loving it so far (of course, i did upgrade from…well, you know :-P)
[/quote]

That’s the kind of person you can sell even a bottom of the line LCD to because it gets eye burning bright and has pumped up neon colors. And they’ve heard “Plasmas run hot” and “have issues with images on the screen.” They’ve never heard of black level or seem to notice the crushed highlights/lowlights, etc.

[Matt]

[quote=”shadymg”]
couldn’t help but chuckling when i read this user’s comment…”Went to 2 Best Buys and it was by far the worse looking TV on the wall out of the 50 or so on display.”

still surprising to see it at such a low rating, but hey…that’s one person’s opinion 🙂 i’m loving it so far (of course, i did upgrade from…well, you know :-P)
[/quote]

That’s the kind of person you can sell even a bottom of the line LCD to because it gets eye burning bright and has pumped up neon colors. And they’ve heard “Plasmas run hot” and “have issues with images on the screen.” They’ve never heard of black level or seem to notice the crushed highlights/lowlights, etc.

[Matt]

Yayyy! This is one of the most exciting events in the HTPC world in quite a while 🙂

[Matt]

Yayyy! This is one of the most exciting events in the HTPC world in quite a while 🙂

[Matt]

[quote=”shadymg”]
great point autoboy, what did you use to calibrate? I have the DVE Essentials & Spears & Munsil as well…or the free AVS HD 709?
[/quote]

Home Theater Magazine reviewed the G20 (same panel as G25, but the Best Buy exclusive model) recently and they post their tweaks.
http://hometheatermag.com/flat-panels/panasonic_viera_tc-p50g20_plasma_hdtv/index5.html

And Cnet is good about posting their settings too…
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19410_102-0.html?threadID=393605&tag=rvwBody

[Matt]

[quote=”shadymg”]
great point autoboy, what did you use to calibrate? I have the DVE Essentials & Spears & Munsil as well…or the free AVS HD 709?
[/quote]

Home Theater Magazine reviewed the G20 (same panel as G25, but the Best Buy exclusive model) recently and they post their tweaks.
http://hometheatermag.com/flat-panels/panasonic_viera_tc-p50g20_plasma_hdtv/index5.html

And Cnet is good about posting their settings too…
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19410_102-0.html?threadID=393605&tag=rvwBody

[Matt]

[quote=”autoboy”]
No.  I consider a 50″ the minimum size for a main viewing room TV. [/quote]

Yep, don’t go any smaller… I love my 50″ for most TV watching, but when we watch a lot of HD movies (especially those in 2.35:1) I start to want a 58″/60″ plasma.

Even 50″ at ~10-12ft like most apartment living rooms your eye can’t resolve all the detail of 1080p (you can barely resolve the full detail of 720p at the size/distance), so you certainly don’t want to go smaller.

Here’s a good chart that’s been around the ‘net that I added different distance markers to.

[Matt]

[quote=”autoboy”]
No.  I consider a 50″ the minimum size for a main viewing room TV. [/quote]

Yep, don’t go any smaller… I love my 50″ for most TV watching, but when we watch a lot of HD movies (especially those in 2.35:1) I start to want a 58″/60″ plasma.

Even 50″ at ~10-12ft like most apartment living rooms your eye can’t resolve all the detail of 1080p (you can barely resolve the full detail of 720p at the size/distance), so you certainly don’t want to go smaller.

Here’s a good chart that’s been around the ‘net that I added different distance markers to.

[Matt]

Save the TV’s box if at all possible. With plasmas especially you need to be very careful moving it since they use glass screens and are supposed to be kept upright.

[Matt]

Save the TV’s box if at all possible. With plasmas especially you need to be very careful moving it since they use glass screens and are supposed to be kept upright.

[Matt]

[quote]
For true blacks, unless you’re going to go way up in price of LCD’s with local dimming, it’s very difficult to beat a plasma for picture quality[/quote]

That right there is exactly why I bought a 50″ plasma a couple of years ago for our living room in our apartment. It was less expensive than an LCD (larger screen for the price) and better blacks than anything an LCD in the same price range could do.

[Matt]

[quote]
For true blacks, unless you’re going to go way up in price of LCD’s with local dimming, it’s very difficult to beat a plasma for picture quality[/quote]

That right there is exactly why I bought a 50″ plasma a couple of years ago for our living room in our apartment. It was less expensive than an LCD (larger screen for the price) and better blacks than anything an LCD in the same price range could do.

[Author]

Posts