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Overview: A frequent question I receive is “which HDTV should I buy?” The answer is not simple and represents a significant monetary investment. Sure, a bunch of future displays were probably just announced and there is always something better on the horizon, but at some point it’s time to pick a technology and pull the trigger. Due to my price and space considerations, most people focused on HDTV displays ranging from 42″-50″ that are available at most local big box retailers. This write-up summarizes the general recommendation I give when someone asks me the question. Flat Panel or Rear Projection or Front Projection? This isRead More →

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In: Tech
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In 2006, a RAID array linking together multiple 500GB drives was required to reach the 2TB (2,000 GB) limit and operating systems were just starting to implement solutions to break through this barrier.  Now, with single hard drives exceeding capacities of 4 TB (4,000 GB), the need to break this 2TB limit is extremely common, and your operating system may not be able to handle it. If you don’t plan ahead, your operating system will only be able to address the first 2 TB and all that extra storage beyond 2 TB will be unusable. Here is an overview of some of the methods youRead More →

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It’s hard to say which new Fall 2007 shows will be worth watching based on the brief descriptions that are given. That’s why I set my TiVo to record new episodes of shows containing the keyword “Pilot” and give many of them a chance. However, I probably will manually record a few shows to make sure I give them a chance. NBC: Check out videos and descriptions of the new NBC Fall 2007 shows Journeyman – It’s airing after Heroes and looks like Quantum Leap with an edge. There are a bunch of clips, but I don’t feel compelled by any of them. Bionic WomanRead More →

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There are always some great “bubble” shows that may or may not get renewed because they just don’t have quite enough viewers. Here are my favorites that did make the cut: How I Met Your Mother: I find this show more enjoyable than any other comedy on television. Watch The Office just plain makes me uncomfortable. If you know what “Swarley” and “Slap Bet” are, you know what I mean. Luckily CBS is keeping HIMYM around for another season. Friday Night Lights: The best drama on TV. NBC needs some major hits since their ratings stink. This show is not a major ratings hit, butRead More →

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The Class: This show was not very funny; I stopped watching after the pilot. But somehow my wife and I watched a few episodes later in the season. They had re-tooled the cast and the story, and it worked beautifully. The show became an evolved version of Friends. But the first half of the season must have turned-away too many views and it was too late to be saved. Too bad this show won’t be picked up by another network. Veronica Mars: A great show, an almost perfect show, that did everything right but found it impossible to find a substantial audience. The show hasRead More →

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Gilmore Girls: My wife and I first started watching this show when we were dating and she received only one channel at her house: The WB. I can’t believe we’ve been watching it for the 7 years. It interesting looking back over the years and how the characters have grown-up. It’s always sad to see a show end, but the spark wasn’t quite there this last season with a different executive producer. So long old friends. The Sopranos: Has this season been boring or what? Something exciting had better happen besides Christopher shooting the dude from Wings. Otherwise, HBO may have been riding a deadRead More →

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My thoughts on the Season Finales, where the season actually has a satisfying story arc: CSI: In response to ABC moving Grey’s Anatomy to the same timeslot, CSI upped the ante by introducing a season-long mystery: the Miniature Serial Killer. It worked. It improved on an already great show. It fascinating how the inability to catch the serial killer has impacted each character; I can’t wait to see how the season ends. Friday Night Lights: The finale was several weeks ago, but it was an end-cap to a flawless season. This show is the best drama on TV, even when compared against the detective/forensic/medical competition.Read More →

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My favorite portion of the TV season is mid-May. The sweeps period is ending. There are multiple new episodes of (pretty much) every show. There are Season Finales that wrap-up the season and make you look forward to next September. There are Series Finales that let you say “good bye” to your favorite shows. There are “advertiser up-fronts” by each of the major networks, detailing their renewals and new shows for the next season. Unfortunately, there are also the unexpected/unwanted cancellations, but at least you find out for sure that a show will not be back. Thus begins my once-a-year flurry of television-related posts. OverRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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I receive a bunch of questions in reference to my 1080P Does Matter article. Some of the questions are along the lines of “Do I really lose the benefits of 1080p if I sit too far away from a small screen? How? The lines of resolution don’t go away.” While the lines are still there, you’re eye can’t detect them, but I haven’t found a simple way to explain this. Then I came across this article and picture (via digg) that demonstrate a great, simple-to-explain example. quoting http://bloggerwhale.blogspot.com/2007/03/dont-trust-your-eyes.html# In the pic below you can see two faces. A normal face on the right and aRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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I have a front projector in one room and a flat panel display in another. Instead of purchasing separate sets for components for each display, I’d rather just use a HDMI distribution box so any source could be routed to either display. Unfortunately, this is turning out to be an impossible dream. Most of the devices available are HDMI splitters, so they can display the same source on both displays. However, they can not display different sources on different displays and this is the functionality I really want. A HDMI matrix switch is required to do this. The Gefen 4×4 HDMI HDTV Matrix Switch willRead More →