George L. Schmauch Jr.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

I’ve been sending [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0LCmStIw9E]this public service announcement[/url] (warning:  graphic) to anyone I know who texts while driving or talks on the phone.  I admit I used to do it (talking, not texting), too, but I’ve stopped.  It simply is not worth the risk.  I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been behind someone or even in front of someone who kept crossing the middle line into oncoming traffic and screaming at them to hang up the damn phone or to pay attention.

I really wish this PSA was being shown in every school in America.  Sadly, some places in the US which have decided to air it have shortened it to almost nothing.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

In this economy, it’s not that surprising.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”babgvant”]
Why wouldn’t you want to use a UPS with power conditioning features built in?
[/quote]

For me, the first thing that comes to mind is that I don’t need a battery backup for the TV.  At 440W, it’s not going to stay on for very long, unless I get another $3-500 UPS.  🙂  I’m open to anything, though, as long as it’s around the same price and give the correct protection.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”Mikinho”]
Bigee, if I remember correctly from an old post you work for APC.  For a plasma do you think the extra features of the AV line are worth it since no other equipment would be used?

Note: While I understand you can’t speak for your company if do you work for them, it does imply a certain higher knowledge base =)
[/quote]

Yeah…  what he said.  😉  That’s the same question I would’ve asked.  Only the plasma TV will be plugged into whatever I choose, so I don’t need 12 outlets.  Are there valuable benefits to the unit you’re talking about, Bigee?

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

Got it.  Now I remember that it was, indeed, the fps that I read about and that’s why we don’t see more 30fps or 60fps footage.

Thanks, Matt!

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

Any suggestions on makes/models?  Something like [url=http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=67]this[/url]?

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

I do have all of the equipment (except for the fridge) in the media closet on an APC SmartUPS battery backup (SUA1000, I believe).  I believe that has a built in power conditioner, so wouldn’t that negate the need for another one?

Assuming that’s correct, the question now seems to be, if I add the whole house protection, what do I need for just the TV?

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

Alright, lots of excellent information here, but I’m getting confused.  Thanks, everyone, for jumping in!  Here’s what I’m gathering:

1.  I should definitely get a whole home surge suppressor.
2.  Look into running a separate circuit for the TV.  Since I’m not an EE, can someone explain how this physically works?  What about the rest of the equipment, though?  Another separate circuit?  Keep in mind they’re on opposite sides of the room and the breakers are on the other side of the house.
3.  Consider a power conditioner.

What’s confusing to me at the moment is what exactly each of these are going to do.  Based on what I’m hearing from everyone, they all seem to do pretty much the same thing, which begs the question, “Why do I need them all?”  I’m definitely ignorant when it comes to electrical things, so I’m eager to understand how each one is beneficial in a different way.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

I could swear I read something about Hollywood avoiding creating movies using this format* because of this very effect.  In other words, I thought they were saying that they needed to intentionally make movies look fake because making them look real (soap opera effect) had the opposite effect on people.

* I’m saying “format” because that’s the term that makes sense to me and the way I understood it, but Matt has me thinking it’s more of an “after effect” or feature on TVs, as opposed to how the material is being filmed.  If anyone knows for sure, I’d like to be enlightened.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

I haven’t verified what other settings aren’t saved to the profile, so there may very well be other things which get reset.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”Mikinho”]
I’d suggest a home surge protector versus a UPS.  Once I installed my home surge protector I haven’t had any flicker on my lights, LCD HDTV, etc…

The actually install was extremely simple, less than 30 minutes.  If interested I’ll post the model I used.
[/quote]

I considered that, as well, but read mixed reports on them… just like surge protector research.  So, please do post the model.  My cousin’s an electrician, so I’d probably have him do it.

During my lengthy Googling, I kept reading that the whole home solution wasn’t suggested as the sole solution, meaning that you should still have surge protectors at the devices.  Even if it’s not necessary, <$100 is probably worth the peace of mind.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”Matt”]
[url=http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5155&Itemid=2]Original Article Link[/url]

Cool to see 64-bit support becoming official 🙂

But I really do wish Adobe would focus on fixing bugs in their current implimentations of Flash (and Acrobat)… zero-day bugs are rampant with nearly every Flash (and Acrobat) update.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9185218/Adobe_sounds_alarm_on_Flash_zero_day_attacks
[/quote]

With all the security issues, I’m hoping that more sites move to HTML5.  At least that’s not controlled by a single company.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”autoboy”]
The HD baseT systems use HDCP.  In fact, you still need a standard HDMI chip in the mix for HD BaseT to work.  So that means that HD BaseT is also probably hacked.
[/quote]

Yeah… ain’t it cool!  :-X

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”Mikinho”]
I personally think it should be an optional choice during the install.  My reason is that that driver updates in an ideal world will improvefix settings so your custom settings will most likely no longer be accurate.
[/quote]

If you’re talking about the drivers changing your card’s settings so that playback or gaming is optimized, I’m with you, especially with how good ATI has proven to be at tweaking their settings for particular cards and disabling features which will negatively impact performance.  However, position of the screen, pixel format, along with numerous other options aren’t going to be “fixed” or improved, so there’s no reason to reset those.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

I think it’s only a matter of time before there’s software out there which fixes HDCP so it’s wide open.  In turn, hardware manufacturers will probably quietly add HDMI capture right alongside component inputs.  Thankfully, from what little has been said thus far, this fix doesn’t seem to need to be built into the hardware itself, which would mean they aren’t running afoul of the DMCA.  I’d expect to have to run a little software program to put the fix in place so the hardware sees a valid HDCP handshake and be done with it.

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