As you may know, this is my first real blog and I started it earlier this year. It’s been a real blast and I look forward to doing more next year. But while I am looking for additional writers to help me out, I haven’t found any yet. That produces problems because as of today I’m on Christmas holidays, and I won’t have the time to post to this site. Come back January 3rd, though, because then I’ll be resuming my work on this site. In the meantime, I’ll be checking my e-mail so please use my contact form if you wish to become an HD blogger on this site.

See you in the new year!

JVC calls their LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) technology D-ILA, just like Sony called theirs SXRD. But it’s all just variations on a theme. And what’s that theme? Light is reflected off the liquid crystals instead of shone through them. And this makes a big difference. The Sony SXRD sets are all stellar performers. Anyone with such a set should be proud to own the bleeding edge of quality digital projection. JVC is aiming for a slice of the same HD goodness pie with their 70″ rear-projection D-ILA HDTV. Sound & Vision Magazine got to take a look, and I will forwith summarize for you.

The good:

The set has a resolution of a full 1920 x 1080p, which is a good thing, of course. It has two HDMI inputs and a CableCARD slot. Unfortunately, it cannot accept 1080p signals on any input.

But what about the picture? One of the things Sony’s SXRD sets does really well is the blacks. S&V found that the JVC set did blacks really well too. This is not true of JVC’s previous D-ILA offerings.

The bad:

The remote didn’t seem that well thought out. To me, it doesn’t matter. I’d use my programmable remote anyway. But switching between the inputs was slow. Also, the texture of the rear projection screen itself became visible during some movie scenes. This happens sometimes with rear projectors, but the reviewer thought that it was more obvious than it should be with this set. Also, colour uniformity across the picture could be better.

The ugly:

The menu system. Blocky, unrefined. Just yuck.

Conclusion:

It’s hard to sweat the small stuff when an HDTV performs as well as the JVC HD-70FH96. This giant HDTV manages to combine the high resolution of 1080p with most of the other characteristics that make a great-looking image. Its biggest shortcomings — a clunky user interface and the couple of missing features noted above — shouldn’t deter anybody who values picture quality above all else.

Sound And Vision Magazine: JVC 70-inch D-ILA HDTV

Oh crap.

The Blu-Ray Disc Association has reportedly decided to adopt region codes for the forthcoming High Definition movie releases, while the rival HD DVD camp has not yet come up with a final decision on the same issue.

Citing latest talks among the AACS LA members (Advanced Access Content System) that belong to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the Japanese publication IT media reports that the Blu-Ray camp has proposed to adopt regional coding for the HD movies stored on BD-ROM media. “Region 1″ would cover North and South America, and East Asia excluding China. Europe and Africa would cover “Region 2,” and China, Russia, and other countries would constitute “Region 3.” On the other hand, the HD DVD camp may not be used in HD DVD.

According to the same report, Warner Bros. representatives supported the abolishment of any region codes, claiming that they have been proven ineffective in the past. However, some AACS LA members were seeing a possible scenario where East Asian pirate videos could flow into European and North American markets, since they would be regionally compatible.

I’ve been a supporter of Blu-ray, and this won’t change my mind, but I’m not a happy boy.

CDRInfo - Blu-Ray Proposes Region Codes For Future HD Titles

There is much debate in gaming circles these days about HDTV, Blu-ray, and 1080p. That’s because the (1) the Nintendo Revolution doesn’t support HDTV, (2) the PS3 is also a Blu-ray player, and (3) the PS3 puts out 1080p. This post only addresses point 1.

It seems that Nintendo’s decision not to support HD may have been a bad one. Currently 10 to 15 percent of Americans have and HDTV in their home. By the end of 2006, that number will be 26%, according to a recent survey by Panasonic. That’s phenominal growth.

This can only mean that acceptance of HDTV is finally snowballing. HDTV purchases have only been growing slowly because we were at the beginning and it takes some time to build up momentum. But now that momentum is here and more and more people are putting those lovely HDTV television into their family rooms.

Are you listening Nintendo? Maybe HD support would be a good idea after all? Hmmm?

Yahoo! Finance - One in Four U.S. Households Expect to Have HDTV Within in 2006

So does Hollywood and Congress actually have committees that think up ways to shaft consumers?

If the legislation were enacted, one year later it would outlaw the manufacture or sale of electronic devices that convert analog video signals into digital ones–unless those encoders honor an anticopying plan designed to curb redistribution. Affected devices would include PC-based tuners and digital video recorders.

Just wondering…

CNET - Pro-Hollywood bill aims to restrict digital tuners

I don’t get it.

Why?

Seriously.

I don’t get it.

Why?

CD Freaks.com - Next gen. video standard UDI proposed to rival HDMI & DVI

Ah, now here is the review I’ve been waiting for. The Sony VPL-VW100 has a buzz factor that’s right off the scale, and I mentioned it on my HD Buzz page. Now ultimate AV finally got their hands on a pre-production version of this beauty, and have made their report. Because they couldn’t calibrate it, they are splitting their review into two parts.

Let’s dig in, shall we?

Yay!

As I mentioned in my Cine4Home VPL-VW100 review, this set does indeed accept 1080p signals. Rejoice all future HD DVD, Blu-ray, and PS3 owners! According the ultimate AV, it will accept 1080p/60 on both the HDMI and DVI inputs. I didn’t know a single DVI connection was capable of this (I thought you needed two.) Interesting…

The review mentions a vertical lens shift feature, but not a horizontal one. This conflicts with what I reported on in the other review mentioned above. The Cine4Home review said that horizontal lens shift was done with screw driver, so maybe the ultimate AV folks didn’t know about it.

The unit is exceptionally quiet, something the Cine4Home review mentioned as well.

Black level. Ah, the black level. Cine4Home raved about it, and ultimate AV does as well, when testing a scene from Master and Commander:

But never once did I see anything in the sequence that hinted at that dreaded gray fog signaling a projector that just can’t go black enough. Blacks looked truly black, but in a way that make them appear to be part of a real scene and not some opaque, digital void. That’s a difficult distinction to describe in words, but you know it instantly when you see it.

He says that the blacks are better than any projector he’s seen that doesn’t cost upwards of $60k, including CRTs! Now that’s a good black!

Hmm, what else is there? A sharp yet creamy-smooth image. What about HD imagery?

As great as a good DVD looks, high definition on the Sony looks even better, with a consistency between 1080i and 720p that eludes most 1280×720p projectors (which usually look at least a little better with a 720p source). The color is superb (even pre-calibration), the detail such that the projector almost crosses that “looking out a window” barrier (I have yet to see a display that unequivocally does), and those blacks provide a punchier image than I recall even from the QUALIA 004. In short, it’s a picture that makes me fear for the future usefulness of my 1000+ DVD collection (and makes me sympathize with those having huge collections of LPs that they’ll never be able to replace with CDs—even if they wanted to.

Interestingly, he recommends a screen size of no more than 100″ diagonal (with a gain of 1.3).

Nay!

The remote doesn’t have any direct input buttons. Yup, quite annoying, isn’t it? And while the black levels are exceptional, they’re slightly uneven. The picture is a little lighter in the corners. Also, the unit had a weird glitch that showed up a couple times, but it probably a pre-production issue.

Conclusion.

Mr. Norton hasn’t even had the projector calibrated yet and he’s already gushing about it. No, not just gushing, recommending!

But if you can’t wait, I see little downside in taking the plunge. Those yet to be completed measurements may reveal a flaw or two we haven’t discovered yet, but it will take an earthquake (just kidding, San Andreas), to shake my enthusiasm for the VPL-VW100 so far.

Now I need to tell my wife what my next big purchase will be. Hmmm… if I can save $100 a month, how long would that take?

Ultimate AV - Sony VPL-VW100 SXRD Video Projector Part I

PS - Here’s Part 2 of the review.

HDTVBuyer has a review of the 3-chip ScreenPlay 777 DLP projector from InFocus. This $30k projector now sells for $15k, still half again as much as Sony’s new VPL-VW100, a stellar projector. So, how does HDTVBuyer like this triple seven?

Like I said, this is a 3-chip DLP projector, so there are no rainbows, and no possibility of rainbows. A rarity as far as DLP projectors go. The resolution clocks in at 1280 x 720, not quite the 1920 x 1080 that the VPL-VW100 offers, but still respectable enough. You can get seven different lenses with this projector, five of which offer powered lens shift. Lens shift lets you place the projector off-axis and still get a great-looking geometrically rectangular image without digital keystone correction.

The projector is quiet. I’m one for a quiet environment, so this prevents this projector from automatically getting a big ‘X’ from me. Charlie White, the reviewer, really liked the set:

After a quick focus and positioning using those motorized lens controls, I was beholding the sharpest, brightest and most color-saturated high-definition television image I’ve ever seen out of any projector , anytime. It was magnificent. So this is what high-end home theater looks like. I could get used to this.

The projector was very bright, and that brightness was even - varying from 1469 lumens to 1505 lumens across the screen. The colours were “glorious”.

Though I have to say I didn’t understand the point of a statement about blacks. To illustrate how great the projector is at projecting large images, they moved the projector back to project a 12 foot wide image. Then they said that blacks were extremely dark “even at that distance”. Uh, blacks will get darker as you move the projector further away. There’s less light falling on the same space of screen!

Conclusion?

Summing up, the InFocus ScreenPlay 777 is the standard against which we will judge all other projectors coming into our facility for evaluation. Well, at least for the time being. There are native 1080p projectors on the way, but until they can reach the 777’s $15,000 price point, this is as good as it gets. For the money, this projector represents a remarkable value. Highest recommendation. 10 out of 10 stars.

I guess they haven’t seen the Sony yet.

HDTVBuyer - InFocus ScreenPlay 777

The U.S. of A. is getting closer and closer to the day where you turn on your old trusty analog television and you get greeted by snow.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a compromise agreement, 212-206, to complete the digital television transition by Feb. 17, 2009.

The compromise, which is part of a larger budget package, is scheduled to go before the Senate this afternoon, but the outcome there is uncertain.

The package approved in the House vote also would allocate up to $1.5 billion to help consumers that rely on over-the-air broadcasts purchase digital converter boxes to view the new signals on their analog television equipment.

I don’t think us Canucks are anywhere near to doing something like this. Those American senators really want that spectrum back!

TWICE - House Approves DTV Compromise

Digeo is getting into the HD-over-IP pool with a successful test using multiple streams of HD over fiber-to-the-home:

Digeo, Inc., and Comporium have successfully trialed three in-home IPTV firsts: 1) multi-stream HD DVR on a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network, 2) multi-stream SD DVR over DSL, and 3) multi-room distribution of both live and recorded content from an IPTV provider. The trial is being conducted on Comporium’s live commercial IPTV system, using Digeo’s Moxi™ Media Center, which has already been deployed to more than 250,000 homes nationwide on traditional cable TV systems.

I’m a long way from getting fiber to my home (I can’t even use TiVo with my cable provider), but man this stuff is cool.

Digeo - Digeo™ and Comporium Successfully Trial Moxi™ Media Center in Homes on IPTV Network

An animated movie by DreamWorks Animation, Over the Hedge looks like it might be fun:

Spring has sprung, and Verne and his woodland friends awaken from their long winter’s nap to discover that a tall, green “thing” has mysteriously cropped up right through the middle of their home. Enter RJ, an opportunistic raccoon, who explains that the world beyond the hedge is the “gateway to the good life”.

Apple - Over the Hedge