Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders
Choosing The Correct High Definition Equipment
Podcast Audio | Posted by Phil Leigh on January 15, 2008
If you are looking to make sense out of the coming High Definition (HD) video revolution, this interview is for you.
Our guest today is Bill Machrone who is the Vice President of Technology and Director of the Interactive Media and Development Group at Ziff Davis Publishing. He joined ZD in 1983 as technical editor of PC Magazine. During his tenure he created the tough, labs-based comparison reviews that propelled PC Magazine to the forefront of its industry.
In about a year all terrestrial television stations in the United States will cease broadcasting analog signals. After February 17, 2009 they will only be permitted to broadcast digital signals in either Standard Definition or High Definition formats. However, since digital signals enable HD-TV there is likely to be a growing trend toward increased programming in the higher resolution format. Accordingly, the switch to digital broadcasting may serve as a catalyst motivating consumers to purchase HD equipment.
High Definition provides significantly improved picture and audio quality. Increasingly the display-monitors-of-choice are flat panels and the screen sizes are getting bigger. Moreover, some of the new equipment can display conventional DVDs at better quality and there are new versions of High Definition DVDs. In short, the consumer has a lot to learn and the investment will be significant. Thus, experts like the one interviewed today can help you make the most of your HD investment.
Phil’s Take. When I upgrade my home entertainment system to HD, I want to insure that I don’t invest thousands-of-dollars in a system that is an evolutionary dead end. Most importantly, I want to adopt equipment that will enable me to be prepared for the day when HD video is abundantly available on the Internet.
Unfortunately, there is still no good way to connect today’s systems to the Net. It appears that the best way is to buy a separate laptop and connect it to the HD display monitor via a HDMI cable. That means I’ll have both a remote and a laptop sitting on the coffee table. Even worse the laptop will have a cable trailing out from it and it still needs to be connected to the Net.
Categories: Podcast Audio
Tags: Bill Machrone, Blu ray DVD, digital media, HD DVD, High Definition Television, High Definition TV, High Definition Video, Home Networking, Internet video, PC World
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