Please Note For those of you not familiar with high definition discs and players, there are two competing formats battling for your eyes and dollars this holiday season. They are Blu-ray and HD DVD. These formats are incompatible and have overlapping studio support as well as their own respective exclusive titles. The biggest proponent of [...]
Entries from December 5th, 2006
EXCLUSIVE: First Review Of The Sony BDP-S1 Blu-Ray Player
December 5th, 2006 · 22 Comments · Blu-ray Players
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Lechner Distance: The Number You Need to Know Before Buying an HDTV
December 4th, 2006 · 31 Comments · Reference Materials
Bernard Lechner is an award winning television engineer. At RCA he was heavily involved in the development of HDTV. Lechner researched the typical distance between a viewer and their television screen by taking measurements in many American homes. The median distance complied from all his data came out to 9 feet. This measurement is now [...]
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Will A Line Conditioner Improve Your Image?
December 1st, 2006 · 26 Comments · Reference Materials
The HD Guru’s readers have asked for the real story on power line conditioners. Are they really needed with an HDTV? Do they provide a sharper picture as some salesmen claim? How well do they protect the TV in case of a lightening strike or other electrical spike? What about surge protectors and uninterruptible power [...]
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Chicago Tribune Asks The HD Guru
November 28th, 2006 · 16 Comments · Reference Materials
Below is an intervew of the HD Guru by Kevin Hunt appearing in the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers around the country this week. Kevin asked questions about my favorite subject. OUR A/V GUY Up close and personal with HDTV expert By Kevin Hunt Tribune Newspapers Published November 26, 2006 Gary Merson must see pixels [...]
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Are You Getting All the Resolution You are Paying For? More Tests
November 28th, 2006 · 43 Comments · Reference Materials
In the November 2006 issue of Home Theater Magazine the HD Guru tested 61 new HDTVs using the 1080i HDTV format that most of the HDTV channels use (including CBS, NBC, CW, MTV HD, and Wealth HD), as well as the current HD DVD and Blu-ray disc players. The question was, does the latest crop [...]
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LCD vs. Plasma- The Pros and Cons
November 27th, 2006 · 84 Comments · LCD Flat Panel, Plasma
Large screen high-definition flat panels make the top ten list in “must purchase†surveys this year-and for good reason. They bring a Jetsons-like future to the present, with the best models delivering bright, clear, sharp high-definition pictures with deep colors and rich life like sound, while they take up less space in the home. This [...]
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HD Guru Basics: About HDTV Resolution
November 25th, 2006 · 39 Comments · Reference Materials
Resolution is one of the most misunderstood HDTV topics. Here are the basics. Item 1- Resolution: One Term, Two Meanings When you see the term “HDTV resolution†it will be referring to one of two types: Broadcast resolution or a display’s “native resolutionâ€Â. Item 2 -Broadcast Resolution The two high definition resolutions being broadcast today [...]
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What Retailers Don’t Want You To Know About HDMI Cables
November 23rd, 2006 · 117 Comments · Uncategorized
If you’re planning to buy a upconverting DVD player, PlayStation 3 or high def tuner for your HDTV this holiday, expect the salesman to say you’ll need an HDMI cable to make the connection. The upconverting DVD player will cost as little as $70, but the six to eight foot HDMI cable he’ll be pushing [...]
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