Gambling Sphere

The Sony HD camcorder, the Handycam HDR-FX1 is being marketed by the company as ‘world’s first HDV 1080i consumer camcorder’. But at $3,700, it’s price tag is stretching the consumer label somewhat.

However, there’s no doubt the the industry sees HD video as a consumer format and prices will come down over the next couple of years. This Sony HD camcorder is just the start of what is sure to be an avalanche of HD camcorders from electronics companies over the next few months.

So, does this mean we can all look forward to shooting Hollywood-quality home movies in the future? Not quite. Although its true that some Hollywood fetaures, such as George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars: Attack of the Clones’ are being shot in high definition video, its not the same high definition as is shot and recorded by these camcorders.

If you look again at that Sony quote, you’ll see the important label, 1080i. If you’re familiar with HDTV, you’ll know that 1080 refers to 1080 lines of vertical resolution and the ‘i’ means the video is interlaced. 1080i is one of the two most common HDTV formats, the other being 720p (720 lines, progressive scan).

Hollywood HD movies are shot on another format, 1080p. This is higher quality than the other two, as it mixes the higher resolution with the better-quality progressive scan picture.

There is another important difference too. Hollywood HD is uncompressed, whereas the video shot by cameras like this Sony HD camcorder is compressed as MPEG-2. This compression inevitably lowers the quality of the video stored on the camera’s DV tape. However, it’s necessary because the HDR-FX1 connects to a computer using a FireWire cable and FireWire, whether it is the 400 or 800 variety, doesn’t have the bandwidth to transfer uncompressed HD footage. Even if it did, the sheer size of the files would make it impractical because of the large amoount of hard disk space needed to store it and the processing power needed to edit it.

Another fly in th HD ointment is that, currently, very few applications are able to edit the footage from this Sony HD camcorder. However, that looks set to change,as Apple has already announced that the next version of its Final Cut Express and iMovie applications, due at the end of January, will be able to edit HD.

HD video will eventually become a common consumer format, when prices come down and editing software is able to work with it. However, until a compression format is found that can squeeze the data contained in HD without noticeably reducing the quality, there will be little benefit over current DV format camcorders.

By the time the typical U.S. youth has reached eighteen years of
age they would have spent about 25000 hours watching tv. This
means they would have actually spent more time watching
televison than learning at school. The 1st colour television
transmission occurred in John Logie Bairds English studio back
in 1928.This transmission showed some blue and red scarves and a
UK policeman’s hat. Also shown was a mixed bunch of flowers, a
guy poking his tongue out and the smouldering end of a
cigarette. The first ever TV advert in history lasted twenty
seconds and was for a clock manufactured by a corporation called
Bulova. This company also manufactured the 1st timepiece that
went into space. The commercial was seen in July 1941 and went
out during a game being played by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the
Philadelphia Phillies. The famous revolving globe that is
utilized by the NBC news series spent many years turning in the
wrong direction. In 1984 this was eventually found and on
January 2nd this was put right and now the globe is turning
correctly. Way back in 1950 only 10 percent of U.S. households
had a television in their possession. By 1960 this had changed
to an unbeleivable 90 percent whilst today it is 99 percent with
fifty four percent of U.S youngsters having one in their
bedroom. Now more of us have tv’s than we do a phone. The
highest ever fee given to do a television advertisement was
$2,000,000 per thirty seconds of time. This was paid by
advertisers to run their adds during the very last American
screening of the popular comedy series friends. The show was
aired by American TV company NBC on May 6 2004 and lasted for a
whole hour. Man’s largest television set was unveiled in the
Japanese city of Tsukuba and measured 24.3m by 45.7m [ 80ft by
150ft ]. It was used in the 1985 Japanese International
Exposition and displayed a series of specially created films
containing varied artistic and cultural creations. The largest
number of adverts featuring a companies president were made for
Wendy’s Hamburger restaurants in the United States and featured
Dave Thomas the corporation creator. In all he has starred in
652 adverts with the shortest being five seconds and the longest
being sixty seconds. These commercials have won thirty six major
advertising awards and have made Dave as well known as his Food.
Whilst viewing an episode of the hit Japanese kids show Pokemon
over seven hundred Japanese children were rushed to hospital
with severe convulsions and trauma. This was caused by a ten
second scene in which the shows star Pikachu flashed his big red
eyes to the sound of a huge booming explosion. In the States the
largest section of the Television audience is made up of
pre-school children.On average their weekly viewing turns out to
be in the area of 30.4 hours which means by the age of 17 they
would have amassed about 15000 hours of television watching.
Amazingly this adds up to a staggering two years of solid
viewing.

Free Satellite TV or Cable: Does it Really Matter? By Paul M. Nelson (765 words)

As the big shots of the satellite TV industry do on-air battle with the giants of cable tv, you may have already found yourself wondering. does it really matter? I mean, aren’t we talking about different techno-roads to the same place here? Six of one, half dozen of another? For Pete’s sake, I just want to watch the game!!

I’m going to let the cat out of the bag right away here – I’ve actually found an unequivocal answer to this very important TV question: satellite is beating the snot out of cable every day of the week. Ok, so now that I’ve let you in on my subtle bias, let me lay out for you why satellite is eating cable’s lunch and sending the cable guys into boardroom frenzies. (For additional technical info on the differences between the two technologies/services, send me an email with “sat vs. cable” in the subject line to: pm_nels@yahoo.com and I’ll send you the links you’ll need).

Lets first talk about where they both compete evenly. Both cable and satellite offer lots and lots of programming-including local channels. Oops. that apparently is where the similarity ends.

How do they compare in regard to technology and delivery?

With satellite TV, your favorite shows come straight from the satellite (out in peaceful, quiet space) to your dish/tv. Pretty simple. The cable company, on the other hand, has to first acquire the signal from a satellite themselves (surprise!), then they must snake it through miles of fragile ‘cable’ until it arrives at your TV. Here’s my point: storms, wayward construction crews, landscapers, and car accidents among other things, can all inadvertently knock out your cable. My local cable company has almost always got a nice disclaimer on their tech support hotline referring to some weather disaster resulting in ‘interruption of service’ to some portion of your region, and that they are working as fast as possible to correct the problem (and call hold times may be lengthy as a result-GREAT!).

Here’s the good news for satellite TV customers: there are no storms, wayward earth movers or landscapers in SPACE! The cold, hard truth is that cable tv viewers experience MORE service problems, not fewer (contrary to what those finger-pointing cable industry advertisements say) than their satellite viewing counterparts. If you’re not convinced, just poll ten of your friends or neighbors with cable tv, and then another ten with satellite and see how many reception and “interruptions of service” problems they report. I promise you the satellite customers are far less concerned about “the weather” than their cable watching neighbors.

You’re also going to get more for less with satellite, hands down. Most satellite providers offer DVRs (along with free satellite installation for multiple rooms) as standard equipment, where most cable companies treat DVR as an upgrade to nickel and dime you with (along with a list of other fees the cable industry will get you with) .

And that leads me to the next big issue in the cable-satellite face off. In a word: competition. Satellite has actually got some. As a TV consumer, I just love a market economy, don’t you? Your local cable company competes with the satellite industry, but not with anyone else. The satellite TV industry is filled with many small and large wholesalers that must compete with each other as well as with the cable industry. This creates the competitive economic conditions among satellite dealers that allow for things like. that free equipment I mentioned, free installation, free premiums, etc that cable tv providers just don’t feel compelled to (or just can’t) offer. Here are just a couple of representative examples of competitive satellite providers I work with, that give away the store to gain a customer:

http://url123.com/znvm3 http://url123.com/znurp

All other factors being equal (and they really are), the TV battle boils down to technology delivery, and competition-period. And shrewd consumers are beginning to choose satellite over cable tv in big numbers, and you can expect to see this trend causing more and more panic in the cable industry in the coming years. So to all you cable watchers out there. is that a thunderstorm moving in on the horizon?…

A typical T1 circuit is only 1.5 megabits per second. A typical digital 3 minute song is 3 megaBYTES or 24 megabits in size. A typical digital photo is about 2 megaBYTES or 16 megabits. The typical Power Point presentation is 10 megaBYTES in size or 80 megabits. If 3 or more people in the office were to email a power point presentation at the same time the office internet connection would slow to a crawl for 3 or more minutes. This does not take into account all the spam email clogging up your Internet connection while attempting to reach your mail server. Nor does it take into account many other new bandwidth hogging applications that others in office are using such as monitoring their nanny cam at home, watching MarketWatch , CNN streaming video channels, or uploading a photo album to a relative. Everyday there are new bandwidth intensive applications being developed for the Internet.

It’s obvious that the common T1 connection can’t handle this growth. Your best option is to research application of a DS3 bandwidth solution.

A DS3 (sometimes referred to as a T3 or E3) is a leased private dedicated line that goes directly from your office to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). A T3/DS3 connection is equivalent to 28 T1/DS1 connections and uses digital signals on fiber-optic cable at speeds of 45 million bps (bits per second) or 44.736 megabits per second. Generally this type of dedicated line is for 50-100+ users and/or high bandwidth applications. T3/DS3 connections can also be used for point to point access (direct connection between 2 business sites).

As a standard used in the North American and Japanese marketplaces, a DS3 can handle 672, 64Kbps voice conversations or one video data channel. The DS3 line has enough bandwidth to transmit full-motion real-time videos and very large databases over a busy network. Generally a DS3 line would be installed as a major networking channel for a large corporation, research facility, or university with high volume network traffic. But there are multiple smaller scale business uses also….particularly when multiple locations are involved. Bandwidth for a Fractional T3, up to a full T3, generally run at speeds between 6 Mbps through 45 Mbps.

DS3 connection (or T3 connection), is great for companies with large bandwidth needs. It is especially useful as the backbone for Disaster Recovery systems. If your company needs computer access for 50 + users, or needs to run high bandwidth applications like video conferencing, you are likely in the market for a T3/DS3 connection. A T3/DS3 line is also a viable solution for companies looking to resell bandwidth to their customers.

The common T1 line can handle 24 simultaneous voice calls or a high speed Internet connection speed of 1.54 Mbps. This is usually the solution of choice for small to mid size businesses. A DS3 line can handle 672 simultaneous voice calls or provide a high speed Internet connection of 45 Mbps. The T3/DS3 is typically used by high end data and voice customers as it is the equivalent of 28 T1 lines or 672 voice lines.

Most DS3 circuits are “fractional”, meaning a portion of the circuit. A DS3 is capable of 45 megabits per second. Fractional DS3s are usually, 8 megabit per second which is equal to about five (5) T1s. Today this is more than fast enough for most all business needs.

The cost of the DS3 circuit is always mileage based. Generally speaking the farther the distance from your ISPs Central Office (CO) connection the more it will cost. On top of that there is often a bandwidth usage charge.

DS3 service can be deployed for a wide variety of applications. The most common uses are DS3 point-to-point (tying 2 distinct business locations together), DS3 internet (data), DS3 frame relay, DS3 voice, and DS3 VPN. The pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used. Using a free rate quote research service such as DS3- Bandwidth.com will allow you to obtain current pricing for your location.

Technology solutions are designed to help these manufacturing heroes, yet the results are mixed. Selecting the correct technology can be tantamount to an adding a group of employees; selecting the wrong technology can bring the enterprise to a screeching halt.

Rob Stull is IT Manager, Quality Assurance Manager who noted, “Our Y2K quick purchase of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software system turned out to be a poor choice as far as the company goes. The ERP company was bought shortly after our purchase and then put out of business. This left MPI without support or upgrades or an opportunity for continuous improvement…which did not match our lean goals.”

Thomas R. Cutler, the nation’s leading manufacturing journalist profiled Midwest Patterns (MPI), selection of Encompix ERP Software designed specifically for the ETO (Engineer-to-Order) environment. The feature article can be found at: http://www.reedlink.com/SingleArticle~ContentId~56398~pub~IP.html or www.trcutlerinc.com.

Stull insisted that ETO (engineer-to-order) issues characterized Midwest Patterns business, “The need for flexibility in all we do was central in finding the best technology solution. On-time delivery is critical to Midwest Patterns. Saving time and paperwork was essential…We have molds to build not paperwork!” Midwest Patterns’ selection of a new ERP system came down to a choice between two software providers; Encompix (www.encompix.com) won due to its flexibility and its Engineer-to-Order appropriateness. Stull noted that, “The interface has a simplistic layout which is less intimidating to the users. Let’s face it, not all users have degrees in computer science and you need to make them comfortable in their environment.”

Midwest Patterns has a philosophy that is indicative of other ETO manufacturers working to achieve a competitive advantage. Stull suggests with the commitment to delivery and service, “Most companies remain loyal if they get what they want and get it early. Service above all!”

Mike Merten advised Midwest Patterns in the new technology selection. Merten noticed how many functions Stull fulfilled at the company. “They do not have a large IT staff. Stull does double (sometimes triple) duty as Quality Assurance Manager, IT Manager and whatever other duties might be thrown his way. This made the selection of the proper ERP system critical for them.”

Encompix www.encompix.com Roger Meloy 513-733-0066

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Do you yearn for DVD excellence; however miss your old video recorders (VCR’s) potential to save your favourite TV series? Well, you are equipped to obtain the best of both worlds with a Digital Versatile Disc (more normally known as a DVD) recorder, as to its helpful recording options together with its DVD first-rate audio & vision.

There are at this time numerous makes of Digital Versatile Disc recorders for sale, each with specific qualifications & features. For that reason, this means that whatever your wishes are, there will be a specific model of DVD recorders available in stores that will suit you.

DVD Recorders have never been so economical. In reality, prices are falling so fast that getting rid of that old Video Cassette Recorder (more normally known as a VCR) and changing over to Digital Versatile Disc or HDD recording makes more sense. Yet, it is a marketplace determined by technology & innovation & therefore means product features are progressing every day. Buy Cheap DVD recorders at Digital Direct.

If you are baffled by the distinction between DVD-R, DVD-RAM & DVD+RW, we also present you with a simple breakdown of the configurations available to buy – which makes are following them and what the most recent developments are.

Pioneer manufactures a collection of Digital Versatile Disc recorders, a number of which have HDD capability; letting you to record countless hours of TV prior to transferring them on to Digital Versatile Disc when necessary. Pioneer also creates a series of great DVD players & DVD home cinema systems including HDMI compatible models.

Pioneer is a universally recognised television and hi-fi company that caters for the home, car, multimedia and DJ product markets. Pioneer was created as Fukuin Shokai Denki in Tokyo in 1938. The company firstly began life building speakers and later switched its name to Pioneer in 1961. It has since developed a number of firsts onto the electronics market, which includes the world’s first GPS car navigation gadget in 1990 and the first ever DVD recorder in nineteen ninety nine.

Chamonix is a unique holiday destination with the infamous Mont Blanc and majestic glaciers. My friends like to go walking or even eating out. I usually travel from Snyder and stay at a Chamonix self catered chalet for the duration of my stay.

My friends and I previously stayed in Sea Dip Motel and Condos unfortunately it sometimes didn’t live up to its description: Built in 1980, the Sea Dip Motel and Condos is located at 2608 North Ocean Blvd, 5 miles from Myrtle Beach Airport and directly on the beaches of Atlantic Ocean. Hotel features include, room service, indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub, non-smoking rooms, laundry room, free parking, ATM services, fax and photocopy service, and concierge service.

However in Chamonix town the chalet is nearly always outstanding. As well dining out in my families’ preferred hotel restaurant, El Patio Inc, eating cow patty cobbler is a treat. Chamonix Mont Blanc France is a big enough village to make sure that there is lots of things for the snowboarder to do. Amongst other things it includes a sports and swimming complex and a weekly market with fresh local produce, Chamonix offers a choice of skiing, French charm and tourist attractions which not many ski resorts can match.

Manhattan is the lifeblood of New York City and has become one and the same with the city as a whole. The Island itself is home to Wall Street, as well as a number of artistic and cultural centers. Manhattan can be roughly divided into Downtown, Midtown and Uptown areas, each of which contain a number of world-class attractions.

Situated to the south of 14th Street, Downtown Manhattan is the setting of the Financial District which runs along Wall Street, including the rebuilt World Trade Center and Battery Park, from which you can get to the Statue of Liberty by ferryboat. More than a few well liked cultural areas downtown, including Greenwich Village Tribeca and Soho feature historic architecture, trendy dining and plenty of shopping. Another trendy location downtown is Manhattan, which runs along Canal Street.

The Midtown area is found between 14th Street and Central Park, and includes a outstanding arts scene. The center|core|axis|hub|heart} of arts life in the metropolitan area is the Theater District which includes Broadway, Times Square and Hell’s Kitchen, as well as the Madame Tussaud’s. The Midtown area is a opportune location for business travelers to stay as there are many New York hotel choices in the area. Other trendy districts comprise Gramercy Flat Iron, a trendy residential section, as well as the fashionable Chelsea District.

Large amounts of real estate controlled by Central Park, Upper Manhattan the location of the City Zoo, the MET and quite a few museums all over the Upper East and West side. Moreover, the district is thesetting of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, the old Harlem neighborhood and Washington Heights.

All of Manhattan’s one of a kind sections hold their own sense of history, as well as admired points of interest from top-notch arts to food. A jaunt to New York is not whole without a complete tour of Manhattan’s excellent spots. There is an excellent reason that Manhattan has come to classify the public face of New York. Manhattan is one of the world’s foremost cultural capitals and continues to set the standard in commercial and artistic trends.

Fashion is not about being safe, no. It is about having fun with style. We think silver is the perfect compliment to your wardrobe’s style. Yes, a great way for even the most conservative to move safely into the unsafe style zone! Silver pieces hold their style and a zany piece can be forever trendy.

Silver jewelry accessories are used as a form of an individual’s personal expression and fashion art. When thinking of personal expression styles we tend to look at clothing, hair styling, and jewelry accessories. The almighty Silver being a key jewelry accessory, adding flare and creative artistry. Now compare Silver’s cost effectiveness to both clothing and hair. Clothing has to be replaced periodically, and your hair has to be cut and styled. Ahh…but buying an artistic silver jewelry accessory is a one time expense, but a gift to yourself that keeps on giving over time.

Silver is flexible and appropriate for both daytime and evening wear. It is often used to accent casual fashions, sportswear, and elegant ware. It is the simple elegance of silver, this elegance gaining great favor in the worldwide fashion industry. In the winter worn with navy, black, and other dark colors, silver stands out and accents the winter wardrobe well. As well in the summer, worn with open and light-weight clothing, silver looks great and is comfortable against the bare skin.

Silver is known for its shiny bright hue when used in its polished state, but has gained extreme popularity in a duller matte finish or a combination of the polished and matte. Silver possesses working qualities similar to copper and gold, but enjoys greater reflectivity and can achieve a brilliant polish and shine. To make it durable for jewelry, however, pure silver (99% fineness) is alloyed together with small quantities of copper and other metals. In many countries, (92.5% silver, 7.5% other) is the standard for sterling silver.

However, silver is often mixed with a variety of alloys. The added alloy gives the silver hardness, durability, and uniqueness. Without the alloy, the silver piece would be too soft to wear. The mix toughens the silver and makes it possible to use silver for odd shaped jewelry, silverware, picture frames, and more.

Silver jewelry is enjoying an unprecedented popularity with today’s fashion conscious public. So, when in fashion do as the fashion-what-its do, use Silver in its many forms to forego dowdy formalities to keep your style unique, fresh, and captivating.

Contributor: Stuart Glasure [Designer, Fashion Artist, Creator of Zany Wearables, Wine Enthusiast]
www.ZanyGiftware.com
www.WineDefinitions.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Contributor: Stuart Glasure [Designer, Fashion Artist, Creator of Zany Wearables, Wine Enthusiast]
www.ZanyGiftware.com
www.WineDefinitions.com

Following with the latest trend in style and fashion and the release of the new iPod Shuffle… iPodT.com brings you the all new iPodT Shirt.

Function meets fashion… Don’t be bound by a armband or leashed by a lanyard… pop it into the iPodT pocket and go!

Free your arms and groove to it… wear it… and shuffle.

About the Author

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