Quest for a home theater

As I wrote previously about my Sharp SH12U, the volume level is just not sufficient, and I expect that on a hot summer day the air-conditioner will likely make it very difficult for me to hear anything coming out of the television. This is especially true for QAM cable channels. Analog ones are a little louder.

A simple solution to this problem would be a home theater. Simple, but not inexpensive! And I am just not the kind of guy who needs authentic reproduction of audio in scenes "where stuff blows up." I just need something with a little more power than what my Sharp has to offer. I realize that this creates some incompatible expectations on my part. Nevertheless I will list the points that are important for me:

- under $150
- small form factor/footprint
- wireless speakers. Yes, I don't like wires. Can you blame me?
- if there is a DVD player it better be capable of upconverting to 1080i

I am still looking for this perfect combination, but because I will probably not find it, my top contender at this point is:

RCA RTD215

Official specs:

ENERGY STAR® qualified – This model consumes less than one watt in standby mode and meets the standards of the ENERGY STAR Program for energy efficiency
DVD/CD Home Theatre System – A complete package to experience DVD movies in surround sound
200 Watts Total System Power – 32 Watts x 5 with a 40 Watt Subwoofer
USB Input – Connect most mp3 players, thumbdrives and digital cameras through the front USB jack and enjoy your music or photos through the home theatre system
Multi-Format Playback – Plays DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, mp3, WMA®, VCD, SVCD and JPEG
Digital AM/FM Tuner – Tunes AM/FM stations with maximum accuracy and minimum drift
Dolby Digital® – Up to 5.1 channels with full, wide band frequency response. Five main channels are discrete & have 20Hz-20kHz frequency response
Display Type – VFD

What's missing?

I checked the manual to get some additional info.

- No HDMI, only component. Well, that's not so bad, I guess.
- No upconversion. But at least there is a progressive scan mode.
- No wireless. I'm afraid this is the feature I want the most, but it is also more expensive.

What's not necessary, but present?

The USB connection. Well, maybe that's useful, but believe it or not you can actually rip music of CDs to save it on USB devices. In my opinion this is entirely unnecessary. I'd rather see upconversion to 1080i. No such luck.

The good news is, however, that RCA apparently makes decent home theaters. Maybe one day they will have the right one for me?

Panasonic's portable GPS

Panasonic's Strada CN-GP5OU is the newest portable GPS available. 5" Widescreen LCD Monitor, GPS Assist, Bluetooth Hands-Free Calling... You can get a GPS for a lot less these days. The big plus (no pun intended) on this one is a bigger LCD screen. There is also an SD card slot. You can apparently use this device as an extremely overpriced picture frame, since it can be easily taken off the mount.

A GPS is precisely the thing that I always wanted, but it is also something I have no use for whatsoever! Regardless, it is impossible to buy one anywhere as of now. I think I will probably buy a GPS when they are below $50. Just to play with for a couple of days :)

Sharp Aquos vs. SH12U

The irony of watching commercials about television sets ON a television set never escaped me. When I see commercials about Sharp Aquos (D62U series), those TVs sure look awesome. They look awesome ON my Sharp SH12U! The quality of the picture of SH12U is so great that I honestly cannot see too many improvements when I compare the too in person. In theory, I know that Aquos should have an improved black level. In my opinion, however, Sharp already achieved pretty good levels of black on their previous models. It's just something they worked on, apparently. LCDs have a bad reputation for not having very good black levels. Supposedly they are not very good for watching movies in a dark room. This was a bit of a problem with my old ProView LCD, but SH12U simply makes it a no issue. So, I am still pretty happy with it, even though it is possible that Aquos is approaching "the look and feel" of a plasma screen TV.

Sharp SH12U

This is a 26-incher. They seem to be sold at Costco and similar places. When I compared it to a similar Westinghouse the difference in the quality was quite visible to me. I've read that Westinghouse keeps their prices low because the brand is now owned by an LCD manufacturer. Well, I did not like the quality of the LCD. At the store, while the demo HDTV signal was displayed I could see the difference in the areas that were supposed to be a certain pure color. Red, for instance. On the Westinghouse unit I could see some pixelation even when I was not standing close to the screen. I mean, it's ok. You can probably get used to it. But Sharp simply looked better. I have been reading some reviews later and it appears some of the Sharp's units are really among the best. Visually it is certainly true. I would say that there are only two nuisances about it. I don't think the speakers are loud enough. I very much dislike loud sounds, but I think that in the summer, when the air-conditioner is on, this TV will have to be set to the highest volume possible. So, it is a huge plus if you have some kind of separate sound system. Also, it takes a second or two to go from channel to channel. And it takes a few seconds to warm up when you turn on the TV. But if you are not a channel flipper you'll be just find. The good news is, however, that you can see both digital and analog channels on the same remote, so to speak. Ordinarily I would not think twice of it, but after having seen a Mintek LCD/DVD combo I appreciate this feature. On the Mintek you would have to switch constantly between digital and analog channels!

This LCD TV has a QAM, as well as a terrestrial HD tuner. This is nice, because if you have standard cable chances are that you can get all the free HDTV channels available off the air in your area.

• Screen Size: 26"
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Resolution: 1366 x 768
• Contrast Ratio: 1200:1
• Brightness: 450 cd/m2
• Response Time: 6ms
• Lamp Life: 2 60,000 hrs.
• Viewing Angles: 176°H x 176°V
• Tuning: NTSC/ATSC/QAM
• Stand: included
• Limited Warranty: 1 year parts, 90 days labor
• Dimensions (w x h x d) (in inches): 26-5/16 x 17-3/4 x 4-9/16 (TV only) 26-5/16 x 19-11/16 x 9-9/16 (TV and Stand)
• Weight (lbs): 25.4 (TV only), 28.4 (TV and Stand)

New distance

There is no debate whether cell phones make us more connected in a technological sense of the word. However, interpersonal connections are affected by cell phones in strange and interesting ways. Yes, it is certainly priceless to be able to get a hold of our friends and family any time, anywhere (as long as they keep their phones on and charged, darn it). But let's look at the limitations of 'cellular society', and then perhaps try to detect some signs of danger.

A typical mobile phone user knows well at what times the calls are free, where one should expect roaming charges, and with whom he or she can talk for a long time without paying a cent (i.e. people on the same network). Oddly enough, we may be able to communicate more easily with someone in a different state, as opposed to family members in the same town. We can become locked in within a certain group of people simply because we chose a specific service provider. It is no big deal for most of us, but for those who tend to talk a lot cell phones can help build relationships following a rather unnatural framework. Cellular networks are the new distance.

Text messaging, in my opinion, is a different story altogether. It is a cheaper, more democratic technology. But some troubling trends that can develop here. 'Texting' results in downgrading the level of personal connectedness between people. You cannot 'text' your true state of mind, your disposition towards the addressee. The possibilities for misinterpretation are also enormous. One can spend hours waiting for a reply, while being fully aware that no other mode of communication is possible for any number of reasons. The obvious objection can be that this is no different from email. The difference, however, is in the fact that computers occupy only specific locations in the spatial make-up of our individual lives. We can step away from them. Text messaging devices become attached to us and this causes them to have a greater affect upon us. We are more likely to put on a mask, to create a separate persona while texting than at any other time.

Cell phones are ushering in a new world of interpersonal relations, but this world is not going to be intrinsically more cohesive and transparent. There will also be new opportunities for compartmentalizing of individuals and wide-spread dystopia in the society.

Cell phones in restaurants?

People should be discouraged from using cell-phones in restaurants that find it inappropriate to have their patrons needlessly disturbed. I am far from suggesting a complete ban. Rather it seems as if establishments should make their own choices. I know a couple of restaurants where the atmosphere is such that one could care less (and it is so noisy there that you could not use a phone anyway). In fact, it would not be such a bad idea to have cell-phone licenses issued to restaurants. This would indicate that noise pollution and additional high-tech nuisances often associated with mobile phones are generally not welcome in certain public areas.

There is also another, more important issue. By making a choice about the use of cell-phones in locations typically understood as safe havens of human existence, we are preparing ourselves for other decisions that will be dealing with technologies that have not yet fully evolved. If mobile phones are primarily 'hated' as agents of sonic and social distraction, imagine how much worse things will become when popular personal devices allow one to project a 40-inch holographic videophone screen from a pen-size device.

Our ancestors in their wisdom decided that when gentlemen go inside, their horses must stay outside. By getting it right with cell phones we save ourselves some trouble in the future.

Official TV

As it stands now, if I am not mistaken, Sony is the official TV of NFL, and Sharp is the official TV of MLB. What should one choose? I am partial to both sports. Baseball, however, lasts longer. Sounds like a better investment.