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When a friend of mine told me he broke down and bought a 3D TV, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’m definitely at the skeptical end of the 3D TV spectrum. But don’t get me wrong. I love the latest and greatest in technology, and I’m a huge fan of 3D movies. But if I have to buy a pair of $300 3D glasses (even $100 is too much) not to mention settle for a limited number of 3D channels and movies, you can count me out. For now.
Panasonic recently announced its HDC-SDT750 3D consumer camcorder, which will be available in October of this year for about $1,400.
The camcorder itself sounds impressive with enhancements to its noise reduction technology; it offers 1080/60p (1,920 x 1,080) recording ability; and, there are plenty of manual controls. The camera also features time lapse recording, which just sounds cool. Sound will come from a 5.1-channel audio system. With five built-in microphones, multi-directional recording should compliment the 3D viewing nicely.
Artificial visual disparity through left- & right-eye recording—
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To record in 3D, the camera requires a conversion lens, which artificially reproduces visual disparity. Therefore to watch it, you’ll need a 3D TV that’s capable of side-by-side (SbS) 3D playback like one of Panasonic’s own VIERA sets.
Despite my skepticism, this could be just the toy gadget to get me excited about 3D TV. Who wouldn’t want to create their own 3D masterpiece?
The largest obstacle still remains the price of entry into this technology. Factor in the cost of the TV, 3D programming packages and media, a pair of 3D glasses for each family member, and now this camera…it will be tough to justify 3D in the budget with the Mrs. But I’m interested.
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“Stream thousands of movies instantly to your TV.”
“Setup is a breeze.”
“Open the door to a whole new world of entertainment.”
DIRECTV’s video on demand service sounds great! Only one problem. My router is way over there, and I’m not crazy about running an ethernet cable across the room…or down the hall for that matter. No worries. Drop some cash on a wireless adapter…problem solved!
The Wireless-N adapter offered up by DIRECTV is a hundred bucks; and if you don’t have one of those money trees, then that’s another problem. There are a few less expensive options that offer the same quality and streaming capability as the one endorsed by DIRECTV. Of the choices I found while lurking around on the satellite forums, the best all-around option based on price and reviews appears to be the TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter (Model TEW-647GA).
SETTING UP YOUR ADAPTER. One of the common issues regardless of which adapter you use seems to be setup. But I found this process to be a breeze. My TRENDnet came with an AC power cord, ethernet cable, and a setup CD. I tried using the Wi-Fi protected setup (WPS) method; but after a couple of failed attempts, I used the setup CD. The directions that come with the adapter are perfect. Take your laptop with you to the room with your HD DVR. Setup involves plugging your adapter into the laptop via the ethernet cable, powering up the adapter, and following the TRENDnet setup menu.
Once setup completed, I removed the ethernet cable from the laptop and plugged it into the DIRECTV Plus HD DVR (I’m using model HR22). Next I pressed the MENU button on my DVR remote, chose “Parental, Fav’s & Setup”, and then “System Setup”. Go to “Network Setup” and choose “Connect Now”. This will prompt your DVR to begin accessing the VOD menu. You’ll get a message that says something about taking 24 hours to complete the process. Regardless, there should be VOD offerings to begin watching immediately.
So far, my experience has been great. Streaming quality is excellent although that’s helped by a buffer. It’s important to point out that I’m using a cable connection piped through a Wireless-N router; but if you have an opportunity to use dual-band wireless router (like the Linksys E3000), you’ll better off in the long run especially if you have simultaneous usage across your home network.
Now go watch something. I’ve got Hot Tub Time Machine queued up.
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As a loyal BlackBerry user, it’s hard to turn my nose back down toward the Apple “light”. But Flipboard had me at “Hello”. Dare I admit that I’m considering an iPad?
The iPad app turns the ‘fancy tablet reader/website viewer’ into a more useful tool. Flipboard sorts content from your Facebook and Twitter feeds into a flipboard grid — articles, images, videos, links — and allows you to flip through that content like pages in a magazine. In addition to having the ability to like and comment on those items, the app aggregates others’ tweets and comments into view as well.
If I had to choose one significant feature that Flipboard lacks, it would be updates across multiple social networking sites…think HootSuite. However, I’d have to assume that they’ve already got some new features in the works. There’s just so much potential here. Nicely done, Flipboard.
Download the Flipboard app from iTunes.
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Pretty sure I’ve never been this excited about rainbows before…not even a sun dog. Now football season? Definitely.
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