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HD 101: What is local dimming?
One thing that makes covering LCD TVs so interesting is that the technology is always advancing and one innovation that might be the biggest in LCDs yet, is local dimming. But you're probably wondering, what is it exactly? Well in non-edgelit LED LCDs TV, there's an array of LED lights behind the liquid crystal pixels, and local dimming is when sections of the LED array are turned off or dimmed to help produce the deep blacks -- like Kuro deep. But while this tech can produce very deep blacks and fantastic contrast, there's a catch, it also create an artifact referred to as a halo around bright objects. Example: the two images above are of the opening scene of The Matrix (cops shining a flash light) it's pretty easy to tell which is the plasma and which is the LED LCD with local dimming. Of course we don't exactly watch movies with flash lights or star fields every night, so after the break are more pictures of a normal dark scene that also expose the artifact caused by local dimming (we have to point out that the camera makes it more drastic than it appears in reality). So while we wouldn't buy an LCD without local dimming, there's still a lot to look forward to in the next generation when the dimming is sure to become more local, and thus the artifact will be minimized. At the same time these advancements should help produce more detail in blacks, which is harder to notice at first, but just as annoying once you do. Just getting into HD? Check out these other HD 101 features: Overscan and why all TVs do it What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB? How to use Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD with your PS3 Why there are black bars on HDTVs IR blasters, HDMI-CEC, RS-232 and IP control
Ben Drawbaugh11.04.2010
HD 101: IR blasters, HDMI-CEC, RS-232 and IP control
You'd be hard pressed to find a TV without some sort of extra box attached to it these days -- and with each box comes another remote. The sad part is it doesn't have to be this way, nope, the necessary interaction between devices really isn't that complicated. The problem is the devices just aren't designed to work together, but that isn't because the industry hasn't tried. All the political reasons aside the technology to let your cable box carry on a two way conversation with your TV and other equipment does exist. So we're going to explain what's out there. If you've ever wondered how you can gain more control over your gear using everything from an IR blaster to sending TCP commands via IP, then read on. Just getting into HD? Check out these other HD 101 features: HD 101: Overscan and why all TVs do it What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB? How to use Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD with your PS3 Why there are black bars on HDTVs
Ben Drawbaugh06.30.2010
HD 101: Overscan and why all TVs do it
The concept of overscan seems particularly difficult for geeks to comprehend -- normal people usually don't care to even understand it -- and some even get down right confrontational when they first learn that all TVs do it. But the fact is that even the latest LCDs and plasmas don't show all 2 million pixels of a 1080p signal out of the box. Instead about 3 percent of 'em are cropped off the edges (as illustrated by the red line in the image above) and the remaining pixels are scaled to fill in all the pixels of your HDTV. The real kick in the head is that the reason isn't a good one, especially when you consider the advanced technology that's available today. So in this HD 101 we're going to cover what overscan is, why it's there, and finally how to "fix" it. Other HD 101 goodness: What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB? How to use Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD with your PS3 Why there are black bars on HDTVs
Ben Drawbaugh05.27.2010
HD 101: 3D FAQ
While not everyone is sold on 3D at home yet -- or even in the theater -- most still have at least a few questions, and in the past year or so we've heard 'em all. So we figured we might as well share all the questions and the answers in one easy to read 3D FAQ. This is by no means comprehensive, but thanks to the wonders of the internet if we missed something it isn't too late to ask in the comments and watch in wonder as the post magically gets updated.
Ben Drawbaugh04.23.2010
HD 101: The difference between sequential and side by side 3D
Sequential transmission to sequential display Side by side transmission to sequential display All this 3D is cool and all but it can be difficult to understand all the new formats and as much as people want it, there's no new format war here. In fact the differences in the 3D technologies are more like the differences between 720p and 1080i or LCDs and plasmas. We talked a lot about the differences between circular polarized and active shutter glass systems in our 3D is coming home feature (these two are like LCD vs plasma) but we didn't talk about the ways to store and transmit 3D (kinda of like 720p vs 1080i). There are more than two ways, but since sequential is what the Blu-ray spec and active shutter TVs use, and side by side is what DirecTV announced, we're going to focus on them. Now just like 720p vs 1080i, a signal can be transmitted in either format but still displayed differently on the HDTV. And also like a 1080p HDTV can really only display 1080p images (everything else is converted) a sequential 3DTV can only display sequential 3D, this of course means the TV converts it. In the case of Blu-ray, the video is sent out of the player at 1080p 24 frames per second, per eye; or 48 frames per second. This signal goes to the TV but the glasses are what ensures each eye sees the correct image -- pretty simple right. But for side by side systems like DirecTV is using, a single 1080p frame that holds both the right and left eye's images is sent at 24 frames per second. The TV receives this signal, splits it into two frames, displays them sequentially and then stretches 'em out. Obviously this isn't as good as Blu-ray, but it uses way less bandwidth and makes it so DirecTV can just release a firmware update instead of replacing all the set-top boxes. It is expected that cable companies will use the same technique -- the reason exceptions were added to the HDMI spec -- but even ESPN said it wasn't exactly sure what format it would use.
Ben Drawbaugh01.12.2010
HD 101: What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB?
Once you buy an HDTV it doesn't take long before you get confused by all the acronyms. We love us some HD, but the days of simply bringing a new set home and plugging into a coax cable are long over -- at least for most. It is pretty obvious by the latest surveys that most people don't understand exactly what it takes to enjoy HD on their HDTV, but even if you do, you may not understand what most of it means. Now while this isn't the typical make sure you have your HDTV configured to watch HD post, it will help you understand the different ways HD is delivered.
Ben Drawbaugh05.08.2009
HD 101: How to use Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD with your PS3
If you read Engadget HD, it's safe to say that you're ahead of the curve when it comes to home audio/video. You do your homework before picking out gear, and you know that the PS3 can deliver Blu-ray audio bliss courtesy lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA tracks. One look at all the configuration options in the PS3's XMB (Xross Media Bar) interface, however, and you might find yourself wondering how to unlock the those audio codecs. In this installment of HD 101, we'll briefly cover the reason for the confusion and then go through setting up your PS3 for lossless audio step-by-step.
Steven Kim04.21.2009
HD 101: Why there are black bars on HDTVs
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/HD_101_Why_there_are_black_bars_on_HDTVs';It never fails, one of the first thing just about every new HDTV owners asks is; why are there black bars on my new widescreen TV? And this is the reason why just about every HD discussion forum has a sticked thread at the top of the forums explaining why this still happens. So in this edition of HD 101, we figured we'd have our go at trying to give a simple answer to an age old question. The most basic explanation is because the image you want to watch isn't the same shape as the your TV. Of course that seems too obvious and now you're thinking; but why not, they're both widescreen? But rather than getting into the why are there so many shapes -- called aspect ratios from here on out -- we'll show you the various formats and the different ways they might be displayed on your HDTV.
Ben Drawbaugh02.19.2009
HD 101: Discrete IR codes
Anyone that has ever tried to use a programmable remote knows what is so great about discrete IR commands, but just by the name the concept seems foreign. It's pretty simple really, most remotes have one button for things like power and inputs, even though these buttons perform multiple tasks. So in the example of the power button, its function toggles between turning the thing on and off. The remote always sends the same code, but the device responds differently depending on its state. Put simple, when it is off, the IR code turns it on, and when it is on, the IR code turns it off. This is great most of the time because it cuts down on the number of buttons on the remote, while at the same time eliminates buttons that wouldn't do anything -- there's not much use for an on button when the unit is already on after all. Discrete IR codes are their mirror opposites.
Ben Drawbaugh02.05.2009