Un adaptador para enviar señales de video por medio del puerto USB no es gran novedad, es más, hasta existen adaptadores similares inalámbricos. Lo interesante del Minideck de Sewell es que funciona con resoluciones de hasta 2.048 x 1.152, lo que quiere decir que monitores 1080p y 1.920 x 1.200 no tendrían problema usándolo. Ofrece soporte para conexiones VGA, DVI y HDMI, y el precio es de cómodos (aunque no baratos) 99,95 dólares (al menos en EEUU).

FUENTE

We are all lucky enough in this day and age to have a multitude of electronic entertainment equipment in our homes. With prices dropping exponentially we now have HDTVs, DVDs, PlayStations, Digital Radios, and Satellite TV among others. The home theatre has been born and it is due to clever little inventions that we have this privilege.

HD video, multi-channel audio, and intercomponent operability commands (which are remote signals). When you connect up a HDMI cable (in particular the new HDMI 1.3) you get all the video performance that DVI has to offer up to and including 1080p.Further to this HDMI offer even more advantages as you can use these when you want to hook up a HDMI with a HDMI with a HDMI cable we used to connect PCs and digital monitors. It is now the most widely used connection in the early stages relied on DVI for obvious reasons in that it hit the market first.

Not to go into too much depth but the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) cable is a low cost, high-bandwidth digital connector which was originally used to rely on the following connectors:Component video cables- known to you and I as RCA connectors – these connectors carry video signals into two channels for colour and a four pin connector. Another is the DVI cable for connecting projectors, monitors and advanced DVD players.However HDMI has made things a lot easier for us all. You can use the DVI cable which transmits analogue signals using one cable and a four pin connector.

Another is the DVI cable for connecting projectors, monitors and advanced DVD players.However HDMI has made things a lot easier for us all. You can use these when you want to hook up a HDMI cable we used to rely on the following connectors:Component video cables- known to you and I as RCA connectors – these connectors carry video signals into two channels for colour and a third for luminance. Another connector is the DVI cable which is a 29 pin connection used for computer monitors which can also carry digital signals.

Many people who had HDTVs in the computer industry. They can also be used with can be used for computer monitors which can support 1.8 times as many colours as RGB. HDMI 1.3 supports the output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-FD Master Audio streams and can be used with a HDMI system with that of a DVI. HDMI cables have to offer.

Screen flickering like a strobe light isn’t a good thing, right?

I have a Benq e2200HD 22″ flat panel monitor. While I was using Windows 7 Ultimate RC, I noticed faint flickering while playing Far Cry 2. It wasn’t the usual type of flickering, where the screen goes black for a moment and then the desktop reppears again. It was so faint that I didn’t think anything of it. It’s been two weeks since I installed Windows 7 Home Premium. A couple of days ago the flickering came back and it got worse. It was no longer limited to Far Cry 2. My desktop was also flickering and it was giving me a headache.

My first instinct was to change the monitor’s refresh rate. My screen resolution was 1920×1080. When I attempted to change the resolution rate, from 59Hz to 60Hz, it did nothing. When I mean it did nothing I mean that the change did not save and I was stuck at 59Hz. I googled and plenty of people are having problems being unable to change their refresh rates in Windows 7. The current consensus is that unlike previous Windows, Windows 7 is rounding down the number instead of rounding up. I tried to use the nVidia Control Panel to create a new resolution. I was able to change the refresh rate to 61Hz but it did nothing. Meanwhile, the flickering got so bad, I changed the resolution to 1440×900. From there I was able to bump up the refresh rate to 75Hz. However, this was only a temporary solution.

I became worried that there was something wrong with the card. You see, I also have our 42″ Samsung hooked up to my computer so we can watch videos on our TV. The flickering was also happening there until I changed the resolution and refresh rate. The next step was to buy a new monitor cable. I didn’t have very high hopes that this would work. Here’s where the real purpose of this post comes into play.

I bought a DVI to HDMI 2m cable from Digimania for 19€. I plugged the HDMI end into the monitor and the DVI end into the EVGA card. I turned the monitor on and nothing happened! The only thing on the screen was the message “No cable connected”. I immediately thought, “This better not be a bad cable!” I reseated the connections and tried again. Still nothing happened. After a while of thinking, the screen turned off and on as if it was trying to find the right screen resolution or something. A messaged popped up for a split second saying “DVI”. Well, the problem there was that HDMI port is supposed to be in use. I plugged the EVGA-provided HDMI to DVI adapter onto the cable and plugged it into the monitor. It instantly found the connection and from there, using the monitor’s menu, I was able to change the “Input” setting under “System” to HDMI. After that, the monitor was able to detect that the HDMI port was in use.

So apparently, the Benq e2200HD’s HDMI port needs to be enabled first using the monitor’s menu before you can use it. I don’t understand why they did that. But, oh well the connection is working now and I do not have to re-enable it. As for the S-Video connection from the card to our TV, I’ll have to live with it for the time being until I can afford to buy a replacement cable for the one I am using now.

If you are really serious about building a home theater, and you really want to maximize the results, it’s not just the equipment that is going to make your theater stand out.  Choosing a proper wall colour is one of the most important decisions to make when building a theater.

Everyone knows that light is absorbed by the colour black right?  That’s why baseball players put that paint under their eyes, that’s why you don’t wear a black t-shirt to the beach.  The same rule applies when painting your theater room.  A projector throws light over a large distance in an effort to reflect off of the screen.  Said screen will have, if it’s a good one, reflective attributes that will multiply the amount of light returning to the viewers eyes.  This is what is known as screen gain.  Generally the higher the screen gain, the brighter the image.

“What does this have to do with the wall colour?” you ask.  A projector’s lens is built to focus in a rectangular shape at a ratio of 16:9.  However, the light that leaves a lens will always, always, always create spillage around the intended target.  If the walls surrounding your screen are white, they will reflect this spilled light.  This reflected light will not only draw your attention to the walls, but will also shed light on the image causing it to wash out.  If they are black, they will absorb it.  It’s as simple as that.

Unfortunately, black walls are not in everyone’s design scheme.  Ideally, you should bite the bullet and work a black wall into your scheme, at least, on the wall the screen is mounted to.  If black is just plain not an option, choose the darkest colour you can live with.  Trust me, you will appreciate it in the long run.

Look at the way this image stands out on the black wall!

Background:
As the HDTV market continues to heat up, consumers are in need of being educated on the latest technology in order to make intelligent purchasing decisions. There are a plethora of articles explaining the technical pros and cons of the 3 dominant HDTV display technologies namely: LCD, Plasma, and DLP. However, one all- important, but overlooked feature in selecting a HDTV set is the type of HD video connection. The video connections available for HDTV are: component video, DVI (digital video interface) and HDMI (high definition multi-media interface). We will discuss briefly the pros and cons of each.
Component video cable commonly referred to as R, G, B (Red, Green, Blue) actually consists of 3 separate cables because it distributes the 3 primary color components to the display. All colors can be generated from weighted distribution of each Red, Green and Blue color components. Of the 3 HD connection technologies available today, analog component video is the most mature technology.
-Advantage: Analog component video cable is mature and cost effective.
-Disadvantage: component video cables are analog! All HDTV sets are inherently digital therefore extra digital to analog and analog to digital conversion is necessary in order to process the video. This extra conversion can introduce video artifacts. Since all HDTV’s are digital, it only makes sense to use an all- digital connection such as DVI or HDMI.
DVI (digital video interface)as the name suggests is an all-digital video connection. Unlike analog component cables the DVI interface transports the original digitized R,G, B video signals from the HD source to the HD display. Since it is all digital, no artifacts or degradation will be incurred. You will get EXACTLY the picture that the video source supplies with no degradation. DVI connection is often found on HDTV as well as PC video cards.
-Advantage : DVI is ALL-digital, so there is no picture degradation from source to display.
-Disadvantage : Digitizing R, G, B requires extremely high bandwidth. The aggregate data rate of the digital R, G, B signals is 1.65 Gbps! The high bandwidth means that cable quality is important and also the link distance is limited. Typical link budget for a DVI is ~ 15 ft.
HDMI (high definition multi-media interface) is the latest state of art audio and video connection. Technically, HDMI is identical to DVI with 3 notable differences. 1) HDMI is a much smaller connector (it looks like an U.S.B. connector), 2) HDMI utilizes copy protection called HDCP (high definition copy protection) and 3) HDMI carries multi channel digital audio. HDMI, like DVI, is ALL-digital therefore picture quality is “perfect” from source to display.
-Advantage: HDMI is a single digital video and Audio connection. Only 1 single cable is needed to transport both audio and video! This significantly reduces cable clutter behind your theater setup.
-Disadvantage: Like DVI, the link distance is limited and a high quality cable is required because of the inherently high bandwidth required to transport digital R, G, B. video.
Conclusion:
As the HDTV market continues to mature, consumers will need to be educated on the HDTV video connections available. We have outlined briefly the main features along with the pros and cons of each connection solution, so the consumer can make intelligent a choice in selecting the HDTV video connections.
Jeff Su is product development manager at http://www.octavainc.com. He can be reached at info@octavainc.com

Are you looking out to get a DVD player/TV/home theatre? Then you’re possibly worrying about HDMI Vs DVI questions : which is better? Are they compatible? HDMI Vs DVI, which should I opt?

Which is better? HDMI or DVI?

HDMI was derived from DVI. It has more bandwidth capability ( 5Gbps to 10Gbps ). Unlike DVI, which needs a separate cable to carry audio, HDMI uses a single wire for video and audio making the cabling less awkward.

HDMI supports automated screen format conversion. It can immediately convert a picture into its most suitable format, for example a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. HDMI produces photographs that are sharper and smoother ( up to 1080pi resolution ).

Are HDMI and DVI compatible?
HDMI is fully’backward’compatible with DVI. All you need is a HDMI/DVI adapter. But some HDMI features will be lost if you use an adapter like automatic screen format conversion and universal remote control.
HDMI Vs DVI

if you’re purchasing both HDTV and a video player like Blu-ray Disc player, I advise that you go for HDMI for both. You can release your living room of messy wires that you find in other home theatres. You can use a single remote to operate all of the devices connected and it supplies the best video and audio. But if you already have one of a DVI source or DVI TV and then just go for a DVI for the other one as well because going for HDMI doesn’t increase the general quality of expertise.

Overall, I like to recommend HDMI because it gives you better quality of video and audio, has smaller cables and gives you the universal radio control. Add the DRM ( Digital Rights Management ) angle to it, HDMI could be the standard in days to come. Before I close off I feel I must mention the new DisplayPort cable technology which could potentially render both these technologies worthless. Although Displayport cable are thought of as a direct replacement for DVI, it is said DisplayPort will run alongside HDMI.

You may also find this site useful:
DisplayPort Cable

Bueno, este tema es complejo… y no porque queramos: en Cupertino adoran hacernos la vida imposible con cosas lindas, y creo que el asunto de las salidas de vídeo de sus ordenadores son la niña bonita de la confusión. Salidas de vídeo abundan, y adaptadores para convertirlas en otras también; no creo que Apple dependa de la venta de adaptadores, pero con lo caro que cuestan, no me extrañaría que saquen una parte simpática de dinero de esta confusión de formatos y cables y compatibilidades extrañas. Hoy me he puesto a revisar del tema por una idea que tengo para mi MacBook blanco, y armé un enredo de cables y adaptadores imaginarios bien divertido… que pretendo desentrañar hoy con ustedes.

Los MacBook blancos tienen salida de vídeo mini-DVI (la pueden ver a la izquierda) y me gustaría usar el equipo para poder mostrar mis disertaciones en los proyectores de la universidad. La mayoría de ellos acepta conexión VGA o de vídeo compuesto (incluso súper-vídeo) y hasta ahora no he podido por falta de adaptadores. Hace tiempo que tengo ganas de comprar uno que me cambie el mini-DVI por VGA, aunque hoy, mientras le daba vueltas al asunto, decidí que intentaré hacer la mejor compra posible. Lo malo es que tanto formato de vídeo me colapsó un poco… así que primero aclararemos algunos puntos. Escribiré un pequeño glosario de términos para que nos vayamos entendiendo mejor:

VGA: sigla de video graphics array, es un formato creado por la IMB en 1988 para mostrar imágenes de sus ordenadores. El VGA es un estándar de muestra de imágenes, y corresponde a los 640×480 píxeles que todos los dispositivos de vídeo (integrados o dedicados) soportan como mínimo. Es ocupado ampliamente en muchas pantallas, tarjetas de vídeo y proyectores; es el estándar de estándares en cuanto a vídeo se refiere. Su transmisión de datos es analógica, y depende de factores externos como la potencia de los píxeles adyacentes y el ‘ruido’ generado por la señal.

DVI: sigla de digital visual interface, es un formato creado por la DDWG (Digital Display Work Group) en 1999 para reemplazar los formatos analógicos como el VGA, promoviendo un modelo de traspaso de señal por códigos binarios, donde cada píxel no depende de los píxeles adyacentes ni del ruido eléctrico, logrando una representación 100% fiel de la fuente en la pantalla. Puede ser de tipo DVI-D (sólo digital), DVI-A (sólo analógico) o DVI-I (digital y analógico, para permitir compatibilidad). Ha sido adoptado por muchas marcas importantes desde 2003, pero no es el único formato que se ocupa con estos fines HD. Apple tiene dos conectores similares, el mini-DVI (de los MacBook y PowerBook) y el micro-DVI (de los MacBook Air). Conservan las características técnicas, pero fueron reducidos por una cosa de espacio (me imagino).

HDMI: sigla de high definition multimedia interface, es un formato creado por los HDMI adopters (distintas marcas de tecnología como Hitachi, Sony, Phillips y otros) en 2002 para reemplazar al Euroconector en el Viejo Continente. Puede transmitir vídeo en alta definición y audio de la misma calidad en un único cable, y sirve para reproductores de super audio CD, Blu ray, TDT y ordenadores.

DisplayPort: es un formato creado por la VESA (Video electronics standards association) en 2007, destinado a convertirse en el estándar de transmisión de audio y vídeo de alta definición entre dispositivos. Es un sistema que está libre de licencias, permite un alto flujo de datos y tiene sistema de protección de contenidos, al igual que su competidor directo HDMI. Ha sido adoptado por multitud de marcas, como Intel, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple (que lo hizo oficial en 2008) y otras. Apple anunció en octubre de 2008 la creación del mini DisplayPort, una versión en miniatura del formato, que tiene sus mismas características.

Aclarados estos puntos, puedo proceder a contarles mi idea con más fundamentos. Mi idea es comprar la menor cantidad de adaptadores de Apple (básicamente porque son bastante caros) y hacer la mayor cantidad de cosas con un solo adaptador. Apple ofrece tres tipos de adaptadores para el mini-DVI, todos de venta en Chile: hay para convertir a VGA, a vídeo compuesto/súper vídeo, y a DVI. Desde ahí parto con la premisa de qué es lo que necesito, en qué lo quiero convertir y con qué conversión pierdo menos calidad. Leyendo las definiciones que les puse más arriba, me imagino que asumen como yo que el punto de partida debiera de ser el DVI.

Comprando el adaptador a DVI de Apple podría convertir la señal en VGA con este cable, y en HDMI con este otro cable; no encontré alguna posibilidad de conversión en vídeo compuesto o súper-vídeo que me convenciera. Sumando y restando, los casi $60.000 CLP que gastaría en los tres adaptadores de Apple se convierten en casi $30.000 CLP con un solo adaptador y dos cables que me dejan con dos de las tres opciones (las mejores teniendo en cuenta la inminente desaparición de los formatos analógicos de vídeo).

Me felicitaba a mí mismo mientras escribía el artículo por mi inteligencia, cuando me di cuenta de un detalle (que pueden leer en las especificaciones del mini-DVI): el conector de Apple es mini-DVI a DVI-D, o sea, no permite compatibilidad con medios analógicos. En cristiano, el VGA es analógico y, por ende, no podré traslapar la señal DVI digital en analógica VGA. Mi plan se va a la porra, y la perspectiva de gastar menos dinero se deshace en volutas de humo. Apple sigue haciéndome poca gracia con sus precios y su enredo de formatos y conectores, y ahora más rabia me da pensando en los trucos que tienen para evitarnos ahorrar.

A fin de cuentas, haber leído de estos formatos me ha servido para aprender más de tecnología y para ordenarme en esta madeja de formatos de vídeo. También me he dado cuenta de que en Cupertino son perniciosos y malévolos con nosotros (cuéntate una de vaqueros) y… lo peor, es que tendré que ir juntando de tripas corazón para gastar dinero en conectores y cables. La salida VGA la necesito con urgencia para usar mi ordenador en las disertaciones que siempre me sobran, y la salida DVI es el futuro al que tenemos que adaptarnos todos. Trucos sucios de Apple mediante, es algo que tendré que hacer. Por lo menos la larga vida de los MacBook blancos me asegura que se seguirán fabricando.

Espero haberles aclarado dudas, y que hayan aprendido como yo de formatos de vídeo y de lo que pueden (y no pueden) hacer con la salida mini-DVI de sus MacBook de policarbonato. Se aceptan y agradecen más ideas y sugerencias en los comentarios, por supuesto.

Saludos a todos, y disfruten de sus Mac

A common question people have these days, is “What size tv should I buy?”  As I sit here at my sister’s house preparing myself for Hockey Night in Canada (I miss my 50″ plasma), I’m thinking about a conversation we just had about her needing to replace her old, dying 32″ tube tv.  When I suggested a 42″ plasma, her eyes lit up a little bit with a look of “Are you crazy?!?!”

TV’s used to have a size ratio of 4:3 which means for every 4 inches wide the screen is 3 inches tall.  New “widescreen” tv’s have a ratio of 16:9.  A 32″ 4:3 screen (measured diagonally) will look SIGNIFICANTLY larger than a 32″ 16:9 screen.

When replacing an old television and going to widescreen (you don’t have a choice, 16:9 is the new standard)  go bigger.  A 42″ plasma is roughly the same height as an old 32″ tube tv.

Go big people.  It’s worth it and it matters.

Intel presentó una nueva tecn10ología que podría llegar a desbancar al USB 3.0 en lo que a conexión y velocidad se refiere, de hecho, tratará de desbancar a todos.

Se trata de Light Peak y, según pudimos ver en la presentación, es un conector universal, lo que significa que a través de esa conexión podremos utilizar un USB, DisplayPort, FireWire, DVI, Ethernet, etc.

Esta tecnología permitirá una tasa de transferencia de datos de 10Gbps a distancias incluso mayores a 100 metros y en la presentación se utilizó Mac OS para mostrar el concepto. ¿Por qué? Porque el mismo Steve Jobs estaría detrás de todo esto. Supuestamente el CEO de Apple se reunió hace un tiempo con Paul Otellini porque su empresa necesitaba un conector universal.

Como siempre, estos son rumores y datos que van apareciendo en la red, pero se dice que la empresa de la manzana estaría pensando en presentar ordenadores con Light Peak a fines del 2010.

Via:Alt1040

I know, I know.  No one wants to fall for this one.  “200 dollars for a remote control?!?!  Are you crazy?!?!”

I used to be of this same frame of mind.  Seemed like a ridiculous expense, how could anyone justify spending this kind of money?

Let me try to put it in perspective.  You go out, spend thousands of dollars on a new home entertainment system and really want to “wow” your friends.  You invite everyone over, get them seated, the popcorn is popped and the lights are dimmed.  You pick up your Denon remote and try to power up the surround receiver.  A tiny light comes on the dvd player.  Whoops, wrong remote.  No problem!  Grab the next one.  The amp fires up no problem.  Now, for the tv.  Hmmmm….where did that remote go?  After getting all your friends to jam their hands into the couch cushions, you realize it was right in front of you, right next to the satellite remote, vcr remote, your keys, your blackberry, the tiny remote for your iMac.

No harm!  No foul!  I’ll just turn it on now.  The plasma fires up.  Everyone is very impressed by your enormous screen which is bright blue and has Y/pB/pR written in the corner.  Oh that’s right!  I have to change the input!  You grab the Denon remote and change it to DVD.  A fanfare of horns erupt and you recognize it as the sound of the 20th Century Fox startup screen!  Now…where’s that tv remote again?  You finally find it and change it to HDMI 1.  The screen lights up with a glorious picture!!!  Unfortunately it’s not the movie you are trying to watch, it’s “The Big Comfy Couch”  All your friends start laughing and one guy yells out, “Hey, don’t you know how to use this stuff?”  You’re sweating, embarrassed and extremely flustered and you are starting to panic.  Any second now you are going to start pulling wires out of the tv and try to plug them in blindly until something works.

How stupid does that universal remote sound now?  If only you’d budgeted for a decent remote, you could have pushed the big glowing button labelled, “Watch a Movie” and the remote would have set everything up for you.  All the correct inputs, put the volume at a decent and impressive level, even dimmed the lights for a dazzling effect!

I admit it, these things cost a little bit of money, but “oh Boy!” are they ever worth it.  After all, you just bought all this stuff and the remote is the only thing you are ever going to touch!

Easily connect old monitors to new computers!

This new range of DisplayPort adapters are great for those who have just upgraded your computer to one with a newly designed DisplayPort connection. These adapters allow you to buy a new computer without the need to spend extra cash to upgrade your monitor. Available in three models, DisplayPort to DVI, DisplayPort to HDMI and DisplayPort to VGA adapters convert the computers DisplayPort connection to support the connection on your display. This allows you to easily connect older style screens.

DisplayPort is the new digital video interface connection designed to replace the current DVI standard used mainly as a computer interface. As many people now trend to upgrade a PC but keep their old monitor many users are now faced with the problem of an incompatibility between the PC and monitor interface. Unlike in the past where it was common to buy a new monitor as well, the higher quality and design of monitors purchased just a few years ago mean they no longer need to be replaced. It is a much cheaper alternative to just buy one of these adapter cables. With users now more eco-friendly there is a further desire to reuse rather than throw away equipment in order to save the environment as well as cash.

The demand for adapters in general has therefore risen. Adapters suitable for the new DisplayPort which is currently being introduced by the major PC manufacturers is no different.

All of these adapters support video-mirroring and extended desktop modules, and are compliant with DisplayPort 1.1 specification. Both the DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter and the DVI Adapter supports PC resolutions up to UXGA and HDTV up to 1080, whilst the VGA adapter supports greater than QXGA resolutions at 24-bit colour depth.

Read more about the LINDY DisplayPort Adapter Cables.

Por: Airton Lopes e Renan Frizzo, da INFO

Reprodução

Reprodução

Não é só nos televisores que o LCD com iluminação por LED está chegando pra valer. A tecnologia é uma das atrações do monitores Ecofit, da Samsung, como o SyncMaster P2370. Esse modelo de 23 polegadas, com três centímetros de espessura, consome 32 watts de energia e traz um design atraente, com bordas em acrílico. Para completar, tem resolução full HD, pesa 4,1 quilos e tem um preço convidativo: 869 reais.

Uma das virtudes do produto é ser ecologicamente correto – seu selo Ecofriendly indica que não foram usados componentes nocivos ao meio ambiente no processo de fabricação. Mas, para a maioria das pessoas, o que mais importa é o impacto no bolso. Outros equipamentos dessa categoria consomem cerca de 47 watts, 33% a mais que o SyncMaster P2370.

O design Touch of Color, com linhas arredondadas e acabamento em acrílico, é de cair o queixo. As dimensões estão dentro dos padrões, com 57,2 por 42,5 por 19 centímetros, contando a base. É justamente nela que está o maior problema. Como a peça não é das mais fortes, o monitor balança um pouco. Os controles sensíveis ao toque estão posicionados no canto direito inferior e ficam ocultos depois de um tempo inativos.

As imagens do P2370 têm boa qualidade e suas especificações contribuem para isso. Além da resolução de 1 920 por 1 080 pixels, tem contraste estático de 1 000:1 e dinâmico de 50 000:1, brilho de 250 cd/m2 e tempo de resposta de 2 milissegundos. Nas conexões, fica faltando uma porta HDMI. Está disponível apenas uma DVI. Também poderia haver alto-falantes embutidos, para o monitor reproduzir filmes diretamente de um player

Iata despre ce este vorba: 2 monitoare de 17inch cu o rezolutie 1440 x 990. Pretul 624$. Pentru conectarea acestui “monstru” trebuie sa dispuneti de iesirea dubla DVI sau VGA. Probabil ca e o experienta interesanta jucatul pe un asemenea monitor.

How many times have you gone down to your local electronics retailer and bought that shiny new TV or stereo speakers only to find out you need to buy some cables to get them to work. The salesman escorts you to the cable section and starts to tell you how a $100 cable is far superior to the $10 cable and that by using the more expensive stuff your picture and sound will be lifted to new heights. Well if you ended going with the sales pitch you just threw away your money. I will give you an example that recently happened to me. I was setting up my new office in my house and moved my printer to the other side of the room, well I needed a longer USB cable about 12ft or so. I wanted to get the project done that day so I made a trip to BestBuy and was disgusted to find out that a 14ft USB cable retailed for $49.99, that is extremely overpriced when considering the average online price is $5 to $10.

This is a very common scenario that is played out everyday in the BestBuy’s and other retailers in this country. The truth of the matter is cables have very little variance in quality when dealing with length’s under 50ft. It’s even less discerning when using digital cable types such as HDMI, DVI or USB. All cables for TV’s, surround sound systems and computers use basic copper wire and plastic sheathing to make a cable. Provided there is no electrical disturbance or excessive amount of power, say over 1000 watts per wire, basic copper wire will get the job done extremely well. In fact using lamp cords from your local hardware store for about $0.25 a foot will make great speaker wire in most situations.

So why the huge price difference? Companies like Monster Cable and BestBuy are simply greedy. They know cables are cheap to produce and most homes need them for their electronics so why not charge a premium for them and make gobs of money. Monster Cable is notorious for having very deceptive store displays that trick customers into thinking there is a difference. BestBuy has begun to phase out inexpensive brands and replace them with their own house brands, Geek Squad and Dynex, and their deceptive training  is designed to get sales people to convince you that the overpriced products are the better choice. Another issue is the lack of competition. Since Circuit City and CompUSA have gone out of business and their names sold to Systemax (owners of TigerDirect.com) there is little to nothing for BestBuy to compete with which puts them in the perfect position to price gauge. Once again consumers need to educate themselves when buying these types of products.

So where can you find good deals on cables? Well as long as you have a connection to the internet, which I will assume you do since your reading this, you have quite a few good alternatives. Two of my favorites are Blue Jeans Cable and Monoprice. Both of these retailers offer good quality cables that meet and in most cases exceed the materials quality of Monster Cable and BestBuy’s offerings. But the best part is they are anywhere from 50% to 300% cheaper. Think your getting ripped off now? That’s what I thought. In fact it just makes good sense when buying electronics to check online first before walking into the store for the best deal. As always I would love to hear what you think and shed some more light on the subject.

How many people have bought electronics from a “big box” store?  Don’t be shy, I know you’ve all done it.  Ever notice how quick the salesman is to push you into a brand new, “signal enhancing” $150 1 meter HDMI cable?  It’s ridiculous!  Don’t get me wrong, a quality cable goes a long way in the world of audio/video.  But some of these cables are so out of this world when it comes to price, I can’t believe they can get away with it.

Cables do a job.  They transfer data.  They do not improve it, they do not enhance it. A good quality cable is doing the best job it can when:

1. The data travels from point A to point B
2. There is no artifacts in the picture/audio
3. The picture/audio holds steady

So people, please!  Don’t let these stores fool you.  If you are buying a dvd player for $59.99 and the cables to hook it up cost $100.00, there is something seriously wrong!

At Marcus T. Solutions, I use quality cables that won’t break the bank. All my cables are tried, tested and true, and I have the knowledge to correctly judge when a higher quality cable is required.  If you are unsure, ask a professional, don’t trust some kid at Shmest Buy!

Whether it’s just an upgrade from an aging home theater or if you are starting fresh, there are some important things to consider when it comes to audio.

Consider this, you buy a brand new 50 inch plasma, with all the bells and whistles and don’t account for a new audio system in your budget.  You hook it up and the picture looks fantastic! You sit down to watch a movie and it becomes glaringly obvious that there is a giant discrepancy between picture and sound.  The people and action on screen are certainly larger than life, but they sure don’t sound like it.

When budgeting for a new home theater, you are well advised to include an audio upgrade.  A new surround sound receiver will increase your television experience ten-fold, and will even help with the remote juggling, that drives so many people crazy.

If surround sound isn’t your thing, there are many options available to increase the fidelity of your sound, without having to pull wires everywhere and won’t break the bank.  Just ask a trusted home theater dealer what options are available.

Ever wonder why some stores can sell a product cheaper than others?  Many “big box” stores will order a batch of electronics with a few “modifications” made.  In other words, cheaper parts for a bigger profit margin.

At face value, it will seem like the exact same product you have been researching and drooling over for several months.  Whether it’s cheaper capacitors, cheaper labour causing cold solder joints, it isn’t the product you were looking at and it isn’t the product you want.

Rule of thumb is, if it seems way cheaper than it should be, that’s because it is!

The best way to avoid buying a “modified” product is to check the model number of the unit on the manufacturers website.  If it shows up as slightly different (even by one number) or not at all, don’t buy it!

At Marcus T. Solutions, I use only legitimate products.  The most current, and the most reliable, all the time.

Siguiendo con la instalación de Xubuntu 64bits en mi Fujitsu Amilo Pi 3525, ya sabía yo que iba a significar tener que investigar en los foros y en los manuales. Hay algunos problemillas cuya solución voy a anotar aquí para tenerlo como referencia.

1) El micrófono no graba. El portátil trae un HDA Intel con el Codec Realtek ALC662. Después de probar todas las combinaciones de checks y variaciones de volumen en el Alsa Mixer, no conseguía grabar por el micrófono en la grabadora de sonidos. Curiosamente sí conseguía hacer sonar por los altavoces lo que llegaba al micrófono. Finalmente la solución consistió en instalar los últimos drivers Alsa (ver las instrucciones). Por algún motivo, la versión de los repositorios está muy desfasada.

2) Al escribir, ocasionalmente, el puntero se movía a otra posición. Simplemente se trataba de que el touchpad es muy grande y la parte superior está muy cerca del teclado. Como tengo un ratón conectado por USB, simplemente he tenido que desactivar el touchpad, como se indica en el Blog de Mario. Me he creado dos scripts:

touchpad_enable.sh

xinput set-int-prop “SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad” “Device Enabled” 8 1

touchpad_disable.sh

xinput set-int-prop “SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad” “Device Enabled” 8 0

3) Montaje de sistemas de ficheros remotos. Me he creado algunos scripts:

- Samba

smbmount //host/recurso_compartido directorio_local -o username=usuario,password=clave

smbumount directorio_local

- sshfs

sshfs usuario@host:/ directorio_local

fusermount -u ./directorio_local

4) Conexión de un monitor externo. Quería tener la posibilidad de trabajar con dos monitores (el propio del portátil y otro conectado por la salida DVI). Tengo un LG Flatron L1915s que sólo tiene entrada VGA, así que me compré en Carrefour un adaptador DVI-VGA por 9€ (Los de marca costaban más de 24€). Conecté el portátil al monitor y en principio se veía lo mismo en los dos. Curiosamente en Inicio / Configuración / Pantalla sólo me aparecía un monitor y, si cambiaba la resolución, se cambiaba en los dos a la vez. Me instalé “grandr” para gestionar los monitores y ahí sí que aparecían los dos. Podía asignar a cada uno una resolución. También, en teoría, en la pestaña Layout podría configurar la posición relativa que representa cada monitor respecto al otro. El problema está en que la opción está deshabilitada: aparece seleccionado “clone” y deseleccionado “extend”, con lo que sólo puedo disponer de dos pantallas clonadas, lo que no me sirve para nada. De momento he dejado aparcado este tema y estoy trabajando únicamente con la pantalla del portátil.

Ett I-landsproblem.

Men likväl irriterande.
Jag är lyckligt lottad. Lilla Essingens pappa har skruvat ihop en ny dator åt Lilla Essingens Mamma.

Av smått och gott i hans skrymslen, förråd och obskyra lådor. Något moderkort hade han, och någon processor också… Nätaggen dög visst inte, så ett sånt införskaffades, och ett grafikkort och … ja, hur det nu gick till så har jag en ihopplockad burk av diverse rester från en galen speldatortrimmare, så det är sannerligen varken skit eller pannkaka. En rätt frän burk.

En stationär dator. Något jag efterfrågat, eftersom den är lättare att LillaEssing-säkra än en bärbar, tappbar, släpbar.

Det enda som inte ramlade fram ur de där magiska förråden och lådorna hemma hos Essingens Pappa var en skärm, så det for man till en elektroniklada och hämtade. Jahapp. Allt väl.

Saker startar upp, fungerar. 

Sen får Mamman för sig att det vore bra att ha en längre sladd mellan skärmen och datorn. Då kan man skjuta in datorn i det där prånget så att den är HELT omöjlig för envisa små fingrar att nå.

Hon går till hovleverantören för diverse problemlösning: Clasohlson för att införskaffa en DVI-kabel.

Kommer hem. Konstaterar att DVIkabeln som hon har inte ser ut som den hon köpt. Det går inte att pilla in den i skärmen, nejtack. Hoppla. Där fanns visst fyra stift som det saknas hål för. Jahapp..? Nä, någon annan DVI-kabel fanns inte på klasisjön så där fick man ett tillgodokvitto i form av plastkort. Hmm. 299 spänn. Nå. Mot Kjell&Co istället, praktiskt att ha ett helt centrum inom några minuters promenadavstånd… Nu är man visare, nu har man MED SIG den rätta, men för korta, kabeln. Expediten: Jo, jag lovar, det kommer att fungera. Men, invänder jag, de är faktiskt inte lika, det är en massa stift här som jag antagligen inte ska ha…? Jodå.

Gissa hur det gick??

Jo, i morgon ska jag tillbaks till Kjell&Co med ännu en DVI-kabel.

Det är inte utan att jag börjar undra hur många olika sorters DVI-gränssnitt det finns..?

Man googlar lite.

Man konstaterar att det man har, gillar, och det som fungerar heter Single Link DVI-D.

Man har checkat av Single Link DVI-I och Dual Link DVI-D.

Vore det alldeles övermaga att stillsamt önska att det blir rätt snart?

CABLES TO GO 26957-DVI-A Female to HD15 VGA Male Video Adapter

Product Description

DVI FEMALE to HD15 VGA MALE VIDEO ADAPTER

Adapt an existing DVI-I cable for use with a VGA plug

Features:

Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is the standard interface for a high-performance connection between PCs and flat panel displays, digital CRT displays, projectors, and HDTV. DVI Adapters deliver the high-performance, high-bandwidth interface needed for video displays of today while leaving headroom for the products of tomorrow. These precision-engineered adapters are fully compliant with the DVI standard defined by DDWG (Digital Display Working Group). The DVD-A configuration provides enough bandwidth for resolutions up to 1600 x 1200 and is designed for high-speed analog use.

* Connectors: DVI-A 17-pin Female to HD15 Male
* Adapts to an existing VGA cable for use with a DVI plug
* Gold-plated contacts provide full conductivity with no data loss
* Supports hot plugging of DVI display devices
* PC and Mac compatible
* Resolutions up to 1600 x 1200
* Supports analog signals
* Compatible with flat panel displays, digital CRT displays, projectors, and HDTV
* Meets DVI DDWG Standard

Specifications:

* Color: Blue
* Weight: .1lbs

DVI-D Digital Extender Repeater Box

Product Description

Features DVI Repeater:

Use PanelLink digital technology. Supports high-resolution display up to UXGA (25-165 MHz). Support DVI-I. Compliant with the specification of DVI 1.0.

Package Contents

1 Smart View DVR-101 DVI Repeater. 1 DC 9V 600mA Power

CABLES TO GO 14179-6ft DVI Dual Link/USB 2.0 KVM Cable with Speaker and Mic

Product Description

Connect each of your PCs to a USB/DVI KVM + Audio switch with a single cable; Universal design

Features:

This precision-engineered all-in-one KVM cable is designed to connect your flat panel, speakers, and microphone to your USB/DVI KVM. The DVI-D segment delivers the high-performance, high-bandwidth interface needed for video displays of today while leaving headroom for the products of tomorrow. The DVI-D dual link configuration provides enough bandwidth for resolutions up to 2048 x 1536, and allows high-speed digital transmission up to 9.9 Gbps. The connectors are color-coded to match the ports on your personal computer or notebook to ensure a simple connection. The black cable jacket disappears behind your desk to leave a clean organized look without the clutter and mess you’ll have with ordinary individual extension cables. Constructed from UL-listed materials, the USB2.0/DVI KVM Cable meets the rigid standards of everyday use.

* Input Connectors: DVI-D 24-pin Male and USB 2.0 A Male and 3.5mm Male x2
* Output Connectors: DVI-D 24-pin Male and USB 2.0 B Male and 3.5mm x2
* All-in-one bonded cable design organizes and simplifies cable runs
* Dual link digital signaling allows for high-speed transmission up to 9.9Gbps
* Shielded under-mold protects against unwanted EMI/RFI interference
* Tri-shielding with dual Mylar® foil and braid shield reduces interference
* Gold-plated contacts provide full conductivity with no data loss
* Resolutions up to 2048 x 1536
* PC-99 color-coded connectors for easy installation
* DVI-D supports digital signal only

Specifications:

* Color: Black
* Weight: 2lbs