So for the past six or seven weeks, I’ve been having problems with my PC and specifically my home recording rig. Random clicks and pops appeared in everything I tried to record. I’ve tried everything. I repartitioned my drive and installed a clean version of WinXP + recording software. The clicks and pops continued. I did some research and found that there might be an issue with Radeon 9250 video cards and Sonar recording software. I replaced my video card. Still the pops continued. So today, I sat down and thought hard about what had changed over the last couple of months and then it struck me that I had added a wireless networking card to my system. I removed the D-Link DWL-G520 card and lo-and-behold, the pops and crackles appear to have disappeared. Fingers crossed, I hope that this has solved the problem. If you are having similar troubles with Sonar, try dumping your wireless network card.
So this has got me thinking about technology at the moment. I am supposed to be with it and be one of those types who has to keep up with the Joneses when it comes to computing and other forms of electronica. As I have got older, this ardour has faded. As time goes by, I question just how much “stuff” you need. At the moment, there’s a lot being written about HDTV and how all us consumers are going to have to upgrade. This got me thinking about starting a new campaign: Just Say No.
Just say no to HD TV. Why do you need to see every blade of grass or every hair on an actor’s head? Will this actually improve the viewing experience. Will this turn a shite film into a work of brilliance? No.
Just say no to HD-DVD & Blu-ray. You can walk into Woolworths and buy a Hollywood blockbuster for as little as a fiver. It has digital picture quality, surround sound and all the extras you would expect. But the Hollywood film industry wants you to stop. They want you to throw away your £99.99 DVD recorder that you use to store episodes of your favourite shows. They want you to invest £500 on a player that doesn’t record, but will enable them to control how you view their products. Yes, you’ll see every hair on the actor’s head and every open pore and blackhead, but is this worth the investment when you can get 5 DVD films for £20 at HMV?
Just say no to the PS3 and Xbox 360. I’ve already experienced the dullness of the Xbox 360. Microsoft released the console too soon and perhaps in another 18 months there might be some software available that will take advantage of the beefed up technology. In the meantime, you might as well just keep playing your Xbox or PS2. Now my big beef with the PS3 is that it is probably going take a small mortgage to buy one and Sony are misguided to think that Blu-ray is going to be a successful future format. Bill Gates already showed to be wary of HD-DVD and Blu-ray by deciding to equip the Xbox 360 with a boring old DVD drive. That says a lot really.
Now consumer electronics has seen a number of leaps forward. They’ve been necessary. The timeline of entertainment technology goes something like this:
Long Wave Radio > Medium Wave Radio > FM Radio > DAB Radio
Now that transition has taken about a seventy years. It’s a nice slow development and the likes of you and me can upgrade our gear at a nice pace. Radio is probably the best example of an entertainment format progressing without pulling the rug out from under late adopters. Even though DAB’s been around for a while, FM and MW broadcasting faces no threat of being turned off.
With TV, the transition from black and white broadcasting to colour was like sending a man on the moon. However, I don’t see HDTV as being comparable. It just doesn’t have the same impact. OK – the pictures are nice, but if your eyesight is a bit iffy in the first place, you aren’t going to garner much from it.
Now with home entertainment, the history is a bit smaller. VHS only really took hold in the early 1980s with a format battle between VHS and Betamax. Consumers used VHS (and still do) for nearly 20 years before DVD came along and it was a natural progression: improve picture, improved sound, more features. Now with Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies about to hit the shelves, there’s no such improvement of economy. All you get is improved picture quality and the studios get a format that can’t be copied or exploited for the foreseeable future. Plus, you go back to paying full price for your movies until the next big thing comes along.
So do what I am doing and say “No!”. I don’t want it and I don’t need it and only those blokes with small testicles and a big wallet will fall for the hype. Blu-ray and HD-DVD will prove to be the first format battle in 20 years and the funny thing is that both will probably end up being the loser. Why upgrade when DVD does the job perfectly?
Now, I don’t want you to think I am a complete negative Nelly. One entertainment format I will espouse is that of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) or DVB-T. You can go out to Asda or Tesco and for £30 buy a box that will give you access to further digital TV channels. For those of us who pay a TV licence, if you don’t have one of these boxes, get one so you can get the full bang for your buck. But kick SKY to the curb unless you are a chav and like having the same programmes repeated at you every six months or so. 😉
Meanwhile, another job rejection from Future Publishing. I’ve applied to these guys so many times it’s not funny. Maybe I should take the hint? I didn’t really want to be news editor of the T3 website anyway.

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