Category: Tech

Netflix on Xbox 360

The Senate has delayed the end of analog TV transmission, which I think is a mistake, but in our house we’re using the absolute latest in TV technology. Because we’re finally set up to play Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature on Eric’s Xbox 360.

Whether SD, or Netflix’s limited selection of HD material, the video quality isn’t up to FiOS TV, but it’s certainly watchable, there are no glitches, and the operation of the user interface is fast and smooth. Here’s an example — one minute of the series “Heroes” in a somewhat grainy HD rendering, as seen on the Panasonic 720p front projector.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/JAN/NetflixHD.flv 480 360]

CD+G Face-off: Chris Isaak vs. Lou Reed

Eric has become a collector of defunct game consoles, and he spent some of his Christmas money on a used Sega Saturn. It’s in very good condition, with excellent construction quality, and considering it was introduced in 1995, I’m impressed by the technology.

Sega Saturn control padSega Saturn console

A nifty feature of the Saturn is it supports CD+G. Today, CD graphics are found only on Karaoke discs, but originally CD+G was envisioned as a multimedia format for music. Among the very few titles that have CD graphics are Lou Reed’s New York, and Chris Isaak’s Silvertone. I own the Isaak disc, and my friend SamJay lent me his copy of Reed’s CD.

There’s no comparison. Silvertone totally blows away the graphics on the Lou Reed CD. Every song on “New York” follows the format that’s seen here in “Dirty Blvd”…

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/2012/LouReed.flv 480 360]

… while each song on Silvertone has unique and creative graphics that push the limit of what can be done within the very limited CD+G format. This song is “The Lonely Ones”.

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/2012/ChrisIsaakCDG.flv 480 360]

I’m even more impressed, considering the graphics were done by John Dennis nearly 25 years ago, in 1985. I might post a couple more of these Isaak tracks.

High School Headphones

This will give my son a shock. Here I am when I was exactly the age he is now, about to turn seventeen.

DOuG pRATt in high school

I used rabbit ears for FM reception and, yes, I was seated to give the impression I had antennae coming out of my head. Ah, my first stereo — Pioneer SX-440 receiver, Radio Shack MC-1000 speakers, Garrard 40B turntable, Shure M91ED cartridge, and Pioneer SE-20 headphones.

When I was in high school I listened to the classics — The Who, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. Today, with the departure of Bush and Cheney, I’m reminded of this song.

https://youtu.be/bYgpv5clf3Y

Security Notes

To do a quick security check of websites you can use McAfee’s free Site Advisor. There’s a plug-in for Internet Explorer and one for Firefox, or you can enter an address at this link.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ff.html

In June Microsoft will be ending its Live OneCare security subscription and introducing a free service, called Morro. This could, and should, be your chance to let go of the security software you use now.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-18NoCostSecurityPR.mspx

A Tale of Two Transfers

Many YouTube videos have such low technical quality as to be barely watchable, so my sister Jean was impressed by an OK copy, despite being a vertically cropped version with the wrong aspect ratio, of the Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night doing “If I Fell.” Here’s how it appears and sounds on YouTube…

… and here’s my own transfer, from LaserDisc, captured on a Pinnacle 500 PCI. Better?

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/JAN/IfIFell.flv 480 360]

Mambo Jambo

Go back to the very funny Men in Coats video I posted and watch the first three minutes. It’s Mambo music from Cuba. The first tune is “Mambo Jambo,” and here’s a recording of it by Prado Perez, from 1959, the year Castro took over.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/JAN/MamboJambo.mp3]

Great stuff! OK, now go back to the K3 New Year video and listen from 0:08 to 0:20. It’s some of the same music used by Men in Coats. See? I said you’d heard it before.

Mambo was big in the late 40’s into the 50’s, and one of its biggest names was this guy, whose studio later gave the green light to Star Trek.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/JAN/ILoveLucy.mp3]