Curved Screen Televisions

curvedtvLet’s be rational about these Curved Screen Televisions.
We just changed the fricken aspect ratio. To go from large in the center to stretched to the side. Now people want to make the center skinnier and the outer corners wider.

One of the issues with CRT televisions, is that your display measures within the curve of the glass too. If you break the glass out of a 50 inch CRT television you get less than 47 inches of actual viewable area. and well from the looks of, you will have to measure the curve of these too.

Look, the 3D Televisions flopped (except of course for the few hundred people who invest tons of money on a t.v. and have to upkeep with the glasses instead of face denial) you’re pretty much going to be the same dude.

They will not change the format that all of the stations broadcast. They can not. So the weird distortion you will notice in the images, will be there for greater than the life of the t.v. you will be buying. You do remember back when television stations would broadcast and you just had to deal with the fact that the center section of the screen on your “wide screen t.v.” was squashed. This lasted for a good five years. Now all of the television stations are broadcasting in a flat, even thickness signal. Well you are about to see little fat people in weird wide rooms, forever. Once you notice it, you can’t un-notice it.

Can you imagine how this will look on your wall? Or how often it will get bumped into?
You’ll have to put the tv in the corner of the room again.

Direct Tv Experience 1 week after Comcast

If you haven’t been following the site, I left Comcast a week ago and moved my Television to Direct Tv.

Seeing that I now get 720p resolution on Direct Tv for two televisions at $33 a month, as apposed to 480i resolution I was getting with Comcast for some very basic 70 channels or so for $88 a month one cable box and a modem. I am very happy with my Direct Tv Satellite receiver. Rain has not been an issue. And there has been a bad storm. BAD storm.

I am so far, very happy with Direct Tv’s  picture on one tv, but not very happy on the other. The smaller Tv in my bedroom has the crummiest picture ever. Of course the smaller television has a higher resolution and an all together better built flat screen that the television in the living room. So there is something wrong with that box. I assumed it was because that Tv Tuner doesn’t have an HDMI connection on the back, and the rca wires supplied are very thin and cheap. Probably should give a shot with some of the rca jacks I have in the electronics closet.

The tv tuner in the living room, just got a software patch and slowed it way down. In fact, the box gets super hot now. So switching to and from the guide or menu. Takes a few seconds to load. Same with changing channels. So if you just got your tuner box and get a notification about a software update, and your Tv tuner is already kind of warm, you might want to reconsider accepting that software update. It just turns the blue section into black gloss. I haven’t noticed any new features. I may search for a way to role back to the old software.

direct tv bill

Direct tv bill

Loving the remote options. Favorites custom and favorites custom 2 menus. Lets me split content type channels, and lets me filter out channels that I am not paying for with a “Channels I Get” option in the menu when you hit the “info” button and look in favorites area. These are options that Comcast never gave. Here’s what I got with Comcast cable box. Not a whole lot going on there.

No WGN Chicago, but I do get two BBC America channels.

I have never really used anything but cable and local broadcast. This is my first Satellite receiver. Loving it. Except the big bolts they put through my roof to fasten the dish to my roof.

I score the Direct Tv service:
Ease of use: 9/10
Resolution : 8/10
Look : 10/10
Cost : 10/10
Channels : 9/10
Signal : 9/10

Total score: 9/10

Comcast chat

**Warning: Angry Typos Ahead**

Today, I will be taking my Cable box back to Comcast. They have taken it too far
I have been dealing with my neighbor’s dog (she’s a puppy) digging up my comcast connection, for several months now.
I have received insane bills from Comcast And a few other issues that I don’t feel like looking up so here it is in Bing.

Yesterday I decided to try the chat thing, because phoning in my issue of the neighbor’s dog resolved nothing.

TruXter: My Issue: Neighbor’s dog digs up my cable, I have had you guys out a few times re-bury the line. I requested conduit, was told over the phone it would be used. Technicians all say it can’t be done.. I just now came in the house after covering chewed

analyst Dani Mae has entered room

Dani Mae: Hello TruXter, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Dani Mae. Please give me one moment to review your information.

Dani Mae: Hi

Dani Mae: Welcome to comcast

TruXter: hi.

Dani Mae: Thank you for that information TruXter

Dani Mae: May I know what would you like to do?

TruXter: Is there any way I can get a manager or a foreman to come out with the technician next time to bury my cable? and can you ask them not to request to come in my house anymore? the issue is in the neighbor’s yard.

TruXter: They have replaced the splice in my attic 3 times now as if that solved the issue. I need the cable in conduit or something that a dog can not bite through.

TruXter: The cable box is in my neighbor’s yard. 6 feet of cable gets dug up with in just house of the tech’s burying it.

TruXter: hours*

Dani Mae: To answer you suggestion about a manager, I believe that is not possible since only technician process that

TruXter: Someone needs to come out and over see this. This is the very last time I will let this happen. I will change services. I am sick of this.

Dani Mae: And about your request about conduit

Dani Mae: We do not have that, but we only can drop bury your cable line

Dani Mae: For conduit, you can buy that at your local store

TruXter: I can’t watch tv while the dog chews on the line. I can barely surf the internet that I am paying crazy fees for. this is nuts.

TruXter: You mean. with all of the customers that this company has, I am the only person?

Dani Mae: I understand that, where is your cable lines now placed?

TruXter: why did it cost me $200 to get my house connected? they used wire that I already paid for to begin with.

TruXter: the cable box is in the neighbor’s yard. 6 feet from my fence.

Dani Mae: I see, please inform the owner and let them contact Comcast, so we can schedule them.

TruXter: The neighbor and I buried the cable last time while the tech watched.

TruXter: This needs to be fixed, and someone who can make these guys give me the service I am paying so much for.

TruXter: needs to make sure it’s done.

Dani Mae: Sure

Dani Mae: Have you tried calling 1-800-XFINITY (934-6489)

TruXter: can you check my records and see I have done this several times?

Dani Mae: Sure

Dani Mae: It shows here that Drop bury has been completed as requested already

TruXter: ….

TruXter: and dog dig has already happened.

Dani Mae: Would you like to request another drop bury?

Dani Mae: And have you called already for a schedule?

TruXter: yeah sure. and when he is done, can you send him back three hours later to replace the line again because the dog is just going to dig it back up. and tell to take a lunch and come right back… Or send someone with authority to look at this and see it is a slop job and someone is milking your clock at my expense.\

TruXter: Thank god I run a website and have a good camera. This is my final month. you people are leeches.
Type Here:

After this. I called Comcast to solve the issue of the lightly buried cable in the yard with a big puppy who digs a lot, and to understand why just last month I was told that on this bill, my bill would be reduced, yet it’s still at regular $88. When she told me this month my bill would show the changes I asked why she said “because you already paid this month”. Ok. Makes sense.
So I call and start asking why my bill isn’t reduced. The lady that answered, forwarded me to another person who I assume is their “quick excuses guy”. because this dude was just out to win an argument.
I asked why my bill was regular price, and the guy said that it was because I owe $160 for not paying last month’s bill. I told him he was nuts and explained that I paid $160 last month also, and 160 the month before, and keep getting told I am late on my bill. The guy said and I quote “we bill for service before you receive service”. My eyes rattled in my head. I explained to him that every month I have been going through this, and I have not have had service. Since the dog eats my cable. The man said “then you need to speak to the neighbor” and I flipped out on him. “No, you need to get your stuff straight because I am a customer and you are providing a service, you are asking me to make this an issue between the neighbor and I. You can’t tell me that will all of the customers you guys have, I am the only person with this issue. ” Considering how many houses have dogs, there is a really good chance this has been issue on many occasions.

Now understand, the last time I talked to a technician, he was watching me and the neighbor bury the cable ourselves while he just stood there telling me I should kick the neighbor’s dog and cover the spot with rat traps. The neighbor didn’t like that, and I didn’t like that. I asked the Comcast technician why they don’t just bring 8 feet of conduit and get this over with he said and I quote “Job security, we always make sure each other has work”. At my expense no doubt.

Comcast. Your service has done me no service and I will forever refuse you. I will warn everyone I know, just how you treat Customers and how your answering team and all of your help team, are the trashiest people you can have work for you. When you guys go out of business, you might want to worry about the scum you hire, and possibly the way you treat them and tell them to treat you customers. I love your bandwidth, I hate your bandwidth cap, and I hate that your basic cable is lower resolution than any other broadcast. Local resolution from antenna is 740p minimum where I live, your basic cable is less than 480i. That is pathetic and nothing justifies charging for that.

Can’t say I will miss you when you are gone.

 

**Update**

Just got off the phone with comcast. Called to cancel my service. Man asked me why I was cancelling service. I rattled on for 15 minutes . taking maybe three breaths while trying to think of everything that has gone on since I signed up.
He was like “yeah, I would leave also, Sorry this has happenned to you, you will be receiving a credit soon”.
and that was it. no telling me I am wrong, no selling me a bigger bundle.

Doin it right. for once.

 

**Update 2**

 

Logged in to see my Comcast bill information and to make sure that all of the statements were true, that I would recieve a credit to my account and got a notice to provide a valid email address.  but in back I could see my bill. Lots of junk going on back there. Of course I tried three different ways of handling that page so I could see the bill. They all signed me out instantly.

My Comcast Bill

My Comcast Bill

 

I have no idea what is going on below that point. Could be a pot of gold, could be a bag of chewed up rubberbands.  The reason I am trying to log in is to see if  I got the credit I was told I would get, since they ripped me off of last credit, and to see if I upset someone enough they decided to change my bill up and really stick it to me. You can’t doubt people anymore in either direction. Good or bad.
Needless to say. I have not been able to scroll all the way down. That stupid pop up asking me to show another email address blocks my view.

 

**update 3**

 

All devices were taken back the day I posted this. No arguments, no denying anything. In fact i think the little lady behind teh counter kind of wanted me.

here is their big technical wall of tv screens updated from earlier this year.

ghettovision

ghettovision

Now here is what comcast says I was supposed to pay last month.

comcast bill

Comcast bill

Now… If that was in fact what I was “supposed to pay”. Then why in the blue hell would I pay this ?

comcast payment

Comcast payment

It’s as if the kid I was trying to get help from but only wanted to argue with me, decided to make it look like I am a moron and don’t know how to internet. Now, understand, my bill is usually $79 before “additional charges”. So um. $200 minus 141, but this month’s bill is only $88.06 ? What? Which idiot in that establishment is going to show me how this works, and which idiot in that company is going to translate what that guy said, to non bull %^&*  and make it make sense?

But I have to thank him for showing me I needed to open my mind. I love direct tv and uncapped 4G Internet.

 

 

Streaming Media Package

Ever just want to watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it? I do. I fell in love with Joost when it came out. Then some comic company or what ever that was, bought out Joost and crushed it. During that same time, HULU came out and became a sensation instantly. Forever I have been looking for a Hulu app for android. Haven’t found that yet.
Netflix, well netflix has been around for a good while now. I have not yet used netflix for anything. Simply because I haven’t see anything on their site that I wanted to download, that I couldn’t already get at HULU or Redbox. If redbox would stream, we are looking at a whole new mess.
Don’t get me wrong, netflix is an innovation and creativity that moves us into another direction, and I am thankful for what they are doing. Maybe I have just been using their site wrong? Do they have more than 50 movies? because that’s about all I see there. And they are all low budget films that I find. Why would I want that?
but if you are a Netflix user then My latest sponsor is going to be a treat for you. how about a device that you plug directly into your Television set, and connect to your internet connection, and get streaming videos from netflix,hulu,amazon,last.fm and other stuff.
Roku + Netflix = Instant Movies on your TV.Starting at $59.99 with 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.
I looked on their site and a lot of the stuff they list, kind of looks like a double listing of the same thing, just with the word “pro’ added to the end. Yeah that kind of makes my eye twitch.
But still the whole concept is pretty cool. If your tv can’t already do all of this. Many kind of can already. but again, if you don’t want to spend $700 on a 46 inch tv that can stream media from the internet, then get the roku box. If you don’t already have a netflix account, then you may as well go ahead and open the link I have over there on the side bar (the red ad that says netflix) in another tab and get that ready. Can’t hurt to set up for the free trial they have. and if you see they have more than 50 videos, tell me how the heck you found them.
The roku box comes in three flavors right now HD $59,XD $79,XS $99. Great prices. No clue why you would want anything other than the $59 player. For $100 it better comes with a TV tray and a remote.
From the look of the device, The roku box is small enough to fit inside a hollowed out grapefruit. That’s a kind of small. The look of the Media Streaming device is pretty slick. Currently the only color is black. I am sure it will come in other colors, once everyone knows that apple wont sue people for creating anything remotely close to their inventions. Oh hey I know what it looks like. The smokeless ashtrays of the early nineties. Just without all of the ventilation around it.
Looks like you can get all sorts of Media streaming to your TV. They call them channels, hmm I dunno, sounds more like websites to me. But currently it looks like about 12 “Channels”. This is a great way to watch internet videos you normally watch on your computer, straight through your tv.

What I see From A Wide Screen

Face it, The first Wide screen (not in a theater) for public purchase that was for any decent use, was on our laptops. You can give huge thanks to the laptop computer creators for your new wide screen television, or wide screen monitor on your computer. sure there were a few devices out before the laptop computer that had flat screens . But this whole post is about anything  greater than 8bit. I am talking about something that evolved into a nation wide demand for higher resolution to be broadcast for television purposes.The better the laptop monitor got, the more appealing it got want that kind of thin screen on your personal desktop computer. And the more you wanted a flat  screen monitor, the more you wanted a flat-screen television. This would lead to so much more real estate on your desktop and your entertainment center. With all of this extra space we could now see ourselves with  wider monitors. That of course triggers the gears in your head. You find yourself saying “hey, at the beginning of all of the movies, they say the movie has been modified to fit my screen”. Now we have an idea.

So everyone has one these days, except for a few people. The world treats them as if they are leaving themselves behind. Or they are just stubborn. But really, are they? Could they just have better things to spend their money on?

I was using a 25 inch crt Monitor and had a 62 inch crt television. Now I am on a 19″  widescreen monitor and a 42″ widescreen television. Some how I tell myself I am better off because the videos fit my monitor and television. The truth is, it’s not any wider now. In fact I lost the whole top section of my monitor and top section of my television. Instead of the video being made to fit my tv, my tv is now made to fit the video. Sure the tv is now at a higher resolution than the old one. Now the colors are crazy now. One show is what they call “hot” while another  is not . So the red or the yellow bleed out.

I do know one thing, my desk isn’t bowed in the middle like it was with that big glass monitor. I am happy to move the television upstairs on a whim. Much lighter now. A bit more expensive still.

Do we really need wide screen monitors and wide screen televisions? or are we just happy with flat screens and our movies fitting the view area?

3d Tv, Greatness or a Headache ?

Is anyone buying this? the prices are crazy high. The question to ask is ” is there a button to turn off  3d mode for just in case I have guests over and not enough glasses”. 3d videos are a great tech, but it kind of flops for me after about 10 minutes. I get headaches and my eyes feel crossed for days after.

I am sure that at one time some company was working on an LCD lens that worked kind of like a hologram and would produce a very three dimension looking image. What happened to that ?

Truthfully, not much is going to beat HD. LOL uselessness. somethings you have to say ” why would anyone fall for this?”. i mean come on. If you need some sort of glasses that allow you to see better definition…. See an optometrist.
I certainly will not be buying one of these to do the full evaluation. The price is way out of my budget and the possible out come and effects on me far outways my desire (minimal) to even try watching these.

Joost Gets Bought up

Well, I had so much hope for joost when it first came up.

Leo Laporte and Amber Macarther talked so much about it.

I had to run out and get me a beta test. The first branch of i.p. TV tree had sprouted. They had a program you had to install that seems a whole lot like what  is now called Adobe Air. The program and the videos ran and played really smooth, looked pretty good also. One day a bunch of people started complaining about the install process (a whole 4 seconds to download, 12 seconds to install..) So the Joost team dropped the installer and started at going with online streaming video, much like Hulu. I really liked the program, it ran like a torrent  program or good ol Kazzaa. On a peer program.

Sad to say though, Joost never had any really good videos, other than “The Lexx”.

Joost  is sold to a company called “Adconion Media” . Really I never heard of them. I hope they make the best of it. I was actually hoping for nbc,cbs and or hbo/showtime/usa to merger on a deal to buy it. Oh well .

Good luck gang.

Tyler perry’s house of pain sucks (recap)

I wrote on wordpress a bit of a quick rant about how I hate “Tyler Perry’s house of pain”.

It has been almost a year since I wrote this little rant and right now I am finally seeing other people upset about this stupid show. Almost a whole freaking year? Did it really take people that dang long to find out about this show being this total waste of air time? I mean really as person who lives in the same country as this fool I am offended. As a man of the same gender I am offended. As a person who watches fricken tv sometimes. I am offended by this complete and utter crap of a show.

Way to go Tyler Perry, let’s separate people and keep stereotypes alive.

Surely not a show I want to see in hd tv.