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Who is Dr. Von Zuko?.
Techno-Babble:
Index:
What's Up With
DTV
Some DTV Basics
Serious PC
Over-Hype
Not Just for Guys
Vinyl for the Best of Us
Coming. .
Dr. Von Z's
Komputer Trivia
Much more to come . . .
Bookmark now!
Dr Von Zuko's
Groov-u-lator
VISIT
Dr. Von Zuko's Unusual Sports
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Techno Babble:What’s Up With Digital
TV . . . Should You Wait?
The Spin-Doctor’s (the
marketers), have kicked in the
maximum-hype-over-drive. They have created a lot of excitement and anticipation over this
emerging technology. TV aficionados, (just about anyone in North America who owns a
higher-end TV larger than 27 inches and a good VCR.) are starting to catch Digital TV
(DTV) or High-Definition TV (HDTV) fever. While the message to the consumer is focused on
a "latest n' greatest, best-picture-in-the-universe, any-day-now" story, DTV and
HDTV are not quite the same thing, and network broadcasts will not be immediate. So what's
true and what's a bit of a stretch?
First, it is true that, Digital TV will provide noticeably improved image and
transmission over today's current TV standard and it is the base technology for HDTV. HDTV
takes it to the next level of quality and will deliver an absolutely awesome, wide-screen,
"you’re-right-there" image, with truly incredible sound. It is also true,
that in the late-fall of 1998, the big networks began broadcasting a few programs
that use the new digital technology, in select major market areas. The emphasis here
should be on the phrase "very few." Meaning, VERY few networks, VERY few programs and in a
VERY limited test market area.
When Can You Get It?
Delivery of digital programming began in late 1998, and availability is limited to the top-10 markets served by ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS. These first market
segments include the obvious mega-cities of Chicago, New York; Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Dallas/Ft. Worth.
Additionally, even though these big network names make it seem like digital
broadcasting is just around the corner, the "devil is in the detail." There are
slightly more than 1,200 TV stations in the U.S. alone. The cost of converting these
stations to the digital technology is very high, and is not a trivial task. It is
conservatively estimated that this conversion task will take at least until the year 2006.
To ensure that the transition to digital TV occurs in a somewhat reasonable time frame,
the FCC is specifying implementation timelines for the major network affiliates in the top
30 U.S. markets. The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is
working with Canadian distributors to map out a timeline for Canada.
So How Much Will It Cost?
This is "the 64 Thousand Dollar Question." And the answer is
"a bunch." In the 32 to 36 inch (direct view) screen range, the TV will set you back about
$3,700 .
. . whew! Go up-line and a larger rear-projection set could go as high as
$6,500 or more.
. . ouch! Of course, consumer electronics prices do drop as sales volumes increase. So a
few years from now, prices should be reasonably comparable to the cost of today’s
high-end televisions. It is estimated that by 2005, only 20% to 25% of viewing households
will have HDTV sets, so don’t expect dramatic price reductions anytime soon.
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Some DTV Basics:
Analog: The current TV broadcast method using radio signals. The power and frequency
fluctuations define the sounds and images. While this method fostered the information age
and created dramatic changes in the way people around the world now interact, is not a
very efficient transmission method.
Digital: This method transmits TV images in the same
way a computer transmits information, as a series of signals that are either on or off,
sometimes stated as ones and zeros. Digital transmission methods are very efficient and
are capable of handling vast amounts of information in various formats such as video,
audio, data elements and services, including the capability to provide interactive
content.
Screen Format:
Typically, today’s analog TV’s have an image width to height ratio of 4:3, and
display a screen resolution of about 300 lines per inch. This relatively low resolution
gives most TV images that distant, sometimes fuzzy and slightly artificial quality. The
audio is generally broadcast at FM radio quality or lower.
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Do You Need to "Dig Deep" for a New
Digital TV?
No, you don’t need a new set right away, in fact, you can easily put it
off for the next few years. All U.S. broadcasters will continue to transmit the good
ole’ fashion analog signal (the current method of TV broadcasting) until at least,
the year 2006. This is virtually guaranteed because, simultaneous broadcasting of analog
signals is mandated by the U.S. Government until then. This legislation also reads, that
if less than 85% of the population in a viewing area have HDTV sets, then standard analog
broadcasting must continue. This very likely ensures that analog broadcasting will be
around well beyond 2006.
Will you be able to watch the new digital programming on your plain ole’ analog TV?
Yes you will! Separate set-top, digital conversion units, costing as little as $200 will
translate the digital signal, allowing your current (analog) television to receive the
signals. The digital converter will not only allow you to view the digital programming, it
will also improve the image sharpness and clarity of the picture over today’s
standard. However, to ultimately enjoy the inherent enhancements of digital programming
such as the incredible high-definition television or the cool interactive features, you
will need to spring for that high-end digital TV.
In actuality, this is probably the right time to buy a new TV. Prices, for
even relatively large screen TV’s have decreased dramatically over the past few years
making them a real value for the money. In addition to the really good values on
conventional analog TV’s, another great alternative is to spend just a little more on
a high-end large screen TV and get one that is "HDTV Ready." With these
"HDTV Ready" units, to receive (true) High Definition TV, you will simply need
to purchase a HDTV receiver at some point in the future when digital broadcasting is
available in your area.
So considering the lengthy timeline and spotty availability of HDTV and
considering the availability of digital converters, or units that are "HDTV
Ready," just about any TV you buy today, will likely serve your needs for the next
5
to 7 years, a virtual life-time with today’s rapidly advancing technologies.
Dr. Von Zuko
(2000 ©)
 
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HDTV, uses a digital receiver and provides with an
image width to height ratio of 16:9, the same screen ratios of a typical movie screen. At
screen resolutions of up to 1080 lines per inch the picture is extremely sharp with a high
level of image detail, providing a quality very close to that of looking through a large,
crystal clear window. The audio system used with HDTV is the very best quality,
theater-filling stereo sound you can imagine, crisp highs and gut wrenching lows.
Clarification:
For clarification, high-definition and digital television are not one and the same.
High-definition uses between 720 and 1,080 active lines of video to deliver a picture;
regular digital programming has fewer than 500.
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Who
is . . . Dr.Von Zuko?
 Actually,
Dr. Von Zuko is a bit of an enigma, even to those relatively few people
who believe they know him quite well.
Frequently characterized as "reclusive," the strange doctor has
been known to spend days-on-end locked in his semi-secret laboratory,
"The Tower of Twisted Thought."
It is here, in the sanctity of the mysterious tower, that the doctor masterminds his
numerous, and usually off-the-wall creations.
Little is know of Dr. Von Zuko's early
years. In fact, in the course of the many decades that I have known him,
he has provided few clues or insights to his mysterious personality.
Several years ago however, the doctor, somewhat cryptically alluded to
starting life as a child.
I have frequently heard (and have been amused by) the various speculations that he was born in the
"old country," born of alien parents, cloned from the DNA of
several "mad scientists," or even that he was born in an old
moon-shiners cave or rock shelter in the back woods of Ohio.
Seemingly more informed speculators, believe that he was in fact the son
of a city police officer and a telephone switchboard operator, and was born in Columbus, Ohio,
in the now trendy, but in a time when it was an
urban hovel, German Village. The doctor has never been known to either confirm or
deny any of these speculations.
Regardless of the location or circumstance of the doctors birth, I do know
that it occurred sometime at the dawn of the "tail fin"
automotive era,
blond furniture, and those little round black and white TV's that were
built into huge wooden cabinets.
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Audio Technology:
Vinyl for the Best of Us
Did you know that 1998
was the 50th
anniversary of the phonograph record? Don't care? Think CD's are as good as
it gets? Well think again!
Audio engineers spent over 50 years perfecting the
LP record. Ironically, just as the technology really came into its own, the CD
appeared on the scene changing a multi billion dollar record industry almost overnight.
LP records are not dead however, not by any means. Audiophiles, (yeah, those people
who spend serious dollars on stereo gear) still prefer LP's over CD's. While LP's
are a bit more fragile to handle, they have an audio quality that is unmatched by the CD.
These analog recordings have a very rich presence
and warmth that currently is not attained by CD's. The digitally recorded CD has a
thin, fragile quality, and generally has a slight distance to the sound. Maybe the
experts are being a bit anal, but just imagine the musical experience you'll enjoy, once
CD's have 50 years of research behind them.
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Discovering technology and
electronics in his early adolescence, Von Zuko earned his first real
recognition as a guitarist and vocalist and sometime percussionist, in a fairly short list of popular
rock n' roll bands. It was only the need to eat regularly and live
under a weather-tight roof that drove Von Zuko toward more sustaining technologies.
As a young man, the doctor received his education, not only from the back
seat of a fifty-four Chevrolet, but from a couple of noteworthy institutions
in Europe and in the United States. Von Zuko, however, couldn't decide what he wanted to do
with his life beyond rock n' roll, so he used the shopping bag approach to
education.. . . a little of this, a little of that.
Then it happened!
In
a flash of blinding insight, rumored to have immediately followed a hazy, Jimi
Hendrix concert in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Von Zuko decided . . . technology . . .
communications . . . computers . . . a regular pay check!
The
rest is history!
So
now, submitted for your amusement and hopefully a little enlightenment,
I give you Dr. Von Zuko; "Computer Practitioner,
inventor, author, artist, designer, paranormal researcher, amateur
archeologists, and
self-proclaimed 70's Rock Historian."
Sincerely,
Cyber Witch
Cyber Witch and Dr. Von Zuko
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