...of course, everything's subjective. One man's cool is another man's crap. That said, I happen to think the following are pretty damn special for a number of reasons.
First up, the second part of the DV article by After Effects gurus Trish and Chris Meyer on Camera Control in AE7. I mentioned part 1 a couple of months ago.
As always with DV.com, registration required.
Second, via the Creative Cow.net newsletter, comes what promises to be quite possibly the handiest and most wonderfully helpful video podcast to come along yet. Video Grunt is a series of technical primers for the wonderful world of video. Created in a light and entertaining way using plenty of archive footage, host Craig Syverson intends to run through everything you need to get your head around the basics. At the moment he's looked at how aspect ratios came into being, with more to come. Let's just hope he doesn't concentrate on NTSC to the detriment of users everywhere.
Next, via Tom Coates' always interesting plasticbag.org, comes some work by his friend and colleague Matt Biddulph. Matt has captured a machinima video of he and Tom in virtual social environment Second Life making use of a modification that allows user's avatars to request items from the Web on demand. The example he shows is an avatar's ability to visually manipulate a Flickr window, showing pictures with particular tags. Interesting stuff, if that's the sort of thing that moves you (and for me it certainly does).
And finally, and quite possibly the coolest of the lot, this Coka-Cola/World of Warcraft ad from China, lovingly made available for worldwide consumption by our friends at Google Video (so that's why they sold out those Chinese bloggers to the government; to get access to this clip!)
Before I go, is this just me, or towards the end when the three girls switch back from the game world to the real world do they wind up being a little bigger (less stickfigure) than their virtual counterparts? I mean, I know that fantasy images of women have always been a little out there (read: sexist), but I guess given the ad's initial message (women breaking away from the "sexy sells" male mentality) the avatars could have been a little less stylised. Of course, it could have just been a difference in the camera position.
Problems? Having all sorts of ideas for posts and not having time to be able to give them proper attention, or for that matter to even be able to post bullet points of the main arguments. Meh, that's life.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
So Channel 9's gutting their NewsCaff Department...
Ratings are down, money's heading out the door to those pesky mobile phones and iPods, what''s an executive to do?
Well, to start with, chop off $15 million from what was once the proud pinnacle of Australian TV News.
"The size of the staff cuts - almost 20 per cent of Nine's 450-strong news and current affairs team are being targeted for redundancies - shocked the industry. Such large cuts would have been unlikely during Kerry Packer's reign, but since his death, Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd chief executive John Alexander and James Packer have demanded cuts be made to lift Nine's profitability."
It's an interesting course of action.
But to my mind the most interesting quote comes from Peter Fullerton, a debt analyst at Moody's Investors Service.
"You don't have to be the number one television station to achieve the highest profit margins."
Now that's something you would NEVER have heard during the Kerry Packer years. It just goes to show the difference between the old guard and the new.
Well, to start with, chop off $15 million from what was once the proud pinnacle of Australian TV News.
"The size of the staff cuts - almost 20 per cent of Nine's 450-strong news and current affairs team are being targeted for redundancies - shocked the industry. Such large cuts would have been unlikely during Kerry Packer's reign, but since his death, Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd chief executive John Alexander and James Packer have demanded cuts be made to lift Nine's profitability."
It's an interesting course of action.
"Seven's news and current affairs (who have been taking Nine's market share in News and Current Affairs over the last year - not that you can really call "Today Tonight" current affairs) chief, Peter Meakin, who left Nine in February 2003, said programs would have to be "gutted" to meet the cutbacks, and questioned Mr McGuire's recent decision to spend more than $2.5 million signing up exclusive interviews with the Beaconsfield miners.
"I'm very surprised - amazed - they've done this," he said. "If you think of how many changes there have been there in the past few years, all you can read into it is a lack of confidence and panic. One minute they're writing $2 million-plus cheques (for Beaconsfield) and the next they're putting 80 people to the sword."
Let's put that one in perspective for a second. Seven were mighty pissed off that they missed out on the Todd and Brant show so there's bound to be a little acrimony.But to my mind the most interesting quote comes from Peter Fullerton, a debt analyst at Moody's Investors Service.
"You don't have to be the number one television station to achieve the highest profit margins."
Now that's something you would NEVER have heard during the Kerry Packer years. It just goes to show the difference between the old guard and the new.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Junkies, thieves, idiots and depressives - The Australian "Hero"
An interesting article and subsequent discussion, albeit a little lightweight, about whether Campbell's Hero Myth is relevant to Australian narrative, in particular film.
" "The American myth is the myth of their nation's settlement -- that an individual with strong character can undertake a daunting task, overcome seemingly unsurmountable odds, and become a great success.
" "The American myth is the myth of their nation's settlement -- that an individual with strong character can undertake a daunting task, overcome seemingly unsurmountable odds, and become a great success.
"The Australian myth is also based on our nation's settlement -- that we are convicts, delinquents, struggling outsiders, persecuted by an uncaring and alien authority, trapped in a harsh envirnment we did not choose and do not understand, that all survival and validation relies on not rising above or separating from the group, failure and suffering are our lot, and the best we can hope for is to survive."
The views of Vogler and Vidler may explain why the protagonists in recent Australian movies have tended to be thieves, junkies, psychopaths, idiots, obsessives and depressives. Our film-makers think those are the heroes we need. They don't regard Crocodile Dundee and Babe as inspirations, but rather as giant exceptions -- freak successes in the land that loves to lose. That thought in itself is depressing enough to form the basis of the next Australian movie."Tuesday, May 30, 2006
New quote of the Month!
From the always interesting Douglas Rushkoff.
Consuming bad media degrades our ability to perceive.
Read why here.
Consuming bad media degrades our ability to perceive.
Read why here.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Cat and Girl versus Legitimacy
Because I've come to realise that I really shouldn't be leeching images off other sites, and I think you would be best served visiting the actual site and trawling through the archives when you have time, I'm only proffering a link. Besides, I learned my lesson from a Doonesbury cartoon, "Are Women capable of Torture?" that I keep getting hits on from Google Images from sickos searching for "Women" and "Torture". No more sickos for me, thank you very much.
Go, read, enjoy.
Aah, Cat and Girl. They make me chuckle like no one else does...
I have so much I want to talk about, and no time to talk about it in. What good's a public space for an individual voice if there's no time to speak?
Go, read, enjoy.
Aah, Cat and Girl. They make me chuckle like no one else does...
I have so much I want to talk about, and no time to talk about it in. What good's a public space for an individual voice if there's no time to speak?
Monday, May 22, 2006
New ABC MD - A good thing or a bad thing?
It's not official, but the trade papers are saying the ABC board has picked the editorial director for Fairfax, Mr Mark Scott, to be our new Managing Director.
Bad thing: A newspaper guy to run a bunch of television and radio stations? Does this make sense? Possibly. Might be good to get someone who can step outside that axis.
Good thing: Apparantly Mr Scott has been quite key in the inception and growth of Fairfax's online holdings. That's a step forward as far as I'm concerned right there.
Of course, it's pretty funny when your current employer uses this headline to announce it.
Welcome Mr Scott. I look forward to seeing where we go from here.
Bad thing: A newspaper guy to run a bunch of television and radio stations? Does this make sense? Possibly. Might be good to get someone who can step outside that axis.
Good thing: Apparantly Mr Scott has been quite key in the inception and growth of Fairfax's online holdings. That's a step forward as far as I'm concerned right there.
Of course, it's pretty funny when your current employer uses this headline to announce it.
Welcome Mr Scott. I look forward to seeing where we go from here.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Trailer Remix goes "De-Mille"ian
Who says trailer remixes need to be for modern films? Remix the Cecil B DeMille classic "The 10 Commandments" with a high school teen flick and this is what you get.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
9/11 Pentagon video released - now that was smart
So a group called "Judicial Watch" files a FOI request to get access to the otherwise suppressed video of Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon on September 11 2001. Having received it, they post it on their site.
The site crashes.
So they rebuild and pare down the site so it won't happen again. Then, to really cut back on their bandwidth, they ditch both videos onto YouTube and let them deal with it. Now that's clever.
YouTube - Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video -- 1 of 2
YouTube - Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video -- 2 of 2
Personally, I can't see a jet in that timelapse footage, but that's not why I posted this. It highlights a growing trend of content producers placing their material on 3rd party sites so they don't have to worry about maintaining the back end.
The site crashes.
So they rebuild and pare down the site so it won't happen again. Then, to really cut back on their bandwidth, they ditch both videos onto YouTube and let them deal with it. Now that's clever.
YouTube - Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video -- 1 of 2
YouTube - Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video -- 2 of 2
Personally, I can't see a jet in that timelapse footage, but that's not why I posted this. It highlights a growing trend of content producers placing their material on 3rd party sites so they don't have to worry about maintaining the back end.
Friday, May 12, 2006
(Cue "Out-of-breath panting")
Back from Sydney.
Too much at work to do.
No time for posting.
Maybe next week.
(whimper)
Too much at work to do.
No time for posting.
Maybe next week.
(whimper)
Friday, May 05, 2006
No time for posts
Nothing this week. Been too busy.
Last weekend was much fun, not because of the games (although some of those rocked without limit) but rather the people I got to hang out with. Huge thanks to Col, Brad, Steve, Helga and Troy for making the weekend so enjoyable.
Collectable Card Games. Who knew they were so much fun? Shadowfist is very quickly turning into a new obsession.
Yesterday was the Adobe Fully Loaded Tour presentation. Some interesting stuff, although the video and web segments left a little to be desired.
Off to Sydney Monday and Tuesday for the New Media Systems Conference where I'm supposed to give a talk on the Brisbane facility. Then it's back to it in the build up to next Friday where I have far too many things due to comfortably name.
Back to the coalface.
Last weekend was much fun, not because of the games (although some of those rocked without limit) but rather the people I got to hang out with. Huge thanks to Col, Brad, Steve, Helga and Troy for making the weekend so enjoyable.
Collectable Card Games. Who knew they were so much fun? Shadowfist is very quickly turning into a new obsession.
Yesterday was the Adobe Fully Loaded Tour presentation. Some interesting stuff, although the video and web segments left a little to be desired.
Off to Sydney Monday and Tuesday for the New Media Systems Conference where I'm supposed to give a talk on the Brisbane facility. Then it's back to it in the build up to next Friday where I have far too many things due to comfortably name.
Back to the coalface.
Friday, April 28, 2006
It's the weekend!
...and I'm not in on Monday. I'm being a humungous geek and attending the BIG Weekend game convention with our super-team, "Hypnotoad"! Given the awards these guys normally come home with it's going to be great to finally be an official member of such an auspicious tradition.
But seriously folks...
Don't forget Australian Story Online this Monday as we do Senator Barnaby Joyce and his trip to Antarctica. This includes an edit of the good Senator's home movies from the trip by yours truly.
One of the reasons I haven't had anything to say today or yesterday is that I've been a little busy at work, and I've found myself reading two pretty decent articles, one the IBM Business Consulting document "The End Of Television As We Know It" and a fascinating study on Alternate Reality Games, in particularly the "Cloudmakers" and their work on the non-game dubbed "The Beast." It's fascinating stuff and worthy of a longer piece when I get the time.
But for now, geek out! See you all Tuesday.
But seriously folks...
Don't forget Australian Story Online this Monday as we do Senator Barnaby Joyce and his trip to Antarctica. This includes an edit of the good Senator's home movies from the trip by yours truly.
One of the reasons I haven't had anything to say today or yesterday is that I've been a little busy at work, and I've found myself reading two pretty decent articles, one the IBM Business Consulting document "The End Of Television As We Know It" and a fascinating study on Alternate Reality Games, in particularly the "Cloudmakers" and their work on the non-game dubbed "The Beast." It's fascinating stuff and worthy of a longer piece when I get the time.
But for now, geek out! See you all Tuesday.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
BBC goes 2.0. News Corp just goes "Waaah Waaaaahh! Daddy, he's not playing fair!!"
So here's how it would appear to be. The BBC decides they're just not getting in the youngsters like they used to. Damn those websites and video games. So, being a forward thinker...
"Mark Thompson, the Director-General, announced a radical shake-up yesterday in the delivery of all the corporation’s services...
Anyway, the big announcement, or at least the one that's caused the most furore, was;
"The plans to create an online community incorporating music and blogs echoes the service offered by MySpace.com, the website bought by News International, parent company of The Times, for £324 million."
And just like that, News Corp starts getting defensive.
"James MacManus, an executive director of Murdoch's News International company, accused the state-funded BBC of "blatantly commercial ambitions" and seeking "to create a digital empire."
Or, my favourite, the bit at the end of the Times article (who have already helpfully let us know where their allegiances lie) entitled;
LEARN TO SPEAK FLUENT MARK THOMPSON
[Edit - More on the BBC revamp.]
"Mark Thompson, the Director-General, announced a radical shake-up yesterday in the delivery of all the corporation’s services...
The familiar portfolio of BBC radio and television channels could ultimately be phased out as content is delivered “on-demand” to the licence-fee payer through handheld devices, computers and mobile phones as well as digital television sets."
Before we go any further, what is it with media writers that they feel a need to constantly play the "end of your TV!" angle? Sure, maybe one day we will dump our TV sets and move away from broadcast television once and for all, but I can tell you now it won't be until the medium is completely obselete, irrelevant, and every cent has been squeezed from it. When that happens the collective cry will no doubt be "what kept it here so long?"Anyway, the big announcement, or at least the one that's caused the most furore, was;
"The plans to create an online community incorporating music and blogs echoes the service offered by MySpace.com, the website bought by News International, parent company of The Times, for £324 million."
And just like that, News Corp starts getting defensive.
"James MacManus, an executive director of Murdoch's News International company, accused the state-funded BBC of "blatantly commercial ambitions" and seeking "to create a digital empire."
"Our view is that can only damage the development of commercial digital media," MacManus said.
"This is being done with public money," he told The Associated Press. "It really is outrageous." "
Or, my favourite, the bit at the end of the Times article (who have already helpfully let us know where their allegiances lie) entitled;
LEARN TO SPEAK FLUENT MARK THOMPSON
360-degree commissioning in knowledge content
We get the marketing guys to knock out Little Britain ringtones
Dynamic audio-visual content
Television programmes
User-generated content to re-engage audiences
Licence-fee payers star in programmes and text-vote for winners
More hybrid hits like The Apprentice
We can dress up reality game-shows as an insight into business
One clear and comprehensive metadata solution for all BBC content
Search any word in Google and the result is “BBC”
[Edit - More on the BBC revamp.]
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
On Pokemonetisation... | plasticbag.org
And so to finish up the day, let me leave you with this glorious neologism from Tom Coates and Simon Willison.
Pokemonetise: "To make money by appealling to the stupid human instinct to collect dumb things"
Couldn't have put it better myself.
Pokemonetise: "To make money by appealling to the stupid human instinct to collect dumb things"
Couldn't have put it better myself.
ANZAC day - some relevant thoughts
Courtesy of Patrick, who points out all you need to know about these thoughts on Australia's unofficial national day.
"It says more than I ever could."
"The great sacrifices their generation made would be wasted if current and future Australians do not share an abhorrence of war, and forever work more towards its reasonable avoidance rather than its glorification. They would want us to reflect upon the human tragedy that World War I was not, as hoped for at the time, the "war to end all wars" - that young people are still called up as cannon fodder whenever politicians tire of resolving differences through diplomacy or have grandiose visions of national destiny."
That to me is the great dichotomy of ANZAC day. Being able to reflect on those who gave their lives in horrendous conditions to do what they thought was right for their country, sometimes at the behest of a jingoistic propaganda machine that wasn't entirely "accurate", and show appreciation to those that had the good fortune to return from service, while at the same time admonish war as the hateful, destructive and repugnant state of insanity and overt power-mongering it truly is.
This time last year I made the comment "I can't find any reason to justify war or the actions of those that actively seek it out." I hold to that comment, but find a year later that I have greater appreciation for those flung into combat by powers that exist beyond them. Lest we Forget.
"It says more than I ever could."
"The great sacrifices their generation made would be wasted if current and future Australians do not share an abhorrence of war, and forever work more towards its reasonable avoidance rather than its glorification. They would want us to reflect upon the human tragedy that World War I was not, as hoped for at the time, the "war to end all wars" - that young people are still called up as cannon fodder whenever politicians tire of resolving differences through diplomacy or have grandiose visions of national destiny."
That to me is the great dichotomy of ANZAC day. Being able to reflect on those who gave their lives in horrendous conditions to do what they thought was right for their country, sometimes at the behest of a jingoistic propaganda machine that wasn't entirely "accurate", and show appreciation to those that had the good fortune to return from service, while at the same time admonish war as the hateful, destructive and repugnant state of insanity and overt power-mongering it truly is.
This time last year I made the comment "I can't find any reason to justify war or the actions of those that actively seek it out." I hold to that comment, but find a year later that I have greater appreciation for those flung into combat by powers that exist beyond them. Lest we Forget.
The Problem with Problem Solvers | Digital Rules By Rich Karlgaard
Rich Karlgaard's usually not the sort of person I quote. As an opinion piece writer for business journal Forbes, I don't see eye to eye with some of the stuff he's saying. Hey, that's just me.
That said, I can't deny the quality of this thought.
"..."opportunity seekers," love charging into the unknown future. They trust that things will work out if people are free to work and create, using capital that is free to seek a return. Opportunity seekers, in fact, are bored by static problem solving. This does not mean they are shirkers. It's just that they'd rather invent word processors than fix typewriters.
Problem solvers, on the other hand, see failure everywhere. They will grind away at a problem, even subsidizing past efforts that have never worked well and probably never will. Problem solvers tend to resist forward motion until all present-day problems are gone. Problem solvers get irritated--a stern bunch they are--when they see others frivolously seeking opportunity."
It's not a bad thought to live by, especially for someone who is expected to seek new media opportunites while solving old media problems. Don't solve problems, find ways to make the problems irrelevant.
That said, I can't deny the quality of this thought.
"..."opportunity seekers," love charging into the unknown future. They trust that things will work out if people are free to work and create, using capital that is free to seek a return. Opportunity seekers, in fact, are bored by static problem solving. This does not mean they are shirkers. It's just that they'd rather invent word processors than fix typewriters.
Problem solvers, on the other hand, see failure everywhere. They will grind away at a problem, even subsidizing past efforts that have never worked well and probably never will. Problem solvers tend to resist forward motion until all present-day problems are gone. Problem solvers get irritated--a stern bunch they are--when they see others frivolously seeking opportunity."
It's not a bad thought to live by, especially for someone who is expected to seek new media opportunites while solving old media problems. Don't solve problems, find ways to make the problems irrelevant.
The Fiend goes Vlog!
Cheers to my boy Simy as he begins his round the world tour. First stop for him and his brand spankin' new laptop and camera is Tokyo. I have been reliably informed that we should expect regular video updates as he makes his way from continent to continent.
Good luck mate. We're already missing you.
Good luck mate. We're already missing you.
Official Clerks II Trailer
It's only been over ten years since part 1.
I'll leave the commentary on a wave of youth left behind in a late 80's/early 90's morass of recession and social decay for another time, but for now;
Yay!
I'll leave the commentary on a wave of youth left behind in a late 80's/early 90's morass of recession and social decay for another time, but for now;
Yay!
Return of the Remix Trailers!
While we can still get some laughs out of them before we all become cynical and jaded (i.e. every bastard is making one), here's a remix of seminal chick-flick "Sleepless In Seattle" as a creepy stalker film;
As a counterpoint, let's try "Fight Club" as romance.
Doesn't quite count because it was done by a TV station as a promo, but I'll throw this one in here anyway, "The Lord Of The Rings" as farce.
So long as I'm out on the edge of these things, let's try an interesting remix of
And more "Brokeback Mountain" ripoffs than you can shake a stick at (no pun intended), including;
And even,
I also found references to a "Brokeback Heat" and "Brokeback Island" (Lost) that have been removed for one reason or another. Obviously they're of varying quality and I guarantee you'll get sick of that guitar refrain from Brokeback Mountain before you're through looking at them all. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this movie that's spawned all these remixes and spoofs, but I'm sure there's a psychologist or two that would have something to say on the subject.
As a counterpoint, let's try "Fight Club" as romance.
Doesn't quite count because it was done by a TV station as a promo, but I'll throw this one in here anyway, "The Lord Of The Rings" as farce.
So long as I'm out on the edge of these things, let's try an interesting remix of
And more "Brokeback Mountain" ripoffs than you can shake a stick at (no pun intended), including;
(Ancient Macedonia never looked so...)
And even,
I also found references to a "Brokeback Heat" and "Brokeback Island" (Lost) that have been removed for one reason or another. Obviously they're of varying quality and I guarantee you'll get sick of that guitar refrain from Brokeback Mountain before you're through looking at them all. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this movie that's spawned all these remixes and spoofs, but I'm sure there's a psychologist or two that would have something to say on the subject.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Cell Phone Video Tutorial | DV.com
Nels Johnson, President of S.F. company "Download Recordings", runs through the basics to getting your video into a fit state to play on mobile phones using the Quicktime 3GPP codec.
As always, DV does require registration.
As always, DV does require registration.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
The lowdown on our dodgy high-definition screens | The Australian
Well, Thursday is Media day for the Australian so it kind of makes a little sense I'd find all this good stuff there.
Mark Day has a little (albeit justified) whinge about the state of High Definition in Australia, a bit of the history (and stupidity) of its inception and the ridiculous lengths one needs to go to buy a truly HD ready set.
It highlights an issue that I keep bringing up. Us techo's and media types can rant and rave all we like about the digital revolution, Web 2.0, High Definition, digital television, streaming content, podcasting, but for the majority of the public it seems an analog set, a DVD player (for playing rentals from the local video store) and a VHS recorder work just fine to keep them entertained. This is not an indictment on them but rather a wake-up call to those of us who can get a little too excited and ahead of the pack.
The fact is (a phrase I use advisedly, mainly because I hate "the reality is...") that people will not take up this technology in droves because it's just too difficult to make it work straight off the bat. Have a think about VHS recorders when they first came out. Compared to the existing technology of the time the system was really quite simple to set up, the stations were easy to tune in, and the interface was so similar to the audio tape deck controls already familiar to us all that it didn't take long to get the whole thing up and running and used by all my friends at my 10th birthday party to watch a recording of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
Peripheral bits? Don't know how to set the clock? Not a problem because the core functionality works without it; record and playback analog video, in particular television broadcasts.
Fast forward to 2006.
"When I plugged it in a panel came up on the screen asking if I would like my new toy to search for signals. I gave it a "Yes" and three minutes later I had 17 analog and digital channels locked in with the digitals giving me excellent choices of picture."
So far so good...
"I flicked between Seven SD and Seven HD. It seemed the same to me. Ditto Nine SD and Nine HD."
Uh oh.
"And then I read a speech delivered at the broadcast summit earlier this month by Patrick Delany, Foxtel's executive director of content, development and delivery."
I've never had much time for high definition as a concept, basically for the above reason. I saw the whole thing as a sham.
Then I got to see real high definition content on a real high definition set. Now I'm a believer. Which is why it's so frustrating to see what's happening to yet another infant technology.
"Now, all this might be confusing and for many people, a barrier to making the first step towards the electronics shops. My neighbours say they can't understand a word of it and argue that their old analog set is good enough anyway, so why bother?"
Yet again, the "Path of Least Resistance" raises its head.
"The bottom line is: unless you ask about the true capability of your screen, and are prepared to pay more than the headlined models, you will have no guarantee you'll get high definition television even if the box the screen comes in says it is."
And that's the sad conclusion to our tale. An inadequate standard allowing shoddy quality. And with each consumer that gets burnt by retailers you wind up with 10 scared away from the experience.
Mark Day has a little (albeit justified) whinge about the state of High Definition in Australia, a bit of the history (and stupidity) of its inception and the ridiculous lengths one needs to go to buy a truly HD ready set.
It highlights an issue that I keep bringing up. Us techo's and media types can rant and rave all we like about the digital revolution, Web 2.0, High Definition, digital television, streaming content, podcasting, but for the majority of the public it seems an analog set, a DVD player (for playing rentals from the local video store) and a VHS recorder work just fine to keep them entertained. This is not an indictment on them but rather a wake-up call to those of us who can get a little too excited and ahead of the pack.
The fact is (a phrase I use advisedly, mainly because I hate "the reality is...") that people will not take up this technology in droves because it's just too difficult to make it work straight off the bat. Have a think about VHS recorders when they first came out. Compared to the existing technology of the time the system was really quite simple to set up, the stations were easy to tune in, and the interface was so similar to the audio tape deck controls already familiar to us all that it didn't take long to get the whole thing up and running and used by all my friends at my 10th birthday party to watch a recording of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
Peripheral bits? Don't know how to set the clock? Not a problem because the core functionality works without it; record and playback analog video, in particular television broadcasts.
Fast forward to 2006.
"When I plugged it in a panel came up on the screen asking if I would like my new toy to search for signals. I gave it a "Yes" and three minutes later I had 17 analog and digital channels locked in with the digitals giving me excellent choices of picture."
So far so good...
"I flicked between Seven SD and Seven HD. It seemed the same to me. Ditto Nine SD and Nine HD."
Uh oh.
"And then I read a speech delivered at the broadcast summit earlier this month by Patrick Delany, Foxtel's executive director of content, development and delivery."
"At a time when HD screens were expensive and HD broadcast material was scarce, all they talked about was HD," he told the summit. "Subsequently all the press talked about was the high cost of HD TVs."
But while the free-to air networks paid lip service to HD, they allowed the official Australian standard for HD to be set at the lowest point, just above standard definition as defined by analog PAL quality. "
Hmmm, standards being set to appease the lowest common denominator. Sound familiar to anyone?"My new whiz-bang screen will never be able to show full HD because its native resolution is 768 lines and 1230 pixels. It's not true HD but it can legitimately be labelled and sold as HD because our standard is set ridiculously low.
Even if I had shopped around for the ultimate HDTV unit - and only about 10 per cent of widescreens in homes so far are capable of delivering the full deal - I would still be hard pressed to find true HDTV on the airwaves. "
I've never had much time for high definition as a concept, basically for the above reason. I saw the whole thing as a sham.
Then I got to see real high definition content on a real high definition set. Now I'm a believer. Which is why it's so frustrating to see what's happening to yet another infant technology.
"Now, all this might be confusing and for many people, a barrier to making the first step towards the electronics shops. My neighbours say they can't understand a word of it and argue that their old analog set is good enough anyway, so why bother?"
Yet again, the "Path of Least Resistance" raises its head.
"The bottom line is: unless you ask about the true capability of your screen, and are prepared to pay more than the headlined models, you will have no guarantee you'll get high definition television even if the box the screen comes in says it is."
And that's the sad conclusion to our tale. An inadequate standard allowing shoddy quality. And with each consumer that gets burnt by retailers you wind up with 10 scared away from the experience.
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