Do you ever wonder what I tell people when they come up to me at a party and ask “What should I buy as my new television?” The website Slashdot wondered, and they commissioned a video interview of me that they call “HDTV Expert Alfred Poor Tells You What to Buy and What Not to [...]
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HDTV Almanac - My HDTV Buying Advice [a Slashdot video]
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alfredpoor
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Roger Halstead
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Re: HDTV Almanac - My HDTV Buying Advice [a Slashdot video]
Have I ever wondered what you tell people to purchase? With all due respect, "not really", but then again I'm not exactly a neophyte. <:-))
However there are two things that puzzle me. People purchasing huge TV sets in relatively small rooms and all the small devices on which people watch streaming TV which are really at opposite ends of the viewing spectrum.
Both types of viewing make me very uncomfortable. The huge TV screen has never given me the "Cinemax" experience and there's not much detail left in the small screens. Why do people watch movies on tiny screens with little detail? Until age caught up with me I had 20:10 vision. Do you realize what a let down it is to find you have 20:20 vision "after having had vision that was listed as reaching the theoretical limit"? You find that what every one else considers perfect to be a real disappointment! Even if the detail were there on the small screen, most people wouldn't be able to see it anyway.
I'm quite content to wait to view what ever it is on the 40" HD set, rather than to sorta watch it on a 3" smart phone.
However there are two things that puzzle me. People purchasing huge TV sets in relatively small rooms and all the small devices on which people watch streaming TV which are really at opposite ends of the viewing spectrum.
Both types of viewing make me very uncomfortable. The huge TV screen has never given me the "Cinemax" experience and there's not much detail left in the small screens. Why do people watch movies on tiny screens with little detail? Until age caught up with me I had 20:10 vision. Do you realize what a let down it is to find you have 20:20 vision "after having had vision that was listed as reaching the theoretical limit"? You find that what every one else considers perfect to be a real disappointment! Even if the detail were there on the small screen, most people wouldn't be able to see it anyway.
I'm quite content to wait to view what ever it is on the 40" HD set, rather than to sorta watch it on a 3" smart phone.
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alfredpoor
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Re: HDTV Almanac - My HDTV Buying Advice [a Slashdot video]
Roger, with regard to your eyesight, you have my sympathies. For similar reasons, I've stopped testing my hearing. I know I can't hear the high frequencies that I used to hear, but I don't want to be reminded of it too directly.
As for the screen size, I agree with much of what you say. However, the usage does play a role. Certainly, a 3" screen viewed from six feet away is not going to show the detail available in a 47" screen at the same distance. However, hold that 3" close to your face so that it covers the 47" screen completely, and assuming that it has the same resolution and that you can focus on it, you should see exactly the same detail. I wouldn't choose to watch a movie on a 3" screen myself, but I have been perfectly happy with a 10" screen up close when watching in bed.
As for hearing what I'd recommend, it could give you an opportunity to disagree with me. <g>
Alfred
HDTV Almanac
As for the screen size, I agree with much of what you say. However, the usage does play a role. Certainly, a 3" screen viewed from six feet away is not going to show the detail available in a 47" screen at the same distance. However, hold that 3" close to your face so that it covers the 47" screen completely, and assuming that it has the same resolution and that you can focus on it, you should see exactly the same detail. I wouldn't choose to watch a movie on a 3" screen myself, but I have been perfectly happy with a 10" screen up close when watching in bed.
As for hearing what I'd recommend, it could give you an opportunity to disagree with me. <g>
Alfred
HDTV Almanac