Wide Open
The Doors’ Perception breaks on through.
The Doors’ self-titled first album was in an altogether darker, more theatrical, sinful, and sexual musical realm than anything heard in 1967. It was one hell of a debut, and, 40 years on, it still sounds incredibly unique. The band functioned with a collective spirit, and its four members—Jim Morrison, vocals; Ray Manzarek, keyboards; Robbie Krieger, guitar; and John Densmore, drums—shared songwriting and arranging credits on most of the tunes.
Don't know who to support in the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD? Those who have firmly decided not to decide got another option Friday as Samsung announced the long-rumored BD-UP5000 combi player. That makes Samsung the second manufacturer to market a high-def combi, following LG.
Despite my, and others', repeated assurances that you don't need 1080p on a 42-inch display, that seems to be what people keep concentrating on. Such resolution is wasted on a small screen (unless you're sitting on it). But, in this "mine has more resolution than yours" world, I guess such competitive behavior is inevitable. So, what about the displays that can take advantage of 1080p? Sure, depending on where you're sitting, an RPTV can do so. But, with all the concessions to price, brightness, and market competition, you still won't be getting everything out of the signal. There are a few flat panels that would work. In a size that would let you see 1080p from any distance, though, you'd be looking at the price of a good Mercedes. So, that leaves front projection.
Late last week stories began to circulate that Samsung will introduce a dual format Blu-ray/HD DVD later this year. The BD-UP5000, dubbed the "Duo HD," will be in stores in time for the holidays and it's been reported that the player will support the full suite of interactivity functionality used on both formats.
HDMI 1.0 was introduced to the market in 2002. As a means of carrying both digital audio and video between the source and the display, it offered several advantages over competing technologies, the most prominent being IEEE 1393, commonly known as FireWire. HDMI carried both audio and video, and also offered alluring security advantages that appealed, in particular, to Hollywood.
