Tech2

Loving both the idea and the, ahem, reality of it, I bought one… sort of. Called a Development Kit, you can get one now too if you want. It’s not the final product, but it works.

So here’s my experience with a Rift at home.

There have been stirrings on the webs about a new push for OLED (or organic light emitting diode-based) TVs. These Holy Grail televisions promise the ultimate in black level, contrast ratio, and color fidelity, they poop kittens, solve baldness, and make people like you.

Most of that is true. Some. OK, part.

Sadly, an imminent OLED renaissance is still highly unlikely. Unlikely, like me dematerializing and rematerializing in the next room unlikely.

Art, especially when offered for sale, begets criticism. Such is the nature of the world. As much as I eschew, and actively dislike, traditional movie reviews, I can see their place.

But what you can’t do, as a creator, is attack your critics. Trust me, you want to, but you can’t.

It’s especially bad when your spouse does it. Which is exactly what happened between a fellow reviewer and the spouse of the writer of, I’m not kidding, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.

Let the fireworks begin. This will be amusing.

I just finished a plasma TV review for an upcoming issue of S+V. As I was writing up its brightness and contrast ratios, I realized there could be some confusion about the numbers.

If you measure the contrast ratio of plasmas (all plasmas, not just this one) the same way you do other types of televisions - namely LCDs and projectors - they post poorer numbers than other technologies.

This isn't a performance issue as much as it's a measurement issue. And why that is . . . that's kinda interesting.

I am not a luddite. In fact, barring cybernetic augmentations (bring 'em on), I'd say I'm about as far from a luddite as one could be. I love technology. Thanks to my job, I'm often the first of my circle to have the latest gadget. I've got tons of Apple iStuff, a beloved Android phone, an oversized HDTV, 18MP DSLR, and yadda yadda.

Yet, I still buy CDs.

Hanging out at the recent Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I listened in on a conversation that S+V writer Mike Trei was having with an audio manufacturer who's getting into the headphone biz.

Hanging out at the recent Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I listened in on a conversation that S+V writer Mike Trei was having with an audio manufacturer who’s getting into the headphone biz.