Progressive Scan

Nowadays, most livingrooms, bedrooms, and even kitchens are equipped with a centerpiece that takes you to different places. It serves a window to different worlds, and a source of entertainment. It is the Flat Panel TV, otherwise known as plasma tv, lcd tv, or even rear projection tv. At first glance, they all look the same. But if you are the type who scrutinizes every detail available, then you've got to know the basics.


You are about to say goodbye to the world of SDTVs, or standard definition televisions, and welcome HDTVs or high definition televisions. One of the first things that would differentiate each is the capability for most of HDTVs to have a progressive scan output. Progressive scan is basically the ability to display each line of each frame all at once.


As a simple illustration, imagine a picture is composed of 10 lines. Those ten lines display different colors found in the picture. If the picture moves, then the lines will have to display different colors. For SDTVs only 5 of those lines change display, while the other alternating 5 lines change display after the first batch has changed display. For progressive scan, all ten lines change display at the same time. You may say that it isn't really important just as long as you see the picture. Well, yes, you can see the picture, but it comes out a bit blurry especially with motion sequences. Here's a picture to show you the difference between both.





You notice that the picture on the left is more blurry, and that there are lines on the bottom area. This is what happens on SDTVs. TV sets that are capable of progressive scan display can display frames with sudden movements better. All lines change image at the same time, compared to interlaced display, where the lines that change are alternating, so the other lines are left with older frames. I'll be getting into more detail in the next few entries since the topic on HDTVs are a lot more complicated than just progressive scan.

picture: apple.com

NBA on 2Ksports

My season is about to end, the Lakers are about to go into the playoffs once again, and their small forward Randolph Ruffin, is going to get the MVP for the second straight year. But who's Randolph Ruffin? Is anyone familiar with the 4th year superstar who won rookie of the year honors 4 seasons ago? He's the main go-to guy for the LA Lakers together with Daniel Gibson, Kobe Bryant, Troy Murphy and Robert Swift. Well just for a video game on the Xbox 360 of course.
Ending my 5th straight season on dynasty mode, my NBA 2K7 hasn't been replaced by the newer version of the series, the NBA 2K8. With Shaquille O'Neal on its cover and still playing for the Miami Heat, I opted to stick with this game and play with it for who knows until when. The visuals are great, with visible sweat running down the players' skin, detailed facial features, and even tattoos are spot on.
For game play, there are some minor issues that make the game a bit more unrealistic than how it's supposed to be. Players seem to dive whenever the ball gets loose, driving to the basket would sometimes end up releasing the ball at the back of the board, and some shots make the player's movement stiff. At times, AI behavior gets predictable, that even on the superstar level of play, you can blow out the opponent by as much as 50 points for just a 24 minute full game.
Despite some game play issues, the game seems to attract people, like me, who are after the stats at the end of the game. Making sure that certain players do well during the entire season, and getting the coveted MVP award, I try to make it a point that my star players perform well on each game, and try to limit mistakes. This in effect, makes the game a lot more challenging than it is.
As I finish every season, and usually get the championship trophy, I am always at the crossroads of my 2K7's fate. Should I finally get the newer game, should I take the bait and purchase the yearly releases of the series, or should I just wait every 2 years before I get the latest version of the series? Meanwhile, the new draft prospects seem promising.

picture: www.gamepro.com

Firing up my Canon

My interest in photography began in 2006. I was inspired by some of 's photos, so I set out and flexed some of my artistic muscles. Armed with a prosumer camera, I took photographs of people, events, and places. I didn't stop there. I read online forums, and tried different styles of shooting. Since I only had a prosumer camera, there were a lot of settings I couldn't try out, and I just couldn't replicate some experimental shots that I saw. It was then when I decided to get myself a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera.

The top of mind brand for most people was either a Canon or Nikon. I chose Canon, because back in Davao, there was no Nikon service center in case the camera got busted. Since I didn't know how to use a DSLR, I got myself an entry level camera, the Canon 400D. I liked the fact that it was a 10 mega-pixel camera, and it had a smaller size that easily fits my hands compared to the bigger and more expensive models. I was really impressed by the performance of the 400D. I could shoot a high ISO 1600, and still have clean noiseless images. Its bundled kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) was good enough to walk around with. I can take photos without getting too close to, or far away from your subject. The weight of the body, plus the kit lens was light enough that it doesn't put any strain on my arms even if I carry around it for hours. In the succeeding entries, I'll try to discuss more of the details of the camera for you to understand photography better. Photography after all, is a craft, which means its a continuous learning experience.

Overall, I'm quite happy with my 400D. Upgrading to higher end models (40D, 5D, 1D) might take a while because the 400D can definitely play with the big boys. When asked if the 400D can produce good photos like the higher end models, I answer, the 400 can give quality images, but producing the beauty in photographs depends on the one behind the camera.

Just keep clicking.

The Arrival of the 360

I purchased my Xbox 360 back in the Philippines on December of 2006. I have a CRT HDTV that's capable of running 720p and 1080i signals, and I wanted to make use of its full potential. My generic DVD player couldn't upscale the movies I had, and can only do a 480p or a 1080i resolution. The playstation 2 I had can only run at 480p on selected games only. The 360 was the only choice I had to get the full potential of my TV set. And it was well worth it.

The first 360 game I purchased was Gears of War. A futuristic 3rd person shooter where you battle it out with alien hordes known as the "Locusts". The game ushers dawn of next gen games. The visuals are stunning. The details on the characters make them seem like I was watching a movie because of their life-like appearance. The game is easy to get used to, I loved the cover system, where you need to take cover behind any available object to protect yourself from enemy fire. And the story is engaging, never a dull or repetitive moment. From the moment the game begins, you feel like you have to push on, and get to the end of the Act. Once you finish each Act, you feel a sense of relief and accomplishment, not to mention the achievements unlocked. I finished the game in a couple of days. I never thought they'd make games this good, I said to myself.

The developers of Gears of War, Epic, are coming out with Gears of War 2 on November. Its definitely gonna be a tough act to follow, but I'm sure those guys are creative enough to come out with another masterpiece. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

picture source: www.gearsofwar.com