The thing with flat screen TVs that might surprise people a little is that they are all over the place now. They are somewhat on the cheap side now, and they are everywhere: I see them in people’s bathroom, bedrooms, kitchen, and even some of them in hospitals. Yes, I was watching “MTV Cribs” and “Jersey Shore” while I was working in the hospital, sue me; you would do it in a heart beat. I guess my point is that this device has become very popular and very realistic for even the common folks to get.

One of the recent developments of flat screen TVs are Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TVs; they are televisions that use LCD technology to produce images. These televisions began to appear on the market, believe or not, in the early 1980s. LCD televisions are thinner and lighter than televisions of similar display size, and are available in much larger sizes. This combination of features made LCDs more practical than any other competitve TV models.

Many predicted it will not succeed in the market and other models would surpass them because the ghosting on fast-moving images, poor contrast ratio, and muddy colors. But the manufacturing of LCDs continue and sale numbers skyrocketed as we moved past the first decade of the millennium. LCDs have controlled the TV market for the first time in 2007, as the product surpassed every single model in total sales. As the years went on and the production cost went down, LCD has almost wiped out the only rival left in the model of plasmas.

Since then, LCDs are, by far, the most widely produced and sold television technology today, pushing all rivals aside.

Believed to be set off by the Belgian authorities, the raids took place in countries like Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden. In addition to taking down some of the top file-sharing sites, servers for the infamous whistle-blower website Wikileaks were also taken. Authorities say that WikiLeaks had nothing to do with the raid’s intentions; however, and maintain that they were simply after the piracy organizations.

Out of the torrent sites affected, The Pirate Bay was, as always, back up and running by the end of the day. In roughly twelve hours, the website was fully operational except for the secure server which encrypts data transmission to and from the site. The Pirate Bay is no stranger to these types of assaults on its service. In 2006 its servers were raided by Swedish authorities and the website was down for roughly three days. It is unknown what other websites, if any, were targeted. As of this writing, none have come forward about it.

Copyright law has become a hot-button issue throughout the western world in the last decade, with intellectual property organizations like the RIAA, MPAA, CRIAA and the IIPA all lobbying their respective (and neighboring) governments to do something about the sharing of copyrighted material. It’s interesting to note how much effort is put into this fight and how much money is spent combating piracy.

One has to wonder if it’s worth it; I mean, when Napster was shut down, along came Kazaa. When Kazaa was shut down, along came LimeWire (among others). Those newer file sharing networks have yet to be shut down, and that doesn’t even take into account BitTorrent, which is as free and clear as any because it’s decentralized.

All I’m saying is that instead of hunting down these pirates and wasting government resources, perhaps they should be putting their effort toward making it easier and cheaper to access their content (good content, mind you) than it is to pirate it. That should be their first priority. Just my opinion; I could be wrong be wrong. Perhaps we’ll never know.

I found two great places that you can buy episodes: iTunes and Amazon.com. I usually always use iTunes  or iO ditigal cable to rent movies, but I realize now that Amazon has a department that puts them both to shame with selection and pricing.

Watching an episode of House on iTunes costs approximately $2.99 and HD quality is the only one offered. On the other hand, to watch an episode of House from Amazon, I only have to pay $1.99 and I have the option to purchase HD quality for $1 more.

The advantage of Amazon is that they have the entire selection of House seasons 1-6 as well as many other old and new TV shows like The X-Files and LOST (which both happen to fall under the cateogory of $.99 episodes!) In addition, Amazon enables users to search by TV channel listing a wide variety of channels such as Bravo, TLC, and CBS.

Amazon says that you can watch episodes “without downloads, on a PC or Mac, and commercial free.” What is better than that? You can also play the movie or  TV show on your home TV, save it in your video library, or watch it on a an on-the-go video playing device. There are also some free TV shows, movies and bonus features from shows like the Jersey Shore, Rookie Blues, 30 Rock, The Event, and The Office. Additionally, there is a whole section of DC Comics “bonus content” for the kids or adults that watched it when they were kids.

Overall, the site is easy to navigate and makes purchases easy with the option of buying with 1-click. Amazon offers a wide variety at a reasonable price. Amazon even lets you watch 2 minutes of a free preview of an episode to make sure you have not seen it yet! Amazon has always been multi-dimensional but who knew it was on demand!

Time to look again.

Netflix is not inclined to rest on its laurels. Sure, they changed the paradigm for DVD distribution in America. Yeah, they’ve driven Blockbuster to the verge of ruin. But that was so last decade.

Although they don’t get a lot of credit for being progressive, Netflix seems to always be one step ahead. The company has seen the writing on the wall – DVDs, even BluRay, are not the future of entertainment rentals. Most cable and satellite customers have the option to rent movies on demand through their set top boxes. ITunes and a host of other outlets sell electronic copies online. Driving to the video store is out. Waiting for a DVD in the mail is out. Now is the time of now – instant delivery.

Because of the dent that Netflix’s mail delivery program has put into DVD sales, the company recently renegotiated its contracts with the major movie studios. The studios got the concession that Netflix would not rent DVDs through the mail delivery program for 30 days after the movies hit stores. Netflix got a significant upgrade in the financial arrangements. Both sides got what they wanted, but the winners are Netflix’s customers.

Netflix is pouring that extra money into the streaming side of the business. They have vastly increased the number of movies available for viewing instantly and also improved the delivery considerably. With thousands of choices available to watch instantly on your computer or TV (if you’ve got a Wii, Playstation 3, Roku, or other Wifi enable device attached to your TV), the DVDs that come in the mail are suddenly a side note to the Netflix service.
There just isn’t any better return on your entertainment dollar (without violating international copyright law) than the nine bucks a month for Netflix.

When they don’t, I cut the cord–or in this case the cable.  Last week, I had cable Internet, TV and phone.  Comcast decided to play games with me for a few months with my Internet service.  It never worked and when it did, it was very slow. Whenever I called, they told me nothing was wrong.  When the technician came out, it worked for a day then crapped out once again.

Comcast refused to make it right.  I deleted them.  Now, I have Magic Jack, DSL and DirectTv.  DSL is not as bad as everyone says, by the way.  DirectTv is awesome!  There are many quality channels, cheap plans and customizable equipment. Everything I wanted.

DirectTv offered me almost 300 digital channels, including many in HD.  What I love is that there are not separate HD and non-HD channels like with cable.  If the show is in HD, it is so.  The annoying back and forth is finally over.  The plan I am enjoying is almost half the price of cable for more channels and a clearer picture.  Yes, satellite is clearer than my cable was.

Finally, I am all about customization.  I can create separate channel lists, so I only see the channels I want to watch.  They even have “mix” channels.  These show many stations at once.  I can watch numerous sporting events at the same time.  It is like picture-in-picture on steroids.

For over a week now, I have enjoyed my service.  The only complaint I have is all the infomercial channels, but those have been deleted from my playlist.  All in all, I am very pleased with my decision.

Cut the cord everyone!

My dad already had picked out the specifications that he was looking for in a monitor/TV for me– so that narrowed down my choices by a lot. No, he was not narrowing them down to make it cheaper for him, he was merely giving me a direction and a starting point, and I was extremely thankful for this.

One of his criterion was that the TV had to be 1080p. In the last couple of years, more and more HDTVs have been designed to have a 1080p native resolution. The high resolution TVs usually cost more than their lower resolution counterparts, but that just makes sense. However, can an average user really see the difference? After reading a lot of different review sites, I have come to believe that the different resolutions do not make too big of a difference–especially when it comes to smaller TVs like the one I am hoping to get (22 or 24 inches). People have done side-by-side tests between two 50-inch HDTVs in which they compared a 1080p TV to a 1366×768 resolution, or 720p, TV and they say that it was hard to tell the difference. Of course, to the TV enthusiast the two screens may be “completely” different, but not to someone like me.

I must admit that technology-wise, 1080 pixel HDTVs are certainly better. They usually allow for more details,  help with picture quality, allow for better contrast and/or color, and more. All I am saying is that if you are looking to get a TV, but you have your wallet in mind and are not too picky about your picture, then maybe you should not dismiss a 720p option.

I keep seeing commercials for a Samsung 3D TV, so I wanted to look into them.  The area I am at temporarily, doesn’t have any of these TVs available for me to personally play with, but the Internet is full of reviews.

Everything I have read has been positive about the picture quality of the new technology.  There has been no real criticism on this.  The only issues I have come across were sound quality, price and needed accessories.

There were numerous people complaining about the sound coming from the TV speakers.  However, the easy fix is a surround system.  Since most people have a sound system already, crisis averted.

As with all new technology, price is ridiculous.  The TVs are all pushing $3,000 and are likely not to come down for quite awhile.  Although, $3,ooo is not too bad for a great TV.  However, we can get some pretty good ones for much cheaper.  I actually can buy two 46 inch TVs for cheaper than one 3D module.

The next complaint is the video game system curse.  Remember when you bought a game system, and you got all the controllers and even a game?  Then they stopped doing this and made you buy a game.  Then you had to buy a game and the controllers.  Well, these TVs are following suit.

To enjoy the 3D viewing, you need 3D glasses.  Special 3D glasses.  Special ones that cost $150+ per set.  Now, comes the issue of how many sets to buy.  What if you have company over to see this modern marvel?  You would want more than a set or two.

I am extremely pumped to get a view into this new phase of home entertainment and can’t wait until I get to check out a set myself.  However, I am not rushing to buy a TV just yet.  For all those who have, tell me about it.

First, the world of computers.  Everything these days has a hard drive.  Video cameras, digital cameras, MP3 players and even gaming systems.  All of this data costs a lot of money to replace, and many pictures are priceless to the parent of a newborn or the newlywed couple.  The trend is going to drive toward home servers to back-up all this data for the savvy and off site back-ups for the average Joe.  Those with the knowledge and marketing skills could make a killing.

Next, the touchscreen.  This type of technology is in cell phones and supermarkets.  People of all ages love it, and it is much easier to figure out than 20-button controllers.  Begin to look for this in television remote controls.  Now that we are using one remote to control a TV, sound system, DVR, etc., there is an increasing need to simplify the process.  Touchscreen remotes are currently very pricy, but once makers come to their senses everyone will need one.

Back to computers.  With the home server or off-site server coming to age, there is going to be much less of a need for the DVR and sound systems mentioned above.  We can do everything through a computer, and TVs are basically hopped-up computer monitors.  Having a centrally based data center will allow for the elimination of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

The last will be the completion of a current movement…wireless.  Wireless mice and keyboards finally are getting to a good point where they are reliable.  Bluetooth is proving its worth in the headphone and earpiece world.  Soon enough, all speakers will be wireless, and freedom from wires will be granted except for the pesky power cords.

All of these are not far-fetched ideas, and the trends are moving that way.  Get ready to live more easily.

Now, my primary question about them only has been if they are worth buying.  They have a variety of ups and downs and look really cool, but they tend to be pricey and aren’t always worth buying.

Pros:

• They rumble or vibrate like a controller does, which is very nice, as it keeps you alert and prevents sleep when playing an all-nighter.
• The chairs normally have speakers in them, giving you a movie theater type experience and adding fun.
• They are very, very comfortable!  They recline (a nice feature), some rock, and they are padded.   Most gaming chairs are a leather type material.
• There are chair custom made for racing games with built in shifter, steering wheel, and pedals set up like a real car.
• The headrests are great!  They are padded and are nice to sleep in, too. (Trust me).

There are some cons, though:

• Gaming chairs are very costly!  They range from about eighty dollars (US) to seven hundred dollars.  This is a ton of money for a chair!
• How often it shall be used plays a big factor.  If you only use your gaming system for two hours every day, is a chair just for gaming truly worth it?
• Positioning is important, as the rocker styled ones are very low to the ground, so being near a TV may strain your neck.

So, in the end, is it worth it?  In my eyes, no.  If you have to spend two hundred fifty dollars (US) to buy a quality one, it isn’t worth it.  I could buy four or five new games for that!  Also, the room it would go in is not set up in a practical manner for one.  But it is your call, not mine, so you choose.

So, how could she be watching a movie from her visor? Well, it turns out that this person that you are seeing  is actually watching a movie on a 52″ screen from only nine feet away. That sounds a little too up-close to me, but I am sure that I could get used to seeing a movie from that close. It connects to a video iPod, portable DVD player, or personal video game system and uses two high-resolution LCDs and dual stereo headphones.

It was originally a source of technology that was developed by the US military technology. The visor-looking technology uses 24-bit true color (16 million colors) and has a 28º field of view for wide pictures. The LCDs provide 428 x 240 resolution. From the reviews that I have read online, the quality of the picture is pretty impressive.

If you are looking into buying this Personal Movie Theater, all of the needed parts are one AA battery that provides up to eight hours of continuous operation, an iPod cable, an A/V cable, a head strap, and carrying case. The product is about $250.

With these visors you can watch any movie that you want, as long as you provide the video on something, such as an iPod. You could be sitting, curled up, on a couch or sitting in the park–it does not really matter where you want to watch your movie because you will probably be able to watch what you want, anywhere that you want to! Check it out online at this site.