OTHER TECH

Thick Air

Q. I was told yesterday that no one in the U.S. is currently broadcasting a 1080p signal. If this is so, do you know when it will happen? Charles R. Alvey San Antonio, TX

A. Al Griffin says: True 1080p video formats like HD DVD and Blu-ray disc may be with us, but I wouldn't necessarily expect to see 1080p broadcast HDTV any time soon. That's because the 1080p format is a bandwidth hog, and the MPEG-2 compression standard currently used by broadcasters isn't capable of efficiently squeezing a 1080p signal with a standard video frame rate into a TV channel's 6 MHz spectrum slice. But I wouldn't complain too much - the picture quality of 1080i and 720p HDTV broadcasts is a huge leap over the old analog ones, and it's hard to say right now how much better 1080p would look compared with today's HD shows.

Whither CD Recorders?

Q. Do any manufacturers still make CD recorder/players for home stereo systems? They used to be quite common. Gerald Thomson VIA E-MAIL

A. Ian G. Masters says: There are still a few out there, although the ease of burning CDs from a computer (and not having to buy special audio-only blank discs) has made them pretty much a rarity. Search for "CD recorders" on the Internet, and you'll find a number of sources, including at least a couple in Canada. One intriguing oddball to look for is a retro-looking unit by Teac that contains a CD recorder and a turntable so that you can rip your precious vinyl to optical disc with a minimum of fuss.

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