David Ranada

Custom Installation How-To
Burning Desire
David Ranada  |  Feb 03, 2006

Like swimmers in some Darwinian gene pool, DVD recorders are quickly mutating to fill every possible niche. Yet as they evolve, you can count on finding a core set of features in most decks - a TV tuner, a VCR-style timer, and a handful of recording "modes" that let you trade picture quality for playback time.

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Other Tech
The Progressive Tradeoff
David Ranada  |  Jan 19, 2006

Hardly a week passes when we don't receive one or more letters from readers who seem to be in a panic about the difference between 1080i and 1080p HDTVs. All of their concerns arise from the desire, sometimes bordering on the obsessive, to get the best possible resolution from their sets.

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Other Tech
Celestron’s Pocket Planetarium
David Ranada  |  Jan 08, 2006

The Celestron SkyScout is a handheld device for locating stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies.

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Other Tech
SED: A New Player in the Flat-Panel Game
David Ranada  |  Jan 08, 2006

Canon's prototype 36-inch, 720p SED panel.

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Other Tech
TV Tuner on a Chip
David Ranada  |  Jan 07, 2006

A traditional "can" TV tuner next to its tiny Xceive chip replacement

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Other Tech
Smooth Operator
David Ranada  |  Dec 05, 2005

Even as HDTV takes hold, there are people (including me) looking for the "next big thing" that will improve video's realism. My recent experience with InterVideo's popular WinDVD DVD-player program for PCs has shown me one of the possibilities.

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Other Tech
The Missing Link
David Ranada  |  Nov 19, 2005

During most of our recent tests of HDTVs, we've attempted to use them with a Scientific-Atlanta 8300HD cable box supplied by Time Warner connected via an all-digital HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) hookup. We often end up looking at a screen displaying an imperious message typical of cable-company communications: "Your HDTV does not support HDCP.

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Custom Installation How-To
Pioneer DVD-633H-S DVR/DVD Recorder
David Ranada  |  Nov 03, 2005

The first DVD recorder we ever reviewed, back in December 2000, was a Pioneer, and the company has followed that by a series of ever more versatile and easy-to-use models.

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Other Tech
Bits at the Bijou
David Ranada  |  Oct 19, 2005

To the acclaim of filmmaking luminaries like George Lucas and James Cameron, the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) group has released Version 1.0 of its Digital Cinema System Specification, which details how a filmless, fully digital movie theater will work. Because the Hollywood studios formed DCI, the standard has their full blessing and stands a good chance of revolutionizing moviegoing.

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Other Tech
All Hands On Deck
David Ranada  |  Oct 07, 2005

VCR VCRs might seem like yesterday's news, but they provide a useful point of comparison because practically everybody's had experience with one.

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