Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Te Reo and the Resolution

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  • andrew llewellyn,

    Has there ever been a channel so poorly named as Sky Movie Greats?

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report

  • Rob Hosking,

    Has there ever been a channel so poorly named as Sky Movie Greats?

    Umm...The E Channel??

    South Roseneath • Since Nov 2006 • 830 posts Report

  • andrew llewellyn,

    Maybe I should have said deceptively named.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report

  • Paul Williams,

    At the risk of starting a conversation I'll struggle to follow, are you watching HD TV on a 50 or 100 hertz TV?

    I've not yet upgraded to the Foxtel HD equivalent in Aust, but recently bought a LCD 50 hertz TV. I did some reading and of the stuff I understood, I came to the conclusion that the 100 hertz technology wasn't quite ready (and had potentially been rushed to market according to one reviewer) so I'm wondering if I'll be able to fully appreciate HD?

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    At the risk of starting a conversation I'll struggle to follow, are you watching HD TV on a 50 or 100 hertz TV?

    It's a Bravia D series with the 100MHz "motion flow" technology which is reckoned to be a good thing for watching sport and other fast-moving pictures. It's not full 1080p, but I think those sets start at 40" and ours is only 32". It looks pretty good to us.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Paul Williams,

    It's a Bravia D series with the 100MHz "motion flow" technology which is reckoned to be a good thing for watching sport and other fast-moving pictures.

    Ahhh, the really whizzy one I couldn't afford then... the LG 100 hertz was an option but a knowledgable friend suggested it was not worth the price premium (and then confused me with techno-babble) but tried to convince me to buy the Bravia...

    I find rugby's fine on my TV but AFL not as good (so there goes any sympathy I could have hoped for).

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report

  • Mark Thomas,

    The Tour must be a fantastic tourism advert for France. I couldn't care less about the cyclists, but the scenery is gorgeous. Having said that, I did drive the Alpe d'Huez road a few years ago, and it beggars belief that people cycle up it.

    Something I noticed while watching mediawatch on TVNZ7 last night, it's kind of soothing to see intelligent people debating topics at length [Ralston would find it boring]. Such a nice change from the frantic breathless crap we get on the mainstream channels. Have you measured how long your guests get to speak on Mediawatch?

    On the topic of freeview, the pending "fiji" release of windows media centre is causing all sorts of commotion in the geek world. I'm eagerly awaiting this update so I can get full Freeview DVB-S support in media centre on my PC. The only way to make it work at the moment requires some serious computer hacking, which is no fun at all. Vista Home Premium was such a rip off.

    Oh, and happy birthday RB, was it today or yesterday?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report

  • Geoff Lealand,

    Has there ever been a channel so poorly named as Sky Movie Greats?

    The Living Channel? My daughter and I have a game, counting the number of times 'nice' is used as a description, as some portly British couple go through the process of buying up a holiday home in some impoverished east European country.

    It was great to see Maori subtitles on Shortland Street last night, even though they flashed by very quickly--another demonstration of how much dialogue there is SS.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hamboy,

    There doesn't seem to be much info on the sky website.
    Do they use the satellites for Sky HD or terrestrial?
    Does one have to sign up for other sky services to get?

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 162 posts Report

  • andrew llewellyn,

    as some portly British couple go through the process of buying up a holiday home in some impoverished east European country.

    Do they ever have impoverished East Europeans buying crappy houses in the UK? Might be a niche there worth exploring.

    And maybe it should have been Sky Movie Grates.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report

  • Michael Stevens,

    culturally alienated...

    I'm not sure if that term works. It seems to implie some essentialist understanding of ethnicity. You are born of Maori parents therefore you MUST be part of Maori culture in all that you do and in love with all of it, always - if not, you're alienated.

    What about those for whom their putative birth culture just doesn't interest them that much? Are the alienated? Or just making a decision?

    I am just a little wary of this sort of essentialist approach.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 230 posts Report

  • Julian Melville,

    A technical question then, that I haven't been able to figure out. If you want to have Sky channels, and Freeview as well, and be able to schedule recordings of any of them, what's the solution? Do you need to have a media PC or is there another way?

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 200 posts Report

  • hudsie,

    Russell, a question about the instalation, did sky provide you with an HDMI cable to connect to your telly, or did you have one?
    My MySky HD arrives in August just in time for Bledisloe 2, can't wait.

    Since Nov 2006 • 19 posts Report

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    It was great to see Maori subtitles on Shortland Street last night, even though they flashed by very quickly--another demonstration of how much dialogue there is SS.

    I know there's a word-per-minute rate for the production of captions and subtitles - people comprehend written language slower than spoken language - and I'm sure this rate would have been stuck to with the Shorty subtitles, with editing down if necessary. But I wonder if it seemed fast to non-Maori speakers because there wouldn't be that automatic recognition of words as units, instead having to read every word letter by letter.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • David Ritchie,

    Party at Hudsie's WOO HOO!

    Since Nov 2006 • 166 posts Report

  • Mark Thomas,

    Do you need to have a media PC or is there another way?

    My experience with media PCs, freeview and programme guides ("EPG"s) has been mixed, to say the least. There are some uber-geeks who have made it all work, but I'm not one of them. I can get the TV but no 7 day guides. I suggest that you call a custom computer store like Computer Lounge to see if they can sort something out.

    Alternatively, I would guess that those new HDTVs with built in tuners should be designed to work with your sky decoder.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report

  • Mark Thomas,

    Or maybe get one of these (but do check about integration of Sky)

    http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/mypvr-home-theatre-p-374.html

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report

  • Danielle,

    as some portly British couple go through the process of buying up a holiday home in some impoverished east European country.

    The key is that they *never buy anything*. They go through all the houses and ooh and aah, and then privately bitch about the size of the bedrooms, politely fob off the host of the programme, and try to find something even cheaper and more exploitable elsewhere...

    I love the Living Channel. Everyone on it sucks. :)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • Julian Melville,

    That myPVR box looks cute, thanks for that Mark...

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 200 posts Report

  • bob daktari,

    Why did TV get so complicated....

    So much gibberish and technical knowledge needed for when one buys a new set

    and once you have it all working the content is dumber and duller than ever

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report

  • Idiot Savant,

    TVNZ's Olympics site launched this week (the designers look to have made the very most of the constraints imposed by the ageing site templates) and will stream four channels of video coverage during the games.

    Well, that's great for people who want to watch a sporting event hosted by one of the world's worst human rights abusers. Personally, though, I'm not going near it with a barge pole.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 1717 posts Report

  • noizyboy,

    The Living Channel?

    Indeed. Or 'The Dying Channel' as it's known at our house. Show after show of retired Brits finding warm locations from which to pass off this mortal coil.

    It's been all downhill since Scrapbooking DIY got the boot from the Friday night prime-time spot.

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 171 posts Report

  • Sam F,

    Well, that's great for people who want to watch a sporting event hosted by one of the world's worst human rights abusers.

    Was I the only one to have thought evil thoughts last week regarding TV1's Olympic coverage - specifically, the questionable human rights records of both host nation and (now resigned) local host presenter?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Ahhh, the really whizzy one I couldn't afford then... the LG 100 hertz was an option but a knowledgable friend suggested it was not worth the price premium (and then confused me with techno-babble) but tried to convince me to buy the Bravia...

    It really pays to shop around. The Appliance Shed Outlet Store in Glenfield was $500 cheaper than some of the major chain stores -- $1850, from memory, which was less than some places wanted for the next Bravia down.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Tom Semmens,

    As long as the living channel can still feature eccentric Englishmen clutching an umbrella whilst happily rambling through a swamp in search of the bog that may have been the place an obscure 18th century travel writer paused for a puff on his/her pipe, or jumping into large holes in the ground to examine incredibly boring pieces of pottery with all the boyish enthusiasm of a 14 year old discovering a hole in wall of the girls changing room, I'll keep it on.

    Oh and then there is the Food Channel. Two Words: Laura Calder. *sigh*

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report

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