* Posts by Pessable

8 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Jun 2010

XBOX ONE owners rage as HDMI SNAFU 'judders' Brit and Euro tellies

Pessable
Unhappy

Re: Tellies can handle 60Hz input

@ Tom 260

<< get a HDMI hub if you've not got enough HDMI sockets on your telly (the well-made ones will switch signals automatically with devices being turned on and off too). >>

My experience is that some devices (like SkyHD and AppleTV for instance) are so keen to make sure that they are the device of choice that they don't release the HDMI properly and you have to manually switch away from them even when they're in standby. I don't know if they're not following the standard, but it seems to me that HDMI is a pretty sh*tty standard that should have been based on Ethernet cable in the first place, with options for copper or fibre. But then retailers would have lost the opportunity to sell naive buyers a 2 quid cable for 50 quid.

3 million Freesat receivers now out there, and boxes to get YouTube

Pessable
Thumb Down

EPG, SchmeePG

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the problem for me with all these EPG services is that they are quite tightly controlled. In particular, I would like to reduce the EPG to the few channels that I would ever watch (about 10) and I know plenty of older people that are quite happy with 2. But as far as I can tell, the "catch" for having an EPG (which gives access to PVR, easy recording, series links, etc.) is that you have to have the entire EPG. So tryuing to find what you want is like wading through garbage. I'm pretty sure that this is the case with Sky, Freesat from Sky, Freesat, Freeview, and Youview.

Honestly I just want an easy way of watching and recording BBC HD channels, for which I already pay. I've got crap Internet (~2.5Mbps) so iPlayer HD is out too. Anyone have any suggestions? I just want an HD version of my old UK TiVo back.

Apple MacBook Air 11in 2012

Pessable
Angel

> Dammit, and I just bought the "old" version last month for the wife.

I bought my MBA just before the previous version was announced last year. Because it was within 28 days, the Apple shop were quite happy to exchange (i.e. no charge) for the newer model. I was astounded to be honest, so impressed I even paid the difference to get the i7 model.

I love my MBA, but I don't like the OSX interface. But I hate the decaying performance of Windows so I shall have to put up with OSX until MS abandons the registry model, which seems to be the root of the problem. I wish Windows 7 "just worked".

IPTV UK: what's on tonight?

Pessable
Unhappy

Subtitles

I would be interested to know what the subtitle support is like. I'm hard of hearing and a big frustration for me is that many TV services have very poor support for subtitles. This includes non-IP platforms like Sky, which has a very poor implementation of subtitles with big blocky text obscuring too much of the screen, which often don't work, even when they are provided which isn't as often as you might imagine. And then they can be out of synch.

Apple TV does support subtitles I believe, but the only ones I've been able to find are the ones hard-coded into foreign films. Lovefilm certainly doesn't support subbies.

And they wonder why illegal downloading is popular.

Ten... Androids to outshine the iPhone 4S

Pessable
Stop

if none of these handsets put their hands up your dress

"if none of these handsets put their hands up your dress"

I can't beleive that someone doesn't edit these articles for taste and decency.

Amazon revamps E Ink Kindle line

Pessable
Thumb Up

The wacky exchange rate between 79USD and 89GBP doesn't factor in the fact that the US version has ad-supported screensavers. Non-ad US version is 109USD. So that's not so bad.

Dolphin Browser HD

Pessable
Meh

Not so Flashy

Strangely enough, I love Dolphin apart from the fact that Flash seems unreliable on my HTC Desire HD. For Flash (e.g. BBC video weather forecast) I usually have to open Opera.

Steve Jobs unveils iPhone 4

Pessable
Unhappy

Good, but not good enough...

I sold my iPhone 3G last week (they do hold their value remarkably well), but there was nothing in the iPhone4 announcements to get me to stick with Apple for my next device. The iPhone has been one of the best pieces of technology I've owned (second only to my TiVo), mainly because its just so easy to use (in fact it is genuinely a pleasure to use). However, the performance of the 3G was beginning to frustrate me a bit, along with the closed nature of Apple thinking.

So although I suspect the experience won't be quite as slick, I shall be swapping the rock-solid stabiility and beautiful software design of the iPhone for Android. Probably for the HTC Desire, which is pretty much on a par with Apple hardware-wise. And I hope Google will match iOS4 in terms of OS development and apps, and in a much more open way (although I'm under no illusions about Google's motives either).

The iPhone made (and continues to make) other phone manufacturers up their game, and long may that continue. But it's now time to move on...