Chair amid the forest

From LIC

JPEG vs. Raw

Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U

How did I survive all these years without a 1080p experience?! This Panasonic 42" Plasma set recently landed on our door step and has been a joy ever since. HDMI cables are expensive at major retailers so buy on-line only. I also got a mini-DVI to DVI and hooked up my iMac to marvel at 1920x1080 resolution. Picture calibration settings are difficult to find on-line so after tinkering for a bit, I've set mine to :

• Picture mode : Cinema
• Picture : +90
• Brightness : +58
• Color : +50
• Tint : 0
• Sharpness : +65
• Color temp : Normal
• Color mgmt. : On
• Video NR : Off
• MPEG NR : Off

At first, it was difficult to appreciate the quality of the picture because intially Time Warner stuck me with a low-quality HD box. After replacing it with a Scientific Atlanta DVR (Explorer 8300 HDC) things have become exponentially better.

Getting an HD capable DVR along with a quality HD Plasma set is a true time-killer so beware.

Mio MOOV 300

MOOV 300 isn't a complete failure but not very good as a GPS either. As many of my buys, this was an impulsive purchase with little supporting research. The objective was to get a robust device for as little money as possible. At first, MOOV felt like a much better alternative to Garmin's army of gizmos: much bigger screen than that of Pilots or cheap Nuvis, far better looking maps, easier destination input.

Here is what makes this a "do not buy" ... The touchscreen sensitivity is horrendous and you'll find yourself taking corrective action countless times. Performance-wise the device is frustratingly sluggish and at times may take a second or two to respond to your input. In terms of guidance, only one of the voices will speak the street names and that voice happens to be quite annoying. In Boston, where things are admittedly confusing, Mio has gotten us lost several times. Also, what annoys me is the very late reminder to get off a road or complete lack of reassurance provided by similar devices. If I just entered a road, I want to hear that I did and when I'll be getting off. In short, MOOV isn't very good ... consider Garmin, TomTom or Magellan.