This week's column has two TV related items.
I have the Time Warner HD (High Definition) TV service using their Explorer 8300HD set top box, and have noticed that there is a long delay when switching from a channel in HD to normal TV programming and vice-versa. I tried swapping the HDMI cable with the one from the DVD player, and tried swapping the inputs on the TV. Neither of these moves fixed the problem. At that point, it was either the cable box or the TV itself.
Fortunately, I was in Best Buy recently buying the subject of the second half of this week's column, and I spoke to the gentleman who had sold me my TV. Back then, he struck me as being pretty knowledgeable (and that is quite a complement coming from me) and he knew what the problem was here also.
Using the 8300HD you can select what types of output signal are supported. I had erroneously assumed that all four (480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i) had to be enabled. But this was incorrect. The correct answer is to select only the single output format correct for your TV - 1080i in my case. The cable box will upconvert the lower resolution signals automatically. Do this by Settings / More Settings / Output Format. That solved the problem quite well, and possibly results in a better picture. Make the change yourself if you are having this problem.
What I was shopping for was a universal remote. My problem was a common one, but perhaps a bit complicated by the lady of the house. Each "box" in the home theater system comes with its own remote. Thus you have a remote for the TV, one for the cable box, one for the DVD player, one for the receiver and possibly one for the VHS player and the CD player. Whew!
I have always used a universal remote that came with my Onkyo receiver and works quite well. It has a lot of buttons that can be reprogrammed for each different device. But the problem is that the label next to each button cannot be changed (being printed on the remote itself) and this often don't actually match the function I would assign to it. To get around this, I printed out a multi-page instruction manual with "circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was" for my wife and guests to use. But it was still difficult for them and frankly quite annoying to have to refer to the manual to do anything.
What I wanted was one of those remotes that supports creating a "program" of multiple steps to accomplish one goal - for example: set up the system to play a DVD. I also wanted a unit with a LCD display that could be programmed to re-label the buttons. After reading some reviews in this limited market segment, I decided on a Harmony unit from Logitech. Not cheap, but if it restores harmony (pun intended, perhaps by the manufacturer!) to the household, it was worth it!
The unit has a good sized LCD display surrounded by 8 buttons, which can all be programmed. It comes with a charger stand so you don't have to worry about keeping the batteries charged. A standard USB port connects it to your PC for programming.
You start by identifying all your hardware components by manufacturer and model number. Even the oldest stuff I had was there. You can then set up standard operations (they call them "Activities") such as "Play A DVD" and when done download all the setup into the remote. The very first activity I tried worked well. All you have to do to select an activity is to click the Activities button, view the active activities in the display, and select the one you want.
The only disadvantage is that all this interaction with the setup program is done via web pages, not with a local program in the PC. That makes it somewhat slow and clunky.
But the system is set up for ease of use for novice users and doesn't allow much modification. For example, the Play A DVD activity does not open the DVD drawer. The issue for me was that I wanted to go beyond the default setup and personalize it much better for my tastes and to better help other people using the system. How to do this was a real head-scratcher, but a little perseverance found the right places in the setup webpages. Once found, the number of setup options is very complete, even for a techie like me.
So now on to programming the unit for real. I will keep you all posted!
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)