Technology Thread.

[Annoyed Grunt]

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... 064973.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What my lad has in his room.....

[Bruce Rioja]

TV advice:

I'm looking, for the first time in my life, to get a TV in my room. We've got one with all the Virgin jazz in the living room, but I want to take my Xbox back down, and also be able to watch films and stuff on a better screen. The current one I'm looking at is this:

http://www.tesco.com/direct/technika-22 ... d=215-4213" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

22" by somebody called 'Technika'. DVD player and free-view built in. £129. What do y'all reckon? Any better options? Are Technika shit?

I think Technika is Tesco's own brand isn't it?

I find the saying 'you get what you pay for' is never truer that it is in relation to televisions.

[BWFC_Insane]

Wouldn't necessarily rule Technika out. I don't know for that precise make and model but often these supermarket own branded TVs are actually made by one of the bigger companies using their components and just given a different brand on the front and less features.

May well be ok for the limited use Pru has stated.

Only thing I'd question is how big the room is, because if there is space I'd get bigger than that.....

[Prufrock]

Cheers folks.

Brucie: I'm not normally one for 'brands', but I've heard similar re:TVs from others, though BWFCi's comment about it being the same telly with a different sticker also makes sense. Might do some digging on Technika.

BWFCi: We have a big telly downstairs; I only want this for watching films in bed and playing games. I read somewhere you shouldn't play games on massive TVs (could be bollocks) and also it's a room in a central london house (so not huge) and will have to fit on a desk. Given what I want it for, I don't want to pay that much, and prices seem to shoot up quickly once you get much bigger.

AG: Interesting, if it turns out this Technika are pish I might look at that. Has a scart which could be useful (the one I linked to has 2 HDMIs, but no scart). I have a HDMI cable for my Xbox, but on the telly at home the sound doesn't work (though a new cable is only going to be about a tenner). £20 difference isn't a big difference if it means it isn't going to break!

[BWFC_Insane]

Cheers folks.

Brucie: I'm not normally one for 'brands', but I've heard similar re:TVs from others, though BWFCi's comment about it being the same telly with a different sticker also makes sense. Might do some digging on Technika.

BWFCi: We have a big telly downstairs; I only want this for watching films in bed and playing games. I read somewhere you shouldn't play games on massive TVs (could be bollocks) and also it's a room in a central london house (so not huge) and will have to fit on a desk. Given what I want it for, I don't want to pay that much, and prices seem to shoot up quickly once you get much bigger.

AG: Interesting, if it turns out this Technika are pish I might look at that. Has a scart which could be useful (the one I linked to has 2 HDMIs, but no scart). I have a HDMI cable for my Xbox, but on the telly at home the sound doesn't work (though a new cable is only going to be about a tenner). £20 difference isn't a big difference if it means it isn't going to break!

Definitely guise HDMI, don't use SCART for your xbox. HDMI will be much clearer and nicer. With a new TV!

If cable is at fault change it for cheapest HDMi you can find.

Look on Argos they have a few branded options for £150 a bush that is actually 24" and a 22" Samsung.

Samsung has freebie built in if that is of any use?

[Worthy4England]

Cheers folks.

Brucie: I'm not normally one for 'brands', but I've heard similar re:TVs from others, though BWFCi's comment about it being the same telly with a different sticker also makes sense. Might do some digging on Technika.

BWFCi: We have a big telly downstairs; I only want this for watching films in bed and playing games. I read somewhere you shouldn't play games on massive TVs (could be bollocks) and also it's a room in a central london house (so not huge) and will have to fit on a desk. Given what I want it for, I don't want to pay that much, and prices seem to shoot up quickly once you get much bigger.

AG: Interesting, if it turns out this Technika are pish I might look at that. Has a scart which could be useful (the one I linked to has 2 HDMIs, but no scart). I have a HDMI cable for my Xbox, but on the telly at home the sound doesn't work (though a new cable is only going to be about a tenner). £20 difference isn't a big difference if it means it isn't going to break!

Definitely guise HDMI, don't use SCART for your xbox. HDMI will be much clearer and nicer. With a new TV!

If cable is at fault change it for cheapest HDMi you can find.

Look on Argos they have a few branded options for £150 a bush that is actually 24" and a 22" Samsung.

Samsung has freebie built in if that is of any use?

I had a tiddy Technika for a while in one of the bedrooms - pic quality isn't good.

I'd advocate spending a few more quid on a HDMI than the cheapest one you can get - gets what ya pays for...

[BWFC_Insane]

Cheers folks.

Brucie: I'm not normally one for 'brands', but I've heard similar re:TVs from others, though BWFCi's comment about it being the same telly with a different sticker also makes sense. Might do some digging on Technika.

BWFCi: We have a big telly downstairs; I only want this for watching films in bed and playing games. I read somewhere you shouldn't play games on massive TVs (could be bollocks) and also it's a room in a central london house (so not huge) and will have to fit on a desk. Given what I want it for, I don't want to pay that much, and prices seem to shoot up quickly once you get much bigger.

AG: Interesting, if it turns out this Technika are pish I might look at that. Has a scart which could be useful (the one I linked to has 2 HDMIs, but no scart). I have a HDMI cable for my Xbox, but on the telly at home the sound doesn't work (though a new cable is only going to be about a tenner). £20 difference isn't a big difference if it means it isn't going to break!

Definitely guise HDMI, don't use SCART for your xbox. HDMI will be much clearer and nicer. With a new TV!

If cable is at fault change it for cheapest HDMi you can find.

Look on Argos they have a few branded options for £150 a bush that is actually 24" and a 22" Samsung.

Samsung has freebie built in if that is of any use?

I had a tiddy Technika for a while in one of the bedrooms - pic quality isn't good.

I'd advocate spending a few more quid on a HDMI than the cheapest one you can get - gets what ya pays for...

Since HDMI passes a digital signal and degradation of that signal isn't possible there is little point paying out for anything more expensive as the quality will be unaffected.

The only thing to take into account is the physical build quality and durability of the cable. A more robust one may last longer but for the usual TV to device distance this wont be that relevant as the cable won't be taking any wear and tear.

All the ridiculously priced 'branded HDMI cables' are a complete rip off.

[Burnden Paddock]

Had a Technika in the bedroom for 4-5 years. Cracking picture and still going strong.

It's gonna break tomorrow, I just know it.

[Worthy4England]

Cheers folks.

Brucie: I'm not normally one for 'brands', but I've heard similar re:TVs from others, though BWFCi's comment about it being the same telly with a different sticker also makes sense. Might do some digging on Technika.

BWFCi: We have a big telly downstairs; I only want this for watching films in bed and playing games. I read somewhere you shouldn't play games on massive TVs (could be bollocks) and also it's a room in a central london house (so not huge) and will have to fit on a desk. Given what I want it for, I don't want to pay that much, and prices seem to shoot up quickly once you get much bigger.

AG: Interesting, if it turns out this Technika are pish I might look at that. Has a scart which could be useful (the one I linked to has 2 HDMIs, but no scart). I have a HDMI cable for my Xbox, but on the telly at home the sound doesn't work (though a new cable is only going to be about a tenner). £20 difference isn't a big difference if it means it isn't going to break!

Definitely guise HDMI, don't use SCART for your xbox. HDMI will be much clearer and nicer. With a new TV!

If cable is at fault change it for cheapest HDMi you can find.

Look on Argos they have a few branded options for £150 a bush that is actually 24" and a 22" Samsung.

Samsung has freebie built in if that is of any use?

I had a tiddy Technika for a while in one of the bedrooms - pic quality isn't good.

I'd advocate spending a few more quid on a HDMI than the cheapest one you can get - gets what ya pays for...

Since HDMI passes a digital signal and degradation of that signal isn't possible there is little point paying out for anything more expensive as the quality will be unaffected.

The only thing to take into account is the physical build quality and durability of the cable. A more robust one may last longer but for the usual TV to device distance this wont be that relevant as the cable won't be taking any wear and tear.

All the ridiculously priced 'branded HDMI cables' are a complete rip off.

That degredation point. Complete bollocks. Digital signals are square wave, unless you have something doing error correction at the receiving end of the cable, which you typically don't in HDMI, any loss is permanent. HDMI doesn't employ error correction as it's looking to pass data real time, the error correction would introduce too much jitter.

[BWFC_Insane]

Cheers folks.

Brucie: I'm not normally one for 'brands', but I've heard similar re:TVs from others, though BWFCi's comment about it being the same telly with a different sticker also makes sense. Might do some digging on Technika.

BWFCi: We have a big telly downstairs; I only want this for watching films in bed and playing games. I read somewhere you shouldn't play games on massive TVs (could be bollocks) and also it's a room in a central london house (so not huge) and will have to fit on a desk. Given what I want it for, I don't want to pay that much, and prices seem to shoot up quickly once you get much bigger.

AG: Interesting, if it turns out this Technika are pish I might look at that. Has a scart which could be useful (the one I linked to has 2 HDMIs, but no scart). I have a HDMI cable for my Xbox, but on the telly at home the sound doesn't work (though a new cable is only going to be about a tenner). £20 difference isn't a big difference if it means it isn't going to break!

Definitely guise HDMI, don't use SCART for your xbox. HDMI will be much clearer and nicer. With a new TV!

If cable is at fault change it for cheapest HDMi you can find.

Look on Argos they have a few branded options for £150 a bush that is actually 24" and a 22" Samsung.

Samsung has freebie built in if that is of any use?

I had a tiddy Technika for a while in one of the bedrooms - pic quality isn't good.

I'd advocate spending a few more quid on a HDMI than the cheapest one you can get - gets what ya pays for...

Since HDMI passes a digital signal and degradation of that signal isn't possible there is little point paying out for anything more expensive as the quality will be unaffected.

The only thing to take into account is the physical build quality and durability of the cable. A more robust one may last longer but for the usual TV to device distance this wont be that relevant as the cable won't be taking any wear and tear.

All the ridiculously priced 'branded HDMI cables' are a complete rip off.

That degredation point. Complete bollocks. Digital signals are square wave, unless you have something doing error correction at the receiving end of the cable, which you typically don't in HDMI, any loss is permanent. HDMI doesn't employ error correction as it's looking to pass data real time, the error correction would introduce too much jitter.

Ok it's a fair point I was being too simplistic. But what I'm saying is that it doesn't degrade in such a way that the picture quality of the end image is affected. It either works or it doesn't.

The signal can either be reconstituted and decoded by the end device or it can't.

Is what I'm saying. A cheaper HDMI will not produce a different picture to an expensive one.

It was tested here for example....

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-ent ... te-proof/3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Worthy4England]

Ok it's a fair point I was being too simplistic. But what I'm saying is that it doesn't degrade in such a way that the picture quality of the end image is affected. It either works or it doesn't.

The signal can either be reconstituted and decoded by the end device or it can't.

Is what I'm saying. A cheaper HDMI will not produce a different picture to an expensive one.

It was tested here for example....

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-ent ... te-proof/3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A digital signal can be reconstituted. A HDMI signal generally isn't because it's looking to do near-real-time, and the processing overhead to reconstitute it would for many applications of it, add more jitter overhead than it solves.

Digital can and does degrade on old transport cables, but out of the box, one HDMI cable is likely to produce a similar quality than a higher priced one. It is possible to get packet loss on a degraded cable, without necessarily losing the totality of the signal. What you're generally paying some of the additional bunce for is the longevity of the transport cable. I wouldn't necessarily advocate buying a cable for £150, but I wouldn't necessarily plump for the cheapest either.

[Prufrock]

Thanks guys. The last few posts in particular have been a great help .

I'm going to go for that Toshiba from Argos, I think. These Technica things have either brilliant reviews, or awful reviews. Crucially, I don't know where there is a big Tesco near me, and it'll take weeks to get delivered as no doubt they'll only deliver when everyone is at work; there's an Argos at the end of the street. I'll pay the extra £20 to actually get it, and for piece of mind that it's a reputable brand. If I need an HDMI, I'm going to pick one at random!

Will report back.

[Worthy4England]

Thanks guys. The last few posts in particular have been a great help .

I'm going to go for that Toshiba from Argos, I think. These Technica things have either brilliant reviews, or awful reviews. Crucially, I don't know where there is a big Tesco near me, and it'll take weeks to get delivered as no doubt they'll only deliver when everyone is at work; there's an Argos at the end of the street. I'll pay the extra £20 to actually get it, and for piece of mind that it's a reputable brand. If I need an HDMI, I'm going to pick one at random!

Will report back.

I want pictures and detailed specification of that HDMI cable.

[a1]

Since HDMI passes a digital signal and degradation of that signal isn't possible there is little point paying out for anything more expensive as the quality will be unaffected.

The only thing to take into account is the physical build quality and durability of the cable. A more robust one may last longer but for the usual TV to device distance this wont be that relevant as the cable won't be taking any wear and tear.

All the ridiculously priced 'branded HDMI cables' are a complete rip off.

not strictly true, theres 2 types of cable , category 1 and category 2 , cat2 is miles better than the other.. cat1 carnt even do 1080p properly. i think the devices run some kinda test when you turn them on.

cat 2 ones usually say hi speed or summat.

still a cat 2 cable with all the ethernet and audio bells and whistles should be less than a tenner.

[Bruce Rioja]

Thanks guys. The last few posts in particular have been a great help .

Was going to say, Pru, I have a 19" Toshiba in the bedroom that receives a transmitted signal from downstairs. It's absolutely fine.

[Bijou Bob]

Just going back to the whole Bolton market subject, an ex`s grandmother once told me the tale of standing on Bridge Street as a young girl when a Police officer grabbed her and flung her into a shop doorway. He then covered the entrance with his cape as thousands of rats ran down the street. She described them as being so many they looked like a huge grey blanket. Apparently the movement was caused by the relocation of the old market. I always took the story with a pinch of salt, only to hear early the same story from another person who witnessed the same thing.

[thebish]

Just going back to the whole Bolton market subject, an ex`s grandmother once told me the tale of standing on Bridge Street as a young girl when a Police officer grabbed her and flung her into a shop doorway. He then covered the entrance with his cape as thousands of rats ran down the street. She described them as being so many they looked like a huge grey blanket. Apparently the movement was caused by the relocation of the old market. I always took the story with a pinch of salt, only to hear early the same story from another person who witnessed the same thing.

I have also heard that very story from owd folk in the town when I lived there...

[General Mannerheim]

ive had a handful of the supermarkets own £100/150 quid teles for various digs ive stayed in for any length of time, never had any trouble with em. got a nice one from sainsburys on the go atm, although im not sure ive switched it on since i got an ipad? - its on stand by for GTAV tho

[Gary the Enfield]

Just going back to the whole Bolton market subject, an ex`s grandmother once told me the tale of standing on Bridge Street as a young girl when a Police officer grabbed her and flung her into a shop doorway. He then covered the entrance with his cape as thousands of rats ran down the street. She described them as being so many they looked like a huge grey blanket. Apparently the movement was caused by the relocation of the old market. I always took the story with a pinch of salt, only to hear early the same story from another person who witnessed the same thing.

I have also heard that very story from owd folk in the town when I lived there...

I've heard of the migration too. The Market Hall sat (sits) over the River Croal and the old cellars were absolutely overrun with the little buggers.

[thebish]

Just going back to the whole Bolton market subject, an ex`s grandmother once told me the tale of standing on Bridge Street as a young girl when a Police officer grabbed her and flung her into a shop doorway. He then covered the entrance with his cape as thousands of rats ran down the street. She described them as being so many they looked like a huge grey blanket. Apparently the movement was caused by the relocation of the old market. I always took the story with a pinch of salt, only to hear early the same story from another person who witnessed the same thing.

I have also heard that very story from owd folk in the town when I lived there...

I've heard of the migration too. The Market Hall sat (sits) over the River Croal and the old cellars were absolutely overrun with the little buggers.

perhaps they are aware of the story in Blackburn...

28th Aug 2013, This Is Lancashire:

RATS which have plagued Blackburn town centre have been trapped underground.

Council chiefs who feared knocking down the old Blackburn Market would disturb rats and push more to the surface, put in place a plan to contain them.

Coun Jim Smith, who oversees environmental issues, said there were promising signs the action plan put in place was working effectively.

Before demolition work commenced this summer Blackburn with Darwen Council implemented an ‘action plan’ to prevent rats fleeing from the demolition site flooding the area.

The plan, to poison rats who left the area with special baited traps and to concrete the remainder underground, has so far been successful according to Coun Smith.

He said: “It’s not been an issue and the plan has worked. There were fears that the rats would flee the market hall demoltion site and just cover the area, but none have appeared in weeks.

this is blackburn's "rat supremo"!! ace title!