HDTV

Interest rates have been climbing over the past few months, so it was a really good time to take our variable rate mortgage and lock it into something a little more stable. We made a well-timed decision and, given the continued increases, one that is definitely working in our favour.

Since we were refinancing, we decided to add a couple of bucks to the existing mortgage and finish up our basement (well, half of it). Along with a full bathroom and a new office (so that I can finally get all of my shit out of the dining room), we're building a home theatre. I'll go into more details about how the home improvement project is going (hint: it's been stupid slow) in a later post.

Of course, you can't have a home theatre without something to watch, so we bought a Panasonic 50" DLP HDTV (I'll add a link as soon as I find one - the one I was going to use no longer exists). It's a pretty decent TV, but while the basement is being worked on, we've had it set up in our bedroom (I know - lame) with a basic co-ax cable connected to it. The picture has been pretty good, but I know it could be better.

The electrical work was supposed to be completed last week, so I called Eastlink to get them to come out and set me up with HDTV. Eastlink provides about 10 different HD channels at the moment, so even though it's an extra $10/mn right now (soon to be $15), it will probably be worth it (most of the shows Andrea watches are broadcast in HD, as is PBS). The electrical work wasn't completed, but I decided to set up the TV in the basement anyway, rather than having everything hooked up in our bedroom.

When we first built the house, I knew that I'd eventually get to the basement, so I had the cable guys leave a drop. Unfortunately, the drop is on the opposite end of the house from where the TV room is. The cable guy, while setting up the HD gear and installing the jacks that I want in the basement, commented that I may need a signal booster (the electrician, while working on the basement and running the co-ax for cable, also noted the same thing several weeks before). He hooked everything up, but didn't think that there was a problem.

One thing the cable guy did mention was that since I have an HDMI jack on my TV, I'd get a better picture if I had an HDMI HD box. He suggested that I give Eastlink a call and let them know and that they'd send out an HDMI box for no extra charge. I assured him that I was do that ASAP.

It turns out, though, that the quality is less than optimal.

Andrea and I decided to watch a Maple Leafs hockey game on CBCHD (one of the main reasons for getting HD in the first place!). While things were slow on the screen, the image quality was pretty good. As soon as the pace picked up, though, artifacts were showing up around the players. Artifact is likely not the correct term here - basically it looked like the signal compression algorithm was inadequate, kind of like a low quality Quicktime or WMV file. And then there were the blocks. On a far-too-frequent basis, the image would be reduced to nothing but annoying blocks. It never lasted more than a second or two, but I was getting better quality from the straight co-ax!

I also noticed that, in general, the non-HD channels didn't look all that good through the HD box. I'm not particularly amused at this point, but I haven't gone through any of the motions to resolve the problem yet - that's this week's project. Here's the list of stuff I'll be doing to correct the problem:

1. Get Eastlink to replace my current box with the HDMI box. The installer said that that should improve the overall picture quality.
2. Get the installer that shows up to spend some time (10 or 15 minutes) checking out the quality of the existing channels, looking for, in particular, the blocking problem. I suspect that he'll say that I'll need a signal booster, so I'll be sure to mention that to the CSR when I call about getting the new box.
3. I've asked a friend, who also gets the HD service, about the artifacts/pixelation issue - he suggested that I call Eastlink and get them to re-program the box. He was having a similar issue and that seems to have solved his problems.

So, after the box is installed, if I'm still having problems, I'll be giving them a call again to see about what changes need to be made to the box. These sorts of changes can be done remotely, so hopefully they'll take effect immediately.

If none of that works, then I'll cancel the service and complain rather loudly - maybe even consider switching to satellite.

I'll post updates as I work through the list.

- Mike

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Where the hell did November and December go?!

Here it is, December 16th, and the house isn't decorated for Christmas yet. Andrea's freaking out because everything is so far behind. She's done some decorating over the last couple of weeks (especially this week) and we brought the tree into the house last night. It's not decorated yet, but at least the house smells like Christmas.

I'm not stressing out so much about it because, as a child, we never really started decorating the house until about this time anyway. Heck, the tree wasn't even up and decorated until the 23rd. We'll do up the tree this weekend, which will be just fine with me. Andrea, on the other hand, likes having stuff done at least 2 weeks before. Yeah, she's a weird one. :)

Of course, taking 8 days to go to Munich probably wasn't the best idea during the Silly Season, but the way I see it is that the decorating will get done in time. I love how the house looks with all of the decorations, but, really, as long as the tree is done and we have a couple of (fake) boughs around the house with some lights, I'm perfectly happy. Given the choice between a fully-decorated house and Europe, Europe will win every time. :)

I've got lots of shopping to do next week, so I'll pack up Olivia and get out of the house for a few hours. That ought to give Andrea lots of time to do whatever it is she wants to do.

Today's my last day at the office until the new year and I'm really looking forward to relaxing (if that's going to be possible!) at home with Andrea and Olivia, drinking tea, watching the fire, and just absorbing everything. Christmas will probably be hectic this year (babies make everything hectic, don't they!), so I'd better get in the relaxation while I can.

- Mike

Just a wee bit of travelling

So, I find myself in Munich this week, participating in the DSL Forum quarterly meeting.

I'm the main technical representative for the company I work for, as well as the editor of one of the parking lot documents. Being an editor means that I pretty much need to attend all of the meetings, so I'll get to do quite a bit of travelling (at least 4 times a year) for the next little while.

Travelling seems to be feast or famine for me. Back in 2002, I did a lot of travelling - about 10 trips, all told. Lots of trips to the US and a few to Europe. I travelled enough that I achieved Elite status with Air Canada. I was pretty happy about that, since that meant I would get the upgrade coupons and get access to the Maple Leaf lounges.

All of that travel was promptly followed by 2.5 years of virtually no travel whatsoever. I travelled twice in 2003, and neither of the trips with Air Canada, so I didn't get to use any of my Elite benefits. Figures. I also only travelled a handful of times in 2004 (once to Denver, twice to Madrid).

So, what happens this year? Right after Olivia was born, I seem to be travelling quite a bit. LA back in July. Philadelphia in September. New Hampshire in October. San Francisco in November. Munich in December. Every trip lasts about a week. It's crazy!

Andrea, naturally, is not too thrilled with my being away so often. To be honest, while I love visiting new countries, I hate leaving Olivia. The fact that Andrea is home by herself with Olivia makes things even worse, since it's very hard work raising a child with two people, let alone by yourself.

Things a little different this time, though... I've brought Andrea with me to Munich. I've been slaving away all week while she's been galavanting all through Munich and even to Salzburg. She deserves the time away, of course, so I don't mind hearing about all of the cool things she does during the day while I'm stuck in meetings.

And there's no real end to all of the travel in the near future. Potential trips for 2006 include New Hampshire, Vienna, Athens, San Jose, and Atlanta. I'm thinking I'll get Elite status again in 2006.