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With the advent of 3D available in the average consumer’s home, and more 3D programming coming in the near future it looks like 3D will have a drastic impact on the video world as a whole.  And a lot of people are wondering why they have to buy a completely new TV in order to watch 3D programming.

3D has progressed a lot in the past couple of year, but most people are hesitant to move to the 3D realm because their past experience has show them they will get headaches and after a while, 3D becomes more of an annoyance rather than enhance the viewing experience.  Companies have found a way to solve these problems by introducing new technology in order to make the experience more enjoyable and not cause the problems that 3D has had in the past.

The 3D TVs display at 60 frames per second (120hz) while most TV’s purchased in the past have displayed 30 frames per second (60hz). Although your brain can only take in 30 frames per second it makes the video, especially fast motion video such as sports, flow a lot better and seem less jumpy. 

Also, All 3D TVs have to be accompanied with active liquid crystal shutter glasses that block each eye 120 times per second and sync with your TV in order to display more lifelike 3D images. Most of these glasses are expensive, and most TVs only come with a few pairs.

Another challenge to overcome is around 10% of the population cannot see the picture in 3D, they simply see the image in 2D. These are typically people that have depth perception problem to begin with. Most children related content also has to factor in the fact the child eyes are on average 2 inches closer than adults.

For most consumers, especially ones buying a new TV in the near future, 3D TV is a fairly inexpensive transfer. Most 3D TVs come with glasses and are only a couple hundred dollars more expensive than their 2D equivalent.

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This year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas marks the official arrival of USB 3.0, said to be a vast improvement over USB 2.0 originally created in 1996. But what are the main differences that make this upgrade so necessary.

The first and most important difference is speed. USB 3.0 boasts a max transfer rate of 4.8 Gbps compared to the 480Mbps of its predecessor. This upgrade is most practical when transferring large files. An HD movie, 25 GB in size, takes only 4 minutes to transfer using USB 3.0. That's three times faster than the 14 minutes it takes to transfer the same movie over a USB 2.0 connection. USB 3.0 is able to do this because it added an extra physical bus, and upgraded the data interface allowing communication in both directions simultaneously.

Another big improvement made in USB 3.0 is the power system. USB 3.0 provides 900mA compared with 500mA with USB 2.0. This allows for some devices to be completely bus power, and allow some devices to charge faster. USB 3.0 also allows for more power management by allow either device connected to conserve power when in idle mode.

Overall USB 3.0 will provide faster transfer rates, but in doing so it allows for the creation of some new devices. These devices include: HD webcams, monitors connected via USB, external Blu-Ray Drives, and Multi-Channel audio devices.

USB 3.0 is a much needed upgrade that is highly anticipated by consumers.

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There has been alot of hype about the E Series P2 cards, but what are the main differences between them and the A Series P2 cards. There are four main differences: price, speed, card lifetime and type of flash memory.

Price
In general the E Series is half as expensive as the A Series. A 64Gb E Series runs for around $950, while its A Series counterpart runs for around $1800.

Transfer Speed
The maximum transfer rate for an E Series card is 1.2 Gbp, and the maximum transfer rate for an A Series card is 800 Mbps.

Card Lifetime
Panasonic states, "When recorded once daily, at full capacity (100%), the new E Series cards are reusable for up to five years. When used at half capacity (50%), the cards will continue to record for up to 10 years or longer." And the A Series will last up to 30,000+ uses.

Type of Flash Memory
The E Series card uses "Multi Level Cell (MLC) NAND Flash Memory", while the A Series card uses "Single Level Cell (SLC) NAND Flash Memory". In other words the E Series card hold more information and uses less memory cells. Its overuse of those cells is the reason for its shorter lifespan

In conclusion, the only real disadvantage of using the E Series P2 card is its lifespan. And since in 5 years, a new technology will emerge, and we wont be using P2 cards, it is irrelevant. The E series even has a faster transfer speed making it a much better choice especially because it is half the price.

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The Red One is a digital video camera with the with comparable resolution to film. It is more and more being used as a standard camera for big name motion picture films. The advantage the Red One offers over film camera is that it records to hard disk or flash, therefore dramatically reducing the price of film and the cost to transfer the film into a digital format. Also, with a price tag of around $20,000, it is hard to beat the resolution that it offers.

 

Able to deliver a resolution of up to 4096 x 2304 and up to 120 frames per second, no other camera can deliver more for the price than the Red One. There are some televisions on the market now that support 120Hz (60 frames per second), and, although most plan on it soon, there are almost no satellite or cable companies that offer services in 120Hz. 240 Hz is almost over kill, but it it a feature that makes this camera one that can be used for years to come. 

 

Overall the Red One delivers the same quality as film with more features at a much lower cost. The Red One is a camera that will be around for a long time and develop into a standard used in many different areas of video.

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Both are used for broadcasting video and use the same audio codec. 

Mpeg 2- An older standard used more in “over the air” broadcasting, mainly used currently in DVDs, and most standard definition applications.

Mpeg 4- Was made as the upgrade to Mpeg2, and was used in HD DVDs and is the current standard for Blu-ray. It is also a more web friendly because of its smaller size, and is the standard video for the IPod. Most IPTV providers use Mpeg 4.

Mpeg 4 is the better format for many reasons. First of all, it is more compressed, meaning you can get the same quality as mpeg 2 for less hard drive space or bandwidth. It is also the current standard for HD video and will probably stay that way until much higher resolution video format becomes mainstream. Mpeg 4 also allows for the use of external digital rights management, meaning it is easier to prevent piracy.

Overall Mpeg 4 is the newer, more efficient Mpeg 2 with more features. Mpeg 2 is almost obsolete in comparison, except when burning DVDs.

 

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