Cable controversy: digital signals are just bits, but it does not mean that nothing can go wrong
I have seen a lot of controversy about whether or not more expensive cables are worth their price, and the argument that comes often is that digital signal is just bits (0 and 1) and is therefore not degradable. And while I’m attempting to settle the “expensive versus cheap” cables debate, I would like to comment about this notion.
A digital signal is by nature more “resistant” to degradation, but it doesn’t mean that it is immune to degradation. With an increase in the length of the cable, and in the frequency (how fast the signal switches between 1 and 0), errors can be introduced, bits might be lost and sometimes error correction protocols might not be able to fix them. For a video signal, this might produce randomly blinking pixels (which would be more visible on a very large screen/projector), blocky corruption artifacts or plain black screen. However, it *cannot* produce a fuzzier image, like a “bad” analog cable might.
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Add comment January 2nd, 2008
[CES 2008] If you can’t have the largest plasma TV display in the world, then there is always another accolade you can gun for - the thinnest across the entire globe. That’s exactly what Pioneer aims for with its 9mm thin HD plasma TV that will be unveiled at CES 2008. 9mm translates to a wee bit under 1cm, so one can just imagine how thin the display must be. I suppose it ought to come with the sign “Lovely to see, nice to hold; once broken, considered sold” wherever this svelte plasma display is sold in the future. More details to come at CES 2008.
Looks like Lenovo is going to milk the 2008 Olympics for all it’s worth, not only offering Olympic-centric computers but have moved on to the floppy disk’s successor - the USB flash drive. What do you think about the “Cloud of Promise” theme that adorns this little bugger? The distinctive swirl has certainly seen better days, and I personally ain’t too hot for the design on something as common as a USB flash drive. I suppose you have to fork out a slight premium over a regular, equal-capacity USB flash drive for this “collector’s item”.
Apple has filed for a patent that would provide a wireless LAN-type system that targets retail shopping specifically if approved. The “wireless communication system” patent is tipped to receive a remote order from a wireless client before prepping it for processing. It will then transfer that order to a different queue for processing. Customers can place their orders via a “wireless media player, a wireless personal digital assistant, [or] a cellphone.” Should this shopping idea take off, will there be a need for front line staff sometime down the road? I think that the human touch is still important, although others who prefer convenience will gladly skip the waiting in long queues as well as employees who have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
Nokia’s 5610 that hails from the XpressMusic line has just received the almighty FCC’s approval, and at first glance one might mistake it to be the Nokia 5310. Upon closer inspection, you will find out otherwise as the 5610 not only contains all the better features of its little brother, but sports a superior digital camera, (claimed) prolonged battery life and a slew of other innovations. Of course, this is an upper mid-range handset that squarely targets music lovers. The Nokia 5610 is tipped to hit your local retailer within the next couple of months at a yet undisclosed price.
VeriSilicon has rolled out the VZ.AudioHD application platform that hopes to be a complete, licensable audio solution for the growing high definition market. It is claimed to offer the most efficient single-core DSP solution for high definition audio applications, a full set of high definition audio software modules for Dolby and DTS, as well as the ZSP800 DSP processor. VZ.AudioHD aims to lower development time and risk for applications such as Blu-ray and HD DVD players, whilst saving cost simultaneously. Those who are interested in the high definition audio software solutions on offer can check it out at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. [Press Release]
