Entertainment & Technology Info

By Adrian Brown

The new Apple iPod Touch uses the same revolutionary multi-touch technology as the iPhone. Using this amazing touch screen interface you can watch movies, browse photographs, listen to music, surf the web and even buy music directly from your ipod using the iTunes Wi-Fi store.

This stunning new iPod Touch comes with a a host of features including a 3.5 inch 320 x 480 pixel widescreen display, Wi-Fi Supporting 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networks the iPod Touch is the first iPod to feature wireless networking capabilities.

The Safari web browser is perfect for surfing the web, tilting the iPod Touch will automatically adjust the display to either landscape or portrait via use of a rather cleaver built in sensor called an accelerometer. And there's even a touch-screen QWERTY keyboard.

The iPod touch display has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness to suit the ambient light in your surroundings. The result? A better experience for you and battery-saving efficiency for iPod touch.

With a battery life of up to 22 hours, when playing music and 5 hours for video. The iPod Touch is an incredible 8mm thick,110mm high and 61.8mm wide it's amazing how Apple have squeezed so much technology in to such a compact device.

As well as music video photos and iTunes the iPod Touch also sports calculator, clock, calendar, contacts, YouTube and settings icons.

The iPod Touch wont be in stock here in the UK until September the 28th starting at £199 for the 8Gb model and £299 for the 16Gb model you can order one now to be delivered on the day of release.

To help you in your quest for the new iPod Touch I have put together a quick website listing some of the best ipod touch suppliers in the UK - http://www.ipod-touch.co.uk

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http://EzineArticles.com/?iPod-Touch&id=722761

By Kenny Hemphill

HDTV stands for High Definition Television, and if you live in the USA, Australia, or
Japan you may already have experienced it. There are three key differences between
HDTV and what's become known as standard definition TV ie regular NTSC, PAL or
SECAM. The three differences are; an increase in picture resolution, 16:9 widescreen
as standard, and the ability to support multi-channel audio such as Dolby Digital.

The most important aspect of HDTV, and the one which gives it its name is the
increased resolution. Standard definition NTSC broadcasts have 525 horizontal
lines, and PAL broadcasts are slightly better at 625 lines. In both these systems
however, the actual number of lines used to display the picture, known as the active
lines, is fewer than that. In addition, both PAL and NTSC systems are interlaced, that
is, each frame is spit into two fields, one field is the odd-numbered lines and the
other is the even lines. Each frame is displayed alternately and our brain puts them
together to create a complete image of each frame. This has an adverse affect on
picture quality.

HDTV is broadcast in one of two formats; 720p and 1080i. The numbers refer to the
number of lines of vertical resolution and the letters refer to whether the signal is
progressive scan, 'p', or interlaced, 'i'. Progressive scan means that each frame is
shown in its entirety, rather than being split into fields. Both systems are
significantly better quality than either PAL or NTSC broadcasts.

HDTV uses 16:9 widescreen as is its aspect ratio so widescreen pictures are
transmitted properly and not letterboxed or panned and scanned. Dolby Digital
multichannel sound can be broadcast as part of an HDTV signal, so if you have a
surround sound speaker set-up you can use it to listen to TV rather than just DVDs.

To receive an HDTV broadcast you need either a TV with a built-in HDTV tuner or a
HDTV receiver
which can pick-up off the air HDTV channels, or cable or satellite HDTV like. You
also need to live in are where HDTV channels are broadcast or distributed by cable
or satellite.

Currently HDTV is widespread in Japan and is becoming commonplace in the US,
with most major networks distributing HDTV versions of their popular content. The
2005 Superbowl led to a large increase in the demand for Fox Sports HDTV and
cable companies scrambled to add it to their offering in the run up to the game. In
Autralia, HDTV uptake was sluggish initially but has increased significantly since
2003.

The situation in Europe is not so bright. There is only one company broadcasting
HDTV in the whole of Europe, Euro1080, and it has only two HDTV channels, both in
the 1080i format. Euro1080HDe shows major cultural and sporting events to
cinemas and clubs around Europe, while HD1 broadcasts sports, opera, rock music,
and lifestyle programs via satellite to homes in Europe. UK satellite broadcaster, Sky,
which is owned by Fox proprieter Rupert Murdoch, has announced plans to
broadcast some HDTV content in 2006. The BBC has also made noises about
broadcasting HDTV programs (it already films some programs in HD format).

However, it will be a while before HDTV in Europe catches up with the rest of the
world. The controversy created by the confirmation of plans by the UK government
to start switching off analogue transmitters in 2008 showed how many people have
yet to make the switch to DVB-T. That will be used as an argument to show that
there is no appetite in the UK for another major change in TV broadcasting -
particularly as most people think they already have 'digital TV' in the form of DVB-T.

Given that television was invented by a Briton, and Europe led the way with PAL for
so long, this is a rather sorry state of affairs.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenny_Hemphill
http://EzineArticles.com/?HDTV:-An-Introduction&id=19272

By Sanjeev Massey

Satellite Navigation Units have become very popular recently, and have become a common site in many cars, with many car manufacturers offering Sat Navs already installed in mid to high range models. If you do not own a Satellite Navigation unit, one reasons maybe because you consider it to be an added expense, especially if you already know your journey well, or are quite comfortable using maps and road signs for new destinations.

However there are features on many modern Sat Nav units that enable the devices to receive traffic information. This can be used for highlighting roads that is congested by traffic and the GPS unit will offer to recalculate your route to avoid the problem areas. There are two mechanisms that can provide traffic information to Satellite Navigation units, RDS-TMC and Bluetooth enabled mobiles phones with GPRS.

Traffic Message Channel (TMC) is a technology for delivering traffic and travel information to drivers. It is typically digitally coded using the Radio Data System (RDS) on conventional FM radio broadcasts. It allows silent delivery of high quality accurate, timely and relevant information, in the language chosen by the user and without interrupting normal services. Services, both public and commercial, are now operational in many European countries. When data is integrated directly into the navigation system, it gives the driver the option to take alternative routes to avoid traffic incidents.

Another method of receiving traffic updates is by connecting a GPRS enabled mobile to your Sat Nav unit. The mobile phone receives traffic updates via GPRS, which are relayed to your GPS through Bluetooth. The main disadvantage of this approach, is that GPRS data is usually charged as an extra cost from your mobile phone provider.

In practice the Sat Nav will use the traffic information when planning your route. When calculating a route the Satellite Navigation will use the average speeds of the roads to work out the quickest route to your destination. With traffic information, the average speeds are adjusted to the actual speeds indicated by the traffic update, and a new route is recalculated. While the new route may be longer in distance, the GPS unit will know that it will take less time as the vehicle will be travelling faster. Many Satellite Navigation units also have a feature where the route is dynamically adjusted while traveling. The Sat Nav will prompt the driver to recalculate the route if it just received a warning that there is congestion up ahead.

Therefore, if your thinking that a GPS unit is not worth the extra expense because a paper map is all you need, think again, as modern Sat Navs offer a lot more than than simply telling you how to get from A to B.

S J Massey is a writer for http://www.carshops247.co.uk, which publishes news and information for the UK motoring scene.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Use-a-Sat-Nav-Even-If-You-Know-the-Way?&id=1885610

By Kenny Hemphill

Confused by EDTV vs HDTV? We don't blame you. The number of acronyms floating
about with regard to digital TV is frightening. What's even more worrying is that very
often they are used by people who have little or no knowledge about what they
mean. If the person selling you doesn't know the difference between EDTV vs HDTV,
how are customers supposed to decide which TV or projector to go for?

In our guide below, we've tried to distill the technical info into as few words as
possible and make it as straightforward to understand as we can.

To properly explain EDTV vs HDTV, we need to step back a bit. Traditional TV has
525 lines of video which are interlaced. Interlacing just means that every frame of
video is split into two fields and each field is shown alternately. Although there are
525 lines in the signal, only 480 lines contain video, so it is sometimes referred to
as 480i (480 lines interlaced). This is known as Standard Definition TV, or SDTV.
While this has worked well enough for fifty years, as TV sets have got bigger and
projectors more popular, the quality deficiencies have become increasingly
apparent.

The ultimate answer to improving the quality of the image displayed on your TV is
HDTV,
however, as a step on the road to HDTV, the industry came up with Enhanced
Definition TV, or EDTV. This system contains the same 480 lines as SDTV, but they
are progressive scan. Hence EDTV is also known as 480p. Progressive scanning just
means that instead of splitting the signal into two fields and showing half the lines
at a time, all 480 lines of video are shown at once. This results in a noticeable
improvement in the quality of video.

The bad news in relation to EDTV vs HDTV is that you need a completely new TV or
projector to display both EDTV and HDTV. Most DVD players on the market today
are progressive scan, meaning they output EDTV signals, however, in order to view
the progressive scan picture in all its glory, you need a TV or projector capable of
displaying it and that, unfortunately, means getting a new TV.

In terms of content, there is very limited TV content available in HDTV format, and
there is still wrangling about the standard for HD DVDs. However, every DVD disc on
the market can be displayed in EDTV right now.

Bottom line? Pretty much every HDTV projector or TV on the market today will
display EDTV as well. So even if you live in a country or area where HDTV content is
limited or non-existent, it is worth it to watch your DVD collection in EDTV, the
difference between SDTV and EDTV really is that big.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenny_Hemphill
http://EzineArticles.com/?EDTV-vs-HDTV&id=19274

By David Chandler

MP3 is the latest and the most popular audio format that is used now. This acronym stands for MPEG Layer 3. It is a compressed audio format with a compression ratio of up to 12: 1. The sound quality of the audio in this format is very high. A normal audio file, which is 1200 KB in size, can be stored in just 100 KB if it is using the MP3 format. The size of the audio files is very small when compared to other formats of audio files. This makes it easily portable.

Where to get MP3 audio files?

MP3 audio files are widely available in CDs now. Almost any album that is released in the world is also sold in the MP3 audio format. These albums in the MP3 formats are also available in some websites that are dedicated for MP3 downloads. You can also purchase these MP3 CDs at any audio store meant for that purpose.

MP3 downloads

Free MP3 downloads are also available in some of the websites. You need to become a member of these sites for a fee to download unlimited number of songs in the MP3 format. Some of the sites charge you for each song that is downloaded. Free MP3 downloads for testing the quality of the audio is usually provided by most of these websites. Websites like www.napster.com allow free MP3 downloads if you have MP3 players from select manufacturers. You can download directly to the player by using the software provided by the website.

How to play a MP3 audio file?

To play a MP3 audio you need separate players whether it is software or a physical player that can be carried. MP3 software players are used in your PC to play MP3 audio. Physical players from many branded manufacturers are available in the market to play these MP3 audio files.

MP3 Ringtones

With the advent of the mobile phones, it has become a fashion to make your mobile call you with your favorite songs as Ringtones. Youngsters particularly teenagers are more interested in using Ringtones of the songs they like. This has picked up in such a manner that MP3 Ringtones are now being sold in websites. Many websites sell Ringtones in the MP3 format. The mobile you are using should be capable of playing the Ringtones in the MP3 format to use these MP3 Ringtones. These websites provide you with an interface to select the model of the mobile phone you have and then download MP3 Ringtones that suit your mobile phone model.

For more information, visit target="_blank">The MP3 Info Center

David Chandler

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