-
About Me
I'm Michael Koby, and I love technology. I'm also a programmer, currently doing Ruby on Rails development for a small Houston startup. Here I talk about technology, programming, politics, movies, music, and anything else I feel I need to talk about. If you would like to know more, you can check out the About page.Popular Series
Archive
Categories
Meta
Buying an HDTV: High Definition Content
So you’ve got your nice brand new (or slightly used) high definition television to your home and you’ve got it turned on. What in the world are you going to watch? What high definition content is out there in the world? How do you get it onto your television?
You do have a few options when it comes to high definition content. The easiest is your local channels’ digital signal, but there is cable, satellite, or even Blu-Ray players. All give you some form of high definition content, but not all of it is that covenanted 1080p resolution. In fact, the only true 1080p source at the moment is a Blu-Ray player. Television (either OTA or cable/satellite) is only
Local Stations Over-The-Air (OTA)
The quickest (and probably cheapest) way to get high definition content onto your new HDTV is to plug in an antenna to receive your local channels’ digital signals. Most high definition televisions come with a digital tuner that will allow you to receive the digital signal with ease. Something to keep in mind though is that different networks will broadcast different resolutions. For example, Fox affiliates transmit a 720p signal while ABC affiliates will send out a 1080i signal. You’ll probably want to take a look at AVSForum’s Local HDTV Info to find specific information about your area. There is a lot of great information such as antenna aiming suggestions and signal information for various channels in several of the city specific threads.
Cable/Satellite
The next option is the all digital option of cable or satellite (or fiber optic). These options are generally completely digital and do not require the use of an antenna or digital tuner in the television since the digital tuner is in the cable/satellite box. Most of these signals for these kinds of connections are completely digital. The main reason to go with a cable/satellite feed for HD content is that a lot of cable channels (HBO, Discovery, etc) have high definition versions of their channels, so you get access to more high def content. Also, if you get something that has on demand content (i.e. Comcast) they also offer high definition content through this channel. So you can get some pay-per-view movies in high definition.
Upconverting DVD Player
Finally, you have upconverting DVD players, while not truly “high definition” they do offer a nice way to take advantage of your television without having to buy a lot of expensive new equipment. Upconverting DVD players can be had for less that 100 dollars (really good ones go as high as $200) and can send a higher quality image to your television. A good upconverting DVD player will give you a noticeably higher quality picture on your screen (assuming your screen can handle the resolution). You can rewatch a nice chunk of your movie collection and enjoy it in a whole new way for less than one hundred dollars.
Blu-Ray
The only true 1080p source is Blu-Ray. If you have a 720p television, you can still send out a 1080p signal from your Blu-Ray player and the television will usually down-convert to a resolution that it can handle. There are a lot of Blu-Ray players on the market, and not all of them are equal. The players that you see for sale for cheap (well below $200) are what are known as “Profile 1.0” players and do not conform to the latest standard of Blu-Ray discs. This means that you might run into trouble playing newer BDs (Blu-Ray Disc) on these players. Most of the players being released today however, are “Profile 2.0” players and can play the latest discs, as well as do something that is called BDLive, which can give you additional content stored on servers for online access.
Something else to think about is that all Blu-Ray players work as upconverting DVD players as well.
Next Week
Next week, as we look towards finishing this series we’ll be looking at cables to connect this all together.
links for 2009-02-16
Posted in Daily Links
Comments Off on links for 2009-02-16
Consulting Consultants: Personal Branding – Public Events
You’ve got a blog and you’re firing off tweets at a record pace so when it comes to the digital side of personal branding, you’ve got the basis covered, at least until the next new digital thing comes out anyway. So what’s next? Public events is the answer to that question. When I say “public events’” I mean any event that puts you in a building with actual people. this could be a conference, a presentation, a user group meeting, or even just a bunch of people with similar interests (i.e. geek dinners). The point is to get out in front of actual people. So what do you do once you’re in front of people? Lets have a look.
Elevator Pitch
If you haven’t heard of the “elevator pitch” here’s the basics. You have the time it takes to travel one or two floors in an elevator to tell someone who you are and what you do. No more no less. The idea is to:
- Introduce yourself and what you do
- Leave them in a way that they are comfortable with know who you are and what you do, but also in a manner that will leave them with some form of desire to call you should they need your particular skill set.
A helpful tool during the elevator pitch is your business card. If you don’t have any made, get some (you can pick up some free ones at VistaPrint).
It is important to understand that the “elevator pitch” isn’t just for elevators. This is what you tell someone when they ask you who you are or what you do. The idea is to keep it short, answer the key questions quickly and effectively, and to make them fully understand it all.
Presentations
Giving presentations on your what it is your good at is a sure fire way to meet a lot of people and help them understand what it is you do. It can also have the adverse effect and make those same people never want to have anything to do with you again. So you have to walk a fine line. When you decide to give a presentation, you’ll want to make sure that you are up on your knowledge. You don’t have to know everything but knowing a lot about what you are talking about is most helpful. Being knowledgeable helps build your reputation, showing that you are knowledgeable builds your credibility. Occasionally saying “I’m not sure, give me your card so I can get back to you on that” is a good way to show that even though you don’t know, you’re willing to find out and follow up. This is both professional and educational.
I’ve gone more in-depth on giving quality presentations before. But I’ll review the high points here real quick.
- Write down what you plan to say, and plan it well. Make sure it flows and conveys the message you want to send
- Don’t just stand there, move. Give people something to following rather than just stare at you standing there for more than an hour.
- Speak clearly and audibly. It’s pointless to give a presentation if the people in the back can’t hear you.
- Finally, practice your presentation. Give your presentation a few dry runs in the days leading up to it, you’ll be very glad you did.
Answer Questions
When people ask questions, they expect answers (generally speaking). So if you’re at a round table, group discussion, or some other group activity and someone asks a question you know the answer to, speak up. You do more harm by staying quiet out fear of being wrong than you do by giving your answer. If you are wrong, most people will offer other suggestions and you will in turn learn something. You can prefix with things like “in my experience” or “the way I’ve done it in the past” to make your answer slightly less authoritative and thus less about ego. You don’t need to have an ego but you shouldn’t hide out of fear either. Again, speaking up increases credibility. It can also lead to knowledge.
Plan Events
If you truly have no problem speaking to people and getting out there, a really good way to build your personal brand and get your name out there is to plan events for others to attend. Yes, it takes some work, but the end result can be well worth it. Plus “event planning” can help nicely on a resume (*wink*). The idea is to bring people together under a certain theme. So make sure you’ve got interest. This can also help you get to know other people outside your local circle that share your interests. You might arrange to have some of the more well known folks to come and speak at your event and this could start relationship with those people.
Reminder
Remember that building your personal brand is pretty much all about self promotion. The idea is for people about who you are and what it is that you are good at. The reason for this is so they can remember you when they might need you. The idea of getting out in public and in front of people is to help more people know about you. This can increase your personal network, which can lead to more work as a consultant (more sales opportunities if you work in a consulting firm) and it can also lead to other opportunities in general both professional and personal.
Next week I’ll look at some things one can do when they work specifically for a consulting firm to improve their personal brand inside their company. It’ll probably be a little shorter than the last few posts in this series, but the information should be just as helpful.
Consulting Consultants: Personal Branding – Public Events
You’ve got a blog and you’re firing off tweets at a record pace so when it comes to the digital side of personal branding, you’ve got the basis covered, at least until the next new digital thing comes out anyway. So what’s next? Public events is the answer to that question. When I say “public events’” I mean any event that puts you in a building with actual people. this could be a conference, a presentation, a user group meeting, or even just a bunch of people with similar interests (i.e. geek dinners). The point is to get out in front of actual people. So what do you do once you’re in front of people? Lets have a look.
Elevator Pitch
If you haven’t heard of the “elevator pitch” here’s the basics. You have the time it takes to travel one or two floors in an elevator to tell someone who you are and what you do. No more no less. The idea is to:
- Introduce yourself and what you do
- Leave them in a way that they are comfortable with know who you are and what you do, but also in a manner that will leave them with some form of desire to call you should they need your particular skill set.
A helpful tool during the elevator pitch is your business card. If you don’t have any made, get some (you can pick up some free ones at VistaPrint).
It is important to understand that the “elevator pitch” isn’t just for elevators. This is what you tell someone when they ask you who you are or what you do. The idea is to keep it short, answer the key questions quickly and effectively, and to make them fully understand it all.
Presentations
Giving presentations on your what it is your good at is a sure fire way to meet a lot of people and help them understand what it is you do. It can also have the adverse effect and make those same people never want to have anything to do with you again. So you have to walk a fine line. When you decide to give a presentation, you’ll want to make sure that you are up on your knowledge. You don’t have to know everything but knowing a lot about what you are talking about is most helpful. Being knowledgeable helps build your reputation, showing that you are knowledgeable builds your credibility. Occasionally saying “I’m not sure, give me your card so I can get back to you on that” is a good way to show that even though you don’t know, you’re willing to find out and follow up. This is both professional and educational.
I’ve gone more in-depth on giving quality presentations before. But I’ll review the high points here real quick.
- Write down what you plan to say, and plan it well. Make sure it flows and conveys the message you want to send
- Don’t just stand there, move. Give people something to following rather than just stare at you standing there for more than an hour.
- Speak clearly and audibly. It’s pointless to give a presentation if the people in the back can’t hear you.
- Finally, practice your presentation. Give your presentation a few dry runs in the days leading up to it, you’ll be very glad you did.
Answer Questions
When people ask questions, they expect answers (generally speaking). So if you’re at a round table, group discussion, or some other group activity and someone asks a question you know the answer to, speak up. You do more harm by staying quiet out fear of being wrong than you do by giving your answer. If you are wrong, most people will offer other suggestions and you will in turn learn something. You can prefix with things like “in my experience” or “the way I’ve done it in the past” to make your answer slightly less authoritative and thus less about ego. You don’t need to have an ego but you shouldn’t hide out of fear either. Again, speaking up increases credibility. It can also lead to knowledge.
Plan Events
If you truly have no problem speaking to people and getting out there, a really good way to build your personal brand and get your name out there is to plan events for others to attend. Yes, it takes some work, but the end result can be well worth it. Plus “event planning” can help nicely on a resume (*wink*). The idea is to bring people together under a certain theme. So make sure you’ve got interest. This can also help you get to know other people outside your local circle that share your interests. You might arrange to have some of the more well known folks to come and speak at your event and this could start relationship with those people.
Reminder
Remember that building your personal brand is pretty much all about self promotion. The idea is for people about who you are and what it is that you are good at. The reason for this is so they can remember you when they might need you. The idea of getting out in public and in front of people is to help more people know about you. This can increase your personal network, which can lead to more work as a consultant (more sales opportunities if you work in a consulting firm) and it can also lead to other opportunities in general both professional and personal.
Next week I’ll look at some things one can do when they work specifically for a consulting firm to improve their personal brand inside their company. It’ll probably be a little shorter than the last few posts in this series, but the information should be just as helpful.
Michael Koby 