Full HD TV instead of a Monitor - What a great vision!

[Hauksbee 103]

 

Received my ordered new TOSHIBA today, but it is crapp compared to my "old" one,

 Will you be able to return it?

[AROTH 0]

And I agree with both of you (although smartphone cameras are capable of taking some extremely clear pictures). I'm just saying that the vast majority of what most people used to do with their home computers...which is[i/i] internet related (check emails, social media, shopping, etc)...can be done with cell phones and tablets and the like. People like us, whose games aren't available on consoles, and those who use their PC's for work...drafting, serious video and audio editting, etc.)...will soon be the only ones who will keep these clunky boxes and their associated equipment.

 

And Corsaire, my cell phone is a five- or six-year old flip phone. I can call in a pizza order or text/call my son in Texas to chat on it. I'm good.

 

I hear you. My cell phone is 9 years old - the manual that came with it is thicker than the phone. I still don't know all of its functions yet......

[Hauksbee 103]

Now that I teetering on the brink of buying a 50", the thought occurs to me: Where to you mount the TrackIR? It would seem that all choices would put it above, or 'way off to the side if your head is looking at the center of the screen.

[Olham 164]

 Will you be able to return it?

 

Yes.

 

With the 37" I had put the TrackIR on top of the screen.

[von Baur 54]

I've got my TIR mounted to the wall behind the TV, pointed straight up into a mirror also on the wall but above the TV. It increases the reflector-to-camera distance, which improves performance (TIR 3 Pro w/Vector prefers farther to closer...and it still works great, so why spend $$$ on something new??) It also maintains the distance and angle no matter where I position the TV. I had to reverse all left/right axes but that was simple enough. The biggest problem is that having the camera that high above the center of the screen, leaning forward also moves the viewpoint down and leaning back, up. Bear in mind, I'm using a 32" screen. The effect would be more pronounced the bigger the screen and the closer you are to it if the camera is mounted directly on it, Hauksbee.

 

Corsaire, you seem to be missing my point. Widowmaker was commenting that so many people are attaching their selected devices to their ever-more gigantic televisions that monitors for home computers may soon become a thing of the past. I was observing that, with so many people doing all of what they used to do on home computers on these other devices instead the home computer itself could go that way. I'm not suggesting that you ditch whatever makes you happy and go buy the latest little gadget. In fact, I opted to get a second computer optimized for flying and move my now older one into the living room rather than buy a laptop or tablet when I decided I wanted to be able to do my non-flying things while I watched television.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

Clever von Baur, very clever.  You could also achieve the same results by wearing your cap backwards and mounting the TIR camera on the wall directly behind you.

 

.

Olham, sorry to learn your new flying screen is not what you expected.  Hopefully you can swap it out for one of higher quality.

 

.

[Olham 164]

I sent it back.

Will use the "old" TV for flying, if I want it "Cinemascope",

and maybe get me 27" monitor for the rest.

 

Has anyone got an ACER or any other with a pane in front of the LED layer?

Some say, it is reflecting; others say, it makes the image look much sharper.

What is true?

[von Baur 54]

Lou, I thought about that briefly but discarded it quickly, as the wall behind me is about 8 feet from the back of my head...a bit too far, I would think. Also, that side of the room has become the "looking for a more permanent home" pile.

 

Olham, I just remembered the beginnings of my HDTV adventures, and another reason I bought the 32": it might be helpful. We bought two 37" sets, one for our bedroom and one for our son. Both were HD and both said 1080p on the box. I told Frau von Baur on the way home that ours was making a small detour to the computer when we got it home. I hooked it up and it was amazing...results like you described...seeing other planes from a much greater distance and basically eliminating the use of labels except for identifying specific individuals. And the effect when you're closing for the shot...absolutely awesome.

 

Of course I wasn't about to leave it there. Our couch is comfy, but not that comfy. So I went back to the 19" 4x3 monitor and started counting down the days until our son left for the Army when I could appropriate his . When I did, I found that I couldn't get my computer to see it in anything higher than 720. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. After all, he'd been playing his X-Box and watching TV and DVD's in 1080 on it. After while I decided to look at the manual and when I did I found out it was 1080p capable but only 720 native and apparently that was controlling the way my video card saw it. That didn't bother me too much though, because I knew that once he got to a permanent station he'd get it back. So I started looking for a permanent replacement, keeping in mind to make sure it was a native 1080p. I found one, I bought it and we've flown happily ever after since.

 

 

So anyone who's thinking about doing this just make sure whatever you buy says it's got a native resolution of 1080.

[rjw 48]

Lou, I thought about that briefly but discarded it quickly, as the wall behind me is about 8 feet from the back of my head...a bit too far, I would think. Also, that side of the room has become the "looking for a more permanent home" pile.

 

Olham, I just remembered the beginnings of my HDTV adventures, and another reason I bought the 32": it might be helpful. We bought two 37" sets, one for our bedroom and one for our son. Both were HD and both said 1080p on the box. I told Frau von Baur on the way home that ours was making a small detour to the computer when we got it home. I hooked it up and it was amazing...results like you described...seeing other planes from a much greater distance and basically eliminating the use of labels except for identifying specific individuals. And the effect when you're closing for the shot...absolutely awesome.

 

Of course I wasn't about to leave it there. Our couch is comfy, but not that comfy. So I went back to the 19" 4x3 monitor and started counting down the days until our son left for the Army when I could appropriate his . When I did, I found that I couldn't get my computer to see it in anything higher than 720. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. After all, he'd been playing his X-Box and watching TV and DVD's in 1080 on it. After while I decided to look at the manual and when I did I found out it was 1080p capable but only 720 native and apparently that was controlling the way my video card saw it. That didn't bother me too much though, because I knew that once he got to a permanent station he'd get it back. So I started looking for a permanent replacement, keeping in mind to make sure it was a native 1080p. I found one, I bought it and we've flown happily ever after since.

 

 

So anyone who's thinking about doing this just make sure whatever you buy says it's got a native resolution of 1080.

Von Baur;

 

I have to add that 4k resolution "UHD" TV's are now on the market, albeit somewhat more expensive but if you are looking for leading edge it would be worth looking at. Samsung has specs on their site.

[von Baur 54]

I've seen them online, rjw. First priority will be 3D for the living room (probably at least two years unless my current one breaks before then). Can you imagine the UFC or the NFL in 70", 4000-line, 240Hz 3D? I've already measured out a spot on my wall.

 

At this point I don't really anticipate buying another fixed monitor for flying. Oculus Rift looks very promising. And I've been waiting 14 years since first conceiving (and boring the hell out of my wife with) the idea of a head-mounted display married to a 1-1 head tracking system for someone with the wherewithall to make it a reality. Maybe that is not far off. Until then I'm quite happy with my 2D 32" 1080p.

[HumanDrone 4]

von Baur, I don't know... Yeah, the smartphones and laptops are getting better and better, but two years in, and my desktop (see my sig) still roundly whips the bare arse of any laptop computer in my office - and we're engineers!  And I didn't go all-out when I spec'd that one...

 

So maybe for the general public, yes - but for flat-out speed for numerical analysis & stuff like that, desktops are still hard to beat.  I think we still have a few more years to go...

 

ETA: Good glory I did it again... replied to a post at the bottom of page 1 without seeing the page 2 and the discussion moving on.... sorry guys.

Edited December 10, 2013 by HumanDrone

[von Baur 54]

Whew! For a minute there I didn't know if you were agreeing with me or arguing with me, HumanDrone.

[HumanDrone 4]

Weeellllll, I am BARMY, after all...

 

My father-in-law always told me - "Tom, there's no sense making a fool of yourself if nobody gets to see it!"

 

My brother-in-law was asking me the other day if we could hook up the computer to the new 55" in the family room.  If it weren't for about a  dozen cables wrappped all around my desk, relocating the modem & router, blah, blah, blah, I said yes, we could...  it'd be quite a view, that thing has a beautiful picture.

Edited December 10, 2013 by HumanDrone

[theultimat 5]

It's been a while gents, but I decided to hop back on and see how thing's are going - only to find WOFF's release is imminent. Great stuff!

 

Just thought I would add my two cents - over at my sister's house they have a projector which provides you with a truly massive viewport; perhaps that could be something to look into for those who want to go the extra mile? Of course, I would presume getting a decent projector (with a good enough refresh rate etc.) would be somewhat pricey, but I'm not too sure either way.

 

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well, and hopefully I'll be able to join you in the skies some time soon! All the best.

[Hauksbee 103]

Just thought I would add my two cents - over at my sister's house they have a projector which provides you with a truly massive viewport;

The trouble with projectors (in my experience) is that you need a completely dark room. Otherwise the color/image gets pale and washed-out.

.

'Must be great, ultimat, checking back in and finding WOFF ready. Now that's the spirit of Christmas.

[Tamper 9]

The trouble with projectors (in my experience) is that you need a completely dark room. Otherwise the color/image gets pale and washed-out.

.

'Must be great, ultimat, checking back in and finding WOFF ready. Now that's the spirit of Christmas.

 

Well, not exactly,  That was true, long ago when there were only basically one or two types of projectors.  The industry grew a bit though, and now it's not uncommon to find a class of projectors unique to 'home entertainment' aplications.  Along with that came much brighter displays, which don't really require a completely blacked-out room.  There are definitely units that look better and worse in less than total darkness, for sure.

 

It is completely true that black on a projector screen is pretty much no blacker than the darkness of the room itself, but there are also similar considerations to 'black levels' of almost any screen technology - complete blackness doesn't work well no matter, because "black" represents the absence of light, where both projectors and other screen types work by either projecting or reflecting some kind of light.  Your finest TV screen still isn't totally black, either.

 

I have theater room with a 100' screen and a HD DLP projector; it's impressive as far as the sheer size to game on, but the two real issues are pixel size/spacing (as discussed above, only probably more pronounced - called "screen door" in the projector world, BTW) and the fact that it's flat, as opposed to curving around as your FOV does in reality.

[theultimat 5]

@Hauksbee: Indeed it was! Unfortunately I don't have a grahpics card anywhere near capable of running the game above 30 fps, so I'm going to have to give it a miss for now.

 

@Tamper: That's a really good point about the FoV, I didn't think of that. I suppose the best bet at the moment then is to go down the other routes already suggested.

[von Baur 54]

Hmmm. It appears Oculus Rift may not be the Godsend I was expecting. From what I can make out, based on an email I received from them, it will have a split screen with (and this is based on their screenshots) a significant overlap. Total horizontal FOV may be as little as 45*. And it may not be compatible with CFS3/OFF/WOFF. Damned shame, if that's the case. Will have to wait until it becomes commercially available and see what's what.

 

Oh well. If they don't see the logic of using passive 3D tech to achieve depth perception, thus making the whole screen available for the image, someone will.

 

 

**editted for spelling**

Edited December 11, 2013 by von Baur

[LEChouffleur 0]

The stuff I see from people with the dev kit says among other things that it's like wearing goggles (blacked out at the edges of your vision) but this gave me some hope:

 

All that being said, I have shown my Dev Kit to at least 40-50 people since I got it a few days ago, and about 98% of them were amazed beyond words, despite the shortcomings.

 

 

https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=5243#p71727

 

I'm up for "amazed beyond words". ;-)

Edited December 12, 2013 by LEChouffleur