New Job

So I got a job. It's cool. Just 6.5 hours per day.

I have a couple of articles in plan. I will try to release them consecutively on weeks 49 and 50 (currently we are in week 48).

I will tell you this much they will be related to an earlier article/post. Paysites.
There I will tell what works what doesn't work for me. And probably talk briefly about different tactics or ways to go about these sites.

Just a quick update.

I finally got a good bit of news today. I'm most probably finally gonna get a job. Been unemployed for almost 5 months now. And I'm in the process of making a new proper blog post within the next couple of days.

A little bit of information about the different cable connectors

What is SCART ?

SCART is a connector that was designed by the French. In a short moment of brilliance, the government in France made it mandatory for every TV set sold there to have the SCART connector. This sort of forced all big TV makers to include a SCART connector on every TV that was shipped to Europe (or built there).

SCART is NOT (I REPEAT: NOT) a definition of signals.

Instead it bundles a range of analog signals that are (were) commonly used in relation to TV's in ONE standardized connector.

SCART usually incorporates the following video signals:
1) Composite video
2) S-video
3) RGB video

I say usually because not all devices support all signals. F.I., a VHS videorecorder, by nature, does not support RGB signals. That is because the video is recorded on the tape with a signal that is simular to composite video.

Every TV however, should have at least one SCART connector that allows input of any of these signals.

(SCART also supports audio signals of course, but I leave them out of this thread, because they will be rarely used in our hobby, most people connect speakers to the PC running Mame, or in original cabs, the installed audio amplifier and speakers are used).


What is RGB video ?

RGB video is the most basic form of video signal you can have in relation to CRT driven color TV's. There are separate wires for each basic color Red Green and Blue, and one for the sync signal. Because of this, none of the signals can influence each-other. In good quality SCART cables, every signal line has it's own shield (return or ground)to further prevent cross-talk between them and other wires.

Every color TV in the world is decoding whatever signal (HF through Antenna, composite video etc.) is input to it into this basic RGB signal, before it feeds it to the CRT. So, if we use the RGB signal on the SCART connector ALL the decoding electronics in the TV are by-passed, ensuring the best possible picture quality. By doing this we use the TV exactly like a "real" arcade/open frame monitor.
There is NO quality difference in picture between a "real" arcade monitor or a TV that is used with RGB.

How about the other signals ?
Well, first there was Composite video. The one (and only) advantage of this signal is that you can transport it through a single wire (and a shield). To make this work, all the color info AND sync info is combined into one signal. The TV will have to decode this signal into all the seperate colors and sync again. This process causes a significant loss in picture quality. Composite video is NOT recommended to be used for our hobby because of this.

Then there's S-video. With S-video you have one wire for the sync, and one wire for ALL the colors. So the colors are still combined. This still requires decoding in the TV, and still introduces a reduction in quality. Outside of Europe, this is often used in our hobby, because only European TV's have SCART.
I would not recommend it, because RGB is the best option to choose, and it's present out the outputs of your PC or original game PCB.

Sorry I've been really busy the last couple of weeks. But I'm now working on a new blog post which will blow your mind. Well probably not, but it will be informative. I will try to start posting on a more regular basis starting next week.

Thanks to all viewers for your support and comments!

Paysites

I was planning on putting this blog up in a months time or so. But I thought I'd share this with you now!

And now for something completely different! In the last couple of days I have registered to these paysites, which give you money if you click on ads. Usually you get anywhere from 0.01 - 1 cent (US) / click.







* Earned on first day: 3 cents



* Earned on first day: 7 cents



* Earned on first day: 4.7 cents




* Earned on first day: 5 cents



* Earned on first day: 0.9 cents



* Earned on first day: 6.8 cents



* Earned on first day: 3.5 cents



* Earned on first day: 8 cents



* Earned on first day: 4 cents
* You have to wait 30 days before you can start advertising with a banner which has real-time stats.



* Earned on first day: 64 cents
* Just read and rate short articles (read in 1-5 mins)
* Earn anything from 1 cents to 20 cents per article you read.






I will post another blog update in about 1-6 months on this subject. To see and hopefully show with proof that you can make money out online.

Oh and by the way, the ones I recommend you use, if you don't have a lot of time/day are:

* I really recommend using gagabux, because one can view a lot of ads/24h period. My max is 50 ads (= 50 cents).

- One draw back is that you have to be an upgraded (silver ($9/month), gold or diamond) member to withdraw your money.

If you have any questions, please post in the comments section. I might update this blog post or create a new one.

How does 3-D work?

"Why can you look at an object in the real world and see it as a three-dimensional object, but if you see that same object on a television screen it looks flat? What's going on, and how does 3-D technology get around the problem?

It all has to do with the way we focus on objects. We see things because our eyes absorb light reflected off of the items. Our brains interpret the light and create a picture in our minds. When an object is far away, the light traveling to one eye is parallel with the light traveling to the other eye. But as an object gets closer, the lines are no longer parallel -- they converge and our eyes shift to compensate. You can see this effect in action if you try to look at something right in front of your nose -- you'll attain a lovely cross-eyed expression.

The secret to 3-D television and movies is that by showing each eye the same image in two different locations, you can trick you brain into thinking the flat image you're viewing has depth. But this also means that the convergence and focal points don't match up the way they do for real objects. While your eyes may converge upon two images that seem to be one object right in front of you, they're actually focusing on a screen that's further away. This is why you get eye strain if you try to watch too many 3-D movies in one sitting.

How do you show two different images that appear to only be one? It's all in the lenses." [Source]

I think this explains very well how 3-D works. 

When the first 3-D TVs were out in the stores, I tried watching a couple with lenses. It was horrible. The refresh rate on the lenses were so low, that the picture looked jerky and gave me a head quite quickly. 

But the the new 3-D TVs & lenses which support 120 Hz (60 Hz per lenses), should be a lot smoother to look at/through. I will try to confirm that this week. Will see if I have time.

What do you guys think about this 3-D technology? Do you think it will become a standard in everyones homes, eventually?

3D TVs/Monitors

Now that 3D TV and monitors are available worldwide, I thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look at how they work (might update this post at later times, or write a new post, depending on how relevant my next posts are going to be).

So basically to be able to see movies, tv series etc in 3D, you need to have a glasses.

• With lenses
  • Anaglyphic 3D (with passive red-cyan lenses)
  • Polarization 3D (with passive polarized lenses)
  • Alternate-frame sequencing (with active shutter lenses)
• Without lenses
• Autostereoscopic displays, sometimes referred to commercially as Auto 3D

Autostereoscopy is any method of displaying stereoscopic images without the use of special headgear or glasses on the part of the viewer. It includes two broad classes of displays: those that use head-tracking to ensure that each of the viewer's two eyes sees a different image on the screen, and those that display multiple views so that the display does not need to know where the viewers' eyes are. 

•  Examples of autostereoscopic displays include: 
• parallax barrier 
• lenticular 
• volumetric 
• electro-holographic 
• light field displays.

I will get into more detail on how 3D TVs work. But I'm really busy with real life at the moment.