How to set up your new HDTV

59 min.

Geoff Morrison , HD Guru

It?s not possible for a TV to be set at the factory with the best settings possible for your home. Take 20 minutes or so on your end, and you can drastically improve the picture quality. If you just bought a TV, or just haven't found the time to mess around with your set,?here are tips for doing it right.?

If you really?want to nail it,?we suggest a?setup Blu-ray. They?re cheap, and the?Disney WOW?disc is especially helpful and easy to follow. (A step-up from that would be the $30?ISF HDTV?Calibration Wizard.)

Straight?out of the box
All HDTVs generally?have a start-up?screen that lets the user to choose between a home mode and a store demo mode.?This is extremely important. The store mode is designed to produce the brightest image ? at the expense of black level, contrast ratio and energy efficiency. To obtain the best picture select the home mode. You will still be able to make fine-tuning?adjustments to maximize image quality.

The screen will also ask you to choose your?language, and will ask about using over-the-air antenna or cable/satellite. If you don?t use an antenna, make sure you select cable/satellite.?You don?t want the TV to go into the tuner mode,?because?you won't see an image.

Special instructions for smart TVs
If your new HDTV has Internet connectivity for streaming movies and other content, the next step should be connecting to the Internet. All smart TVs have an Ethernet connection if you want to wire the TV directly. Many also have Wi-Fi for wireless set-up. Follow the on-screen instructions or the?owner?s manual for the proper steps.

Once completed, you should make sure you have the latest version of the TV's software, by performing a firmware update as per your TV's instructions. The update may add new features, Internet services and even apps, and will assure you have the latest and best version of your new HDTV. Don't skip this:?Nearly every TV we test has newer firmware waiting for it when we connect it to the Internet.

Picture modes
Nearly all TVs have picture modes that adjust multiple settings to create a certain look to the image. The best idea is to start with the most accurate setting, then adjust as you see fit. With nearly all TVs, this mode is called ?Movie,? ?Cinema,? or something similar. If these aren?t options, ?Standard? is likely closest.

If you?ve already?been watching your TV for more than a few minutes, switching to one of these modes is going to be a shock. It will seem red (warm) and soft. It isn?t, which I?ll explain as we go.

Contrast
This control adjusts the bright parts of the image: Clouds, white shirts, snow, etc. The idea is to set this control high enough that the image ?pops,? but not so high as to mask detail, like cloud?textures or shirt?wrinkles. All TVs have a maximum contrast setting, above which you?re not making the image any brighter,?you?re just making near-white objects totally white.

If you?re using a setup disc, the contrast pattern will have a ramp of progressively whiter bars. The idea is to be able see most of these (but not those labeled ?above white?).

If you?re not using a setup disc, find a TV show (ideally a live sporting event) that takes place outside. Skiing works great for this, though baseball does as well (fly balls, any shot of the sky). The idea is to be able to set the control so that you can still see detail in bright white objects. There should almost never be bright white blobs on the screen. If there are, turn the contrast control down until those blobs get their detail back.

There is no average number to use as a guideline for setting?contrast, but it?s almost never 100 percent,?or anything close. Start somewhere around 80 percent and go from there.

Brightness
This is the opposite of the contrast control. Despite its name, brightness control adjusts the dark parts of the image: Shadows, black hair, black leather jackets. The idea here is to set it low enough that the picture has lots of contrast (as in, the difference in the light and dark parts of the image), but not so far that there?s just huge swaths of blackness on screen during any night scene.

If you?re using a setup disc, the brightness pattern will have a ramp of progressively darker black bars. The idea is to be able see most of these (but not those labeled ?below black? or similar).

If you?re setting this by eye, any night or darkly lit scene will do. Set the control fairly low, down?past the point where you lose detail. Now gradually increase it until you see detail in the darkness. If the picture looks gray or washed out, you?ve brought your brightness too far up.

Color?and?tint
Generally speaking, you shouldn?t have to adjust these at all. These are holdovers from the old tube (CRT) TV days. With component and HDMI connections, the TV shouldn?t need adjustment to color or tint.

But so you know, color is color saturation. Set too high, people will look sunburned, and everything will seem cartoony. Tint adjusts the green/red in the image (Martian/lobster). Without specific color filters (that usually come with setup discs), you can?t adjust either of these settings these correctly. Skip.

Sharpness
This is a highly misleading control. Generally speaking, sharpness control adds enhancement to the image to make it appear sharp. Ironically, by doing so, it?s actually masking true fine detail in the image. This setting should be set as low as possible. Some TVs actually?soften?the image if you set it too low (bizarre, to be sure), so watch out for that. Look for dark lines on a bright background, like the?edges of buildings for instance. Lower this setting so there isn?t any ghost line next to the dark edge. This ghost line is called ?edge enhancement,? and goes a long way in making the image look artificial.

Once you get used to the naturalness of the image without edge enhancement, you?ll never go back.

Color temperature
This one is going to be tough. Not because it requires any labor on your part, it?s just going to do something to the image that at first is going to seem bad.

Color temperature is how bluish or reddish the image looks. Picture a typical scene of people walking down a street. Set the color temp too cool, and it will look like they?re walking down the street in winter, with that season?s normal bluish tones. Set the color temp too warm, and it will be a reddish warm day instead.

With most TVs, the ideal setting is ?warm? or ?low.? In some cases, this is too warm, and ?normal? is closer. If you?re changing the settings for the first time, and the TV was set in the ?cool? color temp mode, everything will look wrong, and even??normal? will appear to your eye as too warm. Give your eyes time to adjust. Watch on ?normal? for a few hours, and then ?cool? will seem incredibly blue.

Backlight
This is an LCD-specific control ??plasma TVs don?t have backlights.?Think of the backlight setting as a volume control for the image. Turn it up, and the entire picture (bright whites and dark blacks alike) get brighter. Turn it down, and everything gets darker.?

If you leave this turned all the way up, not only are you wasting energy, but at night your TV can be hard to watch. Modern LCDs are extremely bright, and watching such a small bright object in a dark room can create severe eye fatigue.

For critical viewing, or watching at night, the idea is to get the best black levels, while still creating a watchable image. Once you set contrast and brightness correctly, turn the backlight control all the way down. This will likely be too dark for most viewing. Turn it up to the point where it looks the best. Often, at night, this could be as low as 20 percent, depending on the TV.?During the day, you can?set this as high as you want.

Interestingly, no setup disc offers instructions on how to set this control.?Read more on this in our?buyer-beware article on TV backlights.

For more on what your HDTV?s controls do, read our?Guide to HDTV Settings.

You can catch up with?Geoff Morrison on Twitter at?@TechWriterGeoff. His novel, "Undersea," is now in paperback.

More?from HD Guru:

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/how-set-your-new-hdtv-1C7657756

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Here's Your Christmas Eve Spotify Playlist

While you're chatting up your weird uncle over egg nog tonight, you need a holiday-themed playlist. It is Christmas Eve, after all. Here's your soundtrack for the evening. It's got some new favorites and some stalwart classics. Joyeux Noel, y'all! [Spotify] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1WzjxWA0eq8/heres-your-christmas-eve-spotify-playlist

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Research identifies a way to block memories associated with PTSD or drug addiction

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2012) ? New research from Western University could lead to better treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and drug addiction by effectively blocking memories. The research performed by Nicole Lauzon, a PhD candidate in the laboratory of Steven Laviolette at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry has revealed a common mechanism in a region of the brain called the pre-limbic cortex, can control the recall of memories linked to both aversive, traumatic experiences associated with PTSD and rewarding memories linked to drug addiction. More importantly, the researchers have discovered a way to actively suppress the spontaneous recall of both types of memories, without permanently altering memories.

The findings are published online in the journal Neuropharmacology.

"These findings are very important in disorders like PTSD or drug addiction. One of the common problems associated with these disorders is the obtrusive recall of memories that are associated with the fearful, emotional experiences in PTSD patients. And people suffering with addiction are often exposed to environmental cues that remind them of the rewarding effects of the drug. This can lead to drug relapse, one of the major problems with persistent addictions to drugs such as opiates," explains Laviolette, an associate professor in the Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Psychiatry. "So what we've found is a common mechanism in the brain that can control recall of both aversive memories and memories associated with rewarding experience in the case of drug addiction."

In their experiments using a rat model, the neuroscientists discovered that stimulating a sub-type of dopamine receptor called the "D1" receptor in a specific area of the brain, could completely prevent the recall of both aversive and reward-related memories. "The precise mechanisms in the brain that control how these memories are recalled are poorly understood, and there are presently no effective treatments for patients suffering from obtrusive memories associated with either PTSD or addiction," says Lauzon. "If we are able to block the recall of those memories, then potentially we have a target for drugs to treat these disorders."

"In the movie, 'Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind,' they attempted to permanently erase memories associated with emotional experiences," adds Laviolette. "The interesting thing about our findings is that we were able to prevent the spontaneous recall of these memories, but the memories were still intact. We weren't inducing any form of brain damage or actually affecting the integrity of the original memories."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Western Ontario.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Nicole M. Lauzon, Melanie Bechard, Tasha Ahmad, Steven R. Laviolette. Supra-normal stimulation of dopamine D1 receptors in the prelimbic cortex blocks behavioral expression of both aversive and rewarding associative memories through a cyclic-AMP-dependent signaling pathway. Neuropharmacology, 2013; 67: 104 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.10.029

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/kKOxa_Px-K0/121205121149.htm

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Ivory Coast seeks $4 bln in donor funds for development

PARIS (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara appealed to international donors on Tuesday for $4 billion to help fund post-war development, saying it would help stem the spread of instability and crime in West Africa.

With the international community anxious to contain an al Qaeda enclave in neighbouring Mali, Ouattara urged a conference of wealthy nations and multilateral organisations in Paris to treat Ivory Coast as an anchor of stability in West Africa.

Ouattara and many in the international community have voiced hope his arrival in power last year has drawn a line under a decade of instability and conflict in the regional powerhouse.

He took office with French military backing in May 2011 following a brief but brutal civil war after ex-President Laurent Gbagbo rejected his election win.

"Ivory Coast is rediscovering its place at the heart of the region," Ouattara said, inaugurating the donor conference which concludes on Wednesday. "Investing in Ivory Coast is investing in the region and reducing poverty beyond our borders."

Economic growth in the world's largest cocoa exporter is forecast at 8.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year as it bounces back from a decade of economic decline.

Ouattara said a $20 billion 2013-2015 national development plan would push economic growth into double-digits by 2014 but the government needed help to plug a $4 billion funding gap.

While he acknowledged many wealthy Western nations were facing budgetary constraints, Ouattara said supporting Ivory Coast would help to prevent the spread of Islamic militancy and international crime in turbulent West Africa.

Rebels dominated by Islamists linked to al Qaeda seized the desert north of Mali this year, sparking fears of attacks by militants in the region or in Europe. African nations are seeking a U.N. mandate for military intervention.

"We must be united to fight terrorism, the traffic of arms and drugs, women and children, with all our force," he said. "The best way of facing these dangers is supporting Ivory Coast in its efforts toward development."

The development plan was decisively boosted by the IMF, World Bank and Paris Club's decision this year to cancel $10 billion of Ivory Coast's $12.5 billion external debt, freeing up some 40 percent of the budget earmarked for debt service.

The government is seeking some 5.3 trillion CFA francs of private sector investment for the plan in agriculture, transport infrastructure and energy production.

The state has earmarked some 2.1 trillion CFA of its own resources but that leaves a funding gap for donors of some 2.0 trillion CFA francs, Ouattara said.

Patrick Achi, minister of economic infrastructure, said the government was focused on boosting regional transport links to increase trade in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He cited a planned $160 million railway from Ouangolo in northern Ivory Coast to Sikasso in southern Mali.

"We are saying to investors, Ivory Coast is not just a market of 23 million people: it gives you access to a regional market of 300 million people," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ivory-coast-seeks-4-bln-donor-funds-development-141310675.html

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Rejected hearts now viable for transplantation after stress echo

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2012) ? Hearts previously rejected due to donors' age or other risk factors can now be declared viable for transplantation using pharmacological stress echo, according to research presented at EUROECHO and other Imaging Modalities 2012. The study1 was presented by Dr Tonino Bombardini from Pisa, Italy.

EUROECHO and other Imaging Modalities 2012 is the annual meeting of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). It takes place 5-8 December in Athens, Greece, at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre.

Heart transplantation is an established procedure in patients with end-stage heart failure but it is limited by a severe donor organ shortage. The average age of organ donors has increased and the donor is frequently a patient who died of a stroke. Every year in Europe a pool of approximately 4,500 hearts for which permission has been granted for heart donation are unused. "Many of these hearts could be used if we could increase confidence that the transplantation would be successful," said Dr Bombardini, who is scientific coordinator of the Aged Donor Heart Rescue by Stress Echo (ADONHERS) Project.

"Currently, the use of hearts from donors = 50 years (of the total transplanted hearts) is just 21% in Europe and 12% in North America," he added. "But the lengthening of waiting lists for heart transplantation is a significant healthcare emergency and as a consequence, the criteria for acceptance of donor hearts have been expanded to include donors over the age of 55 years."

Dr Bombardini continued: "Despite the expanded criteria, clinicians are hesitant to use hearts from older donors. The use of stress echocardiography to select hearts 'too good to die' may be a possible approach to resolving the mismatch between organ supply and demand."

During 2005 to 2012, the ADONHERS Project included 66 candidate heart donors who would previously not have been considered due to their age or other risk factors. The average age of candidate donors was 55 years. After a legal declaration of brain death, 47 donors were still considered eligible and underwent dipyridamole (n=44) or dobutamine (n=3) stress echocardiography to look for coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy abnormalities.

The researchers found 35 hearts without heart disease that were therefore eligible for transplantation. For six of these hearts, a matching recipient could not be found and a cardiac autopsy verified the absence of significant coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy abnormalities.

The remaining 29 eligible hearts were successfully transplanted in emergency recipients. At 1 month, 26 patients had normal heart structure and function as assessed by angiography, intravascular ultrasound, hemodynamic tests and ventriculography. Three patients had minor single vessel disease.

After a median follow up of 27 months, 26 patients had survived and 3 had died (from general sepsis, neoplasia and recurrent multiple myeloma).

Dr Bombardini said: "An upward shift of the donor age cut-off limit from the present 55 to 65 years is acceptable if a stress echocardiography screening on the candidate donor heart is normal."

He added: "Pharmacological stress echo is inexpensive and allows a simultaneous evaluation of inducible ischemia and contractile reserve of the left ventricle -- therefore, it is capable of unmasking prognostically meaningful occult coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathy."

Dr Bombardini concluded: "Pharmacological stress echo is already an established technique that is used to assess and risk stratify patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. We have shown that it can also be used to identify hearts suitable for transplantation that would previously have been unused. This requires cardiologists with experience of stress echo and ideally a second opinion from a cardiologist in a core lab (using tele-echocardiography), who can give the green light for donation."

In addition to the above research, Dr Bombardini's group will present two further abstracts on this topic at EUROECHO 2012.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Society of Cardiology.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/V_tErDzo5ew/121205084321.htm

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Fitness Business Marketing: Be Authentic to who you really are ...

I don?t understand why people care so much about other people liking them!

Why is it that people are obsessed with other people liking them?

There is no reason for it. Because the reality is that most people are just miserable mother-fuckers.

That?s really it.

I want you to stop worry about people liking you and start being yourself? not everyone is supposed to like you.

Don?t worry about somebody needing to like you. I?m sick of it and I?m sick of hearing about, ?Well what if people don?t like me?? I?m afraid that my clients?aren?t?going to like what I do because I want to be authentic?. Or? ?I?m afraid that somebody?s not going to like me for who I am.?

Let me clue you in Einstein? In some point in time you?re going to do, ?you?re going to say, ?you?re going to be the person that you really are and then you?re going to be found out anyway and then all that stupid fuckin? work you put into not being yourself, won?t fuckin? work? and then you?re back to square one. Boo fuckin? hoo.

When you creating a Boot Camp Marketing campaign I want you to realize that you have to not care about what other people think. Because if you go on filling your head with, ?Oh what is that person going to think??

How will I do this so that people like me??

At some point in time you?re going to be using so much energy, so much time and it?s going to be for nothing. ?I would rather you move forward, create forward momentum and be yourself. ?Be who you really are? people will be?attracted?to you and who you are? not what you are supposed to be.

Now if you are fucking asshole and you really need professional help, then you know what? Get professional help. Whatever you have to do. But I want you to be who you really are. And present that to the public? you won?t regret it? ever.

Being who you really are is going to help you in the long run. Because when you?re not the person that you are in private and you?re doing things just to make people like you, it?s called a lie, a fraud, a cheat? whatever you feel like calling it? and at some point in in life you?re going to have to reinvent yourself and get different friends or get other people to join your merry little band of lies.

Now you may have a problem right now that you want better friends. Well if you are authentic to who you are, you?re going to surround yourself with people that are attracted to you and will help you become ?a better version of yourself?".

So I want you to stop trying to make people like you and be authentic to yourself. Be genuine and look in the mirror and get a good look and say listen, you know, who am I? What am I about, and what do I really stand for??

Then go on an attract the people you really want in your life.

Source: http://askroccomedia.com/askrocco-media-blog/be-authentic-to-who-you-really-are/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=be-authentic-to-who-you-really-are

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Private equity fund purchases 24 per cent interest in Whistler ...

KSL Capital Partners, a private equity fund specializing in travel and leisure businesses, has agreed to buy Intrawest's 24 per cent stake in Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc, the company that owns Whistler Blackcomb.

"KSL is delighted to be acquiring a 24 (per cent) interest in a world-class ski area," said Eric Resnick, managing director of KSL in a release Monday night.

"Whistler Blackcomb is the largest and most visited ski resort in North America and we feel that it complements our portfolio of premier travel and leisure properties. (KSL partner) Peter (McDermott) and I are looking forward to working with the board to grow the business.

"Whistler Blackcomb has a very experienced and successful management team and we are enthusiastic to work with them as they continue to deliver a fantastic mountain experience for Whistler Blackcomb's guests."

Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. owns a 75 per cent interest in each of Whistler Mountain Resort Limited Partnership and Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises Limited Partnership, which, together, operate Whistler Blackcomb. The net outcome of the initial public offering on Nov.9, 2010 is that Whistler Blackcomb Holdings is the managing partner and contols 75 per cent of the partnerships which own the assets of Whistler Blackcomb. The remaining 25 per cent of the partnerships are owned by Nippon Cable.As of Dec.4, 2012, KSL Capital Partners has acquired Intrawest's 24 per cent stake in Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc.

As a result of the sale Bill Jensen has tendered his resignation as a director and chief executive officer of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. Wes Edens, Fortress co-chairman, and Jonathan Ashley, an Independent Director of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc.who has been a Managing Director of Fortress Investment Group LLC. have also resigned as directors of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc.

Whistler Blackcomb Holding Inc.'s board of directors has appointed Dave Brownlie, the current President and Chief Operating Officer, as the Corporation's President and Chief Executive Officer and a director.

Resnick and McDermott will act as directors to fill the vacancies created by these resignations. Mr. Resnick is co-founder and Managing Director of KSL and has deep, long-standing ties to the ski industry.

"We are also pleased to appoint Dave Brownlie as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors," said Graham Savage, Chairman of the Corporation's board of directors.

"With over 24 years in ski resort management, Dave brings insight and experience to the position and I am looking forward to continuing to work with him to grow the business."

The Intrawest shares were purchased for $12.75 per common share. The deal is being made in conjunction with an Intrawest refinancing

KSL is a private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises in five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services.

Its properties include The Belfry, The Grove Park Inn, The Homestead, Montelucia Resort & Spa, Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, The James Royal Palm, La Costa Resort and Spa, and ClubCorp, one of the world's largest owners of private golf and business clubs. It also owns Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.

Source: http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/private-equity-fund-purchases-24-per-cent-interest-in-whistler-blackcomb/Content?oid=2442764

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Mars redux: NASA to launch another mega-rover

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? If you thought NASA's latest Mars landing was a nail-biter, get ready for a sequel.

The space agency on Tuesday announced plans to launch another mega-rover to the red planet in 2020 that will be modeled after the wildly popular Curiosity.

To keep costs down, engineers will borrow Curiosity's blueprints, recycle spare parts where possible and use proven technology including the novel landing gear that delivered the car-size rover inside an ancient crater in August.

The announcement comes as NASA reboots its Mars exploration program during tough fiscal times.

"The action right now is on the surface, and that's where we want to be," said NASA sciences chief John Grunsfeld.

Like Curiosity, the mission will be led by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But many other details still need to be worked out, including where the rover will land and the types of tools it will carry to the surface.

While the science goals remain fuzzy, Grunsfeld said the rover at the very least should kickstart a campaign to return Martian soil and rocks to Earth ? a goal trumpeted by many scientists as key to searching for evidence of past life. Curiosity doesn't have that capability.

In the coming months, a team of experts will debate whether the new rover should have the ability to drill into rocks and store pieces for a future pickup ? either by another spacecraft or humans.

NASA is under orders by the White House to send astronauts to circle Mars in the 2030s followed by a landing.

Despite Curiosity's daring touchdown, its road to the launch pad was bumpy. At $2.5 billion, the project ran over schedule and over budget.

Jim Green, head of NASA's planetary science division, said the engineering hurdles have been fixed and he expected the new rover to cost less than Curiosity. One independent estimate put the mission at $1.5 billion, though NASA is working on its own figure.

"It's hard not to feel a little Mars-envy," Mike Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology who focuses on the outer solar system, said in an email.

Brown added that he understood NASA's decision given the pressure to fly humans to Earth's neighbor.

A Curiosity redux makes sense, said American University space policy expert Howard McCurdy.

"Let's hope that it can take advantage of economies of scale, in which case it would cost less than the Curiosity mission," he said. "That sort of approach would extend our exploration capability while freeing funds for other expeditions."

Mars is bracing for a flurry of activity over the next several years. Next year, NASA plans to launch an orbiter to study the atmosphere.

After NASA pulled out of a partnership with the Europeans in 2016 and 2018, it announced plans to fly a relatively low-cost robotic lander in 2016 to probe the interior. The space agency has since said it will contribute to the European missions, but in a minor role.

Rep. Adam Schiff, who has been critical of NASA budget cuts in the past, praised the latest news to land a Curiosity-like rover. Still, the California Democrat said he preferred an earlier launch date.

Grunsfeld said a 2020 launch is already an "aggressive schedule."

___

Follow Alicia Chang at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mars-redux-nasa-launch-curiosity-rover-014911634.html

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