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  1. StephenL

    Audiophile HTPC

    This year I made some changes to my audio setup. I decided to replace the desktop computer in the living room with a notebook computer. I bought an Apple iBook and an Airport Express Wi-Fi device with audio output. The iBook is the ultimate remote control for my music library because I can use...
  2. StephenL

    satellite coax causing lines through picture...

    Are you sure the cable from the dish is properly grounded? National Electric Code approved grounding points: http://www.dbsinstall.com/Whatis/Whatisgood-5.htm
  3. StephenL

    Lifelong Windows user contemplates (gasp!) a Macintosh! Advice please!

    Check the Apple Certified Reconditioned Products at the Apple Store. http://store.apple.com Click on the red "Save" tag, then "Apple Certified".
  4. StephenL

    DSS Ground loop?

    The dish mast and cable shield must be grounded to your house grounding electrode system. If a separate ground rod is used for the antenna, it must be bonded to the house grounding electrode system, becoming part of that system. This prevents a difference in ground potential between dish ground...
  5. StephenL

    1014 "DIAL NORM" message?

    A Dolby Digital decoder can decrease the volume based on a soundtrack's dialog level parameter, but the decoder can't increase the volume. If your receiver displays a Dial Norm value of +4 dB, that means the soundtrack is 4 dB higher than the target level, so your receiver's Dolby Digital...
  6. StephenL

    Best Sounding Media Player (software)?

    Most players produce identical sound unless you use digital signal processing such as equalization, dynamic range compression, volume leveling or "enhancement" effects.
  7. StephenL

    Volume confusion

    That depends on whether your receiver has enough power to drive your speakers at reference level, at your listening distance, without clipping. The Denon AVR-2803 is no slouch. Sound & Vision magazine test report: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...&page_number=1 If the Denon AVR-2803...
  8. StephenL

    Does anyone have the 20" LCD Dell monitor?

    I have the Dell UltraSharp 2001FP. The screen size and resolution are good, but I wish the black level was better (like my Dell 1703FP).
  9. StephenL

    Negative Volume

    Why is 0 dB near the high end of the volume scale on some receivers and processors? In digital recording, 0 dBFS (decibels full scale) is the peak level that can be recorded before digital clipping or overload occurs. Full scale is the level at which the binary number describing the signal is...
  10. StephenL

    Why Is It With Receivers.....

    Work in progress. Corrections and additional information welcome. I have to increase the volume control on my new receiver to get a normal listening level compared with my old receiver. Does this mean that my new receiver is defective or lacking in power? Not necessarily. It probably just...
  11. StephenL

    Backing up data to an external hard drive - is it painless?

    HOW TO: Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;302894& File Locations http://www.freebits.co.uk/howdoi.html Windows XP Home Networking: Backing Up Your Home Network http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april02.mspx
  12. StephenL

    How do you manage your CD System?

    I suggest ripping your CDs to a computer using lossless compression. I have over 300 CDs ripped to a 160GB hard drive in the Windows Media Audio Lossless codec. I use Windows Media Player 9 to rip and automatically tag the tracks with song title, artist, album, composer, genre, length, release...
  13. StephenL

    dynamic range compression?

    Dolby Digital dynamic range control is performed by the Dolby Digital decoder. If your receiver is performing the Dolby Digital decoding (if you are using a digital connection between your DVD player and your receiver) then use your receiver's dynamic range control. The DVD player's dynamic...
  14. StephenL

    Jumps from digital to analog and back

    If it only happens once per movie, it's probably just the result of the layer change.
  15. StephenL

    Question for Megachanger users

    Consider ripping your CDs to a computer instead. I have over 300 CDs ripped to a 160GB hard drive in the Windows Media Audio Lossless codec. I use Windows Media Player 9 to rip and automatically tag the tracks with song title, artist, album, composer, genre, length, release date, etc. I use the...
  16. StephenL

    svideo or composite connection to dvd recorder

    S-Video is better than composite video from any source that has native separate chrominance (color) and luminance (brightness) signals (such as satellite receivers).
  17. StephenL

    720x480 question

    HDMI has the potential to provide better picture quality, but if HDMI is not properly implemented at the source and the display, component video can be better.
  18. StephenL

    dvd sound drop outs

    Some receivers have DTS dropouts if Re-Equalization is on.
  19. StephenL

    Web page design help: Display images that rotates to a new image every 5 seconds

    I suggest careful consideration to determine whether changing images are appropriate for a particular web page, unless your objective is to annoy people. :)
  20. StephenL

    Firefox help

    Middle-click opens the link in a background tab; Shift+Middle-click opens the link in a foreground tab.
  21. StephenL

    Anyone else never heard...

    To the best of my knowledge, dynamic range compression on DVD players only applies to the analog output.
  22. StephenL

    After thousands and thousands, I have spent my last dollar at Best Buy

    I rarely buy DVDs at Best Buy anymore because too many new release titles are out of stock. On one occasion I asked for a rain check, but they wouldn't give me one because they couldn't find the SKU number. I was told they would honor the price anyway, but when I returned the next week the girl...
  23. StephenL

    TiVO

    The DirecTV receiver with TiVo records and plays back the bitstream as it was received from the satellite with no loss of quality. It's just as good (or bad) as the original signal.
  24. StephenL

    WARNING - your Deep Discount DVD are not secure!

    I use a credit card with software that generates a unique credit card number for each online transaction. The number on my credit card is never revealed. You can use a web-based service or install PC software. Discover Card has a service called Deskshop: http://www.discovercard.com/deskshop/...
  25. StephenL

    Digitial Coxial or Toslink

    Optical is immune to electrical interference and ground loops, but there's not likely to be an audible difference between optical and coaxial SPDIF.
  26. StephenL

    Do you have your center channel set to large ?

    Is your center speaker capable of playing as low and loud as your subwoofer? If not, set it to small.
  27. StephenL

    What's the deal with CD players being used as transports?

    If you use your receiver's or processor's bass management it's generally better to use a digital connection from the player to avoid the extra Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog conversions.
  28. StephenL

    low sound level on 1014

    Work in progress. Comments and corrections welcome. I have to increase the volume control on my new receiver to get a normal listening level compared with my old receiver. Does this mean that my new receiver is defective or lacking in power? Not necessarily. It probably just means that the...
  29. StephenL

    "Large" vs "Small" settings

    The small setting engages the crossover for a particular speaker or pair of speakers. The large setting sends the full range of frequencies to a particular speaker or pair of speakers.
  30. StephenL

    Curious about a "ticking" noise coming from my receiver

    No, the infamous ticking noise comes from the speakers. My Onkyo TX-DS898 makes a noise like you described. I suspect it's something expanding or contracting inside the receiver due to temperature changes, or a relay.
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