Last month, the Toronto Star pulled the plug on
its landmark "Fast Forward" technology section after a little more than seven
years. I was a part of that section for all of its run, and when the editor announced its
demise, a number of readers e-mailed me at this address (rather than the one published in
the Star) to express their sadness at seeing it go. I'd like to thank all who
wrote for their loyalty and good wishes.
...Ian G. Masters
I recently purchased a television with dual-tuner picture
in picture. This television has four video inputs, the first being component video the
next two being a combination of S-video or RCA-jack composite video. The fourth is on the
front of the set. I am looking to purchase a DVD player in the near future and have been
inquiring about to the differences in quality of picture if I use the "component
video" inputs or the "S" video inputs. Everyone that I have spoken to
either doesn't know or gives conflicting answers.
...Ron Contois
Theoretically, the best picture is obtainable with the
component video connections, in which three separate color signals are fed to the set.
Your DVD player must have the appropriate outputs, of course. Next is S-video, in which
the color and brightness signals are fed separately to the set. Last is standard composite
video. You can almost always see an impovement in picture quality when you go from
composite to S. The difference is more subtle going up to component video and is dependent
on the signal quality to begin with. You have to have a very good original picture to take
full advantage of component video.
...Ian G. Masters
How effective are wooden cone feet at reducing the effects
of acoustic feedback on hifi equipment?
...A. Karani
Virtually useless. The only place in a stereo system
that feedback is even possible is a turntable, and it almost always arises because the
vibrations from the speakers travel through the air and set the LP in motion. The sound is
the picked up by the phono cartridge and fed through the system again. Structure-borne
vibrations, such as those from furnaces or air conditioners are best dealt with by
effective damping methods used by the turntable manufacturer or by sitting the turntable
on something massive, such as a piece of marble or a paving stone.
...Ian G. Masters
Is it possible to use an existing AV receiver with a
power/pre-amp combo?
...Barbara Pentony
I'm not sure exactly what you want to do, so I'll assume
the idea is to use the surround decoding features of the receiver, but use the
preamplifier/power amplifier combinations to drive the speakers. That's certainly
possible, but only if the receiver provides line-level outputs for all channels. These can
simply be fed to the preamp inputs, and the reeceiver's own amplifier outputs left
unconnected. Alternatively, you might just use the external components for the front
channels -- most receivers give you access to those -- and use the receiver's amplifiers
for the surround channels.
...Ian G. Masters
I am buying a new car and want to put a nice sound system
in it. However, I am in college and can't afford to put in anything too expensive. I enjoy
music with lots of bass and want a woofer in my car. What else do I need? I'm sure the
speakers the car comes with are inadequate, so I'm guessing I'll have to buy some new
speakers as well.
...Josh Dell
Don't write off the factory-installed system
automatically -- some of them are excellent. The dealer is sure to have a car on the lot
with the kind of audio system your car would come with, so give it a listen. Chances are,
though, that it might not have enough bass for you, but an add-on subwoofer can be a
reasonably-priced upgrade. But do yourself a favor: have a pro install it for you.
...Ian G. Masters
Thanks for your choice [in the Toronto Star] of
Dolby Digital as the Digital Audio System. I couldn't agree more. I'm sure the
folks at DTS would disagree with you.
Also, your comments about CD were right on [that many early
CDs were mastered from tapes equalized to overcome vinyl problems, and sounded terrible in
digital form]. However, from experience, the source for the audio for many of the early
CD's was many times not the vinyl EQ master tape, but the cassette EQ master tape.
Even worse, since it accounted for the shortcomings of cassette audio tape. Several of the
Steely Dan original CD's were from cassette EQ masters. Check out the "remastered
versions" done by Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics in Nashville from the original tape
sources.
...Jim Hilson
Senior Broadcast Audio Specialist
Dolby Laboratories
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