Altered Geek

Altered Geek UnPlugged – Feedback, Awards, GrandCon and Podcasting

AGU-EP08We record early again but it’s for good reason! We are prepping for GrandCon so that’s why the early record. So Mike and Steve talk your feedback, Off The Cuff Awards and Podcasting. Use #AlteredGeek on Twitter to continue the discussions. We also talk Geeky OCD. We hope you continue to enjoy the episodes and please feel free to respond to any and all feedback methods. We will read and reply on the show. Topic suggestions also welcome. So get Unplugged from the web and get Altered with the Altered Geeks.

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Questions:

Are there any podcasting questions you have for us?

 What Geeky things are you OCD or weak to?

Are there any tech specific questions you’d like us to cover?

Feedback:

Voicemail Line: 502-526-5821

Email: feedback@geekcastradio.com

Twitter: @GeekCastRadio

Facebook: GeekCast Radio Network

Geeks:

Steve “Megatron” Phillips

Mike “Boothninja” Powers

 

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Steve "Megatron"

Co-Creator @GeekCastRadio | Creator @AlteredGeek | Voice Actor | Podcaster, Husband | Father | Web/Graphic Design | A/V Editor | Geek of Games, Tech, Film, TV.

31 Comments

  1. Regarding tech questions. I’m looking to get a new TV. Not sure if I should go Plasma, LED, LCD, ect… Also any brands you could recommend?

    1. If you can hold off on your purchase I would be more then happy to help you with TV purchase tips and advice. I love talking TVs. I’ll mention stuff in episode 9 just for you!

        1. So I can have better info for you, what’s your price range and screen size requirements? I’ll look around for you based on those 2 things. Also do you game or watch movies more?

          1. I’m thinking around 2k, 55 inches or so. Can’t go bigger, possibly smaller. I play video games more

          2. I have a TV….It shows pictures….Those pictures move.

          3. I have the most amazing TV I have ever seen currently at my house that I bought last November – 55 inch samsung LED – absolutely do NOT buy a Plasma or a LCD

          4. I have a Plasma and never had an issue with image or function. So it depends what you want from the device. I’ve had 2x plasma TV’s and both work great.

          5. You are aware the LED TVs are LCD TV and the ONLY difference between LED LCD and a traditional LCD screen is the lighting method? Traditional LCD use CCFL lighting and LED LCD of course uses LED based lighting. Same panels, different lighting. That’s the only difference. Of course if you are nit picking there will also be a difference in your electrical bill between LED and CCFL LCD TVs. LED lit LCD TVs also tend to be thinner as well. You don’t see too many CCFL LCD TVs any more

            I myself have a 55″ Samsung D8000 with was Samsungs 2011 flagship TV. It’s been fully calibrated and looks great. If you are sitting dead on. If not the picture starts to lose its uniformity which is a common problem with edge LED TVs.

            I also have a 40″ Samsung B series that is CCFL and a 32″ Samsung, I think C series. The wife and I are currently looking into the Samsung F8500 which is Samsung’s 2013 flagship plasma. After doing a month of exhaustive, and still incomplete, research I will say your alarmist attitude towards Plasma is quite dated, I thought like you until a month ago. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of LED and think it looks great, but a calibrated plasma has flawless color reproduction over a much wider field of view. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m right and your wrong, people will always like what they like. Plasma vs LCD is like Windows and OSX or Android and iOS.

            But Steve and I will talk more about this on Altered Geek:)

          6. Yup well aware of the differences and still heavily prefer led. My friend was just over at my house yesterday and couldn’t get over how much better the picture on my tv was compared to both his plasma and his LCD. I’ve never had an issue with my led from any angle etc

          7. You can prefer LED lighting over CCFL lighting in your LCD TV, that’s fine, I do too as LED lighting allows for finer light controls (better contrast and brightness) and less “blooming” then the older CCFL lit LCD TVs.

            As for issues regarding off angle viewing and light leaks associated with ALL LCD TV regardless of light source, if you don’t see them, awesome, becaus once you do you’ll never un see them:) You’ve also got a Samsung, like me, which do offer exceptional picture quality, it’s just not perfect or flawless.

          8. Just to make my life a LITTLE easier, so I am not “chasing the dragon” from now until Thursday what questions about HDTV do you have? Don’t worry about getting to technical or too broad with your questions. I will do my best to answer them!

          9. Well I don’t reallly understand the difference between the three kinds. I know you explained it below, but what’s the advantage of an LED vs LCD vs Plasma.

            Any brands you recommend or stay away from? What’s a good price for a 55 inch TV so I know I’m not getting ripped off. Also is it better to get a stand or hang it on the wall, or is that just a personal taste thing.

            ALso looking to set up surround sound, and recommendations on how to do it so it doesn’t cost a lot, but wires aren’t everywhere.

          10. All questions I can answer on the show, but just for the record there LED is just a backlight (or in most cases Edge lit) option for LCD TV’s. The 3 types of flat panel HDTV’s are:

            1: LCD which is back or edge LIT by LED’s or CCFL (cold compact fluorescents) which are rear lit LCD panels. The Pixels do not produce any light themselves.

            2: Plasma which the light is actually provided by the pixels in the panel.

            3: and the newest, and most expensive is OLED. For now these TV’s are way out of the average consumer price ranges.

            I can get into the nitty gritty with Steve on the next podcast, put LED is not a “type” of HDTV. we’ll talk brands, features, the differences between the 3 types (or at least Plasma and LCD) so get ready to take some notes! I’ve research TV’s about every two months and have done so since 2006 so hopefully the useless info I have accumulated will be useful to you. If you can think of any other questions fire them off before Thursday.

          11. So are the OLED the same thing as the 2k TV’s? Or is that something different?

            Also I’ve heard 3D TV’s tend to actually have quite good pictures besides the whole 3D thing. Is that true?

          12. Nope, OLED is just another panel type like LCD or Plasma. What you are talking about with 2k refers to the resolution of the panel.

            2k is HD1920x1080p or a short hand for a panel with around 2 million pixels in it.

            4k is UHD or Ultra HD 3840×2160p or a short hand hand for a panel with around 8 million pixels in it.

            Right now 4k panels have been shown in LCD and OLED flavored panels, I am sure plasma will follow suit eventually. But they are upwards of $5,000 right now. That price will fall though.

            Little piece of trivia, 2k televisions offer about the same resolution as digital theaters currently do which means 4k TV’s will offer a better picture then you can get in the theater, eventually. Will share more about this on the podcast!

            As for 3D in televisions, at this point its a bullet point feature that all but the cheapest TV sets offer. Yes a 3d TV will generally present a better 2D picture then a none 3D TV because the hardware has to be able to deliver a 3D picture.

            Good questions, keep them coming. I’ll go over the more in the podcast though!

          13. Thanks for the info. You said 4k TV’s will have a better resolution
            then digital projectors, does that include movies like The Hobbit that use the increased FPS? I know the big battle is between Digital and Film and movies right now, and people are upset since film is going away. So is it true that film still has the best picture because there is no pixilation whatsoever? I know it’s not a TV question, but since we are down this road already figured I’d ask.

            Do the 4k TV’s also increase the FPS or is it different with
            TV’s since you are dealing with pixels?

          14. Now you’ve gone down another road which involves frame rates. At this point I am going to wait until we record episode 9 to answer this question so you’ll have something to look forward to. I am also in a good position to answer these questions I am in fact a projectionist so make sure you listen to episode 9!

            But resolution and frame rates are not related, not that closely. And I can hit on the differences between film and digital cinema. Digital is winning, just for the record, better or worse.

  2. I’m OCD about my video game collection. I hate to see it out of order, or not properly put away. Plus I don’t like people using my controllers with messy hands. Don’t need their grudge ruining my systems.

    1. I have a sony Plasma and love it. I know people talk about burnout issues but I have had mine for a few years and its worked fine so far!

  3. I agree with @KingOfKongs:disqus about controllers. I treat them better them most people treat their kids. I also can’t stand any type of smudges on my phone. Spend so much time making sure it as clear as clear can be.

  4. Freddy Savage and I aren’t the same person lol. Not sure where that came from. I did recommend your site to him so not sure if that caused the mix up. We bot frequent many of the same podcast message boards.

    1. awesome! thanks for spreading the word!!!! Hell when I first saw him commenting… I was like wait the kid from The Wonder Years?? lol

  5. Regarding tech questions what program do you use to record your podcast. You indicated it was done through Skype so does Skype itself have a recorder? Also is that what you use for editing? This may sound like a dumb question but what’s the process like for getting a podcast on iTunes. I’ve heard it’s a huge pain.

    1. Will definitely answer more on this when we record the next one. But
      it’s separate from Skype. We have 3x methods of doing it. No question is
      dumb just unanswered. ;)

      I get the OCD.

  6. Regarding tech questions what program do you use to record your podcast. You indicated it was done through Skype so does Skype itself have a recorder? Also is that what you use for editing? This may sound like a dumb question but what’s the process like for getting a podcast on iTunes. I’ve heard it’s a huge pain.

    Regarding the OCD thing I always tend to buy those things they have displayed right before checkout, especially at grocery stores. I have no attention to buy a candy bar, but I’m stuck in line long enough I’ll walk away from the store with three. Guess it’s why they have those there. lol

  7. I’m Super OCD about my comics. If I miss an issue I will continue to collect the series but not read them until I find the missing issue.

  8. I’m OCD about movies…hold for surprise…in a number of ways. For one when it comes to my blu ray collection. Has to be stored properly, alphabetized, and I even used to arrange by genre, but I’ve gotten away from that. Now I just split up TV from movies.
    Can’t stand it when stores combine them both. I tend to stay away from stores that don’t properly display their movies, and ones that have things like a specific Criterion section garner my attention more.

    Also have established some of my only movie rules I tend to live by. For example I will never watch a movie for the first time on basic cable. TV edits butcher movies so bad it can forever ruin your experience. Each year I also have a goal to watch at least 100 films that have come out in that given year. In 2012 I watched about 170 (and counting). This year I’m up to 60, and that should double within the next few months. Not to mention I have to log all my movies in letterboxd and keep an excel spreadsheet with every movie I saw and rate each in film in 8 different categories. My spreadsheet is rather crazy, includes top 10 lists, movies I need to see, and my overall Top 100 movie lists (which I rework at the end of each year). It’s interesting to see how much my taste in movies has changed from year to year. Well interesting for me at least.

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