Artistic Controls Blog

Recently Astro Malaysia has launched Astro B.yond which is HDTV broadcast. Many people still do not know the meaning of HDTV and asking if it is necessary to change to Astro B.yond and what is needed to ready enjoy it.

What is HDTV?

HDTV stands for High Definition TV.  Watching HDTV is about watching high-resolution picture quality. Current Astro broadcasts are in standard-definition TV (SDTV), which has about 400 visible lines of resolution. HDTV, on the other hand, offers up to 1,080 lines of resolution, which has approximately five times more detail than SD.

HDTV format such as 1080p has more pixels than conventional SDTV - PAL format

If you refer to the picture above, it is akin to having two to four times the number of pixels to render the same image, which means that HDTV provides far more detailed images than SDTV.

There are currently two main HDTV resolution formats: 720p and 1080i. The numbers refer to the number of lines or horizontal resolution on the screen, while the letter suffixes refer to “interlaced” and “progressive” scanning of the picture. The native resolution for a 720p video source is 1,280 x 720 pixels and for 1080i, it is 1,920 x 1080 pixels.

There is also another standard called 1080p which is called True HDTV. The 1080p format is mainly used in Bluray discs and HD DVD. Normal video DVD is only 480p resolution (720 x 480 pixels).

In an interlaced picture, only half the picture resolution is displayed at any one time.

Because they interchange so rapidly, the eye perceives it as a whole picture.

With progressive scan, all the lines in the picture are displayed simultaneously, resulting in a clearer, more defined picture.

At the moment, HDTV content is hard to come by in Malaysia, although it has been available in Japan and the United States for some time (predominantly via TV broadcasts). Our only best bet will be on Astro B.yond HDTV broadcast.

Astro’s B.yond will primarily broadcast in 1080i, but if the source content is in 720p, broadcasts will be in the same resolution.

Unlike standard television, HDTV resolutions are typically in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, which makes it ideal for movies and today’s widescreen flat-panel TVs, most of which are HD compatible. Sound quality is also improved and, when available, is in full Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound.

What do you need to watch Astro B.yond?

You will need a widescreen HD television with a HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) input to properly display Astro’s B.yond HD programmes. HDMI is the new standard Interconnect for HD devices. Of course you need to subscribe to the new Astro B.yond programme. By paying RM20 extra per month you will receive new set-top box and smart card, a new outdoor dish.

Most widescreen flat-panel televisions sold in stores today will display HD picture, but take note of the actual display resolution of the set.

Those labeled as “HD ready” typically have a resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels, which is really only enough for 720p HD content. However if the programmes offers picture with up to 1,080 horizontal lines some of the detail will be lost as they will scale it down to 720p or less.

To view the picture in its full glory, you should get a “Full HD” unit. These have a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which can perfectly display all 1,080 lines of resolution.

Next, the dilemma would be whether to purchase a HD Ready Plasma TV or Full HD LCD TV? Plasma TV provide a high contrast ratio and pictures looks super crisp clear but it has lesser pixels whereas LCD TV at the same price can provide more pixels, but images do not look so vivid and the backlight make things worse.

At the moment, 1080p-compatible LCDs are few while 1080p plasmas are not officially available in the country yet but I can see they started to come on shore recently. An 42 in LCD TV Full HD Panel (1920 x 1080) cost around RM5,000 to RM8,000.

However, those with normal SD resolution TVs can still enjoy the benefits of the new B.yond service.

Connection can be made via the normal composite or component video connections, but there will be reduced resolution.

However, as the incoming picture is in HD, the picture quality will be much better than existing Astro broadcasts – and potentially better than DVD quality.

Are you ready for HDTV?

With the newly launched Astro B.yond, are you ready to change to HDTV? The main problem with HDTV is that almost everybody is perfectly happy with today’s SDTV broadcasts and DVD movies.

It’s because colour, contrast and movement are more easily appreciated by the human eye (and the brain). These are things which today’s TVs already do pretty well and also something which HDTV doesn’t improve on.

So unless you’re a HiFi nut, the differences between SD and HD are really only apparent on a big TV or a projector.

You need to but a 40 in or bigger HD TV in order to ready enjoy the HD content and if the TV size is lesser than that then you would see the different unless you sit too near.

And in scenes with a lot of movement (in action films, for example) the increase in resolution is all but invisible – since motion blurs out details.

But that’s not to say that HD is irrelevant – if you do have a big TV or a projector, the difference is rather amazing. Movie buffs will no doubt salivate at the added detail in the scenery, costumes and other textures (skin, hair, walls, etc) in their HD movies.

See also other related articles:
Astro TV Launched HDTV on Dec 11

Firework in KLCC 2010

Happy New Year 2010.

The year 2010 has come with high hope and anticipation from the people all around the world. They usher the year with cheers and fireworks and looking forward for a better year ahead.

Year 2009 has passed and as I looked back to the last year and ask myself what have I done for myself and the company.  Did I do enough? Or have I been wasting time unnecessarily. The answer I think was the year 2009 was a tough year and even though we have achieved many things in sales and projects but I didn’t do enough.

We have done a numbers of good light and sound projects like Ummo building in Pekan, DCA new building in Sepang, UPM new building in Serdang, UiTM Shah Alam and many smaller and preferred installation around Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia is general. We set up a showroom for light and sound in Puchong, upgrade a few sales marketing and the website and secured a few projects for 2010.

Looking back the efforts that we put in just to achieve these result is too much. We have to spend many resources and it does not justify the outcome and we still have inefficient working method where we spend many hours just to get one task done. Spend more than 10 man hours just to get a simple sales proposal done is no good. Some time our technical team have to go to the site a few times just to solve a few problem. The reason given was not enough information given, parts is not enough and need to come to buy, contractor pull the wrong cable or worst still waiting for other people to come.

Of course some factor is due to external environment and we have no control in it. The efficient level of the local contractor is still on the average as there is no qualify people to do a certain job. The consultant and the project manager some time play a pushing game and we as the contractor have to undertake most of the blames in order to get moving.

Competition is still very stiff in the light and sound contracting work. Other supplier is trying to undercut or to bypass us by quoting directly to the client. We specify their product in and we hope with this effort we have the chance of winning the project. But these supplier quote directly to the client in order to earn higher profit.

Another external factor where we feel is not right is the contractor did not pay us promptly when work has been completed and done. The common answer is that they have not received payment from the owner and they expect us to wait. Even though they receive the payment but they delay paying us.

If we follow the same method of working attitude and business method for this year then they will definitely see the same result as last year and there will no improvement. I must do things differently this year in order to see a better result at the end of 2010.

This is what I will do for year 2010.

1)    To spend less hour in getting work done by improving the system around the office.

2)    To train more in house technician and technical team so that they can do faster installation and solve problem easily. This can only be done by sending them to more product training.

3)    Get more main products ourselves by becoming the distributor rather than just another product dealer.  This means increase our in house marketing and sales. We don’t want to rely so much on the third party product.

4)    Organized and update the sales and marketing catalogue/material in the server and get more drawing updated for quick proposal.

5)    Invest on the presentation software like the 3-D visualization. Your client will be impress with the presentation.

6)    On the personal matter I will spend less hours working especially in front of my computer and spend more time to myself and with family and friends. Will I achieve it? Let us see.

7)    Lastly, I will blog more.

That’s it. This will be my New Year resolution and do the things differently in this more challenging year 2010. What about you? Have you done enough last year and what about this year?

By Michael Liew

Today I went and bought a set of Bosch Cordless Drill for our project installation and service work. After much checking around on the brand and model I decided to stick with Bosch brand. For me having been using Bosch power tools for so many years it is natural that I choose Bosch brand. They are still reliable and easy to use.

Bosch GSR 14.4-2-LI cordless drill is the latest range from Bosch and the prefix LI means it is powered by Lithium-Ion battery for longer and lasting use. The 14.4 volt means it is powerful. The weight of the drill with the battery is only 1.3kg and it is lighter compare to the older model. It can be use it as cordless drill or cordless screwdriver.

Every project company must have this tool for the installation work. Most of the company usually subs the installation and cabling work to the contractor and they will only do soldering and termination work. What about smaller installation? Our technical team will have to do the installation themselves and they need the right tool. Having this cordless drill will simplified the work and it will impress the customer for our fast work.

I bought it for RM550.00 at Bosch authorized center. I think it is reasonable price since I also get the Bosch cordless touch light with lithium-ion battery.

When preparing a tender bid for a particular project you will need lots of resources like pricing, drawing, technical information and catalogue ready. Even though you were asked to prepare just a quotation you still need to prepare the catalogue.

In the light and sound business it is important to propose the system based on the client and the consultant requirement. After a site visit which the client will normally arranged and further discussion at their office you will need to start preparing the proposal and the tender bid.

In order to prepare a working system design it is essential to have latest product knowledge from different light and sound manufacturer. You will either gather the information and catalogue from the trade show and exhibition or visit their website. With so much information available how do you organized the catalogue and update it regularly?

I am going to show you my method of updating and organized the sales catalogue that I find it very effective. I keep the hard copy catalogue in tray with label and the soft copy catalogue in the computer server.

Hard Copy Catalogue/Literature Arranged in Tray With Label

Catalogue Rack In Organized Label

You must organize the catalogue you gather from the trade show in a tray shelf or rack with pull out tray as shown in the picture.

Look through the stack of catalogue that you bring back and keep the catalogue you wanted and throw away the catalogue of no used to you. Make it a habit to glance and read through the catalogue and literature. After all what is the use of going to the trade show if you do not read and understand the product.

Arrange the catalogue by the manufacturer or brand name. You will notice that I will label the rack top in category – like Stage Lighting, Sound System, PA System and Others. Then at the individual tray I will label the name of the brand like ADB, Zero 88 , Dynacord and so on. Arrange the tray in alphabetical order for easy identification.

Put the stack of catalogue in the tray with the latest or commonly used on the top stack. In this case when ever you need to find the data of the particular brand and model just go to the tray and pull out the tray with the particular brand name. You will find all different models in the tray.

I will guarantee this method will save you lots of time. Your sales assistant can prepare the catalogue based on your design, fill up the technical data easily and send the proposal to your client immediately.

Soft Copy of Catalogue Organized in Computer

Another very important method is to organize your catalogue in the soft copy format. The catalogue which is normally in PDF format can be store in the computer. You will save space and paper and easily keep it up to date in the computer.

In the trade show the exhibitor will normally give you a CD ROM with their company product literature or you can also download the pdf catalogue from the website and store it in your computer.

If you are working in a company with a few people in your team like the sales team and the technical team then it will be better to save it the computer server. The data literature and catalogue in server will be shared by your team. With the server I can ask my sales assistant to download the pdf catalogue from a particular website and I do the final check before update it the server. Usually it will take a lot of time to download from different website so asking your sales assistant to download it for you will save you further time.

The way I update the data is to go to the individual manufacturer website and look in the product page. You will find most of the latest company product in the particular page. Download it one by one and store it your computer/server.

Name the folder of the manufacturer name (for ex EXTRON) and save the pdf catalogue in that folder. You can save the files as it is or rename it to a name that easily recognize. I will usually save and rename the name of the files to “Brand” follow by “Model” – For example Extron MPS112.pdf.

In this way I can copy and send the pdf catalogue by email to the client.

Get yourself in a habit to update the pdf catalogue whenever you browse the manufacturer website for information. Update your computer server regularly or every year. Move the old catalogue to another folder and update with the latest catalogue.

I find that it will take lot of times to update the catalogue to keep it updated. Without this regular updating you will not be able get the latest catalogue. I will spend about 5 hours a week to do the update. In my case I will only update the commonly used product range.

Use the server to store other information like drawing, price list, product manual, and shared project information. For more information you can read more in my other article – Use Computer Server As Shared Data

Let’s get your sales catalogue organized from now on.