Mistubishi’s Evolution X, known to us mere mortals as the Evo X or simply goddess, is getting even feistier.

The Evo X MR (Mitsubishi Racing) edition is set to hit the streets of Japan later in 2008, but not after going through the normal channels of spec upgrade.

Evo X’s engine has been looked at and found to be underperforming, even at its current highly-strung levels.

Therefore engineers have reworked things to their better liking to squeeze off 20 more bhp out of it than what you have in the standard car, adding up to 305 bhp in total. Driven by an uprated version of the brand’s SST double-clutch transmission, the Evo X MR remains less powerful than the FQ-330 and FQ-360 UK spec cars, but is the most powerful SST-driven Evo X in the range.

Already stiff in the buttocks as a performance saloon, engineers have sent the car over to their nearest workout centre for extra hard padding on the rear end, making things even stiffer for sharper handling.

Cosmetics have not been left out either, with extra vents and air intakes on the front end to help improve cooling.

Source:msn

TechArt Automobildesign now offers an elegantly styled and aerodynamically efficient body program for the roadster.

The TechArt front spoiler, which is mounted to the production bumper, lends the front of the two-seater a more dynamic appearance.

But that’s not all: At high speeds it also reduces lift on the front axle.

The TechArt side sills were shaped to calm the airstream between front and rear wheel houses and further to give the Boxster a lower, sleeker appearance.

The sporty TechArt looks are also characterized by custom-tailored tire/wheel combinations.

The one-piece TechArt Formula wheels are especially light weight and are available for the new Boxster in 17-, 18-, 19- or 20-inch diameters, all TUV-tested. The largest version features 8.5Jx20 wheels with ContiSportContact 2 tires in size 235/30 ZR 20 in front and 11Jx20 wheels with 305/25 ZR 20 tires on the rear axle.

The TechArt suspensions are custom-calibrated to the new tires. For a ride-height lowering by some 25 – 30 millimeters TechArt offers sport springs, which also harmonize perfectly with the PASM suspension available from the factory.

A sport suspension with firmer ride is in the testing phase of development.

As a world-renowned specialist for exclusive interiors TechArt Automobildesign also creates individual interiors for the new Boxster in all colors and designs in the company-own upholstery shop.

The lineup includes exclusive fully leather interiors and sporty accessories: TechArt offers ergonomically shaped airbag sport steering wheels with three or four spokes, and aluminum foot pedals, shift knob and foot rest.

In addition there are stainless-steel sill plates with TechArt logo.

Anyone longing for a sportier engine sound will soon be able to order a TechArt stainless-steel sport exhaust.

TechArt engine tuning for the new Porsche Boxster is under development.

Source:msn

/ˈkɒmpɒst/ or US /ˈkɒmpoʊst/) also known as brown manure, is the aerobically decomposed remnants of organic matter. It is used in landscaping, horticulture and agriculture as a soil conditioner and fertiliser. It is also useful for erosion control, land and stream reclamation, wetland construction, and as landfill cover (see compost uses).

Compost serves as a growing medium,or a porous, absorbent material that holds moisture and soluble minerals, providing the support and nutrients in which most plants will flourish. To maximize plant growth, it is sometimes necessary to dilute compost with soil or peat to reduce salinity or to add neutralisers to bring the pH closer to 7, or additional nutrients like fertilisers or manure, wetting agents, and materials to improve drainage and aeration, such as sand, grit, bark chips, vermiculite, perlite, or clay granules.

Composting as an alternative to landfill

As concern about landfill space increases, worldwide interest in recycling by means of composting is growing, since composting is a widely accepted process for converting decomposable wastes of biological origin into stable, sanitized products useful for horticulture. The more recent application of composting for large-scale waste reduction has very little in common with organic farming. The 1999 European Landfill Directive put pressure on European states to meet specified targets for landfill reduction, principally by establishing alternate disposal and treatment of organic materials. While certain countries such as Belgium, Holland, Germany and Austria readily achieved the mandated targets, other countries such as the UK, Spain and Italy have not. Indeed, it is commonly accepted that the UK, despite its early important contributions to organic farming and John Innes Compost, started taking composting seriously only after Brussels threatened a penalty for states not attaining the required reduction targets. A recent National Audit Office report for England warned that councils were in danger of missing EU targets to cut the amount of waste at landfills. The NAO’s report stated that to meet European targets for 2010, a reduction in the UK of at least 3.5m tonnes of biodegradable waste sent to landfill was needed. A reduction of a further 3.7m tonnes was needed by 2013. Less than one-half this has been currently met.

Modern large-scale composting should therefore not be confused with an idealistic, organic-oriented goal to recycle and improve soils; since, for most western countries now, it is virtually the law. These factors could lead to a conflict between required production of composts and the quality of the product.

Compost ingredients

Given enough time, all biodegradable material will compost, and the primary objective in the modern push to compost is to capture readily degradable materials so they do not enter landfills. However, most small-scale domestic systems will not reach sufficiently high temperatures to kill pathogens and weed seeds or deter vermin, so pet droppings, scraps of meat, and dairy products are often best left to operators of high-rate, thermophilic composting systems. Hobby animal manure (horses, goats), vegetable kitchen and garden waste are nevertheless all excellent raw material for home composting. Early roots of composting as a treatment for municipal solid waste were spurred by awareness of the trash crisis as early as the 1950s, and the rise worldwide of large MSW composting plants in the 1960s into the 1970s was virtually unregulated.[1] Public outcry in Europe against contamination of soils on farms and vineyards from MSW compost containing residues of plastic, metals and glass triggered a shakeup of the industry, and in the 1980s a phasing out of MSW composting,

European composting standards

An overview of European efforts to attain compost standardisation can be seen on the European Compost Network (ECN) . The British Composting Association has established very recently a set of guidelines for compost, called the BSI PAS 100 listed by the British Standards Institute (PAS stands for “Publicly Available Specification” and is not necessarily an adopted or certified standard). There are a variety of such voluntary industry standards in Europe and worldwide, such as the German Bundegütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. (BGK) German Compost Association RAL-standard for compost developed 10 years prior to the British standard, and updated recently to include separate standards for fermented by-products(from biogas reactors) and sludge. In America, Procter & Gamble Company sponsored the U.S. Composting Council (USCC) in the early 1990s to develop compost process and product standards called “TMECC”, still in a draft state. These standarisation programs (guidelines would be a better word than standards to describe the objective) are intended to provide structure in the composting community for handling the entire composting process from raw materials and production methods, through quality control and lab testing.[3] Swiss compost guidelines recognize distinct end-uses of composts, as determined by specific laboratory assays (see VKS-ASIC-ASAP-ASCP Swiss Compost Association).

Compost types and ingredients

There are different ways to compost, starting with layers of ‘brown’ and ‘green’ biodegradable waste mixed with garden soil. ‘Brown’ waste refers to old straw, tough vegetable stems and hedge clippings. ‘Green’ waste refers to biodegradable waste that breaks down faster, such as fruit, coffee grounds, cut flowers, and grass clippings.

There is also Vermicomposting, which uses worms to help break down the organic waste.

Compostable materials

* Biodegradable waste
* Coffee grounds
* Cocoa shell
* Green waste
* Humanure
* Leaf mold
* Manure
* Spent mushroom compost
* Tree bark
* Egg shells
* Brown waste
* Fruit
* Vegetables

Inorganic additives

* Loam
* Grit
* Urea
* Vermiculite
* Perlite

Composting Coffee Grounds

Composting coffee grounds can add nitrogen to the soil. A long term study done by Cindy Wise at the Oregon State University Extension Service has documented the use of coffee grounds in a variety of ways since 2001. To provide an idea of the scale of the coffee ground resource, the study estimates that Lane County, Oregon produces 1 million pounds (453,593 kgs) of coffee grounds annually. Coffee grounds usually have close to a neutral pH of 7.0. Compost piles with 25% coffee grounds by volume appear to heat up to higher temperatures (135-155 DegF) and stay hot longer periods. These higher temperatures help to kill weed seeds. This is similar to composting with animal manure. An important observation is that using uncomposted coffee grounds in a garden bed will be detrimental to plants. An experiment found 25% coffee mixed in a garden bed caused stunted growth in seedlings.

Compost End Uses

Compost is almost universally recommended as a soil amendment. It is principally intended as a blend with soil or other matrices such as coir and peat (although it may also be used to make compost tea). High rates of mixture (e.g. 80–100%) of compost have been occasionally noted in growing media, but generally direct seeding into a compost is not recommended. It is very common to see blends of 20–30% compost used for transplanting seedlings at cotyledon stage or later. The primary factors controlling how well a compost blend performs are salinity and maturity, which singly and together can trigger phytotoxicity symptoms. It is well known that high salt content in growing media will affect water relations of plants, especially in early stages of growth. The effects or symptoms of damage can be yield reduction, leaf deformation and tip-burning or even plant epinasty.

These effects can also be attributed to a variety of other factors that may be present in active or finished composts, depending on ingredients. Such elements include pesticides, presence volatile fatty acids which are by-products of anaerobic conditions or residues of anaerobic digestion, ammonia associated with high manure content, heavy metals such as copper from farm ingredients and sludge, and ethylene oxide from plant debris, any of which can trigger some form of stunting and other phytotoxicity traits. In container-mix studies, it has been demonstrated that immature compost deprives the soil of oxygen content for a significant period of time, resulting in stunting of roots.

As a result of these numerous challenges, the introduction of compost products into professional horticulture as a competition to peat and soil-based products has been significantly less successful than originally hoped for. A Jan 2008 consumer report in the UK severely criticised compost quality, showing that only one out of 24 composts tested against 4 cultivars in actual growing media trials could be recommended as viable “peat-free” product.Nevertheless, the broad popularity of composts and their long term beneficial effects for soils and crops mean that demand will continue to grow worldwide.

High-definition television (HDTV) is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems (standard-definition TV, or SDTV). HDTV is digitally broadcast because digital television (DTV) requires less bandwidth if sufficient video compression is used.

History of high-definition television

Further information: Analog high-definition television system

The term high definition once described a series of television systems from the 1930s and 1940s, starting with the British 240 line and 405 line black-and-white systems introduced in 1936, and including the American 525-line NTSC system established in 1941. However, these systems were only “high definition” when compared to earlier systems.

The British high definition TV service started trials in August 1936 and a regular service in November 1936 using both the Baird 240 line and Marconi-EMI 405 line systems. The Baird system was discontinued in February 1937.

A brief itemized history of early analog HD systems follows; these would be considered standard definition television systems today.

* 1936: System-A, UK: 405 lines @ 50 Hz, discontinued 1986
* 1938: Several countries used a 441 line system, France in 1956 being the last to discontinue it
* 1939: System-M, USA: 525 lines @ 60 Hz
* 1952-1956: European adoption of 625 lines @ 50 Hz with PAL and SECAM color coming in 1956
* 1956: French (monochrome) 819 line @ 50 Hz system launched, discontinued 1986

All used interlacing and a 4:3 aspect ratio except the 405 line system which started as 5:4 and later changed to 4:3.

The post–WWII French 819-line black-and-white system was high definition in the contemporary sense, but was discontinued in 1986, a year after the final British 405-line broadcast. Experimental 405 line colour transmissions were made in the 1950s using a modified NTSC system.

Since the formal adoption of DVB’s widescreen HDTV transmission modes in the early 2000s the 525-line NTSC (and PAL-M) systems as well as the European 625-line PAL and SECAM systems are now regarded as standard definition television systems. In Australia, the 625-line digital progressive system (with 576 active lines) is officially recognized as high definition.

Color

In Mexico, Guillermo González Camarena (1917–1965), invented an early color television transmission system. He received patents for colour television systems in 1942 (U.S. Patent 2,296,019), 1960 and 1962. The 1942 patent (filed in Mexico on August 19, 1940) was for a synchronized colour filter wheel adapter for monochrome television, similar to the field sequential colour receiver demonstrated by Baird in England in July 1939[53] and by CBS in the United States in August 1940.

On August 31, 1946 González Camarena sent his first colour transmission from his lab in the offices of The Mexican League of Radio Experiments at Lucerna St. #1, in Mexico City. The video signal was transmitted at a frequency of 115 MHz. and the audio in the 40 meter band. He made the first publicly announced colour broadcast in Mexico, on February 8, 1963, of the programme Paraíso Infantil on Mexico City’s XHGC-TV.

In 1958, the U.S.S.R. created Тransformator (Russian: Трансформатор, “Transformer”), the first high-resolution (definition) television system capable of producing an image composed of 1,125 lines of resolution for the purpose of television conferences among military commands; as it was a military product, it was not commercialized.

Modern systems

In 1969, the Japanese state broadcaster NHK first developed consumer high-definition television with a 5:3 aspect ratio, a slightly wider screen format than the usual 4:3 standard. However, the system was not launched publicly until late in the 1990s.

In 1981, the first HDTV demonstration in the United States was held. It had the same 5:3 aspect ratio as the Japanese system.[4] Upon visiting a demonstration of the Japanese Multiple sub-nyquist sampling Encoding system (MUSE) HDTV system in Washington, US-President Ronald Reagan was most impressed and officially declared it “a matter of national interest” to introduce HDTV to the USA. Several systems were proposed as the new standard for the USA, including the Japanese MUSE system, but all were rejected by the FCC because of their higher bandwidth requirement.

A new standard had to be radically efficient, needing less bandwidth for HDTV than the existing NTSC standard for SDTV. It was commonly understood only a digital system could possibly bring desired results, however nothing such had yet been developed. Pattern-recognition research for cruise missile development at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided the basis for developing the MPEG set of compression standards.

The rise of digital compression

As soon as the MPEG-1 standard provided the foundation for digital TV, development of modern TV standards started worldwide. After finalization of MPEG-2 in mid 1993, the DVB organisation within the International Telecommunication Union’s radio telecommunications sector (ITU-R) developed the ETSI standard 300-327 by the end of December 1993.

It became known as DVB-T for digital terrestrial TV. DVB-S and DVB-C standards soon followed for terrestrial, satellite and cable transmission of SDTV and HDTV. In the USA the Grand Alliance proposed ATSC as the new standard for SDTV and HDTV. Both ATSC and DVB were based on the MPEG-2 standard. The DVB-S2 standard is based on the newer and more efficient H.264/MPEG-4 AVC compression standards. Common for all DVB standards is the use of highly efficient modulation techniques for further reducing bandwidth, and foremost for reducing receiver-hardware and antenna requirement.

In 1983, the International Telecommunication Union’s radio telecommunications sector (ITU-R) set up a working party (IWP11/6) with the aim of setting a single international HDTV standard. One of the thornier issues concerned a suitable frame/field refresh rate, with the world already strongly demarcated into two camps, 25/50Hz and 30/60Hz, related by reasons of picture stability to the frequency of their mains electrical supplies.

The WP considered many views and through the 1980s served to encourage development in a number of video digital processing areas, not least conversion between the two main frame/field rates using motion vectors, which led to further developments in other areas. While a comprehensive HDTV standard was not in the end established, agreement on the aspect ratio was achieved.

Initially the existing 5:3 aspect ratio had been the main candidate, but due to the influence of widescreen cinema, the aspect ratio 16:9 (1.78) eventually emerged as being a reasonable compromise between 5:3 (1.67) and the common 1.85 widescreen cinema format. (It has been suggested that the 16:9 ratio was chosen as being the geometric mean of 4:3, Academy Ratio, and 2.35:1, the widest cinema format in common use, in order to minimise wasted screen space when displaying content with a variety of aspect ratios.)

An aspect ratio of 16:9 was duly agreed at the first meeting of the WP at the BBC’s R & D establishment in Kingswood Warren. The resulting ITU-R Recommendation ITU-R BT.709-2 (”Rec. 709″) includes the 16:9 aspect ratio, a specified colorimetry, and the scan modes 1080i (1,080 actively-interlaced lines of resolution) and 1080p (1,080 progressively-scanned lines).

It also includes the alternative 1440 x 1152 HDMAC scan format. (According to some reports, a mooted 720p format (720 progressively-scanned lines) was viewed by some at the ITU as an “enhanced” television format rather than a true HDTV format,[5] and so was not included, although 1920×1080 and 1280×720p systems for a range of frame and field rates were defined by several US SMPTE standards.)

The demise of analogue HD systems

However, even that limited standardization of HDTV did not lead to its adoption, principally for technical and economic reasons. Early HDTV commercial experiments such as NHK’s MUSE required over four times the bandwidth of a standard-definition (SDTV) broadcast, and despite efforts made to shrink the required bandwidth down to about 2 times that of SDTV, it was still only distributable by satellite. In addition, recording and reproducing a HDTV signal was a significant technical challenge in the early years of HDTV.

HDTV technology was introduced in the United States in the 1990s by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance, a group of television companies and MIT.[6][7] On 6th April 1997, CBS went on the air with WCBS-HD from the top of the Empire State Building, New York, doing demos and evaluations.[8] The first HDTV sets went on sale in the United States in 1998.

In Europe, analogue 1,125-line HD-MAC test broadcasts were performed in the early 1990s, but did not lead to any established public broadcast service.

Japan remained the only country with successful public broadcast analogue HDTV, known as “Hi-vision”, featuring a 5:3 aspect ratio screen with 1,125 interlaced lines (1,035 active lines) at the rate of 60 fields per second. The single satellite transponder MUSE service was turned off on 01 January 2007.

It was not until the early 2000s that technology had progressed enough to deliver sufficient storage capacity and processing power to support compression algorithms powerful enough to make HDTV affordable for consumers[who?] and profitable for broadcasters and other program makers. The main enabling factor was the transition from analog to digital TV standards.

Modern digital compression and standardization

Digital compression methods such as MPEG-2 and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC allow the bandwidth of a single analog TV channel (6 MHz in the US) to carry up to 5 standard-definition or up to 2 high-definition digital TV channels instead.

Most developed nations have plans in place for a transition to digital television, but not necessarily (or exclusively) to HDTV.

For example, on 17 February 2009[update needed], the US intends to terminate all full-power terrestrial analog broadcasting (although some smaller local stations have later deadlines), with both standard definition TV (SDTV) and HDTV being allowed.

Current HDTV broadcast standards include ATSC (North America, parts of Central America and South Korea), DVB (Europe, Australia, parts of Asia, South America and Africa) and ISDB-T (Japan, Brazil).

However, there could be future HDTV interoperability issues.

* The Chinese HDTV system uses an Intellectual Property free MPEG-2 CODEC that may have some coding interoperability issues with current DVB CODECs
* The Brazilian HDTV system uses H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (as opposed to MPEG-2, the DVB standard) for the video coding, a potential source of interoperability problems
* The fundamental DVB resolution (720, 1080) and frame rate specifications (24, 25, 30/29.97) have not been modified by any modified DVB HDTV system in current use or development
* HDTV universally provides a 5.1-channel surround sound audio using the Dolby Digital (AC-3) format

HDTV sources

The rise in popularity of large screens and projectors has made the limitations of conventional Standard Definition TV (SDTV) increasingly evident. An HDTV compatible television set will not improve the quality of SDTV channels. It will make it even worse because of scaling artifacts. To display a superior picture, high definition televisions require a High Definition (HD) signal. Typical sources of HD signals are as follows:

* Over the air with an antenna. Most cities in the US with major network affiliates broadcast over the air in HD. To receive this signal an HD tuner is required. Most newer high definition televisions have an HD tuner built in. For HDTV televisions without a built in HD tuner, a separate set-top HD tuner box can be rented from a cable or satellite company or purchased.
* Cable television companies often offer HDTV broadcasts as part of their digital broadcast service. This is usually done with a set-top box or CableCARD issued by the cable company. Alternatively one can usually get the network HDTV channels for free with basic cable by using a QAM tuner built into their HDTV or set-top box. Some cable carriers also offer HDTV on-demand playback of movies and commonly viewed shows.
* Satellite-based TV companies, such as Astra (in the Netherlands), Premiere (in Germany), DirecTV and Dish Network (both in North America), Sky Digital and freesat (in the UK and Ireland), Bell TV and Star Choice (both in Canada) and NTV Plus (in Russia), offer HDTV to customers as an upgrade. New satellite receiver boxes and a new satellite dish are often required to receive HD content.
* Video game systems, such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and digital set-top boxes that rely on an Internet connection, such as the Apple TV, can output an HD signal. The Xbox Live Marketplace, iTunes Music Store, and PlayStation Network services offer HD movies, TV shows, movie trailers, and clips for download, but generally at lower bitrates than a Blu-ray Disc.
* Most newer computer graphics cards have either HDMI or DVI interfaces, which can be used to output images or video to an HDTV.
* The optical disc standard Blu-ray Disc (25GB-50GB) can provide enough digital storage to store up to 10 hours of HD video content, depending on encoder settings.
* A DVD-R disc (~4.7GB-9GB) can also provide storage for 20-40 minutes of HD video content, readable by a Blu-ray player, PlayStation 3 video game console or Blu-ray drives installed on PC towers, depending on encoder settings.

Notation

HDTV broadcast systems are identified with three major parameters:

* Frame size in pixels is defined as number of horizontal pixels x number of vertical pixels, for example 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080. Often number of horizontal pixels is implied from context and is omitted.
* Scanning system is identified with the letter p for progressive scanning or i for interlaced scanning.
* Frame rate is identified as number of video frames per second. For interlaced systems an alternative form of specifying number of fields per second is often used. Recently the uniform notation of specifying number of frames per second both for progressive and interlaced video became increasingly popular.

If all three parameters are used, they are specified in form frame size  scanning system  frame rate. Often, one parameter can be dropped if its value is implied from context. In this case the remaining numeric parameter is specified first, followed by the scanning system.

For example, 1920×1080p25 identifies progressive scanning format with 25 frames per second, each frame being 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. The 1080i25 or 1080i50 notation identifies interlaced scanning format with 50 fields(25 frames) per second, each frame being 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. The 1080i30 or 1080i60 notation identifies interlaced scanning format with 60 fields (30 frames) per second, each frame being 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. The 720p60 notation identifies progressive scanning format with 60 frames per second, each frame being 720 pixels high, 1280 pixels horizontally are implied.

While 50Hz systems have only three scanning rates: 25i, 25p and 50p, 60Hz systems operate with much wider set of frame rates: 23.98p, 24p, 29.97i/59.94i, 29.97p, 30p, 59.94p and 60p. In the days of standard definition television, the fractional rates were often rounded up to whole numbers, like 23.98p was often called 24p, or 59.94i was often called 60i. High definition television allows using both fractional and whole rates, therefore strict usage of notation is required. Nevertheless, 29.97i/59.94i is almost universally called 60i, likewise 23.98p is called 24p.

For commercial naming of a product, the frame rate is often dropped and is implied from context, e.g. a “1080i television set”. A frame rate can also be specified without a resolution. For example 24p means 24 progressive scan frames per second, and 50i means 25 interlaced frames per second. Most HDTV systems support resolutions and frame rates defined either in the ATSC table 3, or in EBU specification. The most common are noted below.

Standard Display Resolutions

Resolution (W×H)	Active Frame (W×H)	Canonical Name(s)	Pixels (Advertised Megapixels)	Display Aspect Ratio (X:Y)	Pixel Aspect Ratio - Standard “4:3″ (X:Y)		Pixel Aspect Ratio - Widescreen “16:9″ (X:Y)		Description
					ITU-R BT.601	MPEG-4	ITU-R BT.601	MPEG-4
720×480	710.85×486	480i/p	345,600 (0.3)	3:2	4320:4739	10:11	5760:4739	40:33	Used for 525-line/ (60 * 1000/1001) Hz video, e.g. NTSC-M
720×576	702×576	576i/p	414,720 (0.4)	5:4	128:117	12:11	512:351	16:11	Used for 625-line/50 Hz video, e.g. PAL-I

When resolution is considered, both the resolution of the transmitted signal and the (native) displayed resolution of a TV set are taken into account. Most HDTV sets contain video scalers and will “upscale” or “upconvert” the transmitted signal to that of the set’s native format.

Sometimes the progressive versions of these video formats are referred to as EDTV, or “Enhanced Definition Television.” This is slightly misleading, for although a progressive frame contains double the image information as that of an interlaced frame, Standard Definition is already capable of displaying progressive frames, for example in MPEG video with the appropriate “Progressive” flag set. Despite this, 480p/576p signals are not typically broadcast, an example of such would be Australia’s SBS HD channel, broadcast in 576p.

High-Definition Display Resolutions
All or part of this article may be confusing or unclear.
Please help clarify the article. Suggestions may be on the talk page. (February 2008)

High Definition usually refers to 720 horizontal lines of video format resolution or more.

A common native resolution used in HD Ready LCD TV panels is 1366 x 768[13] pixels instead of the ATSC Standard 1280 x 720 pixels. This is due to maximization of manufacturing yield and resolution of VGA, VRAM that comes with a 768 pixel format. Hence, LCD manufacturers adopt the 16:9 ratio compatible for the HD Ready 1080p video standard. Nevertheless, every HDTV has an overscan processing chipset to fix resolution scaling and color rendering, eg LG XD Engine, SONY BRAVIA Engine. Only when viewing 1080i/1080p HD contents under HD Ready 1080p where there is true pixel-for-pixel reproduction, and for HD ready LCD TV, do some signals undergo a scaling process which results in a 3-5% loss of picture.
Video Format Supported     Screen Resolution (W×H)     Pixels (Advertised Megapixels)     Aspect Ratio (
It should be noted that the numbers used for “HD-Ready” image resolutions do not constitute acceptable 750- or 1125-line video signals in most standards-compliant hardware; in this respect terms such as “720p” and “1080p” are mostly used for advertising, though that does not necessarily mean that HD-Ready TVs labeled in this manner are incapable of accepting those formats as input.

Additionally, the “Clean Aperture” numbers are almost always contained within the frames of their respective “Production Aperture” numbers (e.g., a 1888×1062 rectangle would be contained within a 1920×1080 frame). This is to maintain compatibility with analogue signals, which can often become distorted close to the edge of the frame. It also increases the chance that a digital signal being played on overscan-enabled equipment will display the entire picture visibly.

Standard frame or field rates

* 23.976p (allow easy conversion to NTSC)
* 24p (cinematic film)
* 25p (PAL, SECAM DTV progressive material)
* 30p (29.97p in drop frame) (NTSC DTV progressive material)
* 50i (PAL & SECAM)
* 50p (PAL, SECAM DTV progressive material)
* 60i (59.94i in drop frame) (NTSC, PAL-M)
* 60p (59.94p in drop frame) (NTSC DTV progressive material)

Broadcast station format considerations
Close-up view

HDTV resolution     SDTV resolution

At the least, HDTV has twice the linear resolution of standard-definition television (SDTV), thus showing greater detail than either analog television or regular DVD. The technical standards for broadcasting HDTV also handle the 16:9 aspect ratio images without using letterboxing or anamorphic stretching, thus increasing the effective image resolution.

The optimum format for a broadcast depends upon the type of videographic recording medium used and the image’s characteristics. The field and frame rate should match the source and the resolution. A very high resolution source may require more bandwidth than available in order to be transmitted without loss of fidelity. The lossy compression that is used in all digital HDTV storage and transmission systems will distort the received picture, when compared to the uncompressed source.
[show]

Technical issues

14:9 compromise · MPEG transport · Reverse Standards Conversion · Standards conversion · Video processing · Video on demand · HDTV blur

Types of media

Standard 35mm photographic film used for cinema projection has higher resolution than HDTV systems, and is exposed and projected at a rate of 24 frames per second. To be shown on television in PAL-system countries, cinema film is scanned at the TV rate of 25 frames per second, causing an acceleration of 4.1 percent, which is generally considered acceptable. In NTSC-system countries, the TV scan rate of 30 frames per second would cause a perceptible acceleration if the same were attempted, and the necessary correction is performed by a technique called 3:2 pull-down: over each successive pair of film frames, one is held for three video fields (1/20 of a second) and the next is held for two video fields (1/30 of a second), giving a total time for the two frames of 1/12 of a second and thus achieving the correct average film frame rate.

Non-cinematic HDTV video recordings intended for broadcast are typically recorded either in 720p or 1080i format as determined by the broadcaster. 720p is commonly used for Internet distribution of high-definition video, because all computer monitors operate in progressive-scan mode. 720p also imposes less strenuous storage and decoding requirements compared to both 1080i and 1080p. 1080p is usually used for Blu-ray Disc.

Source:bearcreeklogcabins

Yves Rossy (born 27 August 1959) is a Swiss pilot, inventor and aviation enthusiast. He is both the first person to build and the first person successfully to fly a jet engine-powered wing strapped to the back. The flight occurred in November 2006 in Bex, lasting nearly six minutes. While work with jet packs to propel humans dates back as far as World War II, his is the first one to have wings.

Yves has served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force, flying Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunters. He also flew Boeing 747s for Swissair and now pilots an Airbus A320 for Swiss International Air Lines.

Jet-powered wings

Rossy developed and built a winged pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings with a span of about 8 feet (2.4 m), and four small kerosene-burning Jet-Cat jet engines under the wings; these engines are large versions of a type designed for model aeroplanes. He wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that of a firefighter or racing driver to protect him from the hot jet exhaust.

Rossy claims to be “the first person to gain altitude and maintain a stable horizontal flight thanks to aerodynamic carbon foldable wings,” which are folded by hinges at the midpoint of each wing. After being lifted by a Pilatus Porter plane, he jumps out with his wings folded, unfolds them while in free-fall, flies horizontally for up to six minutes and 30 seconds, then lands using a parachute.He achieves true controlled flight using his body and a hand throttle to maneuver.

His first successful trial was on 24 June 2004, near Geneva, Switzerland, and Rossy has made more than 30 powered flights since.

In November 2006 he flew with a later version of his jetpack.[citation needed]

It was exhibited on 18 April 2008 at the opening day of the 35th Exhibition of Inventions at Geneva.

On 14 May 2008 he made a successful 6-minute flight from the town of Bex near Lake Geneva, his first public demonstration before the world press. He made effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other and rose 2,600 feet (790 m).

On 26 September 2008, Yves successfully flew across the English Channel from Calais, France to Dover, England in about 10 minutes.

Rossy and his sponsors, spent over $190,000 to build the device.

Anastacia Lyn Newkirk on September 17, 1968) is a multi-platinum American singer and songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Latin America, Oceania, Asia, South Africa and Australia but has not had as much success in her native United States. Despite the lack of American success, she had sold over 20 million albums by 2005.

Anastacia is world renowned for her edgy, soulful voice and is famous for her ability to hit powerful notes in a full voice range well into Soprano tessituras. Her small stature (160 cm or 5′3″ has also led to her being nicknamed “The Little Lady with The Big Voice”. She was also known for her trademark glasses (often darkly tinted), but she had surgery to correct her vision permanently in August 2005.

She made headlines when diagnosed in 2003 with breast cancer. On April 21, 2007 she married her bodyguard of three years, Wayne Newton, in Mexico.

Early life and career beginnings

Anastacia was born in Chicago, Illinois into a showbiz family: her late father Robert Newkirk was a club-singer and her mother Diane Hurley an actress in Broadway musical theatre. She also has Russian origins. After her father left the Newkirk family, they moved to New York City when she was a teenager. Then she enrolled at the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan.

Anastacia soon became interested in dance despite being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was thirteen years old. She first gained prominence stealing the show from D. L. Hughley while he was hosting BET’s Comic View, singing Oleta Adams’ “Get Here” in 1992. During the early 1990s, she appeared regularly on Club MTV and in a couple of videos for rappers Salt-N-Pepa. In 1999, she attracted the interest of record labels after making the finals of MTV talent show The Cut.Anastacia signed a contract with Daylight Records, a custom label of Sony BMG’s Epic Records in March 1999. The Cut was hosted by Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of R&B and hip-hop group TLC. A then-unknown Anastacia finished in second place, but impressed Lopes and the show’s three judges so much that she scored herself a record deal anyway.

Recording career

Her debut album Not That Kind was released in 2000. The album was a huge success, reaching the top ten in eight countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. It went quadruple platinum in Australia spurred by the success of her debut smash “I’m Outta Love” which was the most popular single of the year in that country for 2000. “I’m Outta Love” topped the charts in Australia, peaked at #2 in France and also reached number 6 in both the UK and Germany. In The US, it was only a minor radio hit. The second single “Not That Kind” reached number 11 in the UK and was a big hit all over Europe and the rest of the world. “Cowboys & Kisses” was released as the third single off the album, charting in the top 40 in some European countries. As the last single, the only promotional meant single “Made for Lovin’ You” charted in the UK (27) and France (72).

While “I’m Outta Love” was a Top 10 song on the Hot Dance Club Play, “Not That Kind” did not chart high on the Billboard Hot 100.

Her second album, 2001’s Freak of Nature achieved respectable sales although it did not match the level of international success of Not That Kind. The album title derives from a nickname her mother called her.[citation needed] The first single released was “Paid My Dues”. The second single, “One Day in Your Life”, reached number 11 in the UK and the top 10 in many European countries. The next single “Why’d You Lie to Me” reached the top 30 in the UK. “You’ll Never Be Alone”, the 4th single, reached #28 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. When the album was finally released in the United States in May 2002, she dedicated the album to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes,[citation needed] who had died in a car wreck the month before. Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was partly responsible for Anastacia’s success, since Lisa hosted MTV’s The Cut where Anastacia got her first break. Soon after she released a double disc edition featuring two bonus hits, remixes for three of the tracks on the album and two live tracks taken from a Japan gig that was performed on the September 13, 2002.

Anastacia joined Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Cyndi Lauper, Shakira, Cher, Dixie Chicks and Stevie Nicks for VH1’s Divas Live in 2002 and she also contributed the song “Love Is a Crime” to the Chicago soundtrack.[4] The song peaked at #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and enjoyed moderate airplay on Rhythmic/Dance format. Anastacia was selected to sing the theme from 2002 FIFA World Cup: “Boom”.

Cancer diagnosis

In January 2003, Anastacia decided to have her breasts reduced because of back strain. From a routine mammogram for the surgery she discovered she had breast cancer. She immediately started and successfully completed surgery and radiotherapy.Anastacia subsequently established a fund, the “Anastacia Fund”,to promote awareness of breast cancer amongst younger women.

She has attributed her health scare to being an inspiration for the sound and content of her third album. According to an interview she made in 2005 on a British music station The Box, her voice lost its power and she became unable to record and thus she spent a long time writing and trying to create a sound she would be finally happy with.

Creation of “sprock”

As she said on Rove (Australia) in 2004, she wanted to have more edge to her vocals as she felt there was something missing from her previous works. She brought in many rock instruments which brought a new atmosphere to her music. She also felt that she still needed the funkiness and the pop as the singer felt that too much edge would sound wrong with her voice. Out of this a new sound was formed. She describes her sound as “sprock” - a combination of soul, pop and rock. She named the album after herself.

Anastacia entered record studios in September 2003 to begin recording her next album, working with Glen Ballard, Dallas Austin, and Dave Stewart for release in 2004. On the album, Anastacia also collaborated with P.O.D. lead singer Sonny Sandoval on the socially-conscious track “I Do”.

The first single, released in March, was “Left Outside Alone”, which saw a change in direction for Anastacia. Anastacia proved to be a smash hit reaching the top of the album charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, Greece, Germany, and Italy and number 2 in Portugal and Spain. “Left Outside Alone” proved to be equally successful reaching number 1 in Australia, Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland; number 2 in the Netherlands + Germany, number 3 in the UK and reaching the top 5 on the composite European chart. Strong airplay throughout Europe gave the song a Top 40 Charts world airplay ranking as one of the top five songs played on top 40 radio stations throughout the world in April 2004. Unlike her first two albums, which were released in her homeland of America, Anastacia was not, despite being scheduled for release on three occasions. “Left Outside Alone” was released twice, but failed to pick up heavy airplay.It only gained sporadic Adult Contemporary and Hot AC format airplay. Again, it sparked Rhythmic/Dance format airplay and the dance mix of “Left Outside Alone” peaked at #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play. After the original version of “Left Outside Alone” failed to catch on because of lukewarm promotional pushes, especially on radio, the album was postponed and eventually cancelled after the release date of August 30, 2004 passed. It was the 10th best selling single of 2004, with points of over 4,500,000 millions copies sold .

Anastacia released three further internationally successful singles; “Sick and Tired” (which gave her another #1 in Spain and another UK Top 5 single), the 16th best selling single of 2004 with 3,805,000 points , “Welcome to My Truth” (her best-selling hit in Spain), and the ballad “Heavy on My Heart” proceeds from the sale of which went towards her ‘Anastacia Fund’ (a charitable organisation providing research funding for breast cancer).

A small batch of Anastacia the album was released with a bonus DVD, Anastacia poster and slip case. The DVD includes “Making Of Anastacia”, “2002 Europe Promo Tour” and a photo gallery.

Hitting the road

From September 2004 to August 2005, Anastacia went on a “Live at Last Tour”. By 2005 the tour was renamed the “Encore tour”.

In late 2005, she released her first greatest hits collection, called Pieces of a Dream, named after a track of the same name. The album spawned the hit singles “Pieces of a Dream” and the duet with Eros Ramazzotti “I Belong to You”, which was a huge hit in Europe, charting and peaking in the top ten in almost all the European countries. Even though Sony BMG did force her to release this collection, Anastacia says she is happy now that it was created as it was like a “story book”, or summary of the first five years of her career.

Not long after the release of “I Belong to You”, Anastacia released her first live DVD Live at Last on March 27, 2006 in Europe. The DVD contains footage from concerts in Berlin and Munich. It includes music videos to her four singles (”Left Outside Alone” [US version], “Everything Burns” [with Ben Moody], “Pieces Of A Dream” and “I Belong to You”, with Eros Ramazzotti), five alternative videos (I Do, Rearview, Seasons Change, Underground Army and Time) to songs from her self named album, and a documentary about the tour.

New beginning

Anastacia attended the memorial Concert For Diana on July 1, 2007, which would have been on Diana’s 46th birthday. This was one of the first major events to take place in the new Wembley Stadium, and one of her first major appearances since she took a break from the industry. She opened the medley section of the show and she sang a rendition of “Superstar”, from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, with a gospel chorus behind her.

In August 2007, a video was put on the “Anastacia by S. Oliver” web site. During the video, when Anastacia was asked about her future plans, she confirmed that she was working on a new album as well as the clothing line. A specific month of release or title was not mentioned.[8] In November 2007, her biography on the official Anastacia website was updated to say there will be a new album in 2008, with a tour to follow.

On July 24, Anastacia announced that her long awaited fourth studio album Heavy Rotation will be released October 27, 2008 in Europe (with additional release dates for Australia, Canada and the US to be announced later). The new album will feature collaborations with producers Ne-Yo, The Heavyweights, Lester Mendez, JR Rotem and Rodney Jerkins. The album’s first single is called “I Can Feel You”.

Entrepreneurship

Anastacia By s. Oliver

Anastacia by s. Oliver is a clothes collection released in late 2006 by Anastacia and s. Oliver. She had said that she long wanted to release a clothing line: “I have had the idea of designing my own collection for a long time, but waited for the right partner. s. Oliver came along just at the right time. We got to know each other and found that we not only harmonize well together as a brand, but also have the same ideas about the look of ‘Anastacia by s. Oliver’. There are many points that need to be considered when designing a collection: What trends are in, what colors, what fabrics, what styles … That is why I am happy that my work with the s. Oliver design team is going so well and that we are implementing these themes together. For example, I think it is also very important that my clothes can be worn in different sizes.” The collection reflects Anastacia’s personal style and her versatility. The look of the line is designed to be “sensual, feminine and sexy”. A Limited Edition CD named “Welcome To My Style” is available for free to costumers who spend 60 euros or more on the clothes in November. The CD includes the following already released tracks:

1. Underdog (B-Side of “Cowboys & Kisses”)
2. Get Ready (B-Side of “Left Outside Alone”)
3. Boom (FIFA 2002 World Cup official song)
4. Funk Medley (B-Side of “Paid My Dues”).

Limited edition clothing line

Anastacia by s. Oliver has released a limited edition clothing line called “Limited Luxury”, that was designed together with the famous brand “Swarovski”. This clothing hit the stores on November 2, 2007 and was only sold in some countries.

Perfume

Anastacia’s official perfume, Resurrection, was released in January 2007.

Philanthropy

During her years of success, Anastacia has supported many charity events as Life Ball 2006 (Europe’s largest annual AIDS charity event), Make a Difference and Challenge for the Children. Anastacia was one of the fifteen artists to record their take on a Disney song on the CD DisneyMania. Anastacia recorded “Someday My Prince Will Come” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is also included on the Collector’s Edition of her second album.

After being diagnosed with cancer, Anastacia created “The Anastacia Fund”. The organization helps raises awareness about breast cancer and the importance of mammograms to women 35 and under. Anastacia began selling her stage clothing on eBay, donating a portion to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The auctions were hosted by eBay Trading Assistant and Certified Business Consultant, Carolyn CJ Jacinto of XOXmas. The eBay Family, and others, made generous contributions for the next 6 months bidding on new listing that began every Friday.

Personal life

Anastacia was romantically linked to several men throughout her career. She had a relationship with Shawn Woods for 6 years and the singer claims he was the love of her life. She also dated Charles Ingram, and dated Patrice Bouédibéla for over a year before splitting up. She married her bodyguard Wayne Newton in Mexico on April 21, 2007. The wedding was in Huatulco, and was written and officiated by a shaman from California, Jon Rasmussen.

Anastacia has a tattoo below her neck, saying “Forever” in an unusual font.She also has an Ankh on her lower back, which appeared on her first album. Since it represents “eternal life”, it has come to symbolize her.

Anastacia took part in the charity event, 46664, organised by Nelson Mandela to raise awareness of AIDS. She sang with U2 and Queen, and also contributed to the song “Amandla”, recording the song and providing some of the lyrics. Annie Lennox joined forces with Anastacia and 22 other female artists to raise awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa.[14] The single “Sing” was released on World Aids Day, December 1, 2007, in conjunction with Annie Lennox’s appearance at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.

Albums

* 2000: Not That Kind
* 2001: Freak of Nature
* 2004: Anastacia
* 2005: Pieces of a Dream
* 2008: Heavy Rotation

Tours

* 2004 - 2005: Live at Last Tour / The Encore Tour
* 2009: TBA