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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 22h

Wish I could attend some of the disastrous botched recitations of The Odyssey that led the Greeks to go to the trouble of writing it all down.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

It’s amazing how interesting and absorbing I find technical problems when I’m supposed to be doing reading for a class. Maybe if I could stay in grad school forever, I’d have a great career in tech support.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

Glad to hear it worked out!

Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway here is my main point! People complaining that TV dialogue is inaudible or the images are too dark have mostly created their own problem. There ARE shows that look or sound terrible in a new way but in most cases it’s just that the playback equipment is subpar and misconfigured.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

The one thing that is basically the same market it always was is speakers; there is more snake oil in the low end than before (e.g. soundbars) but a good speaker is a good speaker, the tech hasn’t changed much.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

And the ceiling is *so much higher* than it ever was before. OLEDs can do perfect blacks. LG TVs have a built-in pattern generator you can use for home calibration! The average receiver has probably gotten worse, but the good stuff is still around if you know what to look for.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

Add in the advertisements that subsidize electronics manufacture and getting “a TV that correctly reproduces picture and sound without annoying the end user” is a whole mess. But it’s solvable and cheaper than you might think.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

Consumers have almost never known how to set up their a/v equipment correctly but the gear is a lot less forgiving now. Mostly because TV manufacturers have an easier time inventing and selling new varieties of snake oil than getting potential customers to learn about framerate or color spaces.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

I will just put this out there: if your TV or stereo or whatever is acting weird, I am not an expert, but would be happy to help you figure out what’s wrong. And if you need someone to help spend your money on a setup you’ll be happy with, I’ll do that too.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

Okay, now you have to say more because I’m not sure how the wrong player could produce the results you are describing!

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

For a more detailed diagnosis, I gotta know the TV and player in question. (It’s possible, but less likely, that the player is screwing with the image too.)

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

HDR10 is used for discs much more than streaming, so my guess is you have not played an HDR10 disc before and this would not have noticed.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

Basically there are four standard ways a TV can receive color: Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), High Dynamic Range (HDR), High Dynamic Range + (HDR10+) and Dolby Vision. Not all TVs can show HDR+, but each color palette they support has its own independent picture settings, including motion smoothing.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

The look you are describing can only come from motion smoothing. My guess is you have only turned off motion smoothing for SDR content)” and maybe Dolby Vision but not HDR10, which is what that disc uses. I can tell you exactly what is going on if you tell me your TV/player model.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 1d

4K UHD is not terrible! My guess is that your TV’s picture settings are wrong for the color space that disc is using. (I haven’t seen it and can’t speak to its particular qualities.) Let me see if anyone else has addressed it and if not I’ll thread this.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 4d

LLOL, I mastered mooching like a dollar in quarters from my parents and hoping it didn’t drop me in the bike race / snake game, which I was bad at. BUT! I loved it regardless. The joystick lit up!

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 4d

I have fond nostalgic memories of the TRON arcade cabinet with the custom joystick, which was not so secretly great and I’m not afraid to say it. Take that, Master Control Program!

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 4d

Pretty confused by how TRON became a big-budget movie franchise. Was it a bit hit when it came out? No. Did it become a big hit on video/TV? Also no. Do people have fond nostalgic memories of it? Eh kinda but not really. Was it secretly great and critically acclaimed? No again

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 8d

I realized long ago my book would not have been an authentic biography of Clyde Bruckman unless it were an embarrassing boondoggle for all involved. And “it seemed like something nice might happen … until the SWITCHAROO!” is a classic gag structure and recurring theme in Bruckman’s life. But still!

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 8d

*if your work was stolen AND your publisher registered the copyright like they said they were going to instead of immediately going out of business.

Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 8d

You can now search the Anthropic database for your books 📚 and then file a claim directly if your work was stolen: secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup

Submit a Claim

secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 8d

And he seemed so happy!

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 8d

But the broadest form of the claim is that people who are disrespectful about AI are crypto-bigots sublimating their hatred, and that is offensive and smarmy. I had a few small beers and now am gonna shut up and listen more. Cheers!

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 8d

That phenomenon is not and should not be part of the conversation about A.I. rights, A.I. “consciousness,” or the well-funded efforts to convince people these tools are more capable and useful than they actually are, or managerial dreams of replacing human workers with AI tools.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 8d

In the cold light of day, I think using a “slur” for an inanimate object is offensive to the degree it refers to an actual slur for humans and *because* of the actual slur for humans. And it does sound like racists are trolling in this way.

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Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 9d

I didn’t know people were using phrases like that and I think those are all horrible things to have said.

Matthew Dessem @matthewdessem.bsky.social · 9d

“Cruel” is a slippery word here because it brings in a lot of concepts that aren’t really in play when you insult a computer program! But yeah, we just disagree on this.

1.a. Of persons (also transferred and figurative of things): Disposed to inflict suffering; indifferent to or taking pleasure in another's pain or distress; destitute of kindness or compassion; merciless, pitiless, hard-hearted.
1297-

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