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I just wanted to post some pics comparing these 3 devices. I never had all 3 at the same time; so was unable to get pictures comparing them all. Enjoy!

This group of pictures compares the Palm Treo 700wx (right) with the Verizon XV6800 (left). It can be seen that the XV6800 is a more compact device with a larger screen. It offers more power in a smaller size.

The second set compares the XV6800 to the Palm Treo 800w. The Treo has the lighter blue color and the smaller screen. These pictures don't show much of a size difference, but the difference in feel between these devices is substantial. The Treo feels smaller in the hand.

I was happy to find a new message on my TiVo last night informing me that I have 3 more HD channels from Comcast - Disney, ABC Family, and Science Channel.(Germantown, MD) I don't subscribe to the appropriate digital package to get the Science Channel so that one doesn't really apply to me.

Anyway, I see that Disney/DisneyHD and ABC Family/HD are simulcasting, meaning that the exact same schedule is on both the HD and SD channels. I love it when this happens as it means I can delete the SD version from my channel listing.

I'm noticing that I spend more and more time just in the HD section of my guide as HD versions of channels are replacing their SD counterpart. I can't wait until all the SD channels are no longer necessary for me. :)

You may have noticed that we've updated the homepage. We think this gives a better snapshot of the recent activity on the site and hope it also gives a better description of what BrothersOnTech is all about.

After reading about bias lighting and looking at pictures of it in use, I decided I wanted to try this with my new plasma. I knew I could go all out and get some lighting made for this purpose, but I really didn't want to spend too much money. You can find bias lighting at CinemaQuest. They also give a good description of why this is a good idea. Also, you should check out this discussion at AVS Forum regarding bias lighting for more info.

In my case, I just picked up a clip-on desk lamp and a 6500K, 13W compact fluorescent bulb - total cost $15.32. I clipped the lamp to the top glass of my TV stand and pointed the light at the wall. To make it automated, I plugged it into a switched outlet on my receiver so when the receiver comes on, the lamp comes on.

Here's a video of what it looks like and how it's all setup. Enjoy!

UPDATE 03/27/2008: Sorry, I'm not doing any break-in today. I might need to again in about a week, as I might have to get this panel replaced.

I recently purchased a new plasma TV - the Panasonic TH-50PZ85U. Plasmas are known to have some potential for image retention and burn-in. Image retention occurs when you leave a static image on the screen for a period of time, and you can still see it after changing the image. This is completely temporary and quite common. It's nothing to be concerned about. Burn-in is PERMANENT image retention. If a static image is left on the screen for too long, it can remain there permanently. We certainly don't want this. These issues were more of a concern with earlier generations of plasma displays. Progress has been made with more recent displays to make this less of an issue. Many report being able to use the display as they want without having any problems as long as they don't abuse the display by leaving things on the screen for extended periods of time.

It is known that plasmas are more prone to these issues early in their life. Because of this, some recommend a break-in period during at least the first 100 hours during which low contrast and brightness settings are used and letterboxed/pillarboxed material and static images(including gaming) are avoided. Panasonic even recommends this.

As it can take a while to get through these 100 hours with normal and careful TV viewing, one person made a DVD to speed up the process. This DVD can be found here. Usage is discussed in detail at AVS Forum. It's simply a slide show of solid color, full-screen images.

I've been using this on my new plasma, and I want to run it while I'm away at work tomorrow. However, there's always a chance something could go wrong with the DVD player or with the power and end up leaving a menu or other static image on the screen. This would obviously be terrible. Because of this, I thought I'd use my webcam to keep an eye on things. Below is the live stream of my TV playing the break-in DVD. Of course, chances are slim that when you read this the stream will still be live because I'll only turn it on when I need it. It's just an easy place for me to keep an eye on it when I need to.