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AVForums.com - Blogs http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/ Home Entertainment and Audio Visual Home Consumer Electronics Forums en Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:31:01 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.avforums.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg AVForums.com - Blogs http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/ <![CDATA[Don't believe the hype!]]> http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/guns_lotsofguns-140332/1957-dont-believe-hype.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:21:50 GMT

“The meaning of all of that, some media is the whack
As you believe it's true, it blows me through the roof
Suckers, liars, get me a shovel, some writers I know are damn devils”

Last year I posted a thread with the same title as this post, that was inspired by the hype for Halo 3 and the negative press for Too Human. After Halo 3 I really thought we had seen the full extent of imminent game release madness, it appears I was wrong, let’s dip our toes into some internet forum chat shall we…

Quote:

“Apart from the birth of my kids I’ve never been so excited about anything else............ever!!!!!! “

Quote:

“On a scale from 1 to 10 I would give mw2 1000000000000000000000000”

And my personal favourite!

Quote:

“I would sell my mum for this game! Its gonna be belta! Cannot wait.”

Now you can’t really blame these guys for being so excited, the hype train has been slowly gaining momentum over the last few months with a video here and an interview there, but as we have got closer to release, the inevitable has happened, and the leaks have turn into a flood and now eager fans are gorging themselves on a veritable feast of videos and info in preparation of next week’s rapture.

Personally I’ve tried to go on a bit of a media blackout, but it’s not easy (modding the 360 section and loving COD isn’t really helping with that :P).The conventional approach to marketing goes something like “Any publicity is good publicity”, however id rather agree with the folks down at Georgia University. In 2007 they wrote the paper "Marketing: Too Much Hype Backfires.".

Here's a little peek.

Quote:

In this study, the researchers told the volunteers that they were about to see a movie and gave them ratings of the movie similar to what they would read on Amazon.com. About half the participants read positive reviews of the movie and were told that the average review was five stars. The other half read negative reviews of the movie and were told the movie had a one-star rating. Both groups watched the same film clip, a black and white silent comedy that had been shown in previous research to generate a relatively neutral response.

The researchers found that participants who anticipated watching a one-star movie but saw a somewhat funny movie did not pay attention to the fact that they felt better than anticipated. When participants read about a five-star movie but saw the old black and white movie, on the other hand, the difference was reflected in their evaluation of the movie.

Simply put raising expectations only creates an unrealistic target and people are easier disappointed than pleased. Perhaps COD:MW2 is a great game but at this point after endless trailers, videos, branded consoles, throat mic, night vision goggles etc if it doesn’t bring the return of Christ it probably won’t live up to expectations.

If I put my business hat on then this all of this media frenzy surrounding my product should translate directly into extra sales which is probably the definition of good marketing. However does good marketing help or hinder the quality of the product?

Another insight the study presents is that people are quick to point out when they are disappointed but are not equally as vocal when their expectations are exceeded, so even if you do fly under the radar and your game is good then you won’t get the recognition you deserve.

Tim Schafer is pretty much the living example of this theory, Psychonauts, great game well received by critics, marketed poorly which ended in poor sales but today is considered a cult classic. Fast forward to this year and Tim tries to crack the mainstream with Brutal Legend, assaults the audience with constant and disturbing Jack Black marketing; all the while the response to the game is much more tepid than aforementioned cult classic.

Although Brutal Legend isn’t received as well as his other games it will certainly sell better than its predecessor. Mission Accomplished? Is that what constitutes success? I would love to ask Mr Schaffer which one he considers his greatest work.

It’s a sad reality but it seems that a good game can have too much marketing but an average/bad game can’t have enough.

I guess it’s just ones of those contradictions in human nature I will never be able to understand, but at least I’m not alone. Public Enemy know the score...

“For them I say, "Don't believe the hype"
Yo Chuck, they must be on a pipe, right?
Their pens and pads I'll snatch
'Cause I've had it
I'm not an addict, fiendin' for static”

Indeed. ]]> Guns_LotsOfGuns http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/guns_lotsofguns-140332/1957-dont-believe-hype.html Baby number three... http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/kavanf1-204635/1962-baby-number-three.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:09:45 GMT Found out last week that Linsey is expecting our third child, which I'm over the moon about. We were both pretty shocked though, because although it was in our plans to have a third, we weren't intending doing anything about it 'til next summer. She was on the pill, but obviously we make up that 2% of people for whom the pill doesn't always work...

We've yet to tell these two:

but Erin has already told us that she doesn't want a brother because one is enough. She's adamant about this, and at five she hasn't quite gotten to grips with the fact that there's not a lot we can do about the baby's sex. Me, I'm easy, though I'm inclined to think it might be a girl.

It's early days yet, so we've only told very close family. L's mother reacted with her characteristic cold distance, incapable of even feigning maternal instincts to congratulate and be happy for and look after her daughter. We expected that this time around, having experienced it with the other children (and the two miscarriages). This time we were ready to be let down.

Anyway, the main thing is that we're over the moon about this news, and we're a little older and wiser now, so we're not allowing ourselves to be sucked in by other people's misery this time. Financially we're in a better position than we've been before, which is a major relief. "All you need is love" was a great song John, but you obviously wrote it when you were loaded.

The next eight months are likely to be even more jam-packed with DIY than usual - we're toying with the idea of converting the loft, among other less, um, lofty plans. I'll somehow have to fit all the house conversion and baby preparation stuff in between playing Modern Warfare 2...is it wrong that I'm almost as excited about its release next week as I am about having another child? :grin: ]]> kavanf1 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/kavanf1-204635/1962-baby-number-three.html Why is PAL De-interlacing so Difficult? http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/welwynnick-64635/1953-why-pal-de-interlacing-so-difficult.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:05:17 GMT Every player, processor, amp and display has a problem with de-interlacing PAL to a greater or lesser extent. Its never done perfectly. The problem is that successful deinterlacing requires whats called blind cadence detection. The de-interlacer doesn't know what its reading.

Firstly, the de-interlacer has to work out whether the video was created from film or video (24Hz film or 50Hz video). With film, adjacent pairs of fields come from the same frames, and the de-interlacer has to detect this by "reading" the picture for motion.
It attempts to do this by trying to detect motion between fields using a different set of lines - odd and even sets of lines - so its not even comparing the same picture data.

Secondly, if it is film material, it then has to pair up the fields that came from the same original frame, so the right pairs of fields can be woven back together to form the original frame. There's lots of scope for errors, and its more difficult than NTSC, where there are repeated fields with the same picture that give the game away (relatively speaking).

Finally, this challenge also impacts video de-interlacing, as the de-interlacer may make mistakes in its film detection. Video de-interlacing is the default method, and invents new lines to create a complete frame from each field. But if the de-interlacer thinks that it has detected a film cadence in the motion between fields, then it will incorrectly apply weaving to what is really video, and cause combing.

This is nasty, but if the de-interlacer is designed to avoid this at all costs, then it wil be more likely to err on the side of caution when there IS film video, and process that as video, losing resolution in the process.

Unfortunately, a lot of de-interlacing tests are performed by American reviewers and users who only test with 60 Hz video, which is much easier to process for film mode detection. These test results often make their way over here and get mistaken for reliable information. ]]> welwynnick http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/welwynnick-64635/1953-why-pal-de-interlacing-so-difficult.html 2009: Week 40. http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1918-2009-week-40.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:06:03 GMT Weekly Gamerscore Gain: 0g
Weekly Achievement Gain: 0
Total Gamerscore Gain: 8065g

Total Achievements Gained: 375
Total Gamerscore: 26925g

Well if last week was the week that never was this week is it's uncle Fred. Did that make sense, no :oops:. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1918-2009-week-40.html 2009: Week 39. http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1917-2009-week-39.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:04:22 GMT *Weekly Gamerscore Gain: 75g Weekly Achievement Gain: 1 Total Gamerscore Gain: 8065g Total Achievements Gained: 375 Total Gamerscore: 26925g *Well this is the weekly update for a week that never happened. Weekly Gamerscore Gain: 75g
Weekly Achievement Gain: 1
Total Gamerscore Gain: 8065g

Total Achievements Gained: 375
Total Gamerscore: 26925g

Well this is the weekly update for a week that never happened. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1917-2009-week-39.html 2009: Day 275 (9.3). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1916-2009-day-275-9-3.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:02:36 GMT Total Gamerscore Gain: 8065g
Total Achievements Gained: 375
Total Gamerscore: 26925g

75points gained from Halo 3: ODST.

Wow, it has been a very busy time for me lately and I haven't played much, as a result my blog has fallen into disrepare. As a result I am going into maintenance until I get my groove back.

Audiophile: 75g
Found all Audio Logs, alone or with another ODST. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1916-2009-day-275-9-3.html <![CDATA[The problems of panning & scanning, zooming, etc...]]> http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/pecker-51915/1875-problems-panning-scanning-zooming-etc.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:14:29 GMT *...(or why you should learn to stop worrying and love the black bars).* This comes up more often than I’d care to mention, so I thought I’d try to write a definitive post on the matter. Usually the discussion starts with someone asking how they can rid themselves of the black bars on their... ...(or why you should learn to stop worrying and love the black bars).

This comes up more often than I’d care to mention, so I thought I’d try to write a definitive post on the matter.

Usually the discussion starts with someone asking how they can rid themselves of the black bars on their TV. This is usually met with calls for the OP to be lynched, or at least sent to bed without any tea.

So, why should films be shown in their OAR (original aspect ratio)?

To start with, let’s go back to the days of the 4:3 televisions. Panning and scanning films often produced disastrous results, especially when 2.35:1 films had their sides clipped.

Take this scene from Dario Argento’s Profondo Rosso (Deep Red):

The entire scene suffered badly when cropped to 4:3 for the original video release:

We might call this “Why not to pan & scan 101”. It’s basic. It’s obvious. No argument here – it’s just plain wrong.

But these days most people have 16:9 TVs, and that’s a 4:3 crop. Cropped to 16:9 it’s possible to see both actors, but they’re at the absolute extremes of the frame, sometimes with the front of one of the actors in shot and his back out of shot. Cinematographically this is bad practice, and is aesthetically unpleasant, particularly as the actors are relatively small in relation to the size of the frame.

To be continued... ]]> Pecker http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/pecker-51915/1875-problems-panning-scanning-zooming-etc.html 2009: Day 274 (9.2). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1872-2009-day-274-9-2.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:12:20 GMT *Total Gamerscore Gain: 7990g* *Total Achievements Gained: 374* *Total Gamerscore: 26855g* 0points gained from anything. Another day without much gaming. Instead I decided to get rid of the large number amount of TV that has accumilated in the Sky+... Total Gamerscore Gain: 7990g
Total Achievements Gained: 374
Total Gamerscore: 26855g

0points gained from anything.

Another day without much gaming. Instead I decided to get rid of the large number amount of TV that has accumilated in the Sky+ for the last week or so. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1872-2009-day-274-9-2.html 2009: Day 274 (9.1). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1871-2009-day-274-9-1.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:10:35 GMT Total Gamerscore Gain: 7990g
Total Achievements Gained: 374
Total Gamerscore: 26855g

0points gained from anything.

No gaming for me today because I had to go for a Team Meal. I didn't get back until after midnight so I wasn't going to earn any cheevos then :boring:. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1871-2009-day-274-9-1.html 2009: Week 38. http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1870-2009-week-38.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:08:46 GMT *Weekly Gamerscore Gain: 665g Weekly Achievement Gain: 37 Total Gamerscore Gain: 7990g Total Achievements Gained: 374 Total Gamerscore: 26855g * A fantastically productive week, and all thanks to the fantastic game Halo 3: ODST. What is even better is that I enjoyed earning all the... Weekly Gamerscore Gain: 665g
Weekly Achievement Gain: 37
Total Gamerscore Gain: 7990g

Total Achievements Gained: 374
Total Gamerscore: 26855g

A fantastically productive week, and all thanks to the fantastic game Halo 3: ODST. What is even better is that I enjoyed earning all the achievements which isn't something that happens too regularly. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1870-2009-week-38.html 2009: Day 273 (4.30). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1869-2009-day-273-4-30.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:07:20 GMT Total Gamerscore Gain: 7990g
Total Achievements Gained: 374
Total Gamerscore: 26855g

10points gained from Halo 3: ODST via 1 achievement.

Oooooh, look I am really close to the 8000 earned mark (although on the hush hush I wouldn't trust my maths). I sat back while Sniper Ash6 cleaned-up some Covenant scum in a quick blast of Firefight.

Be Like Marty: 10g
In Firefight, finished a full round without killing a single enemy. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1869-2009-day-273-4-30.html 2009: Day 272 (4.29). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1868-2009-day-272-4-29.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:57:30 GMT *Total Gamerscore Gain: 7980g* *Total Achievements Gained: 373* *Total Gamerscore: 26845g* 35points gained from Halo 3 ODST via 2 achievements. I managed to find some really good videos on youtube that walked you through every Audio Log on ODST. It... Total Gamerscore Gain: 7980g
Total Achievements Gained: 373
Total Gamerscore: 26845g

35points gained from Halo 3 ODST via 2 achievements.

I managed to find some really good videos on youtube that walked you through every Audio Log on ODST. It was very useful because some of the logs can't be found by just knowing their rough location. It wasn't a complete success because the game glitched and prevented some logs appearing.

Naughty Naughty: 5g
Killed 10 Engineers in the city at night, alone or with another ODST.

Naughty Naughty: 30g
Killed 10 Engineers in the city at night, alone or with another ODST. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1868-2009-day-272-4-29.html 2009: Day 271 (4.28). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1865-2009-day-271-4-28.html Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:39:23 GMT *Total Gamerscore Gain: 7940g* *Total Achievements Gained: 371* *Total Gamerscore: 26810g* 0points gained from anyting. I... Total Gamerscore Gain: 7940g
Total Achievements Gained: 371
Total Gamerscore: 26810g

0points gained from anyting.

I decided that it was time to get the remaining audio logs from ODST. Something I didn't want to do in my playthrough because I thought it would ruin the fun. I was right in that decision, after nearly 2hours and only having gained 2 more logs I felt like putting a bullet in my head :suicide:.

To make it worse I didn't even get an achievement for my troubles. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1865-2009-day-271-4-28.html 2009: Day 270 (4.27). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1864-2009-day-270-4-27.html Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:37:56 GMT *Total Gamerscore Gain: 7940g* *Total Achievements Gained: 371* *Total Gamerscore: 26805g* 15points gained from Halo 3: ODST via 2 achievements. ... Total Gamerscore Gain: 7940g
Total Achievements Gained: 371
Total Gamerscore: 26805g

15points gained from Halo 3: ODST via 2 achievements.

I wasn't planning to play for long and instead was aiming to fly through a level on ODST to get a quick 5g. But when some of the Top Gun guys sent me a Firefight invite I couldn't resist.

It was hectic, fast and immensely fun and I got an extra 10g from my session which went on a good 90minutes longer than I intended.

Headcase: 5g
Finished any level with at least one Skull activated.

Firefight: Alpha Site: 10g
Scored over 200,000 points in Firefight on Alpha Site. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1864-2009-day-270-4-27.html 2009: Day 269 (4.26). http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1860-2009-day-269-4-26.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:02:22 GMT *Total Gamerscore Gain: 7925g* *Total Achievements Gained: 369* *Total Gamerscore: 26790g* 160points gained from Halo 3: ODST via 4 achievements. ... Total Gamerscore Gain: 7925g
Total Achievements Gained: 369
Total Gamerscore: 26790g

160points gained from Halo 3: ODST via 4 achievements.

It's that time again. The time when I finish a game that I have really enjoyed and feel slightly empty inside. It was all over so quickly (that's what she said), and no sooner had I started blasted convenant scum had I single handedly saved the planet. I'm just too good.

Coastal Highway: 50g
Completed Coastal Highway and unlocked the Last Exit Firefight mission.

Campaign Complete: Normal: 100g
Completed the Campaign on Normal difficulty.

Stunning!: 5g
Stunned a vehicle with an overcharged plasma pistol and quickly killed the driver.

I Like Fire: 5g
Killed 10 enemies with the Flamethrower on Data Hive. ]]> mattclarkie http://www.avforums.com/forums/blogs/mattclarkie-216244/1860-2009-day-269-4-26.html