Maggie Music

DTH (Direct to Home) television service, also known as direct broadcast satellite service, allows us to view any channel that we want to watch with high quality picture quality. Gone are the days when we have to depend upon our cable operator’s services. In our country, Tata sky and Dish TV both have first started their DTH services using MPEG-2 technology. Later on, Airtel digital TV and other service providers have come with their DTH operations along with the new MPEG-4 technology. These DTH operators usually claim that they are offering best video and audio quality as they are using the more efficient MPEG-4 technology. But do you really think whether MPEG4 is really better than MPEG4? Or it is only marketing techniques for alluring the customers. Let’s have a look at its differences and know is it really better than MPEG2 as it said to be.

MPEG-2 standard finally developed and introduced in the year 1999 for compressing audio/video in order to store portable digital media and for using in the broadcast applications of digital TV. Basically, a video consists of 25 frames per second and each frame is like a single still image. For compressing a raw video stream, this standard divides it into offset and reference frames. After MPEG-2 launch, its successor MPEG-4 technology was started in 1999 having a wider mandate as compared to MPEG-2. This technology supports better motion estimation, streaming media applications, interactive media applications and digital rights management (DRM). Besides, it is more suitable for a large range of applications for e.g. DVD storage, Digital TV broadcasting, videos streaming over Internet, video telephony and video conferencing and much.

Simply put, MPEG-4 standard is the best as compare to MPEG-2 when we talk about audio/video compression. Nevertheless, the degree of superiority may depend on the factors like bit rate using for compression & specific algorithm used for compressing videos. Apart from this, we can also get same quality picture as MPEG4 from MPEG2 standard. But it requires more bandwidth for delivering that quality. In fact, MPEG4 standard gives more benefits over MPEG-2 technology as they deliver excellent picture quality and more channels in a single transponder i.e. less bandwidth. So these are the some differences between MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 standards.

Did you know that Honda is the world’s largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14-million internal combustion engines each year? Also, as of August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Lastly, Honda is the sixth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Such impressive statistics ensure that Automotive Service Technicians have plenty of work in the Honda world. However, those trained in the Automotive Service Technician Honda Apprenticeship (MAP 32) at Centennial College are even further ahead of the competition, as their knowledge is specialized to this particular make of vehicle.

Centennial College’s one-year Honda Apprenticeship focuses on Honda’s engines, parts and latest technologies. In order to apply for this program, students must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or a GED or equivalent. They must also be employed by a Honda dealership or be selected through an interview process. Candidates may apply directly to Centennial College, with successful applicants obtaining an employer and registering as a MAP apprentice with the Apprenticeship Branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The application for the Automotive Service Technician Honda MAP 32 program can be completed online. It should be noted that acceptance is based on successful completion of all entry requirements and space is limited.

Once in the program, you will find that training, which also includes Acura specialization, is more in-depth with longer in-school sessions than traditional apprenticeships. That’s because every eight weeks, students alternate between the College and their employer for a total of 64 weeks. Therefore, a solid 32 weeks is spent in-school and another 32 are spent in the field. The combination allows for a better-rounded education. During the school sessions, electronics and the diagnosing of computerized control systems are emphasized. And, to further their knowledge, students also learn other aspects of vehicle technology. Training out of Ontario’s largest automotive training facility, they work systems such as electrical, body electrical, engine, transmission, steering, front-end, and all other aspects that would allow a Honda vehicle to be serviced. Although the in-school session is hands on, the real life learning comes from the apprenticeship feature of the program. It is during this time that students are employed by a Honda dealership and are actually compensated for their work. Please note that students in the Centennial College Automotive Service Technician Honda program may be eligible for Employment Insurance during the in-class training.

Opportunities at dealerships such as Honda are increasing as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects job growth in Automotive Service Technology to grow by 14 percent from 2006 through 2016. The professionals employed by these dealerships have a variety of tasks, including: diagnosing problems using Honda diagnostic equipment; performing repairs and preventive maintenance on engines, transmissions, electrical systems, brakes and tires. Honda technicians also conduct vehicle inspections.

Blu-ray disk format utilizes two video compression codecs for recording full length HD movie. One recording format is VC-1. This recording codec was co-developed by Microsoft. VC-1 is the variation of the Microsoft’s Windows media codec. Higher compression is offered by VC-1 codec and the signal loss during the process of encoding/decoding has been minimized. The other recording codec used by Bluray disk format is advanced video coding (AVC). It is an enhanced form of MPEG-4. The DVD disk format uses the MPEG-2 compression codec. MPEG-4 codec used by Blu-ray disc technology is more efficient than its predecessor MPEG-2. Bluray disk technology offers superior and exceptional quality of audio/video at lower bit-rates that the DVD disc format. The HD quality offered by Blu-ray media disks exceeds the users’ expectations. Both these recording codecs offer more flexibility to the studios for recording their Bluray media disks. When the pre-existing DVD released bonus features are ported to the Blu-ray disk format, then they are recorded in the MPEG-2 codec. The Bluray disk players are very useful as they can also play the DVD media disks thus providing additional benefit to the users.

Bluray disk players also perform the up-gradation of the 480p DVD standard to the quasi high definition levels and then up to resolution of 1080p. That is how a Blu-ray player enhances the resolution and quality of DVD. Blu-ray disk format supports the latest HD audio codecs. The combination of advanced A/V receivers, decoding power and massive storage capacity of Bluray technology ensure such high quality. The other two competing codecs Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio have the capability to reproduce 7.1 discrete audio channels with increased dynamic range and accuracy ever before achieved in home. In order to shrink the storage requirements and bandwidth, these codes use compression. As a result of this compression, the soundtracks produced are the original PDM master tapes’ bit perfect copies.

Interactivity has been improved in the Blu-ray disk technology. BD-Live is also supported by the BD-ROM Profile 2.0. Its features can be updated through the internet. The Profile 1.1 players require WiFi connection or Ethernet port for fast speed internet connectivity. That is why most of the profile 1.1 Bluray disk players will not support the profile 2.0. The players need to temporarily store at least 1-GB of varying data amount. Use of SD memory card of USB flash drive can do the trick. The latest Bluray disk players fully support BD-ROM 2.0 Profile. These Blu-ray players also have network ports that help the users in enabling new features and fixing bugs. Java software is an essential component of the Blu-ray specification that assists in interactivity and elaborates the popup disk menus. On the other hand in DVD format, the animated menus are pre-rendered. The top games of new generation also benefit from the highly reliable BD-Java technology. The outer layer of the high capacity Blu-ray media disk is more durable and harder that protects the surface from scratches and dust particles thus resulting in a more efficient and reliable media disk technology.

Science Fiction movies are one of the genres of films which have witnessed a lot of change in our present century. Though the concept of sci-fi films were here since the 1950s , the advent of technology and filmography techniques make today’s sci-fi films more realistic and resolute. You are led to believe in what is shown that something like that really exists in your world as well. Just have a look at the recent blockbuster Avatar and another very similar appreciated movie, 2012 ,and you will realize that the Sci-Fi movies have come of age and they can really show something beyond your imagination.

The lack of technology could not have made this type of cinematography possible for some of the great filmmakers(the pioneers who started the trend) to make sci-fi masterpieces of this caliber. Today with graphics, animations and other technological effects one can create a different planet, a more realistic space ship, or more horrifying man vs machine movies like Transformers. People have accepted the imagination and concepts of these movies readily, especially the young generation who fall in love with them.

The biggest technology leap in Sci-Fi movies came with the movie Independence Day directed by Roland Emmrich. He is the man behind 2012 also. The use of cutting-edge technology can be seen in movies like Titanic, the Jurassic Park series and others where animations and robotic movements of animals play a great role. Today, this technology can offer a more realistic and integrated feel to the movie experience. In Avatar you can see the planet Pandora where humans invade for the powerful mineral called unobtanium. The planet and its surroundings, its creatures and other natural features have been shown to be so perfect that you believe the luminescent plants exists.

The experience of sci-fi movies which can elaborately present you with visually with something fictitious with the feel of being so real. The use of technologies like the 24 frames-per- second rate, and digital animation and graphics increases the budget of these movies, as well as creating something for which people pay at the box office to get entertained. Sci-fi movies motivate people to think and feel something beyond their imagination, and technology enables a film maker to give life to his or her imagination as well. Thanks to these techniques, it allows film makers to create masterpieces like Avatar.