By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

Back when personal computers were new, motherboards were relatively simple devices that simply served as kind of a parking garage for all the circuit boards needed to complete a computer’s functionality.  Key functions like graphics, sound and even connecting to printers and other computers required its own dedicated “card” that slipped into slots on the motherboard.

It’s a very different story today.  The MSI 890-GXM motherboard that, together with the AMD Phenom II X4 CPU forms the foundation of my new system, is actually a pretty sophisticated piece of electronics.  Although this specific motherboard is made by MSI, the same basic design, features and 890GX chipset can also be found on motherboards made by ASUS and Gigabyte.  (As an aside, AMD is planning to launch a six-core version of their Phenom II processor later this year called the Phenom II X6, which will be supported by the 890-GX.)

This board was designed for graphic-intensive applications like games and HDTV, which means it has to have three big qualities: Kryptonian speed, surround sound that would rival your nearest Cineplex and incredibly sophisticated HD video capabilities.   Part of the speed comes from the 890-GX’s support for DDR3 memory, which transfers data at up to twice the speed of its predecessor DDR2 memory technology.

To describe the motherboard’s graphics capabilities, I turn to IT News Online: “With Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4290 Graphics, users can enjoy accelerated and enhanced high definition and 1080p Blu-ray playback including dual-stream PiP (Picture in Picture) on Blu-ray 1.1. Standard DVD movies can be viewed in near high-definition quality with DVD upscaling with post-processing to enhance standard and low resolution videos and movies on HD displays. ATI Radeon HD 4290 Graphics are designed to decode and play back Blu-ray and other HD content with support for MPEG2, VC-1 and H.264 formats.”

One of the things I find really cool about the 890-GX’s graphics is the built-in DVI and HDMI ports in addition to the standard VGA connector.  This makes it easier for a system built around this motherboard/CPU combo to serve as an incredibly sophisticated home theatre system complete with Blu-ray player/burner (sold separately).  For those people who want uber fast gaming graphics, this motherboard supports up to two high-performance ATI Radeon Premium Graphics cards with ATI CrossFireX technology.  Coincidentally, AMD acquired ATI a few years ago to take advantage of the latter company’s expertise in high-end graphics.

Moving on to sound, since the 890-GX was designed for use with Blu-ray drives and uses the Realtek ALC889 audio chip that fully supports Blu-ray’s 24-bit / 192 kHz lossless audio standard.  The board includes a fiber optic digital audio out compatible with most Dolby Digital/DTS multichannel surround sound amps and receivers as well as 7.1 channel audio connectors. 

In terms of connectivity, you have a now-standard Ethernet/LAN port that can support speeds of up to a full gigabit (1,000 megabits) per second, both USB 2.0 and the new USB 3.0 ports for extra high speed connections to external devices, plus full support for the latest generation of SATA III connectors for hard drives with up to 6Gbps bandwidth.  This will come in very handy with the 2TB Seagate Barracuda XT hard drive I’ll be installing on this system.  (More on the Barracuda XT later in this series) 

Here’s the bottom line on connectivity.  The more sophisticated and bandwidth-intensive graphics you have, including HD video and 3D HD, the bigger and faster a data pipe you’ll need to handle all that info.  So you want SATA III and USB 3.0. 

As I wrap up this installment in the series, it’s important to remember that pretty much all motherboards these days are designed to work with specific families of CPUs.  The 890-GX motherboard can only be used with the Phenom II family of CPUs from AMD and both complements and extends many of the capabilities of those CPUs.   If in building your own computer, you decide to use something other than an AMD Phenom II processor, you’ll want to be sure you’re using a motherboard with the newest chipset designed for your CPU.

Coming up later this week, choosing the right case.

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By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

The heart, or more accurately, brain, of any computer is a chip called a CPU (Central Processing Unit).  In some ways you almost have to discuss the CPU and motherboard (the board that houses pretty much all of a computer’s circuitry) as a single unit because modern motherboards have so many functions built into them that affect how a CPU performs.  But for purposes of this series, I’ll still get into motherboard features in a separate column.

When it comes to CPUs for personal computers, there are basically two players in the business – Intel and AMD.  Intel is the market leader and for many years was the de facto standard for all the major computer manufacturers and still controls the lion’s share of the market.  AMD is kind of the “Avis” of CPU makers (i.e. “We’re #2 so we try harder”) and has earned a reputation for designing and building cost-effective alternatives to Intel chips that have been known to leapfrog Intel’s technologies.

Since this system is being optimized for HD video editing and DVD/BD authoring, I wanted a CPU with enough horsepower to deal with all that data so that my wait time is minimal when it comes to things like rendering. At the same time, I want to keep this system relatively affordable, so it would be a waste of money to choose a processor that’s so high end I’m paying for performance I’m never going to come close to benefitting from, like Intel’s Xeon Quad-Core Nehalem chip which runs at 2.93 GHz and sells for about $1,500 and designed to power large scale server computers.

The CPU that, in my judgment, gives me the optimal price/performance balance is AMD’s Phenom II X4 965, which is a quad core CPU running at 3.4 GHz.  “Quad core” basically means four CPUs integrated into a single chip, which makes it much easier for my computer to perform several tasks at the same time and therefore much faster.  This is especially useful in rendering and manipulating the kind of high resolution images that HD video generates.

Built from the ground up for true quad-core performance, AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition processor incorporates 6MB of unified high-speed L3 cache and a high-speed DDR2/DDR3 memory controller.  Its support of these high speed memory technologies contributes to the Phenom’s ability to zip through complex multitasking, critical business productivity, advanced visual design and modeling and visually stunning digital media and entertainment.

Since I want solid graphics capabilities, another advantage the Phenom offers is its Digital Media XPress 2.0 technology, advanced technology that delivers sharper and more lifelike 3D graphics. Also AMD’s advanced power management technology can help reduce PCs’ heat output and increase power efficiency.

Last, but hardly least, the Phenom II X4 supports a technology called “overclocking” which is kind of like getting a higher ISO rating on film stock by pushing it during processing.  Some users have reported speeds of 4.0 GHz or higher by overclocking.  One caveat is that the more you push the CPU, the hotter it runs.  So if you’re going to overclock it, make sure you’ve got a killer heat sink/CPU cooling device installed. 

Intel’s 2.8 GHz Core 2 Quad core CPU sells for about $335 online.  The 3.4 GHz Phenom II X4 streets for about $190.  That’s a lot of computing power for under $200.

Next, I’ll discuss the motherboard that will house the CPU using AMD’s new 890 chipset and why it’s valuable to look at the CPU/motherboard combination as almost a single product.

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By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

Last summer, I posted my specs for what I considered to be the ideal computer – one with plenty of speed, memory and storage to handle not only day to day things like web browsing, writing, etc., but also resource-intensive usage like editing HD (and ultimately 3D HD) video, graphics and even Blu-ray authoring.

After looking into purchasing something brand name and off the shelf, I’ve decided to build my ideal system from scratch, using brand name components. This way I can cherry pick the elements that work best for my usage while giving myself a nifty upgrade path down the line.

I’m in the process of acquiring all the key components right now so the final specs are still pending.  Once I have everything in place, I’ll dedicate a separate column for each of those key components and explain why these specific products were chosen.  Meanwhile, here’s how the system is shaping up:

The heart of the system is built around AMD’s new Phenom II X4 quad core CPU which clocks in at a whopping 3.4 GHz.  This in turn will be installed on an MSI motherboard using the latest high performance chipset from AMD that has Blu-ray compatible audio and DVI and HDMI video out already built in.  Although the motherboard itself can support up to 16GB of high speed RAM, that’s frankly much more than I currently need, so I’m kicking off with a pair of 4GB Ballistix memory kits (total 8GB) from Crucial.com.  For storage, it looks like I’ll be using Seagate’s killer 2TB Barracuda XT hard drive with a 6GB/s SATA interface. 

I’m still in the process of locking down the HD compatible monitor, Blu-ray recordable drive and version of Windows I’ll install (my existing version of XP or one of the many flavors of Windows 7) as well as a nifty case to put everything in and will keep you posted as the components all come together.

I’ll also shoot video of me building the system and if I can figure out how to post it here, you’ll be able to watch me in action.

Stay tuned.  This is going to be fun!

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Around Hollywood there are stories circulating about some of this year’s Oscar nominated films that might never have seen the light of day. Whether they are up for Best Picture, or other films that have Oscar-nominated performances, some of the most acclaimed were so close to being released direct to DVD. Some films even carry tales of last minute distribution deals that salvaged them from a dusty storage shelf at the studio. Among those with great tales to tell Crazy Heart, District 9, An Education, even The Hurt Locker had a shaky start.

Of course Avatar isn’t among them. But for some of the low-budget and/or independent productions– they could have easily wound up in the cinema scrap heap, rather than take center stage at the Academy Awards.

Helen Mirren, a past Oscar-winner for The Queen, is nominated again for Best Actress in The Last Station. It is a film that almost ended its brief run on the film festival circuit, until Sony Classics came to the rescue.

I’ve talked to Mirren about her roles, and she insists, “It’s not the actor or actress who wins an award for a role, but it is the role that wins the award. Because you are blessed with a wonderful role.” In The Last Station she plays Sofya, wife of writer Leo Tolstoy, a strong role written by Michael Hoffman, who also directed. But the remarkable chemistry between Mirren and Christopher Plummer (nominated for Supporting Actor) would never have been seen if it weren’t for Sony Classics picking up the film.

Mirren reports, “When I first did it, it had no distribution, so we were thrilled that Sony Classics picked it up at the Telluride Film Festival. It’s incredibly important that these small films get seen by an audience, because then we get to make more good films.” She says rewarding these small films with prizes goes towards “the films being seen by more people, and encouraging more distributors to distribute films like this.”

Let’s hope the studios and distributors continue to give great little films a chance at Oscar gold.
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By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

If you’re a working professional, a good printer is one of your most essential tools.  At CES earlier this year, one of my quests was to find a multi-purpose printer that give great performance at a modest price – and just as importantly, was inexpensive to use in terms of consumables (i.e. ink or toner).

I’ve been playing with Lexmark’s new Pro905 for several weeks now and am very impressed with what I’ve seen so far.  This is a full color inkjet printer/flatbed scanner/copier/fax machine with dual paper trays (combined capacity of about 300 sheets) and auto document feeder. 

That document feeder was one of the first things I tested by scanning a 130 page screenplay from my library and converting it into a PDF file.  The 905 can handle about 30 pages at a time in its document feeder and took roughly 15 seconds per page.  While the bundled software didn’t give me the option of pausing the scan process to load in a new batch of pages, using Adobe Acrobat, I was able to easily combine each section into a complete script file.

The 905 also comes with business card scanning software, which is pretty nifty since I’m always picking up cards at meetings, trade events, etc.  I’ll get into the specifics of that software in an upcoming column and compare it to its counterpart bundled with Fujitsu’s ScanSnap document scanners (also to be discussed in an upcoming blog entry).

While there are lots of features to still be explored and spoken of with this product, it still comes down to print quality, speed and cost of operation.  Let’s get one of the few down sides out of the way first. Lexmark claims a print speed of over 30 pages per minute for the Pro905.  Folks, it’s an inkjet printer and that technology is inherently slow.  If you’ve got a graphics-intensive page, it’s going to take a while to print.  The Pro905 is not intended for heavy duty or high volume printing.  It’s just not that fast.

However it does print beautifully clean text and, depending on the source material and type of paper you’re using, pretty damn good color graphics and pictures.  I really like that Lexmark gives you the option of two sided printing as well, which is kind of cool to watch as the printer sucks the paper back into its guts to print the flip side of the page.  If you’re part of a wireless network, you can use your WiFi card to connect instead of the USB cable (included).

Even better is the cost of consumables.  Most inkjet printers really sock it to you charging as much as $20 for a black ink cartridge that will render a few hundred pages.  The Pro905 (and a few other new models from Lexmark) uses a new ink technology that lasts around 500 pages per cartridge on average and only costs $5.00 to replace.  (Staples sells the replacement black cartridges in a 2-pack for $10.)  My black cartridge just ran out the other night and according to the stats listed on the test page, was right at 499 pages.  Pretty nifty.

The Lexmark Platinum Pro905 has an SRP of $399.  I’ve seen it offered online for as little as $298, including shipping.  Now because of its speed, if I were printing out multiple copies of a 120 page screenplay, I’d definitely prefer a good basic laser printer.  But for day to day small size/small volume print jobs, it’s a damn good value.

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By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

Sometimes ya gotta be able to pull rabbits out of your hat when you’re on set, especially in the independent world.  DP Paolo Cascio was on location in New York, shooting the low budget feature “The Big Shot-Caller.”  He was shooting in Times Square and had been given permission to shoot at the Sheraton for one night.  Unfortunately, they were missing a shot because the actor had already gone home and came back the next night. 

Arriving on set, PC turned to his gaffer to begin the process of setting up his shot, only to be told that they had no generator – it had been sent back to the rental house at the end of the previous night’s shoot because it was only booked for the one night.  In addition, he learned that they didn’t even have a permit to shoot for that second night.

It was a textbook guerilla filmmaking challenge – how to shoot something on the sly without the use of normal lights.  The shot absolutely had to happen as the main character was having an emotional breakdown that was critical to the story.   Cascio decided it was time to channel MacGyver. 

He immediately began scanning the location to see what he could draw on. It was Times Square, so plenty of light for the background, but no light for the actor’s face.  Suddenly, the solution presented itself.  Cascio directed his driver to pull his Lincoln SUV to a specific spot on the street and turn his on high beams.  He then got a grip to grab a 4×4 bounce card with a silver side and stand in front of the car with the bounce card at a 45 degree angle so the light was directed straight into the wall.  It worked perfectly – and the shot can be briefly seen in the film’s trailer at http://www.thebigshotcaller.com/.

As PC demonstrated with that challenge, the greatest tool a cinematographer has is not what’s on his truck or toolbox.  It’s their flexibility and creativity and ability to think under fire – all in the service of the story. 

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Actually, the mature stars and movies had quite a year. Bill Newcott of AARP said, “In 2009, 50+ actors and filmmakers turned in performances and films that were riveting and nothing short of daring. Tackling war, apartheid, sexuality and adding real depth to romantic comedies, the 50+ Hollywood community shows once again that they are an integral, much-needed element of the film industry. And 60-year-old Meryl Streep proved without a doubt that she is the leading lady of our times, a critical and box-office cottage industry.” All I can say is “Amen” to that.

I admire intelligence and experience, and for me nothing is more entertaining than a “smart film,” whether it’s an outrageous comedy or a gritty drama. Just add a star with a familiar face and substantial hard-earned credits to his/her name, and I’ll certainly purchase a ticket for that movie.

At the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, I got to mix and mingle with the over 50 crowd, which included the guest of honor Robert De Niro, who accepted the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. Jeff Bridges was there and got the Best Actor award presented by his Crazy Heart co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal…so I got a preview of his sincerely humble Oscar acceptance speech.

Ultra-mature Morgan Freeman was there for Invictus, along with producer Lori McCreary. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, was named the Best Movie for Grownups, and Julie & Julia (starring Meryl Streep, who wasn’t there — darn it!) won the Best Grownup Love Story. Best Comedy for Grownups was It’s Complicated, Helen Mirren was named Best Actress for The Last Station, The Soloist won Best Buddy Movie, The AARP’s Readers’ Choice award went to The Blind Side, and an award for Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up went to Star Trek.

As De Niro said, “I’m still a kid, and like most kids, I’m very happy for the approval of grownups.”

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I remember when television shows had one or possibly two writers. Now there are at least a dozen on every program, half hour or hour.

So with great anticipation, I went to the Writers Guild of America West awards event at the Century Plaza Hotel to find out why so many scribes? The answer, a producer told me, was that while a couple might be working on the current show, another pair could be writing an upcoming script, while others could be going over future scripts. And most would get producer credits. Well, it seems superfluous to me, but what do I know? I’m just glad these guys have jobs.

At this year’s WGA awards lots of deserving writers received their statuettes. Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker, Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air, and many more. At the awards, the writers grouped together like a family– which they really are. Very large families, by the number of writers who took the stage for “30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” and “Mad Men.” Mad Men’s creator-writer-producer Matthew Weiner made sure they all got their names mentioned backstage in front of the press. It was their moment in the spotlight. There were accolades and congratulations for the all the winners in various writing categories: comedy, drama, documentaries, etc.

Carl Gottlieb, who I crossed paths with decades ago when he was writing for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” was honored with the Morgan Cox Award recognizing his longtime service to the Guild. We asked him about his favorite line from all the scripts he’s written in his lifetime. Musing about the Jaws screenplay (by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb) Gottlieb smiled and said, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Yep, great lines don’t write themselves. But I still question the number of writers on every show. But hey– it’s not my money.

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By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

Almost a year ago, I conducted an interview with writer/director/DP Peter Hyams, who predicted that James Cameron’s “Avatar” would do for 3D what “The Jazz Singer” did for synchronized sound and “Star Wars” did for Dolby Stereo.  Maybe he’s right.  3D is certainly hot.  “Avatar” is setting global box office records like nobody’s business with much of those “Titanic” revenues coming from the higher 3D ticket prices that many theatres now charge.

I’m embarrassed to say that it’s taken me up until now to finally get around to seeing “Avatar”.  I did so at the AMC Universal Citywalk IMAX earlier today and have to say, although I enjoyed the movie and was awestruck by the amazing world of Pandora that Cameron and his crew created, I walked out of that theatre questioning how much of a difference the 3D actually made.

Great movies are about great stories with compelling characters and telling those stories in ways that draw you in.  The technology used is almost secondary and should, in fact, take a back seat to the story.   In this case, I’d say the CG and motion capture technologies that Cameron so artfully used to create this magnificent other world proved to be much more important to the artistic success of “Avatar” than its 3D implementation. 

Now to be fair, the IMAX rendition I saw was a digital to film transfer and frankly the brightness of that IMAX projection system leaves a lot to be desired.  I will try to catch “Avatar” in a completely digital 3D environment in the next week or two for a second opinion.

But at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month, I saw countless 3D demos with a broad spectrum of subject matter.  Getting out my crystal ball, I predict that sports will be killer app that will sell more 3D TVs than anything.  And a different type of sports, euphemistically referred to as “explicit erotica” will no doubt be a close second as the adult entertainment industry has traditionally embraced and exploited new technologies for decades. 

Yes ladies and gentlemen, 3D is on the cusp of becoming main stream.   At first, there will be a lot of crap out there that will sell well simply because of the novelty factor.  Just as multi-channel sound systems like Dolby Digital and DTS were at first ticket-selling novelties, in time audio artists learned to master those technical tools so that they are now an integral and organic part of the big screen storytelling process, 3D will ultimately become the norm.

However in order to cost justify the investments in technology throughout the entire entertainment food chain, from pre-production all the way to the plethora of in-home 3D products due out later this year, the artistic challenge is to find ways to create 3D content that takes advantage of its immersive capabilities without getting gimmicky so that, once the novelty wears off, audiences worldwide have compelling reasons to pay a premium for 3D content. 

I’ll tell you what.  Whoever has the broadcast rights to the next Olympic games should be mastering 3D sports coverage right now (if they’re not already).  Because, just as the Super Bowl sells lots of big screen TVs, so too will the Olympics in 3D (and the Super Bowl too) sell a slew of 3D TVs and DVRs.

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