Dear Geek,

At my kids’ urging, I finally replaced my old monitor.  You know, the one that looks like Storm Trooper’s helmet…  Anyways, my new monitor supports HDMI, VGA, and DVI inputs.  What do these mean, and is one better than the other?

Signed,

No Longer A Star Wars Fan 

Dear Fan,

First, a question…do you drive a Beetle and listen to Nirvana on your 12-disc CD changer?  Secondly, for your kids’ sake, congrats on the upgrade!  And third, you can’t fool us – if you’re comparing your monitor to a storm trooper, you are a die-hard Star Wars fan.

The biggest reason that monitors have all these inputs, is because the computer industry, in spite of it’s advances in the past 30 years, has not yet come up with a standard for cables.

Here’s the quick and easy tutorial on these inputs:

DVI (Digital Visual Interface):  For the most part, all DVI cables work with uncompressed digital video.  This means that the picture quality is not dependent on the quality of your cable.  You either get a signal, or you don’t.  DVI cables also only carry video, so if your monitor has built-in speakers, you’ll need separate wires for those.

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface):  HDMI has quickly grown in popularity, thanks to it’s compatibility with newer tvs, and it’s compact size.  HDMI, is transmits uncompressed data (see explanation under DVI).  However, HDMI also carries audio, which is great if your monitor has built-in speakers.

VGA (Video Graphics Array):  VGA is probably the closest the computer industry came to a cable standard.  VGA cables carries audio and video.  However, video quality directly responds to cable quality, and more-so on higher resolutions.  So video quality can vary depending on the brand of cable.

Long story short:  HDMI and DVI cables support a higher resolution.  HDMI and VGA carry both audio and video, while DVI only carries video.

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to:  geek@tbyd.ca.  We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

Dear Geek,

I’m all about saving the environment, and make sure I turn off my electronics (t.v., computer, etc.) when they’re not in use.  However, I recently heard about something called “phantom power”.  What is it and what does it mean for me?

Signed,

Phantom-Plagued 

Dear Phantom,

In spite of it’s name, phantom power is not the newest superhero power.  Phantom power refers to the power that electronics (t.v., computer, etc.) use when turned off, but still plugged in.  Most power adapters continuously draw power, even when there is no device connected.  So, even when your mobile phone is not connected to the power adapter, the adapter is still drawing power.

To reduce phantom power waste, most new energy-saving surge protectors come with a few “always-on” outlets for devices that require uninterrupted power (clocks, phones, DVRs), but also allow you to cut power to connected devices that don’t need the power (t.v.s, mobile phones, etc).  Invest in one of these surge protectors, and you can save up to 15% of your total household power usage!

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to:  geek@tbyd.ca.  We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

Dear Geek,

For my job, I occasionally have to take pictures as well as video of my work site.   For the video, my company provides digital camcorders.  The work-supplied digital camera can take videos, and is easier to carry and stash in a pocket.  Do I really need to use the camcorders?

Tarantino in The Making

Dear Tarantino Wanna-Be,

If you are videoing your friends at the beach or at a concert, your digital camera does the job.  However, if video is required for your job, I would suggest you use the work-supplied camcorders.  Digital cameras, while convenient, are not meant for high quality video.

If the company is supplying both camcorders and digital cameras, their goal is to receive high quality pictures as well as high quality video.  Digital camcorders are just better equipped for high quality video.  Even if the supplied camera is capable of 1080p video resolution, you’ll still get better depth and sharpness with the camcorder.  Also, the camcorder allows more video-specific controls (white balance, longer zoom range, longer video time), as well as better microphones.

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to:  geek@tbyd.ca.  We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

Dear Geek,

Our old printer finally bit it, and we need a new home printer.  We usually just print print documents and photos.  My wife wants a new all-in-one printer, but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra cost.  What do you think?

Printer-ed Out

Dear Printer-ed,

An all-in-one (AIO) printer has a lot to offer over a traditional printer.  An AIO can copy old documents or photos, scan documents to your PC or fax pages to businesses.  These options, although you may not use them all the time, are invaluable when you do need them.  These features only add a small amount to the overall cost of the printer.  If price is an issue, AIO printers can come with almost anything you can think of, so just pick the few option that you use occasionally, and don’t turn into Tim Taylor when shopping.

As an added bonus, most new inkjet AIO printers produce lab-quality photo prints, and most models allow you to print a variety of paper sizes and types (for greeting cards, invitations, business cards, etc).  You can also store digital copies of your cards etc on your PC and make duplicates, because you can scan and directly copy material, you can store digital copies of your cards etc on your PC and make duplicates.

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to:  geek@tbyd.ca.  We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!