Samsung plasma TV sucks - the workaround Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Some time back I had a rant about the fact that my Sony Vaio wouldn't connect to my new Samsung Plasma TV. This was a problem known by Samsung but not revealed publicly.

Well, evidently this is a problem encountered by lots of folks, as evidenced by the large number of hits this post has received.

Stupidly I forgot to ever publish the workaround solution I came up with. It's not pretty but if you happen to have fallen into the same situation then here's how I have gotten the Vaio to display on the Samsung plasma.

A chance comment that a friend made to me about "tricking" the plasma prompted me to take a chance and buy a Belkin device which is designed to connect several computers to single screen which can then be alternated between. To make the whole thing work, this is what I do:

1. Connect the Samsung Plasma and the Vaio to this "intermediate" dumb device in "a daisy chain", the former with a monitor cable and the latter with the Belkin device cable.

2. On your Vaio, activate the external monitor output (on my keyboard this is achieved with Fn+f7 buttons). At this point the Samsung plasma recognises that a PC is attempting to connect to it and activates the PC source, which was previously inaccessible. However, it reports on screen that you need to check the signal.

3. Disconnect both the plasma and the vaio from the Belkin device and connect the plasma directly to the vaio. Voila, your vaio screen is now visible on the Samsung plasma screen.

It seems crazy, but it works for reasons I don't care about. It needn't be a Belkin device you use in all likelihood, provided it performs that same sort of function to initially camouflage the Vaio.

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posted by John Wilson @ 4:52 PM Permanent Link ,

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Sony asks all Playstation 3 players to kindly go "Home" Thursday, March 08, 2007

Sony has launched a "me too" online community for its Playstation 3, accessed via the machine. Called "Home", the BBC has a report on it here.

Picture from BBC - trendy, social, gamers interacting inside "Home" - no, really

Gamers will be able to meet, chat and share content inside the 3D world, not to mention buy stuff for their avatar, in similar fashion to Second Life!

Sony said "This is not just about Sony brands and Sony games - it's a much wider network of connected spaces"

Connecting to other players is not new for gaming - multiplayers games are already well established and XBox 360 already allows players to connect online. Neither is the creation of an online persona with possessions. However, I understand that the ability for players to "create" stuff of their own in the environment is a new development (and revenue source for Sony!)

This is clearly one example of a "brand" experience to which people will undoubtedly connect, which I debated the other day. Moreover, this sort of mainstream headline with the associated revenues, will certainly attract the attention of other brands and accelerate the numbers hoping to emulate the model.

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posted by John Wilson @ 6:47 AM Permanent Link ,

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