Differences Between TV Resolutions
Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.
I am in the market for a new HDTV and the newspaper ads are using terminology that I’m unfamiliar with. Do TVs rated at “720p” provide the same quality picture as those rated at “1080p”?
Technically, the answer is no, but it may not matter. The 1080p resolution is certainly higher, but almost nobody can tell the difference between the same material shown in the two resolutions on TV screens up to around 50″ in size and at the typical distances from which people watch those screens. Not only that, but most sources of video content, with the exception of Blu-ray discs, can’t even fully utilize 1080p. Major TV networks don’t use it yet because it requires a lot of bandwidth.
If you can afford a set that can handle 1080p, you might want to buy it so that you are ready in case a lot of 1080p content one day becomes available. You might also want a 1080p set if you are a videophile; have an enormous screen or a projector that fills a large wall; or if you play a lot of Blu-ray discs and believe you can discern the difference on a typical-sized screen. Otherwise, you could save money by buying a 720p set and you might never know the difference.
In 2006, you recommended a powerline adapter for Internet access by Netgear, the XE104. Is this still a good buy or are there others by now that are better?
I haven’t tested powerline adapters, the gadgets that route computer networks over standard home electrical wiring, since that date. Netgear and its competitors — such as Linksys and Belkin — have, naturally, come out with newer, faster units since then. But I am still personally using the XE104 successfully and feel I continue to get my money’s worth from it. It is still being sold. The newer units typically have greater speed in order to do a better job of streaming video around a home, but they work in basically the same way.
I have a Windows XP system, and things work well with my cable modem in my office. But when I’m on the road using Wi-Fi, I can receive emails, but can’t reply or send out. Any idea on how to resolve this problem?
This usually happens because the Wi-Fi provider is blocking the outgoing email server (called an “SMTP” server) that you or your IT department has set up in your email program. Some providers block all such outgoing servers. There are a number of possible solutions. The simplest is to use a Web-based email service, like Gmail or Yahoo Mail, or the Web-based version of your usual service. If your email is provided by your company, you may be able to access a version of Microsoft Outlook over the Internet that will work.
Another possibility is to ask the provider at the hotel or airport what SMTP server it does allow — usually its own — and enter it into your email program’s settings, if you know how. Yet another option would be to use a data card from a cellphone carrier, which I have found can usually overcome this problem. There may be other workarounds, and I invite readers to suggest them.
You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online, free, at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.
Comments
Re sending mail from WiFi spots: my main mail server is a local company and I can’t send mail from that account when I’m not on my own LAN. But I have two other accounts, both with national companies, and I’m always able to send from those accounts no matter where I’m getting WiFi. Is that unusual or is that the norm?
Posted by Bob McKenzie at August 20th, 2008 at 8:52 pmA better solution for the email problem is a based mail2web.com.
When one sends email from mail2web, it appears to the recipient as if it is coming through the sender’s ISP.
The user registers the same email address and password as is on their ISP.
One can then receive and send mail, clean up one’s Inbox, even send a copy of newly sent email to oneself so that one does have a record.
The only draw back is if one is receiving HTML mail, then there is an extra click to open incoming mail so that it can be read. This is a bit klunky, but worth the effort.
I have used mail2web for years and it is excellent for the traveler.
Posted by Richard Mitnick at August 21st, 2008 at 4:09 amI concur that the can send email problem is likely not due to blocking by the Wi-Fi provider, but rather because the user’s ISP doesn’t allow SMTP submissions from outside its network. That’s why it works via the cable modem, but not elsewhere. It might be possible to use an authenticated SMTP configuration (entering a username and password provided by the ISP in the email client configuration) to make this work when on the road.
Posted by Judd Volino at August 21st, 2008 at 6:26 amOops…my comment should start “I concur that the USER’S CAN’T send email…”
Posted by Judd Volino at August 21st, 2008 at 6:27 amFrequently in Wi-Fi hotspots, the SMTP traffic (configured in your email program to go to your home ISP server) is intercepted by the Wi-Fi service provider’s own SMTP Server.
Normally this works just fine. The problem is when your home ISP’s SMTP server configuration requires authentication (using a username and password). The hotspot’s SMPT server doesn’t require an authenticated link and subsequently fails to connect.
I work around this by temporarily disabling the SMTP server authentication (again, in the email client) to send emails.
A more secure solution is to us a service such as Hotspot Shield which provides a secure tunnel to an SMTP server. This also has the benefit that your data cannot be seen by any travelers with nefarious intentions.
Posted by Peter Waldo at August 21st, 2008 at 10:03 amI found the information regarding the differences between 720p and 1080p interesting. How about the refresh rates. Many retailers are touting the 120Hz Frame Refresh rate. Is this something that most people won’t know has well?
Posted by Steve Romero at August 21st, 2008 at 11:35 amRE: sending email on the road - I work on a laptop through multiple ISP’s and wifi connections and as with others ran into problems sending email due to ISP’s blocking SMTP mail from computers not directly connected on their network. I run a mail app on my laptop, as I prefer desktop apps to web mail interfaces. The solution I found was to open an account with an authenticated SMTP mail service and use that for all my outgoing mail connections from various accounts. I use AuthSMTP (authsmtp.com) and have been extremely happy with their service. I never have to fiddle with mail settings on the road anymore. I’ve used AuthSMTP with both Windows and Mac mail apps, it works great.
Posted by Deborah Lewis at August 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 amIf you can’t send email from anywhere except your office, the problem is probably with your own ISP not accepting mail from outside its network, as described above. If, on the other hand, sending mail works from some places and not others, then it is probably because the network you are using for WiFi blocks port 25, which is the default port for SMTP. Check to see if your ISP supports an “alternate port” for sending mail, and then configure your mail program to use that port instead of 25 for SMTP. Every email program is different, but in Outlook, go to Email Accounts and under More Settings-Advanced you will see a place to change Outgoing Server (SMTP). Change that to the alternate port provided by your ISP.
Posted by Christopher Herot at August 24th, 2008 at 10:57 amWhen I have problems on the road sending emails through other ISPs, I use a VPN setup to access my home computer. Then I can use the email application on that computer to draft and send messages through my own ISP without restrictions.
Posted by Piper Mason at August 24th, 2008 at 11:42 amSending work e-mail through other ISPs: I installed a virtual private network (VPN) on my home computer. The VPN is a small Cisco program configured and supplied by my institution. I launch the VPN, then use Entourage to send e-mails from my home as though I were at work. I also can access a network server at my workplace using VPN. I’m sure VPNs are pretty widely used.
Posted by Brian Knoll at August 25th, 2008 at 6:57 amAt the risk of running a major thread here. I think people should know what they are getting into before jumping into VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Brian Knoll’s comment was good, but his comment assumes that you are running an in-house mail server, such as Microsoft Exchange Server or Apple’s Mail Server on OS X 10.5 Server, which maybe the case in almost all medium to large business’s. There are also a range of 3rd party mail servers (as in not produced by the Operating System (OS) manufacturers) such as Kerio, etc …
This in-house mail server would do the sending on your behalf. Brian’s comment implies that he connects to his in-house mail server via VPN, this is where the internal LAN (Local Area Network) is presented to your PC over the internet - as if you were plugged into the network back at base (wherever that is).
VPN is an advanced network feature of the network at base and because it presents the network over the internet needs to be very secure. One would need to consult the network administrator.
The more simpler answer would be to find out if the in-house mail server handled SMTP mail sending over the internet, just like the ISP’s mail server. The difference will be in the ports and authentication, which your network administrator would be able supply.
If you do not have an in-house mail server, then Christopher Herot’s comments are bang on. Either find out what other options for sending mail are available from your ISP while ‘on the road’, or sign up to an authenticated SMTP service as Christopher suggested.
Regards,
John Grant
Posted by John Grant at August 29th, 2008 at 9:43 pm