New podcasts, HDTV, Atlas Password Strength Extender

I was supposed to get a new ASP.NET podcast done this weekend, but have only done it partialy and not complete yet. It will contain some information around my new Atlas control extender I am working on and also some info around web load testing using Visual Studio Team Test. I worked on a project that had to simulate 10,000 concurrent users using a web farm of servers and client PC's so I am going to talk a little about that. Alas, the podcast is not quite there yet. I hope Wally forgives me.

I also recently purchased a bargain HDTV compatible rear projection TV. 120cm (47 inch), 1080i HDTV compatible for around $1000 (AUD). A bargain if you ask me. This weekend I purchased a HDTV tuner and can now watch all the free to air TV stations in all their 120cm high def glory. All for a total of $1300 AUD which is pretty cool and looks great. Note that the rear projection TV is not quite as good as the LCD type TV's, but they still cost a fortune for anything really large.

My Xbox 360, although HDTV capable, does not output a HDTV compatible signal for this TV as apparently, the 360 outputs HDTV at 60Hz, and this particular TV only accepts HDTV signal at 50Hz (although the HDTV tuner works without a hitch) so I can only play 360 games at 480p, not 1080i. Bit of a shame but it still looks quite good, and am not complaining too much coz the TV was such a good price. Its a known issue with this particular TV and the 360.

For those wondering if HDTV is worth it, the picture quality is outstanding compared to regular TV. Even SDTV would be pretty good compared. The tuners can still be quite expensive, although I was hard pressed finding any differences between tuners priced @ $300 and tuners priced at $600. In the end, I bought a $300 tuner, with DVI outputs (for my next TV....:-) ) and it works great.