Like
most people I have been watching television for years. I watch it
every day and enjoy it and I know a lot of people say they don't
watch it much and do.
I
remember there was a link, many years ago, when the BBC managed to get
a live picture from New York.
I looked at it and looked at it and
there they were; people actually walking along the street in New
York; or it might have been Washington DC?
The
programme was being introduced by Richard Dimbleby the most famous
British Broadcaster of all time; he whom The Dimbleby Lecture is
named after, the Dimbleby this and the Dimlebey that and these days
also famous for being the father of the Dim Bum Bums – David and
Jonathan.
Seems strange that a man of such immense imagination and
experience should name his sons after two biblical characters. I mean
what's the matter with Cane and Abel??
I
can't remember too much about the broadcast apart from the people
walking and living all those many miles away from where I was sitting,
but I have seen these things grow over the years to where they could
actually speak to people and have a conversation with them in Africa
and places as far and even farther and with even stranger sounding names.
When
they spoke their lips would match the sound - just like on a film.
Sometimes
they would speak to people all of ten miles away from London and
again – their lips matched.
These
days, because everything has gone digital and automatic (I mean I
can't even misspell because, because it corrects itself automatically)
the picture is so clear on my digital TV; it's even clearer on the HD
(High Definition – or Hi-Def) but you know what? They can't even
get the lips to match when speaking to someone in the same town.
The
wonderful HD channel breaks up all the time so I hardly bother to
have it on and the digital music on MP3 only has one third of the
quality of a vinyl record.
Even
the cassette tape with its hissing is better than MP3.
And
do you know why? Because (it corrected it again) MP3 only has one
third of the quality of real life – and vinyl.
If
you have two voices singing or playing an instrument and they are
playing the same note you will only hear one. You may be kidding
yourself as you walk around with ear phones shoved into your ears and
loving the effect of hearing in both ears – the stereo effect –
but it won't be like sitting in front of an orchestra or a group or
band; even though you think it is, and even if you have the big head
set, which I fear is coming back into fashion, just to really signal
that you are listening to something else in case someone asks you a
question, makes some kind of communication with you, asks you
directions or is shouting “get out of the way of the lion” at
you.
I
see some people on the tube wearing a hat, reading the paper, wearing
glasses and listening to music as they travel – there is no means
of communication whatsoever and no wonder they have to look on the
Internet or join a dating site to even get a date – which they have
to answer questions about afterwards.
They have no delight any more
in merely typing the word afterwards and appreciating that it is the
longest word I know which you can type with one hand – the left
one, by the way.
The clearest sound these days is Waveform - but it's a big file.
The
clearest picture is not digital; it's on film.
If you watch the movie
Lawrence of Arabia you will see the clearest picture of all.
There he is; a dot, a tiny dot and that dot on the film will become
Omar Sharif.
It will grow and grow until it becomes one of the
biggest movie stars of the 70s – a man that would gamble his last
thousand dollars on a horse – in fact he and Peter O'Toole lost all
their fees from Lawrence in a casino!
Wouldn't you sooner be one
of those type of men or be married to one than an accountant?
My
whole point is, aren't we sacrificing quality for speed and
convenience?
The shot I mentioned of Omar Sharif's entrance was
sacrificed itself because David Lean said he wanted to use the whole
shot of the mirage image to Omar getting off the camel but had to cut
away because he didn't think the audience would stick with it; but
when I saw a re-cut of the film he didn't do it.
Have
a look here and enjoy it – the only thing is, you will be watching
that through a digital device so you will lose some quality because
film is always better – it has light shining through it.
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