

Nook’s Specs Are Exaggerated, Again - madiator
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/nooks-specs-are-exaggerated-again

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Osiris
As I read the article, all I could think was, "Really?". The specs clearly
state 1024x600. The marketing material says it supports HD _content_. That
means if you have a video that's encoded in 720p or 1080p that you can play it
on the table without converting it.

On a 7" screen, I bet you could barely, if at all, tell the difference between
1280x720 and 1024x600 playing a 720p video, so I don't think that's really a
good argument against the device.

However, you CAN tell the difference between a 720p video playing at 600p
versus a 480p video being upscaled to 600p. You retain much more quality when
downconverting than upconverting. I do a lot of video conversion (re-encoding
my BluRay and DVDs for XBMC) and believe me, a BluRay downconverted to 720p
looks _immensely_ better than a 480p DVD upconverted.

So, I say "Fantastic!" Now I don't have to re-encode all my x264 encoded 720p
BluRay files to watch them on my Nook (well, it probably doesn't support MKV
or AC3, but that's another topic).

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smackfu
Note that they never say you can watch videos _in HD_. They always say you can
watch HD videos or HD content or HD entertainment. You're just watching that
HD stuff on a non-HD screen.

I should be a marketer!

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jinushaun
NYT article is link bait. Things that can _play/receive_ in HD don't always
necessarily _display_ in HD. Nook is not the first or last manufacturer to do
this. If only "true" HD devices were allowed to decode HD video, that would
eliminate virtually all mobile video devices, including the iPhone 4S which
_records_ in 1080, but only has a 960 display.

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timwiseman
While technically true, it is extremely misleading to your average potential
purchaser. At the very least a difference like that should be spelled out
clearly in terms the target audiance would understand.

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jinushaun
IMHO, that sounds ever more confusing to consumers... Compare the confusing
packaging at Best Buy with grids of tech specs to the simple and easy to
understand packaging at the Apple Store. I'm turning boxes at Best Buy upside-
down and inside-out just to figure out what the asterisk is referring to!
Consumers don't need more asterisks.

The fact that a famous tech blogger for the NYT can't even understand that
distinction doesn't give me hope for the general public. Tech-savvy consumers
will go to the website and clearly see that the tech specs for the Nook tablet
lists a resolution of 1024x600.

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jtchang
I think that manufacturers that try to overly massage the specs in their favor
should be raked over the coals. The specifications are there for a reason.

In the end though it rarely matters. Mom and dad will most likely buy whatever
looks nicer (as well as what the neighbor has).

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ableal
_"(I’m not sure what you’d use the memory card for, considering that Barnes &
Noble doesn’t even have a downloadable-movie store. But whatever.)"_

There's possibly a thrifty caveman or two who rips his own DVDs. Let us ignore
those poor little people who don't re-buy their movies as needed.

(They may have also bought "HD ready" 1366x768 screens, the poor dears. Haha.)

I don't like being lied to, but I enjoy snob snark even less.

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w33ble
Yeah, that was a weird editorial. Especially considering that B&N has said
that you can only store 1GB of non-B&N-purchased content on the device itself.
Anyone ripping their own content or purchasing unprotected content elsewhere
will likely make heavy use of that SD card.

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tomkarlo
This seems like a case of non-tech PR/marketing selling a tech product without
sufficient understanding of the industry terms they're throwing around.

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hugh3
It's not like these are even particularly technical terms, though. Anyone who
has shopped for a TV in the last five years should know what "1080" and "720"
are, even if they don't quite grok the "i" and the "p". Not _everybody_
understands what HDTV is, but... I'd say a majority of the working age male
population does.

I gotta admit that they fooled me; I saw this new Nook advertised at B&N the
other day, and was impressed to note that it was capable of full HD video. It
didn't occur to me that that might be a total lie.

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drivebyacct2
Basically all smartphone and tablet manufacturers are guilty of this exact
same thing. (Except the Galaxy Nexus and Rezound)

