September 2009 - The Wholenote Magazine

The Met HD Player is ready for you ....but are you ready for it?continued from page 60The $64,000 question is whether today’s rela-tively high speed cable and DSL lines are fastenough. There’s little question they will, inthe not too distant future. But, with respect tothe operability of the Met Player now...?After test runs of the Met Player in HDmode, I’m very pleased to report that we are— provided one has a newer computer withcapabilities that would have cost a bundle nottoo long ago, but are modestly priced today.The price for the Met Player subscriptionitself is certainly right, and the service isavailable in Canada, or anywhere else in theworld where government policy or privatemonopolies don’t interfere: US $14.99 permonth, or $149.99 yearly (and you thoughtit wasn’t possible to buy anything from NewYork for $15).With New York street prices for Blu-Rayopera disks ranging from US $21 to $38, andhigher yet in Canada, it doesn’t take manyviewings to make the Met subscription payfor itself. One can also rent access to HDbroadcasts for $4.99, or standard broadcastsfor $3.99 (must be accessed within 30 days,with a 6 hours maximum viewing time). Amonthly subscription is clearly a better deal,and a free 7-day trial, offered at www.me-topera.org. A potential glitch, not the Met’sdoing, in this happy pricing situation: greedyInternet service providers tacking on extracharges, and not small charges at that, whenMet Player screenshotthe combined volume of monthly download-ing and uploading les exceeds an imposedthreshold. Check your provider’s policy inorder to avoid a nasty surprise at the end ofthe month. And look for another provider ifyour present supplier is countering the logicof information technology via price gouging.The audiovisual riches arrive via the MoveMedia Player plugin for one of three brows-ers: recent versions of Internet Explorer, theopen source Firefox, or Apple’s Safari. Formaximal performance of the Met Player, Irecommend Safari with Windows or Mac. Incivilian life, I use Firefox because the hun-dreds of software plugins written for it makeit the Swiss Army Knife of browsers. Butwhen it’s a question of streaming video, Iswitch to Safari: it’s faster.Accessing the Met videos in HDperformance requires a relatively new andsprightly computer. That means Intel DualCore chip, minimum speed of 2 Ghz, andrunning on updated versions of Windows XP,or Vista, or Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5. Mostnew desktop or notebook computers soldthese days, even at modest prices, t the bill.Second, the computer needs a graphics pro-cessor that uses at least 128 Mb of memory.Preferably this should be a “discrete” stand-alone graphics card with its own memorychip, not a graphics chip on the motherboard. In Windows this means desktops start-ing around $800 and laptops around $1200.For Macs, you’re talking about an iMac orMacbook Pro, starting about $600 higherthan minimal Windows congurations, butworth the money if audiovisual performanceis the name of the game.I tested the Met Player in HD mode us-ing a Macbook Pro, with sound fed throughHeadRoom’s modestly priced Total Bitheadcombination DAC (digital-to-analog con-verter ) and headphone amplier ($CA 175).I listened via Grado SR125 headphones, anaudiophile bargain running less than $CA200.The HD video owed with barely the odd,brief splutter --- and that’s at the end of arural DSL line that’s more than four milesaway from the relay station.Net result? I had to tear myself away towrite the piece! Sign me up!Great Classes.TREAT YOUR SELF.TAKE PART IN A ROYAL CONSERVATORY MUSIC AND ARTSPROGRAM, WHETHER YOU’RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING(OR RETURNING TO) AN INSTRUMENT OR ANY NUMBER OFOTHER EXCITING FORMS OF PERSONAL EXPRESSION.The Conservatory’s dynamic programs offerstudents of all agesunparalleled intellectual, social and emotional benefits.Classes start in September.Find out more online orbyvisitingour exciting newhomeon Bloor Street, or our Mississauga campusat Cawthra and Lakeshore.REGISTER TODAYVisit us at rcmusic.ca,orcall416.408.2825PROGRAMS BEGIN THISSEPTEMBERGuitar &Violin from ScratchBrush up your PianoSkillsAdultChoirs &Introto Choral SingingSamba & TaikoDrummingCreating a PersonalVision BookWriting Lab &Video Makingand much more...WE ALSO HAVEA WIDE VARIETY OFCHILDREN’S CLASSES!JOIN OUR ONLINE MAILING LIST AT RCMUSIC.CAand stay up to date about everything that’s newat the RCM.GO BEYOND THE CONCERT EXPERIENCE withAnton Kuerti’sLecture Series, Master Classes with Leon Fleischer and many more,plus our exclusive Postlude performances.