Archive from 04-06-2001
Gar ( 169.207.194.151 ) at 6:50 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
FYI
CuRTis:Hey man that was based on your recommendations, that I get the Sony S-7000 and mate it with a iScan Pro.. The results are fantastic, better then any Progressive Piece on the market right now. I also am using a Panasonic RV-80, both units put up a great image.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 6:50 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Derb: I had the Tosh TP50H60 and enjoyed it a lot. If your friend is looking for an analog RTV, I tell anyone that will listen to shop for a V series Sony 48 or 53. Their MSRP is a little higher than what your friend is looking at, but I have seen great buys on these sets since they are analog. A friend of mine was buying things for his new condo and was able to include a 48" V series Sony in with his washer/dryer/refrig/receiver for $1500. The guts of the V series is basically the old XBR series prior to HD ready. Incredible picture for the money.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.68.43 ) at 6:42 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Power Tools
I can't believe you guys! Talking about power tools so openly! They were designed to sever people's limbs and cause other maiming type injuries! I mean, it's just sick! look here! 
Derb ( 199.174.5.121 ) at 6:37 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
TOSHIBA
Joe: Thanx, I'll let him know the good luck yo have had. He knows I have a direct view 32" Toshiba and has been great, going on about 7 years old. I have found Toshiba to stand behind there products also,
Winston aka the Spleen ( 63.93.239.9 ) at 6:28 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Ranting
Gasgeek: I don't blame you for ranting, the energy situation in CA is a mess. We're completely isolated here in AZ from what you're experiencing but we sympathize with you and are scared about what might happen to us in the future. I just talked to a buddy back in Chicago and he says the cost of gasoline is supposed to exceed $2 gallon by summer. Not good, and no good news in sight.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 63.93.239.9 ) at 6:18 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Tube amps sound spectacular but they can be a major pain in the butt sometimes. Last night I flipped on my center amp (only) bacause I wanted to watch a mono movie on DVD. I left room for 30 seconds while it was warming up and when I returned it looked like a miniature version of the Chernobyl incident. The three output tubes on the left channel were glowing so red I though they would explode. Turns out that a resistor let go and caused the tubes to run away. I'm pretty sure I can fix the problem myself - tube amps are pretty easy to trouble shoot as long as you're careful not to get electrocuted (really, lethal voltages inside) but naturally nobody locally has the proper value resistor and have to drive all the way to Tempe tomorrow to get the dude.
Oh well, at least I can my reconfigure on of my two rear SE-40 amps from mono to stereo for the rear channels and move the other one up front for the center so I can have full surround tonight. But it's still a pain in the a@@!
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 6:17 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Congrads Sonic!!!
SonicBit picked up a Sony 9000 today. That brings the forum up to how many users now? Maybe someone could loan old bit an Update CD for the 9000? Surely the new remote codes have been Pronto'd by now. Haven't they???
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 6:09 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
TGIF to you Mr. Spleen you Desert flower you! As you can see, I'm pontificating here today.
By the way. Ranting over!!!!
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 6:08 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Ron H: Agreed. If you haven't guessed, I'm on the Gas side. Most electricity in CA is generated by natural gas. The gas industry was also deregulated, but not quite as ignorantly as the electric side. Although, before deregulation, we were required to have a seven year supply guaranteed at a reasonable rate. We did this with the long term contracts and used to take a lot of verbal abuse because spot market prices were sometimes less than contract prices. Thus the wisdom to allow everyone the opportunity to purchase gas from the supplier/well head if you will.
We now pass the wholesale price of gas straight through to the customer with a tranportation fee that is actually less than what we charged per therm three years ago.
However, the wholesale price at the CA border that we pay was approx. $53 dollar per million btu's in December 2000. In December of 1999, we paid approx. $3 per million for the same gas. "Can you say lessons from OPEC here?"
Winston aka the Spleen ( 63.93.239.9 ) at 6:02 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Hello everyone. Been in meetings most of the day but wanted to see what's up before the weekend.
Special greetings to Gasgeek, Curtis, Kieran. TGIF!
Ron H ( 63.26.164.53 ) at 5:49 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Gasgeek: We are on our third price increase in Houston since August. A 25%, then a 15% and now another 20%. I do not like the price increases but at least I have a dependable source. My electricty comes from one of your outside suppliers.
I read that a few states in the Virginia area have grouped togather, deregulated their electricity and it is going fantastic. It is too bad for you that your state was the one the rest have learned from.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 5:44 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Curtis: Fortunately the other states can use this mess as an example, unfortunatly, everyone nationwide is going to have to pay for this mess in the longrun.
CuRTis ( 64.161.24.75 ) at 5:38 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Gasgeek: It is a huge mess and it's clearly going to cost someone a fortune to fix. I agree that the outside energy producers huge price increases are the major culprit. Imagine any business having their costs skyrocket this rapidly.
If nothing else CA will serve as the model of what not to do in other states.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 5:28 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Oh by the way. What JBC said on the pensions. Sorry for the long post, but I'm pretty close to this thing.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 5:27 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Sorry, but this is going to be long. Just a very generalized, simplified insight as to what is actually going on in the California energy debacle.
California was the first state to totally deregulate their electric utilities. In their bureaucratic wisdom, the CPUC and the state legislature pushed this lovely idea through with the complete backing from out of state energy service providers such as Enron, Southern Companies, Duke Energ,y etc. These folks convinced the politicians that if they allowed supply and demand to set energy prices rather than the big, bad public owned utilities , that prices would obviously go down. (Sound familiar, telephone, airlines, etc.) Keep in mind, that the utilities have always been required to buy a stable, reasonably priced, long term supply of power to guarantee that the good citizens would always have energy. Because of long term contracts, the price was sometimes higher on the immediate spot market than what the contracts called for. This alerted the always right government entities to the fact that they could do it better.
The state of CA forced all of their Electrical utilities to sell off the majority of their wholly owned electric generation facilities. The large outside energy service providers then, out of the goodness of their heart, purchased these power generation facilities, at a very reasonable price. (the government kind of snickered at the foolishness of these large giants paying such a high price for old facilities.) Oh by the way, these plants all paid for themselves in full within two years.
Because of the very high demand for electricity last summer for AC and one of the coldest winters in CA in 40 years, the demand for electricity has been very high. Our good friends, the outside energy service providers who encouraged the deregulation just happened to raise their prices by about 300%. The way deregulation works in CA is that the public owned utilities are not allowed to make any profit on the actual price of electricity or gas. They have transportation fees that are attached, but the customer is required to pay whatever the wholesale price of the commodity is.
In steps the political machine that is up for re-election. The governor in all his wisdom declares a price ceiling on what the utilities can charge for the electricity that they are passing through, but their is no ceiling on what the wholesalers can charge the utilities (controlled by the Federal Energy Resource Commission.)
To put this into HT terms. Your dealer is paying $5000 for a pre/pro, but the government says that he can only charge the customer $2000, and the demand is at an all time high and your dealer is required by law to supply as many as the customer wants or needs.
The utilities are losing their credit rating and cash reserves because they are not taking in enough money to cover their costs. Now the other watchdog type agencies (read Ralph Nader type geniuses) say that the utilities should take all of their assets, savings and profits from other areas and pay the difference out of the goodness of their hearts. Screw the fact that these utilities are "Public owned and publicly traded businesses."
The bottom line is bankruptcy. The governor wants to get elected so is proposing that there will only be limited rate increases and has proposed that the state now buy the transmissions lines from the utilities. That won't put one electron into the system, but it sounds good to him. Still no answer insight as to who is going to pay the difference between the cost of the product and the forced low price of the product. None of this would have happened if 1. Some limit were put on the wholesale price or 2. The customer's would have been required to pay the price as required under deregulation. The system is broken and no one knows how to fix it.
The genius of government officials at work. Oh by the way, the legislature, governor and the CPUC are all busy pointed their fingers at the utilities and each other rather than stepping up and saying that they screwed up. It's that simple.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 5:16 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Kieran: From what I understand the Philips doesn't support 720P. I think I may have found THE DEAL...
NEC LT 150, 800 Lumen 800:1 Contrast Ratio XGA DLP Projector + GreyHawk 4:3 100" Screen. Under $6000. Maybe I can do better if I go with a 16:9 Screen. I will not be using this thing much with 4:3 sources. If I did my Tuner 16:9s the output to HD standards.
Now I am just getting odd. What if I made a track to slide the projector back and forth to get 16:9 correct with black bars masked with blackout? And 4:3 smaller in the middle of the screen?
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 4:55 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Mistake in point 4. "are" = "are not". The point being that pension plan trusts are creditor proof!
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 4:53 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Kieran: I will put on my actuaries hat here. The treatment of pension is dependent as to whether the pensiona plans themselves are qualified or not. Very simply:
1. The financial position of a company has nothing to do with the financial positionof a pension plan. A company can be either solvent or insolvent with its pension similarly being either solvent or insolvent.
2. ERISA (i.e. US QPP law) requires annual valuation for the express purpose of ensuring that pension plans are solvent.
3. PBGC (i.e. Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation) will cover some, but likely not all, of any shortfall. Once again, large shortfalls are unlikely.
4. Pension plan funds are invested in separate trusts, as required by ERISA, which means they are an asset of the company (i.e. creditors cannot go after them).
What people will loose, once the company closes their doors, is the accrual of future benefits (i.e. the above applies to benefits accrued to date).
If there is anything else, let me know.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.114 ) at 4:52 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Classic Movies I've never seen
There are too many too list... However here are three that have come out on DVD (or will soon) that I planning on buying, sight unseen (as I did with North by Northwest) --
Lawrence of Arabia
Ben-Hur
Spartacus
I am seriously lacking when it comes to having seen some of the best classics. I suppose it has something to do with my generation! I caught up on a lot of war classics last couple of years, at least!
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.140 ) at 4:39 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
PG&E Files bankrupt?
Kieran: I suspect PG&E reorganizes, perhaps works out some debt repayment (or the debt disappears altogether, but their credit rating goes further in the hole, and most jobs are saved. I doubt they disappears (and CA residents scramble to find some other energy supplier).
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 4:28 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
PG&E Files bankrupt?
RickMTB: Damn, that's bad news. So what happens to people's pensions and other retirement plans when a company like PG&E files for bankrupcy? Our next door neighbor has been working for PG&E for probably over 30 years. I'd hate to see people like him getting screwed.
Joe ( 205.188.198.26 ) at 4:16 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Tivo cutting back
CuRTis: With this news and Replay going under it looks like Microsoft will rule the market. Personally if I had Direct TV instead of Dish I would go with the MS product. The option to recors 2 shows is the kicker.
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.140 ) at 4:06 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
PG&E Files bankrupt?
Guess we won't be getting paid for all that electricity we floated California...
CuRTis ( 64.161.24.75 ) at 3:49 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Tivo cutting back
They're laying off 80 people and cutting the research budget by 50%, cancelled a planned secondary IPO and will be relying much more on their partners AOL and DirecTV to get product out the door. Overall expenses must be cut by 35%, according to their CEO.
This is not good news for any innovative new products.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 2:55 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Darian,BIG AL: I am green with envy. You scooped the exact combination I am trying to lay my hands on. Congrats and Enjoy!
Joe ( 205.188.198.58 ) at 2:38 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
TOSHIBA
Derb: We have 3 Toshibas in the Family. I have the 55" and my in-laws have 2 50h60 modles. They work just fine. The 50" is at the lake and thier main house. The picture is good and the remote is easy to use. They have a full set of inputs. I paid $1760 for my 55" and I think the 50" ones were around $1500.
Derb ( 208.134.148.161 ) at 2:32 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
TOSHIBA
Kieran: Thanx, for the input. He would like to stay with the 4:3 image for now and would like something at least 50". Any input on a 4:3 RPTV for that price range?
Kieran ( 156.153.255.114 ) at 2:15 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Darian: Hey, that 64" Philips is nothing to sneeze at! I'd say go for it, if it's in your budget... full 1080i, 720p, 480p...
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 1:56 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Well My budget is now shot. I was hoping to move up to DLP FP and Screen. For close to the price of the Philips 64: set. Man this FP stuff is expensive!
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 1:53 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
TOSHIBA
Derb: Personally, for that price range, I'd go with a TW40X81, or 40H80... both are basically the same TV, and do 480p and 1080i. He may not want them though, as they are on the small side ... 40" 16:9 screens. If he wants a big 4:3 image, then forget it. If he likes his 16:9 movies, then the 40" 16:9 is bigger than what he'd get letterboxed on a 50".
Derb ( 208.134.148.161 ) at 1:49 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
TOSHIBA
ALL: I have a friend at work looking for a big screen TV. His first choice is a Toshiba 50A50. Anyone have any thoughts in regards to this RPTV. Is looking for something in the $1800/$2000 range. Any recomendations would be helpful
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 1:34 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
JBC: Received the Pro 20 and the Supply III earlier this week.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 1:26 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Darian: Just curious what CInepro gear is BIG AL taking of your hands?
AVB ( 64.41.32.134 ) at 12:47 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Furman
Darian: I've actually seen the IT Reference. Looks pretty good but I'm not sure what their market is given how they have divided up the circuits.
I can get the Furman AR-1220 at a decent price ($625)and I really don't think that there would be that much difference between it and the Power Supply III but I might as well have everything match at this point.
I need to find a deal like I did for the PP30 & PS30....52% off list delivered.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:37 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Prices...
AVB: Anytime you email me about the price of something I get scared. Our years of association on this forum goes right out the Window when you start beating on me with pricing!
Have you looked into the Furman IT Referance? Interesting concept but no balanced for amps.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:30 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
AVB: the BK comes with an amp as a Promo right now. The amp is a pro amp and only has balanced and phono ins. It is sitting in the corner of my room. I haven't been able to build a platform for the BK to couple to my chairs yet. We have a rep for Butt Kicker that wants us on the line. THERE IS ZERO MARGIN on the unit. BK sells to dealers at the same price as end consummers currently. You can be assured my cohort is dying to get this line. BK claims that the promo will end soon and prices will change. BK thinks of the product as somethng that they can sell to DIY guys and INSTALLERS CAN "ADD VALUE" BY USING IN INSTALLS. Ala... only money is for installation.
AVB ( 64.41.32.134 ) at 12:17 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Darian: Ignore my email.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:12 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
JBC: Extra Big Al Inherited the 20 amp Cinepro stuff. We worked it out a while back.
AVB ( 64.41.32.134 ) at 12:06 PM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro and Power.
Darian: I run 12-15 amps all the time for just the 3K6SEIII. Mine is also hooked up to a 20 amp line at the moment but the 30 is going in within the next 2 weeks.
BTW, how much does the BK go for?
Kieran ( 156.153.255.130 ) at 11:41 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Power Tools
BC, Joe, Chris: Thanks for the input. If the Delta 10" is still on sale for $100, I think I'll buy it. If not (regular was ~$150 I think) then I'll just rent, especially since the rental place is less than 2 miles from my condo. The rental fee is kinda steep though, at ~$35/day or $9/hr (2 hr min.)
I like DeWalt also, but they're pretty expensive. I don't own any DeWalt, but have used friend's stuff. I own a Makita cordless drill, and palm sander. Makita seems pretty good. Although my friend's DeWalt drill was really impressive... he was building a deck or something one time, and needed (don't know why) to drive a 3/8" diameter wood screw. He had to set the torque setting to "lock" as the clutch would give on anything less, if he hit a knot in the wood. So anyway, he wasn't paying attention, and drove the screw right down till the head hit the washer, and the damn motor (only a 14.4V I think) torqued the head right off the screw! He said he thought it was really cool at first, until he had to figure out how to get the screw out of the wood! 
Chris L. ( 152.163.207.57 ) at 11:19 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
That's a great price BTW!
Chris L. ( 152.163.207.57 ) at 11:19 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Gasgeek: Oh yeah?? I'll sell mine for $100! BWAHAHAHAHA!! Just kidding JJ.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 11:05 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
JJ: If you're out there Bud! Talked with my friend about the Denon AVD-2000. If you want it, it's yours. $125 and you pay the shipping. If you're still interested, I will hook the two of you up and you can work out the details. Let me know.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 10:18 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Darian: I would be happy to take the PowerSupply III off your hands.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 10:08 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro and Power.
Is 20 amps enough? The other day I hooked up a Guitamer Butt Kicker to my 3k6seIII. The output was pothetic. The manual states that they want 1000 watts as a recommmendation. I GOT YOUR 1000 WATTS RIGHT HERE! I hooked up the BK to my 1k2se. This was sending 1400 watts to the BK at 4 ohms. Well this shoock the concrete foundation and over drove the BK big time. The thing was the amount of power it was using. I turned off everything in my system an The only things running were the:
EAD TheaterMaster Preamp
EAD TheaterVision P DVD
And the 1k2se
The readout on the PowerSupply III red 18 AMPS. No joke the lights went up into the red constantly. All I was running was the BK. My speakers were off and so was the monitor. NOW HERE IS THE KICKER. I DIDN'T CLIP THE AMP! No red lights at all! Now if the 1k2se needs that sort of power and won't clip....
Is my 20 amp circuit starving my 3k6se??? Good thing I have the 30 amp products on the way.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 10:05 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro Thumps
Darian: The thumps can also be avoided by just leaving the damn thing on, which is what I am doing until I hear back from Lexicon.
I do also believe that this problem lies with Lexicon as the trigger mechanism in the Cinepro does work. Now, whether they could have designed a system that does not generate thumps and thus not bugger up the Lexicon is an interesting question.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 10:01 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro Thumps
I figured out how to keep my Cinepro from thumping. I turn it on first! thats right, FIRST. Then I turn on the preamp. Wait for the Preamp to initalize and display source. Then the audio starts. Then I hit the power on my monitor. If I turn on the EAD first I get a Thump from the Amp as I flip the switch.
Shut down... Kill the amp before the preamp. No thumps
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 9:48 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Man is my typint bad.. "hust" = "just"
AVB: Yes, I did mean reset. For now I am not using the trigger mechanism. I am waiting to see what Lexicon comes up with.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 9:42 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Ron H: My bad luck hust abounds. I called the folks at Lexicon... they think that I am nuts! At least they provide good customer service and have already called back twice within the last 45 minutes.
AVB ( 64.41.32.3 ) at 9:29 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Subs and More Subs
mic: What are you asking me?
AVB ( 64.41.32.3 ) at 9:28 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro Trigger Problems Continue...Does This Make Sense
JBC: There will be a current surge when the amp comes on and draws whatever is required to make the thumps. I'm not sure what you mean by "require a rest", do you mean reset? Since I don't know how sensitive the Lex is you are asking a question I can't answer with any authority.
mic ( 166.68.134.175 ) at 9:14 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
VCD
I was in china town for lunch yesterday (work in NYC). next door was a store that sold VCD, stopped in and purchased The Phantom Menace, 2 disks box under $20. They played great on my Sony DVD. Looked a little soft but very impressive for a cd, I was saying to myself the color looks very good, then it hit me, the Sony was putting this out thru the component video outs. the sound was DD prologic also pretty impressive. The sony put it out as PCM 16/44.1k, decode buy my 568 as DPLII/THX, sounded much better than the VHS copy & looked much better also, surprizing amount and quality of bass. I made a copy of the disks but my sony would not play them, but they did play on my IBM laptop that has a MPEG1 decoder chip in it. The bad part was chinese subtiles that can't be turn off.
mic ( 166.68.134.175 ) at 9:03 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: Without knowing the quality of the subs and amp, I don't think I would use them for the fronts. I would use them to power the sides and rears, run them full range and use one sub for the left side & rear and one sub the the right side and rear, you would need 2 c/o's.
Or Use the cinpro to biamp the SL-3 (4 channels) 1ch for the center, 1 ch for the sub, use the other 5 channel amp for the 2 sides & 2 rears and the 1 ch for the 2 subs.
AVB: do you know what the c/o spec's for the x10 are, or do you the website.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 8:57 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro Trigger Problems Continue...Does This Make Sense
AVB: I agree with what you say. That said, is it possible that the thumping and associated electrical signal/trigger transmitted by the Lexicon can:
a) Cause a power surge or sag; and
b) The Aforementioned power surge or sag is sufficient to require a rest?
Chris L. ( 64.12.104.43 ) at 8:50 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
The 12" DeWalt, that is.
Chris L. ( 64.12.104.43 ) at 8:49 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Kieran
Joe: That's the same saw I have. I haven't used it that much but I can see how it would perform well under heavy use.
AVB ( 64.41.32.29 ) at 8:23 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Cinepro Trigger Problems Continue...Does This Make Sense
JBC: The trigger on the new Cinepro's is opticly isolated and is only a 12v signal so it doesn't make sense you would have this problem. You will always get more noise at turn off when the source and the amp go off at the same time. The thumps are caused by the amp turning on immediately while the prepro is still hasn't setteled down. There are a few solutions and all involve isolating the turn on/off times. I don't know if there is any way to set the trigger delay on your Lex but I haven't seen that feature on any other prepro.
The problem is to get the source on before the amps and off after the amps to get the least amount of pops and thumps. Those noises really won't hurt your speakers but I just don't like them and jury-rigged a way around it, but I do have to manually turn on the PS-PRO to start the system. I can't think of any way to do the proper (in my way of thinking) sequence with a remote becuase the prepro will always be the first item on and the first item off.
BC ( 166.35.145.38 ) at 8:21 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Good morning gang.
Kieran - If you can afford it, I would also recommend a miter saw before a table saw. A 12" is nice when you have to cut big wood (huh, huh, big wood) A 10" is probably fine for the casual home fixer upper.
I picked mine up on clearance for $200. It's a pro-tech 12" compound miter. It looks like a dewalt. I build fences in the summer so my stuff gets lots of use. Dewalt also is good stuff, as is porter cable and hitachi. Delta is geared more towards the casual user. It's quality stuff, just not designed for heavy use IMHO. I use a delta table saw but the motor tends to bog down on me because I put alot of lumber through it. Now my friends $700 porter cable table saw....that's the ****. ug ug ug grunt grunt grunt. It's just like HT, you can always spend a little more for that little extra performance!
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 7:43 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Darian: The amp is running on a dedicated 20 amp circuit. The pre/pro is connected to a Panamax 1500 which is running on a dedicated 15 amp circuit (this will changewhen I get a PP20).
Joe ( 205.188.198.49 ) at 7:39 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Sapranos
Can you belive it, a guy is suing the show " It protrays Itlian Americans in a bad way" They have the lawer on GMA now.
Joe ( 205.188.198.49 ) at 7:36 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
I just want to say I SLEPT ON THE FLOOR FOR THE LASTNIGHT...I get a bed today, I get a bed today 
Joe ( 205.188.198.49 ) at 7:35 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
Kieran
Sorry for not responding lastnight. I think a miter saw is more usefull. A table saw is nice and someday I will buy one. I guess it's how much money you want to spend. I would go with a miter first, you can use it for differnt things.
Delta is a brand name, they make good tools that are priced for the homeowner that only uses it now and then. I have a 12" DeWalt but it was $300 and I was also looking at building a deck and 3 docks this summer at relatives lake places. So I wanted the bigger saw.
The other thing about delta is they are very light, hey you probabley not up yet 
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 1:28 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
FYI
Gar: There goes Gar again trying to seperate me from my money Mate one of these to any used iScan and you have one sweet setup for a steal. Don't worry, I'm not biting on anything till I get this FP up and running.
Oh DUANE - where are you, old buddy, old pal?!
Gar ( 169.207.193.254 ) at 12:57 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
FYI
Anyone looking for a good interlaced DVD player I have seen a few Sony S-7000 for $345 and $350 on Audiogon, a bargin at that price.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:09 AM EST Friday, April 6, 2001
JBC: i know 2 guys with Lex preamps. Both are DC-1s that I think are current. One guy has real bad electricity. He bought a home from a Army Electrition. I have never seen such a rats nest in terms of electricity. 10 amp breakers that hed 8 daisy chained outlets. Any ways, this guy has problems all the time with his Lex needing to be reset. A dedicated line to his HT and not split all over the house curred the problem.
You get any line conditioning yet?
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 11:56 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Cinepro Trigger Problems Continue...Does This Make Sense
Darian: Sorry to hear that you too wasted time with the Cinepro trigger -- for some reason they just can not get it right!
That said, does my explanation/situation make sense to you?
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 11:54 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Cinepro Trigger Problems Continue...Does This Make Sense
JBC: I wasted the better part of a day on the Cinepro trigger. I found a descret code to have the EAD send a SCREEN DOWN command. Screen down triggered the EAD PowerMaster 2000. I called up Cinepro to get the spec for the trigger. Eric gave me the wrong plug size. Got the wrong plug and took it home. Didn't fit... back to the Shack. Got the right part and hooked it up. Cinepro shut down. Sent the Screen down code to the EAD. The EAD made a relay noise and indicated that the screen was down. NO light on the Cinepro. Reversed all poles and so forth. NOTHING. Called up Cinepro, Remember when they listed EAD as one of the manufactures they set up the trigger to work with. That just isn't the case.
It seems the TheaterMasters only send a pulse. The Cinepro needs a constant 12 Volts to turn on. Bummer!
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 11:48 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
AVB: Thanks for the info... I try via e-mail!
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 11:45 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Cinepro Trigger Problems Continue...Does This Make Sense
All: Last night when I tried to watch a dts DVD I had a problem, there was no sound. I went digging into the manual and found the following on page 57
If severe power surges or sags cause problems with the MC-1 operation, or you simply want to start with a clean slate, you can restore all of the factory defaults with the following procedure...
I decided OK... no big deal let's start with a clean slate. I decide to do a factory reset and see what happens. After the factory reset the problem was solved, there was sound playing my ts DVD.
I return tonight to watch the end of the dts DVD and guess what, there was no sound! Then I think, everytime I turn the system off, the trigger mechanism between the Lexicon MC-1 and the Cinepro 3K6 MKIII causes a thumping sound! Could this be a power surge or sage as described in the manual. So, off I go and do another factory reset AFTER disconnecting the trigger mechanism (which means that the Cinepro 3K6 MKIII) remains on when system is turned off.
Guess what, the problem appears to be solved in that I turned the system on/off 5 times and each time it worked, there was sound!
The two questions are:
a) Does this make sense?
b) Why does it only effect dts playback (i.e. prologic and dolby digital are not affected)?
AVB ( 64.41.32.188 ) at 11:33 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Darian: I have bought from him in the past. Just giving JBC some info.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 11:31 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC/AVB: WhatCHa you getting from Adrian?
AVB ( 64.41.32.188 ) at 11:25 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC: Actually there isn't a toll number listed. www.adrianht.com
Wild Bill ( 12.91.131.154 ) at 10:15 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
House work
Kieran: Buy Dewalt. I've never had a problem with any of their tools. I do have a Delta drill press and it performs flawlessly.
Wild Bill ( 12.91.131.154 ) at 10:14 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Hey guys. Darian was kind enough to drop in on me at work this afternoon. We had a nice chat and he got to see our rooms. Maybwe next time I'll crank up the Meridian Digital system for him. We only took it up to about 78db today. I'm interested in his comments based on his very brief look at the system. I'm starting to settle into the install side of the business. I spent all day yesterday and today working on installs and I will be doing the same today. It is amazing to see the lack of attention to detail that some guys have out in the field. Not to offend the non-homeowners here, but I was working with an apartment dweller today and he just doesn't seem to understand treating the customers home like it is your own. I had to reroute wires to avoid drywall issues and do several other small fixes to assure a proper "finished" look to the install. They weren't even labeling wires. No big deal? The wires that weren't labeled were the feeds to 16 different satellite receivers! Try troubleshooting THAT without labeled wires. Needless to say, they are now being labeled.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 10:12 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
AVB: I will e-mail him firstthing tomorrow and see what can be worked out. Before I e-mail him, do you have his URL as this will have his toll telephone number which would make things a little easier and quicker. Please advise. TIA!
Ron H ( 63.232.70.250 ) at 9:38 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
AVB: You have mail
AVB ( 64.41.33.191 ) at 9:17 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: Email me your asking price please. I may be interested.
Ron H ( 63.26.163.184 ) at 8:27 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron
Joe:Mail is on the way. You have some strange brackets with a b following your addy in your name link.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 8:26 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
House work
Joe: I was thinking about it, (buying the miter saw) but if I'm going to get a saw of that nature, I thought a table saw would have more long term usefulness... am I mistaken? If you had to choose one or the other to have in your shop, which would it be?
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 8:24 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
House work
Joe: Is Delta the brand name?
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 8:23 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
CuRTis: email back atcha. (fairly long)
Ron H ( 63.26.163.184 ) at 8:22 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron
Joe: Send me a e-mail that I can reply too. My mail server keeps rejecting your addy. In the mean time here is a link on the amp.
http://www.parasound.com/products/amplifiers/hca1000a.html
Ron H ( 63.26.163.184 ) at 8:17 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
AVB: The amp is the HCA-1000A. I am planning on ordering the crossover. I will place the order tonight or tommorow. I will try switching the phase of the subs. With the crossover I will be able to try all the different options I spoke about.
Derb ( 199.174.7.5 ) at 8:11 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Martini's & Logan
Ron H: I'm using the Scenarios for my surrounds. I would have bought the SL-3 but they would not have fit on the right side of the room. I have the right side close to the fireplace and the speaker has to fit under the mantel. The placement for the Scenarios sucks as it is right now. But I'm willing to see if they would work out. I really need a new house and buy those Requests for my surrounds myself I'll need to have you over and bring some set-up DVD dics & SPL meter because I have this whole thing screwed up, I think. I need to send my EAD in for up-grade first.
To answer your question for the Requests, man that's a good one. I'm not to sure. You would really have to try them out. But, I think the Requests like a big room. I know my room is bright, and has a bad slap echo. But it is open on both sides and has a vaulted ceiling.
Joe ( 152.163.194.192 ) at 8:10 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
House work
Kieran: Cool, Spend the $169 or $99 and get yourself a 10" Delta miter Saw. It is a good saw to have aroud the house. It should last for a longtime. Once you have one you will be amazed how many little things it can be used for.
Joe ( 152.163.194.192 ) at 8:01 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Big Al
Ok ,cool race, we need to find some back issues and see what Team Playboy is really made of 
Joe ( 152.163.194.192 ) at 8:00 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron
Please send me a E-Mail on your Parasound.
AVB ( 64.41.33.140 ) at 7:16 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC: The number works just fine. I just got his machine. I think that the 866 toll free extention doesn't work from Canada. Email him and ask for a standard area code and number. Or maybe you can do business just by email.
AVB ( 64.41.33.35 ) at 7:08 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: If you run the new subs in the rear put them out of phase with the fronts. I would go full range in the rear provided you buy the crossover. JMHO of course. Second choice would be to add to the LFE but keep the subs in the rear and out of phase. Let us know what you end up doing and how it works.
Are you going to get the crossover?
With 14 channels you have more then I do at 13. I need 15 if I ever move up to an MC-1 though. What Parasound will you be selling?
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 6:27 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Chris L: LOL!!!
Chris L. ( 24.49.157.44 ) at 5:54 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC: That was great! Check THIS out too!
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 5:44 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Gasgeek: A belated congratulations on the Accord (at least I think it was you). Mine is nothing more than an Accord on steroids with a lots of extra bells and whistles.
Ron H ( 216.119.162.19 ) at 5:24 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC: LOL
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 5:18 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron H: I had to rer-send it to your wt e-mail address as your msn e-mail bounced it becasue it was over 1.5 MB. Go figure!
All: Here is just about the best web site on the net. Be sure to visit and bookmark it or just click on it now.... http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm
Ron H ( 63.26.164.180 ) at 4:55 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC: Thanks
Kieran ( 156.153.255.114 ) at 4:49 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
I'm 10% poorer
What was that you said, Curtis, about me saving for more HT stuff?
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010405/0444.html
The bad news: Agilent is cutting everyone's pay (company wide) by 10% for at least two months, maybe more.
The good news: There will be no lay-offs... a much better solution in my oppinion than many other high-tech firms are choosing.
The other good news: Our stock went up almost 10% today.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 4:48 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ Master Craftsman
CuRTis: There're plenty of web sites that'll give you lat&lon by simply entering the street addy, btw! I know, I know, that's not nearly as fun as gps!
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 4:39 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron H: You have e-mail, specifically the LexiPanel application. You will need a 9 pin serial cable to use it.
AVB: The phone you gave me no longer works. I guess he is out of business. Thanks for thinking of me.
Joe: Good luck with the job!
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 4:39 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Acura Sound Systems
Robert: Even though it has Bose (!)speakers I must admit that the sounds system is great. A 9" sub's mounted on the rear deck and it does seem that someone took a lot of care designing the system. A 6 disc in-dash CD changer is a much better idea than a trunk mounted solution. Everyone I know with the latter rarely bothers to change discs.
I'm guessing they use a Pioneer stereo? I can't imagine ever wanting to upgrade it.
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 4:34 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Internet connection
Ron H: Yep, get wired on java and never run out of bandwidth or battery. One reason I like my wireless Net cafe's is that they limit you to 2 hours per session.
Robert ( 63.11.62.50 ) at 4:17 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Acura Sound Systems
Curtis, How do you like your Acura's sound system
Ron H ( 63.26.174.177 ) at 4:15 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Internet connection
CuRTis: I was in a newly opened Starbucks yesterday. It is accross the street from another one. Anyway I thought of you and your cafe when to my suprise I spotted a bar counter in there that had rows of jacks for internet connections and outlets to power your laptop..
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 4:12 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
pinch in = punch in, duh
Ron H ( 63.26.174.177 ) at 4:12 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
To all: I was not really talking to myself.
Ron H ( 63.26.174.177 ) at 4:11 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: The Parasound is what I was using to feed my rear channels in a 7.1 set-up so it is a two channel amp. It is perfect for that useor even to drive a set of TTs. It has a trigger so it can be turned on automaticly with your pre/pro. It is the HCA100A model.
I just remembered I still have the Sunfire Cinepro in my possesion. That comes to a total of 19 channels of amp power. Hmmmm how could I use all of these. 7 passive subs one for each channel, R-C-L, right side-left side, right rear-left rear and Tactile transducers. Hmmm that is only 15 channels four more to go. I guess I could add additional sides and rears.
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 4:11 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ Master Craftsman
Kieran: SOunds like your place is really coming together. Finish carpenters charge a fortune around here, so you're saving for more HT toys.
I thought about your dad with The Masters on in HD. Bring him down this weekend if you like. Kevin's house is the worse OTA reception on earth! I picked up a Channel Master preamp today and will see if that helps. While I'm there I'll get the exact lat/long position from the navigation system in the new car. It even gets elevation. Don't know how I lived without a GPS & suddenly I'm on time for all appointments! Pinch in a phone # for a biz and it finds your way.
Email coming.
Ron H ( 63.26.163.215 ) at 3:56 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
AVB: Many thanks. That looks like just what I was looking for.
Do you have any thoughts on which setup may work best for the subs?
Full range fronts?
Full range rears?
Additional subs for the .1?
I just tried a splitter for the fun of it coming off my sub output and ran it to the new amp. Suprisingly when I did my white noise to balance the level it only was up about 1-2 dbs.
I put on the sat at first and really did not notice much difference. I then put on Replacement Killers to see how music with a deep bass would sound, as this movie has at the beginning. Again not much difference. I had even thought it might not be as strong as before.
I next put on U-571. Oh my!!!! It appears that the difference is in the really deep and demanding bass parts. It felt like my hair and t-shirt were moving.
Do you think I may need to change the phase of the new subs when used as 5.1 as they are in the back of the room?
All: Due to the addition of another 5 channel amp I will have a Parasound amp for sale. I currently have 14 channels of amplification with this new amp. Not quite to AVB standards but getting there.
AVB ( 64.41.32.62 ) at 3:18 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: You need a cheap electronic crossover. This will give you a way to balance the subs with whatever speakers that you use, front, rear sides, whatever. Try here http://www.pricemadness.com/cx10.html or here http://www.price-click.com/cx10.html for about a $100 solution.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.118 ) at 2:58 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
CuRTis: When I saw that the Masters was in HD on CBS, I was REALLY bummed that my Dad's house can't get a signal from Sutro. My dear ol' Dad LIVES for golf. In fact the only reason why he got DSS was to get the Golf channel, and the only reason why he chose Dish over DirecTV was because he could get the Golf Channel a la carte... w/o all the other sports networks.
BTW, did you end up picking up a CM 4228 for me that day? I'll pay you for it, never fear. If you didn't, no biggie, I can always get one from them when I need it, right?
Did you ever get a Sutro signal at Kevin's house? Sorry I didn't reply to that at the time... don't know what I was thinking. There's a guy on AVS... John Stephens I think is his name, who has some killer software that he uses to plot the geographical profile between your site and the tower. You just give him the lat&lon of the house, and he'll give you advice on where to point. In that valley/mountainous region, you might have to go for a reflection off an opposite facing hill or something. A pre amp at the antenna wouldn't hurt, either, as long as you're not TOO close to Sutro, which Kevin's not.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.114 ) at 2:50 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
House work
Joe: Well, I've been doing the home improvement thing lately too. Although my project is of a much smaller scale than yours. Of course this is my first time, so it's appropriate that I start small I guess. Right now (this week), I'm spending 2 hours every day after work painting cupboard doors, attaching hinges and remounting the doors, painting moulding, measuring and miter-cutting the moulding, and installing the moulding. I had Pergo floors put in the downstairs of my condo (~700 sqft I think) but had them NOT do the moulding, since they wanted an ungodly amount/linear foot, and the materials only cost $.50 per foot.
So far I've been mitering with a hand saw and miter box. This just doens't "cut it" though, and this weekend, I'm going to rent a power mitre saw and finish the job. I had to do the bathrooms asap though, so I could get the toilets back in. That meant using the hand saw for the time being.
Man... I need some practice with a hammer! It's been way too long since I swung one with any regularity, and I've lost my knack. I'm bending moulding nails left and right (literally! ... up and down, too). What a pain.... plus nailing in that position isn't easy anyway.
I find it ironic that they make moulding nails painted white, to match if you have white trim. They paint the whole nail white, even though all you care about is the head. And, by the time you've finished hammering the nail in, the paint is gone from the head, anyway! SHEESH!
Kieran ( 156.153.255.114 ) at 2:40 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Digital cable
Joe,CuRTis: Digital cable's ability to do HD all depends on the bandwidth. AFAIK, most cable laid by cable companies does not have the bandwidth to support HDTV from all 4 major networks, HBO, Showtime, PPV, Discovery, AND at the same time still offer all the 100's of other SDTV cable channels (CNN, ESPN, MTV...) As it is, (to my knowledge) most digital cable systems have less bandwidth than DSS, which is why the picture is generally not as good as DSS. The technology is EXACTLY the same as DSS, though, i.e. MPEG2 video compression. The only difference is the method of delivery of the material (terrestrial vs. orbital). I don't know this, but I'd bet that when a cable company claims their service is BETTER than DSS, they are not talking about quality, they're talking about features. In other words, they may think their GUI is better, or that they can offer ALL your local channels with "digital quality" etc.
As for Curtis' description of "garbage in = perfect garbage out"... while I agree with this, I say it's true if DSS, too. Honestly, all of the digital cable examples I've seen look no better OR WORSE than DSS. It varies depending on where the provider decides to focus their bandwidth at that moment. I believe that the source (i.e. pre-compression) material that the digital cable company gets is just as good as the source material that the DSS companies get. Where the cable company has an advantage over the DSS company is their locality to the customer. While DSS has more bandwidth, they also have to stream ALL their channels down simultaneously... this means a waste of bandwidth in a way, since someone in LA has no interest in seeing the NY Fox affiliate. With the cable company, I'm guessing that they don't have this problem... they just don't carry anything that's not local in the first place.
What really bugs me is when digital cable companies try to get their customers to believe that by getting digital cable, that they are really getting digital TV (i.e. SDTV, 480p). This is not so, of course, it's just 480i MPEG2 material.
The drawback of digital cable is the same as for DSS... you can't split the signal anymore and have video on every TV in the house... you need a receiver box to decode the digital signal at every TV.
Joe ( 152.163.204.63 ) at 2:30 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
I have to go and work more, breaktime over.
Joe ( 152.163.204.63 ) at 2:26 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: If you look in your Crutchfield mag, you can find small filters that are about the size of a .30cal round Anyways you could use these as a low pass.
I know Geo has used them on his Yamaha. I think the lowest is around 50hz. Seems like price tag was around $30
You might also find them at the place by your house that installs car stereos. You the ones that go thump thump thump past your house at night.
Joe ( 152.163.204.63 ) at 2:23 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
I am still trimming rooms. I did not buy a finsih nailer, but if I ever do another project it's first. I still ahve doors to do, I swear it will be a week before I am finish on the doors. This FU)((* urathaining takes forever.
I would predict that with the time I have spent on trim. I will have a easy 40 manhours into the finish work in the theater room. I should say in just staining and clearing.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.88 ) at 2:22 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Joe: If I add the subs to the Rr/Lr then I need some kind of crossover to use.
Joe ( 152.163.204.63 ) at 2:18 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Joe: Ron, Niles makes all kinds of controlls, they might have something also. My .02 would be add it to the back speakers.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.88 ) at 2:18 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Joe: That may be a thought. Anyone have a reason why it would not work?
Anyone have any more thoughts on adding the subs to the rear channels? I am talking balanced properly (if I can figure out how) so the rears become extended full range speakers.
Joe ( 152.163.204.63 ) at 2:14 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: They make colume controls for inwall applications. Would one of these work? you could stick in right inline and adjust with that.
I am thinking Russound.
Joe ( 152.163.204.63 ) at 2:13 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
CuRTis: No masters here. I did finally watch some tennis last weekend. The match with Jennifer and Venus. Now I don't have HDTV or do I really find tennis that interesting. But after watching Jennifer for awhile whens the next match with Anna showing
Ron H ( 63.26.171.88 ) at 2:12 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
CuRTis: I already have the VMPS sub hooked up to my sub output. If I use a splitter off the sub output and add the 2 additional subs I have no way of balancing the level from them with the VMPS. I would leave the VMPS in the front and move the JBLs to the rear.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 2:12 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
cables
AVB: I sent you a reply yesterday, just sent another. Thanks
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 2:07 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
Robert: The FCC did say that they must transition off of the old frequencies in time to auction it off for big bucks, yet forgot to spell out that broadcasters must use the new bandwidth for HD specific programming. As it stands today there's nothing stopping a local from splitting up one HD channel into 5 or 6 SD channels.
We're very lucky in this area to have 9 digital OTA's up & running. Once demand in Peroria for HD goes up, they'll deliver the goods. This won't happen til the hardware prices comes down and the salespeople do a much better job of educating the buying public. The sat. and cables companies could offer up a great deal more content as well.
CBS is the model of how to do it right. Show all primetime in HD and get as many major sporting events as possible, even if the hardware makers have to foot the bill for now.
Any golf fans out there plan on watching The Masters in HD from CBS over the next 4 days?
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 1:48 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
Ron H: Ron's house is SubCentral! Here are my thoughts on the various scenarios you proposed.
1) Might localize most bass as coming from the back of the room. I would try to .1 output 1st.
2) Great for 2 channel listening but it might overpower the center & surrounds
3) Same problem as #1?
Wouldn't your pre/pro control the output level? Is there a reason you don't have bass management control from the pre/pro to the JBL's? This should negate the need for internal crossovers, no?
Robert ( 63.11.62.50 ) at 1:41 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
Kieran: to throw my two cents in,,,why would you have a HDTV that is only capapble of 480P,,,,,HD content is not HD when shown less than original 720/1080 resolution, This is all posturing, and yes there is a real threat of pirated HD content. No studio in their right mind would give revenue away, and the same issues apply to DVD recordable. 5C et al. is a finger in the dike,,however it placates the studios to provide more and more content. I wouldn't worry about the degredation of HD,,it's not going to happen.... The fact that some broadcasters are tightly linked to studios can be a concern,,,,Manufacturers shouldn't have to fund the networks to broadcast HD,,,something the government mandated.... The government wants their bandwidth back so they can sell it off to priviate inductry,,(see PCS/Digital Cellular licenses), let them help finance the cost of switching over,,,I also know the broadcasters are hoping that the sub channels will help generate revenue through additional advertising and other ways, but that won't happen for quite some time,,,YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HD CHANNEL THAT PEOPLE WATCH FIRST. I'm not the type to watch a barker channel or loop channel unless I was trying to demonstrate for a short period of time,,,just give me my freaking HD !!!, there are several spots in thecountry that have it together in infrastructure, but still don't have 24/7 HD content, SF/LA,,,time for the rest of the broadcasters to get off their ass.
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 1:40 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Joe: Good luck with the next round of interviews. I have found that the more time they spend with you & the more people you meet, the better your chances. It's as much about how your personality fits in with the group as your qualifacations.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.88 ) at 1:21 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Subs and More Subs
I just picked up 2 JBL THX subs and a 5 channel amp for near nothing. The sus are from the original JBL HTS THX system which I had owned awhile back. Actually the subs and amp are returning to their orinal home which is me.
I want to use these two subs, which are "passive", in my system. I have the 5 channel amp to powewr them either daisy chaned to together or seperatly.
I have three thoughts about set up.
1. Just tie them into the current .1 channel and put them in the rear of the room.
2. Add one to the right front and one to the left front and truly have full range speakers.
3. Add them to the rears or side channels to make them full range allowing lower bass to be heard in pans and to help energize the room.
I have two problems that are going to make any of the setups work well:
1.The amp has no output level control.
2. There is no crossovers built into the subs.
Any thoughts or ideas on set up type and how to accomplish it?
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 12:55 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Digital cable
Joe: The definition of digital cable is; garbage in = perfect garbage out. The only good thing about it is that it can deliver HD content. Time Warner currently sends out HD programming in parts of NYC and Houston via digital cable.
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 12:51 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
Kieran: The source is HDTV Magazine. If you're interested in it I'll send along the URL for samples.
I suspect that the paranoia over HD copy protection has more to do with future huge pipe technologies where this material could be distributed rather than what's available today. I'm getting conflicting reports of the delivered image - some swear it's all 1080i, others are sure it'll be dumbed down. Let's hope not.
Joe ( 152.163.204.78 ) at 12:31 PM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Morning all,
Long interview this morning. I would consider that a positive sign. I could not imagine that she would have spent that much time otherwise. Now comes the waiting, there is still one more round to go.
So someone want ot explain the differance between Digitial Cable and plain old cable? The local goverment is going to start the renewal process for the cable provider. Charter Communacations is the provider. They have been waging a blitz about how thier Digitial Cable is better then Sat. Being a concerned citizen, with ties n the local government, I thought I would stir the pot a little bit.
However I want to make sure I have my facts right first.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.130 ) at 11:57 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
CuRTis: From which newsletter did you lift that?
Boy I can't tell you how much this effort towards copy-protection of HD content bugs me. The biggest thing that really gets me, is that from what I've read elsewhere, most likely any copy protection scheme will limit the picture quality of HD material to something only slightly better than 480p (e.g. 960i) I wouldn't mind so much if there was some sort of copy protection in place that didn't limit the quality of the material. Besides, I don't know what they're worrying about... the bandwidth to distribute HD technology over the internet (a'la the articles reference to "Napsterization" of HD material) is very far off. The closest anybody could come would be using something like MPEG4 compression, which when compared to HD quality, is WORSE than MP3 compared to PCM. The big concern of media production companies and artists is the fear that "perfect" digital copies of their work will be floating around the net. A highly compressed version of a show or film is hardly a "perfect" digital copy.
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 11:20 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
jeez that was long. I'll filter stuff next time. Interesting events however.
CuRTis ( 64.161.26.195 ) at 11:20 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
HD content/ FireWire products
Lifted this from a newsletter. Check the mention of 1394 Sony & Mits products----------------------------------------------------
"Most readers of HDTV Magazine are baffled by the lack of commitment and
enthusiasm the television networks are displaying toward HDTV. They are
displaying such---at least publicly. Working here in Hollywood, CA and
knowing many folks in the post-production community I can tell you all
that the film-to-HD Tape transfers are cranking 24/7 at many of the
major facilities to supply the content producers with an enormous
library of HD master videotapes for use by broadcasters and satellite
networks. The content providers are not sitting idly by while the HDTV
parade passes. They are not creating this vast catalog for nothing.
They know the inevitable future is High Definition and they are getting
prepared. The BIG question is: WHEN are we going to see this momentum
gather steam? It looks now to be later this year with Sony and
Mitsubishi's decisions to launch product with the 5C/Firewire copy
control protocols. This is what the content producers have been waiting
for before they flood the market with HD product. Their biggest concern
is to prevent the Napsterization of HD content, i.e., preventing someone
from capturing the HD content and streaming it out over the Internet
unchecked and uncompensated. They are not as concerned with home-taping
of HD programming (a la D-VHS recorders). The Supreme Court has spoken
on the issue of copyright fair use for personal recording of content for
private home viewing (The Betamax case). None of the content
producers/providers want to revisit that issue. So, all the parties
involved in copy protection concerns are resolving their final
differences and technical specifications and I suspect a full-scale push
on HDTV is just around the corner.
The other big motivator is the drop in retail pricing of HDTV
product. Prices will continue to fall this coming year as more set
production ramps up, and the pricing of HDTV receivers set-top boxes
fall as well. Look for the consumer electronics companies to enter
the retail cable box arena later this year with boxes equipped with both
CATV 256-QAM (for High Definition) demodulators as well as 8-VSB tuners
for over-the-air transmissions. Those boxes will also feature component
video outputs AND 1394/Firewire/5C connectors and protocols. These
companies will give the duopoly of Scientific Atlanta and General
Instrument/Motorola a run for the money. That competition alone will
drive prices for equipment down, down, down. Oh yeah, and I think the
cable companies will eventually get into the HDTV game, too, whether by
choice or by the force of Congress. All this saber-rattling is just
political posturing to extract a competitive footing with the
broadcasters. This will settle down in time. Cooler heads will
prevail, and all the financial interests will be satisfied accordingly.
No one ever said this digital transition would be a painless journey.
This is a BIG change for us all."
AVB ( 64.41.32.181 ) at 11:03 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
cables
kpd: You still have mail. Let me know asap.
Ron H ( 63.26.163.136 ) at 8:14 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
MC-1 question
AVB: Logic 7 creates a discrete type signal for all the speakers. It changes the mono sides in DPL to stereo sides.
JJ ( 209.208.201.132 ) at 8:13 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
composite --> svideo
bouncey: I too have successfully created pronto macros to get to a specific input on my Tosh TP61G90. Same on my receiver, no direct inputs. So you can imagine what my 'change mode macros' look like!
AVB ( 64.41.32.153 ) at 8:13 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
JBC: You have mail.
Ron H ( 63.26.163.136 ) at 8:11 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
LexiPanel
JBC: Cool. Please send me a copy. As soon as I receive it I will down load my current settings. That way if the worst should happen when I receive a replacement or a repaired unit I will be ready to go.
JBC ( 207.164.221.54 ) at 7:51 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
MC-1 Question
AVB: Although I do not run 7.1 due to space limitations, I believe that the answer is no. Perhaps Ron H or Tony C., who do run 7.1 can help you out.
AVB ( 64.41.32.153 ) at 7:29 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
MC-1 question
Can the rears be set to mono and the sides still be discrete?
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 5:38 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Good morning!!!
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 1:29 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
LexiPanel
Ron H, Tony C, Other Lexicon Owners: Well, it was a real pain in the ass doing the factory reset thing tonight. I have however restored (thank god for backups), installed and used a program created by Ray Gralak called LexiPanel which allows a user to save, restore and dynamically modify all DC-2 and MC-1 settings via the RS-232 port.
This means that the resets are easy... download the settings to your PC, reboot the DC-2/MC-1 and upload the settings from the PC. It also makes changing parameters easier as you do not have to nest through various levels.
Let me know if you want a copy and I will e-mail it. Note that Ray offered this for free to everyone a while back so I am not infringing on his intellectual property.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 1:14 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron H: Quick update on the Cinepro/Lexicon/M&K combination. The are so quiet and accurate that the only "distortion"/"noise" I hear is the whirring of my DVD/VCR. It is the damnest thing... I thought that I heard some hissing from my front speakers. Turns out that theywere dead quiet! The sound was from the DVD. My point -- if you want to mount speakers behind your screen you may want to consider a return to the M&Ks.
Kieran ( 207.214.148.28 ) at 12:04 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
composite --> svideo
bouncey: What JBC said is exactly how I control the video inputs on my Toshiba TW40H80. I have macros for DVD, TV, VCR, and SAT. Each one first changes the TV channel (TV ch. up) THEN fires the "video source" button the correct number of times to select the correct video input.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 12:02 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
"the entire sound rocked" = "the entire house rocked with the sound"
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 12:02 AM EST Thursday, April 5, 2001
Ron H: When it worked the entire sound rocked with the "Whoa Baby" that came out of my mouth.
To answer your question yes I did unplug the Lexicon when I connected the Cinepro. In fact I unplug everything, particulalry with my recent bad luck, whenever I am playing with wires.
I did read through the Lexicon manual which indicated that a power surge/spike could cause this sort of problem. My best guess is that the second Cinepro amp (i.e. the one I sent back) caused some weird power spikes given the multitude of problems it had. I never noticed the problem before becasue this was the first time I tried playing a dts DVD in the last 3 to 5 months. Does this make sense to you?
Good Movies: For those interested, I have recently watched both The Crew which is very funny and The Contender which is a good suspense flick. Either are worth the viewing time! Enjoy!!
Ron H ( 63.232.70.51 ) at 11:51 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JBC:Glad it worked. Boy you have had a run of bad luck. A question: Did you unplug your Lex when you hooked up the latest Cinepro? It seems that I remember that sugestion from Lex when I called them about a problem I had way back.
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 11:44 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron H: I did the factory reset and all is good. Now, re-entering all the effect parameters is going to be a task.
bouncey: The Pronto should be able eto be programmed to do what you need. For example, the video switching on most TVs without "direct access" can be achieved by entering a channel code, which puts the TV in the "TV source", and then pressing the "input" button n times to get to video "n".
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.96 ) at 11:42 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
composite --> svideo
bouncey: ok... first off, you need to get or make new component video cables Second, there ARE ways to get around that single-button source selection... You spend time at work looking up everything under the sun, why don't you look up how to get around the toshiba's input select? I know it's out there, I've seen it before, but I don't remember the exact URL. try www.remotecentral.com
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.68 ) at 11:39 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Joe; Sure, remove the only topic I had to post on. 
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.68 ) at 11:37 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
bouncey; "did any of that make sense?" Ummmm....just that last part about getting a new receiver. The answer to any HT problem is to upgrade! Damn the budgets, full upgrade ahead!
Seriously, the Pronto should be able to do what you need it to do. Maybe you can get the TV codes to work.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.96 ) at 11:33 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Chris L.: *lurk*
bouncey ( 65.26.241.207 ) at 11:09 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
composite --> svideo
Actually... We're using native TV tuning for TV, s-video for DVD (component isn't working very well right now for unknown reasons), composite for VCR, and composite for LD. The big problem with my otherwise nice Toshiba 32" TV is that it doesn't have discrete codes for power or input selection. And it's not responding to my Pronto (except for the power button), in spite of the fact that Scott programmed all the buttons himself from the original Tosh remote recently.
So what I was thinking: Convert VCR and LD to s-video, which means I can let the receiver switch video. Except the TV itself is doing the CATV tuning, so I'd still have to fudge around the single-code TV source button. And I'd have to get up and flip a switch on my Rotel DTS decoder when watching a laserdisc, keeping audio the same (unless it's DTS) while changing video source for receiver. It's a mess. Maybe I should just ebay it all and get a new receiver. Which I can't afford right now.
Did any of that make any sense?
CuRTis ( 64.170.153.59 ) at 10:44 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
AIM
Thanks guys. I just confirmed what AVB said. Cut & paste from AIM is exactly the same as any other app, including the ability to easily edit anything you want. The only way to know exactly what was said is for AOL to furnish it themselves.
Joe ( 152.163.204.57 ) at 10:18 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Anyone use AOL Instant Messenger?
CuRTis: I have IM, but hardly use it. If someone else on here has it we can give it a try. I am sure it can be cut and pasted without to much problem
AVB ( 64.41.33.249 ) at 10:14 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Anyone use AOL Instant Messenger?
CuRTis: In general, almost any text can be cut and pasted in windows. I don't see how IM would be any different.
CuRTis ( 64.170.153.59 ) at 9:35 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Anyone use AOL Instant Messenger?
My son may be in trouble with his school over something others are saying he wrote in an AOL IM, but he swears he never said. I don't use AOL at all but need the help of someone who does to find out what happened.
Could one of you AOLers please try to copy an IM session into a word processor or anything - then see if you can edit the text? I'm guessing that this is possible since it's just plain text, but I can't prove that.
This is really important since a big decision is going to be made based upon a 3rd partys cut & pasted document. Somebody's not telling the truth and I hope it's not my son. Pls email me at seenhear@pacbell.net if you can help out.
TIA and sorry for the off topic.
Gar ( 169.207.193.213 ) at 9:35 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron H: Ironically there is a guy at one of the local Hi-Fi stores that has a demo at the same price. I also heard the new Prodigys.... I have always liked MLs but, I find them to be lacking in the Dynamic end of things on certain music. I had a pair of SL3s for 2 years and do miss them.. Although the new Prodigys are one up there as fars as one of the best speakers I have heard in awhile.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.196 ) at 8:59 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
semmed=seemed
Ron H ( 63.26.185.196 ) at 8:59 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Derb: I also had a chance to demo the new ML center. Very very nice. It puts out a sound that reaches all the way between the front speakers. It is hard to discribe how it sounds, but you could shut off the front R/L's and the sound still semmed to spread the width of the screen. Quite unique.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.196 ) at 8:54 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Derb: What are you using for rears. I spotted a pair of Scropts that were demo's marked down to $1700.
The Requests at $3500 is still temptimg but boy do they take up some realestate. There is no way I would be able to put the SL3s on the side so if I purchased the Requests I would need to sell the SL3s. If I just had a 5.1 system I suppose I could find a way to make the SL3's work in the rear, but with 7.1 the sides are more important and I just can not fit them in.
Are the Requests designed for a room larger than mine? Do you think they would work well in my system? If the answer is yes are you interested in upgrading to a set of SL3's for the rear and I will take your current sides in trade?
Ron H ( 63.26.171.113 ) at 7:55 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron
RickMTB:I made a quick trip to Tweeter and the Home Theater store today. Not much of interest. The one thing that was quite noticable is that the price of HDTVs is coming down.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.113 ) at 7:53 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Mirage
Joe: I just got my issue in the mail today. I will give it a read.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.113 ) at 7:52 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron
Joe: I was out today and did not see them. Maybe they are not at the retailrs yet. I will keep my eyes open.
Joe ( 205.188.200.202 ) at 7:52 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Mirage
Ron H: I tried scanning it, but it just did not come out good. I can tell you it was $6500 for the system as tested.
Joe ( 205.188.200.202 ) at 7:50 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Big AL
Since you are the only other one watching the Eco Chanallenge I would ask a small favor. Tonight I must tape it and cannot watch it until Thursday. I would really like to be surprised at the end, so please don't give away the ending.
I am waiting to see the bunny team on the Rappel
Ron H ( 63.26.171.113 ) at 7:50 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JBC: I will be out of the office untill Monday. I will get you a fax number to you in the next few days.
BC ( 63.26.230.132 ) at 7:40 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Darian: oh, guess i should have read the whole thing.
RickMTB ( 216.119.135.82 ) at 7:09 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron
Joe: (and Ron) The Def Tech dealer in Houston is Home Theater store...
Joe ( 205.188.199.186 ) at 6:48 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron
I was just sitting around reading SGHT. They have the report from the CES. I see Definative Tech has a new line of speakers out. They have built in power amps. They are called the Power Monitor series.
Since you live in the big city (that has speaker choices) and you are out checking out speakers, why not let me know what you think.
Chris L. ( 24.49.157.44 ) at 6:41 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Speaking of selling things....if there are any admins lurking, any chance of getting the "For Sale" page back up? I have a few goodies up for grabs in the next couple of weeks.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 5:20 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
BC: That Sanyo is a 16:9 LCD that will farm pannels from the Sony 10HT.
JJ ( 209.208.201.132 ) at 5:17 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Gasgeek: Okay, we are on the same page.
I'm not sure what they go for. They are not readily available anymore, like when I bought mine from spidergear.
I've seen a few on e-bay. When I saw the prices, they were about $125, I did not follow to the end, so I don't know what they eventually sold at.
I'd think they are some-what in demand due to its build-in RF-demod for LD. But then, there is probably a limited audience for it. DD receivers are so cheap these days.
I think they were 600 new.
As far as what I'd pay for a used one: I have a big question mark in mind. Certainly something like $125, I think: 'reasonable.' If I try to wrap my mind around something like $200, I think: 'screw it, I'll stay without DD until I can afford an upgrade.'
anyway, let me know...
JBC ( 207.164.221.54 ) at 5:07 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Ron H: I have the article on the Mirage speakers ready to fax to you but I need a fax number. Please advise!!!
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 4:57 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JJ: You are correct upon checking it is an AVD-2000.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 4:50 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JJ: It's the Dolby Digital processor that I talked you into getting originally if I remember right. I was guessing at the AVP thang thinking that it stood for Audio Video Processor like my 8000, but as you know, I've been wrong before.
I'll give him a call tonight and see what he wants for it. In all reality, what's a fair price for one of these? Anybody know?
JJ ( 209.208.201.132 ) at 4:37 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
s/b AVD-2000
JJ ( 209.208.201.132 ) at 4:37 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Gasgeek: Sure, see what he wants for it. thats AV-2000 right?
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.140 ) at 4:34 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Custom builder?
This isn't spam... I seriously don't understand what all this web site is about. Seems that you can contact them and they will clone you from a number of different vendors including Vandersteen. One of the participants used to partner with Jeff Josephs. Anyway:
http://www.customspeakersonline.com/index.html
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 3:29 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
RickMTB: Sounds good to me. I will be leaving around the 26th of April for Florida for about 10 days so maybe early May we can do something.
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 3:25 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
AVB: LOL oooops. Make that a Sunfire Cinema Grand.
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 3:23 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Kieran: They use a spinning wheel with color filters to achieve the colors with a single panel DLP{.
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.124 ) at 3:20 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
Ron H: I didn't know it adds a driver... I could see it adding some weight of sound as a result (I would have guessed they simply improved the sound by changing crossovers and improving internal wiring). You are right though... $2k for a center channel! Thats more than the ML center, right?
I wish I could go with you this Saturday, but I have two things already conflicting for my time. I got roped into a church golf tournament at Texas National, plus I am trying to get in some mileage in preparation of the upcoming MS150 on April 21-22. After April 22 I should have a lot more time on weekends so lets think about getting together after that.
Joe ( 205.188.195.53 ) at 3:02 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Speaking of Beer, it's time for a bevarage and some staining.
Joe ( 205.188.195.53 ) at 3:01 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
AVB: Thats 1000 "Carver Watts" it's like lite beer:>
Joe ( 205.188.195.53 ) at 3:00 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Afternoon all,
Exciting stuff here, our bedroom stuff is in. They are going to delivear Friday. After sleeping on a mattress on the floor since last July, this should be a change. I'll probabley roll over fall out of bed and break my leg.
On another note( can't remember if I posted this) my dog has taken a liking to the theater room. He now gets up from the living room and disappears. I go looking and find him stretched out in the theater room.
I also found double(60") 6 panel solid pine french doors for $255. I think they are going between the theater and the puter room. I just have to show my wife.
AVB ( 64.41.32.210 ) at 2:45 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
kpd: You have mail.
RonH: Sunfire Cinepro? What is that, a 1000 wpc amp that weighs only 40lbs?
Chris L. ( 152.163.201.81 ) at 2:42 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Gasgeek: No problem at all. Like I said, it may be awhile before I start selling off my stuff so I won't mind if JJ wants to buy sooner.
Speaking of selling stuff, I think I might sell my Jamo bipoles seeing as I just replaced them with (GASP!!) directs. OOOOrrrr....I might keep them in case I go 7.1
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 2:24 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Kieran, Scott an Ron: Thanks for the info. As I said, I don't pay much attention to the Video side. Probably should. I just knew that I had seen 16 x 9 pictures on two DLPs. Ya know, while they do leave a little to be desired, they "Ain't That Bad." But I again repeat. I'm not a videophile as such and don't know much about it. Wish I did. I lean to the audio side of things.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 2:21 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Chris L, JJ: Need to read better. Not trying to horn in on you Chris. It looks like you have a 2000 for JJ. I was just trying to help. If anyone is interested in the 2000 let me know.
Kieran ( 156.153.255.250 ) at 2:19 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Gasgeek: Hey Gasgeek! I'm doing very well, thanks. Ron and Scott basically answered your question: The DLP chips in currently available FP's are usually 1024x768 (i.e. 4:3) chips. They can display a 16x9 image, but as Ron said, it leaves something to be desired. When they start making high quality FP's with a 16x9 DLP chip (namely 1280x720), DLP will REALLY take off, imho. The ultimate would be a DLP FP with THREE 1280x720 DLP chips (one for each color, R,G,B). Currently most sets use a one chip solution. NOt sure how they achieve the full color pallet, with one chip. Multiple filters on the bulb, I think.
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 2:18 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JJ: A friend of mine has a Denon AVP2000 just gathering dust since I replaced his DD ready receiver a few months ago. He used the 2000 for about two years and it was working flawlessly when I replaced it. If you are interested, I'll get you a price.
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 2:06 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Earthquake Cinenova
Craig: I can not speak for the amp but I can say I demoed one of their small HT speaker setups in my family room for about 6 months and was quite impresses with the bang for the buck. A friend just bought it and also loves it.
I do have a Sunfire Cinepro that I am selling for $1500. It will be sold as demo so it will have a full warrantee.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.107 ) at 2:05 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Darian: There are 1280 by 720 DLP FP's in the works, but not out til later this year. I did read about one, but forgot the brand that does 1024 by 768 and has an anamorphic lens option. But I'm with you... I'd like DLP, but I want native 16 by 9.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.107 ) at 2:03 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
composite --> svideo
Kieran: Yeah, but he's got a Pronto too, and he's using component for DVD... with a little bit of research and some programming (both of which he's certainly capable of, because I know him)... he can set his Pronto up to choose composite for everything but DVD, and component for DVD.
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 2:00 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
RickMTB: After listening for a bit I thought the VCC seemed a little on the bright side. As I said earlier I plan to bring some of my own discs to check it out.
Onne nice thing about the Vandys is that you aqre not paying for a fancy wood cabinet.
Their new center the VCc-5 has a frequency respose of 50Hz to 30kHz + or – 2dB. It adds two more 6 1/2 inch woofers making it a three way design which to my thinking matches the 2Ce Signiture better as far as design goes.
But at $2K..................Yikes
I may pay them a visit on Saturday what is your schedule?
JJ ( 209.208.201.132 ) at 1:55 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Chris L.: Cool. The 2000 is currently collecting dust. I'm pretty sure the probelm is with it, and not something else. Still puzzling why the repair shop found nothing wrong. I'm thinking of sending it to one of the 'Denon Supercenters', but haven't pursued yet. I'm thinking of getting a new receiver, but I don't want to loose connectivity and features. This means spending more than I want to right now. Then there is the WAF factor, since there's nothing really 'wrong' with my current receiver.
Oh well. Keep us posted.
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 1:46 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Gasgeek:The current FP DLPs are not native 16:9. This means with the pixal drop showing a 16:9 picture the image leaves something to be desired. HD is a real disapointment.
Ron H ( 63.232.68.5 ) at 1:41 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Darian:Yopur thoughts are the exact reason I changed from a DLP to the Sony. I do think the DLP tech has great potential and promise.
BC ( 166.35.145.38 ) at 1:33 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Darian: There is a thread on AVS about a sanyo 16:9 dlp coming out soon.
JBC ( 207.164.221.54 ) at 1:32 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
RickMTB: You forget than our friend Ron H is running 7.1 meaning that he would need seven of those puppies surrounding him!!!
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.198 ) at 1:24 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
Ron H: Gee, I know the room with the 2cs at Audio Conceptswas a little small, but the VCC seemed to do a good job in that room. how was the signature model different than the VCC to create a "larger" sound? Seems to me the Vandersteen design philsophy for both rears and center (smaller, off-axis) makes sense and sounds pretty good (though I have to admit the thought of three 2cs up front is an interesting idea... heck, how about five of those puppies surrounding you!).
Chris L. ( 64.12.104.51 ) at 1:20 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JJ: You got it. I hadn't planned on selling as a package anyway. I've been meaning to ask you how things are going with your 2000. Did you determine that your Denon was bad or was it something else?
Gasgeek ( 4.21.3.3 ) at 12:06 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Kieran: Good Morning Norther California Dude and Former Southern California Dude! How are ya? Hey, I'm certainly no video expert, actually very weak in the video knowledge and I may be missing something here, but I've seen a few DLP FP's and the ones I've seen do 16 x 9. I know for sure the Marantz 8100 does 16 x 9 and does HD. Brian sold one of the high end DLPs that was being discussed here the other day, (I believe it was the Runco) and it was set up for a brief test before install and it did 16 x 9.
Am I missing something or just misunderstanding as usual?
BIG AL ( 148.77.32.18 ) at 12:05 PM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Gar; The Sony news is just a small blurb within the "Mitsubushi Firewire" article. It just mentions that Sony will also be offering......
Kieran ( 156.153.255.114 ) at 11:55 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Darian: Sorry for my joke response earlier... The subject of a 16x9 DLP FP came up several days ago... I don't believe there is one available on the market yet. There is a RPTV w/ 16x9 DPL chip, but no FP yet (that I know of).
JBC ( 207.164.221.54 ) at 10:54 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Earthquake Cinenova
Craig: Call the folks at ATI. They are convinced that these amps are knockoffs of their 1505, 1506 and 2505 are atr one point were considering suing them.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 10:43 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Earthquake Cinenova
Craig: Never heard it myself. It followed the same route as many other companies. Got a bunch of reviews at one point. Got lots of sales as the reviews gushed over it. Then the gleam fades and you don't hear much about them...
I saw the Subwoofers that Earthquake made. It was at a little store that never got up and running. The demo room was CINDERBLOCK! Needless to say the sub sounded pretty bad an one noted. How much of this was the sub? Who cares. The units had lots of breakdowns. The Earthquake rep gave up on them quick. Then the store dropped them too. Later the store folded.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 10:39 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Well Guys! I havn't received much help in my projector hunt! If there were a 16:9 DLP based unit with the connections of a 10HT. That would be sweet! Insted I have to find a close fit 1024x768 4:3 pannel. Then a anomorphic lense. Then I have to get around the sync with 480P vs 1080i. Uggg.
JJ ( 209.208.201.132 ) at 10:37 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Chris L: First dibs on the denon? Or are you going to try to sell it with the chiro as a set?
Craig ( 63.254.190.141 ) at 10:36 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Earthquake Cinenova
Has anyone heard this amp ? If so, i'd like your impressions. The reviews I've seen are great.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.210 ) at 10:21 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
I am off the rest of the week and am now heading to a few HT stores for a little info gathering expedition.
mic ( 166.68.134.175 ) at 9:51 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
Ron H: I didn't know they had a new Center, $2k is is almost the cost of another set of 2c's. I'll have to go back and see if I can check it out.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.210 ) at 9:39 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
mic: I agree with you on the VCC-1 center. For those who are more demanding they do have the VCC- 5 Reference Center.This is what a center speaker should be to go with the rest of the line. It is a bit pricey at around $2000.
mic ( 166.68.134.175 ) at 8:11 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
cont - If your plan is to put all the front speakers behind a screen, then you could go for 3 of a kind up front, 3 2C Sig's would be pretty awsome.
mic ( 166.68.134.175 ) at 8:05 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Vandersteen model 2C Signature
Ron H: Did you get to listen to the Vandersteen center channel, as much as I like the mains, the center was a turn off, it was ok for prologic but too small for DD/DTS
mic ( 166.68.134.175 ) at 8:02 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Pre\Pro
Wild Bill: The 565 does not have the lastest upgrade EX/EZ/PLII, it can't be upgraded via the 232 port, it needs an eprom chip. Meridian has not said it will do it yet.
BC ( 166.35.145.38 ) at 7:26 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
good morning JBC. How's the recovery coming?
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 6:57 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Good morning everyone...
AVB ( 64.41.32.150 ) at 6:34 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
1k2SE
JBC: One is a MKII and the other a MKIII.
Kieran ( 207.214.121.2 ) at 2:42 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
composite --> svideo
bouncey: Get on ebay and look for an external comb filter. I have on on loan from Curtis that does a great job... it's an Audio Alchemy VRE (Visual Reality Engine) very pricey in their day, but not too bad if you can find them on ebay. (I think I saw one for under or around $100). Pretty darn good comb filter, too.
Popcorn: You're right, the Tosh probably does have a better comb filter, but if all your sources are s-video, then you NEVER have to switch the source input on the TV. (same as if all your sources are composite though, too.)
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 1:27 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Good night all...
JBC ( 206.47.244.58 ) at 12:31 AM EST Wednesday, April 4, 2001
JT: Thanks. I will as soon as I finish work. What a bitching week, it feels like Friday and my knee is throbing!!
AVB I am having trouble accessing e-Bay. Is it a MKI or MKII?
JT ( 24.160.99.140 ) at 11:59 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Audio Video Senders
JBC: Take a look at www.x10.com They have audio/video senders for a reasonable price. I used them in my last house to transmit the audio and video from a DSS receiver to a room without DSS wiring. The sender/receiver in conjunction with a DSS receiver with a RF remote worked like a charm. Let me know if you have any questions.
AVB ( 64.41.32.150 ) at 11:56 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Amp PSA
There are 2 Cinepro 1K2SE models on ebay. $2800 list, unknown reserve.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.178 ) at 10:57 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
BIG AL: Hey, if Calvin Klein can do it, so can Be.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.178 ) at 10:54 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
composite --> svideo
bouncey: Umm... why do you want to convert VCR AND LD? That's kinda ridiculous. Just use the composite switching in your AVR-2700... You won't be gaining ANYTHING by using inline converters... your Toshiba TV's comb filter is much better than an inline would be.
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:50 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Scott pop; They just need a new name. Maybe something like "BIGHARD", or "ULTRAWARE". Something more marketable than Be.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.27.67.178 ) at 10:46 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Bad Business Bodings for BE
cai: Yep, I heard about that already... With the way the stock market is going, it's not too good... But Be did sign an agreement with Sony recently... BeIA will be powering the new eVilla. Hopefully that will give Be the shot in the arm it needs... Considering the have the most stable platform, and BeIA is the best answer to any company wanting an OS for their internet appliance. I think the layoffs were just an early precautionary measure... They have been stating for a long time that after second quarter 2001 they will be tapped out on cash if they don't have any new profit.
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:45 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Gar; The mag has a site, but I couldn't find the article. Lots of good reading though. www.twice.com
JohnO ( 128.190.9.32 ) at 10:40 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
SALE
cai: Audio Buys is currently on my s$%t list. They were the ones who installed a 5bnc cable for some close friends of mine for a projector. The first time they install the cable and terminate only one end, not the end in the ceiling. The second time they terminate the ceiling end. When we go to install, we waste 1.5 to 2 hours troubleshooting with various pieces of equipment to determine that the projector is really OK and survived the trip, the DVD player is OK, the line doubler is working and configured right but not ONE of the FIVE strands of bnc cable is working!
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:34 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Gar; Sorry, somehow I missed your post today. No link I know of. I read it in a trade mag. It's a step forward, but not really anything to hook up to the firewire that I know of. HD-wise that is.
Cytotech ( 207.223.165.211 ) at 10:30 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Eco update
BIG AL: ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:27 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Robert; Now if the other manufacturers would follow Thompson's lead, and drop prices, we'll all have HDTV!
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:24 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Eco update
One of the racers sits in the river to cool off. He feels a bite on the end of his "willy", and when he looks, he sees a leech disapear into the end. He calls the doc, and the doc tells him not to worry. Leeches have a tendency to fill up on blood, and then release. Just pee a lot and he'll come out. Don't worry, you won't bleed to death. WHAT!!!! These doctors live in a different world! The guy isn't worrying about bleeding to death! He's worrying that the bite will become infected, he'll develop gangrene, and will have to get his willy amputated! A guy can deal with death, but life without willy??!!
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:18 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Darian; The eagle has landed! Haven't had time to unpack yet, but thanks in advance!
BIG AL ( 204.248.61.247 ) at 10:17 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
bouncey; www.dbldistributing.com has an inline passive converter. # csvc-1
for a little over $100. Not exactly cheap, but easy. Hard to find both.
bouncey ( 65.26.241.207 ) at 9:51 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
composite --> svideo
STUPID QUESTION TIME!!!
How cheap/easy is it to convert composite video to s-video? Preferably using something that doesn't have a huge wall wart for power. I'd like to do that to both my laserdisc player and my vcr, to simplify connections to the TV.
bouncey ( 65.26.241.207 ) at 9:48 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
much shorter forum reload time :)
Looks like the preferences thing might be working. Yippee.
RickMTB ( 216.119.145.63 ) at 9:33 PM EST Tuesday, April 3, 2001
Ron H: The Vandersteens are very listenable for music and surprisingly good HT speakers. As far back as the eighties the Vandersteen 2s continually got raves from the critics, including John Aktinson and Sam Tellig of Stereophile (Tellig, the Audio Cheapskate, really raved about the steen spaired with Forte amps and Quicksilvers (for you tubeheads out there). If you are interested I can dig out the reviews, but Vandersteen;s web site (www.vandersteen.com) has most of them.
I was really impressed with the Vandersteen 3s that were in the room with the Maggies and the Revels... so much so I would have happily settled for them versus the Robbie the Robot Revels. And over the more expensive 5s in the other room.
I hope to get up the gumption to box my old Vandersteen 2s and send them back to Hanford CA (home of Vandersteen) to be repaired (I suspect the surrounds may be dried out, perhaps worse)