Archive from 05-13-2000
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.236 ) at 7:39 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Joe aka Iguana Master: I've found the central vacuuming systems are vastly inferior to the real thing. This is past experience and I don't know about any "new" advances in the last 4 or 5 years. Before that, I can tell you that they sucked (and I don't mean that in a good way).
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.236 ) at 7:36 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
OOP LSOH DVD Siting!
BYork: I just picked that one up about a week ago. JohnO and I will be viewing it in the upcoming weeks.
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.236 ) at 7:35 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
VCR's
JBC:: The only thing that turns the VCR on is the Power button or inserting a tape. Play and Stop have no effect except for their assigned functions.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.88.98 ) at 7:29 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Joe aka Iguana Master: There is some cabling that you should run... I forgot the name of it, but it has two RG-59 coax, two fiber optic cables, and two CAT-5/telephone cables in a bundle. You then have a single-gang wall plate with all the connectors, and in your basement or wherever your utilities are (hot water heater, circuit breaker box, etc) you will have a patch box that you can set up what signals the rooms get by using short patch cables in the patch box. You could probably include a similar patch box that uses speaker cables to each room with a pair of inwalls/inceilings speakers per room. For whole house internet, the best thing to do would be to have an ethernet hub next to your patchbox to network all the computers in the house, and then have a firewall connected to the internet, on the home network.
I'd like a whole house home entertainment network, but the technology isn't yet in consumer hands... However, both Jini (from Sun Microsystems) and HAVi (from a number of CE makers) both look promising... There is also work on a Jini/HAVi interface, so they would be compatible with each other... Imagine pluging in all your gear via Firewire, even through the walls so that you could share all the sources in your HT room with any room in the house (of course you'd have to have a display device and some form of audio decoder in each room for full usage)...
Curtis ( 63.203.70.102 ) at 7:25 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
The Widescreen RPTV Debate Continues.......
Winston aka the Spleen: you bring up a good point that I agree with a lot of it.One ? please - 4:3 & Academy are the same thing, right? The vast majority of future OTA/cable/sat programming probably will be sent to our homes ONLY in 4:3 DTV format. If the lion's share of what you want to watch/ record is only available in 4:3, then I certainly can see why a 16:9 display is of little interest to you now or at any point for that matter. In my case most of what I watch is in some form of widescreen presentation, in no particular order... anamorphic WS DVD, WS LD, non-anamorphic WS DVD, OTA HDTV (16:9 sourced), HBO HD via directv, DTV (4:3), DV videotape shot & edited in 16:9 mode, & good old S-VHS/ standard VHS (yuck) for some of my kids stuff - all 4:3...
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 152.163.213.186 ) at 7:12 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
JT
I am looking at buying wire myself, before you buy lets talk.
AVB ( 64.41.32.164 ) at 7:02 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
TV Flashing
Chris Maguire: It does seem like the problem is your DVD player. To be sure you'd have to borrow one and see if the problem remains. If it goes away it IS your player. If it remains then the TV set is the cause.
AVB ( 64.41.32.164 ) at 7:00 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Speaker wire
JT: Try here, good quaility without costing your first born.
http://www.partsexpress.com/sites/PartsEx/CyberVendor.dll/option?CartSize=0&Type=group&Key=SPEAKER_WIRE&HTMLFILENAME=
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 5:56 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Kieran: If you look at the JVC US website you will note that ALL X800 units are US$20 to US$40 less than the equivalent X600 units. That being said, I did print off and compare the specs for both the 3600 and the 3800 and agree with your analysis that the 3600 includes the following additional features:
-- Movie Advance
-- Instant Review
-- Auto Index
-- Digital AV Tracking
-- Rec Link
Considering the amount of taping I do, the Instant Review would be nice to have. or others, do you know what Auto Index, Digital AV Tracking and RecLink do?
I also believe that the above features are excluded from the 3800, thus the price reduction and that, as you noted, the 3600 is the better buy.
I believe that I will go back to Future Shop (i.e. the Canadian equivalent of CC) and push the guy for a great deal on the basis that "hey, you want full retail for a discontinued unit..NOT."
Joe: Just so you know, I have, for all purposes, stopped dealing with Greg. My experience, which might be different from yours, was that he was great the first time round and less than interested the second time around (despite the fact that I spent Cnd$10,000 the firs go round and was looking at spending Cnd$10,000 the second go round).
To add insult to injury, I did not think that the price he was giving me on some B&W speakers was all that great so I had a buddy of mine call. He gave my friend a better price than he gave me. Based on that I immediately stopped dealing with him. I thought that he was concluded, for whatever reason, that should pay more than others!! I felt very poorly treated! I now deal with Bob at AvalonAV and a great local guy in Toronto. End of rant...
I get to stop in London, to see whats new at Gregs
V-Dude ( 172.134.153.7 ) at 5:22 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
BAGMAn
Good to hear that you got home OK. Hope everything was Fine when you got there. Will be in touch.
BYork ( 159.37.7.44 ) at 5:18 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Kieran -
YES...people are finding copies of the LSOH starring Rick Moranis from the 1980's, and it's significant because they're finding the version that has the alternate ending. The replacement version of this DVD(with alternate ending removed) comes out on 5/23.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 5:11 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
LSOH
BYork: Is this Out Of Print version, with the alternate ending, the one starring Rick Moranis, or the one from the 1960's???? I had no idea there was an OOP one, or that there was an alternate ending or that it was OOP, or hard to find or anything. I just like the movie. So, which one is it? From the 80's or the 60's? I have to catch a plane today, but I might leave early and swing by Borders for ya. If it's the 80's one, I'll buy a copy for myself, too.
BAGMAN ( 208.131.247.238 ) at 4:57 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Everyone: Thanks for the B-Day wishes. I truly had forgotten it was today, as we just got in from the drive home from the Keys and my parents house. Had a great time! We are seriously considering a major change in our life and relocating down to the Keys. Other than the normal fear of change,there is nothing to stop us. We loved the laid back attitude of the people that we got to know. Employment is probably not much of an issue,as there are people that do what I do now that make,in their words,"rediculous money", which I do not!
Wild Bill: Old coot this!!! Ha!
mcb: CONGRATS!
V-Dude: I was sure these guys could help you with your computer switch. Thanks again for a great time.
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 152.163.195.207 ) at 4:53 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Ron
It's has been days since I have been here. What did you buy for a video delivary system? Please don't make me read 5 days of post 
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 152.163.195.207 ) at 4:46 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Afternoon all,
I have been real busy. Builder has been back for a second time, this time he meet my wife. A change in the plans as we addded a few things. The bank is starting the loan process. The builder is preparing drawings. I am having bad dreams about being in debt.
Ron how is your project?
JBC, looks like I might be in Toronto in a few weeks. we are going to the Safari place just southwest of Misssuaggee ( give me a break on spelling eh ) My wife wants to have a long weekend before we start excavating.
She gets the Safari and I get to stop in London, to see whats new at Gregs.
I need lots of advice on wiring. I am going to want whole house audio, Internet connection and anything else I should have but did not name. Once I get some prints back, I will post them on a web site.
My wife aasked the bank for more then what we need to build. She said " we are going to want some new equipment" I just gotta love that attitude.
I think we are finally settled on the bathroom. Kitchen is next. I need to start looking at central vacum system. Anyone have input on these?
BYork ( 159.37.7.57 ) at 4:37 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
OOP LSOH DVD Siting!
OOP = Out of Print
This is the one that had the alternate ending that was pulled when David Geffen(sp.?) objected)
If anyone stumbles across multiple copies....I'd be VERY happy to take the extra off your hands!
BYork ( 159.37.7.57 ) at 4:36 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
OOP LSOH DVD Siting!
Kieran: - Uhh...it is!
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:34 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
OOP LSOH DVD Siting!
BYork: Speaking of DVDTalk, we should add them as one of the sites on the bio list where you mark what sites you visit most.... After all, Mike Knapp asked us to when he first posted here... and it seems that some of us DO frequent his site...
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:31 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
OOP LSOH DVD Siting!
BYork: I loved LSOH, what is OOP LSOH? What does OOP stand for? Are we talking the old production, or the new one with Rick Moranis and Steve Martin?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:29 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
VCR's
JBC:: Did you get any more info out of JVC? I looked at their website and thought that the 3800 didn't have as many features as the 3600. According to their site, these features were on the 3600, but lacking on the 3800:
Movie Advance
Instant Review
Auto Index
Digital AV Tracking
Rec Link
Now, maybe they just didn't list these on the 3800 features list, and they are really included, but otherwise, it seems like the 3600 is a better buy. All other listed features were identical. The LCD display was different in the pictures show, however.
BYork ( 159.37.7.57 ) at 4:27 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
OOP LSOH DVD Siting!
In case any of you may be hoping to stumble across a copy, There is a thread in DVDTalk right now that a bunch of peole have discovered the OOP Little Shop of Horrors(with the alternate ending)at Borders brick&mortar stores today. If you're close to one...you might want to look.
(No luck at the stores near me, unfortunately. Bummer!)
Geo. ( 138.27.4.16 ) at 4:21 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
BTW, for those who may be waiting, Denon no longer has the 5700 on their website. Maybe they're getting ready to introduce the 5800.
Geo. ( 138.27.4.16 ) at 4:16 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
I've been out of the loop for a while and have spent some time catching up. Happy b'day to all those who've had 'em and hope all goes well with the tests, Bill.
JT: MCM electronics has 10ga. speaker wire on sale for $66.25/100ft. I use the 12ga. and it's very flexible and seems to send all the musical notes to the speakers. The item number from the catalog is 24-1145. Tel: 800-543-4330.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 4:11 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
VCR's
Well... it took damn near a week but I finally got a call back from JVC. Here is what I learnt:
1. The X600 line has been replaced by the X800 line.
2. The X800 line is essentially the same as the X600 line but has a lower MSRP. That being said, the guy tryiing to sell me a 3600 needs to further drop his price... else I am off to Sears for a 3800 at US$230.
3. No discrete on/off codes. That may be a problem unless the "Play" or "Stop" button activates turn the unit on making the ability to create "dicrete on/off" macros possible. WildBill can you or other owners of the 3600 check this out for me?
TIA
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 4:07 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: Not only does SimAudio make some great sounding gear but they do so at a very reasonable price. Especially if bought in Canada. So, any of you yanks want to buy some I am happy to get it and send it to you -- no charge!
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 4:06 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
WildBill: Happy that all went well. keeping my fingers crossed on the results. The fiancee, remember she is a cardiologist, said she would be happy to answer any questions that you do not think you are getting complete answers to.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 3:47 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
I'm outta here - have a great weekend everyone!
Chris Maguire ( 210.55.100.253 ) at 3:33 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
TV Flashing
AVB:
Okay I switched the s-video cable to an RCA cable but the flickering is still there. Its also not hooked up to a Reciver. Its plugged straight into the set.
JT ( 209.184.244.254 ) at 3:23 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Speaker wire
Anyone know of a good place, online or elsewhere, to get a 100ft spool of quality 10 guage speaker wire?
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 3:21 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Winston: Early Happy Birthday Dune Dude! I'll toast ya tonite and tomorrow nite. Have some fun with those Russian Cuties.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 3:13 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Gasgeek: Sounds like a cool weekend! I got in way early today and am outta here in 1/2 hour to run some errands, etc. Got two sextets of Svetlana output toobs yesterday (that's 12 toobs - oy vey!) and plan to do some toob swapping/listening tonite. Still to early in the season for margaritas so refreshments are t.b.a. Tomorrow I plan to look at some more big screens and then it's off for a night of b-day celebration with friends (yes, tomorrow is my birthday, a sad occasion that I hope passes quickly).
Other than that it's routine as usual!
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 3:09 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: The guy with the SACD also has about $50 grand worth of Accuphase electronics and an $11,000 Clear Audio turntable. All connected with Kimber Select 1030 cables. Pat McGinty, designer owner of Meadowlark Audio came up and personally installed the Nightengales. His Nightengales are featured in the photo section of Meadowlark's homepage.
He decided he needed to upgrade the $5000 Sony SACD so the DCS pieces were compatable. $16,000 for CD playback. Now that sounds reasonable. He has three or four PS Audio Power conditioners in the system although Brian said he ordered something that was even more esoteric than the PS Audio's that he read about.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 3:04 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: Too Kewl! I guess it's not hot enough out there in Sand Land. You and Winston are trying to warm the place up with all of your tube gear. AC bill will double out there on the lone prarie.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 3:02 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
REMINDER: Guys, don't forget to buy a "Mother's Day" gift for the better half. Helps tremendously when you bring home $7000 pre/pros and $600 cables. Using the old "you're not my mother" ploy will doom you to mid-fi forever. 
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 3:01 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Gasgeek: LOL! Now that my time has been freed up more I can actually respond to e-mails. I have been waiting to get a demo of SACD. My fear is if I hear it I will want one. I have a pair of the AES/Cary SE-811 monoblocks on the way to me next week. I may even demo the new AES/Cary SE-845 monoblocks.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 3:00 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Winston: I just finished my 24/7 oncall at 7 AM this morning. I'm looking particularly forward to an evening with friends drinking "Dirty Martini's", watching the Laker's dismantle the Suns, listening to loud music and laughing a lot. (Aren't the Suns from some desert place too?) Saturday I will go to the HT store and hang out and Sunday is a Motyher's Day Brunch with friends. How bout you?
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 2:56 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Kieran: Dude..... you DON'T watch Futurama? Shame on you! It's the funniest program on TV (with the possible exception of South Park). Check it out Sunday night, around 6:00 or 7:00 pm Pacific Time (consult your local listing!).
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 2:53 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Gasgeek: Howdy! Anything special planned for the weekend?
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.131 ) at 2:50 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Kieran: I'll have to turn out the lights and see if any parts of me are glowing in the dark. 
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.131 ) at 2:48 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Bagman: Happy birthday, you old coot (wherever you are)!!
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.131 ) at 2:48 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Kieran: No mouthpiece. It's called a dual isotope test. First they inject nuclear material into you and do 15-20 of images of the heart. Then they inject another type of nuclear material, do the stress test and then takes 15-20 more minutes of images. The tests took about 3 1/2 hours. Now I have to wait for someone to "read" the images so I can get my test results. The images will tell whether or not I have blockage. After the way I cruised through the testing today I'm fairly confident that I don't have a problem.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 2:42 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Wild Bill: Glad the tests went well. Were you just hooked up to a heart monitor (i.e. electrodes stuck to your chest) of did they montior your O2 usage as well? (i.e. breathing through a mouthpiece).
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 2:38 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Happy birthday Bagman!
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 2:38 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
The Spleen! My architect buddy ordered a DCS upsampler and DAC to compliment his Sony SACD player. A mere $11,000 add on. They both sounded amazing in a demo I heard briefly last night. Cary CD player to DCS gear to Cary tube pre and mono blocs to the new Mirage Bipoles with built in subs. Can't wait to hear them with the Accuphase gear and Nightengales.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 2:38 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Great monitor calibration/tweaking link!
Winston aka the Spleen: Yes, I have that site bookmarked... he has compiled a lot of very useful information there. Much of it is taken from threads and discussions which originally took place on various forums, like Digital Theater, and Hometheaterforum.com.
I don't know if "Futurama" is in 16x9 or not... I don't watch that show, so I wouldn't know. I don't know if Simpsons is or not either... I used to watch Simpsons a lot, but not much recently (timing and all). I can check for you when I get back Monday, if you're interested. What day and time is Futurama on? Meaning, what's it primary time slot?
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 2:36 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Happy Birthday BagDude! May you receive many HT related items for you BD.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 2:35 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: Thanks for the email. Anyway I think that was an email, wasn't it?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 2:29 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
BYork: Why was your Velo sub gone?
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 2:23 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Wild Bill: Good to hear that your tests went well.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 2:13 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Great monitor calibration/tweaking link!
Everyone: Here's a cool link with tips 'n tweaks for RPTVs:
http://www.keohi.com/erroltv/usefulinfo.html
Wild Bill ( 63.21.88.62 ) at 2:13 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Hey guys. I'm back from my tests and I'm still here! The doctor did not shut the test down on me this time. If fact I made it through 15 mintues on the treadmill. I was told that 18 minutes is about the limit so I guess I did OK in that respect. I won't have the test results for a few days (they have someone who comes in and assesses the tests) but the doctor felt that the problems I have had were not heart related. This is, of course, his HO so I will wait for the results to be sure. It sure felt weird to have to do the test today. I was the only testee under the age of 65.
CAI, Darian and NEO: JohoO is coming over for boxing tomorrow night. IF you like boxing you are all more than welcome to come also. If you're coming you should be here about 8:30. Please leave a post and state your intentions.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 2:12 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Tony C: IMO, the *single most important* piece of equipment in any audio system is the amplifier - choose the one that gives you the most emotional pleasure and build the rest of your system around it.
Enjoy the HT-5!
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.124 ) at 2:12 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Thanks to all from Houston
Ron H: I will have to check it out (and also Moody Gardens). My only IMAX experiences have been at Paraount Great America and at the San Jose tech Museaum (though I drove past the IMAX in Orlando ;-). Of the two I saw the one at the tech Museum was way more impressive with its huge screen that curves around and over you. You really felt like you were *in* the movie.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 2:10 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
mcb: I wish that were true for me because most of the dealers I have dealt with are more interested in convincing me that I should own brand X or brand Y rather then finding out what my needs are. In my experience, expensive does not always equal better or give a better demo. I have also been surprised at how less knowledgable some of the dealers are as compared to me about the gear they sell. Some dealers are more interested in selling you what they want rather then what you need. And this seems to be a problem with some of the dealers that sell the more expensive gear. And these are the dealers that I won't frequent any longer.
mcb ( 209.222.216.5 ) at 2:02 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: I have had a similar range of demo room experiences. The room I heard the Aerial 10T's in was awesome. Goodwins in Boston has amazing rooms as well. The places we bought our HT equipment from were terrible. Though my experiences are small in number, I have found that the level of equipment directly equates to the quality of both the demo room and the sales staff's knowledge about their product line. Price falls exactly in line with this theory in our experiences.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 2:01 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
DOH! That was suppose to include quoted text!
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 2:00 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Simm Audio/Celeste
Tony C:
q; Before I made the investment, I did not believe that an amplifier could make that much difference in the overall audio quality.]
A lot of people make that same assesment until they actually do some listening Glad to hear that the amp has made a sonic improvement for you.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 1:53 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
JBC: Sounds like the Sim Audio makes some great sounding gear.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 1:52 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
mcb:
Typically, the room is no where near as well designed as the high end demo rooms where you first hear the piece.
In my experience, most of the dealer demo room that I have been in were horrible. Some of them are square in shape or are too lively and not very well dampened. I have however been in a few dealer demo rooms that were great. I agree that the room is the most important factor in determing what a system will sound like. That is why a home demo is far more important then a dealer demo.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 1:40 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Kieran: I wasn't aware that Fox was doing 16:9 490p... gotta have that for Futurama!
You've given me lots to think about... time to do some more research.
mcb ( 209.222.216.5 ) at 1:40 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
JBC: I might very well contact you. I should have been more clear. I believe the latest SimAudio Moon Series (P-5 and W-5) are relatively new to the market. I might be wrong. Those are the ones I would choose to audition.
TONY C: I, too, have become a believer in the theory that each piece impacts the sound. I like AKA's description that it is the Synergy that utlimately produces the end result. Added to the equation is the room itself . Typically, the room is no where near as well designed as the high end demo rooms where you first hear the piece. This is one of the reasons I have an interest in the Z-Systems rdp-1 digital preamp. It has numerous features designed to adjust for room anomolies.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 1:21 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: Not quite sure what you mean by did I try running the HT-5 through the paces as you have done with the 3K6iii? If you mean did I do the same critical listening tests and did I try different setup configurations then the answer iss yes. It is also on this basis that I responded to your earlier querry.
As you can tell by Tony C.' testimonial... the Celeste HT-54 is quite an amp. Truth is, if music were of equal or greater importance to me than HT then the Celeste would be my amp of choice over the Cinepro but... as HT is my main interest, the Cinepro is the amp of choice.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 1:18 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
mcb: SimAudio is not new to the market. They have been in busines in Canada for many years -- in other words, they mey be new to the US market. I would be happy to find some used gear for you if and when you are interested.
BYork ( 192.246.108.35 ) at 12:59 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
FINALLY done fighting the LoveBug virus. UGH.
Got my Velodyne amp back 2 days ago. Boy...did I miss it when it was gone.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 12:56 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Simm Audio/Celeste
mcb, cai, JBC:
I replaced a five channel Adcom amp with the HT-5. Before I made the investment, I did not believe that an amplifier could make that much difference in the overall audio quality.
Not being able to compare it to another high quality amp, I can only say that I am very pleased with the purchase. I may even pay JBC for it!!
(jk, JBC)
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 12:50 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
The Widescreen RPTV Debate Continues.......
Winston aka the Spleen: You are correct for the most part. However, as you said with your example of Tonight Show and Pro Football, many "big ticket" shows, the only ones that most of us care about anyway, are indeed being shot in 16x9 format. In addition, DTV as opposed to HDTV does not preclude 16x9... while virtually everything OTA in Los Angeles is being broadcast digitally, almost none of it is HD, yet much of it IS 16x9. For example, Fox has chosen 16x9 - 480p as their standard for digital TV. As such, X-Files, Ally McBeal, Titus, Malcom in the Middle, and I believe several other prime time Fox shows that I don't watch, are broadcast in full anamorphic 16x9 480p digital. There are a couple CBS and ABC shows that are regularly broadcast in 16x9, as well (Judging Amy, and Law & Order, are two CBS shows that come to mind). There's also the PBS contingency, which has many 16x9 broadcast specials per month. This is all just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are a few that I'm missing. Yet, what I've already listed is a pretty big chunck of prime time programming. With this many shows already broadcast in 16x9, this early on in the DTV era, I see it only getting better from here on out. Granted, I doubt a lot of the day time programming will switch over any time soon, and I doubt many local news shows will be 16x9 too soon. Although, I suspect many already are, as you can often see that their studio monitors are indeed 16x9 for many news shows. But all of this is secondary to me, because the main reason I wanted a ws tv was for movies. Granted I don't have a large collection of classics filmed in Academy ratio, but having black bars to the sides of a 4:3 movie once in a while is no worse than having black bars above and below a 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 movie.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 12:49 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
BYork: I was wondering what that star was all about. Thanks for clarifying that. How's things going for you?
BYork ( 192.246.108.35 ) at 12:46 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Happy birthday, BAGMAN!
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 12:46 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
mcb: Research is definately the best way to start building a great system. There is a lot of great sounding gear out there and I don't feel that you need to spend a fortune to achieve a great sounding system. Synergy is what will determine the difference between a bad sounding system and a good sounding one. Used is definately a great way to buy if you can find something that you are familar with the sound. I have considered buying used but in most cases the used tube gear that I would be interested in I have never listened to so I don't know what type of sound I would be getting before I buy. This is why I am seriously looking at doing a kit because most of them are cheaper then the commerical built units. Besides if I find a kit that I really like I will probably end up using that same amp to power all my HT chnnels. I think taking the slow route is great because it gives you a lot more time to do research which includes listening demos.
BYork ( 171.72.5.251 ) at 12:40 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Michael AKA -
The reminder has been there for quite some time. I moved it into place a couple of months ago....remember seeing a little yellow "star" at the top of the left frame?
....looks like Scott"popcorn" decided to change it.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 12:35 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
grey bars for the dtc100
Curtis, I've not yet used the feature, but it's in the service menu, burried under one of the main options. If you can't find it, I'll look for it Monday when I return from my weekend trip to NorCal.
BYork ( 171.72.5.251 ) at 12:34 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Site Outage Warning
All -
Just a reminder!
Our ISP, Superb.net, is relocating the server we're hosted on at midnight EDT on 5/15. There will be a 2-4 hour outage.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 12:34 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
The Widescreen RPTV Debate Continues.......
Curtis, Kieran: I was thinking about your advice to go with a 16:9 widescreen and while I agree in theory, I'm not so sure that widescreen broadcasts will be as common as you think. Here's why: everyone talks about HDTV, but in reality we're moving towards digital broadcasting (DTV)... HDTV is only a small part of DTV. Almost all of the cable stations will broadcast their 4:3 programs in digital format, but since they were shot in academy ratio that's the way they will be shown, as will the satellite services. Except for a few flagship programs like The Tonight Show and pro football, I see 5-10 more years of conventional, 4:3 broadcasts, albeit in digital format.
Let me know if you agree or disagree!!!
mcb ( 209.222.216.5 ) at 12:29 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: Your comments included one of the defining reasons we chose to assemble separate systems. Music, for us, requires far more accurate and involving sound. If money were no object, you can definitely have both in the same system. However, we found this to be extremely expensive. No doubt, we cut short the overall HT sound in order to maintain the ability to search and eventually buy a high end stereo. I am looking at all options. My skills would not permit me to build a tube amp. Part of our selection process will be driven by the availability of *used* equipment. I have seen many tempting offers for pieces made by ML, Krell, and Classe. We'll start there first and see where it leads. I have no experience with tube equipment so that'll require some added reading and demo'ing to develop a reasonable foundation of understanding.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 12:25 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Hi everyone - got in at 4:30 a.m. today so it's lunchtime for me already!!!
Happy Birthday BAGMAN!
mcb ( 209.222.216.5 ) at 12:21 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
RE: SimAudio ... I have read and researched the new Moon Series equipment with great interest. Unfortunately, given their recent arrival to the market, I do not forsee a large *used* inventory anytime soon. That said, I have exchanged E-Mails with several P-5 preamp owners and several W-5 amp owners. Owner satisfaction is unanimous!
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 12:20 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
JBC: Just out of curiosity did you ever try using the HT-5 amp in your current setup? In other words, did you try running the HT-5 through the paces as you have done with the 3K6iii?
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 12:17 PM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Happy Birthday BAGMAN!!!
Glad to see that the birthday reminder has been installed.
JBC: I understand exactly what you are talking about.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 10:43 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
cai: The Celeste amps are designed and manufactured by SimAudio. Their website is www.simaudio.com. For a detailed review of the HT-5 go here http://www.soundstage.com/video/revequip/simaudio_ht5.htm
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 10:39 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
JBC: Who makes the Celeste amplifier? I cannot find any search references to this piece of equipment. Thanks.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:03 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
BAGMAN: Happy Birthday Dude!
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.168 ) at 8:42 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Happy Birthday!!!
BAGMAN, have a great day!
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 8:13 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
AKA: The differences in sound between the Cinepro and the Celeste is quite noticeable. Perhaps Tony C., the lucky dog who now owns the Celeste, can add a few words the following:
MUSIC: The Celeste is a more controlled, refined and warmer sounder amplifier. The Cinepro/M&K combination is very very neutral which to ears can **at timess** sound a "cold".
HT: The Cinepro is more dynamic. The most noticeable differences are the headroom and the "speed". For example, the speed at which a bullet or plane moves across the room is scary!
BUILD QUALITY: The Celeste is the easy winner. It is built like a tank with superb fit and finish. Remember, all SimAudio (i.e. Celeste and Moon) amps are hand assembled/built.
In short, I feel that with the M&K speakers the Celeste is better for music while the Cinepro is better for HT. That being said, I think that both amps are superb and one would be morfe than satisfied with either.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 8:06 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
Rob H: Sorry to hear about the bad weather. Maybe you could getthe cables today without your son to maximize his "instal" time.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 7:23 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
TV Flashing
Chris Maguire: If your DVD player is hooked up through your receiver try disconnecting that and running the cables straight to your TV. If it isn't, then change the type of cable you are running from S-video to RCA or vice versa. We are trying to figure out which item is causing the problem. Let us know what happens so we can give you more ideas.
Chris Maguire ( 210.55.100.253 ) at 5:06 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
HI, I seem to have a problem with my TV in that during darkish scenes in
DVD's I notice the brightness slightly flickering (its a random occurence)
and It can still be scene happening when the film is paused. Just for the record my DVD player is not connected to a VCR so it's not Macrovision.
could the tube be damaged could it be my home's power supply?
Chris Maguire ( 210.55.100.253 ) at 5:03 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
HI, I seem to have a problem with my TV in that during darkish scenes in
DVD's I notice the brightness slightly flickering (its a random occurence)
and It can still be scene happening when the film is paused. Just for the record my DVD player is not connected to a VCR so it's not Macrovision.
could the tube be damaged could it be my home's power supply?
Ron H ( 207.223.85.186 ) at 12:22 AM EST Friday, May 12, 2000
weather
Ron H ( 207.223.53.195 ) at 10:53 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
No flights out of Philly to Houston tonight some sort of wheather problem. That means the time my son and I planned for the electrical will be greatly shortened. He hopes to get out tommorow morning.
The best laid plans of men...........
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.205 ) at 10:12 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
KPD and others: Thanks for the kind thoughts.
KPD: Where in RI do you live? I have a brother who moved to Providence last fall and I may visit him later this summer. Then you can show me that Faroudja/NEC 9PG combo you keep raving about.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 209.180.140.183 ) at 9:45 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
I got to tell you guys that some companies have a great sense of humor. Charles Schwab had made a mistake with one of my accounts. When they rectified the problem they ended up compenstating me for my trouble. They recorded in the history statement CUSTOMER SERVICE type: DEEMED WORTHLESS as the compensation entry. It gave me a good laugh.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 209.180.140.183 ) at 9:31 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
mcb: Sounds like a great plan. I will definately be doing a new custom house, maybe this year. At that time I will probably do a FP CRT setup. I can't wait to get a dedicated HT/music room. One of things I am evaluating is what type of tube amp I will use to power all my HT channels. I definately need to do some more listening to single-ended and SET tube amps to determine which will give me the sound I like best for both music and HT. Also, right now I don't have the space to properly setup more than 2 tube amps so definately in the next house I will have all HT channels powered by tube amps. I love the prospect of building my own tube amp which will also save me some money over a commercial built version plus I will be able to understand what I can do to upgrade the parts in the kit if I choose do so. This is going to be a blast.
Curtis ( 63.203.71.209 ) at 9:28 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Kieran: ok, you now have my attention. How does one change the bars to black on the dtc100?
mcb ( 208.170.81.148 ) at 8:25 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Thanks everyone! AKA, in time, I will definitely exchange some thoughts concerning tube possibilities. The next purchase will be a FP. However, that's not likely to happen before the fall. I will definitely buy *used* equipment for the living room stereo. I desire a high end system for music but surely cannot get one new. I will buy new speakers, however. This is a ways away. For now, it's just fun, actually amazing!, to listen to our movies in Dolby Digital vs our DPL experiences. My wife and I have literally spent entire evenings just playing scenes from various movies that we had written down from reviews and from the feedback all of you had offered to the forum for the incredible sound. So far, for sheer impact, CUTTHROAT ISLAND has been our favorite with GODZILLA in a close second. The Alabama speech by Hackman in Crimson Tide is quite impressive for the subtle impact of a well orchestrated pan. I doubt the WOW! will wear off anytime soon. DD and I gather DTS are leaps and bounds beyond DPL. Had I been able to spend more, I would have loved to get the full impact of 7.1 . Not that I am looking to change out any time soon, but that will be my next goal.
AVB ( 64.41.32.5 ) at 7:51 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Anamorphic LD
Kieran: I still have it as nobody won the trivia contest for it. Actually nobody played for it. It is The Fugitive if anybody wants it, $5 delivered.
Ron H ( 207.223.85.229 ) at 7:43 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Thanks to all from Houston
RickMTB: South of the city in Galveston at Moody Gardens there is a 3D IMAX. It is just simply amazing.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.88.102 ) at 7:10 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Reset button
Kieran: it was a requested feature... it's been a while, but it was either NeoSonic or Gar I think that requested it... it sounded like a great idea.
What it does is reset the form to the previous values (i.e., it will keep your name in the name field, and if you're replying to a post, it will also keep the topic and the SML bold of the name of the person you're replying to. I don't know how many people use it, but when you want to erase a post, it is a lot easier than selecting the text and cutting....
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.88.102 ) at 7:07 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Spanking the Objectivist Monkey
Winston aka the Spleen: Let's see... Lucas has pissed me off with this no Star Wars on DVD bit... However, the THX premises are still something I think is quite locially thought out... Paradigms are doing great... I need better video though. I'd live a widescreen RPTV with a DLP engine, or a DLP FP if the bulb life was longer (and I had money!) as for wire and interconnects, copper is still copper... However, when I decide to change out my interconnects, I'll probably use some RG-59 type with foam dielectric and stranded center core with some quality connectors... For all connections (audio, video, digital)... For speaker cables, I'm leaning to sticking with 14 gauge or better stranded... maybe something twisted together like the Audiostream stuff I'm using for my fronts... So, I guess you should stop waiting (when I move to EX, I'll probably wind up having four Paradigm ADP's for surrounds... one on each side and two on the back wall) As for how I'm doing... I'm trying to recover from Social Anxiety Disorder, OCD, and Panic disorder... I think I've had them to a small extent my whole life (never knew what it was), and they just got a lot worse starting about two years ago... I've been keeping busy by turning the forum here in to what you see now ever since Ryan left us with a wimpy shell of a forum... I've also reworked how the member bios operate.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 7:03 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Reset button
Kieran: I use the Post/Refresh button all the time.
I don't know what Reset Form does.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 6:53 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: Well, there you go... everybody has their own oppinion, and we differ! ... the Sony Wega was the same one I saw, and it had been calibrated with video essentials. When comparing it to LBX mode on the same screen, the improvement was spectacular. When comparing it to a good NTSC widescreen set (i.e. no additional line doubling or anything... e.g. my set) it was good, but not AS good, and to me the improvement from squeeze to full was not subtle.
I did know that there were a few anamorphic LD's out there. I believe one of our members was giving one away at one point. AVB, maybe?
I hope you don't feel like I'm badgering you or anything... I know you're fully capable of making up your own mind about 16x9. I'm just sharing my viewpoints on it. BTW, the TW56X81 is a VERY popular model... that and the TW40x81 were almost impossible to find in stock ANYWHERE for several months earlier this year. And it would give you a much larger 4:3 box, too!
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 6:50 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Spanking the Objectivist Monkey
Scott "Popcorn": Speak of the devil... my old arch-nemesis is here. How are you these days? Are you still loyal to all things Lucas? Still groovin' to your Paradigms with them krazy dipole surrounds? And what about wires and interconnects.... have you changed your views, or should I stop waiting for hell to freeze over......?
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 6:41 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Kieran: Quite right - most of my LDs are letterboxed, although I've been buying a lot of old 50's and 60's movies that are in academy ratio. So about 15% of my collection is full frame. (I know everyone is probably sick of hearing about toobs, but man do they ever breath new life into old mono soundtracks)!
Right again about the anamorphic squeeze option, my choice of words was poor. The main advantage of anamorphic squeeze on a 4:3 set is to get the increased vertical resolution on screen. How good it actually works varys from manufacturer. (I have seen the Sony Wega version of this and it is spectacular).
I haven't liked Mits RPTVs much in the past but will take a look at the model you mentioned.
BTW, did you know that there are anamorphic LDs? Three titles exist that I know of, Unforgiven and Free Willy which were special giveaways that Toshiba pressed for their first TW56" RPTV. The third title is a Japan-only pressing of the THX WOW disc.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 6:32 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: The dtc-100 also has an option to use black instead of grey bars, if you decide to get a dtc100, that is.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 6:30 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Reset button
Scott "popcorn": Yeah, yeah... I know it was my mistake. Seriously, though... I'd like to know how many people use it, if any. If nobody really uses it much, why have it? Like I said, it's like that damn reset button on my TV remote! grrr...
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 6:30 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Curtis: The i-scan puts up black bars? Cool!!! : )
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 6:29 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: What I'd really like to see is a widescreen RPTV that is 46 inches -- a bit bigger than Kieran's for tight detail but just a little more impact. And no gray bars!
Well then... it seems that what you're looking for is a Mitsubishi 46" widescreen! It's 46", and they use black bars instead of grey (at least I'm pretty sure they do). RGB owns the 56" Mitsubishi... he can comment on the brand and model line at least. The 46" and his set are from the same line, I believe.
Question: why does your loyalty to laserdisc require you to have a 4:3 tv? I thought most laserdiscs were letterboxed? Also, the anamorphic squeeze mode, while it affords a better picture than 4:3 letterbox downconversion, does not "get the most out of DVD's". The picture of a "squeezed" image on a 4:3 set is often not nearly as good as a "full" anamorphic picture on a 16x9 set. It's often much softer. The reason, or so I've read, is that the squeeze trick causes the scan lines to overlap. While this can be an enhancement in that it sort of eliminates any visible gaps between scan lines, it also causes the picture to loose detail and "crisppness." I've seen both, and I definitely prefer the widescreen option.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.88.102 ) at 6:22 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Reset button
Kieran: Maybe you shouldn't click so haphazardly. 
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:16 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Reset button
How many people regularly use the reset button? I have NEVER used it. Not intentionally anyway. I just accidentally pressed the reset form button, instead of the post button, and lost a fairly length post. 
Do we really need the Reset Form button? It's sort of like the reset button on my Toshiba TV! 
Curtis ( 63.203.69.240 ) at 6:03 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: To be perfectly honest with you, April was the month from hell for me yet things have stabilized since then. Trust me, you don't want the details but one day I'll sit down and write a book about it. I agree that gray bars are annoying. The iScan replaces them with good ole black bars. I have mine running to the component ins & the DCT-100 HD receiver going to the DTV ins. A 46"er would be sweet. Have you looked at the new 56" tosh RP's?
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 6:01 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
how = how do
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 6:01 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
how = how do
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 5:57 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
JBC: So how you like the sound of the 3K6iii vs the HT-5 you previously owned?
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 5:40 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Curtis: Hey how's it going? I agree with you about the DVDO and was anticipating using one with the Toshiba. The new x81 series has 2 component inputs, and you can adjust the color, tint, etc independently for each one even when connected to an external doubler. The set has progressive input as well for native 480p sources.
What I'd really like to see is a widescreen RPTV that is 46 inches -- a bit bigger than Kieran's for tight detail but just a little more impact. And no gray bars!
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 5:32 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Kieran: The reason that I'm not hung up on a widescreen RPTV is because I am still very loyal to laserdisc. I've added more than 100 discs to my collection in the past six months and will continue to buy every decent title I can get my hands on until the supply runs dry. Anamorphic DVDs are great but of lesser importance to me. And even anamorphic DVDs are not a perfect fit for the one-size-fits-all 16:9 widescreen ratio.
I'm not too crazy about the gray bars that all of the widescreen sets seem to use instead the black bars on 4:3 sets. The gray is very distracting to me. I turn around equipment fairly often and don't anticipate keeping the Toshiba for more than 3-1/2 years maximum (the guns will probably start going south by then).
The only thing that the Toshiba really lacks is an anamorphic squeeze mode to get the most out of DVDs. But I would pass on that if I had to take black bars over gray.
You made some good points and I appreciate your input.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 5:26 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
KISS
I'm stuck with 4 extra Kiss tickets at $96.00 each. Now, I'm going to have to leave early to try to get them sold. Wish me luck.
Looking forward to seeing Nugent one more/last time.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.240 ) at 5:26 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: I haveta agree with Kieran about going 16:9 from now on. In addition to the HD broadcast stuff I also have tons of video I have shot in WS for the past 18 or so months - there's no looking back. The internal Toshiba doubles still suck, IMHO. Get your hands on an iScan + or another quality outboard doubler & you'll be much happier. I am a firm believer in getting a display without any HD tuners. Think of it as my computer monitor, I am using the same 21" display yet am on the 5th PC I use it with. Still looks great to me. When I need more horsepower/ whatever I only upgrade whatever it's attached to.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 5:24 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
mcb Great set up! Have fun.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 5:08 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Wild Bill: No need for testing, I know you have a good heart
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:56 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
throwing bone now...
Winston aka the Spleen: I don't have this set, I have the TW40H80. No line doubler. However in general I really like Toshiba RPTV's. I don't think anybody on this forum (none of the regulars, anyway) has a set from the X81 line. Curtis has the TW65H80, but I think the line doubler is different in the new X81 series.
My only recommendation would be to seriously consider a widescreen set, unless you plan on upgrading again in a couple years. More and more primetime material is being filmed in 16x9, and on the digital airwaves, broadcast that way, too. Fox is a good example, almost all their major primetime shows are 16x9 on the DTV side. If you were looking at a non-HD set, then I'd say go 4:3, but if you're spending the extra money for HD-ready, why limit yourself from the get-go? As far as I know, ALL (or damn near all) hd material off satellite or OTA is in 16x9.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 4:47 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
AKA: On the audio side only a PowerPRO 30. The video side is on hold for the time being due to room constraints and advancing technology. I will likely move within the next 12 to 18 months and will address the video at that time. I am including my source components (i.e. DVD, Cable box etc,) as part oof the video.
The audio is sounding great with the Cinepro 3k6iii, Lexicon MC-1 and M&K 150's/350 sub.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 4:22 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
JBC: How's the HT system doing? Besides the trigger what else is left for you to complete?
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 4:19 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
WildBill: Hope your tests go well. I will be thinking of your tomorrow.
mcb: Congrats on the new system -- sounds like a winner. As I noted to Ron H the other day, I am green with envy on the FP!!
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 4:17 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
HT Dudes/Dudettes: What, no one here has an opinion about the Toshiba TN50X81? C'mon, *someone* must have some comments about this bad boy... I'm looking for feedback about the quality of the internal line doubler and the progressive input. I've examined the Toshiba myself of course but only in a dealer setting under less-than-optimal conditions. I am really close to buying this RPTV and would like to hear any comments, good or bad, that anyone has about it.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 4:10 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
mcb: Congrats on the system! A FP is going to be great. Again congrats and welcome back. I am now looking into building a tube amp kit. I have the built version coming to determine if I like the sound of the amp. If you are interested I can forward to you what I found with the tube amp kit.
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.151 ) at 4:09 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Thanks to all from Houston
I have moved out here but I am staying in temporary housing (studio apt).
The family follows at the end of June. I am just starting to look at houses out here (The Woodlands) and the house in Fremont will start being shown in about a week.Hopefully everything will happen about the same time so that there is only one big move. Also hopefully the new place will have a room large enough for the Vandersteens to come out of retirement.
In the mean time I will search out movie theaters (a big IMAX in the downtown area I hear) and wait for RonH's theater to be completed...
Ron H ( 207.223.85.181 ) at 4:04 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
mcb:Very nice set up.
mcb ( 209.222.216.4 ) at 4:03 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Wild Bill: Thanks. We decided to tackle a much needed and long awaited kitchen renovation. It is close to completion. We hired out the jobs that exceeded our skills but chose to do a lot of the finish work. That and the HT shopping have pretty much wiped out our time on line.
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.145 ) at 3:58 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
mcb: Congrats, you made some great decisions. I'm sure it sounds great. I was wondering about you. I haven't seen any posts from you lately. Apparently you were out shopping!!
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.145 ) at 3:56 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Well, I *did* play golf today. My driving was excellent, putting was good and everything in between was not up to par (no pun intended). I did birdie #18 so I left the course with a good feeling.
CAI: Playing with the settings on the projector is what I consider a non-stressful activity. It's the work related stuff that is stressful.
mcb ( 209.222.216.4 ) at 3:56 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Hmmm. I guess brackets do not show. We bought five of the ProTower 400's.
Ron H ( 207.223.85.181 ) at 3:55 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Greetings from Houston
RickMTB:If my HT is completed before your formal move and I think it will be, you will be one of the first I invite. Your HT fix is not far away.
mcb ( 209.222.216.4 ) at 3:54 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Well, I finally pulled the trigger and I assembled the remaining parts of our HT's audio. After we determined that two systems was the best solution for our home, I needed to be realistic on the overall cost. We chose to put together a very reasonable, mid-fi, HT system. Even so, the cost of this equipment is high by any measure. The stereo will come sometime later. A HT video solution has not yet been determined. It'll be a front projection set-up. Most likely, we will get a LCD or one chip DLP unit, but no immediate plans are set.
Here's what we ended up with:
Def Tech ProTower 400's
Def Tech PF1800 subwoofer
SONY 9000ES processor
SUNFIRE Cinema Grand
Panasonic A120 DVD
Mitsubishi AC3 LD player
Mitsubishi VCR
Panamax 1000
Monster M1000i all around
Monster M1000D
Monster M1000 video all around
Home Depot 12-guage wire all around
RCA banana plugs all around
We're very happy with the results. I am even more pleased to be done with it. Many Thanks to all of you! The endless help we all receive through this forum is immeasurable.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 3:52 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Thanks to all
V-Dude: Depending on the size of your old hard drive, that could mean a lot of disc swapping to get it all over. Most Zip disks are on the order of 100 MB. If your hard drive is 10 years old, then no problem! ;^)
V-Dude ( 152.166.131.133 ) at 3:42 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Thanks to all
who answered my question about transfring info from my current CPU to a new one when I get it. A local friend mentioned getting it done by using a Zip Drive. What do you think. TIA
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 3:35 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Good afternoon all! How is everyone this fine day?
Wild Bill: Good luck with your tests tomorrow!
Ron H: Sounds like your room is really humming along. Congrats on its near completion.
RickMTB: I completely understand your cold tukey Hey, maybe this would be a great time for you to pickup a new hobby.
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 2:28 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Greetings from Houston
RickMTB: There is always a movie theater for a short term fix. I find that my remotes don't work, though.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 2:27 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Greetings from Houston
RickMTB: Congrats, I think.... have you not yet made the full move, or just not yet unpacked the HT stuff?
RickMTB ( 207.18.199.140 ) at 2:16 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Greetings from Houston
Sorry for the off-topic, but... I am now in Houston. And HT-challenged.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.240 ) at 2:10 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
free photo sites
Kieran: check the sites & you'll see that they do mail you real prints. I think Ofoto does 100 free, even the initial shipping is on them. You would be amazed at the state of the art of digital printing from either film or dig. picts. A pro photo shop down the street from me had about 20 pros come in to pick the inkjet prints from the custom lab "real" prints (all 11x14"). Most of them selected the former.
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 2:06 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Scott "popcorn": Thanks.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.50.59 ) at 2:06 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
ComputerInfo
V-Dude: Another way to transfer the info is to network the two computers using a 100BT network... you can get Realtek 8139 based PCI network cards (10/100) for around $10 each (maybe less... check www.pricewatch.com) then you'd need a Null Ethernet cable, about $7... Then just use Windows Network Neighborhood to move files as if the hard drives were in the same computer... not to mention you can then use the network for other spiffy things.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.50.59 ) at 1:59 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
JohnO: Just go to the change password page (the link is in user preferences) and check the "forgot my password" box (with your login in the login field)... your password will be e-mailed to you.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 1:25 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
free photo sites
Curtis: But what if you want actual photo prints, instead of just printing on a color inkjet or something? Do they send real prints, too?
BTW, re. your OTA + wind adventure, it sounds like you had your antenna pointing in the wrong direction before, if you had such strong signals with it 180 degrees turned around!
Ron H ( 207.223.70.148 ) at 12:30 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
other free photo sites...
Curtis: Your the man!! Thanks
Curtis ( 63.203.69.240 ) at 12:29 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Ron H: tied them? Heck - I abuse all of them! I must send in 5 rolls a week between all of these photo sites. What's in it for them? Easy - market share. Shutterfly is Jim Clark's latest venture (former CEO/ founder of SGI, Netscape & others). Remember that they aren't supposed to make money anythime soon, just be the leader in their respective category. They all do outstanding work very quickly, in my experience.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.240 ) at 12:26 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
other free photo sites...
..while I'm at it, here are other free film & digital processing/ printing/ sharing sites. No reason to pay for anything but film these days. www.shutterfly.com www.ofoto.com www.clubphoto.com
Ron H ( 207.223.70.148 ) at 12:25 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Curtis: Have you tried this? I am not sure whats in it for them.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.240 ) at 12:13 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Ron H: better yet, I would do this for photos. Take them in 35mm then go here for free developing, online access & sharing ... http://www.snapfish.com/
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 12:04 PM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Anyone know how I can get my password for HTOC again? Can't find it, want to upgrade my bio.
Ron H ( 207.223.53.251 ) at 11:07 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
KPD: Thanks guy.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 10:52 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Ron H: Good luck with your new toys. Hopefully you'll get it up and running in time for the Indy. Let us know when you got some pics.
Ron H ( 207.221.161.179 ) at 10:43 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Tony C:Good idea. Thanks
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:40 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Ron H: Ron, if you don't have a digital camera, just take the pictures on 35mm (whatever) and when you bring them in to have them developed, have the developer put them on floppy or disc as well has doing prints. I do it all the time.
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 8:58 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Wild Bill: Good luck tomorrow. Think green, play golf, DO NOT TRY TO ADJUST YOUR PROJECTOR, and you will see that everything with turn out OK.
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 8:56 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
ComputerInfo
V-Dude: If you are using windows 98 or 95 on both your computers you can also use a product called Fast Move. That is what I have used in the past and it has worked perfectly. It comes with software and a cable. It also may be cheaper than Laplink.
Another way, however more drastic, is to move your old computer's hard drive to your new computer, then copy its contents to the new computer's hard drive. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO INSTALL A DRIVE IN A COMPUTER ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TRY THIS.
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.169 ) at 8:42 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Wild Bill: Enjoy your golf. I am sure things will go smoothly tomorrow, and all will turn out well.
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.169 ) at 8:41 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Tony C: That's actually what I was getting at!
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.115 ) at 8:40 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
releaving=relieving
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.115 ) at 8:39 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Good morning everyone. My heart test is tomorrow and I'm releaving the stress by taking today off also. I'll be playing golf which is neck and neck with HT for my second favorite pasttime.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 8:23 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Good morning gents....
Ron H ( 207.223.53.159 ) at 8:14 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Tony C: Not a bad idea. I will take some over the next week and get them scaned.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.115 ) at 8:05 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
ComputerInfo
V-Dude: I use LapLink 2000. I have a Compaq notebook which crashes frequently. I keep a backup of my critical presentation files on my desktop and use LapLink to connect the two. It works very well for me.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:01 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
Projo
Ron H: Why not get us some pics of your work in progress?
V-Dude ( 172.140.180.58 ) at 7:50 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
ComputerInfo
I need some information on how to transfer data from my slow Gateway 166 to a new, much faster, computer. I haven't bought one as yet but have to do something soon. In other words, what I want to do, is transfer all the information to a new one and eliminate it from my old one. Can anyone advise the most practical way to do this? TIA.
Good morning all.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.70 ) at 1:21 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
... time for guywires to the OTA & a firm chimney mount for the dish. The downside of the larger oval dish is that it acts like a sail.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.70 ) at 1:20 AM EST Thursday, May 11, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Kieran: Man was it ever super windy in the SF area today! I got home to see what the HD OTA broadcasts were showing. To my surprise the previously unreceivable channels were coming in strong, but nothing but "searching for signal through directv. I went outside to look at the antennas to see the OTA had rotated 180 degrees & the dual LNB DSS (mounted on a very sturdy tripod) had totally fallen down!
Ron H ( 207.221.161.31 ) at 11:49 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Projo
Cytotech:When I get it finished I will post some pictures. I am thinking it will be in 4 to 6 weeks before all the ods and ends are finished.
When done I will have to buy some equiment and speakers to replace the stuff in the family room that is going into the HT room. Mainly speakers and a inexpensive receiver.
When done I will have the family room HT (which Nicky my wife has started to call her room) with a 60" RP, and a inexpensive receiver powering some inexpensive speakers. Then I will have "my room" with a 100" screen with higer end pre/pros amps and speakers.
Pronto was going into the HT room with me. She said "you can't take my remote! I am considering using all same brand eqipment to make the control simpler to avoid if possible the purchase of a second pronto.
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.168 ) at 11:28 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Projo
Ron H: Cool man! How 'bout some pics???
Ron H ( 207.223.53.30 ) at 11:13 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Projo
trav1: Thanks for the heads up. My deal is still better by a few hundred and I will be dealing with someone I know and trust. I will be getting the Dream Vision which the dealer sent back to the factory for the latest software upgrade and the newer style bulb the new model has. I also will be getting a QuadScan scaler that the dealer has promised to handle the next few software or chip upgrades at no charge.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.182 ) at 9:42 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
cai: OTA antenna? Near Dulles Airport? The reception here is less than stellar. I have my locals on DirecTV and am very happy. I tape VERY few programs. The dual lnb is for Anamaria to have access to her channels. I don't dare mess with that and besides, I'd have to run another 100' of RG-6 to get the run to the VCR. I think I'll stick with things as they are. Thanks for the ideas.
trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 9:40 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Projo
Ron H: I see you are looking at or have already bought the Dream vision. If you haven't purchased already, here is a little tidbit from gcaudio.com. I am not sure if it is a great deal or not as I'm not sure what list is. But it has that special four letter word in it, FREE.
*SPECIAL* - Buy a DREAM VISION DL-500 and receive a FREE IEV Turboscan 1500 Line Doubler ($2500.00 value)!! $6500.00
Curtis ( 63.203.69.70 ) at 9:05 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
digital audio technology & the 18 1/2 minute gap
this'll seperate the kids from the grownups ... 25 years ago audio experts gave up on trying to unerase the famous 18 1/2 minute gap in the White House watergate tape conversation between Nixon & Bob Haldeman 3 days after the Watergate break-in. NBC nightly news just ran a story that the latest/ greatest digital audio technology may well be able to bring back the original conversation from the analog tape. It's only up to the National Archives to vote if it's worth the expense to do it + quite a few politics! I'm not sure I really want to hear that conversation, Haldeman was one mean SOB. Then again, it was all done at taxpayer expense & the aging audio experts determined that the tape had been purposely erased after the fact no less than 5 seperate times, replaced with a noisey buzz. What do you all think about this use of modern technology?
Curtis ( 63.203.69.70 ) at 8:57 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
THere is joy in PA
Rich F: congratulations Rich - I totally missed your post. Much better feeling being gainfully employed than not, huh?
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 8:37 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Rich F: Outstanding!! Congrats man.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 8:28 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Howdy all!
Gasgeek: I sent you some e-mail did you happen to get it? Again, sorry for the delay in replying to you.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 8:27 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Wild Bill: Get an OTA antenna and connect it so that at least you have two inputs and more flexibility. Better yet, if you have a dual LNB and are paying for two satellite tuners, connect both to the vcr and then you can watch one and record the other. Just make sure you remember which one you are recording so that you channel surf with the other one and not ruin your recording. "I DISAVOW ANY SCREW-UPS THAT MAY RESULT DUE TO MY ADVICE. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN BUBBA." hahahaha
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 7:58 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Kieran: I think you got it. Just follow the logic you have used. It is almost the same connection that I have with my two TV set-up systems. Also be aware that you should select the rear input to be s-vhs for your satellite and that that channel selected will be "0". It shows as L-1 on the vcr. You also have an F-1 channel, which I think is for the front connections which is accessed by cycling channel down on the remote.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.70 ) at 7:54 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Kieran: the only problem I see with your hookup proposal is that the DCT100 only has a single S-video out. You'll have to use 1 of the 2 composite (RCA) video outs. On a personal note - RF connections SUCK! Combining video & audio in a single coax cable never has produced impressive result to my eye. Start splitting a single RF anything & you're really messing things up. Why do you think cable teevee looks so miserable? Tons of splits & worse - AT&T routinely amplifies the split signals in order to reach more houses. GIGO, especially on a larger hi resolution display.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.70 ) at 7:43 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Kieran: hey man, eventually all current models will be discontinued. Don't let that slow you down. Have you called Fry's Electronics (the store you love to hate) yet? They are one of the biggest preditors on the planet at this kind of thing. Isn't that where you bought your TW40 is the 1st place?
Wild Bill ( 63.36.255.252 ) at 7:37 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
cai: NOW you come up with the RF info!! Since DirecTV is my only source I do not have the ability to watch one channel and record another anyway. JVC could have done a much better job of describing the various hookup options in the manual. At least my JVC didn't have the flashing 12:00 on it. haha
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 7:20 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
cai: I think you may have misunderstood me on the price thing... Crutchfield had it for $199. It was another, small e-tailer here in so.cal. that couldn't go below $270. His name is Gary, and his company is Sound Professionals. See my post below.
Regarding connections... everything you just posted is exactly what I suspected. Here's the way I would hook things up:
RF from antenna split, one half to VCR, one half to DBS/HD tuner.
RF out from VCR: goes to TV antenna input.
RCA audio out from TV back to receiver
2 s-video outs from DBS box: one to receiver, one to VCR.
2 RCA audio outs on DBS box: one to VCR.
S-video out from VCR to receiver
1 optical digital audio out on DBS box: goes to receiver.
S-video from receiver to TV
This way, I think, I'll be able to watch DBS, and record the same show,
or watch DBS and record a different show, but antenna only,
or watch antenna, and record a different, DBS show.
And if I disconnect the RF input from the VCR, all I loose is my ability to tune analog stations with the VCR or TV, but the VCR will still operate properly, right?
Have I missed anything?
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 7:04 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Wild Bill, Kieran, et.al.: The only reason for having an RF cable connected between the s-vhs and the vcr is so that you can watch one program and record another. If you disconnect the RF cable and use a s-vhs connection only you must watch the channel that is tuned in your vcr. One more thing, without the RF connection once you turn the vcr off your image goes off on the tv.
Some tvs have two RF inputs and you can use them independently to connect cable and satellite, or vcr and satellite. If you connect cable and satellite to the tv, you must then connect an RCA between the vcr and the tv.
If you do not use the RF between vcr and tv you must have RCA sound connections since neither the s-vhs nor the RCA video connection will carry sound. With the RF you do not need the sound cable connections since this cable does carry sound.
Regarding price, I absolutely do not buy the Crutchfield argument about grey market goods. J&R Music World in NYC has the 3600 for $200.00. I doubt that those units are grey goods. Best Buy has them for $239 and again I do not think that those are grey goods. If you have Service Merchandise near you check their price. They are usually competitive and will match prices with other stores.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:43 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
All who care: Here's the second reply I just got from Gary at www.soundpros.com (who does have some great prices on other stuff, just not on this VCR)...
Hi Again,
I have done a little research since I emailed last.It seems that the 3600 is a model that is being discontinued.With this in mind,JVC has dumped truckloads off at unusually low prices to a few buyers.We do not have access to this blow out discount so we cannot help you with this purchase. I do apreciate the inquiry and the info. Thanks for giving us a shot.
Thanks,
Gary @ www.soundpros.com
So, it seems that this model is being discontinued, if Gary is correct. Interesting....
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 6:37 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
Tony C: I had exactly the same thought.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:25 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
I just called my local Good Guys, and they have the JVC 3600 for $249.97! This is not as good as Crutchfield's price, but it's lower than the $270 quoted by the guy at www.soundpros.com! I emailed him, telling him (in not so many words) that if he can't even beat Good Guys' price, then he's in trouble.
Chris L. ( 198.144.141.59 ) at 6:03 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JBC:: You have eeeemail!
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 5:53 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Kieran: I find that I get some pixelation (sp) or digital artifacts, small squares from Direct TV. Especially in close ups.
I don't use any OTA analog or HD.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.203 ) at 5:50 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Kieran: direcTV video quality is all over the map, IMHO. It's all about bandwidth & compression, of course. As they add more channels (the local networks for example)they must sacrifice the available B/W on some other channels. The PPV movies, premium channels & most sports usually (but not always) get the biggest pipes & it shows. Other times they are plain stupid allowing shopping channels better pictures than major sporting events. The more they grow, the worse it's gonna get. The good news for us DTC100 owners is that we have direct access to a 3rd sat. of theirs (where HBO HD lives)with all kinds of available B/W. Let's hope it too doesn't turn south. As a DirecTV user from day one I think you'll find most images quite good - on par with the best OTA reception yet not up to anamorphic DVD for obvious reasons.
trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 5:42 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
All in one....
FYI:
Hitachi's cutting-edge DVD products don't stop with the DVD-RAM Camcorder. The new DVD player/CD-RW Dual Deck, plays DVD software and can record audio CD onto digital audio CD-R and CD-RW disc media. Drive number one plays DVD and CD, while drive number two records music from a CD in drive number one onto a digital audio CD-R or CD-RW. The recording process is very simple with one button dubbing and double speed recording. Also, the Dual Deck makes editing a snap with the ability to customize sound tracks and arrange them according to user preference. Hitachi's full color on screen display allows users to do all this from their TV screen -- something regular CD recorders cannot offer.
The Hitachi DVD Player / CD-RW Dual Deck combines all the features and functionality of a high quality Hitachi DVD / VCD / CD / CD-R / CD-RW player, with the versatility and unique ability to record music CDs.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.203 ) at 5:40 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
s video out from DTC100 to vcr
Kieran: true enough on watching/recording NTSC stuff yet I hate having to remember to turn off the HD out button in order to enable the non-HD video outs. Considering that 1 year ago a box that didn't do 50% of what the RCA does went for $3,500 (Unity Motion) you're right that I don't have much to b*tch about - but that's whay us old guys do - look for things to complain about ;-). I did connect a progressive scan dvd player to the TW65 for a few days. To be perfectly honest with you it didn't look substantially better than my old DVP-S7000 running thru the iScan doubler. Well ok, maybe a LITTLE cleaner. Still, I would much rather buy a HD VCR than another DVD player - no way both are in the budget. Any idea of if/when RCA will have a HD VCR & how many $$? I vote it retails for about $300!
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.3 ) at 5:37 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
KPD: I'm not sure what of taht 325 applies to the cable system, but I do know that that's OTA numbers...
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.91 ) at 5:32 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Kieran: I bought mine at Sears a few months after it was released. I paid about $250 plus sales tax. His price seems a bit high to me. I guarantee you that I did not get a refurbished or grey market unit.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 5:05 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC HR-S3600U price
Okay, somebody said that Crutchfield has the 3600 for $199. I checked, and www.onecall.com also has it for $199 + $25.00 shipping. A new site that I recently found, www.soundpros.com, just sent me a quote. This is an e-tailer in San Diego, Ca. A good friend of mine just bought a set of Energy Surround e:XL speakers from him for a great price. He's got great prices on almost everything. But the price for the 3600 on his site is $285!! Here's is response to my inquiry as to the high price of this vcr:
Hi Kieran,
Thanks for the inquiry.I can do the 3600 for $270.00 plus shipping plus tax
in CA only.The price you have from the other companies I would suspect are
grey market or refurbished.We work hard to keep the margins tight and those
prices are way below our cost.
Thanks for the inquiry again,
Gary
Wow. This guy is usually very honest, and "tells it how it is". I wonder why his cost is so high? Could he be right about Crutchfield and onecall selling grey market or refurbs?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 4:59 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
KPD: Agreed on OTA antenna vs. cable. Even without my dtc-100, the picture on my TV with just analog OTA looks so much better than my friend's cable, it's not even funny! What's worse is, one of my friends has digital cable from Cox. The picture on his set looks like fuzzy crap compared to my OTA analog picture. Granted, he has a bazillion channels to choose from, and I have like... 20 or something. I'm considering DirecTV though... $19.95/month minimum... I don't know....
ALL:How does DirecTV picture quality compare to a very good OTA analog picture?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:54 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
s video out from DTC100 to vcr
Curtis: Curtis: ouch... that sucks. Yes, the NTSC outputs don't opperate concurrently with the HD output. It's one or the other, unfortunately. A small price to pay for a $650 STB, IMHO. If you have your connections right though, you should be able to watch what you record, you'll just have to watch it through your s-video inputs on your TW65.
BTW, are you using a progressive scan dvd player yet?
Curtis ( 63.203.69.203 ) at 4:38 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
s video out from DTC100 to vcr
Kieran: grrr! I found out the hard way that enabling HD output on the DTC-100 disables all other video outputs. What's the hard way, you ask? I taped several things for friends S-VHS playback only to find that all I had recorded was the audio traCKS. I verified this w/ RCA. "If you want to record S-video to tape you'll have to remember to switch off the HD Monitor button on the front panel of the DTC100" I was told. Not a terribly intuitive interface guys. I suspect that enabling HD output requires some serious horsepower that the design engineers compromised on. Something for you future DCT100 owners to be aware of.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 4:24 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Scott "popcorn": Now is that 325 you quoted before or after the noise is added by the cable system? Actually the Chroma bandwith over the air is much better than the ugly cable counterpart. A good antenna will look like LD in comparison to cable.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 4:21 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Wild Bill: I think the "L1" is the line input selection. Now it's looking at the "line in" instead of the tuner. So now it works like all the rest of em'
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.61 ) at 4:11 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Scott "popcorn", Tony, Kieran, JBC, AVB and ANYONE else that's interested: I just got off the phone with JVC. It turns out that you CAN have only the S-Video cable connected. I had to make a change in the setup menu of the VCR and change the channel on the JVC to L-1 (channel 00). I've disconnected the RF input and it functions perfectly. Hey, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!! Now I'll have to see if my satellite feed looks better. It appears that I may have been limited to those 325 or so lines that Scott indicated RF carries. Now I *should* be seeing the full (haha) capabilities of my satellite feed. Thanks to Tony, KPD and others for questioning what I read in the manual. I've eliminated a cable from my systm. That is always a good thing.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 4:11 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Anyone here own the Toshiba TN50X81 RPTV or a similar model? A local HT store has this model on sale and I'm thinking about buying. It's HDTV-ready, has progressive input and a built-in line doubler, first surface mirror, etc. It's not a widescreen set, but I am still watch a lots of LDs so this is not a make-or-break factor for me.
Any comments about this set would be appreciated.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 4:03 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Hello everyone.
Gasgeek: Thanks for the reply, you've got mail!
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.3 ) at 3:34 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
JBC: That is because RF (NTSC off air and cable) carry 350 lines of resolution (or is it 325?) while VHS only records 240 lines of resolution. S-video is in the ballpark of 425 lines of resolution... So, if you use a VHS machine for recording, you're not getting the full broadcast quality, while if you use an S-VHS machine, you'll get the full 325/350 lines of broadcast quality.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 3:21 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
I can't believe that once the Line Input is selected (and the video and audio connections were made) that you would need the RF input at all.
AVB ( 64.41.32.55 ) at 3:16 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
JBC: Maybe it needs the RF connection for audio. S-video doesn't carry any audio signals. Just a thought.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 3:04 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
NPR
Kieran: I love every one of those NPR shows you mentioned. Also "Morning Edition".
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 3:02 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Rich F: Congrats...
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 2:58 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
WildBill: Dumb question... what advantage is realized when using a S-VHS VCR to record from and RF source (i.e. cable) and play back through S-Video connection to the RPTV as compared to using a non S-VHS setup?
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 2:51 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Gasgeek: What that is about it MAP. Minimum Advertised Price.
You remember me talking to AVB about the price wars years where Best Buy and Circuit City priced CDs below cost?
Well that put many retailers out of business. So, the record companies adopted something that other hardware companies have done. That is that they refused to pay for advertising if the advertised price was below a certain price. Well that worked for a few years and prices leveled off and every retailer was safe. Well, the FTC just said that the record companies can't do that anymore. So now, it's quite possible that you will see CDs sold below a retailers cost once more. Many more cool hip stores may go out of business.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 2:29 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
AVB: When I saw the topic FLOOD, I immediately thought that it was related to the huge storms we had through here yesterday.
I was kind of relieved to hear it was just the water bed, even if it was still a pain for you.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 2:22 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Napster
Gar: Secured streaming of music is available all over the net.
Especially on artist sites. I totally agree with you about there being only 2 good cuts and the rest filler. It's pretty rare you get an album like the last Matchbox 20 or Santana and others like it.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.40.137 ) at 1:55 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
THere is joy in PA
Rich F: Congrats, Rich! Welcome to the technology world!! BTW, why wouldn't you want to move out of PA? LOL!!
Wild Bill ( 63.21.40.137 ) at 1:54 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC VCR's
Kieran: I think you are correct. According to the manual an antenna or RF connection must be hooked up if you are using an S-Video connection or a composite connection.
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 1:37 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC VCR's
Kieran: I own that particular JVC model which I use as a stand alone unit. I have a non-S-VHS connected to a S-VHS which in turn is connected to a TV. I will give you my connection arrangements when I get home.
AVB ( 64.41.32.137 ) at 1:26 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Gasgeek: Had the old ESP workin' overtime to match that info. Oligopoly for sure.
AVB ( 64.41.32.137 ) at 1:23 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
THere is joy in PA
Rich F: Good deal! I'll have to stop in and buy you a beer next time I pass Harrisburg. I get up around there at least twice a month.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 1:11 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
THere is joy in PA
Rich F: CONGRATS, MAN!!!! I had forgotten that you were on the job hunt. Great news.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 1:09 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Gasgeek: KLON is #1 on my car radio presets! I also often listen to ... damn can't remember the call letters, but I think it's 89.3... it's all talk NPR (they call it "intelligent talk" ... no Dr. Laura or Howard Stern type stuff.) Shows like "All Things Considered" "The World" and "Fresh Air" are often very interesting.
Robert ( 32.101.119.11 ) at 1:06 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Curtis, Having lived in Cal since birth, It's pretty cool to have a basement, especially an UNFINISHED one. On another note If I would have taken a job in Stockton ( you know that armpit called a town) I would have assumed ownership of my grandfathers house, it was an older victorian with a third floor with a HUGE darkroom (Ansel Adams has NOTHING on Gramps) and room for an HT for sure. Man that house was HUGE, four floors, (wimpy basement, main, upper and attic) Good luck with the darkroom, I sold off my enlargers and other stuff a couple of years ago, with no room for a darkroom at the time, hindsight being 20/20, stupid move.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 12:58 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Kieran: Yes, KLON, love that jazz for drive time.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 12:58 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Kieran: Yes, KLON, love that jazz for drive time.
Rich F ( 64.41.17.189 ) at 12:53 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
THere is joy in PA
I got a job. Best of all I don't have to move and I transitioned from healthcare to technology. Now where did I put that Prodigy brochure??
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 12:46 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC VCR's
cai: Do you have one of these JVC VCRs? Or are you just speculating? Reason I ask is: Why an RCA source? Why not an S-Video source like from my dtc-100 dtv tuner? I think the answer is that both an RCA video source and an s-video source are simply a single video feed, rather than something that the vcr's tuner can use. I suspect that for some reason, JVC vcr tuners need to be able to detect an antenna signal of some sort (be it OTA or cable). That means RF only. This is the only reason I can think of for this requirement. Otherwise hooking up an RCA source as you suggested should do the same thing. The only thing that really uses the RF input is the vcr's tuner, right?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 12:40 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
CD prices
Gasgeek: Do you listen to NPR? I heard the same thing on the way to work this morning on NPR. I also thought it interesting that this happened right when our own forum was discussing it!
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 12:39 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Wild Bill & KPD: You can achieve the same result if instead of having an RF connection between the VCR and the TV you have an RCA video-out-VCR/video-in-TV connection between the two. The VCR definitely needs a feed going into it. That should be either the cable or over the air antenna signal or an RCA video-in signal from another source, lets say another VCR.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 12:18 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Winston: Hey dude. I'll email you later.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 12:17 PM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
CD Prices: I heard an interesting news announcement on the way into work this morning. Kind of ties in with the thread earlier this week. I'm not sure of all of the details, but I'm sure it's on the news sites somewhere. According to the radio, the FTC has ruled that the major music labels have been involved in price fixing in order to keep CD prices high. They haven't allowed retailers to lower the price even though they wanted to.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.15 ) at 11:20 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
basement?
Curtis: When we dig a basement in Houston it becomes a swimming pool.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.5 ) at 11:09 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
basement?
Robert: One quick/ dumb ? pls ... what is a "basement"? In CA they are nearly non-existant because it's more expensive to build one. The latest home improvement fad it to loft existing homes way up & put in full-sized basements. God only knows how much something like this would cost. My current place has a river under the property, so it has a small basement. My son & I are converting it to a small black & white darkroom this weekend. It's a great hobby to share together. The kid has a great eye too.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.15 ) at 11:08 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Wild Bill: 100" screen.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.15 ) at 11:06 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Wild Bill: A Dream Vision DLP with a scaler.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 11:01 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Ron H: Great news that things are shaping up. I am green with envy!!
Robert ( 32.101.119.108 ) at 10:46 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Tony C; Pretty cool that your neighborhood Blockbuster is going to all dvd, I just hope this isn't a precursor to Priced for rent DVD, that would suck. I'm curious to see how many and what tiles are getting placed ino the store. I wonder how many catalog titles will be available and which ones. Good luck, I'm in DVD rental hell out here.
Robert ( 32.101.119.108 ) at 10:43 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Ron: I could think of worse things than having to watch the Indy 500 your 60"!! Hopefully the project goes well, I'm still trying to find time to start my basement theater !!
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.123 ) at 10:36 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Ron H: Inquiring minds want to know! What's the choice for the big screen?
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.123 ) at 10:35 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
KPD: Read it twice and connected it twice. If you disconnect the RF input with a JVC VCR you lose the signal. It is being routed to the TV via S-Video. That much I know for sure. But idf I disconnect the RF I lose the signal to the TV. I just tried it again AND reread the manual. The manual clearly states that the RF must be connected in addition to the S-Video or Video connection.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.40 ) at 10:27 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JBC::The HT room is starting to take shape. I cleaned up the work area and I am starting to get a feel for the size of the room. The color choices seem to change daily. The electrical and all the cable runs will be completed this weekend. I am also hoping that the sheet rock can go up on Sunday.
That will leave sheetrock sanding etc., trim work, carpeting and painting. Of course the fun part will be hooking everything up afterwoods.
I would like to have it somewhat operational by Memorial Day weekend. We have a big party at the house and watch the Iny 500. It would be cool if I could do it on the big screen. I guess the second choice of watching it on the 60" Pioneer Elite is not a real problem.
I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this project. I will be glad when it is over so I can sleep again.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.5 ) at 9:56 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
AVB: sorry to hear about your h2o troubles. When I was a teen my sisters kitten got locked in my room w/ a waterbed all day. You know the way they have razor-sharp claws? I came home to find hundreds of tiny streams flowing all over the place! My dad made ME pay to replace the carpeting!
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:56 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
AVB: Got a great way to start the day. Hope that, at the very least, you get some time in on your 3k6seiii!
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:55 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCRs
WildBill,KPD: Thnaks for the infor on the JVC. I am going to pick one up in the next day or so (subject to time constraints).
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:54 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Good morning all...
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 9:52 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
ISF Calibration
Darian: Those figures sound like they came from Chuck, right? Is this for your RPTV? I don't usually charge a service call unless the distance exceeds 35 miles, then it's mileage. I will say that Chuck is a technician first, he knows electronics and how a video device works. He is capable of servicing and therefore knows significantly more than the average ISF tech you may be considering. He's been doing this as long as I have and long before the ISF came about. I would see what technical knowledge the other tech has as well.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 9:43 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JohnO: Hey John, give Tom a call, I would say $25-$50 is about right. Remember, the connectors are most of the cost and as the cable gets longer the cost gets diluted. You've got 10 connectors, at $3 each plus cost of termination time, you're probably not too far off, especially if they are high quality connectors.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 9:25 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
ISF Calibration
Seem reasonable?
I charge $75.00 for a service call, $60.00 per hour for anything not
covered by ISF (meaning focus, convergence and geometry), and $250 for the ISF calibration. I would suggest budgeting about an hour for the non-ISF
alignments.
I was planning to pay ~$400.
The Other ISF tech has yet to get back to me. Rosenberg. Don't know if either or has the color analyzer and Rosenberg was recommended to me by ISF when I requested a tech.
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 9:15 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
KPD: I just got an Extron switcher, what is a good place to buy an RGBHV cable (BNC) for a very short run, like 3 feet? Markertek had nothing reasonable listed (I didn't consider $50 reasonable for 3 feet).
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 9:04 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Wild Bill: Good morning, you better read that twice, I think Kieran has a point about the RF requirement which is what I thought too when I saw your post. Once you've selected "line in" to record from, the RF input is not in the loop and is not required.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 9:01 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JBC:: Onecall sells the 3600 for $199 also.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 9:00 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
AVB: I hear ya, last night I had to get up at 1:30am because my son was leaking in the bed
mic ( 166.68.134.164 ) at 8:01 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
AVB: must have been a fun night to spring the leak ! or too much vibration from the HT
mic ( 166.68.134.164 ) at 7:58 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
some interesting reading
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_2/feature-article-misunderstood-lfe-channel-april-2000.html
Ron H ( 63.26.163.22 ) at 7:27 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
AVB: Not a good way to start the day.
mic ( 166.68.134.165 ) at 7:13 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
JVC VCR's
The Crutchfiel cat that I received in the mail has a new models HR-S3800 list/sale $320/$250 & HR-S4800(editing) $350/$280, they also have the HR-S9600 $650/$500, they also have a HR-VP680 $200/$140
AVB ( 64.41.32.117 ) at 5:19 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
Flood
Nothing like waking up at 4:50 AM to find your waterbed leaking. No work for me today, it will take all day to clean up, drain the bed, find the hole and patch it.
Curtis: Isn't the betacam based on 3/4" tape?
Ron H ( 63.26.185.106 ) at 3:48 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Curtis: Three Beta decks here over the early years.
Curtis ( 63.203.71.62 ) at 2:12 AM EST Wednesday, May 10, 2000
VCR
Wild Bill: yeah right! JVC did not invent the VCR standard, they bought it from Sony, who invented it & had labled it a hopelessly inferior standard to Beta way back when. All JVC did was license it out like mad to all takers to create a standard (if sub-stanard). No question in my mind that beta was a superior format. Only problem was that Sony only allowed 2 other firms to license it, thus screwing the future. Between Duane & myself, we must have owned 8 beta decks! Whay do you think the standard for broadcast video is betacam?
Gar ( 169.207.194.138 ) at 11:46 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Boy did my Napster post turn into a debate on CD cost Oh well I don't buy that many CDs anymore unless I can hear the whole thing. I am getting sick of buying a CD and it only having 1 or 2 songs that are good on it. Same goes with the radio stations, playing those same 2 songs over and over, just another way we get ripped off. CD buying should be like test driving a car you either like the ride or hate it. Thats why I like the concept of Napster, listen to it before I fork out the cash for the CD.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:08 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Blockbuster
I rented Dogma and Being John Malkovich at the Blockbuster near the house.
As I was being handed my change, the kid behind the counter says to me,
"Just so you know, beginning June 6ht, the entire store will be all DVDs"
I asked him to explain.
He said that it's an experiment and that all the VHS catalog is going and anything that was ever released on DVD will be in the store. They will still carry games so at least my kids will be happy.
This it the store I bitched at for not having THree Kings on the shelf on street date.
I know that this will piss off a lot of people in the neighborhood.
Hehehe.
I know that this move will
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:03 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: Nice to see your spleen around here again.
I hope that Michael AKA: The Animal, will be lurking. I know he would be interested in the tube set up.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:00 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Victorias Secret
BIG AL: That stuff doesn't come in XXL.
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.209 ) at 10:32 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
JBC:: No. It records through the S-Video connection. I don't know why the RF connection must be made. I'll try to pore through the manual a bit more manana. I got my 3600 in Septtember or October. It was a brand new model at that time. If I were you, I'd make the purchasse. VCR models are not cooming out at the frequency of DVD players. You may have to wait quite a while (possibly more than a year) for newer models.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:41 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
WildBill: Are you saying that for the JVC 3600 to record in S-VHS it can only do so through the RF connection? Also, do you have info on the lifecycle of the 3600 (i.e. as you have had yours "for a while", I question whether I shoulkd hold out for a month or so and go with the new version).
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.64 ) at 8:05 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Kieran; The Rat Shack's is worse! They have a catalog named RadioShack.com, but the site is empty.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 7:56 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
BIG AL: Thanks! I thought for sure I'd find one at Sharper Image, but alas, my search was fruitless. I'll check out the Shack tonight! BTW Sharperimage.com's web site SUCKS.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.64 ) at 7:37 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Kieran; Hit the Shack, man!! Sorry, can't remember price or details, but the shack has just what you're looking for! Or at least your mom.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.64 ) at 7:35 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
TonyC; I believe the truly best value for your entertainment dollar is Victoria Secret's catalog!
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 6:39 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Tonights Feature Presentation
David: I saw both. End of Days is better of the two. But even Stigmata is better than EOD. Or if you havn't seen Stir Of Echos, try that on.
I think I'll be picking up Inside John Malkovich tonight.
johnbr ( 24.112.61.241 ) at 6:27 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Tonights Feature Presentation
David: Go with end of days good sub work out at the end.But the movie is no sixth sense.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:21 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Wild Bill: BTW, since you expressed concern/interest before... my Dad is home, safe and sound. Had a great time, and should be receiving about 50 lbs of fish from what he caught, in a few days.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:19 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Wild Bill: Yes, I'd be interested in the answer about the required RF connection if you have the time. I'm only interested out of curiosity though, so don't bust your butt doing it or anything. If I were to get this vcr, it would have an RF antenna input, since I would want to be able to record analog broadcasts while I watch digital. But it does make me wonder why one MUST connect the RF line to it for it to record. I'm betting it's one of the reasons I guessed earlier, but I'd be interested in finding out what the manual has to say. Thanks.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:14 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Winston aka the Spleen: Gasgeek's email is in the member's area, under his bio.
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.178 ) at 6:12 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Kieran: jvc.com has more comprehensive information than the Canadian site that JBC recommended. It does not have Owner's Manuals online. This is something that all manfacturers need to start doing. They could eliminate so many customer service calls if they'd just publish the manuals online.
David ( 199.174.130.124 ) at 6:10 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Tonights Feature Presentation
Tonights movie is either 'End of Days' or 'House on Haunted Hill (1999)'. Any opinions?
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.178 ) at 6:05 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Kieran: Yes, I own an HR-S3600U. It is the current model that is out. I believe (I can't remember for sure, because I've had it for awhile) that to record it MUST have an RF connection, if and only if, S-Video is the only source that is to be connected. I can dig through the manual some more, if you wish, because as I recall the answer was buried in there somewhere.
RichardS ( 199.202.74.157 ) at 5:59 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
JBC: Thanks, will investigate locally.
Winston aka the Spleen ( 206.165.142.131 ) at 5:54 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Hello all... thought I'd drop in to say "hi." Don't get over to this side of town very often but it's nice to stop by now and again to visit old friends.
Gasgeek: If you're lurking drop me a line, I've lost your e-mail addy again.
If anyone's interested, I have completed a project that I've been interested in for some time... a complete tube-based surround sound system. I've probably read every issue of every major (and many minor) HT-related audio magazines over the past dozen years and I haven't been able to find a single report of anyone who has actually put this kind of system together. Ditto for the internet; lots of posts from people expressing an interest in a tube-based surround system but no mention of anyone who has ever done it.
Assembling the system has been great fun and a bit of a challenge. I can say without reservation that I am now enjoying both music and movies more than I ever though possible so the effort has been worth it (although I'm not looking forward to summer - temps here in the desert can hit 122 degrees and those tube amps get hot!).
I will drop in over lunch this week so if anyone has any questions about getting started with a tube-based system just let me know.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 5:49 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCR
RichardS: Future Shop has a special on them in one of their North York Ontario stores for Cnd$300 which translates to US$200.
RichardS ( 199.202.74.157 ) at 5:40 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
JBC: Where have you seen that price on the 3600?
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 4:51 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Kieran: The best price I have seen is the equivalent of US$200. Also note that all JVC VCRs, at least according to their web page, go here http://www.jvc.ca/consumer/product-list.phtml?family=VCRs , end with "U".
For the price, I am strongly leaning towards the 3600.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:13 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
mic: Wow... Crutchfield almost NEVER has truly low prices... yet another site I checked had it for $285! Although the model I saw was a HR-S3600U... is this different from the HR-S3600?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 4:09 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Wild Bill: By RF cable, I assume they mean the antenna input, right? Why MUST one connect the RF cable, does it say? I mean, If I do all my recording off my DTC100 dtv tuner, then the input is going to be s-video and rca audio. Is it that the 3600 needs to be connected to the RF input so that it can set its clock and so forth? Or maybe if the vcr's tuner can't configure itself with some sort of antenna input (be it cable or OTA) the rest of the vcr won't work either...
Thanks for the info, BTW. I take it you OWN this vcr, or were you just viewing the manual online? If it's online what's the site?
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 4:04 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
ISF
Darian: Since Lou Carliner left, the only one I know about is Chuck Williams. He posts all the time at www.avsforum.com.
mic ( 166.68.134.163 ) at 3:38 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
just got a CRUTCHFIELD cat in the mail, on the back page is an ad JVC HR-S3600 special $199.99 supplies are limited ! Hurry
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 3:30 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
ISF
OK guys I need a local ISF guy for the DC area. Any ideas?
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.54 ) at 2:04 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Kieran: Again, this is from the manual and it is stated in both sections regarding connections.
"Even if you are using AV cables to connect your VCR to your TV, you must connect it using the RF cable."
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.54 ) at 1:54 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Kieran: I'm accessing the manual so these answers may come across in bits and peices.
#1 - Tapes recorded in S-VHS or S-VHS ET mode cannot be playued back successfully on normal VHS VCRs.
#2 - You don't need a composite connection but you MAY need an RF connection.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 1:17 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Off topic
Does anybody know where I can get a digital "tapeless" tape measure? One that uses light or sound to measure distance, instead of tape? I've seen them before, but have no idea where to find one. This is what my Mom wants for Mother's day. (she likes to measure the size of rooms and such, when she visit's model homes)
AVB ( 64.41.32.187 ) at 12:37 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Cinepro trigger
JBC:: I somehow missed your question of a few days ago. I haven't contacted Eric yet. Not only because you asked me to but also I wanted to give them some time with the circuit board before jumping on them. I'll be talking to him next week most likely.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 12:37 PM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
JBC/Others: I have read this thread with interest, as I am considering getting a new VCR. The primary reason to upgrade for me is that with my DTC100 dtv tuner, I no longer have an input for my VCR on the back of my TV, and I don't want to permanently hook a VCR up to the front panel inputs. So, I figure if I get an SVHS vcr, then I can use S-video switching for all my sources except for dvd (component). Another reason is that my girlfriend's VCR has died, and it would be nice to have a working vcr in the bedroom. So I'm sort of in the same situation as JBC: get a cheap-o unit for the bedroom, or get an SVHS unit for the HT and move my decent VHS vcr to the bedroom? The JVC 3600 looks like a great machine for my needs, and I'm seriously considering it. I have a couple questions, though...
JBC (or anyone else) what's the best price you've found so far for the 3600?
Anyone: With a vcr like the 3600, can I hook it up and use ONLY s-video connections, even for non-SVHS playback and recording? Or will I still need a composite connection in addition to the S-video connection?
Also, if I record a show in SVHS-ET, will it play on a normal VHS vcr at normal resolution, or will it just not play at all on a normal VHS vcr? What about if I record a show in true SVHS will it paly at all on a normal machine?
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 11:40 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Darian: "unita" should be "units"
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 11:36 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
EAD
Darian: Why didn't EAD take all switching capabilities out of the Encore and Ovation ( a la Signature), reduce the price of those unita and add OSD to the video switching box?
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.54 ) at 10:07 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
DTS Semo DVD #4
David: Your prize was sent today via the good old USPS. It should arrive by Christmas. Enjoy!!
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 9:51 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
EAD
Ron H / JBC: The OSD box was designed as a bandaid. It worked on Composite and S-Video with a Component pass. There was no switching abilites and it ws not to be used long. The unit was a "Throw away device." When component became more main stream you would simply ditch this thing. However EAD choose not to produce these units as they would have been $250 . With people constantly crying about upgradeability you don't introduse a $250 add on that is already on the way out.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 8:53 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
WildBill,Tony C,cai: Thanks for the feedback. I feel, based on your feedback, that the 3600 is the better choice for me as a) I do no editing and b) I do a lot of taping. I tape shows that I want to watch so I can watch them at my leisure as it is kind of hard to find "regularly scheduled" time with the wedding, selling the business, etc.
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 8:33 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
JBC: The price for these two units is very good. Two things to ponder on, if you are not going to do heavy editing and need advance features go with the 3600. However, there is the 4500 which is being sold by J&R Music World for about $240. This unit has a flying erase head for more precise editing than the 3600. This is a good option to have regardless of whether you do heavy editing or not. With this feature the machine stops at the scene you last saw when you turn the power off; no backtracking.
The other thing to ponder is that with the advent of HDTV, HD satellite signals, etc. I am reticent to spend big dollars for a machine that I may replace in the near future, one or two years, with one with digital recording capability. I will still use s-vhs, but probably re-record off the digital.
Bottom line for me is that the 7600 would be way overkill for an occasional recording and viewing unit. According to magazine testing labs Super VHS units do have better heads and provide better recordings even in regular VHS mode.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:24 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCR
Wild Bill: Thanks for answering JBC'sPsuedo question.
And clearing it up for me as well.
JBC, I have to agree with Ron below. The 3600 looks like the right choice.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.218 ) at 8:23 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
JBC: RonH brings up a good point about editing...but...any editing you can do via an S-VHS deck can be handled much better if you have a camcorder which can be connected to your computer via firewire.
David ( 199.174.132.76 ) at 7:58 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: I wanted to thank you for a very interesting insight into the music business. I know you are just arguing with AVB, but I have enjoyed following this thread, and appreciate the information.
Ron H ( 63.26.164.145 ) at 7:29 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
JBC:: Good Morning. If you use your VCR as infrequently as I do I would not spend extra money for things such as editing features. If you plan on recording movies you have made from a Video camera spend the extra for the better model.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 7:07 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Off topic
Tony C: Welcome to the club.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.77 ) at 6:29 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCR
Tony C: The 3600 is a real S-VHS machine. It has the ability to make "pseudo" S-VHS tapes by recording on regular tape in a special mode. I use the real thing when I tape (infrequently).
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.77 ) at 6:27 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCR
JBC:: I believe that JVC invented the VCR standard. They are well regarded. Unless you're going to use those editing features I'd get the 3600. 95% of the features and performance for a little over half the price.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 5:45 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
VCRs
Tony C.: Two follow up points:
1. The features of the 3600 are listed to below. To me, this appears to be a S-VHS deck. What made you think that it was only pseudo S-VHS?
Super VHS High Resolution
Super VHS ET Recording
Hi-Fi VHS Stereo with MTS Decoder
VCR Plus+ with Cable Box Control
Jog/Shuttle on VCR
MOVIE ADVANCE
Plug & Play
Active Video Calibration
Picture Control
Multi-Brand TV/Cable/DBS Compatible Remote with Glow Keys
Shuttle Plus
Rec Link
Express Programming
Auto SP-EP Timer Recording
2. You are saying that unless I am planning on either a) editing what I record or b) creating libraries that the 3600, p
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 5:41 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Good morning all...
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.88.70 ) at 12:48 AM EST Tuesday, May 9, 2000
Off topic
Tony C: Kewl! welcome to the ranks.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:04 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Off topic
AVB, Joe and other gun enthusiests.
I fired a firearm for the first time in my life this weekend.
I was good too. I shot a 357, a 45 and another magnum something.
However, we were n- Topic -->VCR
JBC:
I will only comment on 2a and d.
a) I still own that JVC S deck I told you about. I got it around 1985. It still performs well, but the clock can't be set. I also own another JVC deck that I've had for about ten years. Never a problem. I think they are great decks.
My Sony deck had to be repaired. My NEC deck was unrepairable.
My panasonic died.
I have four Toshiba decks the oldest is 8 yrs old and isn't working properly. The RCA deck is only three yrs old. Paid only $79 and still works well.
d)If you want GREAT playback, you will get it from a S-VHS deck. I still use mine as a slave to dupe promo tapes. Isn't the 3600 a kind of psuedo S deck? I don't know for sure. But what are you recording? Isn't a regular deck fine for recording soap operas? If you plan on recording LDs or editing home movies or starting a tape library, spend the money for the 7600.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 10:44 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
DVD Players
I forgot to mention that I went back to assist a friend of mine in purchasing a DVD player. He owns a Pioner DD ready receiver which meant we looked at Pioneer DVD players with built in DD decoders as he onlywants one remote.
The one which best served his need was the 302 which is a three disc player. This things weighs nothing! Does anyone have any experience of knowledge of this unit?
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 10:41 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
VCR
Tony C and Others: Two things to note about the VCRs:
1. The remote control is not an issue as I have a GREAT little URC that has worked flawlessly for 10 years.
2. I have no experience with S-VHS VCRs and the toys that go with them Truth is that I think I only need a VCR with GREAT record and GREAT playback. What I really want is four things:
a) some feedback on JVC VCRs in general;
b) some feedback on the pros/cons and value of the additional features of the 7600 (or other model for that matter) over the 3600;
c) some feedback on other considerations between the 3600 and the 7600 (i.e. is the build quality of the 7600 that much better that it is worth almost twice as much?); and
d) some feedback regarding the improvement I will get by blowing US$200 on a new VCR for my HT and moving my ProScan non S-VHS VCR to my bedroom versus blowiwng US$75 for a cheap VCR for bedroom and leaving the ProScan in my HT (i.e. will I get the GREAT record and GREAT playback).
TIA
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 10:29 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
VCRs
JBC:: Considering that I paid $800 for my first JVC S-VHS deck, I think that the 7600 is a great value at $360. But are you really going to need/use those features?
I do have a Sony VHS deck that I bought because it had a fly-erase head. I used it to edit movies. I cut out scenes that I didn't want the kids to see and it worked great.
If I were to buy a VHS deck today, for my main system, I think it would be the 3600. If I were to buy a deck for the bedroom, I would look to pay around $100 and get one that was the same brand as my TV so I could have two remotes that worked both TV and VHS. Now there is a remote on either side of the bed. Your fiance' might like that.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 10:22 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB: I am positive that vinyl was that high in 1982. And I am positive that the list price was $13.98. The first budget line CDs came out at $11.98 and have since been raised to $13.98-$14.98. Artists like ZZ Top and Led Zepplin never allowed their catalog to be budget priced, but that's another story.
You're absolutely right about BB and CC selling CDs as lost leaders. It's the reason so many cool and hip record stores were forced out of business. My point was that the consumer paid way under value.
"for years the cassette sold more than the CD and the price was always higher for the CD. During this time wasn't the profit on the cassette enough?"
Enough for what? for who? I don't understand. I know you're not a socialist. How much is too much profit?
"Now that the cassette is dying off, shouldn't the increase in volume make CDs cheaper?"
AVB, I keep trying to explain why CDs cost so much. Everybody wants a bigger piece of that pie. CDs will never go down in price until the consumer stops buying them.
At a time when developement of new artists is measured in weeks instead of years wouldn't the industry and the consumer be better off with new ideas instead of 10 N'Sync copies or 15 new Britney Spears."
Ah, I see we agree on something.
But you see, the boy band phenomenon has been extremely profitable for retail as well as the few companies who have scored with hits. Same with Britney and Christina. Because of these phenoms, everything sells, everyone makes money. Radio, concert promotors, record companies (2 or 3)toy stores, toy manufactorers, magazines, web sites, etc.
I know that you are an astute music person and you and I could go on for some time about the state of popular music. But "music of the minute" has always been here and it probably always will be. I remember saying that Rap would go away.
Anyway, record companies put out lots and lots of really good music. I think you know that. The problem is that it's the profits from the Britney's and the N'Syncs that allow the developement of those other types of music. Without the profit from those huge selling groups, there are no funds to sign, record, develop and work an artist like Dido. (See AKA's post)
trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 10:03 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
What are CD's?
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 9:47 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
VCRs
cai,WildBill: I went back to look at the VCRs tonight. The two S-VHS players they had were the JVC 3600 for US$200 and the JVC 7600 for US$367. To this end:
a) Features comon to both the 3600 and the 7600 are as follows:
b) Features included in the 7600 but not the 3600 are as follows:
-- Professional Slow Motion Playback
-- DigiPure Technology with 2MB Frame Memory
-- Digital Wide TBC
-- Precision 3-D Color Circuit
-- Digital 3-D YNR/CNR
-- Precise Digital 3-D Y/C Separation
-- Digital R3 Picture System
-- TimeScan And Pro-Slow With Dynamic Drum System
-- Insert Editing with Flying Erase Head and Audio Dubbing
-- Commercial Advance
c) Do you have any thoughts about the 7600 (i.e. I know you think that the 3600 is good value)?
d) Is the price for the 3600 good? Is the price for the 7600 good?
e) There are also a lot of other models -- 3800, 4600, 4800, 7500, 7800, 9500, 9600 and 9800. Do you know anything about these?
The link for the 3600 is http://www.jvc.ca/consumer/product-detail.phtml?model=HR-S3600U while the link for the 7600 is http://www.jvc.ca/consumer/product-detail.phtml?model=HR-S7600U
Thanks guys!
AVB ( 64.41.33.181 ) at 9:04 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: "And when I was a boy, a hamburger at McDonald's was only .25 cents."
They still only use 25 cents worth of beef. hahahahaha
AVB ( 64.41.33.181 ) at 9:02 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: I would disagree that the recording industry as a whole is much different then an oligopoly model. But without getting into the math we'll just have to disagree on that.
Are you sure that records were that high in 1980? When did Petty refuse to release his record at $8.98? Maybe it was $9.98. I don't remember any CDs at a $14 list the first year but you could be right as I wasn't buying the "popular" groups.
As for the price war years both of those chains sold at or just less then cost as a loss leader (another fine economic term) to get people into the stores. It's the same idea as when a grocery store puts Frosted Flakes on sale for $1.00 off.
Anyway, to get back to the point, for years cassettes sold more copies then CDs and the price was always higher for the CD. During this time wasn't the profit on a cassette enough? Now that cassettes are dying out shouldn't the increase in volume make CDs cheaper? At a time when the development of new artists is measured in weeks instead of years wouldn't the industry and the consumer be better off with new ideas instead of 10 In Sync copies or 15 new Brittney Spears?
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 8:51 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Well guys if you don't like the price of CDs then don't buy. Another alternative is to buy used CDs. And besides not everyone has the same sensibilities for what is too expensive. My feeling is if you really enjoy the music on the CD and you will end up listening it alot then it is probably a good investment in food for your soul.
I know a guy at work that refuses to own a CD player because he does not like the price of CDs. That is another solution, you won't have to complain about the cost of CDs because you don't own anything to play them on.
You guys are complaining about the cost of CDs when some of you constantly upgrade gear that runs hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Maybe if you didn't spend so much on upgrades you might have some cash left over to actually afford CDs. HAHAHAHAHA
bouncey ( 24.11.16.18 ) at 8:20 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
huh
what did i miss here
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.46 ) at 7:08 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Scott "popcorn": Poor people and homeless people? GHow did we get THERE.
Poor people and homeless people have the same advantages at some point in their life as most of us do. As the movie says, "he chose poorly". The problems these people have are social and behavioural and have nothing to do with the price of tea in China or the cost of a CD in Oklahoma City.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 6:46 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Scott "popcorn":
And when I was a boy, a hamburger at McDonald's was only .25 cents.
What's this world coming to?
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 6:40 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB: Actually, I'm not saying the the record companies are making a profit on cassettes at all. However, they do have to cater to that small and ever shrinking audience. Another reason why profits have to be made up on CD.
In 1982 when the CD started to make it's way into record stores, the average list price of a vinyl album was $9.98. The list price of a CD was $13.98. During the "Price War" years, Best Buy and Circuit City sold CDs for under $10.00. A list price of $17.98 did not happen until the mid-nineties. At first only soundtracks were $17.98. I remember vividly the uproar the $16.98 list got. And you know what else? I remmember concert tickets being $14.00 too.
Then the list price of CDs gradually got even higher and higher.
And then yes, when the first single disc $19.98 list price CD hit the shelves last year, there wasn't even a blink from the consumer. When double CDs, or collections reached almost $30, they still sold platinum. So, I would agree that "the consumer was somewhat willing to pay".
In the mean time, as I keep trying to say, the cost of doing business in show business increased. And yes, like every other industry, the shareholders want bigger profits and the CEOs get bigger bonuses. Just because the technology is old, it doesn't mean that the cost of doing business went down.
You say, "there was no competition to make them more effecient".
No, AVB, the competition is tremendously fierce. That is why the cost of doing business is so high. You can't take this industry and put it into one of your business models because it is unlike any other industry. Yes, competition is very expensive, but at the same time, if you want to buy a Bruce Springsteen album, there is only one company who makes them (legally).
"Price gouging"? If you say so man.
"Colusion? Price Fixing?" Call the FTC. See what they have to say.
There are thousands and thousands of CDs out there at $3.00 to $6.00.
I see them all the time. There are thousands of catalog titles at budget prices. If you want Starbucks you pay $4.00. If you want White Hen, you pay $1.50.
With the advent of downloading, the recording industry is destined for a paradigm shift. Undoubtedly. Perhaps at that time the price of a CD will have to come down to compete against the instant download at a kiosk or in your home. Until then, in my opinion, music CDs are still one of your best entertainment values. Even if the evil record companies get to make a profit.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.58.152 ) at 6:12 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB: I can't believe we're on the same side of an issue!
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.58.152 ) at 6:12 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Wild Bill: what gives me the right to tell someone they are making too much money is the root of all money problems... namely, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Instead, if sellers would ALWAYS charge a fair price (counting a reasonable profit, reasonable advertising, and reasonable cost of goods and labor) then we wouldn't have so many homeless people on the streets, nor would we have a guy that is selling a box containing manure you put on your computer who has a worth in the billions. The economic model is highly screwed, and CD price gouging is part of it.
AVB ( 64.41.32.191 ) at 5:38 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: So your story is that the companies and artist make what they must consider a reasonable profit on cassettes (otherwise why do it) but it is then OK to make whatever people are willing to pay for CDs. This is usually called price gouging.
I remember when the CD was first introduced and the price was very high compared to a record. $17.98-18.98 to $5.98-6.98. As production increased the price should have gone down once the cost of development was paid. There are 2 business theories most free market companies use. One is drop the price of new technology as fast as possible to grab market share (DVD being a prime example) and the other is to keep the product very exclusive and keep the price high (jewelery for one). What happened with CD is that the record companies, which are an oligopoly, saw that the consumer was somewhat willing to pay the higher price. Since they controlled the artist, the production and the distribution there was no compitition to make them more efficient. The end result is colusive price fixing as we have seen.
Looked at historicly, a CD is now a relative good buy because the price to the consumer hasn't changed that much over 20 years. However, looked at in terms of production we have not recieved the benefit of the increased volume of sales even compared to the adjusted inflation rate.
As for the examples in your rant, anytime you control, either by actual physical means, such as a movie theater, or by psychological means thru advertising, such as Starbucks, the competition for goods and services you have a monopoly and can charge what the market will allow. Do I buy $4 coffee or $2.50 sodas? No, because it is not worth it to me as a consumer. Everyone has to make that choice themselves based on their percieved value of the good or service they are buying.
Ron H ( 63.26.184.236 ) at 4:05 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
EAD
Darian:
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 3:54 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
EAD
Darian: Also, what happened to the OSD companion piece that was originally promised?
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 3:54 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Darian: Thanks. I see that they are going back to the company that made the original remote making this the third remote in the TM's history.
If, and when, you get a picture of the new display, please post the URL as I would be most interested in what it looks like.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 3:48 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
EAD
JBC:: The new remote is a RSC 2000
http://www.sun-wave.com/Products/body_products.html
I dont have a picture of the new display yet.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 3:37 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Darian: Any pictures of the either the new remote or the new display. Also, I never heard that the old display was noisy... can you expand on this. And finally, what ever happened to the OSD expansion box that was promised?
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 3:23 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
JBC&Wild Bill:
"What the market will bear". Exactly what I was getting at. Thanks.
Popcorn: After you graduate and you are looking for a job. DO NOT tell a prospective employer that you are against companies making too much money.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 3:20 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal":
I LOVE DIDO!!! Glad you like her too.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 3:14 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Good afternoon all!
Speaking of CDs; The wife and I were at Borders, last night, trying to find some new music. Stumbled across a CD entitled Dido - No Angel. Ended up buying it. Pretty good CD.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.123 ) at 2:59 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
JBC:: Highly unlikely? Try impossible. Who buys most of the CDs out there? Teenagers! Kids are going to buy their music. Period. We can say they charge too much but unless kids are willing to bypass the purchase (not!) we will have to pay what the market will bear.
Darian ( 216.164.224.139 ) at 2:56 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
EAD TheaterMaster Owners
EAD is a doing a TM2K upgrade. Send in your older units to get the latest firmware, a new remote and a front pannel that you can read from more than 3 feet. The Cost is $500. The new remote is 1/2 touch screen and 1/2 tactile with a silver face like the front pannel. The new diosplay makes no noise and is Blue on Black. I could read it at CES from about 20 feet back. Contact your dealer or shoot me an email if you want this upgrade. cnichol@erols.com
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 2:48 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
WIldBill: I hate to get into the middle of this arguement but... we do have a right to tell companies that they charge to much and that right is inacted everytime we decide not to purchase a product. If everyone got together (and I know that this is highly unlikely) and boycotted CDs until the price dropped then we would get them for less. The fact that millions are sold each year means that the price is not excessive, simple supply and demand gentlemen.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.123 ) at 2:32 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Scott "popcorn": What gives you, me or anyone else the right to tell a company that they are making TOO MUCH profit? That's the whole idea of a business model. How much money can I get for my product? You guys are also not taking into account the production prices for all the "flops" that don't sell. If a CD costs the reatailer $10.80 and he has to stock thousands of CDs on his shelves then I think that $4.20 profit (before overhead) is reasonable.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.58.152 ) at 2:16 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: Starbucks coffee is overpiced because of the name, etc... It's wrong, and people can go elsewhere to get coffee for a reasonable price. Same with the movie theater... Sneak in your own food. But for creativity, what are ya gonna do? MP3? tape it off the radio? Sure, I realize it takes a lot of money. But they're making TOO MUCH profit. They have a responsibility to provide their creativity at a FAIR price. If there weren't so many people jaded by the music, (and with credit cards and other "ease of payment" methods don't help... just put people in debt) then people could simply boycott CD's until prices were reasonable.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 2:06 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Scott "popcorn": You're right is a sense, but you have to go back and read my first rant.
Like I stated, it takes a lot of money to make hits.
So the word "PROFIT" does not come into play until all costs have been recouped. Garth and Capital have made a lot of money. But I think you would be surprised if you knew how much was spent.
So far, no one has explained why it costs $4.00 for a cup of Starbucks coffee. I'm sure that the price of coffee beans has gone down. And I know that it's old technology. Why does the cost of a up of coffee keep going up????
Chris L. ( 198.144.141.139 ) at 2:02 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Ron H: What type of door did you end up using? I have an entryway from the living room/htroom into the kitchen that I was thinking of closing off, maybe with a french door or something similar.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 2:00 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Curtis: The cassette does not cost more in stores.
A retailer is charged around $6.50 for a cassette and around $10.80 for a CD. AVB wants to know why that is since the CD costs less to make than a cassette.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.58.152 ) at 1:57 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Curtis: cassettes don't cost more, CD's do. I think AVB has a valid point here... CD's ARE overpriced. Namely, the record company/artist/etc make less profit from cassettes than they do from CD's, and they always have. What appears to be happening to the market is that there is price gouging going on, so that the record company/artist/etc makes MORE profit than in the past. Some time ago, I recall cassettes being $8.99, and CD's being $12.99... The CD was less expensive to produce, so if the CD sold, that's an instant $5 or so ADDITIONAL profit to the record company/artist/etc. Now, CD's are more like $15.99, and don't tell me because of inflation. I haven't bought many CD's since they upped the price, and I don't intend to support ANY artist unless I can buy their CD for less than $13.
It really makes you think, too.. For example, how much money has Garth Brooks made? And yet his CD's are still $15+. You can imagine that the record company has also made a lion's share... I'm not saying CD's should be free nor am I saying that creativity doesn't have any value... What I am saying, is that I think they're pushing the value up.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 1:56 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB: The reason to keep the cassette alive is because there is still a sliver of the population that will not upgrade. New artists/music still must be exposed to that segement of the population. At some point, the cassette will go away and there will probably be a new configuration.
I guarantee that the industry will try to make a profit.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 1:51 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB:
Ok, it's false pricing and the consumer is being taken advantage of.
Have you not been drawing any conclusions from the analogies I put forth in my other posts? Like why it costs $4.00 for a cup of coffe at Starbucks.
You think the price of CDs should cost less because the technology is old?
Curtis ( 63.203.69.56 ) at 1:38 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB & Tony C: gents - of course it's a business & yes there are many people to pay for an artist to sell meaningful #'s of a given title. Good question as to why a cassette costs more in the stores. I suspect low demand has something to do with it, or perhaps the additional expense of creating/distributing/stocking them. If people refused to buy them, cassettes would either come down in price or be discontinued totally.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 1:25 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: That arguement doesn't hold. Even 10 years ago when cassettes vastly outsold CD they were cheaper. If it is economy of scale then CD would now cost less. If it is false pricing then the consumer is being taken advantage of. If cassettes die and the replacement format makes more money for the record company then there is no reason to keep the cassette format alive.
I can understand why CD was more expensive when first introduced but not 20 years later.
Darian ( 216.164.224.139 ) at 12:26 PM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
JBC: Been using the new Pronto Software for a week or two now. Jump in. The only real thing of interest is that as soon as you get the new software update the Pronto firmware. The computer based learn didn't work until I made the upgrade. No big buggs that I have colided with yet.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:45 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB:
Because it's a business? And the cassette doesn't sell. Hell, it is even rarley stocked at retail. If the record companies charged more for the cassette, it would disapear like vinyl because retail would never stock it. Great efforts are being made to keep the configuration alive.
Profits are not made on the cassette. They have to be made up elsewhere.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 11:41 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
AVB: What was the outcome of your conversation with Eric regarding the daughterboard?
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 11:02 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: It is not a question of what I value something at. Obviously, with over 1000 CDs I have placed an internal value on music. The question was why the CD cost more then the cassette even though it cost less to make.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 10:51 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
AVB:
Your figures are correct. So if you AVB want to go manufactor a thousand or so CDs. That is what you would pay.
And then what?
Let's say AVB wants to be a rock star. What do you do with the 1,000 CDs you just pressed up?
Do you want your song played on the radio? Do you want publicity and press? Do you want to be on the Tonight show, David Letterman, Rosie, Oprah? Do you want to go on tour. Play small venues and get people out to see your show so that the word of mouth about your excellent music gets out? Let's say you sell your 1,000 CDs at a flee market. Now you want five thousand. Maybe you need distribution. Do you want your disc in record stores? DO YOU WANT TO BE A STAR?
Well AVB, it takes money to stoke a star making machine.
And it takes a whole lot of money to pay the people who make stars.
Now, your saying. Well, then why does Christine Levine CDs cost $15.98?
She's not a "big" star. Maybe, but I never met an artist who didn't want to be a star. Or one who doesn't want to be paid for selling their music.
One last thing. I would like you to explain to me why a bag of popcorn cost $3.00 in a movie theater and a soft drink is $2.50. Or why one beer at the ball park costs more than a six pack. Or why we gladly pay $4.00 to rent a movie.
Then ask that if the wonderful music, that evokes memories and emotions, for the rest of your life isn't worth $15.00.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 9:39 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
CD Costs
Tony C: THe cost to make a CD is less then a cassette but they always cost $2-3 more. Explain that?
CD cost time & materials is about $1.08 -$1.12 per unit in qty 10,000. That is raw plastic to finished product out the door, not counting paper inserts.
Above numbers are from the manager of pressing plant in Scranton, PA., who also happens to be in my National Guard unit.
Ron H ( 63.26.163.152 ) at 9:28 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Good morning all. The new entry door from the dining room to the new HT project is installed. My son flys in on Thursday evening to do the electrical and cable runs. It is moving along as well as I could hope.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:36 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Napster
Sorry Gar, it just pushes my buttons when I hear someone say that CDs cost too much or that record companies rip off artists.
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.170 ) at 7:49 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Napster
Gar: Politicians should not be paid, period!! After all, they are called "public servants", aren't they?
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 7:19 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Good morning gang..
Gar ( 169.207.193.87 ) at 1:29 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Movie Recommendation
Go see the Gladiator! Braveheart, Spartacus and Ben Hur all wrapped up into
one great flick!
Gar ( 169.207.193.87 ) at 1:28 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Napster
Tony C: Tony are you in a Sarcastic mood tonight? I was being Sarcastic in my last post I just think you should pay for what you get. How about baseball players and football players getting payed less if they have a crappy season. Wouldn't we get paid less or get fired if we did? Of course that should really apply the Politicians..
NeoSonic ( 4.3.227.78 ) at 12:17 AM EST Monday, May 8, 2000
Sound cards
trav1: Hmmm, didn't know that about the price. Just thought I'd pass it on. I didn't ever think I'd have a use for such a thing, but it would work nice for a HTPC.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:40 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Napster
GAR
I agree with you. I mean why should someone expect to be paid for something they created? What's up with that? I think we shouldn't have to pay for cable, DSS, or DVDs either. And I especially think that we shouldn't have to pay for computer programming. All that computer stuff should be public domain.
And you're right, CDs do cost too much. I was just of thinking that when I put a dollar in a machine to get a can of Coke. I mean that was a bargain. Some colored sugar water in recycled aluminum for a buck. That's a deal.
I was also thinking what a deal it is to see a ball game. $100 dollars when all is said and done to see millionaires throw a ball around. That should be free as well. For that matter, why should we pay for concert tickets? Those show off rock stars should just invite us to hear their music for free. Geez, even those pesty street musicians are looking for a hand out. This creativity thing is way over rated.
Art galleries - outlawed.
Books? Now there's a real rip off. What do you have to pay for a paperback? $5? Someguy wastes three years of his life to write some stupid dribble and then he wants $20 for a hard cover? Is he out of his mind?
I'm with you buddy. Art for art's sake. But money? Only for we the untalented.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.121 ) at 10:47 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Cytotech: As I have my locals on sat I will not feel that limited. I do very little recording at this time. I just like the convience it offers when such things as a phone call comes in etc.
I have no library of VHS tapes that I have recorded and do not plan to start.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.121 ) at 10:43 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Curtis: The current one decodes to analog before recording. The soon to be released one records the raw digital signal. I agree with you that the current TVIO does not do the best job when recording from sat.
Curtis ( 63.202.180.195 ) at 10:22 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
JBC:: I haveta agree with Bill. S-VHS is a far cleaner standard than VHS. The better the source, the better the recordings. I'm holding out for a full edit-featured DV VCR as I have had a couple of professional S-VHS decks for a while now & want to get digital tracks down on tape. Better yet, how about DVD recordable?
Curtis ( 63.202.180.195 ) at 10:19 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Ron H: I hope the Tivo/DSS works far better than the current Tivo offerings with DSS. As I said before, using MPEG twice simply doesn't work & nobody ever intended to use it that way. Buyer beware.
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.168 ) at 9:45 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Ron H: The only bad thing is that it is similar to DISH Networks' Dishplayer... it doesn't contain an MPEG encoder, only a decoder. Therefore it can't record off of cable OR antenna. Of course, the resulting DSS signal is as good recorded as it was live, but still, it slightly limits functionality.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.77 ) at 8:55 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Wild Bill:I am waiting for the soon to be released Tivo DSS receiver. It will record the DSS signal in the digital mode vs the analog one that is happening now.
trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 8:26 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Sound cards
Chris L.: I am more interested in the live drive which accompanies the soundblaster live card, at least in the "platinum" package. I would just like to have an actual digital out/in that isn't one of the little tiny connectors. I'm just a little leary on how well that package (Platinum) will play mp3's over the associated stereo equipment via one of those digital outs.... has anyone here tried?
Chris L. ( 198.144.141.56 ) at 8:04 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Sound cards
trav1: Beware buying the SB Live! card if you are still playing DOS based games (Doom, Duke Nukem3D, TIE Fighter, etc.) Some motherboards don't handle the Live's SoundBlaster Emulation and therefore won't produce any sound....like mine.
trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 7:30 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Slow Day
Everyone must be watching the playoffs today or something......
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.8 ) at 6:51 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
JBC:: *If* your source is good S-VHS offers a HUGE improvement over VHS. I'm just not ready for the Replay/TIVo thing yet. I'm waiting for prices to drop, the technology to evolve a bit and (maybe?) a winner to emerge between the two.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 5:39 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
cai, WildBill: Thanks for the info on the VCR. I just got back from Future Shop (aka our equivalent to CC). They had the 3600 for US$200. They also had another unit, can not remember the model number, for US$360.
I am torn between getting a cheap VCR for the bedroom, a S-VHS VCR for the HT and move the HT VCR to the bedroom or get a Tivo for the HT and move the HT VCR to the bedroom.
I must admit that a S-VHS VCR is not attractive... will the time and effort of reprogramming my Pronto, ripping out my gear and so on be worth the change from VHS to S-VHS? I convinced that it will for the Tivo but the S-VHS??? Any thoughts....
trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 4:47 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Sound cards
NeoSonic: I saw that the live drive is available seperately, but at the cost, I think I saw it for $99 just for the live drive, one might as well buy the retail box with the software and card for an extra $50.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 4:47 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
VCR
JBC - Update: I just checked the J&R musicworld site, jandr.com, and they have the 3600 for $200 and the 4500 for $240. I think you can pick up the 4500 for the same price Best Buy is charging for the 3600. The 4500 has a flying erase head and may have other goodies that make life easier when you want to tape. I may get a 4500 and give my wife one of my machines, non s-vhs, for her soaps.
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.145 ) at 4:21 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
VCR
JBC: I second CAI's recommendation of the JVC 3600. It has been a great unit for me. If you don't have an S-VHS machine you can put the JVC in the primary theater and move your other machine to the bedroom.
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.145 ) at 4:19 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Sound cards
NeoSonic: I have a LiveDrive! and like it very much. You lose a 5 1/4" expansion bay but I still highly recommend it. You'll also get the proper voltage output from the LiveDrive!. The voltage output from the mini-jack digital outputs is questionable at best.
Gar ( 169.207.192.230 ) at 3:04 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Wild Bill: Bill got it, didn't know it could be such a security breach.
But then again, Gee I wonder how they got all those peoples names that downloaded Metallica songs
Curtis ( 63.203.71.80 ) at 1:51 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
HD DirecTV is up
got the dual LNB dish up last night. This thing comes with 4 receiver outputs & has roon for a 3rd LNB. HBO-HD (ch. 509)looks/ sounds fantastic. The HD demo material on channel 199 should sell quite a few HD monitors. Movie footage from Titantic & others, sports from HBO (boxing, hockey, basketball). The most impressive footage is from Discovery HD. Amazing nature/ animal shots of things like flying over the world's biggest waterfalls. Check it out next time you're at the stores.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 12:50 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
VCR
JBC:: Lets try this again. Check out the Best Buy near you for the JVC 3600 model. This unit records s-vhs using regular tape, extended play only. One caveat if you lose power you have to rescan your cable or overair channels. I am fairly satisfied with the one I have.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 12:47 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
VCR
JBC:: SML Command Parser Version 0.9.4.3
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 12:41 PM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
VCR
Well... I killed my VCR this morning. I got a tape stuck in it and in my efforts to extricate the tape I broke the VCR (i.e. plastic went flying everywhere despite my best and most gentle efforts). Other than learning that I am useless at VCR repair, I need a new one. I do not want to spend a ton as this was my bedroom VCR and would like some advice for a replacement.
NeoSonic ( 4.3.227.78 ) at 9:22 AM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Sound cards
Good Morning all!
I know this is a little behind the conversation, but I noticed that Soundblaster has a new version of its Live!Drive unit. It's usually bundled with the Soundblaster Live! Platinum, but apparently you can order it seperately.
The Live!Drive II has S/PDIF inputs AND outputs.
Just thought y'all might like to know.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 6:49 AM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Good morning gang...
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.83 ) at 5:52 AM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Gar: It has nothing with surfing the Internet. Hell, we're an Internet company! A large portion of our staff goes to work by logging onto the Internet. JohnO hit the nail on the head. Napster allows someone a doorway into your computer and we just can't take the chance that an outsider could come in and access our critical files (real estate listings). Our content and data is what brings the public to us at the rate of nearly 500 million hits a month. In fact, we get so many "hits" that we don't quote it in our statistics because it is not a relevant number. I agree with my companies stance on Napster. We don't care what they're doing, it just can't be allowed on company machines for security reasons.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.83 ) at 5:47 AM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
Good morning everyone. Anamaria and I watched For Love of the Game last night. It can be summed up in two words - CHICK FLICK! It was OK but nowhere near the level of Field of Dreams or Bull Durham which were IMHO excellent movies about baseball. For Love of the Game just didn't have "it".
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.168 ) at 12:54 AM EST Sunday, May 7, 2000
VROOOOM!!!
cai: Nope. Mine is @home.com.
Gar ( 169.207.193.88 ) at 11:44 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
AVB:I can see the Company not wanting people to surf the new, but I thought they were backing the people sueing Napster.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.10 ) at 11:31 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
chirp chirp chirp (aren't crickets annoying?)
AVB ( 208.157.96.42 ) at 7:11 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Gar: I think you also have to look at it as it is a company computer and company time. Could be that they want their folks to work and not cruise the net like most of us do. hahahaha
JohnO ( 208.198.36.148 ) at 6:56 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Gar: I think Wild Bill's company has a problem with the Napster software allowing a backdoor into the PC, not the whole MP3 thing. I seem to recall this in one of my PC technical notes.
Gar ( 169.207.193.201 ) at 6:36 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Wild Bill: Thats bullshit that your company would do that. I mean come on, if I wanted record something its easy. For a buck, I can record any CD I want from a friend and the quality is much better. Plus I agree with some of the Napster post I have been reading, you should be able to test drive a car before you buy it, same with MP3s. If I really like what I hear and there is more than a couple of good songs on it, then its worth it. These Artists should get rid of the asshole record companies that are controling everything, including there thought process.
Ron H ( 63.26.184.80 ) at 4:08 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
JBC:: I installed the new Pronto update. It has been transparent. I do not see ant difference nor have any new peoblems been created.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 3:22 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
VROOOOM!!!
Cytotech: If your e-mail address is something like: yourname@xxxxx.rr.com you have the roadrunner service. See if you have an icon on your desktop that is a picture of a roadrunner or go to programs and see if it is there. They should have left the CD with you, call customer service and ask about it.
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.169 ) at 2:40 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
VROOOOM!!!
Thanks guys. I don't remember seeing anything about Roadrunner, so I assume it wasn't installed. I will check out the sites mentioned.
Chris L. ( 198.144.140.150 ) at 2:36 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Wild Bill: I agree IRT The Sixth Sense. I think it was alot more fun to watch it again and try to catch some of the clues I missed the first time.
Also, if you haven't seen it already, Stir of Echos is a good one too.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 2:13 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Sure is quiet around here on the weeekend.
Pronto Owners: Has anyone here installed the new firm ware and ProntoEdit. Looking fo a little feedback before I jump in.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 2:07 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Welcome and VROOOOM!!!
Curtis: Check this site for download speed:
http://www.computingcentral.com/topics/bandwidth/speedtest500.asp
Also, if Cox installed the Roadrunner software you can check the speed by going to the customer service page. I do not have the Roadrunner software installed, so I cannot give you more exact details. The thing about the Roadrunner test is that it gives you the speed between the Cox nodes and your computer. Therefore, the reading is independent of the internet network traffic. This way you can test how the coming on line of other users is affecting your Cox node speed.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 1:58 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
Gar: I am glad to hear that everything worked out fine for you.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.120 ) at 12:44 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
In addition to a "mice" job Bruce Willis also did a "nice" job.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.120 ) at 12:43 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
I watched The Sixth Sense for the first time last night. Wow! What a mice job Bruce Willis and the kid (whatever his name is) did and what a great movie. I need to watch it again because there are definitely things that went right over my head now that I know the ending. This is a keeper and a "must have". JMHO, of course.
Tonight I'm watching For The Love of the Game. I also have rented Entrapment to watch in the next few days. I'm a little disappointed that Entrapment is not anamorphic. It will be a good check of the "pseudo" anamorphic image I get from the HTPC.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.120 ) at 12:32 PM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Gar: Yeah, Napster may have a long legal road ahead of it. My company has issued a warning that anyone caught with Napster on a company PC will be terminated. Apparently it opens the door for someone who knows what they are doing.
Gar ( 169.207.194.228 ) at 11:55 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Wild Bill: Looks like Napster is getting crap again. Frankly bands like Metallica should look where the real problem is! And thats the recording
industry, they have been raping us for years with there High priced CD's.
Curtis ( 63.203.68.63 ) at 11:30 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Welcome and VROOOOM!!!
Cytotech: Welcome to the fast lane Cyto. You're going to feel like you were walking backwards all these years & will get spoiled in no time. By far the best connection monitoring utility I have seen is Net Medic. Best part is that it's free. Checkout the feedback on download. com (97 pros vs 3 cons) http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10059-100-1577331.html?tag=st.dl.10001_103_1.lst.td
Cytotech ( 24.4.252.169 ) at 9:09 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Welcome and VROOOOM!!!
Welcome Kirby!
And this is my first post from my new cable modem! I have yet to download anything. Does anyone have the web addy to test my speed?
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.204 ) at 7:24 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Good morning all!
I'm off to a swim meet with my daughter this morning. This one is "Relay Mania". There will be over 100 relay races at this meet. It should be a lot of fun. Luckily for my daughter, she only has to swim in 3 races. She would be one tired kid if she had to swim in 100 races.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 6:19 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Good morning gang...
Ron H: You can call me anytime after 7:00 AM EST.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.35 ) at 2:12 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
New to this Forum
Scott "popcorn": Thanks.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.39 ) at 2:03 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
New to this Forum
Kirby: Just e-mail the pics to BTork or I, we'll make thumbnails for them and put them in your directory... Then you'll be able to go into "Edit Bio" on the member page, and select which pictures you want to display.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.35 ) at 2:03 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Too late too many scotches. Typing and spelling skills have left me.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.35 ) at 2:01 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
New to this Forum
Kirby:Welcome to the forum. I am certian someone will reply on how toadd the pictures to your profile.
Scott can you help with this.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.35 ) at 1:59 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
New to this Forum
Kirby:Kool set-up.
Kirby ( 24.4.254.103 ) at 1:54 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
New to this Forum
Hey pictures of my HT have just been posted at...
http://www.digitaltheater.com/pictures/itzkirb/index.html
what do you guys think?
How can i get them in my profile on this site?
Gar ( 169.207.194.70 ) at 12:08 AM EST Saturday, May 6, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
cai: After 3 weeks of bitching they finally credited my account back the $300 bucks. I told them they need to watch there customer service channel on there own Dish. They constantly praise on how good they are to there customers, I have yet to see it. They also wanted me to do a credit card Auto pay. I said when hell freezes over, then I would gladly do it
Ron H ( 63.15.141.186 ) at 11:37 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
JBC: I just checked my messages and found I missed your call. I will call you back tommorow.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 10:44 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
New B&Ks
To all: Has anyone listened to the new B&K amplifiers models 7250 and 7260? What was your impression? How do they compare with other similarly priced amplifiers?
Also, does anyone have any experience with phono amplifiers - these hook-up to pre-amps that do not have a turntable input. Has anyone converted turntable record music to digital form to put in a CD? What were your results in terms of quality and fidelity? I am talking about direct recording without using a microphone.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 10:26 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Bay area HDTV channels
Curtis: The latest revision of the firmware is 4.0b or 40b... I've seen it with and without the "." so go figure. Anyway, you should get it automatically if you have the dtc100 turned off when the download comes. The next download time should be displayed in the "future upgrades" page. You do have it connected to a dish, which is pointed at the satellite, right? If you don't have a dish (like myself) then you'll have to find a friend (as I found RGB) who has one and will do the upgrade for ya.
Chris L. ( 198.144.140.203 ) at 10:16 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Ron H: Hehe. When I first saw the paint I was thinking, "Isn't Ralph Lauren like a cologne or something?"
It's actually pretty decent paint and the textures are very cool. Not to mention that it smells great!
Ron H ( 63.26.205.75 ) at 9:42 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
cai: That sucks.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.75 ) at 9:40 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Chris L.: That is quite funny. That is exactly where we came from and decided we would more than likely go with one of the Ralph lauren texture or crackle finish.
Chris L. ( 198.144.141.229 ) at 9:29 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Ron H: Check out the Ralph Lauren samples at Home Depot. They have some pretty cool textured paints available. I was thinking of doing my room with the rock texture...maybe the Oar Lock color (maroon to you uninitiated).
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 9:25 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
Ron H: It may have to do with MSNBC asking for a special fee. Here is a quote from the soccer tv website:
"All Olympic soccer matches involving the US Women's National Team will be aired in the US on MSNBC via tape-delay. Note that only those cable and satellite TV systems that have agreed to pay NBC an Olympic programming surcharge will be able to have Olympic programming on CNBC and MSNBC. ontact your cable and satellite TV provider for details. NBC has already announced that DirecTV and AT&T Cable have agreed to pay NBC the surcharge.
One notable holdout against the surcharge is DISH Network."
Ron H ( 63.26.171.58 ) at 9:08 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Hey all. I was out looking at paint samples for the HT room. Trying to get the couch, carpet and wall covering/paint that all work together can be a frustrating thing.
Curtis ( 63.203.71.88 ) at 8:32 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
SLOWWWW
Kieran: They all went home from work. You should know buy now the deadest times are weekends around here.
Curtis ( 63.203.71.88 ) at 8:31 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Bay area HDTV channels
Kieran: tks for the link. Ok, I believe you know this area - just never heard anyone refer to it as LSU. The Farm, you hear all the time - no farms anywhere near these days. I'll try the SAC suggestion, but those are pretty tall hills to go over. Pleasanton/ Concord are on the other side so it makes sense they can see to the SAC DT channels. THe SJO channels are KICU + 2 for 54, the PBS affiliate. One of them puts up a SMPTE bar patern all day, nice touch. BTW, how does one get the firmware upgrade for the DCT-100? Via DirecTV & what is the current rev?
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.39 ) at 8:29 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
SLOWWWW
Kieran: Sad, isn't it? seems like the kids have left the nest...
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 8:04 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
SLOWWWW
Where'd everybody go? almost 3 hours and no posts!
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 8:03 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Bay area HDTV channels
Curtis: Here's a thread that might interest you...
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum11/HTML/003752.html
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 5:20 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
HD antenna interference?
Curtis: BTW, what channel(s) are you getting from San Jose? Isn't KICU TV36 the only station in SJ? At least when I lived up in Santa Rosa, they were. Have you tried pointing your antenna at Sacramento? It's a long shot, but you might be able to pull in some of their stations. Except that you have to go over the east bay hills. I've heard that people in Concord and Pleasanton can get both Sac and SF reception.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 5:09 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
HD antenna interference?
Curtis: Leland Stanford University ... LSU. Granted virtually NO ONE calls it LSU, but I figured you'd know what I meant, since you know that I know where you live, and I'm from the Bay area, and I was going to visit you last December and... never mind! I was just being lazy on the keyboard... that's all I'm pretty familiar with your area. I used to go to Redwood Shores about 5 times per year for rowing races. I still go about twice a year. The father of an old girlfriend of mine lives in Saratoga, my Dad used to work in San Mateo, I fly into SFO several times/year, one of my family's best family friends lives in San Jose (well the parents moved to Houston... they're the ones that work for Compaq)... am I restoring any amount of faith that I know the area at alL?
Anyway, how do you have "no clear line of sight?" I can't think of any HUGE hills between you and Sutro.... I know there're hills, but not enough to obscure a straight shot to the broadcasting tower, right?
HDTV is just UHF. How's your reception on UHF analog channels? Try plugging the antenna line straight into your TW65 and tuning to some UHF stations (13-69) using the TW65's tuner, and see what the picture looks like. I've got Long Beach State University (that's like LSU, but with a B! LOL!) right in my path to Mt. Wilson down here... and it's only about a mile from my house. Granted they don't have a linear accellerator there, but they've got a fair amount of other radiating stuff. Not to mention the Boeing plant in Long Beach, Long Beach airport, and a couple of smaller (but much closer) broadcasting towers in Signal Hill (and they radiate in UHF!) And I get fairly good reception, on an old, bent, oxidized, decrepid antenna. I just find it hard to believe that the University is causing your problems... but it IS possible, I suppose.
Ron H ( 63.15.143.81 ) at 4:54 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
cai:Maybe you need to change Sat services. You then could get the equipment for near no cost and then at the same time send a message to Dish that you are not happy with them.
I have not ever been effected as you have by channels being dropped, channels moved or packages changed. If I had I am sure I would feel the same as you.
What is the reason they have refused to carry the exclusive MSNBC transmission of the Soccer?
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 2:17 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
Ron H : My beef with Dish is not the signal but the fact that they increase prices every two years for adding marginal channels. The first one was taking off WPIX and bundling it with other similar channels at an extra cost; then it was the spanish channels; now PAX, FX, Noggin, and a few others for another $1.00 per month. As of yesterday they were refusing to carry the exclusive MSNBC transmission of the olympic soccer and so it goes.
As to the equipment costing next to nothing, be aware that this is only for new customers. If you are a CURRENT customer and want to buy, for example, their 500 unit it will cost you double what a new customer has to pay. The new customer may even get the unit for free. I realize that that is one way of enticing new subscribers, but in my mind they could be more considerate of their existing customers.
I am not ready to go back to only cable, but I am not thrilled with the satellite companies either. Once you buy their equipment, you are at their mercy.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.27 ) at 2:09 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
HD antenna interference?
Kieran: LSU?! Hello, I'm in Palo Alto, CA - not down in Cajun country. Yes, I'm saying that I'm closer to the transmitting antenna by several miles than I was before. No clear line of sight. If you're familiar with the SF area the tower sits atop Twin Peaks (lovingly referred to as the giant roach clip) & I'm half way down to San Jose in the flats of Stanford (oh THAT school!) I currently have no less than 3 rooftop antenni going to inputs A & B on the DTC-100. I know that the problem isn't any physical obstruction - rather it's whatever the heck Stanford is sending/ receiveing on their enourmous sat. dishes that are directly in my signal path. I'm trying to get the table the FCC puts out showing all the various frequency useage & how close HD is the other stuff ... not that it'll do me any good. I just picked up a Channel Master ant. said to pickup UHF freqs to 100 miles. If that doesn't work I'll give up. I am getting 90+% signals from the 2 San Jose HD channels in the opposite direction of SF with no univeresity stuff in the path.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.39 ) at 1:59 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Warning!! Computer post ahead!
Kieran: Yeah, I still have windows on this machine, but I boot to it about once in a blue moon... and then I'm only there for a few minutes before booting back... I do have a second computer (which has a better video card) that I use for games which is also dual boot... But I'm not that much of a game player, so it's in BeOS quite often too..
I haven't tried Linux lately, but it will dual-boot with BeOS as well.
Ron H ( 63.20.181.56 ) at 1:37 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network and DirecTV
Wild Bill: I agree with you about the improved signal. Just last night I was watching a movie and thought how 3 dimensional the picture looked. I am viewing it on a 60" screen. I guess the real quality issue will become apparent when I get a FP.
Ron H ( 63.20.181.56 ) at 1:29 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
cai: I have Direct TV since it inception and really have not had anything to complain about. I would not even put them on the same planet as cable for service, cost or picture quality.
If they increased the cost a dollar a month I do not think it would upset me. Now if it was 5-10 dollars at a pop as cable has done that would cause me to cancel the service.
As far as investing in hardware both Direct TV and in particular Dish have had on going programs where the net cost of the equipment is free or a very small amount. With little or no investment it is very easy to make a change.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.236 ) at 12:39 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
I Love You PC Virus
Kieran: LOL! Yes, the gene pool may need quite a bit of chlorine.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.236 ) at 12:38 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network and DirecTV
cai: I don't know if DirecTV is finally getting their act together or not but I have to say that the image I have been receiving from DirecTV in the last few days is a marked improvement over what I have seen since they added local channels. The image I'm seeing from all channels (including the locals) is the best NTSC signals I have ever viewed. If they've changed something then kudos should go out to DirecTV. I have made no hardware changes to affect the signal. These improvements are noticeable on my 27" Sony and my 46" Hitachi. I haven't had a reason to switch over to the projector for DirecTV viewing in the past few days.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 12:37 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
I Love You PC Virus
Wild Bill/BYork: How about... "The gene pool needs a little chlorine."
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.236 ) at 12:34 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
I Love You PC Virus
BYork: Some people say that "only stupid people are breeding". LOL!
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.236 ) at 12:32 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
JohnO: I ain't going to hug you buddy but I do commiserate. The weekend will be here soon and hopefully you'll have it off.
BTW, the virus is now being spread with tags such as "Very Funny" and "fwd:Joke". Watch out for these ones also.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 12:15 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
HD antenna interference?
Curtis: What sort of antenna are you using? Also, are you saying that your line of sight is just as unobstructed as it was before, and that you are only closer to LSU? Or is there some part of LSU that might be obstructing your antenna's veiw of Sutro Tower?
David ( 199.174.132.138 ) at 12:04 PM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
AVB: I was referring to Lavin
AVB ( 208.170.190.65 ) at 11:47 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
Tony C: Yes, She put out 8 albums in the 90's and one this year too. She is only unknown if you don't listen to folk music.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 11:42 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
I seem to have been pretty lucky regarding the virus as I did not get one hit at home or work. In fact, my company setup the e-mail server so that it would reject all incoming and outgoing e-mails that are 10K or larger. It seems to have squashed the path for the virus to get through.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:33 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Weekend
Goin' fishing for the weekend. See you guys Monday.
BYork ( 204.151.114.9 ) at 11:32 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
I Love You PC Virus
We cleaned out over 55K instances of the meassge into the wee hours last night, and STILL have idiot users that are opening up messages and re-infecting the enterprise this morning.
Stupid people should NOT breed....
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:27 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
AVB: And this relatively unknown artist has had 2 albums in the 90s?
AVB ( 208.170.190.65 ) at 11:17 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
David: Which one are you saying is 98 words? The Apple song or the Lavin one? Apple's song is generally recognized as 90 words, Levin's comes up at 98 by my count, not counting contractions as two words.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 11:15 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
Gar: I also have Dish and like cable and other such single point resources, once they get you to invest in their hardware they figure that they have you for life. I got Dish because of the good soccer coverage in their original spanish language package. Well guess what, they are now moving that package to a different satellite and increasing the price by $15.00. They also recently added a few channels and upped the price for their basic 100 package by $1.00/month. Luckily I pay by the year so this increase will not be effective until my contract runs out. Both DirectTV and Dish are beginning to operate like cable. Offer to pay them the $0.02 and see what they say. Good luck with your credit card company. Their intervention may get you results.
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 11:14 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Well, I left work at around 03:15 this morning, came back in at 08:00, not much in the way of fun. No time to take lunch or dinner yesterday, ate at the vending machine. Then this morning I had to let someone go. I think we need a group hug here.
David ( 199.174.132.138 ) at 11:03 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
AVB: 98... plus another few words if you count the contractions as 2 words (which I suppose should be done).
Wild Bill ( 63.21.40.145 ) at 10:24 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Not one of my personal e-mail accounts got an I Love You hit. My work e-mail took about 100 shots. I think that the people in my corporate office need to do a little more work and a little less "I Love You" at work! LOL!
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 10:06 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
I Love You PC Virus
Ugh! We were here all night cleaning the file servers and one of my idiot coworkers removed scanmail from the email server. Then an idiot employee reinfected the server. I called the guy and asked if he was in a cave or in the woods yesterday. How could he have not heard of the virus.
Rich F ( 208.170.189.74 ) at 9:27 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
Gar: I would register a complaint with the credit card company for misrepresentation. They will sometimes protect the buyer and undo the charge. I once got credit for $600 that we put down for a comforter and the company went out of business. It's worth a try. By the way. I have Directv with 5 sets hooked up and it has been great.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 9:17 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
Tony C: Yes her song is 90 words long but Regretting What I Said.... is 98.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:41 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
JBC:: I saw his most recent show and I was disappointed that he didn't do Roselitta. I also thought that there was too much Patti.
But hey, that's just me.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:39 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
AVB:&Wild Bill: No I was wrong but I'm still right.
It was Fiona Apple. Her second release which came out in '99 has a song title (also album title) that is 90 words long.
Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, same thing.
Ron H ( 63.24.138.164 ) at 8:36 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
JBC: You have mail.
Ron H ( 63.24.138.164 ) at 8:30 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
JBC:: Glad you enjoyed the concert.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:28 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Trivia WINNER
AVB: Uh, Tori Amos. On her most recent album. The second to be released in the 90's, she has a song title with about 90 words in it. Give me a few minutes to find the disc.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 8:11 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
WIldBill: Well I can join your crowd as I too was at one of the few Springsteen concerts ever where Rosalita was not played. He seesm to vary his songs as the first nighthe played both Rosalita and The River but on the second night he played neither. He did do a slammin' rendition of Born to Run. The concert was otherwise great exceptthat it started one hour late-- three straight hours. DId not get out until 12:00AM.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 8:01 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Morning gang...
AVB: FYI, here is another letter from Cinepro...
Joel,
The circuit that will be incorporated in the daughter board will be duplicated on the main power supply board, that being made slightly larger. No difference, other than the mounting scheme, circuit will be identical.
Thanks again for your continued support and understanding, Joel.
Best Regards,
Eric Abraham
President
David ( 199.174.132.138 ) at 7:56 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Cytotech: Glad you got them back. We enjoyed all three of them. I have 3 on order now... The World Is Not Enough, The Green Mile, and The Princess Bride. They will become library stock the day after I recieve them if you want to check them out.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 7:13 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
How much did George get for this?
Take a look http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/725281.asp
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.91 ) at 6:51 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Good morning gang! I woke up early this morning and finished all but one report that I have to get in today. It looks like I'll be able to get an early start to my weekend. We're having opur jump from March to August today. Up until this week it has been fairly cool around here. Today, we're looking at 85 degrees and we are expected to see 90 degrees this weekend. It looks like my air conditioning system will start running today or tomorrow. Have a great day, everyone!
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.91 ) at 5:52 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
PC Virus
Curtis: That post was meant to be a general post and not directed at you. I understand that you feel the same way as I. I just used reply indescriminately.
Curtis ( 63.203.70.204 ) at 3:35 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
HD antenna interference?
RGB: I am having the toughest time picking up all of the 7 local digital channels off-air @ my new place vs. it being a piece of cake 3 miles down the road, @ the old house. I'm thinking that the problem is with the fact that I'm right nest to Stanford U & they're directly in the path to Sutro tower in SF - the origin of all things HD in the Bay Area. God only knows what they're doing on what frequencies. Let's just say there are several arrays of huge dishes & a full linear accelerator right in my way. Can someone remind me of the HD frequencies vs. the kind of stuff a major scientific university is doing is? I put in a call to the college & even have friends who work there, yet can't get a straight answer. It's not unlike the military "sir, it's all classified, go get cable"
Curtis ( 63.203.70.204 ) at 3:23 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
PC Virus
Wild Bill: hey pls don't forget that I'm in the business too. I never said there was anything funny about it - just that in the past hackers have gotten great jobs to do nothing but find ways to break things in order to help security so the next wiseguy can't destroy things. MSNBC included a bit about a French magazine where all of their photo archives covering the past 2 years were wiped out by this thing. As a photographer I am appaled that this could happen at all. This is simply a wake up call that we all trust the Net more than we should today. How could that magazine NOT have a backup? We love the instant gratifacation of getting all the info we need right now while assuming that it's all secure. This whole thing is full of holes, IMHO, & is in it's infancy security-wise. Let me tell you a true story that happened not too long ago to a dot com e-commerce company about 3 days prior to their IPO (I know several key people who work there & you'll just have to trust me on this one). An engineer who really wanted to work for them had interviewed & been turned down for whatever reason. 2 days after being turned down he presented them with a list and a demand. The list was over 50,000 valid credit card #'s with matching names & addresses of the companies customers. The demand was simple ... either hire me at a reasonable price including options or he emails the list to every media contact he can find. Wanna guess what happened? Yes, the company could have prosecuted him to the fullest extent of the law but the timing would have killed thier wildly successful IPO, so he got what he wanted - a very modest salary/ option package that he had wanted in the 1st place. Net software engineers are a strange lot. They take great pride in doing things that the rest of us see as immoral - because they can. They are also the hardest workers I have ever seen & they need to vent... off my soapbox now.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.33 ) at 1:58 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
JohnO; These virus developers are the same type of people that throw bricks off overpasses to see what kind of carnage they can inflict. They need to be dealt a swift blow of reality!
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.33 ) at 1:55 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Curtis; An afterthought. Do your speakers have a frequency adjustment? We sell one model that does, and one that doesn't. If yours does, try changing the frequency on the sending unit, and matching the speakers to it. You might find a frequency that is more resistant to the interference.
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 1:54 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Well, this virus stuff is no fun. Got to work at 8 a.m., am about to leave at 2 a.m., have to be back in 6 hours.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.33 ) at 1:52 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
TonyC; I normally don't tell my friends about my modem connection inadequacies, for fear of the inevitable mockery. The sensitivity of my friends here, allow me to open up more readily, and share my personal problems.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.33 ) at 1:45 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Gar; Curtis' problem reminded me of something I was going to tell you, and forgot. My Siemens 2.4 GHz phone has an interesting effect on my DirecTv. A split second before the phone rings, or after you hit the talk button to dial, the satellite picture freezes for a second. Of course my dish is right outside that window, so the phones only 3 feet away from it. The instructions say not to put their phones next to computers. I have one about 3' from my tower, but on different levels of my desk, so the wood might shield it.
Kieran ( 134.139.23.42 ) at 1:40 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Warning!! Computer post ahead!
Scott "popcorn": Just out of curiosity, do you keep Windoze installed on your computer in addition to Be, so that you can play games and stuff? Or have you totally removed all other OS's? I know you said that one could install Be just fine along side other OS's... right? Have you ever tried installing Linux on the same machine with Be? Again... just curious...
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.33 ) at 1:39 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Curtis; No solution to your problem. The new wireless speakers are 2.4 GHz, and probably wouldn't be effected by that frequency.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.87.235 ) at 12:21 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Warning!! Computer post ahead!
Speaking of computer posts... Here is an article about DVD in BeOS and BeIA... While I'm sure some of you will take some of this info with a grain of salt, I found it interesting regarding the statement that Windows doesn't do DVD very well... I'm pretty sure I beleive that statement, and it backs up my idea that you won't have to have a tremendously fast machine for a BeOS HTPC. The "by the end of the year" figure sounds about right too... I don't know if that will be the next point release of BeOS, but I might hold off on buying R5 Pro until the point release with Java, etc comes out, unless they offer a "free upgrade" like the did with R4 to R4.5...
Gar ( 169.207.194.244 ) at 12:14 AM EST Friday, May 5, 2000
Dish Network SUCKS!
I subscribed to them about a year ago and got there so called $299 rebate. Well they only sent $295, I said no biggie. Well it took them over 6 months to send it to me. Then on top of that, I paid for it all upfront for the first year. Well now they just charge back the rebate too my account and said that I didn't qualify because I was .02 cents short of the qualifications. I said that the women I talked to set it all up and it wasn't my problem she can't do the math and add up the right total. Well with all this still you would think that customer service would be glad to correct there error. Nope! No can do they said, I said fine I want to cancel, and they said why? DUH!!!!!!! Looks like I will deal with cable for awhile till these Dish people pull there heads out of there Ass!
Cytotech ( 209.138.135.177 ) at 11:46 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Warning!! Computer post ahead!
In anticipation of the cable guy coming tomorrow, I took out the Creative DXr2 decoder card for my DVD-ROM drive, since I am currently using WinDVD. Silly me, though, I took it out before removing it in the Hardware Profile under My Computer, so the computer wouldn't reboot. It would partway, then stop. So, I killed the power to it, popped it back in, booted up, removed it in My Computer, then shut down and pulled it out. Booted back up, no problem! Not that I needed the space, I had 2 PCI slots left, but I have heard of some people having problems when all or nearly all of their PCI slots are filled, especially while using an AGP graphics card. He will have to add an Ethernet card. I figured the less headaches tomorrow, the better.
Cytotech ( 209.138.135.177 ) at 11:38 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
David: BTW, I finally got my DVD's back today... It seems Meghan developed a liking to them.
How did you like them? You never said... I take that to be bad news.
Cytotech ( 209.138.135.177 ) at 11:36 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
TRIVIA!
David: You are a trivia bloodhound!
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 209.180.139.192 ) at 10:34 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
DVDjam is having a 50% sale on their top 50 DVDs. Check it out at http://www2.dvdjam.com/dvdjam/jamframe.asp?pageid=onsale&pid=1319
AVB ( 208.157.96.233 ) at 10:24 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia WINNER
Wild Bill/David: I thought it was a pretty good question. Sorry I didn't stump everybody until they quit. :>)
No I have another besides Faith No More. Think I'll hold on to it in case I need a 2nd longest trivia question.
David ( 199.174.137.24 ) at 10:19 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia WINNER
Wild Bill: email sent!
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.93 ) at 10:18 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia WINNER
David: Congrats!! That didn't take much time. E-Mail your snail mail address to ahlucas@msn.com.
David ( 199.174.137.24 ) at 10:17 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia WINNER
AVB: Cool! There was a Faith No More song that I couldn't find the whole title to... is that the other one you were thinking would turn up?
AVB ( 208.157.96.233 ) at 10:11 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia WINNER
David: A great way to redeem yourself! Regretting What You Said.... originally was on her Future Fossils album (1984) and then her live album Live At The Cactus Cafe (1993). I thought that this one would stump a few more as there is a song by a more popular artist that is 90 words long. Good job. Contact Wild Bill for your Prize please. BTW, the last name is Lavin.
David ( 199.174.132.193 ) at 10:01 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia
AVB: Another guess... "Regretting What I Said To You When You Called Me At 11 O'Clock Friday Morning To Tell Me That At One O'Clock Friday Afternoon You're Going To Leave Your Office, Go Downstairs, Hail A Cab, To Go Out To The Airport To Catch A Plane To Go Skiing In The Alps For Two Weeks - Not That I Wanted To Go With You - I Wasn't Able To Leave Town, I'm Not A Very Good Skier, I Couldn't Expect You To Pay My Way, But After Going Out With You For Three Years, I Don't Like Surprises (A Musical Apology) (Christine Levine)
AVB ( 208.157.96.233 ) at 9:54 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Springsteen Concerts
Wild Bill: Some free trivia for you. Ry put out the first fully digitally recorded albun in Rock/Pop AFAIK. Bop Till You Drop in 1979.
AVB ( 208.157.96.233 ) at 9:52 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Chris L.: That wasn't correct either.
AVB ( 208.157.96.233 ) at 9:50 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia
Kieran: Sorry, but you have a bunch of words to go. Click on my name to send me an email.
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.93 ) at 9:49 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Springsteen Concerts
Ron H: I knew I'd have a blast when the music that was played before the concert was one of my favorites - Ry Cooder. BTW, I think I was at one of the few Springsteen concerts ever where Rosalita was not played. The crowd called him out twice, was satisfied and left. I was a great 3 1/2 hours, until I realized that I would not be hearing Rosalita that night.
Chris L. ( 198.144.140.107 ) at 9:06 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
"Sorry David, you are not even close."
Nice.
Ron H ( 63.26.163.96 ) at 8:29 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Joe aka Iguana Master: The maintenance guy from my production lab is providing most the labor at a dirt cheap price. It will be under $1000.
My son is flying in next week to do the electrical work. He is providing almost all the material except for the wire itself. I paid for his flight which came to $169.00.
The framing is complete and the new entry door from the dining room will arrive saturday and installed this weekend. The electrical work will be finished by next Sunday.
Hopefully the wall board will be up the week following the electrical work. Carpet installation will depend how quickly the plaster work gets completed and painting is done.
The main part of the furniture is ordered and can be delivered after the first of June if I am ready for it. I am very close to ordering the FP, a 84" to 100" screen and a scaler or doubler.
I am sorry to heqar about your suprise septic bill. It would have paid for a nice FP. My biggest problem is trying to make up my mind on the room and carpet color. I did order a burgundy couch. It is a curved sectional that is 10 feet from side to side. Recliners on each end with the center section (the prime seat) a power recliner. My wife calls it my thrown. I call it my control center.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 8:20 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia
AVB: All right I'll give it a shot.... Try this on for size:
Song Title:
"The eternal and never ending dance of life that weaves across the cosmos in wave after wave of pulsating vibrating vibrant warmth from the heart of deep majestic suns fed on interstellar dust that is the carrier of the seed of the life essence that we call love."
Artist:
Marc Catley & The Flaming Methodists
That's 48 words (I think) and he released three albums in the 90's. He's a British musician, who does Rock, Christian Rock, Satire albums (like Weird Al) and other eclectic stuff.
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 8:13 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
a letter to Bill Hunt
Kieran: The only reply I ever got from Bill was when I questioned the fact of SW NOT being the best thing since sliced bread. He got really pretty touchy about my "cowboy movie in space" comment.
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 7:58 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
A request from a friend...
Kieran: The forum format took all of my spaces out but I'm sure you can figure it out.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 7:56 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
A request from a friend...
AVB: Thanks... I'll forward those on to her.
BTW, thanks for the effort of making the trivia more contemporary, I'm just plain bad at music trivia in general... but especially stuff from before I was "aware"
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 7:50 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
Kieran: It was phrased that way on purpose, thought I could make some folks think a little.
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 7:48 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
A request from a friend...
Kieran: Here are some with Roses in the title. I have more but got tired of typing. Format is Artist, Album, Song(s)
ABBOTT,KENNETH THE CHRISTMAS ORGAN VOLUME 2 I KNOW A ROSE TREE IS GROWING (ES IST EIN' ROS' ENTSPRUNGEN)
ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION,THE RED TAPE SAN ANTONIO ROSE
BIG COUNTRY EAST OF EDEN PRAIRIE ROSE
BIG COUNTRY STEELTOWN WHERE THE ROSE IS SOWN
BYRNE,DAVID REI MOMO THE ROSE TATTOO LOCO DE AMOR
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART SHINY BEAST (BAT CHAIN PULLER) ICE ROSE
COLE,NAT KING THE CAPITOL COLLECTOR'S SERIES A BLOSSOM FELL, RAMBLIN' ROSE
COMMANDER CODY & HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN WE'VE GOT A LIVE ONE HERE SAN ANTONIO ROSE
CONCRETE BLOND FREE ROSES GROW
COSTELLO,ELVIS ALMOST BLUE A GOOD YEAR FOR THE ROSES
COSTELLO,ELVIS KING OF AMERICA POISENED ROSE
COSTELLO,ELVIS MIGHTY LIKE A ROSE
DAMNED,THE "ON ""NEW WAVE""" NEW ROSE
FREBERG,STAN THE BEST OF STAN FREBERG THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS
GARCIA,JERRY REFLECTIONS IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE ROSES
GARCIA,JERRY RUN FOR THE ROSES RUN FOR THE ROSES
GRATEFUL DEAD,THE EUROPE 72 RAMBLIN' ROSE, SUGAR MAGNOLIA
GRATEFUL DEAD,THE RECKONING IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE ROSES
GRATEFUL DEAD,THE INFRARED ROSES INFRARED ROSES
HUNTER,ROBERT TIGER ROSE TIGER ROSE, ROSE OF SHARON
HUNTER,ROBERT JACK O'ROSES JACK O'ROSES
INXS FULL MOON, DIRTY HEARTS CUT YOUR ROSES DOWN
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 7:47 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
AVB: You're welcome. Not that I'm going to play this time, I'm clueless... but I thought I'd help clarify that for those that do play.
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 7:43 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia
Joe aka Iguana Master: Kieran complaint was that my questions were about artists and songs before he was born, not about music trivia questions themselves. Now I have a question from the 90's and you're still gripin'.
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 7:36 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
Kieran: Good catch. The song could have been released any time during the artist's/Group's career but they had to release at least 2 albums in the 90's.
AVB ( 208.157.96.185 ) at 7:34 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
David: Sorry David, you are not even close. Click on my name to send me an email and I'll tell you where to send your donation.
David ( 199.174.132.193 ) at 7:34 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Kieran & Joe the Iguana Master: I am watching SP:BL&U right now...
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 7:32 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Joe aka Iguana Master: They're not even a real country any waaaaayyy!
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 7:31 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
AVB: When you say "during the 90's" does that mean that the song was released during the 90's?
Or is it just that the band which released it, also released two albums during the 90's, but that the song could have been released any time (i.e. 1969...)?
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.49 ) at 7:26 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
oops I misread the question....Well i will have to blame Canada for the Labaats
Come on everyone join in
Blame Canada
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.49 ) at 7:24 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Dave, thats from 1969
David ( 199.174.132.193 ) at 7:23 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
A request from a friend...
Kieran: War of the Roses (M)
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.49 ) at 7:23 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Ron, how is your HT bill adding up. I should be around 6k for a well and septic, just to start. ;(
David ( 199.174.132.193 ) at 7:21 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
AVB: ok, I will guess... "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict" by Pink Floyd.
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.49 ) at 7:21 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Septic....not spectic
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.49 ) at 7:21 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Joes building Project
On a decent note my friend the contractor just left. He is a ME at work that happens to own his own excavating/contracting service. Looks like we can moonlight in a hardbed. On top of that we can locate behind my garage and not take out any trees. This is a good thing.
On the next beer he pointed out that I should drill a new well in the front since I will be building over the old one. It's a orginal well at 260'. So the money I save on the spectic, will cover the new well.
I hope when this is all done I still can afford internet connection
Ron H ( 63.26.184.125 ) at 7:18 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
JBC:: I rate his concerts as one of the best you will ever see and hear. No fluff just pure rock.
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.49 ) at 7:15 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Trivia
I know this is all play at you own risk. I really don't have any reason to complain but I agree with Kieran on this one. Music trivia...who wins this one BYork or Tony ?
David ( 199.174.132.193 ) at 7:11 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Star Wars on DVD
Curtis & Ron H: I can definitely understand where you guys are coming from... my natural tendency is to want to hurt Lucas and Speilberg's pockets as well. However, they have made films that I really enjoy and when they are finally released on the best medium I have the equipment to play them on, I will buy them all. No matter how rightous the cause, there is just no way that a campaign to boycott the purchase of their DVD's will even put a shallow dent in the sales figures. With that in mind, I chose to welcome the release rather than continue to be bitter about it. Better late than never as far as I am concerned. Just my $.02.
AVB ( 208.170.190.184 ) at 6:51 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
Lest we not forget that normal rules apply and each incorrect guess is $3.
AVB ( 208.170.190.184 ) at 6:41 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Wild Bill's TRIVIA!
What is the longest song title (number of words) by any rock, rap, folk or country artist or group that has released at least two albums during the 90's? All words count to include but not limited too: I, a, is, it, etc.etc.
Winner to get the DTS Demo Disc #4 thanks to Wild Bill.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 5:50 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
A request from a friend...
Here's an email I just got from a good friend... I thought the HTOC cogniciente might be able to help:
KC - My mom is looking for song & movie titles that have a name of a flower in it. Can you think of any? Here is what you had so far (M=movie, S=song):
Desert Rose (S)
The Rose (M&S)
Driving Miss Daisy (M)
Steel Magnolias (M)
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 5:47 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Bill Hunt reply
Well, he actually replied... didn't say much but the fact that he replied to me is a first.... I've sent several emails to him over the last 18 months or so, and never heard a peep. Maybe it was because I posted the letter on HTF and DVDtalk, too. Here's what he had to say:
We have unofficial information (meaning that it comes from official sources but off the record) that Episode I will be out 1st Qtr 2001. This is new - prior to this, we've had nothing official at all except 2006. So while the date hasn't been officially announced, we're being kept in the loop on production developments by Lucasfilm. I appreciate your comments and opinions - we are definitely listening too.
Bill Hunt, Editor
The Digital Bits
http://www.thedigitalbits.com
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 5:40 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Blue
Curtis: Blue is very difficult to see against a dark background. However use blue text on a white background (e.g. the words "Optional Topic" right here on this page, or heck... something like this... and it's quite easy to see. However, if your blue crt is out of focus, then it's going to be hard to see no matter what. I've seen several fighter cockpits (even helped design some of the cockpit avionics on some planes) and yes, it would be very hard to see if everything were blue. However the cockpit is a very poorly lit place (a good thing, else the bogey aim his sights right at the lit up canopy, unbeknownst to your brightness-blinded eyes!) It's all about relative contrast. Just like yellow is hard to read on a white background.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 5:37 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
I am off to see the BOSS, as in Bruce Sprinsteen -- see you guys later.
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.74 ) at 5:25 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
Kieran: I feel the same way about you regarding the supposed "release" of Star Wars movies on DVD. The report was ambiguous at best and gave absolutely no information that we did not already possess. AFAIK they are still working toward 2006 as a possible release date.
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 152.163.194.197 ) at 5:19 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
English papers
Well, I decided to blow off my final paper and not write it. I figured what the hell, I will take a C in the class. Yesterday in the mail I recieved a notice from the prof...Incomplete, I have to write the paper:(
RGB ( 216.168.69.85 ) at 5:02 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Kieran: Congrats on finally getting the antenna up! Let us know of Bill Hunt responds back to the e-mail you sent him.
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.74 ) at 5:02 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Curtis: There is absolutely nothing amusing about this virus and whoever propagated it should be prosecuted to the limit of the law. On Realtor.com we have over 1.3 million listings and 100,000 Realtors and brokers. The lifeblood of this is the images which we show to the online consumer. Their are over 8 MILLION .jpg files on our main server which can be viewed online. If this virus were to somehow make it past our mail servers and onto our main servers it would absolutely cripple us. These viruses have ceased to be amusing and serve no purpose other than the intent to destroy and maim critical files. End of rant.
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 152.163.194.197 ) at 4:42 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
English Papers
Hi all, Whats the name of those sites where you can download english papers?
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 4:36 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Darian: OK, if you turn off the green, is there a faint red visible? It sounds like the red is not truly off.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 4:16 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
also the green lines are too thick. when I put up the red the green is over shadding on both sides. on
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 4:12 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
When I put up the crosshatch there is an obvious red just below all the lines on the horizontal.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 4:08 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
HT POST.. here???
Darian: How can you see red if it is off?? Describe what you see.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 4:03 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
HT POST.. here???
KPD: Its is annoyiong the shit out of me! I swear I am going blind staring at this thing. The Blue squares are not even close to squares. The other thing that scares me is when I have just the Green gun on I can see red along the edges of the lines. This may be beyond the whole ISF thing and maybe an actual service call issue. It is obvious to my eyes that the blue and green are out of focus on the grid pattern. Go to the dots and I want to gag!
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 3:56 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
HT POST.. here???
Darian: Havin fun yet!? If you decide to improve the blue focus, keep in mind gray scale tracking changes also. Obviously only a concern if it was tweaked previously. The shape of the dots is distorted like that because of astigmatism errors which are usually adjusted through a dynamic focus circuit(electronic adjustment), or astigmatism rings at the end of the crt's neck. You'll need the service manual to really be able to see what is available for adjusting. Another trick I use in converging is to converge red on green, turn green off, then converge blue on red. I find it much easier to see the blue error in respect to red, it just requires much more attention to detail since you are using 2 references.
Curtis ( 63.203.68.143 ) at 3:49 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Darian: oh. well in that case I guess you have 2 huge problems. Perhaps you could simply mask off everything but the center of the screen, explaining that it's the latest/ greatest format from Geo. Luca$
Rich F ( 208.170.191.70 ) at 3:16 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: I was mistaken. It was the Norton address it was looking for but I still can't get on. It keeps saying I lost my internet connection even though it is on.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 2:58 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Curtis. This is not a splitting hairs sort of thing. the blue and the green are out of focus. In the corners it screams to be adjusted.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.219 ) at 2:32 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Ron H : Right on brother. Lucas talks the talk very well "I'm just another single dad who loves making people happy" ... yet he stumbles badly when it's time to walk the walk & give the people he says he cares most about (SW/HT freaks). Speilberg isn't much better & noither of them are seeing another dime from me for this kind of shabby treatment.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.87.235 ) at 2:31 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: Another advantage to running BeOS.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 2:24 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Rich F: Launch NAV, then click on live update, then click options, there is a tab for proxy. Turn of "Connect through a Proxy Server."
V-Dude ( 172.128.108.99 ) at 2:23 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
T-Man So you'll know, Bagman is in the Florida Keys somewhere. Have no idea when he will return. Will let you know. Probably sometime this weekend.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 2:22 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Rich F: What version of NAV to you have?
Rich F ( 208.170.189.54 ) at 2:20 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: My copy of Norton live update was on my pc when I left the company. Unfortunately when I attempt a live update, it tries to go through the old FTP that the company used to steer all internet traffic. I can't find the spot on norton or the control panel to stop directing the update to a company ip that no longer exists.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 2:11 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
The Norton Virus update is available. Run live update to install it.
Ron H ( 63.20.12.79 ) at 1:58 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Ooops: I forgot to add IMHO.
Ron H ( 63.20.12.79 ) at 1:57 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
I do not know what all the excitment is about the SW release. It seems to me that after the stuff that Lucas has done to not support DVD that we should not support him until he wakes up and gets the message.
Why buy a DVD when it is released 6 months to a year after a VHS release? Let him get the message that you want releases on DVD at the same time as VHS. It it is not released at the same time or a short time after do not purchase the DVD. The only thing this greedy b@#$%*d understands is money. He could care about you the fan. I do not understand why anyone would want to help line this mans pocket after he has been putting the screws to you.
I guess I should add that this post is from someone who owns not one SW movie and more than likely never will.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.219 ) at 1:41 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
HT POST.. here???
Darian: I don't care how young & perfect your eyes are - humans just can't see the color blue at all well. I took a tour of a fighter jet cockpit where they changed all the displays to blue ... you could barely makeout anything. Duane is the Sony convergence expert - ping him, email me if you need his address seenhear@hotmail.com (yeah, like that's working today!)
Curtis ( 63.203.69.219 ) at 1:36 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: I KNEW you were gonna say that. I have 2 Macs @ home for the kids & haven't gotten around to hooking them up to the DSL network yet. Maybe I'll pull all mail from them today.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.219 ) at 1:34 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
AVB: if they ever catch the hacker I'm willing to bet s/he gets offered a sweet job rather than prison. You know MS & others want people to break things for a living.
BYork ( 204.151.114.9 ) at 1:10 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Kieran - Nice letter. I've been thinking the same thing about the end of the petition drive.
All - Most of the major sites now know who we are(even if they've been dragging their feet adding our links). It might be a good practice for everyone who communicates with them to indicate you're a member here, just to jog their memory of our existance
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 12:56 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
a letter to Bill Hunt
I just sent this email to Bill Hunt, editor of the Digital Bits. I thought I'd post it here as well, to see what you all thought of my take on the latest news on the Star Wars on DVD campaign.
Subject: Something you're not telling us?
Date: Thu, 04 May 2000 09:17:13 -0700
From: Kieran Coghlan
To: billhunt@thedigitalbits.com
Dear Bill,
First of all, congrats and kudos on all the great work you do every day on The Bits. I read it almost every day, and always wait anxiously for each day's latest version of "my two cents." Also congrats on all the recent great news about Star Wars on dvd.
However, this brings me to a bit of a complaint. Maybe I'm just too jaded from all of the difficulties Lucas and his companies have given the fans, I don't know. However, it seems to me that you're jumping the gun on declaring victory, patting ourselves on the back, and thanking good old George for "listening" to us. I don't really see what we know now, that we didn't know a month ago, except for actual verification that work on the TPM dvd is indeed taking place. There has been no indication of when the dvd might be released, not even a vague hint or ball park date. So, for all we know, nothing has changed.
Your web site is my primary source for dvd news, and I seem to remember you reporting some time ago, that Lucas said (maybe it was McCallum?) that '"yes the dvd's of the SW films are coming" and that the answer to the "when" question was simply "soon." Then came the news that Lucas wanted to wait for all 6 episodes to be complete before really working on a set of dvd's. Thus we learned Lucas' definition of "soon." Now we hear that they are actually working on a dvd of TPM. Okay, but that doesn't mean that it will necessarily be released in the next year or even two. I see this announcement from Lucasfilm as simply a small tidbit, a snack, for the ravenous fans, to tide us over or distract us, while we wait until 2006 for the dvd's.
It just seems to me, that the Star Wars on DVD campaign (not necessarily the petition) should continue in full force (pardon the pun) until dvd's are ACTUALLY RELEASED, or at a minimum, a release date is announced (except that release dates can be pushed back.)
So, to tie into the subject of this email, is there something you're not telling us? Do you know something about the SW dvd's that we don't? Reason I ask is because I thought you would be the last one to give up so easily on this fight. Maybe I'm just the "doubting Thomas" here, and I need to simply have faith. I want to believe, I really do, but Lucas has burned us too many times. I need proof. We the fans need proof, and we need someone like you to lead the fight for us.
I hope to hear back from you on this, either as an entry in your daily article on the Bits, or as an email. I hope you're "listening" too!
Take care, and keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
Kieran Coghlan
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:26 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Audio Related
I currently am running the speakers with the Cinepro on the mains and the PowerMaster on the center, surrounds and subs. Still trying to decide which amp I like better. The Cinepro has an interesting ability thou. I was watching True Lies yesterday. I noticed a high pitched hum. I hit mute and it was gone. I know this hum well... it is the hum immited by Direct View TVs when they are on. Now that I have a projector, that sound is not in my room. However when ever I go to a sceen with a TV on the screen the 2.9s and Cinepro produce that souns. Now that is a detailed amp!
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 12:24 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD
David: $100 is what I would be paying for the LD if the store I shop at were to even get one. They want the money in advance, and I'm not quite ready to do that.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:23 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
HT POST.. here???
Hey guys. I sweart I am going blind trying to get the convergance right on the new TV. The blue is so out of focus I can't get a solid test patern. I need to get the service manual and dig in here. On the dot test the blue and the grenn dots are more like diamonds with the mishaped projected image. Everyone who looks at the screen says how great it looks but I want the best I can get out of it. My pleas for help went unnoticed earlier... thats ok. I guess noone else here has the HS series Sonys to help me out.
BYork ( 204.151.114.18 ) at 12:18 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Problem is we have almost 50 servers. we'd have to basically run scanmail continuously on every one of them, as NEW messages will continue to bounce around our enterprise for some time, unless we can trap&kill 'em as they hit the MTAs. Once we can stop the spread, then we can clean each server without risk of it being re-infected.
Thanks for the suggestion, though.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 12:17 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC virus
Our email is down world wide.
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 12:16 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
BYork: We use Groupwise so I can't help you with exchange server. I haven't played with that since I got my MCSE.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 12:12 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
BYork: We're using scan mail to automatically delete the infected attachment. Have you guys tried that?
BYork ( 159.37.7.57 ) at 12:09 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
AVB/Rich F -
Our messages stream through our IMSs and MTAs so quickly we cannot catch and kill the ones spreading the virus. Isn't there a setting in Exchange Admin for the MTAs amd IMSs that restricts delivery to a schedule rather than continuous? I can't (YET!) find it....
Rich F ( 208.170.191.216 ) at 12:04 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: I haven't heard of a fix yet. Let me know if you find one.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 12:03 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
I am glad I'm a Mac user. The virus doesn't effect Macs.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 12:02 PM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Rich F: Norton has a fix? I am checking their site and it says Protection is pending???
Rich F ( 208.170.191.216 ) at 11:53 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
BYork: This thing is brutal. I was with the president of a company when his secretary came in and took his laptop. It is really spreading fast and wiping out mp3s and image files. I wonder if Metallica is behind it? Just joking!!!
AVB ( 208.132.249.130 ) at 11:45 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
BYork: I've closed my email bridge to the outside and am DL the fix from Norton. What a pain.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 11:43 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Curtis:
BYork ( 204.151.114.9 ) at 11:35 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Both Microsoft and Wells Fargo have shut down all of their Exchange Internet Mail Service connectors because of this. It seems to really be getting around quickly.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 11:29 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
David, Tony C, Robert: This is not terribly new news. The Digital Bits broke this story last week, I think. Anyway, the news doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Lucas NEVER said that he WOULDN'T release the SW films on dvd, he only said that it didn't know when he'd get around to working on it, and that he wanted to wait until all 6 episodes were completed. So, all this news says is that work is indeed being done on the TPM dvd. He did NOT say when it would be released, not even a ball park figure. Sorry for my negative outlook, but I'm very jaded when it comes to Mr. Luca$ and his games. I'll tell you this much... I'd put money down that says TPM will NOT be available by the end of this year, and I seriously doubt it will be available within the next 12 months.
Curtis ( 63.203.68.76 ) at 11:04 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
cai: who said anything about saying I love you too?! That kind of statement can close the door to all the other beauties I haven't even met yet. Man am I bad.
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 10:58 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Curtis: If you use Outlook delete the message and then look at the delete directory. There you can see who sent it. You can then contact the lady and tell her you love her too, but are afraid to open the e-mail because of the virus.
We have had major a infection at the Department of Energy. It probably indicates how love starved some of us engineers and scientists are.
Curtis ( 63.203.68.76 ) at 10:50 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: oh great - I must get 4 emails daily with that title from the various ladies in my life So what excuse do you suggest I use for not reading their love letters, something like this?... "Yes I think you're wonderful too darling, but your notes are making my computer sick!"
RichardS ( 199.202.74.197 ) at 10:40 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Carlos: Thanks for the warning, I just received it.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 10:40 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
JohnO: Yeah I know. This silly virus brought down our Outlook servers worldwide.
T-Man ( 209.166.160.51 ) at 10:36 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Bagman: Welcome back. Hope you are enjoying your trip in Florida.
T-Man ( 209.166.160.51 ) at 10:35 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
V-Dude/Curtis: Markets are a little sluggish today. Cisco releases quarterly earnings next week and they are predicted to be (as usual) very good. May need to add a few more shares.
T-Man ( 209.166.160.51 ) at 10:29 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Been a while.
Hi everyone. Been a few months since I posted, but have lurked on a periodic basis. Only HT purchase has been a second receiver to power my Room 2 through my Yammy. Had an old Sony that bit the dust. It's amazing what you can get for the money in inexpensive receivers. I paid $300 for a new Sony release that has Dolby digital/DTS, 5.1 extra inputs and 100w x 5. Of course I'm only using it to power my non-Ht room speakers, but it's nice to know I have a back-up in a pinch if something happens to the Yammy.
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 10:18 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
Carlos: Heed these words of wisdom from Carlos. This thing is similar to Melissa, replicating by opening a mail message. Symantec and McAfee are working on a solution. Many e-mail servers are already crashed or down.
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 10:16 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
BTW, I haven't been around. I spent the last 3 weeks in Puerto Rico. How is everyone doing?
Carlos ( 149.39.3.232 ) at 10:15 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
PC Virus
There is a PC email virus going around with the subject "I Love You." If you receive the email DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY! The virus is self-replicating and sends the email 100 times to 20 people in your address book. I checked Symantec's web site they haven't recreated a fix yet.
David ( 199.174.132.76 ) at 10:12 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
Robert: Good point... when Lucas releases the DVD, it will probably only be available to one zip code in a remote part of Siberia.
David ( 199.174.132.76 ) at 10:08 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
Tony C: Is best price on the Phantom LD still around $100?
Robert ( 129.37.78.173 ) at 10:01 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
Tony C: Tony, let me add this. THe LD , even though has Japanese Subtitles in the lower letterbox, WAYYYYYYY COOOOOL. We have it going through our new EX gear and guess what,,,,,,POD RACE in EX (and the rest of the movie as well). I'll have it on DVD next week, but only in Pro Logic. DVD-R's currently only record in stereo. I too am arranging to get the LD as soon as somebody from work goes to Japan ( a couple of weeks maybe), but IF the DVD makes it way here, who knows, no sense in paying $80 for an import if I can get the DVD with no subtitles.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:40 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
David: Right now, I'm this close to ordering the PHE1 on LD. I've been reading great things about the sound. I"ll bet the DVD doesn't come out till Christmas.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:38 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
900Mhz cordless speakers
Curtis: For $50 it's worth the test.
I'm thinking of getting one of those 900mhz transmitters to transmit from the second system of the Yamaha out to my Denon here in my office. Then I could have the same music playing on four different sets of speakers in the house and on the porch.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:35 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Ameritech
BIG AL: Same here man. My friends can't believe how low my connections are. I installed a third line and still slow as 28K on a 56K modem.
David ( 199.174.132.76 ) at 8:33 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Phantom Menace DVD - Seen this yet?
May 3, 2000
Fans Menace Lucas for DVD — and Win
Bowing to pressure from fans, George Lucas is finally releasing Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace on DVD.
An article in today's online edition of Wired says that three agitatin' fan sites were instrumental in getting the Jedi Master to reconsider his earlier anti-DVD stance.
A Lucasfilm spokesperson told Wired, "Absolutely ! We're listening, and George is listening."
It's odd that Menace was released only on VHS in April — to predictably boffo sales — since the folks who've already embraced DVD inhabit the same sci-fi cultist demographic who usually rush to purchase any and all Star Wars merchandise.
The lack of a DVD release is also curious because Lucas is a big, big proponent of the digital revolution. For better or worse, he created filmdom's first all-digital character (odious comic-relief provider Jar Jar Binks) in Episode I. He's also announced plans to up the digital ante by not just enhancing traditional film with digital effects on the next film, but by actually shooting the majority of Episode II's live action sequences with his specially developed digital camera.
Lucas has said in the past that he wanted to wait until all nine of his Star Wars films are done to release any of them on DVD. Dude, by that time, we'll be looking at another technology altogether.
Just this month, another DVD holdout, Steven Spielberg, decided to release his coveted library of movies on DVD, starting with Jaws.
Saving Private Ryan, from the director's own DreamWorks studio, was, until now, the first and only of the director's films on DVD.
Universal Home Video will release a special 25th anniversary collectors' edition of the 1975 sharkfest July 11. It will include deleted scenes, outtakes, a trivia game, and a new digital widescreen view.
The rest of the hits Spielberg made for Universal, including E.T. and Jurassic Park, are expected to be introduced later, Variety reports. There are no current plans to release the Indiana Jones Trilogy, which was made for Paramount.
cai ( 205.254.147.21 ) at 8:28 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Scott "popcorn": I installed Black Ice and it was running perfectly with win NT. Since I installed win 2000 I keep getting messages that the filter failed. I will call Black Ice and find out what is the problem. I have also installed a router to hook-up independently two computers to the cable modem, this router is supposed to provide a fire wall. All this may be overkill since I have not had any intrusion. But, better be safe than sorry.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 6:05 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Morning gents....
Ron H: The software has arrived.
AVB ( 208.157.96.243 ) at 5:22 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Cinepro trigger
JBC:: Eric already knows that we are in contact with each other so I don't think there would be any violation of trust if you had told me about this.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.167 ) at 1:43 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
New Member Bios...
Just a quick note to let ya'll know that the new member bio section has now replaced the old system.... If your browser doesn't handle frames you get the Bio Table, and if you do use frames, it's nearly identical in looks to the old system... You may now use your login and password to edit your bio (links at the top of the left frame and also at the top of the table)... Remember, if you forgot your password, just go to the password change page (linked from the user prefs) and you can select a checkbox to have it e-mailed to you!
Curtis ( 63.203.69.221 ) at 1:26 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
900Mhz cordless speakers
ok, back on topic. While I was picking up a new antenna yesterday for the DTC-100 I noticed a pair of wireless speakers on Rat Shack's bargain table for $50 - list was $249. You guys know me - if it's good stuff for cheap, I'm all over it. So here's where I am. They are perfect for my deck, use 900Mhx signals sent from a little transmitter. The salesdude assured me that they couldn't be screwed up by the other 900 Mhz phones in the neighborhood - true enough I found out later. Only problem is that my 2.4Ghz phone totally wrecks the signal to these speakers. Worse, I have a neighbor w/ a 2.4 phone that I have no control over. Suggestions for solving my problem?
Curtis ( 63.203.69.221 ) at 1:16 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
BIG AL: bummer dude, sorry to hear about your phone line noise woes. Have the dummies come out & rewire the whole thing if they have to. Having survived no less than 6 DSL installs with pacbell (between biz & personal) In the process I have gotten friendly with some of their best engineers. The best of them called me tonight saying that he did a random full loopback test on my connection that came back with a sustained data transfer rate of no less than 3.602K! "Listen man, you could open up shop tomorrow as a major ISP if you wanted to!", said he. No wonder my son filled that drive in minutes.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.51 ) at 12:40 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
Cytotech,Pop; Talk about slow! The phone line in my new house has so much noise, my 56k modem connects at 28800, on a good day! Yesterday I had 16400! Ameritech said they will look into it. I know it's not inside the house, because I ran my own second line. Sometimes I fall asleep waiting for a page to load!
Curtis ( 63.203.69.221 ) at 12:16 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Scott "popcorn": LOL! My 12 year-old son managed to fill up a 30GB new drive the other weekend downloading everything he could find. When I explained how much even a used drive cost not that long ago (rule of thumb: $1 per MB) he owed me $30,000. Then I calmed him down & reminded him today's prices set me back all of $149.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.167 ) at 12:08 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Cytotech: heh... I'm happy with 56k for now. I usually connect at 50666, and I figure if I go any faster, my hard drives will fill up a lot faster than they already do.
Cytotech ( 209.138.148.205 ) at 12:02 AM EST Thursday, May 4, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Thanks for all the great replies, guys. It's hard being one of the only slow ones in the group. Any ideas about the firewall? Or will Cox install one when they come out?
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.167 ) at 11:24 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
cai: I think BeNews has already mentioned that... If you'd like to keep up-to-date on BeOS, just check www.benews.com every few days... They are quite good. There's already over a million downloads of FreeBe.
Ron H ( 207.223.53.131 ) at 10:52 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
JBC:: Did you get the software today?
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 10:15 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
AVB: Do me a favor... given that this piece will not be available for a number of weeks can you please hold off until next week before contacting Eric. The reason I ask is that I do not want him to be pissed at me for releasing this -- evn though his e-mail did not say keep it confidential.
Please lket me know that you will do this.
Thanks.
AVB ( 208.157.96.94 ) at 10:08 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- There is a Solution
JBC:: Didn't I say in an email to you that a small circuit would do the trick? At least now I don't have to design it myself. Thanks for the good news. I'll contact Eric tomorrow and get my name on the list.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 10:00 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- There is a Solution
JBC: Eric is a pretty good guy so it does not surprise me that he would come up with a possible solution for the trigger problem. Sometimes some solutions take a bit longer to solve then others. Glad to hear that Cinepro may come through after all.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:52 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- There is a Solution
AVB: Here is an e-mail I just received...
"Joel
You should know, that because of this incident, we have engineered a small daughter board that mounts on the powersupply and "inverts" the -12 to allow the jack on the back to be driven with any trigger signal from 9 to about 36 volts AC or DC, any polarity.
Current draw from the triggering appliance will be under 14mv.
This will be made available to all current owners of 3k6 MKi and MKII and MKIII at a very modest cost, if not free.
Please note that even the most basic circuit must undergo rigorous testing and parts have to be ordered before this is offered to the general public. This process typically takes 6 weeks even in a rush situation (such as this).
Thank you for bringing this problem into such sharp focus for us here at Cinepro, and doing the thorough testing necessary to help come to this resolution.
And thanks for your continued faith.
Best Regards,
Eric Abraham
President
Cinepro"
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 9:50 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Chris L, JohnO Got both of your numbers. Will ship this weekend and e-mail each of you.
Curtis ( 63.203.69.221 ) at 9:47 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
... make that last ping @ 2,613.1K! Not showing off at all
Curtis ( 63.203.69.221 ) at 9:44 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
cable modem shoppers
the only complaint I have heard from pals with local CM service (AT&T formerly TCI) in the SF area are 1) heavy slowdowns during peak periods if your cable company has overloaded your particular node, & 2) when your modem goes down, so does your teevee cable. I'm running pacbell's residential DSL for $30 @ month & am right accross the street from their CO. Current Rx rate is showing 2,287.4K ... not too shabby, huh?
Curtis ( 63.203.69.221 ) at 9:40 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
welcome this guy into our nightmare ;-)
V-Dude: I couldn't have gotten the IPO shares through any brokers I know, rather I actually have friends who work at various Net stratup companies. No restrictions on hold times at all. My quickest record is 45 minutes ownership!
AVB ( 208.157.96.94 ) at 9:30 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Contest....did someone say Contest?
Wild Bill: I'll put some thought into it Bill. Maybe this weekend or even sooner.
V-Dude ( 152.169.52.45 ) at 8:44 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
welcome this guy into our nightmare ;-)
Curtis: Agree. GE is a tremendous stock. I have some. Looking forward to a 3-1 split any day now. It's a long hold. Never got any OPOs. Don't now any broker that well. How did you dump it the nest day. Thought you had to hold them for 60 days or something like that?
Fernando ( 24.4.252.251 ) at 8:06 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Cyto: Once you are hooked up fast and permanent you get spoiled FAST. If possible hold onto a lifeline internet connection with mindspring for a month, 2 if you can afford it. It can be really frustrating when your cable modem goes out and you go from ultimate internet to absolutely nothing. I figured the free months subsidized the mindspring cnxn i held onto for 2 months. For me though I had great service the 1st month then crap for about 3 months. YMMV of course.
If Cox has a dial-up cnxn, get that setup instead since it would surely be cheaper than mindspring since you're already onboard with them in cable.
You can use any browser and you probably don't need to use any of their proprietary stuff. Comcast tries to make me use this special @home version of IE that is very funky and not my taste. I just use the version of IE I already had installed. I'd keep your install files of standard IE and whatever mail program you use handy just in case the Cox install overwrites stuff you wanted left alone.
Once you get into your paying period keep notes on outage times and dates. You will NOT want to pay for a full month of service if your modem goes out 1-2 weeks out of the month. And get friendly with your local cable techs and managers. I dunno about Cox but Comcast had me dealing with national level guys in NH or something which was a total waste of time and pain in the ass. hold times were staggering. once i got unofficial local numbers for guys that could take care of problems here things were much better.
My download and access times are sweet lately. just did a check on the download speed test site and got 1.25 Mbps. Have fun... 
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 8:01 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
To Whomever it is that likes BeOS: The May 23 issue of PC magazine, page 64, has a small article on BeOS 5. They seem to like it. How is the support for this OS coming along?
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 7:56 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Cytotech: I also have cable modem from Cox. I have not had too many problems and lately the service has gone down only once in the last three months. In Virginia Cox wanted to install IE, but I already had Netscape so they went along with that. You can use any browser you have installed in your machine, regardless of what Cox says. Have fun and enjoy it. You will definitely like the speed. I have not looked back and certainly haven't regretted it.
Cytotech ( 209.138.151.172 ) at 7:50 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Kieran: Well, first of all, this is Pensacola. Bellsouth was supposed to roll it out last October, but it is still unavailable in my area. Apparently, either they haven't rolled it out, or I am too far away, or the lines/equipment need upgrading. I would RATHER have ADSL, but considering my options, I am going with Cable. This is a pretty small city. Not like a San Diego/San Francisco or even a Birmingham(like you know what that's like). Anyway, I am pumped.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 7:41 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Cytotech: Just curious, why cable, and not DSL? Are you too far away for DSL? Congrats, in any case.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 7:39 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Wild Bill: Maybe this time, AVB will pose a question to do with something other than rock&roll trivia... I can hope so, at least! (I can hardly remember the names of the members of my favorite bands, let alone all this other Rock&Roll trivia.... besides I was either not born or an infant for most of it!)
Cytotech ( 209.138.53.77 ) at 7:31 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
VROOOOOM!!
Ok boys, I'd like to make this the cable modem forum for a post or 2.
I should be getting cable modem service from Cox Cable FRIDAY!!! WHOOHOO!!! No more dialups. No more drops(not that I had many from Mindspring), and no more SLOW connections. As I am an ALPHA customer(meaning, I am getting in before the official launch in Pensacola), I get the install free and service for free UNTIL the actual launch(which will be a month or more). Now, I am told to expect downtime and glitches, as that's what the deal is for. I expected that, especially after hearing all of Fernando's woes with HIS cable modem service(although he has Comcast). Anyway, what should I expect? They are supposed to install THEIR Netscape browser, but I like IE. Can I just use IE? Also, is BLACK ICE the best firewall to use? Neo might could answer that one. I am VERY excited, as if you couldn't tell. I've never connected faster than 45,333. I can't wait to download movie trailers and mp3's in a matter of seconds instead of half hours! Thanks guys. I now return you to your regularly scheduled HT talk!
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.246 ) at 7:19 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Scott "popcorn": LOL! Your reply to Curtis was exactly what I was thinking!
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.246 ) at 7:18 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Wild Bill: I just changed my mind. I'll make the DTS Demo #4 the prize in AVB's next contest. Make it a good one AVB.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.246 ) at 7:17 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Everyone: I now have an extra DTS #4 Demo Disk. I sent an e-mail requesting the freebie and never received a response. I then heard about everyone who was getting e-mails that were stating that in order to get the demo DVD it had to be purchased from the online store. Well, on Saturday I got one in the mail and today I received one by UPS with a sales receipt. If anyone would like my spare you just need to cover my cost. I paid $10 plus $4.74 shipping. I'll sell it for $14.75 and I will pick up regular postage to send it to the purchaser.
Chris L. ( 198.144.141.28 ) at 6:29 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
JBC: Just making sure you received my FedEx info. Sometimes my mail gets screwy...ask KPD.
RichardS ( 199.202.74.182 ) at 5:25 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Curtis Good luck!
Curtis ( 63.203.70.238 ) at 5:24 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
welcome this guy into our nightmare ;-)
V-Dude: as one of the way-too-old timers here, welcome. My stock market playing over the past few years has been entirely in Net IPO's. I was flat lucky to be allowed to join in several friends & family plans. I flipped most of them the 1st day. Today I wouldn't put in a dime on any of them because it's pure & simple gambling. I like big old conservative companies now such as GE. My heart can't take the roller coaster Net rides any longer!
Curtis ( 63.203.70.238 ) at 5:13 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Kieran: because my landlady doesn't yet know that I'm going to stay put here for a couple of years she's the most easily influenced human being I have ever met. Once she saw how much my kids love the place (far better than the last house, mainly because it's like living on a college campus) & how perfect it is for her, you could tell that she would never force us out. The only reason for the short lease was because she was going to demolish the house she lives in to build a new house. She was going to live in my house till the work was done. Now she's thinking she likes her old place just fine. Wish me luck.
V-Dude ( 172.134.109.128 ) at 4:56 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Gasgeek: Thanks for the welcome Gasgeek. I think I'll enjoy being on the Forum. Will keep in touch.
V-Dude ( 172.134.109.128 ) at 4:54 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
T-man
V-Dude: How about that ADCT? It wants to go crazy but the market won't let it. Nevertheless it rose over 3 points today. It is one strong stock.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 4:48 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Gasgeek: I have to appologize for not returning an e-mail back to you. I did get it and there was nothing in it that was bad or pissed me off. Everything is going pretty well for me but I have been busy busy busy. My wife and I are trying to figure out the timing to build our dream house. How are the speakers sounding since they have been breaking-in?
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.59.217 ) at 4:40 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Curtis: I'd ratehr be called sexist than gay.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 4:14 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
AKA you ol' desert dog. Long time no hear. I haven't heard anything from you since my last email. I didn't think I said anything "that" bad to piss ya off. How's it hangin'?
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 4:13 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Welcome V-Dude
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 3:30 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Welcome V-Dude.
V-Dude ( 172.128.41.82 ) at 3:04 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Wild Man
Thanks for the message on your take on the market. I'm new to the Forum but looking forward to hearing similar comments from others that may be stewing in this market. (No I'm not BagMan). I look for a 1/2 point increase from Greenspan and it's probably what we should have. Maybe then the market can settle down and assume some sound direction. Tomorrow will be the day. We'll see.
RichardS ( 199.202.74.182 ) at 2:57 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
DUANE: What model Sencore are you using?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 2:54 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Curtis: why don't you wait until you move again to have it calibrated again?
Curtis ( 63.203.69.194 ) at 2:42 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
... before anybody jumps on me for being sexist, be aware that I did the PC thing of not mentioning what sex the sweet young joggers are. If you read "women", then YOU'RE the sexist
Curtis ( 63.203.69.194 ) at 2:38 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Toshiba convergence
Duane : Howdy stranger, good to see you here. The RP is looking great even after a fairly rough move. I picked up the RCA DTC-100 HD receiver/ Audio Authority RGB to component converter, running to the DTV input on the big Tosh. VERY sweet picture yet I know it can be further dialed in for HD material. The problem is the lack of outstanding HD test patterns, of course. One of the local digital PBS stations has a SMPTE color bar pattern up 24/7. Only problem is that it's broadcast in 4:3 (yuck!) Any ideas, or better yet hop on that SD to SJ plane & you know I'll take great care of you. My new place is awesome, right accross the street from Stanford Univ. with sweet youg things jogging by constantly ... almost like being on the beach in SD
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 2:33 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
anp kit
johnbr: I was looking at the TPC 300B SET amp kit. The price is certainly right but a pair of 300B tubes can cost more than the cost of that kit. That is the only drawback to doing a 300B or 2A3 type amp.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 1:39 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Toshiba convergence
Duane : Wow, cool. I didn't know you had the Sencore. I can't afford any ISF work right now, but maybe later this summer, like August. I'll let ya know... It is something I want to have done, eventually. I may be moving in the next 6 months to a year, anyway, so that's another issue to think about when plunking down the cash for a calibration. Thanks for all the advice and help in the meantime, though.
Duane ( 206.170.121.59 ) at 12:35 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Toshiba convergence
Curtis,Kieren: The service mode allows for a 64 point convergence adjustment and there's one for each mode.So if you adjust for FULL mode and get it set properly,jumping to say the Standard mode,you may have misconvergence because each mode has it's own convergence memory. I'm glad to see more sets using the point convergence adjustments.Mits and Pioneer allow this without going to the service mode.But unless you get geometry down for all three guns,then you'll be touching the convergence more often.
Kieren: I have the Sencore Color Analyzer now. Curtis remembers the Philips I had,but I had to sell it off for reasons financial after a divorce like situation.The Sencore works just as well for less than half the price. My WEGA set was calibrated with the Philips and when I got the Sencore,I ran a test to see if it read the same and it did.
BYork ( 159.37.7.44 ) at 12:13 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
New Member
All - Welcome our newest member... ItzKirb
ItzKirb - your bio is up, but only on the NEW version. This can be edited by you, using the alias/password you were just emailed. You can reach it from the EXPERIMENTAL link in the left frame.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 12:00 PM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
The antenna is good!
Well, I finished the end of the coax, ran it into my apartment, and hooked up the beast (that's the OLD corroded antenna that my landlady wanted me to try first). Anyway, I disconnected out rabit ears antenna, and got ready to connect the rooftop line (no dtc-100 yet, just analog for now). "Cross your fingers" I told my girlfriend. As I screwed it in, she said nothing! Silence! I thought, "oh damn, what does that mean? It doesn't even look like there's an antenna connected?" Then she said finally, "did you already hook up the digital tuner?" "No, why?" "It looks great! Wow!" She was right, I crawled out from behind the TV and the picture was excellent (as analog OTA pictures go, and considering my TV settings had been reset).
I quickly flipped to CBS channel 2, the one channel we could NEVER get with our rabbit ears.... It was perfect! I fliped through the UHF range, and every channel was solid. We were even getting channels that were broadcasting from a different direction and longer distance than where the antenna was pointed! I was going to hold off on connecting the dtc-100, so I could get more studying done, but I couldn't resist. I hooked it up, and it looks fabulous. The only drawback right now, is there is no longer an input for my VCR, because the dtc-100 is using the s-video input on VIDEO1, and the dvd player is using the component input on VIDEO2, and VIDEO3 is on the front panel of the TV. I don't want to have a permanent connection to the front of my tv. I figure the only solution is to buy an S-VHS vcr, so that the receiver can switch it with the DTC-100!
As for the DTC100, it's a little tempermental at times tuning to the digital channels. It has no problem grabbing the analog channels, and usually no problems grabbing the digital ones, but sometimes after lots of flipping through the channels, it starts to have trouble. It will tune to the channel, but no picture or sound, even though the signal strength is high. When I turned the dtc100 off and on again, it was better, but repeated the problem again after another long period of channel surfing.
However, the anamorphic picture, afforded by the recent firmware upgrade, looks just fabulous! (thanks RGB!!!) Honestly, from the distance we watch, with the size of this screen, I don't know that the TW40X81 (hd version of my non-hd tv) would give a much better picture (I've seen it demoed with the dtc100). It's a 40" widescreen (same height as a 32" 4:3) and we sit about 10 feet away. I'm sure it would be somewhat better, especially when there's a lot of aliasing artifacts visible from interlacing, but right now, it's really an excellent picture. The HD PBS loop looked incredible.
BYork ( 192.246.108.35 ) at 11:17 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Site Outage Warning
All -
Our ISP, Superb.net, sent me a pre-warning this morning that they are relocating servers during mid May. Please be aware that we'll have a 2-4 hour outage on 5/15 starting at midnight EDT.
I'll try and post reminders, so nobody is surprised when the outage occurs.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 10:15 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Cinepro's pre/pro
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal": Warning... Correction Ahead!
hehehe
At CES Cinepro had a prepro at their house. Cinepro did not display on the CES floor or at the hotel. The preamp had tape with writing attached to the front of it to tell us what the "DIALS" did. All the dials had been pulled off and the knobs were just the metal posts.
One glance with the trained eye revealed... A GOLDEN THEATER GTX-1. Eric confirmed that after he tried to give me the... Well we are making some changes on it.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.8 ) at 8:58 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
JBC: Fax arrived. Thanks
JohnO ( 140.183.114.30 ) at 8:15 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Thanks guys, will check all that info out.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.240.191 ) at 8:01 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Trav1: Back at ya'.
Ron H ( 63.26.171.8 ) at 7:58 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
JBC:: You have mail
Ron H ( 63.26.163.245 ) at 7:53 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
JBC:: I sent it last night let me send again. I forgot to send your software out on monday but did so yesterday. It should arrive today. h
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 7:36 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Ron H: Stilll waiting for your fax number...
Trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 1:12 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Wild Bill: Email your way.
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.244 ) at 10:53 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
V-Dude BAGMAN?: I'm in this screwy market and have no way out. Most of my stock is tied up in options and they don't begin to vest for another month. Not that it matters, we are more than $100 off of our high. Our stock has risen abbout 35% in the last two days so I am hoping we'll continue to rally. We were up about $2 today while the rest of NASDAQ tanked. I am currently viewing my options as a long term investment.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 10:20 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
JohnO: Channel Master is apparently the best, but Radio Shack makes some clones of CM models. Check out www.starkelectronic.com they are the ultimate in online antenna info.
Curtis ( 63.203.68.27 ) at 10:19 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
rooftop antenna
JohnO: I picked up a Rat Shack 'burb special antenna, model 120-something. It lists for $69 but was on sale yesterday for $44. Works great on VHF/UHF?HD for me about 35 miles & some serious hills from the transmition tower ... esp the digital HD channels in SF.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 10:19 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Off topic Graphic Card
JohnO: Check out the Voodoo3 3000 PCI card. Cheap and pretty powerful. I don't think any of the latest chipsets (like Nvidia2 or GeForce) are available in PCI versions, but I could be wrong.
Ron H ( 63.26.174.164 ) at 10:12 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
V-Dude: The market sucks but has recovered some. I predict 1/4 increase.
mic ( 172.131.230.240 ) at 9:39 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
software updates
did my first PC to pre/pro software update to my 568, ver 1.3, took about 10 minutes. Meridian has a page alert so when the web page changes it send me an email. the update wasn't much, fixed a few little problems and enhanced the dts software, I was hopping for EX/ES, not yet.
JohnO ( 208.198.37.59 ) at 9:35 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Off topic Graphic Card
Thanks for all the info on video cards. I now have a trickier problem. Have a good friend who is stuck with a Pentium II 350, Compaq Presario 5600. We think it only has a PCI slot, about 16-18 months old. What is the best PCI video card he can get? He has a Diamond Viper 550, getting crushed by the new Everquest expansion. All the hot stuff seems to be AGP.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 9:29 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
What HDTV Displays what
TO ALL Issue number 37 of Widescreen Review, page 52, has a list of most HDTVs with a key as to how each manufacturer has decided to display the various formats. It lists also how anamorphics, widescreens, and letterboxes will display on direct view and RPTVs. I think this list will be a considerable help in deciding which set to purchase.
V-Dude ( 152.202.0.23 ) at 9:28 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
All: Who else is in this screwy market and where do you think it is going? Is Greenspan going for another half a point? T-Man?
JohnO ( 208.198.37.59 ) at 9:26 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Speaking of rooftop antennas, any clear favorites? I live in the suburbs, reception is probably pretty good. There is a mast already up there. Probably want both UHF and VHF, but mostly for the HDTV signals in UHF.
V-Dude ( 152.202.0.23 ) at 9:22 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
T-Man: Bad day on the market.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 8:42 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Curtis: 64 points... right. It's really not that difficult. I've done it, and Duane even gave me pointers here on the forum at one point. You can really improve the picture a lot with the service convergence. I own a service manual for the TW40H80, and it has details on how to do it as well. Plus there are a few good web sites that show how to do it. It's stuff like setting the color, contrast, brightness, sharpness, greyscale color temperature, all in the service menu, where a trained ISF guy really can make a difference. I wouldn't dream of adjusting most of those things on my own. A mechanical alignment of the CRTs also helps get a better focused picture. This is something I may try at some point, but maybe not. Besides, I heard that Duane sold his color temperature analyzer. If he can't set color temp, that defeats a lot (not all, but a big part) of the purpose of having him come out.
Curtis ( 63.203.70.66 ) at 7:53 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
... also I believe the service level convergence is 64 points & NOT for the untrained eye to take on.
Curtis ( 63.203.70.66 ) at 7:51 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Kieran: That's the strangest part of moving my RP.l Duane had told me that simply moving it 3 feet would mean recalibration time. It was moved 5 miles, including a pretty jerky liftgate & uneven garden flagstone pavers. Then there was the unbelievable tast of single-handedly pushing it up 5 stairs! I was 100% prepaired for a horrible picture when I finally got the entire HT rewired. To my surprise it looks every bit as good as before, almost better. Convergence is dead-on, as are all other settings. The addition of a good rooftop ant. for the 6 HD channels & I'm one happy camper. The new living room is a much better shape for the whole HT (though I doubt any SO would agree). I only wish I didn't have to move all over again in 2 months, just as I'm unpacking the last box it'll be time to re-pack everything. Ugh.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 6:53 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Curtis: Also, the service level convergence is much more than NINE points! I think it's more like 40 or so points... don't remember exactly.
Your TW65 must have a nine point USER convergence, eh? My user convergence is only ONE point! (Basically useless).
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 6:51 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Curtis: Have you had your tw65 calibrated since your move? If not, how's the picture compare now to before you moved it? Did it shift much?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 6:50 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
JBC:: great landlady... sort of... The "new" one would be the one I own already, which is sitting in my garage. I wanted her to put that on up in the first place, but she said "let's try the old one, and see if it works well enough first". Her logic being that if I move, and my antenna was on the roof, I'd want to get it down, etc. This way if I move, no problem. So that fair enough. I just hope it works. I'm not too far from the broadcast towers (maybe 25 miles line of sight) but this antenna is OLD: very oxidized, and some of the elements are badly bent. We'll see. Oh, and she wanted to use 300 Ohm twin lead wire... I told her no, I have to have RG-6 coax. She didn't get it, so I just told her I would supply the wire, and not to worry about it. 120 feet at $.24/foot is not that much. The only thing that this old antenna has over mine is that it's much larger than is necessary, so it may do the job.
Curtis ( 63.203.70.66 ) at 6:28 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Kieran: When Duane calibrated my Tosh RP, he said the only downer about it was that reset button (the others are correct, saving settings via the service menu brings everything back in an instant). I felt pretty dumb when I couldn't locate the reset button anywhere on the remote. With The TW65H80's they got rid of it. It is now deep in one of the menu settings. The built-in 9 point convergence is better than nothing, but not much. Save up & get Duane to your place. You'll be pleasantly surprised how good it can look.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 6:26 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Kieran: Sounds like you got a great landlady...
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 6:21 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Antenna update
Well, my antenna cable is attached and runs from the roof down to my front window. Hopefully the old antenna the guy attached it to is good enough to get the reception I need. If not, the landlady said she would install a new one.
johnbr ( 24.112.61.241 ) at 5:55 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
anp kit
Michael AKA Have you look at http://www.sonicfrontiers.com/tpc
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 3:46 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Ron H: You have e-mail...
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.53.57 ) at 2:12 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
JJ: my 2109 won't play CD-R's...
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 2:07 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Cinepro's pre/pro
JBC: The last time I talked with Eric (which was about 6 months ago) he told me that Cinepro was thinking about first producing the DTC-2 unit which was a scaled down version of the DTC-1. A prototype of the DTC-2 was shown at CES. In the end, Eric told me that Cinepro has spent too much time developing the DTC-1/2 and still are no where close to bringing it to market. His feeling was don't hold your breath.
JJ ( 12.79.77.207 ) at 2:03 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Oh, and I have an external USB CD-RW on the way!
Anybody know if my tosh 2108 DVD plays CD-R? I think I remember: not.
JJ ( 12.79.77.207 ) at 2:02 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Video capture card
Scott "popcorn": thanks. I think the studio DV can output to MPEG2.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.53.57 ) at 1:58 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Video capture card
JJ: if you mean MPeg 1 (as in Video CD), you can get 74 minutes on a CD... I don't know about Mpeg2, and I don't know if a VCD player could play it either... Also, MPeg 1 is lousy... Think VHS quality on an optical disc.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 1:54 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Star Wars VHS special edition
As you all know, I bought a used copy of the widescreen Phantom Menace. Included in the box is a clip of four frames of actual celluloid from one of the movie's reels. Anyway, mine has four images of Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman walking around on Tatooine (Tunisia). What's cool though, is that you can see the actual audio tracks on the left side of the film. There's the optical 2-channel analog stereo, the AC-3 brownish static inbetween tooth holes (whith the little "double-D" logo visible in the center -- really neat), the Sony SDDS blue-ish static to the left of the DD AC-3, and there's also the DTS timing marks. I thought that was really pretty interesting to see. Of course, I had to slightly mutilate the cardboard "frame" in order to get a better look at the sound tracks but what the hell. (knowing my luck this little piece of celluloid will be worth thousands 20 years from now, and I've messed it up.)
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 1:46 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
AKA: Whatever happened to Cinepro's pre/pro? Have you heard anything from Eric on this issue?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 1:38 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
On the bright side
My rooftop antenna should be properly wired down to my apt when I get home today... Hopefully this contractor guy my landlady hired can do a decent job.
And now I have that Monty Python song in my head, "Always look on the bright side, of LIFE!... da dum, da dum..." Speaking of which, Eric Idle is performing Tomorrow night in Annaheim at the Sunset Theater, and Friday night in LA somewhere... sure wish I could go. He's doing classic Python sketches, and some new material as well, with about 12 other people on stage.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 1:34 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
You're going to ask why I didn't just turn off the tv with the button on the front panel... GOOD QUESTION!!!! (slaping myself upside the head, now...)
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 1:33 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Wild Bill, Michael AKA: Actually, I use a Rat shack universal remote that I really like, and the reset button is NOT programmed on it. I was using the actual tv remote the other day only because I had misplaced the universal remote, and I needed to turn off the tv in a hurry to leave (I knew where the original remote was, because I keep all the original remotes in the same place in another room.)
As for programing the settings so I can restore them, that's got to be done in the service menu, as I've discussed here a few times... I just haven't had the time to sit down and really go through it and do it. I did WRITE down the values of the various basic settings somewhere, so I may just set them back to that for a quick fix. Re-doing the convergence will take more time, though. I don't know why or how it resets the convergence, since the convergence is set in the service menu. Oh well...
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.23 ) at 1:11 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Kieran: Sounds like a good reason to get a Pronto and set up your TV panels the way YOU want them!
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 1:05 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
Kieran: Why don't you just save off the settings so that if it happens again you can restore back your settings.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 1:03 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Video capture card
JJ: yeah, I thought it was a good deal too. And, I bought it from buy.com through ebates.com, so I get another 3% of 78.95 back with my next ebates check. So, my final cost should be around $32.00 or so.
I realize that you can't get much 720x480 video on a CD-R... that's dvd quality video! I'm thinking maybe half an hour of slightly better than VHS quality would be good... something along the lines of 240x480 or so. It's more for the novelty of it, than anything else. If I want really high quality, I'll just put it back on DV tape.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 12:58 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
G*& DA#% STUPID RESET BUTTON!!!!
I hit that freekin' reset button again on my Tosh TV. I HATE THAT! Now I have to go through the Avia setup AGAIN and redo the damn convergence AGAIN. Why oh, WHY, did Tosh decide it was a good idea to have a reset button so readily available on the remote, and so easy to putsh. They recessed it slightly, but they should have made it one of those completely recessed buttons that you need a toothpick to reach. I don't have time to go through a calibration and convergence until the 20th of May. And now the picture looks like CRAP. >sigh<
Ron H ( 63.15.142.71 ) at 12:39 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Sunfire CG
mic: Cinepro could take a lesson from Sunfire.
mic ( 166.68.134.165 ) at 12:07 PM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Sunfire CG
just got a message from the folks @ Sunfire with my UPS tracking #, my CG was recieved, updated and shipped on the same day 4/27, eta is 5/5. Cost me $35 to ship it, no charge for upgrade/fix to the auto-on feature to work with balanced input, warranty coverage. I should be back in multy channel by the WE
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 11:28 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
BAGMAN: Yes and thanks. By the way, I am now on the hunt for a tube amp kit to build. If I find a good one that has good build instructions I will let you know.
JJ ( 12.79.76.151 ) at 10:57 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Video capture card
Kieran: Glad I could help. You got a great deal there...
I haven't worked with it a much at all yet. Most of your questions were answered I think. The firewire is cool. video/audio goes both ways, the software even controls the camera's transport functions (play, rewind, etc.) You are not going to get much on a cd-r in way of time or quality. 720x480 take 4gbs per 20 minutes. hmm. maybe that's AVI or DV. I wonder what mpeg is like?...
yes, anamorphic is cool
Rich F ( 208.170.187.18 ) at 10:05 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Apex macrovision delete
I was in CC the other day to see if they still had Apex DVD players. They said they were out and were expecting more in but thtat the secret menus to kill macrovision had been taken out. I'm glad I got mine when I did. I knew that couldn't last.
Curtis ( 63.203.68.158 ) at 9:47 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
dts exec
Kieran: yes I did follow that link to your pal's promotion. If I'm reading this right, he has been with them since '93 (the beginning), right? Let's hope someone there makes the effort to release a significant volume of quality DVD's. To their credit they're doing an excellent job of being included on every current DVD player I have seen - including a $179 Chineese brand I saw the other day at Tower Records. Another customer asked me what the DTS logo meant. Rather than go into my disertation about the war w/ DD, I just said "good question ... there are some interesting surround sound CD's available for $25 each."
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 9:04 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Hey guys...
Have some programming to do today. Also going to take a wack at converging my New TV. Odd thing is that the red is in perfect focus while the blue and the green are not. I am going to have to move my equipment to get to my speakers. Then I will drag my 2.9s out from their homes. This will let me know if we are dealing with a magnetic problem. When I set up the pincussion the blue and the green are really bent.
Any ideas guys?
Kieran ( 134.139.23.108 ) at 1:17 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Curtis: good to see you 'round. Did you see my post about DTS a few days back?
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.92 ) at 12:38 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
I NEED MORE POWER!!
The amp search continues! My choices so far are; B&K ST-3030 $559....Acurus A250 $550...Adcom GFA5500 $550... This is for either my stereo sub, or my 2 TSTs, depending on how much I like the amp. The sub can handle 200 per 8ohms, and the TSTs 300 per 4 ohms. Any of these amps would work, but I'm leaning toward the Acurus, even if it might be a little too much power. The B&K is from a reliable retailer, and the Adcom is close, so shipping is less. Hmmmmm....
Gasgeek ( 209.179.34.16 ) at 12:19 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Scott Popcorn, Ron H, Wild Bill: Sorry about the delay in response. I had to actually go to work right after my last post and just got back online. The picture on the Marantz DLP 8000 is really quite good. Surprisingly so. Much better than any LCD that I have seen, but not up to the big CRT's yet. I will spend more time with it and get back to you with a little more critical review. I originally saw it in the big theater room on a 16 x 9 72" screen in total darkness several months ago. I was pleasantly surprised. It was just set up on a box for a temporary demo. The colors were very good. Black levels weren't up to CRT quality, but the picture was very detailed. I remember watching Zorro and thinking that there were a few scenes that were almost three dimensional. Saturday it was in the small theater room on a 4 x 3 60" screen with more ambient light. The picture was still good. We were watching The Fifth Element. Very sharp edges and no pixelization or distortion evident at all. I'm more of an audiophile than a videophile so I may not be as critical as some. Scott, the "sound" of the fan can be a distraction if you're sitting directly under it during a soft passage, but to be honest with you it really wasn't a factor in the demo's that I have watched. This was just set up on permanant display after a recent remodel so I'll spend some more time with it and get back to you guys.
Curtis ( 63.203.70.78 ) at 12:06 AM EST Tuesday, May 2, 2000
great disc-Cirque Du Soleil Quidam
KPD: It's difficult to describe what cirque du soleil is like to someone who hasn't yet experienced it (as opposed to having simply seen it). Yes there are world-class acrobats in it, yet that doesn't begin to 'spain it. The music is rock/ jazzish. If you listen closely enough you'll hear that ABC totally ripped them off for the music they use on who wants to be a jillionaire. The disc is certainly worth a rental ... bet you end up buying, especially if you can display an anomorphic image.
Curtis ( 63.203.70.78 ) at 11:58 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
ok, I'm back for more than 3 minutes this time. What' happening gang? Goo to see others yacking about anamorphic DV camcorder shooting. I've been doing it for 18+ months now & will never go back. For DV editing Adobe Premiere is on par with PhotoShop for still manipulation. Did you know that the Canon DV spec contains 6 digital audio tracks? I shoot using 2 for the original audio, 2 for music overlay and the last two for post-production narration. Try doing that with a VHS-C doorstop
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 9:35 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
my dad's mexican vacation
Wild Bill: So far so good. My mom got home Sunday, and received a call from him just minutes after she walked in the door. Typical of him to know exactly when she'd be back, estimating flight time, traffic and everything. He's almost freaky good at that. Anyway, he and his buddy are driving back from Mex. in a couple days. That's about 2000 miles of driving! Thanks for asking.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.137 ) at 9:32 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Video capture card
Wild Bill: Yeah! I was stoked when I found out that the 16:9 mode on the camcorder was ANAMORPHIC! Very kewel indeed.
mic: Thanks. Yes, I made sure that the white insulator was flush with the connector as you said.
BAGMAN ( 152.169.109.111 ) at 9:20 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal":My wife and I are on a vacation. I'm checking in from my Dad's house,we are going to play some golf and then my wife and I are going to the Keys to do a little relaxing and some partying. If I am reading right,are some major congrats in order for you and your wife?
mic ( 171.211.148.21 ) at 9:06 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
coax cable question
Kieran: leaving the foil is ok, the white insulator should be flush with inner bottom face of the f connecter no longer or shorter.
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.165 ) at 9:04 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Video capture card
Kieran: I've also been fooling around a bit with the wide mode on my Sony machine. Anamorphic home videos!! Now, that's kewl!
Wild Bill ( 63.38.153.165 ) at 9:03 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Video capture card
Kieran: That's the whole idea. Yes you can get the video back tot eh DV player. In fact, you've reminded me that I need to do some serious editing of my DisneyWorld vacation tapes from last November. BTW, did everything turn out OK with your dad?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 8:34 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Video capture card
Scott "popcorn": Cool, that's what I had hoped.
BTW, the deal's done... I just got approval from the boss to buy it (and she's going to pay for it too.) Total out the door:
$78.95 + $5.72(tax) = $84.67
With the $50 rebate, we'll be looking at just under $35.00 total. Not too shabby, for a box that retails for $149.00. 
Thanks for the tip, JJ, and the for your help, too, Scott.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.51.88 ) at 8:27 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Video capture card
Kieran: the firewire cable will let you go either way... so, once you finish editing, just upload it back to the camera to record to tape... (of course, if you want friends that don't have DV players to watch it, you'll then have to make a copy from DV to VHS...)
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 8:11 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Video capture card
Well, I checked out the Pinnacle Systems' Studio DV package... funny thing, pricewatch.com had a low price of $81 at some etailer I'd never heard of. I went to www.buy.com, and they had it for $79, and if I buy before midnight tonight, shipping is free (that's for anything at buy.com, by the way, so if you're shopping for something check there quick!) Anyway, buy.com wasn't even listed on pricewatch.com. Go figure. I guess they think they have enough exposure that they don't need to list themselves on pricewatch? I dunno. The best part is though, that the Studio DV has a $50 manufacturer's mail-in rebate going on right now, so net cost would be around $29 +tax on $79. Not bad. I think I just might pick one up.
JJ: Question, with software like the Studio DV package, what would one do with their video on the hard drive, once they had finished editing it, if they didn't have a CD-R drive? Is there a way to get the video BACK onto the DV tape, so you can then transfer it to VHS or something for regular viewing? I plan on using it to make VCD's, but the camera belongs to my g/f's dad, and he doesn't have a cd-r drive or a dvd player. He may pay for the Studio DV package, but will he be able to use it then?
Wild Bill ( 63.36.12.134 ) at 7:57 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Best Sound Card
Trav1: I'm not sure about the MP3 stuff. It may have but it really doesn't interest me so I can't tell you for sure. How's that for an ambivalent answer? I also don't know if you can buy the LiveDrive! separately. I don't think so because it connects to the soundcard via a fairly substantial cable and I don't think the other versions have the proper connector.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 129.239.3.55 ) at 7:57 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
BAGMAN: Hey, how's it going? What is new with you since you last you frequent the forum?
Trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 6:56 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Best Sound Card
Wild Bill: Did the platinum version come with any mp3 stuff such as encoder/decoder? Also, can you purchase just the live drive and mate it with a live value card?
Chris L. ( 198.144.141.244 ) at 5:56 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
JBC:: You have email!
BAGMAN ( 152.171.11.166 ) at 5:30 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Greetings from Bradenton,Fla.
JBC: IMO,Bob must be a saint and Cinepro is really dropping the ball by not working in a better fashion with both you and your dealer.
Interesting note, on the trip down here we paid as little as $1.29 and as high as $1.83 for gas. What a racket!
T-Man: The V-Dude says hello.BTW,AOL sucks!
Kieran ( 12.13.238.140 ) at 5:00 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
coax cable question
Scott "popcorn": If it's clamped well enough, there's no need for a rotor. There's only one location for broadcasting antennae worth pointing at in the LA area, and that's Mt. Wilson. So, once it's pointed, there should be no reason to repoint it. My boss uses a rotor, because he lives further south and can sometime receive San Diego stations on good days (broadcast location about 170 degrees from Mt. Wilson). He also said sometime "jerking" the antenna with the motor can shake some corrosion away, that builds up in the element joints over time. I don't plan on being in this apartment that long.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.51.88 ) at 4:55 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
coax cable question
Kieran: Have you considered an antenna rotator? be sure it's clamped good because the wind has a tendancy to turn antennas around...
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 4:47 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
coax cable question
Scott "popcorn": Hmmm... I don't think I'm using quad-shield stuff... only one layer of braided wire that I can see. Thanks for the suggestions. My landlady really didn't want me up on the roof, so she's hired her contractor to come out tomorrow morning, to hook up the coax to the antenna, and aim it for me. Hopefully tomorrow night, I'll have DTV reception again.
RGB how sensitive was your antenna to directional pointing? I told the guy to just aim it due north, but Mt Wilson is really just slightly (like 7 degrees or so) east of due north. Do you think it will make a difference? The ocean haze is usually so bad that you can't see Mt. Wilson from where I live, so it will be hard for him to point it by eye.
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 4:38 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Sony mini DV
JJ: JJ: So have you used it much? How do you like it? Does it capture the video only, or does the stereo audio come over too? My end goal is to make a VCD (by burning to a CD-R) of video recorded on the sony DV camcorder.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.51.88 ) at 4:22 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
coax cable question
Kieran: I think you can pretty much ignore the foil... it just acts as additional shielding... I would probably just cut it back some... Just be sure it's not touching the center conductor... If you're using "quad shield" or equivalent type stuff, I'd pull the first braid back, cuth the foil, pull the second braid back with the first, and then cut the innermost foil...
Kieran ( 12.13.238.141 ) at 4:17 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
coax cable question
Darian: I understand about the braid... my question was about the foil that is wraped around the white insulator, between the braid and the insulator. Does this foil need to be rolled back or cut back as well? Or can it just stay put, when I slide the connector on? I had never seen the foil part before on RG59 that I'd messed with inside the house, so I'm not sure what to do with it.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.51.88 ) at 3:24 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
If ya'll want to check out the latest incarnation of the new member bios, you can see it at http://www.htoc.net/MembersSet-new.html
Wild Bill ( 63.36.239.227 ) at 2:50 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Gasgeek: Scott beat me to it. I have heard mixed reviews (mostly not favorable) about the Marantz DLP. Your thoughts?
Ron H ( 63.26.205.163 ) at 2:50 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Gasgeek: I was also wondering how the projector looked.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.51.88 ) at 2:45 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Gasgeek: how did the Marantz 8000 DLP look? (and sound?)
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 1:45 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
On Saturday I took him to see the Marantz 8000 DLP projector and some equipment as he is building a dedicated HT room in the basement of his new home in Washington State. My dealer Brian had just gotten the new NHT VT-3's in and had them hooked up in the big theater room. They are amazing. I was blown away. They are a complete system. The mains are shaped similar to the NHT 3.3's but they're larger than the 3.3's. They have 500 watt subs built into each main. There is also a separate controller so that you can activate the rear firing dipole driver for HT. You turn off the dipole feature for music. The set includes a matched center and matching surrounds. All speakers use the same drivers according to Brian. The whole ball of wax retails for $8300. This was being run by the EAD Signature and PM2000 and and Elite DV-09 for source. My buddy's wife fell in love with the sound of the VT-3's but they will require a "big" room to make them work their best.
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.51.88 ) at 1:44 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Sony mini DV
Kieran: You might also want to give BeOS a try... personalStudio 1.5 is a nonlinear video editing application for BeOS, and with BeOS R5, firewire (via some cards) is supported. You might want to check the hardware compatibility list at Be's web site (under support) before buying a card if you think you might want to go this route...
Rich F ( 208.170.191.22 ) at 1:38 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
Ron H : Actually, the Stylos can be mounted in the wall but I prefer the against the wall option as it provides more directionality and it makes it easier to install. While both the Scripts and Stylos are wall mountable, the Stylos end up with much less real estate. The Scxripts will come out about a foot compared to a possible in wall application for the Stylos. That can mean as much as 2 feet total. The Stylos also go down about 15 hz deeper than the Scripts. Then again, the Stylos are discontinued so it may be difficult to find them. It would be well worth the search.
Gasgeek ( 204.48.23.145 ) at 1:36 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Happy Belated Birthday Ron H/New Doug!!! Had company again all weekend and didn't get a chance to get online. We have only had two weekends since the grandchild was born in January without company. This weekend's guest was my oldest and dearest friend and his wife. I have known since the second grade. We went to the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach on Friday night. Tim Allen made a surprise appearance to try out some new material. It was awesome.
JT ( 209.184.244.254 ) at 1:15 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: Good thing you added the disclaimer about Kansas. I was about to get pissed!! Just kidding. I did, however, grow up in Kansas City, go to school at KU in Lawrence, KS (where MLs are made), and I currently work in Wichita, KS.
JJ ( 12.79.74.17 ) at 12:45 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Sony mini DV
Kieran: yes. You need an i.link (aka firewire, aka ieee1394) card for your PC. I picked up a Pinnacle Studio DV card. less than $100 delivered. It comes with pretty good software for mac and PC. editing, transitions, voice-over, cd music background, titles, etc. will give you AVI, MPEG, Real files. It can capture in 'preview' edit mode, a whole hour tape in 150mb. then it will re-capture the video at full res after the editing is done. full-res video is 13GB per hour. needless to say, I will be getting a bigger hd soon! I also dl'ed some free/shareware to extract stills from AVIs/MPEGS, since I'm not so hot so far with my regular camera.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 12:13 PM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Kieran. The braid is not only the shield but also the negative. As long as it is not touching the center core. (spike you are fine. It is best to push the quad connector down to the white insulator and have the braide out side the first barrel.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 11:41 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
Ron H: The guys at ML have got to get out of Kansas a little more often!!! This is just a joke and is not meant as an insult to those who live, frequent, etc. the state of Kansas.
Ron H ( 63.15.142.22 ) at 11:27 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
JBC:: The scripts are also wall mountable. The Stylos are the original design surround speaker ML made. Not more than 4 inches thick, at least 5 feet tall and mount almost flush on the wall.
Where does Martin logan come up with these names?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 11:10 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Sony mini DV
Is there an easy way to take video recorded on a Sony digital video camcorder and convert it to mpeg2 or some other computer-based digital video?
Kieran ( 12.13.238.139 ) at 11:07 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
RG6 coax cable
I'm crimping the connector ends on some RG6 coax for my rooftop antenna, and I have a question. The coax I have looks a lot like this:
http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmfg5-2.gif
My question involves the thin metalic layer that lies between the braided wire and the white plastic insulator. I know that you're supposed to fold back the braded wire before sliding the connector on, but do you need to fold back that thin metallic wrap as well? I put one connector on, and left the metallic layer in place (i.e. didn't fold it back -- just folded back the wire braid) and it seemed to work okay, but I haven't had a chance to test the cable yet. Does anybody know what I'm talking about, and can you tell me which way is correct or if it even matters? Thanks.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 10:38 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
Ron H,Rich F: That is what I meant. I just got the Scripts and Stylos mixed up although I was referring to the ones which are wall mountable.
BYork ( 171.72.5.251 ) at 10:32 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Galaxy Quest DTS
Cytotech -
I saw Galaxy Quest in the theater. If you're a Star Trek fan, you should love it...it's a really well done send-up of the whole Trek fandom phenomenon.
(...and Sigourney Weaver looks pretty darn good as a blonde, too!)
I have a bunch of Pointclick points that I'm planning on using to get the DVD as soon as I can get it from someone other than FamilyWonder.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.124 ) at 10:25 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Best Sound Card
Trav1: Make that a 5 1/4" expansion bay. I've yet to see a 5 1/3" expansion bay.
Chris L: As I previously noted there have been problems associated with using the mini-jack outputs as a digital source.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.91.124 ) at 10:22 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Best Sound Card
Trav1: Yes, they do. I have the Soundblaster Live! Platinum. In addition to the mini digital out on the back of the card (which has been reported to have problems because of incorrect voltages) it has a standard RCA coaxial digital output on the LiveDrive!. The LiveDrive! fits into a standard 5 1/3" expansion bay on your computer.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.15 ) at 10:00 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
Rich F:Not a bad idea.
Rich F ( 208.170.191.169 ) at 9:55 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC: the Stylos option
JBC, I use the STylos as sides and they are great. They are made to be wall mounted and only come out about 6". They were discontinued whent the Scripts came out but there may be dealers who still have them and you may be able to get a deal since they are discontinued. I got mine at close to cost.
Chris L. ( 198.144.140.14 ) at 9:43 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Best Sound Card
Trav1: The SoundBlaster AWE64 Gold has RCA outs, which now has me wondering why I replaced it with the Soundblaster Live! card which only has the mini-jacks.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.15 ) at 8:53 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
I need to do some door shoping this week for the HT room. The current enterance through the utility room is being moved to a enterance from the dining room. I am toying with the idea of pocket doors, french doors or a standard type door.
Ron H ( 63.26.205.15 ) at 8:48 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
JBC:: I did consider the Scripts. they are 43" tall and with a 8 foot ceiling they would not be high enough for someone to walk under. I would not gain much more space than from the Scenerio's. Looking back at it I do think that the Scripts would be a better option if one uses side speakers as I do. I do not see how the floor standing 47" Scenerios about two feet from the couch are going to sound well firing into the side of the couch. The people on each side of the couch will only be about 2 feet from that speaker.
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 8:25 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Ron H: There is an interesting posting on SMR... did you ever think about wall mountable Scripts, instead of Scenarios, for the sides and rears?
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 8:06 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Morning all...
Trav1 ( 4.34.146.78 ) at 7:58 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Best Sound Card
Well, since we are talking about video cards, what is the best pc sound card. Do any of them actually have an rca type coax output on them to hook up directly to a digital input on a preamp? Or are they all those mic style audio outs?
Scott "popcorn" ( 38.193.86.237 ) at 3:30 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
If any of ya'll have time to waste reading a long article, here's a good essay regarding computers...
Gar ( 169.207.192.12 ) at 12:44 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Neo on IRC! Home-theater
Gar ( 169.207.192.12 ) at 12:44 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
NeoSonic: And guess what, Intel will be releasing there Gigahertz chipset in Dec........... Look out the speed is still coming............ and coming..........
NeoSonic ( 4.3.227.78 ) at 12:40 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
Gar: Thanks for the reply but JohnO was looking for a new card. I'm about two weeks from upgrading to an Athlon 750 from a PII/350. Will be interesting to see the difference.
Gar ( 169.207.192.12 ) at 12:38 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
JohnO: The Card I have is a Geforce chip set at 256 using DDR memory.
You should be able to find one going for $259 on the net. There a hot card right now, but give it a few more months. Thank God HT isn't that bad yet.
Gar ( 169.207.192.12 ) at 12:37 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
NeoSonic:Well I just went on the hunt for one of these myself. Depends on what you want. I tried ATI 64 meg card and I saw the new Voodoo 5 card, both great. But for Text and Game play, I must say the new 3D Prophet Card
is fantastic. It uses DDR memory and runs twice as fast as the current memory on all commerical Video boards. So a 32bit card which this is out preformed the ATI 64 bit card I tried, and frankly was better on game play then the Voodoo 5 card I saw demoed.
Cytotech ( 209.138.52.150 ) at 12:10 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
Galaxy Quest DTS
Anyone going to pick this one up Tuesday? I haven't seen the movie, but it sounds pretty funny, and with DTS sound to boot!
Cytotech ( 209.138.52.150 ) at 12:05 AM EST Monday, May 1, 2000
NeoSonic: I hear you. Same here. Playing tennis when I can, surfing everyday, working hard. I HAVE been playing with my Pioneer portable, though. That's one sweet machine!
NeoSonic ( 4.3.227.78 ) at 11:55 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cyto: Not working hard, but keeping pretty busy. I lurk every day but not much new stuff happening to post. At least now that I've paid off Uncle Sam I can start saving cash for components(seperates).
Cytotech ( 209.138.52.150 ) at 11:52 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
neO: Hey cuz! Long time no see! You must be working hard.
NeoSonic ( 4.3.227.78 ) at 11:27 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
JohnO: Try Anandtech.com. It's a site I trust pretty well and they just did their Buyer's Guide. They configure different systems for purpose and price then give you the reason they chose that item.
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.140 ) at 9:34 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
JohnO: I think you probably have it. I'd shop through Pricewatch.com.
JohnO ( 208.198.37.66 ) at 9:31 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Off Topic- Best graphics card
Hi all: Anyone want to take a stab at the best AGP gaming graphics card for PC? My guess would be a Geoforce 256 chip set, but I am not a gamer really. Also a place to buy online. Thanks
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 8:39 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
AKA: Yes, I too do not understand why Cinepro will not simply swap amps. I am at a real loss to explain this.
AKA, cai, Tony C: I am sure that Bob is not taking a hit. He sold me this amp for full freight in accordance with the Cinepro policy. I am sure that even as a used amp he will get more than his cost.
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 209.180.137.101 ) at 5:05 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
1K3SE = 1K2SE
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 209.180.137.101 ) at 5:05 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Darian: I get the impression from your "Currently the 1k2se is powering the 2.9s in some awesome music listening" statement that you like the sound of the 1K3SE but not as much as the PM-2000 from the "Cinepro claims that it needs a little time to burn in... what ever!" statement. Can you be more specific on what you mean by "differance in sound"?
Michael AKA "the Home Theater/Home Building Animal" ( 209.180.137.101 ) at 4:59 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Good afternoon all!
Happy Belated Birthday Ron H/New Doug!!!
JBC: Sorry to hear that you will incure some extra costs to get the trigger problem resolved. Frankly, I don't understand why Cinepro is being so stubborn about not fixing the problem for free. Sounds like you have a great relationship with Bob from Avalon. Hope all works out for you.
AVB ( 208.157.96.223 ) at 4:34 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Almost a PSA
There is a Cinepro MkI 3K6SE on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321057849 that I doubt will go for much more then the $2K starting price. Pick that up and Cinepro will sell you a brand new 3K6SE MKIII for another $2K. So you can get a $7500 amp for $3K or more off.
Darian ( 207.172.11.148 ) at 3:53 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Hey guys... havn't checked in, in a few days. Got the TV, the amp, and the cables. Need to finish up the perch for the TV. The 1k2se is breaking in on some DS channel. The TV color push is being worked out... and these cables don't bend at all! Working on getting the whole system back together. Once I get the TV in place I will do the finall hook up of everything. Currently the 1k2se is powering the 2.9s in some awesome music listening.
I tell you... there is a differance in sound between the 1k2se and the PowerMaster in stereo. Cinepro claims that it needs a little time to burn in... what ever! The EAD has been in my system a little while now and I was just getting used to the sound since I moved the speakers. Now I put this BIG AS BOX (ala my 61HS10) in the middle of the speakers. I will have to have a face off with judges.
Point 1 adding in the cables and the new amp at once is a noticeable change in the sound. Now the question...
Which will make a more noticable change???
Ron H ( 63.26.174.80 ) at 2:36 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
BAGMAN: Enjoy. I spent some time in Key West last year. I had a great time
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.164 ) at 2:36 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Leo: There were no typos in the e-mail addresses that I gave you. The rest of my post was littered with typos.
Wild Bill ( 63.20.254.164 ) at 2:33 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
RPG Room Optimizer
LeoV (HTCal): Thanks Leo! Was the e-mail address that was given to you listed as new user@msn.com? For some reason that e-mail address shows up on HTF when ssomeone tries to use my account at HTF. My coorect address is ahlucas@msn.com OR William.Lucas@realtor.com.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 1:39 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
cai: I would think that Bob at Avalon could (or already has) work something out with the manufacturer. Retailers have manufacturer reps and the reps have to keep their customers happy as well. I don't think Bob will get hurt on this deal.
cai ( 24.28.215.180 ) at 12:31 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
JBC: If Bob from Avalon has to absorb the cost of your amp, I think Cinepro stinks. True, Bob can resell it, but only as an used amp. If this is the way Cinepro treats its customers and dealers, I would think twice before I recommend Cinepro to anyone that I know. No wonder equipment prices are higher at the small specialty Hi-Fi shops. I do not know Bob from Avalon, nor have I done any business with him. To me it is a matter of customer service or lack of it from Cinepro. Just my opinion.
RickMTB ( 24.1.64.33 ) at 12:29 PM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
OT - web cam questions
Sorry for the off-topic, but you guys are a lot more techo
than I, so I hope someone has tried one of these... I want to
hook up a web cam on my home system to videoconference to my
work system while I am separated from the family. Anyone
have experience with a Intel or Logitech (or other make)
camera that attaches to the monitor and use it to video call
others? ANy recommendations, advice, concerns? Thanks in advance!
BTW, to make this HT related, I saw End of Days last night...
the effects were cool,the story a little silly, and I was surprised
by the adult content of some of the scenes (for an Ahnuld film...
sorta like seeing Clint due that S&M film)...
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 10:42 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
Tony C: You have hit the nail on the head in both cases.
AVB: You have mail....
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:03 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
JBC:: It seems that Cinepro is really not getting involved in taking care of the problem and Bob is the one who is making sure his customer stays happy. All in all, it seems fair to me too.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 8:57 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Bi-amping
mic: Oh yeah, of course the jumpers are off.
I'm going to give it some considerable listening today to see if I think there is any noticable improvement in sound. Last night, although I was very tired, it almost seemed like they did not sound as good as before I bi-amped.
mic ( 166.68.134.164 ) at 8:32 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Bi-amping
Tony C: I hope the NHT have a split biwire/biamp crossover with 2 sets of binding posts and that you removed the jumpers. Do not put the jumpers on. This can cause damage to your amps.
AVB ( 208.157.96.172 ) at 8:14 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
JBC:: You have mail.
LeoV (HTCal) ( 192.197.118.238 ) at 7:56 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
RPG Room Optimizer
Wild Bill: I tried sending you an e-mail a couple of times but I got a "mailbox full" message back. In any case, here's the link to RPG's Room Optimizer. If you need any help with how to use the software I will be more than happy to assist you. The help and documentation is not the greatest. Cheers.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 7:53 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Armageddon
AVB: Wish I would have been there....
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 7:48 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
AVB: Two additional points:
1. I have no idea what "...is providing that service with the cooperation of Cinepro" means other than as has been communicated to me by Bob, that Cinepro
a. is not crediting AvalonAV for my current amp; nor
b. taking back my current amp.
2. My best guess is that the cost of both the exchange and the cable is being entirely absorbed by AvalonAV while Cinepro's contribution is the building of the cable, which is entirely consistent with their previous communications to us.
Bob obviously felt the need to do something for a long standing customer.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 7:35 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Cinepro Trigger -- The Saga Ends (Hopefully)
AVB: I guess that perserverance pays off. I have recently been informed, after waiting patiently for a few days while my dealer Bob Trollinger at Avalon AV and Cinepro talked about possible solutions (i.e. I had nothing to do with these negatiations), that they have arrived at the following solution to my problem:
1. Avalon AV will be exchanging the amp at no cost to me (other than one way shipping) when amps with the modified trigger start shipping. Avalon AV is providing that service with the cooperation of Cinepro, but Cinepro is not exchanging the amp.
2. During the interim a cable, inclusive of a "transformer box" will be
loaned to me by Avalon AV (i.e. said cable to be returned with my current amp).
While I am not thrilled about 1 way shipping I consider it fair. The reason being that the $100 shipping charge is less than what I would have paid for
a) a new/markiii faceplate;
b) a new/markiii manual.
I learnt one thing through all this...the value of the service provided is invaluable and can only really be judged when there is a problem.
It can therefore be worh spending a few $$$ more to get this kind of service.
AVB, you may want to try this route through your delaer.
JBC: ( 216.94.28.170 ) at 7:12 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Ron H: Got your message. Congrats! WIll call you later today.
BAGMAN: Have a great couple of weeks.
BAGMAN ( 208.131.247.173 ) at 5:32 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Happy Birthday,Ron H.
Going to get in the convertible in an hour or so and head south. The wife and I are going to Fla.,I'm going to play some golf with my Dad and then we're going to Keys to party and relax. See you in a couple weeks.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 12:28 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
Under the toilet flange is a handmade copper funnel type adapter that's soldered to the stack. I've never seen anything like this. The stack is usually cast iron, and this house is under 40 years old. The guy that built it must've had some $$$$
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 12:24 AM EST Sunday, April 30, 2000
I think I'm going to replace all my copper plumbing with vinyl tubing.... On another interesting note; The sewage stack under the toilet is 6" copper pipe. Under
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 11:59 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Spent the whole day installing a bathtub, and faucet for same. Why is it that every labor area, carpentry, electrical, landscaping, painting, etc...all have standards that have remained for decades, but plumbing standards change EVERY DAMN TIME I HAVE TO WORK ON PLUMBING???!!! The old faucet was 2 inches too high, and 2 inches too far to the right. Partly because the new tub is narrower on the wall side, which also means the drain won't line up. AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGH!
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 11:50 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
AVB, Aparently you need to give me a couple months advance notice of your equipment sales. My ass is very sore from all the kicking I'm still inflicting upon it. I would've been VERY happy with your amp.
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 11:46 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Just in case somebody missed it; Has anybody had any experience with "Jeff's Sound Values"? It's an online used equipment site with an amp I'm interested in, but reluctant to buy from him. Somebody on this forum gave me the URL a long time ago. His warranty only covers DOAs, which worries me, but he's got a nice amp at a nice price. (I know, buyer beware)
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 11:39 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
That's something I never understood. If you leave the jumper in place, you are sending a full signal to both sets of connections. If you remove the jumper and bi-wire, or bi-amp, without changing the signal, you send a full range signal to both sets of connections. What's the difference??!! The internal x-over doesn't know if you bi-wire with or without the jumper, so how could it know if you bi-amp either?
BIG AL ( 204.248.58.61 ) at 11:31 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Happy Birthday Ron H.!! Happy Birthday New Doug!! Been a long time since I've been able to do that on the right day!
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:24 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Bi-amping
AVB: I was thinking (probably my problem) that the speakers would have crossovers. These crossovers would be separated by removing the jumpers.
Well I'll do some testing tomorrow.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 11:06 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Bi-amping
AVB: Thanks. Then what about bi-wiring?
Wouldn't you be doing the same thing?
AVB ( 208.157.96.253 ) at 10:21 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Bi-amping
Tony C: Yes Tony, you should be using an external crossover when you bi-amp otherwise you are sending the low frequency signal to the mids/tweeters along with the woofer. This could blow your tweets pretty quick UNLESS your speakers have some type of bi-amp setting on them that sends the unwanted signals to a dummy load internally.
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:58 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Bi-amping
You know, I think you're supposed to put some kind of transducer in line when you bi-amp. Is that correct? I remember reading something about an external cross over???
You guys know anything about that?
Tony C ( 208.209.205.66 ) at 9:56 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Bi-amping
Took me all day, but I finally finished.
THe Celeste HT5 now powers the center, and bi-amps the Mains (VT2s)
The Adcom 7000 (5-channel) now powers the sides and the rears.
That leaves one channel left over.
Tomorrow, I'm going to hook up a passive sub to the rears.
That will turn the Super Zeros into Colossal Zeros.
Man, I'm really tired.
Oh, the sound...........Not much different. I pretty much feel like I waisted my time. I used "ok" speader wire, $1.50 a foot.
But it was sounding really good before I did this and it kind of sounds the same now.
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 8:15 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Happy Birthday!
RonH,New Doug: Hope you guys had a great day!
KPD ( 207.180.0.8 ) at 8:14 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Happy Birthday!
Hope you guys had a great day!
Wild Bill ( 63.23.3.137 ) at 5:54 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Power Outage on the East Coast
AVB: So that was the problem!!
Ron H ( 63.26.163.122 ) at 5:39 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
AVB: You are insane!!!! LOL
AVB ( 208.157.96.79 ) at 4:57 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Ohhh BABY!! The house was rockin'. Tripped the breaker on the PowerPro 20 during Armmageddon.
Ron H ( 63.15.141.151 ) at 4:41 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Wild Bill:LOL. I think it is the "Boys" version.
Wild Bill ( 63.21.88.165 ) at 4:33 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Ron H: Good Fellows? Is that the Irish version of GoodFellas? haha!
Ron H ( 63.26.185.88 ) at 4:20 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Ron H: MLs
Rich F:I read your post asbout the MLs. I am dying to hear them but they have been to Houston yet. I agree with you that there is to my ears something special about the clarity of the MLs. I have had them in and out my house 3 times in the last six months while I tried and demoed other speakers. all I can say they are here to stay this time.
Ron H ( 63.26.185.88 ) at 4:17 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
JBC :Today is the day. The software is pretty cool. IK need to spend some time with it today to become familar with all it can do.
Others: Thanks for the good wishes. One of the posters is Good Fellows and the other is not a real movie but my wife knows I am a fanatic about the show and it is The Sopranos poster.
a good fellows and the other is not really a AARE
Wild Bill ( 63.21.88.165 ) at 4:00 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Ron H: Happy Birthday, Ron!! That wife of yours sounds like a keeper.
Joe aka Iguana Master ( 205.188.192.188 ) at 3:15 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Afternoon all,
Another Saturday at work. I have to go to a family party tommorrow, it will be a good chance to talk work with the cousins. Great day here, looks like a few blues and a little hockey this afternoon.
RickMTB ( 24.1.64.33 ) at 2:53 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Happy Birthday!
To Ron H. and New Doug
JBC: ( 209.167.238.130 ) at 2:14 PM EST Saturday, April 29, 2000
Tony C: Which amps are you using to bi-amp the NHT's? What differences do you expectto hear?