Recent Comments:
GTA IV sets sales records with 6 million unit / $500 million first week {Engadget HD}
May 7th 2008 4:25PM I was having the same freezing issues on loading... easy solution: log out of PSN. Not a single freeze again in hours of play.
Weirdly if you get the freeze and try to quit the game, it actually panics the ps3 and makes it watchdog reset. First time I've had anything go weird on my ps3.
HDTV Listings for April 4, 2008 {Engadget HD}
Apr 4th 2008 7:28PM Drat.. I'm on TWC in San Diego and we still don't have sci-fi in HD. Or History, or a whole slew of others. Grr..
Warner to finally bring V for Vendetta to Blu-ray {Engadget HD}
Mar 31st 2008 7:57PM At this point, I think the smart move for BSG on BD would be to just wait for the 4th season to finish, then do a nice box set of "the whole story" including the mini, Razor, etc.. in one package. Of course they should redo the S1 encode and do the rest properly, include all the content that's been on the DVDs and web, etc.
Could be a hell of a set if they'd do it right.
Warner's $400 mil payoff rumor rides again {Engadget}
Feb 24th 2008 1:47PM "The vast majority of consumers didn't even know there was a "format war" going on."
Some do, and adoption of most new tech tends to go in waves.. there're always the early adopters who will buy just about anything new (I fit into that group, usually). Then the tech grows some with more widespread purchasing, not the "masses" yet, but it spreads beyond the early adopters which helps it get out into more homes to get more exposure to those masses.. this seems to usually be at the point where the price comes down and the tech shows up more in places like Costco.
My dad is a good example of the 2nd group. He's usually not an early adopter, but buys some tech (especially TV tech) before it really expands to the masses more. He bought a VCR way back in the day before it really started growing. Did the same with CD, HDTV, etc. He bought when the tech came down in price enough to appeal to him, and usually also him seeing it at Costco helps. In the case of HD-DVD vs Blu-ray.. he told me he wasn't buying either because he saw the two techs and thought of Beta/VHS and didn't want to get burned. Yes the comparison isn't really the same, but that's what he (and a lot of people out there) think, and he told me this about the HDM discs the very first time I talked to him about them.. so he knew about the format "war" and is not a techie person at all.
As little as he keeps up with tech (he basically looks at stuff at Costco when there or from TV commercials) shows that there was this impression of a format war out there even with non tech people.
Xbox 360 failure rate at 16 percent? {Engadget}
Feb 23rd 2008 11:11PM masterchief:
Yeah, good luck with that hope. I just had my Elite model die on me after only a couple months. Not RROD but the DVD drive just ate it.. can't read anything. Waiting on box to ship it in for fixing.
That makes 2 out of 3 360s to die on me inside of a year now... thankfully I had my pre-elite one I kept as part of my "mobile Rock Band kit" :) The failure rate on these is pathetic. I've had consoles going back to the 8bit NES and have never had a complete failure like this.
Meanwhile both my Ps3 and Wii continue to chug along without any issues, and my PS3 is used practically every single day (it's my default DVD playback device too).
Poll: So, what are you HD DVD early adopters going to do? {Engadget HD}
Feb 18th 2008 3:16AM Hmm... must be a conspiracy. My elite model just died on me today too.. was re-playing Portal on Orange Box and it stopped reading the disc partway through. Now it wont read any discs at all... I tried multiple and all the suggestions online (like deleting caches, etc). That's 2 out of 3 360s to die on me inside of a year.
1. Died with RROD, I stupidly opened it up and tried the fixes from online and voided my warranty (didn't want to wait weeks for a fix) and it didn't work.
2. I'd bought an elite for the larger HDD and HDMI port.. thankfully, so I still have a backup that I can use (no HDMI though). Had kept the 2nd one for taking to family gatherings to play Rock Band. :)
Glad the hdd is interchangeable and easy to swap.
Samsung sued for defective Blu-ray players {Engadget HD}
Feb 11th 2008 2:25AM Student Driver...
Sony may be a satan, but the HD side has Microsoft as part of its team, so both camps suck when it comes down to it.
I've also been a big Samsung fan for most things (seriously eyeing their 72" DLP set for an upgrade) but I also had a seriously bad experience with their 250Gig HM-250JI drive which seems like it had serious design flaws from all the hits I got on the net about issues. Ironically my custom bathroom countertops and sinks were made by Samsung.. never knew they did that kind of thing until I got them. My parents also have a Samsung fridge that they just love. Every now and then everyone makes a mistake though.
As an owner of both a PS3 and a 360 with the HD add-on.. I've also (YMMV) never had a single issue with playback or functionality with BD movies (I own about 40 BD movies to about 10 HD movies) but have had continual issues on the HD side. From HDi locking up playback on the 360 until I completely erase caches and then disable the network functionality to movies that just won't play back (Bourne Ultimatum became unplayable after about 2/3 in)... the HD side has seriously let me down.
When it comes to the HDM disc wars, I'm leaning BD based on my own experiences. The price differences still suck, but they'll come down once the "war" is completely over anyway.
Why the PS3 isn't the best Blu-ray player {Engadget HD}
Jan 2nd 2008 7:32PM Oops.. yeah, I forgot about universal remotes. After going through many, including a pretty expensive Harmony one.. I find I don't care for them for the most part. Most of my TV viewing using my S3 Tivo, and none of them feel as natural as the Tivo remote. I use my stereo's remote (Marantz) for basic power and device choice (all things switch via stereo) and I use the bluetooth remote for PS3 (and IR remote for 360).. but still find using those 4 total remotes less hassle then universals.
I know it sounds backwards, but I always had some things that most universals I tried either didn't do at all, or just would not learn (or would keep losing) and I just gave up on them awhile back.
If I had to guess though, I'd break down my watching to about 60% Tivo/TV... maybe 38% BD/DVD on PS3 and remaining 2% HD-DVD on 360. With the stereo remote for quick use to switch devices in between changes, and to power on stereo/tv.
Why the PS3 isn't the best Blu-ray player {Engadget HD}
Jan 2nd 2008 6:56PM "No, we're not talking about the lack of IR remote (easily solved with a $15 adapter)"
This is a joke, right? I think the bluetooth remote for the PS3 is far better than any IR remote. I love being able to use the thing even while it's still in the cubby-hole of my chair-side table, instead of having to make sure it's pointed right at the thing. I used to have all kinds of problems with my 360 remote specifically because it was IR and I had the consoles facing 90 degrees from me (they were in a unit on the side wall.. now they're all right next to the TV facing me).
