Recent Comments:
CNET UK hosts Blu-ray player load time shootout, PS3 wins {Engadget HD}
Nov 29th 2008 11:30PM These things take time. If any of you ever followed the Secrets' DVD Benchmark, it took a super high-end Denon and the relatively cheap in comparison Oppo in until we had near-perfect DVD players. Of course that was all dependent on how they actually treated the image and in small part based on their responsiveness. Not that many DVD players were speedy for the most part. Here we've always had an issue with initial loading times but I don't see any problems with the image so I can deal with that.
Regardless, I've had a PS3 since mid-2007 and always knew it was the fastest as I tested others on display. I've never had a problem with load times, you only "deal" with it once and then you're fine, its similar to boot-up time on a PC. Its the previews if anything I have issue with.
Sony's PlayStation 3 tops another "Best Blu-ray player" list {Engadget HD}
Nov 25th 2008 10:31PM If I'm not mistaken the original Playstation played a hand in helping dvd's becoming popular as well. It may not have been THE dvd player of choice but you can't argue that being able to use a kid's system to play movies in an optical format was great (i.e. no extra purchase) and was a revolutionary step forward just like going from cassette tapes to compact discs were. Sony is hoping for similar results with the PS3.
Arguing that a game console "decided" the war is nonsense. #1 it didn't decide the war, the majority of studios backing Blu-Ray did that. I also don't think we have any numbers that show how much PS3 owners contributed to sales. Regardless, thats MS' fault for not doing the same with XBox 360. #2 Honestly, what is the big deal ? We're still in the infancy of this. I'm quite happy with what we have now and if people are turned off by how much BR costs now and how the next thing is "around the corner", thats a long way off and won't be cheap either. Times are changing. I know PS3s may not be as simple as powering on and putting in a disc but hey, if you want the newest, you've got to learn. There are stand-alone units for those who don't want to, they're just not getting as good a value. No one is forcing anyone to buy a PS3 but those who are informed know better.
Going slightly off-topic.... The adoption of blu-ray will be slower than that of dvd simply because its an evolutionary step. Theres another article on here that talks about people owning HDTVs and still don't have or know about HD programming. Your average consumers are slow and ignorant when it comes to technology and not very rationale. Prices need to come down and HDTV ownership needs to become more prevalent. Then the education can start. All this predicting that its already over and digital distribution will win out yadda yadda is ridiculous. Has iTunes become the de facto standard ? When the time comes, we'll know. Speculating now is as bad as ESPN choosing who'll be in the Super Bowl before the pre-season even starts. DVD took years to become mainstream and only did so once players and media came down.
Plus, the young consumers who've grown up surrounded by technology will become older, have more expendable income and will push the adoption rate higher and faster. Its only a matter of time BUT time will tell. For the time being, enjoy whatever it is that you want.
Many first-time HDTV buyers bypassing the HDTV service {Engadget HD}
Nov 25th 2008 10:10PM They just want a shiny new tv cuz its now sexy to have one. Who could care less if the picture is actually worse now. Older tvs were better since they were designed for 480i. Now everything is stretched or zoomed too cuz of those dreaded black bars. Are they still making Full Screen dvds btw ? UGH.
Will tough times give RPTVs one final breath of life? {Engadget HD}
Nov 18th 2008 2:00PM My apologies, it didn't seem that long when I typed it, LOL.
The Dark Knight features BD-Live chat with Chris Nolan for first 100,000 -- Bat Growl not included {Engadget HD}
Nov 18th 2008 1:50PM Its cool but I won't be rushing out to try to be in the first 100,000. I mean, what the heck are you going to ask him ? and I love his movies. I, myself, don't have anything interesting to ask. I hope we can at least watch or DL it.
Will tough times give RPTVs one final breath of life? {Engadget HD}
Nov 18th 2008 1:49PM Wow, the dissing of RPTV never ends ! First off, in case you don't know, they've always given the best picture and with the advent of flat panels, the best value for the money. Remember these sets used to cost $4-6K. Its just supply and demand. Look how cheap plasmas have gotten as manufacturers push LCD. About RPTV's only disadvantages are of course depth of the unit, viewing angle, screen brightness and uniformity, and lack of 1080p on older models (but they all will do 1080i and 480p/540p).
I still have a 2003 Hitachi 57" CRT in my home theater and its fantastic. I go from my normal viewing of a 2007 Sony 60" SXRD and can't believe how good the CRT still looks after all these years and it probably needs a cleaning and I'd love a calibration. I've even considering swapping them as the Sony has 1080p and tv broadcasts aren't that high anyway.
So lets start on their downsides. Viewing angle. Honestly, who in the world tries to watch directly to the left or right of the screen ? The ACTUAL viewing angles you'll be using at home aren't that bad (or shouldn't be). It just seems that way as you're at Best Buy or what have you and you walk alongside or look down the row of tv's and see the barely viewable RPTV. But is that how you'll be watching in your home ? Do you purposely put yourself out of the sweet spot ? Vertical angle is actually the major one to worry about but these things aren't mounted high up on walls so that shouldn't be an issue. Its not as good obviously but in actual use ? In my home theater, this only happens if you're way off to the side sitting near the FRONT speakers in which case, you're screwed anyhow.
Depth of the unit. Not that bad, I think my SXRD is 15", far better than my Hitachi at 25" plus it needs more inches in the rear to accommodate cabling. The Sony's are off to the side where it doesn't interfere and is actually much nicer to get to. Is it worse than 3-5" and wall-mountable ? For sure. If you're able to live with the depth, however, non-issue. I understand the sexy-ness factor and if you have space constrictions but not everyone is affected by this.
The main things I notice when comparing them (flat panel vs RPTV) is that they don't seem as bright or detailed in comparison, those are the two biggest things to me. BUT, remember these things are in torch mode and have sharpening settings on full or high. At home, I sit 6-8 feet away from either of my sets and trust me, I don't sit there wanting more brightness nor detail. In fact, my settings are set to 50% or below for most settings. I can increase these or put them to VIVID if I want that wow or pop in the image that I'm sure most of the uninformed consumer really like. Of course, then its too bright for prolonged use (especially when the lights are off) and things are over-sharpened and people have sunburned skin.
The point is, image-wise, once you get it home and you don't have a torch lit set next to it to compare, you don't miss it or want more. Your eyes become accustomed to it and you'll be perfectly content. What you see at the store is not the correct way to view anyhow and will shorten your set's life, (at least in terms of brightness) but I know people like it and most might not even go into their video/picture settings.
RPTV are on their way out and I've wanted a flat panel but the price and the fact that I'm getting lesser of a great picture has deterred me. Did you ever hear about a CRT set having a poor black level ? Did you ever see artifacts or macroblocking on a CRT set ? Did you know your old CRT set can do 1080i while it took flat panels seemingly forever to get there (at a much higher price and again, with less than ideal image characteristics) ? Btw, CRTs aren't constrained to a native resolution so don't look like crap when they're not. RPTVs are older technology but most uninformed people don't realize they've always had a better image qualities. Its old but proven and is still great if unpopular due to its form factor.
Details of Netflix's Blu-ray premium emerges: $1.00 per month {Engadget HD}
Aug 1st 2008 10:17PM So hardly any of you think that Netflix was extremely nice and gave us all a real treat by allowing us the option of renting HD discs for absolutely nothing extra ? Now, 18+ months later a $2 increase and you're upset? I jumped on the blu-ray wagon primarily due to Netflix letting me rent HD versions and picked up a PS3 cuz theres no way I'm paying $30-40 for a movie but being a HD and a movie lover, I honestly went as long as I could w/o tasting movies in HD. And I don't know about the rest of you but I was content subscribing to Netflix for DVDs, and then I get the choice of getting it in HD ? Hello, Bonus !!
*begin sarcasm* But to those that have been upset, I wholeheartedly agree with you, I mean even when I didn't know how much the increase was, I was furious !! and now that I know its $2/month, OMG !! All you Netflix supporters, don't you realize what $2 can get you ?!?!? It can easily get you.... umm... hold on.... wait, oh ya, you can get 2 things off the dollar menu !! Before tax !!! and that'll surely keep you hungry for a month I'm sure. Or half a gallon of gas which is good for something like 10-15 miles for most of us. I'm cancelling my subscription and everyone else should too !! I say BOYCOTT !! This is unreasonable !! So I agree, Netflix = Rip Off *end sarcasm*
Lastly, please do let me know what better options we have for renting Blu-Ray or watching any movies available in HD, I'd love to know.
Industry professionals chime in with preferred demo material {Engadget HD}
Jul 22nd 2008 6:22PM That list was a bit lame, 90% of it was for music, I love music myself but ur gonna play what u like when it comes to music unlike movies where you'll play crap that you don't like but has great visuals.
I'll throw in a hidden underappreciated gem and one of my fav movies of all time, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. Honestly, great movie that gets better every time, unfortunately due to its technical jargon, I know a lot of ppl who don't get it and get bored but it truly is a great movie AND has cannonballs whizzing by your head, what more can you ask for !?!!/
Aside from whats already been listed by others, I also use Collateral, The Matrix, Serenity, LOTR, and if you have a realy quiet environment, No Country For Old Men is great. Lastly, if you wanna bring the house down, theres War of Worlds (recent version), simply insane if you have an able subwoofer. I didn't like the movie but its a great showcase. Reminds me Minority Report (another Speilberg/Cruise collaboration) is good as well as Saving Private Ryan but a just a teeny bit graphic.
Now I just can't wait for Wall-E !!
Poll: Where do you buy your Blu-ray Discs? {Engadget HD}
Jul 12th 2008 12:48PM I'd say its about 75% Amazon and the remaining at Best Buy/Wal-Mart, just depends who has the better price for the given title(s) or if I can't wait and/or if the price difference isn't more than say $5. Inititally it was all BB (mid-2007) before Amazon started discounting BR titles. Prices seem to have come down all around lately, at BB in the beginning you rarely couldn find any title under $29.99, if not $34.99 and its still sort of that way but more titles are around $24.99 or $19.99.
Amazon FTW. Now where are all the tv shows and anime on blu-ray at ?!?!??
Poll: Do you own / plan to own an HTPC? {Engadget HD}
Jul 5th 2008 3:20PM well I was going to pick the "aiming to get one" option but then seeing how I haven't bought a pre-made system (laptop aside) since my very first PC back in 1992, wheres the build / DIY option ???
I've had a mini-HT since 2003 and never built myself a HTPC although I've looked at 'em over the years and considered it, but like a front projection setup w/100" screen, it just hasn't happened yet. I built a PC last year to replace my 4 year old one (to play BioShock, Call of Duty 4, etc.) and got a gigantor case, Coolermaster Cosmos. I'm happy with it but it weighing around 40-50 lbs and in the bedroom upstairs, its not going anywhere. I made up my mind that my next PC will be #1 - cheap (under $1,000) and #2 - small form factor and of course super quiet if not dead silent (passive cooling). All my setups I've built are quiet aside from my first custom built PC back in the 90's that sounded like a blow dryer, no lie. I dunno how I used that thing for so long. Anyway, all those requirements I've set for myself are perfect for a HTPC, hopefully later this year. Then finally a FP setup =D
