Recent Comments:
Cablevision asks FCC for a waiver to encrypt all Clear QAM channels {Engadget HD}
Nov 1st 2009 11:23AM They will get the waiver. TWC San Diego already got the waiver and is encrypting local HD OTA stations, requiring the use of a cable box for ANY HD programming.
This is a huge inconvenience for me now, as I HATE cable boxes and have several TVs that were set up to use their built-in clearQAM tuners to watch local HD programming. Now I can't do it. They threw this switch about a month ago.
Combine this with the fact that my single TiVo Series 3 with SDV is so flaky that I literally have to reboot it once a day (or more) or the SDV adapter stops changing the channels. (It was pretty stable, aside from the flaky TWC support for CableCard, prior to the SDV rollout.)
Thanks, FCC, for caving in to the cable providers and not sticking up for the consumer.
Clear QAM HD isn't going anywhere! {Engadget HD}
Nov 1st 2009 11:17AM You are completely wrong. My provider, Time Warner Cable in San Diego, now encodes ALL HD channels. Even the local HD OTA broadcasts, which previously were over ClearQAM, are now completely encrypted. TWC will give a "free" box to allow receiving these, but that's meaningless to me - the whole point for me was to NOT require having a cable box to receive local HD stations.....
This is what the God of War Collection will look like on your PS3 {Joystiq}
Oct 17th 2009 10:14PM Well, seeing this I'm not impressed anymore. I think it's awesome fan service that they are releasing this, and I've always wanted to play GoW1&2 but never had, and I have a 60GB PS3. I actually pre-ordered this game, but now I'm going to cancel it.
The reason is - all this work/effort and they didn't make it 1080p?!?!?!?! Unfortunately this just looks too much like playing a PS2 game, and once GoW3 comes out this is going to look like a joke.
I get the purpose of this collection, and I'm glad they are doing it, but they should hvae done it in 1080p - then it would truly have looked as good as it could have as a scaled-up PS2 game....
Activision: Guitar Hero 5 launch 'probably' franchise's best, DLC sales getting 'interesting' [update 2] {Joystiq}
Oct 14th 2009 10:33PM I just bought my first "guitar" music rhythm game about two weeks ago. I had read a lot about these games, and tried the RB and GH guitars in stores, and I decided that I wanted the more tactile feedback of the GH guitars. When I saw the VH GH5 special offer, I bought GH5 with the guitar, and have submitted for the free VH game.
Once I got GH5, however, I found that the available DLC content is a joke - there is very little available, even when you account for import of World Tour DLC.
Look at the available DLC for the RB series, there is absolutely no contest. There is simply so much more available for RB. So, I ended up buying the RB2 game to use with my GH5 guitar, because I can pick from so much more music.
I'm not sure why the GH5 and GHWT DLC catalogs are so small relative to RB (is it because there have been more GH games so more of the songs are already on other game discs???). But for me DLC is important so that I can pick and choose the music I like, and in this regard there is absolutely no comparison - RB/2 wins hands-down.
Firmware 3.0 loading times contrasted with 2.8 {Joystiq Playstation}
Sep 3rd 2009 2:57AM The animated themes are cool. THAT'S IT!
I HATE the fact that this firmware basically loads the entire XMB with advertisements.
I HATE the scrolling advertisement up by the clock.
I also DON'T NEED a Playstation Store icon in three different places in the XMB.
I HATE that on startup it defaults to the "What's new" advertisement for the Playstation Store.
The XMB is now just as bad as the XB360 interface in terms of being loaded with advertisements - the lack of which was on of the things I liked about the PS3.
Also, why can't I have a black background anymore, as I did (at night) with the previous firmware? Purple is the darkest color I can pick!?!?!?!?!?
Sony unveils two new 1080p Handycams {Engadget HD}
Jul 9th 2009 2:36AM Yes, this camera records at 1080i, not 1080p. It will upconvert to 1080p when the HDMI prot is used, however.
I don't get the whole point of that, though - I mean, my dang 1080p TV will do the upconversion from 1080i to 1080p anyway, so what is the freaking point of putting that in the camera????
May NPD: UFC on top while DS, PS2 take a beating {Joystiq}
Jun 13th 2009 8:44PM Can the console fanboy-ism end now, please? If you haven't figured it out yet, the home console war for this generation is OVER. Wii won, with XB360 in a distant second, and Sony in a close third. The handheld console war has been OVER for years, with Nintendo "whatever" (GBA, then DS) in first, and Sony a distant second.
Nintendo just blew everybody else out of the water this generation, and they don't even have to try right now (as evidenced by their E3 showings the last two years).
Yes, Sony sells two home consoles (although probably not for much longer), but no matter what they do at this point, they'll never make up for launching the PS3 a year after the XB360.
Note that I ONLY play my PS3, and will probably not ever buy a XB360. And personally I root for Sony in the console war. But, for this generation, what's done is done.
What WILL finally be interesting again is to see what happens when the XB360, PS3 and Wii are replaced - to see what lessons each manufacturer has learned and what they will do differently in the next generation several years from now....
iPhone 3G vs. iPhone 3G S: the tale of the tape {Engadget Mobile}
Jun 8th 2009 11:08PM No voice dialing on the existing 3G phone, even after OS 3.0 update? You are kidding me, right?
ESRB lists a slew of new PS1 classics for PSN {Joystiq Playstation}
May 31st 2009 4:06PM I was in Tokyo two weeks ago, and at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara there was a section in the store displaying the Advent Children Blu-Ray. On that same rack was a placard (in Japanese) explaining that Final Fantasy VII (PSOne version) was going to be released soon on the Japan PSN store.
Sony's Maguire: UMD 'wasn't brilliant' for third parties {Joystiq}
Mar 12th 2009 12:17AM I honestly don't understand why pulling the UMD drive out will all of a sudden make people love the PSP. So the device can get a little smaller. Big deal. It's still limited in size by the screen and the hand-held controls.
Why in the world would someone buy a PSP that could NOT play the current UMD game library? Look at how people screamed when the PS3 dropped PS2-back-compat. Even Nintendo fans were lamenting when the DSi dropped the GBA slot. But that's not even as bad as the UMD-less PSP concept.
Can you imagine if the DSi did NOT have a DS-cartridge slot?!?!?! It'd be the joke of the industry, instead of a best-seller in Japan right now.
IMHO, the only way a UMD-less PSP is going to sell is if it's a COMPLETELY NEW PLATFORM. I.e. new processor, graphics chip, dual sticks, etc. I.e. built for new software and games and completely breaks software compatability with the PSP. I.e. a true PSP2. (Obviously, I don't see Sony doing that anytime soon, with their current financial situation, lack of competition in their top-end handheld segment, etc.)
