Other Gadgets (general gadgets)

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Are there non-POS DVD players?

Just for starters.

Krell

Meridian

Pioneer Elite

McIntosh

Hell, even some Denon

But if you're really interested in a more in-depth discussion, you'll have to buy me drinks.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
Just for starters.

Krell

Meridian

Pioneer Elite

McIntosh

Hell, even some Denon

But if you're really interested in a more in-depth discussion, you'll have to buy me drinks.

Fair enough, but for those prices I can buy Sony by the case. and once I've gone through 10 of them, a better technology will have come along.

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Fair enough, but for those prices I can buy Sony by the case. and once I've gone through 10 of them, a better technology will have come along.

Jesus dude, what do you drive a Kia too? It's not all about the durability - otherwise you'd be wearing those shoes from Payless Shoe Source - like Star Jones.

Seriously. Start stepping up. A piece at a time. You'll love yourself for it.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by NotFromHere


Seriously. Start stepping up. A piece at a time. You'll love yourself for it.

I do. But I can't justify replacing my pretty good Sony until it breaks. I don't have McIntosh level stuff, but it's also well above home theatre in a box. Don't worry.

[pony_trekker]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
Jesus dude, what do you drive a Kia too? It's not all about the durability - otherwise you'd be wearing those shoes from Payless Shoe Source - like Star Jones.

Seriously. Start stepping up. A piece at a time. You'll love yourself for it.

Yeah but for a DVD player, unlike speakers or an amplifier, since it's just transmitting digital signals, is there any real difference in quality?. I realize that some of the moving parts are probably better-made, but what else can be?

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by pony_trekker
Yeah but for a DVD player, unlike speakers or an amplifier, since it's just transmitting digital signals, is there any real difference in quality?. I realize that some of the moving parts are probably better-made, but what else can be?

There are many differences, just like your computer doesn't just process digital information. Some processors are inherently faster than others. Better processors have a better filtering systems. All digital processors add noise to the music and picture. Filtering makes a big difference in picture quality and sound quality. You should just go check it out sometime - some retailers have an A/B system set up where you can see the differences. Also, vibration from the motors translates through the optics system and through the digital processors. That's one reason why the better units are heavier. Even the tightness of the seal on the sliding doors makes some difference. Granted, you get to a point where the differences become miniscule, but the difference between a $200 player and a $600 are very very visible on the right set. I've never understood why people will fork out $10k for an HD set and then use a piece of crap DVD player. It makes no sense.

[Mr. Man]

Originally posted by NotFromHere

You pay your money, you takes your chances. Shit happens.

How does that explain my dead Vandersteen subwoofer and fritzing Classe Audio CD player?

Certainly no guarantee of ultimate reliability because the unit was assembled by elves in Jim Fosgate's basement. I've always put the cash on the upper level stuff for the higher quality components, converters, etc. Doesn't necessarily improve reliability (but should, considering my Classe Audio remotes are 1/8 steel bad boys that weigh a ton).

[Mr. Man]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
I've never understood why people will fork out $10k for an HD set and then use a piece of crap DVD player...

...or Audioquest speaker cables...

In other news, the Straight Wire Maestro's are finally getting to move into a properly treated room. I can't wait to hear the unmasked beauty of the car horn in the beginning Runnin' With The Devil in a proper fashion once again. That is value for the money.

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Mr. Man
...or Audioquest speaker cables...

In other news, the Straight Wire Maestro's are finally getting to move into a properly treated room. I can't wait to hear the unmasked beauty of the car horn in the beginning Runnin' With The Devil in a proper fashion once again. That is value for the money.

What you should do is go out and buy some DVD audio discs. The sound is incredible. The Luther Vandross DVD audio recording is amazing, so is the Fleetwood Mac (even though the music is meh).

The Straight Wire has always sounded a little too harsh to me. But, with the right equipment, I guess it would be the right choice. As for the Classe, you know those Canadians!!

[Mr. Man]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
What you should do is go out and buy some DVD audio discs. The sound is incredible. The Luther Vandross DVD audio recording is amazing, so is the Fleetwood Mac (even though the music is meh).

The Straight Wire has always sounded a little too harsh to me. But, with the right equipment, I guess it would be the right choice. As for the Classe, you know those Canadians!!

Prefer the SACD, but point taken. My problem is two-fold -- first, the format war thing is drag so I am not doing too much yet, and second, the catalog is shit. Other than a handful of titles, there is not much I like listening to, even if some of them sound great. All this adds up to waiting a bit before getting too many.

On the dvd front, I have to say I don't like spending very much on video. Sure the picture looks better, but I need to see World Poker Tour in increasing accuracy? Given the prices, I prefer to use most funds on two channel audio, some on 6 channel audio, and as little as reasonable on video. DVD video is all compressed to heck anyway. Now if they came out with an uncompressed video format Rock Star file...

[mmm3587]

Has anyone here added a second drive or otherwise upgraded their TiVo? It almost seems to good to be true: send away for a relatively cheap upgrade, prefomatted and with all the tools and instructions, add a fan while you're at it, and it lasts even longer with 4x the storage.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by mmm3587
Has anyone here added a second drive or otherwise upgraded their TiVo? It almost seems to good to be true: send away for a relatively cheap upgrade, prefomatted and with all the tools and instructions, add a fan while you're at it, and it lasts even longer with 4x the storage.

I have an Ultimate TV (no longer sold, but still supported by M$oft), and I immediately removed the original 40GB drive and installed a 120GB one, giving me about 120 hours of high quality recording time, instead of the stock 40. Also put a laptop cooling fan under the unit to help cool it. I imagine it's just as easy on a Tivo, which is more popular, and probably been hacked even more. Not sure if you can just add a second drive (you can't on the UTV), or just use a bigger disk drive. I would think that keeping it all on a big drive is preferable, less to go wrong. Let me know if it works...someday I will be forced to switch to Tivo.

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by Flinty_McFlint
I have an Ultimate TV (no longer sold, but still supported by M$oft), and I immediately removed the original 40GB drive and installed a 120GB one, giving me about 120 hours of high quality recording time, instead of the stock 40. Also put a laptop cooling fan under the unit to help cool it. I imagine it's just as easy on a Tivo, which is more popular, and probably been hacked even more. Not sure if you can just add a second drive (you can't on the UTV), or just use a bigger disk drive. I would think that keeping it all on a big drive is preferable, less to go wrong. Let me know if it works...someday I will be forced to switch to Tivo.

We did the same thing to our Tivo. I could not tell you anything about the installation process, but it works quite well now. And we have more memory than we could ever use. 120 hours sounds about right. All on one big drive. Now we are awaiting the Tivo HDTV model trade-up, along with satellite HDTV upgrade. I have been told this will all be fully operational in time for NFL season this year.

PS. for the spinster couple-haters, I use "we" as a clarification in this context in that it really wasn't me yet I have some knowledge of what "we" have done. and I hope to reap the benefits.

If you're techie enough to have done a DIY upgrade (Flinty), don't even *think* of switching to Tivo; you should clearly be a Replay customer (much better hacks, opensource software tools, etc. available). You should still be able to snag one of the good 4500/5000 models with commercial advance on eBay.

For mmm, I've never done one, but based on descriptions, I would think the prepackaged upgrades would be easily manageable.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by credit this
If you're techie enough to have done a DIY upgrade (Flinty), don't even *think* of switching to Tivo; you should clearly be a Replay customer (much better hacks, opensource software tools, etc. available). You should still be able to snag one of the good 4500/5000 models with commercial advance on eBay.

For mmm, I've never done one, but based on descriptions, I would think the prepackaged upgrades would be easily manageable.

Heh, I am a geek. I have an upgraded ReplayTV too, but not the model with commercial advance, I just have the model that has no subscription fee. But when I switched to DirecTV, only UltimateTV and Tivo were "suppported", meaning, my ReplayTV guide isn't able to update itself with the DTV channels. I still run it upstairs on the bedroom tv, but I still need to use two remotes. What good cracks are available for the newer Replay models?

Best,

Flinty