Half Price Matinee

Belkin introduces new HDMI switch

Curt — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 15:58:37 +0000

This new piece of gear from Belkin is a three to one HDMI switch, which would give me some future proofing for equipment I decide to add down the road.

Supports resolutions up to 1080p (so all of them, I guess) and it even comes with a 6 foot HDMI cable.

What’s all this gonna cost you? $200… later this Summer.

Opt-in TV

Curt — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 19:41:16 +0000

Television, as you know it, is dead.

No, not because there’s 57 channels and nothing on (actually, there’s more like 500 channels and 2 things on), its because the user model for the future of television is not ‘channel surfing’, its ‘opt-in’.

What the heck am I talking about? Go here to find out…

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I think that television already is, and will be forced to continue, changing. Just head on over to iTunes and look at how many shows have episodes for download. It seems like everyone is getting in on the act and no one wants to be left behind.

The major sticking point with any new distribution concept is going to be that nastiest of three-letter words… DRM. Content producers are always, first and formost, going to want their shows locked down six ways from Sunday, it’s the nature of the beast. That being said, it’s always nice to see people testing the boundaries for what might someday become my living room experience.

Comcast To Begin Testing HD TiVo?!

Curt — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 19:08:29 +0000

According to a thread on AVS forum, Comcast plans on beta testing their HD DVR with TiVo software next month! This could just be a rumor but it sounds legit since the Comcast TiVo deal has been in the open for quite some time now.—

I love my dual-tuner HD DVR, supplied from my cable company, but it would be ~~perfect~~ great if it had a better interface like TiVo. It would be perfect if it allowed me to transfer shows to my computer for storage (especially the big-ass HD documentaries I’m so fond of recording)…

The Reality of 7.1 Surround Sound

Curt — Sat, 20 May 2006 04:11:07 +0000

A decision I’ve been mulling over lately was made easier today when I read an article by Mark Fleischmann regarding the truth and lies of multi-channel surround sound. Mark talks matter of factly about the different setups, 5.1, 6.1 and of course, 7.1
Bottom line?

For a normal (read: small) home living room like mine, 5.1 is sufficient
More output channels means more work for the receiver
The almost complete lack of material encoded in either 6.1 or 7.1 sound

So that’s one less thing to think about. Now I can focus on a good, component switching HT receiver with HDMI I/O. Should save me some money too.

Read the complete article here at Digital Trends and tell me if you can think of a good reason to spring for 6.1 or 7.1 sound.

How-To access your PC from anywhere with a thumb drive

Curt — Fri, 19 May 2006 17:35:23 +0000

A how-to that shows how to use a remote access program called UltraVNC and a USB thumb drive to bypass school and work PC restrictions. Also includes a pre-made portable app. setup for your thumb drive.
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This is a handy guide, with an even better ongoing discussion in the comments. I plan on using this to gain access to all my media files (music, photos, video) when we go over to friend’s houses. Check it out.

Choose my cable channels? Yes please

Curt — Wed, 17 May 2006 22:22:53 +0000

Ala Carte, the dream of many television enthusiasts, whereby you choose (and pay for) only the channels you actually want. It’s an idea that’s been out there for a long time. The basic argument breaks down like this:

Consumer - I will never, ever, in my life, watch the Oxygen channel, LIfetime, C-SPANs 1 thru 20, or any home shopping network; could you please not force me to buy the Ultra-Mega-Combo package with all these channels included just because I want the NFL Network?

Cable Company - If we allowed people to only buy the channels they wanted, then all the channels with a small subscriber base would not generate enough income to stay on the air, leaving only the “most popular” stations.

Now, while I could care less if Lifetime stays or goes, I’d be pretty miffed if I lost one of the channels I enjoy. As it stands now, I’ll watch almost anything on my new 130″ High-Def television, but I can imagine that might get old after awhile.

What do you think? Would you be willing to risk losing a channel you like to only pay for the channels you wanted?

Guitar Hero gets better? Presenting Freetar Hero

Curt — Wed, 17 May 2006 21:56:36 +0000

For those about to rock, I salute you.

One of my guilty pleasures in life is firing up Guitar Hero on the PS2 and rocking out to 130″ of big screen Rock-concert goodness. You really can, for a brief moment, feel like a golden god.

So imagine my suprise yesterday when I stumble upon this post about some genius in Ottawa who is creating a PC version of Guitar Hero. But wait, it gets better, he’s trying to make it so that you can play almost any music song on your PC through this program and using the Guitar Hero PS2 peripheral… Awesome!

Here’s a link to Modern Savant, where I first heard about Freetar Hero.

Create your own Phillips Ambi light?

Curt — Wed, 17 May 2006 16:45:49 +0000

One of my favorite sites, Gizmodo, presents me with a never ending stream of (generally) useless things to spend my money on.

Today they have the “Hipper-100″, which basically is a glowing egg that changes color based on the music you pipe through it. So my first thought was, “Could I buy a couple of these, connect them to my home theater, and have a poor man’s Phillips Ambi Light system?”

Go take a look at what I mean over here at Gizmodo and then come back and tell me if you think it’s possible.