But not today.  Everything went up!

I wonder what drove the prices up?  Is it Christmas shopping season already?  Whatever it is, I have “Delayed Buyer Remorse”, watching my Printer selection went up from $70 to $108!

Ah well, I waited this long, I might as well keep waiting.

Photo Credit: raga

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

I Snooze I Lose

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From the pictures below,  I’ve been trying to get keep them neat and manageable.  Unfortunately, those two words don’t go together.  I always started off neat, with cables twist-tied, labeled, and grouped together.  However, as the months go by, I would be adding new equipments and peripherals.  I would end up ripping cables out, and adding more cables in.  Taking everything out just to add one or two cables are not practical.  So I would just thread them back there, and tried my best to keep them out of sight.

Part of my efforts, to keep them under control, is to remove as much unused electronics and peripherals.  For example, I just got rid of the Dish Network satellite receiver, and managed to get rid of at least 8 different cables.  I’m also converting to HDMI cables where video/audio all go through one thin cable, instead of 2 big fat ones.

If I do have to add another box, I’ll pick one that requires less or no cable.  It’s a good thing Guitar Hero World Tour guitar and drum kits are wireless.

I’ve taken a gallery of photos of my electronics’ back sides.  It looks like I’ve got some work to do.

[Show as slideshow]

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Note: The New York Times has an article about cable issues.  I’m not alone in this mess!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Wrangling Cables

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Fast forward to 2008, I now have over 400 discs.  My DVD list is online (Warning: the images from the list may take a long time to download with slow internet connection), thanks to a program called Libra that lets me scan the UPC code using a Webcam, and populate its internal database automatically.  I had a similar list in a MySQL database back in 2002, but I lost that.  I’m planning to code a new PHP based site and migrate this Libra list to MySQL again.  A customized site with search capability will also help me search my database while I’m out DVD shopping – usually at Walmart and Fry’s in the $5 bargain bins.  It should help minimize buying dupes.

Additionally, I always wanted to do movie reviews on this site.  I’ll need to painstakingly review all of my movies and enter them into the new database.  I’ve already started reviewing on Facebook’s Flixster application.  They’re not extensive reviews, just quick fire ones.  I’ll need to find the time to get started on these projects!

I’ve also started my HD-DVD collection, what’s left of the format in the market.  What’s nice about my HD-DVD player is that it’s a very capable upconverting DVD player.  Watching DVD movies at 1080i resolution is a very nice bonus.  I definitely see a difference in picture quality.  If I didn’t have the HD-DVD player, I would consider getting the recently announced Toshiba XDE “special” upconverting hardware. I’m just not ready to sink in big dollars to Bluray player and discs, yet.

So, here’s hoping for DVD’s longevity.  I look forward to keep on expanding my DVD collection.

Photo Credit: Elijapa

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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Reception to this news is met with much skepticism. If Toshiba is trying to squeeze more pixels out of a standard DVD’s 480p resolution and label it as “the new high resolution format”, then it’s obviously over-reaching!  Toshiba is not the expert in viral marketing.  The rumors about Toshiba’s next project created more head shakes than head turns.  Maybe Toshiba had relied on the product to speak for itself in the past, but in today’s information hungry consumers, they expect more from the company’s marketing department.

Now it looks like Toshiba is venturing into Internet based rich content (possibly interactive) using the existing DVDs.  The idea has its merits, but there are questions that need to be answered:

1. Is it safe to assume everyone has Internet access?  If they do, will they have Ethernet or Wi-Fi installed so it can talk to the new DVD Download DL enabled players?  Geeks like me will have Wi-Fi available, but some (most?) folks will not.  This may change when Laptops and Ultra Portable PCs are becoming standard equipment in every household.
2. Does a regular DVD watcher really care about interactive Internet enabled extra contents?  Maybe when it’s available people will start using it.  “If you build it, they will come.”
3. Is it going to be cheap?  The reason HD-DVD became so popular during its last days was because the price actually went all the way down below $150.  Toshiba may use this strategy again.  Sony still has yet to learn this lesson.
4. What will happen to Multi-discs, Super Special Ultimate Edition, Fancy-boxed set DVDs?  All of the extras are usually included in the purchase.  DVDs will go back to 1 disc format, one version release, making it a simpler choice.

Then there’s the ever curious CH-DVD or Chinese HD-DVD standard that was also recently approved.  It’s basically HD-DVD for China and its market.  What market may that be?  Chinese made movies, such as from Hong Kong, Taiwan, or the mainland?  Or is it more towards the “free” variety?  Obviously Toshiba will not encourage piracy, but the way for mass adoption is always via underground.  Other such successful adoptions include MP3, DiVX, Xvid, and VCD.  It sure raises a lot of eye brows.

So are you ready for the next generation DVD experience?

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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• The Toshiba HD-A3 is now down to $129 at Amazon.  Pretty good deal for anyone who wants to buy an great 1080p upconverting DVD player with HD capabilities.
• Why Toshiba failed to market HD-DVD properly.   They’re not as aggressive as Sony.  Sony went all out to ensure their stuff is displayed in front of the store.  One of us saw an entire section devoted for Blu-ray viewing, complete with couch and dark room at a local Best Buy.  I saw Blu-ray demo with Night at the Museum and Harry Potter 5 being shown on a glorious 3D-like 120Hz Samsung LCD TV.  Alas, the Toshiba HD-DVD are relegated to the side, shown on a regular Toshiba Regza LCD.   It also doesn’t help the vendor’s sales folks don’t actively promote the Toshiba products either.
• Take the Amtrak train for a tour of California.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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• Backwards compatible. I can still play my 300+ DVD collection on the HD-DVD player.  I’ve been a DVD collector since 1997.
• It upconverts 480i DVDs to 1080i via HDMI cable.
• The movies that I care about are available on HD-DVD such as Batman Begins, Troy – Director’s Cut, 300, The Bourne Trilogy, Transformers, etc.
• I work for Toshiba!

The only drawback is now I have to upgrade my TV and A/V Receiver. Currently I have the Samsung 42″ Widescreen HDTV DLP TV which is somewhat inadequate for viewing 1080i resolution movies. The good thing is the TV has an HDMI input, which I’m using to connect to the HD-DVD player. Also, I have the Denon AVR-2800 receiver which has a Bitstream based digital audio decoder. The HD-DVD player can only output PCM using HDMI cable, which is not compatible with the receiver. So I’m currently stuck with Dolby Prologic audio.

Other than that, I’m looking forward to find out more about this player and what it can do. I still have to explore the online/interactive feature. Then there’s the bunch of HD-DVDs to buy, rent, and borrow. Looks like I need more holidays!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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