DogsOfWar

535 posts
Dogs of War was born in a crossfire hurricane. He wrestles alligators in the pouring rain.

Nothing Is Special Anymore – Why Movie Rentals Suck

7 comments

Have you noticed lately that your Netflix (or Redbox, Blockbuster, etc.) movies aren’t as feature packed as they used to be? The movie studio overlords had a problem, the rental houses only have to buy a disc once and then they can send it to hundreds or thousands of people. The studio oligarchy would much rather that individuals pay $30 each for individual copies of those movies. A new plan was needed.

Enter the “movie only” copies of DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Let us take the money making machine that is Twilight Eclipse as an example.

Your kids already forced you to take them to see it in the theater for $12 a pop plus snacks.  Now the whole point of getting the DVD or Blu-ray is to watch the special features, so they put it on their Christmas wish list.  Grandma goes to Best Buy and gets them the only copy they have left, the single disc DVD.  The back of the box doesn’t list any features, but granny doesn’t know anything about the schemes of movie studios.

Your kid and her friends just want to watch the commentary where the pale face Brit tells what it was like to make out with Miss Dead Eyes.  But it’s not there.  So, you march down to return the stupid thing (open box returns are fun) and you are presented with a well stocked after holiday shelf where you find the following:

1. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD
2. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Single-Disc Edition) DVD
3. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray on a flip disc
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Single-Disc Edition) Blu-ray

Can you guess which one has special features, or which features each one has?  If you said number 1 and 3 you’re win a prize (that being the ability to hear Miss Dead Eyes attempt to emote).  Further, can you guess which are the only ones the studios will sell to the rental companies?

This leaves only one question.  What took them so long?

Review: Music Hall USB-1 Turntable

When my wife told me she wanted a turntable for Christmas I knew this was going to be one of those gifts that I would enjoy just as much as she does.  When it came time to pick a turntable though I was confronted with a broad range of prices and products for what is a metal platter that spins a piece vinyl around in a circle. I immediately decided that  I had no use for a $2000 turntable.  Fortunately there were many in the $80 to $300 range from reputable companies that have made turntables for decades.

Another feature that  I didn’t need was the built in ability to transfer to a computer, though an astute reader will notice by the name of the review I ended up with that anyway.  I did want a built in phono pre-amp though since my receiver does not have a pre-amp and I didn’t want yet another component in the entertainment center.

It was Chris who suggested that I look at the Music Hall USB-1. The price was in the range I was looking at, it had a nice look to it and it included all of the features I wanted.  It also had positive reviews online so I decided to go for it.

It’s available on Amazon Prime (free 2 day shipping for Prime members) for $249.

We unboxed it immediately on Christmas day since I wasn’t about to have that thing sit unopened. Unfortunately we were at the mother-in-law’s so I had to improvise a hookup to her Sony soundbar setup. The turntable comes in a couple easy to assemble pieces and includes an Audio Technica AT3600L moving-magnet cartridge which locks easily into the tone arm.

The box includes a short RCA style stereo cable pair, USB cable and software for transferring music to a computer (which I haven’t used). The power cord is a standard 110V, two prong, polarized cord which is permanently affixed to the unit.

When we were able to get the unit home and I had time to hook it up I replaced the included RCA cables with longer gold tipped ones since I needed more reach and had an extra set in a drawer. The turntable is hooked up to a Pioneer VSX-9040THX receiver. The back of the turntable has a selector switch for sending the signal without modification or sending the signal through the built in pre-amp.

Aside from the receiver not having a pre-amp another bit of the past that is gone from the home entertainment center is the clearance necessary in a cabinet to lift the dust cover.  For this reason I had to install the turntable on a stand next to the main entertainment center. Fortunately the table was already there and being used for a phone and photo albums.  The photographs were replaced with the phonograph.

The first test album was Pet Sounds in mono.  My brain uses Sloop John B as a reference song for everything so this was handy.

The album is mono and goes to a stereo input so it plays only through the two main front speakers.  Setting a playback mode on the receiver will force it through the center channel as well, though this should be done with caution since it can add sound effects that are undesirable.  The turntable spins up quickly after the power switch is set to on and the start/stop button is pressed.

The sound quality is was great and the unit has a nice fluid operation to all of the functions. The second test album was Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast. This album was used but in nice condition.  Additionally it was recorded in stereo and has a nice range. You really can’t go wrong with Bruce Dickinson either. The sound reproduction was outstanding. The output level is a little lower than some of my other components so the listening level is a bit higher than for the TiVo.  The other thing that becomes immediately apparent is that these albums were released before the Loudness War.

The third test album was Abbey Road which sounded the best of all three. The sound was quit rich and carried nicely throughout the house.

We have purchased a few more modern albums since and await their arrival.

Santa Would Like to Leave You a Voicemail

6 comments

Google really knows how to make people like them and shill their products at the same time.  They have setup a Google Voice line just for Santa so you can have him call someone and leave a message.  I’m sure it’s aimed at convincing kids Santa really does exist but I have a suspicion that about 90% of these calls will be directed at adults and be slightly naughty, though this is tough to accomplish.

The basic idea is that you enter your name, the recipient’s name and then select various messages to include.  I sent one to the wife and she chuckled.

Since having only one Santa related product tie in isn’t enough for a company of their size, Google has also entered the highly lucrative Santa tracking game.

More info at the Google Voice Blog.

Technology Will Get Your Lazy Ass Out of Bed

2 comments

The most patented device is the US is the mousetrap, but I’m sure number two is the alarm clock.

Science has long promised us a graceful awakening based on our own body rhythms giving us a nice way to start the day. Instead we have been given alarm clocks that are loud, alarm clocks that run awy from us, ones that play only music you don’t like, ones that donate money to causes you hate for every minute you stay in bed. This kind of stick instead of carrot system has gone on far too long.

Now you can finally have a gentle marriage of technology and body rhythm to get your lazy ass out of bed.   WakeMate.

The website even lets you track your sleep paterns so you can obsessively search WebMD for sleep disorders that you have diagnosed yourself with.  Now wake up, fall out of bed, drag a comb across your head and get some coffee so you can really wake up.

What’s in a Name?

22 comments

Let’s talk about names. Please make sure to use a name we’ll recognize when commenting so that we know who you are. Even if you had to register with a name you didn’t prefer you can always add an alias or screen name so that it displays with what you want.

Change Your Passwords

15 comments

If you still have the default Crasstalk password then you need to change that to something else. Don’t use dictionary words, use upper and lower case and use special characters. And for the love of Jeebus don’t use your Gawker password here.