So, we all know that everyone who’s ANYONE picked up an HD-A2 the other day. We know that. We also know that all the Audioholics crew picked one up (because we told you). So, what happens when a bunch of Audioholics get a piece of equipment… well, let’s call it “demystification” (or – Tom has an issue).
As a reviewer, I am often switching out gear. It’s a fact of life. Recently, in a fit of what can only be described as “uncharacteristic lucidity” I set up a stand next to my component cabinet with the Oppo HM-31 HDMI switch connected to one of the HDMI inputs on my Denon 2307CI which streams the video up to the Westinghouse LVM-42×2 via HDMI to DVI cable. Why HDMI to DVI cable? Because (as I learned during the review of the Sony BDP-S300) the HDMI input on the Westinghouse don’t likie 1080p (it’ll show it but it comes out full of sparkles). Got it? Good. Read more…
So you’d think after all the grief I give J and Dina over Steve Jobs and his iCult that Bill Gates would think I was the bees knees. Nope. Let’s talk about Halo friend. After a long and painful wait for my copy to arrive, I get to play it all of 3 times before I get the red ring of death. That’s right, my Xbox is now an Xdoorstop. This brings the failure rate of Xbox 360s among full time Audioholics staff to 66.6% (oh yes, the number of the beast and not coincidentally the combination on Bill Gates’ luggage). Gene’s died a while ago (took them around 2 weeks to get it back to him from the time he shipped it off) though they said it might be more like 4 weeks+ for me. Here’s how it goes: Read more…
Just ask Sony
So, here’s what I think happened in the Sony boardrooms this Monday:
Suit 1: “Dude! We got pwned over the weekend! This Wal-Mart “not-so-secret” sale has really been a shot in the arm for HD DVD.”
Suit 2: “I know. And there is so much buzz about it that all those people that missed out on the deal are on the prowl for a HD DVD player.”
Suit 3: “No one is even talking about Blu-ray.”
Suit 1: “So, what do we do about it?”
Suit 4: “Um… we could lower the price of our players?” Read more…
or “Why J and Dina should not be allowed to rate movies on Netflix”
So I’m thinking about HD DVD purchases – specifically from Netflix where I’ve acquired a number of cheap used DVDs in the past (and have been extremely happy with the purchases). I go to the store page but I can’t find any listings of Blu-ray or HD DVDs anywhere. I call customer service (after poking around the FAQs) and they tell me that you can select that after you select the disc to buy. What? That makes no sense. So you have to want to buy the movie and then they’ll tell you what formats they have available? Hey, there are plenty of movies that I might consider picking up on HD DVD that I either don’t want (or already have) on DVD. Whatever. They’ll figure it out or I’ll just purchase elsewhere.
Of course, this leads me to check out what my friends are renting and rating. Read more…
‘Cause it’s feeling a lot like Christmas around here. Or at least Black Friday. With Wal-Mart’s deal on HD DVD players ($99 – if you’re reading this and you haven’t bought one, don’t bother trying – they’re sold out) it’s been a little like an Audioholics feeding frenzy. The Montessori school I send my kids to was off today (teacher planning or something – which is complete BS but that’s another rant) so I had the kids this morning. Being the pseudo good father I am, I take them to the zoo (the “good” comes from taking them to the zoo, the “pseudo” comes from dressing them in shorts and t-shirts when it ended up being pretty cold). While I’m on the playground, watching them imitate the monkeys, I get a call from J.
“Do you want me to pick you up an HD DVD player?”
“Um… what?”
“They’re on sale for $99. You want one?”
“Um… what?”
“I already got one for me and one for Clint. I’m calling Gene next to see if he wants one.”
“Um… what?”
“OK, well, think about it and call me back.”
“Um… what?” Read more…
