I’ve been dying to get an HD media player for the home theater for a long time now, but the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray and high prices have kept me away until now. I noticed a few weeks back that Blu-Ray players had been coming down in price. With a number of units dropping just below the $300 mark and a few even coming close to $200, I started looking around. After looking at all the models available I set my sights on the Samsung BD-P1500. The 1500 is a midrange BD player that isn’t too expensive (generally about $269 at the time I wrote this) and has most of the features of the higher end players. It also doesn’t hurt that I found it at the local Best Buy in an open box for only $199. Factoring in my reward zone discount and credits, I was able to walk out the door with the player and a copy of Iron Man for less than $200. Setup was a snap. I’ve had a progressive scan JVC 7-disc DVD changer for a while now. I sacrificed the component (and therefore the progressive scan) connections for the Samsung player, added an optical connection to my reciever and had it all working in about 10 minutes. After watching Iron Man last night, my only complaint about the system so far is the heat the BD-P1500 produces. (and it produces quite a bit) I’m going to try propping the unit up on some rubber feet for better airflow (the unit is passively cooled) and see if that works. If not, an Antec USB-powered laptop cooler may be the way to go. Since all of my components are housed in an enclosure, the heat is a huge concern. I know the DVD player doesn’t take well to heat, so hopefully this is a problem that can be solved easily. Having already experienced HD picture quality, I wasn’t too surprised with that aspect of it. The sound was what blew me away initially. Being something of an AV snob, I’ve been accustomed to turning up my nose at anything less than DTS. Dolby Digital never could match the performance of DTS on DVD. While that may still be the case, I was quite surprised by the level of detail in the Dolby Digital True HD track on Iron Man. Hopefully this will prove to be true of DTS on BD as well.
Category Archives: Movies & TV
MPAA trying to control digital media, again…
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. The MPAA is trying (again) to get the FCC to agree to allow it to implement a type of DRM that would give them total control over your digital media equipment. It’s a system called selectable output control and would give content creators the ability to prevent you from viewing your legally paid for media if they don’t like/trust the device you wish to view it on. If the hardware isn’t blessed by the MPAA, all you’ll get is a black screen. The FCC told the MPAA where they could take SOC back in 2003 and they should reiterate that opinion. (It couldn’t hurt to remind them why…) The EFF is also opposing this ridiculous idea.
Green myths are driving me nuts!!!
Ok, I was just in the middle of watching Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the Tonight Show explaining things you can do to save the environment. If you’ve ever heard someone tell you to unplug things like your hair dryer because it saves energy, don’t believe it. I’m not sure why it drives me crazy, but when celebrities and the media keep misinformed myths going it pushes one of those buttons that makes me do things like write blog posts. Now, the hair dryer isn’t perhaps the best example because you should unplug it anyway. (not because it uses energy when it’s plugged in, it doesn’t, but because it’s a potential fire hazard) For those of you who haven’t taken a class in electronics or physics, the reason unplugging basic devices like hair dryers doesn’t matter is that when they’re switched off, the circuit is broken. (ie: there’s no way for the electrons to flow through the wire, and therefore no energy usage.) It’s the same thing as turning off a light switch. There are loads of devices that DO use energy whenever they’re plugged in and it’s fairly easy to tell the difference. Devices that don’t need to be unplugged are the kind with a physical switch. Devices in this category would be lamps, coffee makers, (the basic kind, with nothing but a switch, ie: no clocks, etc..) most toasters and old-style TVs (ie: the kind you have to walk up to to turn on and change the channel with a dial). Starting to get the picture? The whole point of this isn’t to stop you from unplugging your stuff, because that really is a good thing. Running around unplugging everything with a cord isn’t going to work for most people. It’s just too inconvenient. However, once you realize which devices should be unplugged, you’ve reduced the amount of effort it takes and you know you’re making a difference. So what are some examples of things to unplug you ask?
- AC-to-DC adapters for things like cell phones
- Appliances with digital clocks
- Modern TVs, Desktop Computers and most other “soft-on” appliances.
- Anything with a remote control
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully it will get you started. I’ve actually just had an idea about using an X-10 power module to disable other soft-on devices. While the X-10 module would still draw power, it might be less than what the other connected devices would have been using in their off state. If you’re ever curious about how much energy your electronic gear is consuming when it’s supposedly off, get yourself a kill-a-watt. It’s a little meter you plug in-between the device(s) and the outlet.