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tethered cell phone would have worked and been faster than land line interenet.
I'm in a partial dead zone, so not likely.
-Kevin
tethered cell phone would have worked and been faster than land line interenet.
Cell service went out with the power in some places, including where I live. Land line was available to us the entire time.
cameraman
11-03-08, 01:36 PM
tethered cell phone would have worked and been faster than land line interenet.
When the power goes down around here quite often it takes the cell phones with it.
sad that it seems like cleveland has better infrastructure than elsewhere.
oddlycalm
11-03-08, 06:35 PM
Cell service went out with the power in some places, including where I live. Land line was available to us the entire time.
When we went to fiber optic at the former house I left one of the four lines copper for exactly that reason. The battery backups on the fiber are quoted at some optimistic duration but in reality ours went dead after around four hours. I'd heard that from others and planned accordingly. We have the occasional serious ice or wind storms and outages can last for a quite a while.
No problem at our new place because Qwest probably won't have fiber in my lifetime...:irked:
oc
cameraman
11-03-08, 07:21 PM
No problem at our new place because Qwest probably won't have fiber in my lifetime...:irked:
oc
Now that sounds like the Qwest we have around here.
I keep reading on here about all these new super speedy fiber this, that and the other and then I look at the 50 year old piece of copper that comes down off the pole to my house...:irked::saywhat::shakehead
Now that sounds like the Qwest we have around here.
I keep reading on here about all these new super speedy fiber this, that and the other and then I look at the 50 year old piece of copper that comes down off the pole to my house...:irked::saywhat::shakehead
What's that Sam Kinison bit about living in a desert?
m_VURr6jnWQ
~6 minutes in. :D :thumbup: :thumbup:
-Kevin
oddlycalm
11-04-08, 01:44 PM
Not it's AT&T's turn.
More bandwidth caps
(http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081104/ap_on_hi_te/tec_at_t_internet_caps)
oc
Not it's AT&T's turn.
More bandwidth caps
(http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081104/ap_on_hi_te/tec_at_t_internet_caps)
oc
You beat me to it. :)
Starting in November, AT&T will limit downloads to 20 gigabytes per month for users of their slowest DSL service, at 768 kilobits per second. The limit increases with the speed of the plan, up to 150 gigabytes per month at the 10 megabits-per-second level.
To exceed the limits, subscribers would need to download constantly at maximum speeds for more than 42 hours, depending on the tier. In practice, use of e-mail and the Web wouldn't take a subscriber anywhere near the limit, but streaming video services like the one Netflix Inc. (NFLX) offers could. For example, subscribers who get downloads of 3 megabits per second have a monthly cap of 60 gigabytes, which allows for the download of about 30 DVD-quality movies.
The limits will initially apply to new customers in the Reno area, AT&T said. Current users will be enrolled if they exceed 150 gigabytes in a month, regardless of their connection speed.
:irked: :saywhat:
-Kevin
Insomniac
11-04-08, 02:28 PM
Not it's AT&T's turn.
More bandwidth caps
(http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081104/ap_on_hi_te/tec_at_t_internet_caps)
oc
As if letting the NSA spy on their customers wasn't enough. This is lame. DSL is point to point. Even lamer is they are partnering with DirecTV beginning next year and DirecTV has On Demand which downloads over the Internet. They just started offering 1080p. I believe those movies are in the 10GB neighborhood.
Get your player on Black Friday...
According to the circular, Wal-Mart's so-called doorbuster deals offered between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET will include a 50-inch Samsung plasma HDTV ($798), Magnavox Blu-ray player ($128), Xbox 360 ($199) sold with free Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock game and wireless guitar, HP Pavilion desktop computer ($398) and a UniFlame gas grill ($175).
Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals: High tech (http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/14/news/companies/walmart_blackfriday/index.htm?cnn=yes)
Methanolandbrats
11-14-08, 05:30 PM
Get your player on Black Friday...
Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals: High tech (http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/14/news/companies/walmart_blackfriday/index.htm?cnn=yes)
Uh, oh white trash stampede........stay far, far away.
oddlycalm
11-14-08, 07:08 PM
Be careful of the gen 1 models. All but the PS3 and the Panasonics are glacially slow to initialize and take commands. My pick of the gen 2 models is the Panasonic DMP-BD35K. Should be pretty affordable by February.
My take, having bought one, is that unless you have a DVD player that needs replacement (as we did) buying a BD player isn't a high priority. Upconverted DVD's look very good.
oc
Memorex Blu-Ray Disc Player $139.99 on woot.com (http://woot.com)
Not an endorsement, just a link.
chop456
11-18-08, 03:21 AM
The Netflix-linked Samsung player looks pretty sweet. Instant "free" on-demand movies plus Blu-Ray? Nize.
I'll pick one up in '10.
oddlycalm
11-18-08, 04:04 PM
Last week I had an ISF tech here to do a full calibration on the screen and fired up some BD's over the weekend. Very nice image quality, no surprise at around twice the bit rate of our cable HD. Yesterday I did an A/B comparison with the same title ("The Departed") on upconverted DVD and while there are noticeable differences they aren't compelling enough to make me want to replace any DVD titles or perhaps even pay much more for the few new titles we buy.
oc
there are noticeable differences they aren't compelling enough to make me want to replace any DVD titles or perhaps even pay much more for the few new titles we buy.
oc
I suspected as much. However, I'd wait for a final judgement once you watch some BR pr0n. :gomer: ;)
-Kevin
Sean Malone
11-18-08, 04:23 PM
Last week I had an ISF tech here to do a full calibration on the screen and fired up some BD's over the weekend. Very nice image quality, no surprise at around twice the bit rate of our cable HD. Yesterday I did an A/B comparison with the same title ("The Departed") on upconverted DVD and while there are noticeable differences they aren't compelling enough to make me want to replace any DVD titles or perhaps even pay much more for the few new titles we buy.
oc
I bought my in laws a very inexpensive upconverting DVD player as a house warming present this past weekend and was blown away by the picture quality on their 32" Sony LCD. My upconverter dithers so bad I retired it. I'm assuming the difference is 52" vs 32".
I bought my in laws a very inexpensive upconverting DVD player as a house warming present this past weekend and was blown away by the picture quality on their 32" Sony LCD. My upconverter dithers so bad I retired it. I'm assuming the difference is 52" vs 32".
Mine looks great on my 106" 720p front projo. What brand was it?
-Kevin
Sean Malone
11-18-08, 04:34 PM
Mine looks great on my 106" 720p front projo. What brand was it?
-Kevin
Mine is an LG that got good reviews on a few AV forums but the black areas are so dithered it is unwatchable. I reverted to just using my 360 as my main DVD player. Some claim the 360 upconverts but there is no documentation from M$ to support that that I know of.
Is it true that upconverting only works via HDMI?
oddlycalm
11-18-08, 05:20 PM
I bought my in laws a very inexpensive upconverting DVD player as a house warming present this past weekend and was blown away by the picture quality on their 32" Sony LCD. My upconverter dithers so bad I retired it. I'm assuming the difference is 52" vs 32".
Don't think so. Mine is with a 46" Samsung LCD screen with LED backlighting and at a 10ft. viewing distance you notice every detail. The contrast range on this screen (with the dynamic control of the LED backlighting able to go to absolute black) would make any dithering really glaring.
You may want to pick up one of those inexpensive upconverting players for your very own personal self...:D
I'm amused by how often this kind of thing happens. I recently gave my 88yr old father a very inexpensive cordless phone to replace the one he's had since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I brought here to charge it up and do all the setup for him. It worked so incredibly well I got one for my office to replace an expensive Siemens phone that was a total POS by comparison.
oc
Sean Malone
11-18-08, 05:29 PM
Don't think so. Mine is with a 46" Samsung LCD screen with LED backlighting and at a 10ft. viewing distance you notice every detail. The contrast range on this screen (with the dynamic control of the LED backlighting able to go to absolute black) would make any dithering really glaring.
You may want to pick up one of those inexpensive upconverting players for your very own personal self...:D
I'm amused by how often this kind of thing happens. I recently gave my 88yr old father a very inexpensive cordless phone to replace the one he's had since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I brought here to charge it up and do all the setup for him. It worked so incredibly well I got one for my office to replace an expensive Siemens phone that was a total POS by comparison.
oc
No doubt. By the way, The model I bought the in laws is a Philips for $40 from WallyWorld. It doesn't include the HDMI cable which cost me another $26. If someone had told me it was a 720p source I would have believed them.
No doubt. By the way, The model I bought the in laws is a Philips for $40 from WallyWorld. It doesn't include the HDMI cable which cost me another $26. If someone had told me it was a 720p source I would have believed them.
you paid 26 dollars for an hdmi cable?
Mine is an LG that got good reviews on a few AV forums but the black areas are so dithered it is unwatchable. I reverted to just using my 360 as my main DVD player. Some claim the 360 upconverts but there is no documentation from M$ to support that that I know of.
Is it true that upconverting only works via HDMI?
Well, @ least there is something useful for an Xbox. ;) Not sure about upconversion only working through HDMI. I think that depends on the model. I may hafta check that out since I have both HDMI and component cables running to the projo. BTW, save yourself some jack and get your cables ob eBay. I don't think I spent $26 on the 25' cable I ran to the projo, and I don't see any of the sparkles I read warnings about for cheap cable.
-Kevin
Insomniac
11-18-08, 06:11 PM
No doubt. By the way, The model I bought the in laws is a Philips for $40 from WallyWorld. It doesn't include the HDMI cable which cost me another $26. If someone had told me it was a 720p source I would have believed them.
For future reference, www.monoprice.com is your friend.
Sean Malone
11-18-08, 07:01 PM
Yeah, I get my cables online, but this was an impromptu purchase at the in-laws.
Gears of War 2 is rockin BTW. ;)
NetFlix streaming now on TiVo as well.
SO9AKnlcKes
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