Wireless HDMI – due soon?
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006
There you have it, HDMI over UWB. Time to get creative with your setups!
Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2006
There you have it, HDMI over UWB. Time to get creative with your setups!
Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2006
Insert silly saying here, I’ve got no energy to do so, for it’s the day of rest in America.
What can I say, I’m going to sit and watch my butt expand this go round (damn, I’m doing it now), so here we go…
As far as the firmware update goes for the Toshiba HD-DVD players, I did manage to download it last week and throw in Constantine for some scenes, and I’ve gotta say I definitely noticed a change in quality from the Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks. There was mnore active low end fidelity an…
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Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on September 1st, 2006
Back in the sixties, Gamera was Godzilla’s poor, trailer-trash cousin. This flying, fire-breathing turtle (but of course!) gallumphed his way through a series of films. The first, under its North American release title Gammera the Invincible (the one time there was a double “m” in the name), is a pretty decent monster flick for that period, with some fine destruction, and introduces Gamera’s fondness for children (so though he trashes cities, he can’t be all bad). US-shot scenes were added to the original, and…
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 31st, 2006
Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.
Say what you will about Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, but there’s no doubting that it’s one of the best sounding films of all time on DVD. In my opinion, it is THE BEST. By now the film looks a little outdated, grainy in places and just fuzzy and washed out in others despite being certified by THX, but the sound more than makes up for it.
The subsequent…
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Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 30th, 2006
Gaming Heaven, Raging Fantasies, & a little Ray-Man – Welcome to the raging hormone that can only be described as a tertiary nipple known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that found a little black chair of happiness this weekend. I picked up a video rocker from Target. It cost $100 ($38 after gift card) but was well worth it. It is very nice faux leather, extremely sturdy, and you can plug it in for the speakers…
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Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 28th, 2006
I feel like a kid in some sort of a store…
Well the week has seen some surprises, concrete or not for both camps. First and foremost, the 2.0 Firmware for the Toshiba HD player is out now. There has been some glowing praise, not only for the firmware (which now allows TruHD), but for the continuing consumer support. Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits was the first to really publicly comment on the job Toshiba (and the HD camp is doing), and while as an HD owner I can agree with it, one also has to remembe…
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Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on August 25th, 2006
You’re a fan of Eurohorror, especially the Italian variety. You’ve seen everything you can find from the masters: Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Riccardo Freda, Michele Soavi. You’ve exhausted the catalogue of less reliable but nonetheless important figures such as Lucio Fulci. You plunge deeper, sleazier, in the company of cannibal-meisters Ruggero Deodato and Umberto Lenzi. Ere long, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, tracking down the incompetent, boring, but at least gory work of the likes of Bruno Mattei (
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2006
Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.
Mr. And Mrs. Smith will likely be remembered more for being the film that put Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the road to saving the world, one Cambodian child at a time, than being an enjoyable action-comedy film. Though despite all the media buzz over the film prior to its release, it actually turned out to be a financial and critical success, unlike Gigli, a film tha…
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Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 23rd, 2006
Power, Madden and a little Butterfly – Welcome to the series rehash with no new features and year old rosters known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that has no real stories to tell. My birthday came and went. I got some cool presents (Fry’s GC, Messiah (NEX), Target GC, EB Games GC, etc) but nothing too crazy. I actually haven’t spent any of my gc’s yet. I’m being pretty particular and know exactly what I’m af…
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Posted in New Release Tuesday, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 22nd, 2006
Hello, I’m your fill-in host for the week, mister Kedrix (your game columnist). Yes I’m back again, after I swore I wouldn’t be. Call it an obligaton, call it a true pain in the… Anyhow, in this edition of the New Release Tuesday blog, we get a good look into this weeks top releases. Some good Criterion choices and some good HD/Blu-Ray for a change. Well,on to the lists…
Top Film Releases
Kicking and Screaming and Seduced and Abandoned,…
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2006
Ars Technica asks today “Is Plasma Doomed?” Citing the fact that LCD’s now overlap with plasma in terms of size and (arguably) picture quality, along with the fact that certain manufacturers are stopping plasma development and production to shift to LCD’s, the author suggests that “Plasma vs. LCD” is comparable to the apocryphal “Beta vs. VHS” battle.
Anyway, interesting observation that plasma is getting clobbered, but personally, I can’t see i…
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2006
Watch your back if you own an “Avdeco” branded component and TV shelf with glass shelves:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=713200
Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 21st, 2006
Highly Defined
How long until Madden comes out?
Just the usual news and notes from me, but in mildly disappointing news, RoboCop, and Black Hawk Down, 2 Blu-Ray titles that would have made the race a little more interesting, were pulled or bumped from the released calendar until who knows when (presumably until the whole MGM/Sony distribution issue can be hashed out).
Meanwhile in terms of other release news, while Blu-Ray owners can’t wait for the previously released Warne…
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Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 18th, 2006
And so, after a long summer, it has finally come to this: Snakes on a Plane ceases to be a hot-weather fantasy and becomes a reality. Now we can all see whether this creature that became a cult before it was even finished can in any way live up (or down) to our expectations, hopes, and fears. Let us pause, then, and reflect on killer snake movies from the past.
The question as to whether Snakes on a Plane will be any good is completely irrelevant. A look back demonstrates that there has never …
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 17th, 2006
Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.
No matter what happens to Mel Gibson after his infamous arrest and anti-Semitic tirade, one can’t deny that he’s made and starred in some powerful films throughout his career. Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, Signs, Passion of the Christ… the list goes on. However, one of my favorite Gibson movies has always been The Patriot.
Basically an update of Braveheart< ...
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Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 16th, 2006
Condom Jokes, Gaining that Ground, and Spewing forth a collection for the masses – Welcome to the gym sock that you used to catch your deposits known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that is kinda down this week. Yes, you read that right, mister game columnist has a a couple of depression issues. Well I turn 31 on the 19th, and to be perfectly honest it kinda sucks. Traditionally my birthdays have not beenvery …
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Posted in New Release Tuesday, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 15th, 2006
Hi, I’m your fill-in host for the week, mister Kedrix (your game columnist). You know, one would think I know nothing about dvds, except the fact I’m looking at 400 of them in my new revolvey case thing. Anyhow, in this edition of the New Release Tuesday blog, we get a good look into this weeks top releases. A good smattering of releases this week, particually in the TV department. Well,on to the lists…
Top Film Releases
Some good schlock this week to get…
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Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 14th, 2006
Where your trusty columnist has joined the ranks of the Xbox owners…
Things have moved along like people have figured in the next-gen DVD wars, which is to say, there isn’t a clear winner since the last time we talked. There is some news from Paramount, being that Mission: Impossible III will release SD, Blu and HD DVDs all on the day and date (10/30 for those who are curious). The HD release and extras will be duplicated from the Blu-Ray extras, with the exception of a picture-in-picture commentary …
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 11th, 2006
A CNet article from Austrailia explains that PC Blu-Ray drives aren’t able to play Blu-Ray movies released by studios as there aren’t PC video cards or chipsets capable of handling HDCP.
Not good.
Now – Boing Boing and Slashdot appear to have made the inference that the PS3 won’t be able to play them either. Spurious speculation? Or another nail in Sony’s coffin?
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on August 11th, 2006
The work of H.P. Lovecraft has had a rather uneasy relationship with film adaptations. The attraction of his fiction for filmmakers is understandable: this is classic horror, and the cosmic evil on display can potentially lead to huge payoffs. Yet his prose style is very difficult, and most of the attempts at adaptation have been, at best, flawed. Stuart Gordon is the director who most consistently returns to his work, but he doesn’t really have the right touch. Re-Animator is a hell of a lot of fun, and it he…
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 10th, 2006
Discussing the old school DVD’s that still sound and look great in the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technology.
The submarine film is tough to improve upon. With classics such as Das Boot, The Hunt for Red October, and even Crimson Tide, the submarine film genre is chock-full of movies with intense drama and claustrophobic action.
But then again, for every highly revered submarine film, there is a Below and Down Periscope.
So where does Jonathan M…
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Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on August 9th, 2006
Keep on Rolling, A Jelly Bean is a terrible thing to waste, and WII Release Info? Welcome to the uncle you never want your kids to visit unattended known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that has determined that if you are debating between whether or not to go up on an 18 foot water slide in front of your wife and her family…always go ahead and do it. It’s fun, really. Might want to avoid the summersaults thoug…
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Posted in Highly Defined, News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 7th, 2006
In what universe is a weekend jail visit considered a “family emergency” when it comes to missing your job? Can anyone answer this for me? By all means, send your answers (or curious situations) to yours truly. I’m curious to hear what the responses are.
The big news in the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray battle is that Training Day, Rumor Has It and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang arrived on Blu-Ray this week, after being available in HD-DVD for a little while now. And the verdict? Well, at least according to Pet…
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Posted in News and Opinions by Archive Authors on August 4th, 2006
Reader Brian asks:
What happened to the HUDSON HAWK: 15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION dvd? It was supposed to come out on July 25th and now it doesn’t appear to be available anywhere … Including Amazon.com. Can you research it and let me know as I seriously (seriously) would like to get it.
Anyone have a clue? Comment it on this post!
Posted in Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on August 4th, 2006
Without question, the most celebrated bad director is Ed Wood. He is the portal through which so many people discover the joys of the terrible film. He stands out from so many contenders because his films are not ordinarily bad. They are deeply felt, deeply earnest. He meant what he was saying, whatever that was. And his style, particularly his screenwriting style, is unmistakeable. Insanely purple, banal, and incomprehensible, it cannot be mistaken for anyone else’s work. It is as individual as the writing of the Co…
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