Author Archives: Stephen Dawson

If your Samsung BDP-1600 Blu-ray player is networked, upgrade it

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

I plugged in a Samsung BDP-1600 Blu-ray player this evening, whereupon it automatically asked if it could upgrade itself from version 1.0x firmware to 2.04. As is my practice, I told it to go ahead and went and did something … Continue reading →

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‘NDAs are evil’

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

I just wrote a 650 word email to Twentienth Century Fox Home Entertainment. My editor, Jez Ford, used just three words to basically say the same thing in response: ‘NDAs are evil’. Trying to keep in contact with the various … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, DVD, Rant | Leave a comment

Region A

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

Madman Entertainment today sent me the Blu-ray versions of Afro Samurai and Afro Samurai: Resurrection. Both look like they are going to be very interesting. The reason for this Blog post is just to chuckle over an interesting little quirk … Continue reading →

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Old Blu-ray Players

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

Over the last three years I have developed a number of standard measurements and tests that I conduct on Blu-ray players, and now I have a spreadsheet with the details for more than twenty players recorded. This includes such things … Continue reading →

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Woodstock on Blu-ray

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

The latest issue of Australian HI-FI magazine carries my reviews of the Blu-ray versions of Sleeping Beauty and Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music. As I note in the latter review: No chapter listing is provided with this version … Continue reading →

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HD Pulp Fiction cometh

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

I was just trawling through Roadshow Entertainment’s publicity website to get ahold of a packshot of A History of Violence for my forthcoming Blu-ray review, when I stumbled on the fact that Pulp Fiction is due for release by Roadshow … Continue reading →

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A Decade of Tuning Tips (Part Two) – 2

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

Perhaps ‘the worst book ever written‘ was actually the second worst. A while back I mentioned this little pamphlet, and promised to come back to it. Well, here goes. First, the claim by the author, Jimmy Hughes: I have experienced … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Imperfect perception, Mysticism, Rant | 1 Comment

Manthropology – the worst book ever written!

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

There can be no doubt that Manthropology is the worst book ever written. Its prose is of a lower standard than that of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It is shorter than the Holy Bible. It is less engrossing than … Continue reading →

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The Transporter – a comparison

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

Go here to see my Blu-ray vs DVD comparison. A sample (DVD left, Blu-ray right):

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The Departed – a comparison

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Stephen Dawson

Go here to see my Blu-ray vs DVD comparison. A sample (DVD left, Blu-ray right):

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