Monthly Archives: March 2010

S-Video, going the way of the Dodo

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I’m presently reviewing the new Yamaha RX-V2065 home theatre receiver. One of the first things I do, before even plugging in a receiver, is put it on my desk and count up the inputs and outputs and other connections. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Cables, Equipment | 1 Comment

Blu-ray layer rot?

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

The other night one of my daughters wanted to watch The Godfather: Part II with a friend. All was going very nicely until 1:42:32 into the movie, when it became a stillie. The picture froze for a minute or so, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray | 4 Comments

Digital TV Station timers

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Over the past week or so my PVR has been showing incorrect times on its display. That means that it has an incorrect time in its memory, which in turn means that it will fire itself up to record stuff … Continue reading →

Posted in DTV | 2 Comments

Homeopathy vs Science

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Nice optical illusion. Nice discussion. Nice bit of web programming. Definitely worth a look. Via Yet another weird SF fan.

Posted in Imperfect perception, Mysticism | Leave a comment

DVD on Demand

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I just received an advertisement from Amazon.com for the DVD of The Strange Love Of Molly Louvain. Pretty expensive at $US26.99. But it turns out this isn’t an off-the-shelf product. It is supplied on DVD-R. If you purchase it, they … Continue reading →

Posted in CD, DVD | Leave a comment

Dog Day Afternoon: Blu-ray vs DVD

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

Another top notch movie from the 70s, the Blu-ray is a little grainy, but kills the DVD for what’s happening on the screen. Go here for the comparison, and here’s a sample (DVD to left, Blu-ray to right):

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

Computers – then and now (kind of)

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

I just found this table, which was an accompaniment to a piece I wrote for a magazine back in 2004. Obviously seven years later the ‘Now’ computer has improved even more, although not that much in raw clock speed. Year … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer | Leave a comment

Is there anybody out there?

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

To use a line from Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Would readers be so kind as to whack in a tiny comment to this post, just to say something like ‘I do.’ So far I know of only about six or … Continue reading →

Posted in Admin | 30 Comments

Unused features

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

The other day when I went to pick up my daughter from school, I decided to load Bach’s ‘Golderg Variations’, as performed by Glenn Gould, in the car CD player. All part of the ongoing musical education for my kids. … Continue reading →

Posted in CD, Equipment, Music | Leave a comment

Blu-ray giveaway – The Butterfly Effect

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Stephen Dawson

This is actually one of Icon’s ‘Blu-ray Double Feature’ discs, which means that it has another movie on the same disc. In this case it is the quite forgettable The Butterfly Effect 2 (4.4/10 on IMDB vs the original’s 7.8/10). … Continue reading →

Posted in Blu-ray, Disc details, Giveaway | 2 Comments