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I just bought a late-80s Proton integrated amplifier. It requires a connection between the pre-amp and the power amp, between two sets of RCA plugs about 3/4" apart. Right now I'm using standard 3' cables.   I know I've seen metal U-shaped connectors for this sort of thing that would be much...

Oh. My. God. Steve, you are my hero of the day. That is an absolutely BRILLIANT suggestion! The Joker (referring to the Batman villain) would be proud of you! If I wore a hat, I'd tip it to you. Jan

I had that problem, too, not with pre-recorded VHS tapes (which I didn't dub) but with a VHS tape I'd made from a DVD. When I tried to go back to DVD, I got the "protected material" warning. That's fair, I guess. I had one bad DVD out of 30. I had a blast dubbing about 70 old movies and...

Compared to my VHS tapes, I have to agree! Jan

I picked one of these up at Costco for $129.99 and made two successful recordings this afternoon, with NO experience with DVD recorders at all (other than taking a VHS tape over to a friend's house and saying, "Can you put this on a DVD please?"). I like that it records all the different...

For the sticklers about dark scenes being filmed in the dark: Check out EQUINOX, which has a scene in a cave and it's COMPLETELY DARK. You hear footsteps and dialogue like: "Where are you, Jim?" "I'm over here!" (Running footsteps) "Hurry! This way!" (Running footsteps). And it seems to go on...

Do any of the theaters have amps that go up to "11"? Or do they only go up to "10"? I think that, for certain movies such as This Is Spinal Tap, they should go up to "11."

So this kid brings in a DVD and says that he thinks it's scratched. Hollywood Video has no DVD player to check it out (hard to imagine, but....). The sales clerk wipes the DVD on her pants leg and puts it back in the box, where it will be headed back to the shelf. Yeesh. Jan

Many mixed emotions about Cochran here in L.A., including my own. Life's like that. People don't fall easily into the categories of "good" and "evil" defined by comic books and videogames. Overall, Cochran's was a distinguished career. RIP. Jan

Damn! I just bought a Kenwood A/V receiver! Or maybe I should consider myself lucky. Rarely pays to own an orphan, though. Jan

H/K rates its amps very conservatively. So, basically...what John said. Jan

Talk about insane: I have a tiny 1000-square-foot house in SoCal. Bought it twelve years ago for just over $240,000 and figured I was getting screwed big time. It actually went down in value for a couple of years. Anyway, the bank just appraised it at $650,000. Mind you, this is not some...

I don't know where you live, but I'm assuming that you worry more about rain than snow. I have my receiver in the shed with the wires running to the outdoor speakers. If you need it to be outdoors, though sheltered, I'd think you could just wrap a hefty bag around it when you aren't using it...

I've taken a home office deduction for about fifteen years. It's very helpful but I HAVE been audited twice. However, because I'm scrupulously honest regarding my income taxes (it doesn't pay, IMO, to be anything else) I've actually received credits from the IRS after both audits. Your home...

The Energy brand has an excellent reputation. I'd guess that your friend did very, very well! Jan

IMO, a center channel speaker is one of those things that you do without and think everything's just fine, but once you get one, you wonder what took you so long. Jan

Note that Mike Sloan got his Bose speakers for the right price: free. Shanice, if you're looking for value, Bose definitely isn't it. They are way overpriced for the sound you get. You can basically get better, cleaner sound for half the price of a Bose system. You'll find much better systems...

I've had CSW speakers for several years. I bought some of them from the catalog and others from Best Buy when they were carrying them and often had open box items for a major discount. I have a longing for more expensive speakers, but it's hard to justify the expense when the CSW system sounds...

Thanks, Robert! Unfortunately, the problem seems to be a hard disk crash. I didn't see the warning sign, which was a picture that froze every few seconds. We were suffering high winds at the time and I attributed the freezing to the winds. I have a new unit that works fine. Later I'll try...

My DirecTiVo (Hughes) receiver is stuck on the "Welcome. Powering up..." screen. I've tried unplugging, waiting, and plugging back in. I've tightened all connections. I've checked the connections at the dish. My other receiver (non-TiVo) in another room works just fine. Signal strength is...

I just picked up the Mummy DVD. I love the design of the gill man, and even had an Aurora model of him as a kid, but dang, that movie is slow and kind of ponderous. As for the sequels...eh. I love the original Invisible Man movie, but the sequels are pretty lame IMHO. So, that's a...

Chuck, Sinister Cinema sells a DVD of Caltiki. I have a copy. Unfortunately, it's so friggin' dim that the picture is almost invisible. I tried to trade mine in at Blockbuster but it was no-go. Email me if you want more info, [email protected]. You'll have to go through some SpamArrest...

I use the DVD player for DVDs and for CDs. There is one audio output hooked up from the DVD player, a digital coaxial connection running from the DVD player to an input on the receiver labeled "COAXIAL/PCM". The receiver has buttons for the various sources, including one labeled "CD" and one...

Okay, I'm closing in on a solution. After a week or so with no problem switching back and forth between CD and DVD and getting sound each time, I was listening to some CDs, then switched over to DVD to watch a movie and...no sound. Instead of hitting the various sound-related buttons, I...

You've got that right! I've been hesitant to invest in HD (although I have an HD-ready TV) for exactly this reason. What's the point of having great resolution when your viewing experience is going to be spoiled by all of the on-screen crap?

Discussion of the "sponsored links" in the Feedback section. No, it isn't spyware. It's a new revenue-generating experiment Ron and Parker are trying, Intellitext, that picks up words in your message and links to paid advertisers. I'm against it in principle, but Ron and Parker need the...

As I mentioned in the Smallville discussion, I'm dumping Smallville from the TiVo list. The show's losing my interest somehow this season, but what really pushed me over the edge was all the crap the WB threw on the screen. During dramatic moments I'd get searchlights blaring across the...

Sam, You're right. I'm using a single, coaxial connection from the DVD player to the receiver. Right now, it's working perfectly, easily transitioning from CD to DVD with nary a glitch. I suspect that "someone" in the house (there are two of us, not counting the dogs) is futzing around...

It's kind of hard to deny the impact of a larger screen, whether it's CRT projected, LCD projected, whatever. And these sets are less deep and often easier to place in a room than a large direct-view CRT. Of course there's the trade-off in light output. Jan

It's been a number of years since I bought my harman/kardon AVR 55. Generally, I love it, but it drives me nuts sometimes. When I switch from (say) CD to DVD, I'll get no sound until I monkey around with the Surr. Mode or Surr. Off or Digital switches; same thing happens when I go from DVD...