Home Theater Forum - View Single Post - I thought I write my thoughts on the event

Southpaw · 07-25-2007, 01:48 PM

Dan - I agree with a lot of what you posted. I felt like a very important guest at the Venetian and was treated very nicely by all involved.
The opening discussion concerning the "power users" wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Half of the panel mentioned still using VHS and half didn't own a DVR of any type. To me, these aren't power users. I only considered one panel member (young female who DVR's all TV she watches as well as rents tons of movies) to be a "power user". Oh well...it was still informative...if only from the fact that none of the panel owned an HD DVD or BD player.

I also agree that meeting Ernest Borgnine was the highlight for me. What a gem this legend is. Still witty and sharp at 90 years old. I love listening to old hollywood stories like the ones he told.

I found Katt Williams to be a sincere guy and enjoyed listening to his anecdotes.

Warner and Kevin Collins put on nice presentations. As I've noted before, I'm a big fan of special features and interactive features that studios put on DVDs and Highdef DVDs. So I was enthralled by both of these presentations. I can't wait to see Return to House on Haunted Hill and 300. Likewise, my HD DVD copy of Heroes will get some serious mileage.

I disagree with your thoughts about the HD DVD panel discussion. Probably half of the audience that was there is going to agree with your comments; I'm on the other side. I applaud Universal for sticking with the format they think is best for delivering an overall outstanding highdef experience for consumers. I mean, why doesn't BD put an ethernet connection on their players? (For the record, I don't care who wins the format war or if there is ever a winner...I support both)

I agree that the THX presentation was a bit too technical for me. I thought it was educational but a bit too much to get a handle of over the course of an hour. That was like a day class shoved into a 60 minute window. However, I did pick up a few things about my setup that I need to tweak.

As far as the parties go, all I can say is....NICE. Loved the free booze.

It was a little slow going Wednesday morning after the late night Tuesday night. Thank you to all the sponsors.

Exhibits: DTS was awesome. Great group of people representing DTS. I had questions about DTS HD MA and they took the time to answer them thoroughly. A couple of the indies looked at me funny when I went into their room and they found out I was a member of the "press". It was kind of a weird feeling but all I told them was that I was looking around and wanted to see what they were putting out or had put out on DVD. Shout Factory gals were a joy to talk too and they hit me with a couple freebies.

All in all, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I sure hope I get the chance.

07-25-2007, 01:48 PM	#2 of 2
Southpaw *Jason* Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Local Time: 03:12 AM Local Date: 08-30-2008 Posts: 367	Re: I thought I write my thoughts on the event - hopefully you find it worth reading. Dan - I agree with a lot of what you posted. I felt like a very important guest at the Venetian and was treated very nicely by all involved. The opening discussion concerning the "power users" wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Half of the panel mentioned still using VHS and half didn't own a DVR of any type. To me, these aren't power users. I only considered one panel member (young female who DVR's all TV she watches as well as rents tons of movies) to be a "power user". Oh well...it was still informative...if only from the fact that none of the panel owned an HD DVD or BD player. I also agree that meeting Ernest Borgnine was the highlight for me. What a gem this legend is. Still witty and sharp at 90 years old. I love listening to old hollywood stories like the ones he told. I found Katt Williams to be a sincere guy and enjoyed listening to his anecdotes. Warner and Kevin Collins put on nice presentations. As I've noted before, I'm a big fan of special features and interactive features that studios put on DVDs and Highdef DVDs. So I was enthralled by both of these presentations. I can't wait to see Return to House on Haunted Hill and 300. Likewise, my HD DVD copy of Heroes will get some serious mileage. I disagree with your thoughts about the HD DVD panel discussion. Probably half of the audience that was there is going to agree with your comments; I'm on the other side. I applaud Universal for sticking with the format they think is best for delivering an overall outstanding highdef experience for consumers. I mean, why doesn't BD put an ethernet connection on their players? (For the record, I don't care who wins the format war or if there is ever a winner...I support both) I agree that the THX presentation was a bit too technical for me. I thought it was educational but a bit too much to get a handle of over the course of an hour. That was like a day class shoved into a 60 minute window. However, I did pick up a few things about my setup that I need to tweak. As far as the parties go, all I can say is....NICE. Loved the free booze. It was a little slow going Wednesday morning after the late night Tuesday night. Thank you to all the sponsors. Exhibits: DTS was awesome. Great group of people representing DTS. I had questions about DTS HD MA and they took the time to answer them thoroughly. A couple of the indies looked at me funny when I went into their room and they found out I was a member of the "press". It was kind of a weird feeling but all I told them was that I was looking around and wanted to see what they were putting out or had put out on DVD. Shout Factory gals were a joy to talk too and they hit me with a couple freebies. All in all, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I sure hope I get the chance.