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  1. Joe Schwartz

    Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD

    I don't know about the capabilities of specific players, but Dolby and DTS have been recommending that HD-DVD and Blu-ray players should decode the new formats to 5.1 (or 7.1) PCM and send it digitally over HDMI. This should be supported by the existing HDMI devices, since it's PCM. (HDMI 1.3...
  2. Joe Schwartz

    Brady Bunch Scenes You Thought Were Stupid or Didn't Work

    My thoughts exactly -- and I can't think of a damn one.
  3. Joe Schwartz

    Electric Dreams?

    I've been waiting years for Electric Dreams on DVD. Not counting the original unaltered Star Wars trilogy, Electric Dreams is my most-wanted unavailable DVD.
  4. Joe Schwartz

    Blu Ray delivers another blow to hd.

    Eric, I think you meant to write "in light of", not "in lieu of".
  5. Joe Schwartz

    It's Official: HD DVD and Blu-ray Can Limit High Resolution To HDMI Only

    You're talking about HDTV sets, right? Can you cite any sales figures to support this claim?
  6. Joe Schwartz

    Tribute to Redheads

    Liz Claman on CNBC:
  7. Joe Schwartz

    Seinfeld-type moment

    Were you holding an issue of Glamour?
  8. Joe Schwartz

    Lutron Spacer Installation 101 (Rev. 1/17/06 - Adding IR Emitters)

    I was able to use a Sonance Optilinq IR repeater with my Lutron Spacer dimmer, but it took a few tries to place the IR emitter in exactly the right location.
  9. Joe Schwartz

    Holy Grail of Hi-Def: Are universal players around the corner?

    Actually, it's the audio players that are much more complicated, because DVD-Audio and SACD are fundamentally different at the content level. DVD-Audio uses PCM, and SACD uses DSD (1-bit sigma/delta modulation). A good universal audio player would need two different types of DAC -- one for each...
  10. Joe Schwartz

    Holy Grail of Hi-Def: Are universal players around the corner?

    Give it a rest, Jim. If the prices and features were comparable, a sane person would choose a universal player over a dedicated Blu-ray player.
  11. Joe Schwartz

    home theater seating.

    I considered buying seats online, but ended up buying at a local store because it's really important to try out these seats before you buy them. I bought a set of Ashley Millennium seats that I'm very happy with.
  12. Joe Schwartz

    Toy Story 2: Special Edition..... due Dec. 26th

    Yes, Toy Story was broadcast in HD a few months ago on ABC, but it didn't look particularly impressive. I suspect it was upsampled from SD.
  13. Joe Schwartz

    Sony demonstrates more corporate arrogance: advertising posing as art

    Yep, they had to paint a graffiti-style mural for a PS2 game.
  14. Joe Schwartz

    New York Times: Fiddling With Formats While DVD Burns

    Thanks for the info, Aaron -- it sounds like the issues are still being worked out. I was under the impression that HDMI 1.0 supported 1080/24p and 1080/30p, but I don't know about 1080/60p.
  15. Joe Schwartz

    New York Times: Fiddling With Formats While DVD Burns

    I don't think that's true -- HDMI has more than enough bandwidth to handle 1080p. Can you provide a link to that source?
  16. Joe Schwartz

    Dumb car maintenance question.

    Even the Rain-X washer fluid is meant to be added to regular washer fluid -- you're not supposed to use it straight.
  17. Joe Schwartz

    $315 million dollar jackpot winner

    BTW, the Federal income tax is 35% on income over $326,450: http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article...133517,00.html Even though they'll withhold 28%, you still have to pay the extra 7%.
  18. Joe Schwartz

    It's Official: HD DVD and Blu-ray Can Limit High Resolution To HDMI Only

    The Microsoft quote was referring to BD-ROM, and I'm pretty sure Nils was talking about BD-RW (or BD-RAM, or whatever the recordable version is called). They're very different types of media, manufactured in very different ways. Remember that Blu-Ray was designed primarily as a recordable...
  19. Joe Schwartz

    Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy DVD review

    Thanks, David. Are any of the trailers available on the DVD? I really enjoyed the "Don't Panic" teaser and the "Guide to Movie Trailers" trailer. (And the "Panic" trailer for Chicken Little would be worth having, too.)
  20. Joe Schwartz

    DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Toy Story 10th Anniversary Edition: MUST BUY

    Thanks for the comparison, Joe. If those screenshots are representative, I see no reason to double-dip -- the new version is only a tiny bit sharper.
  21. Joe Schwartz

    Best Buy coupon for 10% off all Home Theater

    Here's a new coupon for 10% off many items, good until September 5 for in-store purchases: http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US..._cpn_26484.pdf
  22. Joe Schwartz

    HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Merger Possible?

    By that reasoning, nobody would own a TiVo. Clearly, many average consumers are willing to give up some privacy for features that they value.
  23. Joe Schwartz

    HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Merger Possible?

    I find it amusing that so many people here have such strong support for Blu-Ray and such strong animosity for HD-DVD. If not for the competition provided by HD-DVD, Blu-Ray would still be stuck using MPEG-2 instead of more efficient codecs.
  24. Joe Schwartz

    Best Buy coupon for 10% off all Home Theater

    No problem, Bruce. I saved myself $390 on a Panny plasma. :)
  25. Joe Schwartz

    Salsa and Pizza sauce Recipes

    IMHO, the best salsa is from Green Mountain Gringo.
  26. Joe Schwartz

    Best Buy coupon for 10% off all Home Theater

    Good until September 1, 2005 for in-store purchases only: http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US...T_Sports02.pdf
  27. Joe Schwartz

    Pirates of Silicon Valley on DVD?

    Robert, how's the video quality? I assume it's in 4:3 aspect ratio?
  28. Joe Schwartz

    It's Official: HD DVD and Blu-ray Can Limit High Resolution To HDMI Only

    I'm going the other way. I have a sneaking suspicion that the PS3 won't come with a Blu-Ray drive, despite what Sony has announced.
  29. Joe Schwartz

    What's the best pay-as-you-go cell plan?

    I'll second the recommendation for Virgin Mobile. For infrequent phone use, their Minute2Minute plan (described above) was the best value I could find. If you "Auto Top-Up" using a credit card, you have to pay only $15 every 90 days. The maximum amount allowed in your account is $300. More...
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