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I recently purchased an HP z558 digital entertainment center computer for use with my Samsung DLP display. I thought it would be great to use as a DVR and eventually use to download movies once NetFlix is up and running with their download service. However, I have not been able to get the...

My Samsung DLP has only one HDMI input, and now I need a second for an HP media center PC. I was just curious if there is any signal degradation when using an HDMI switch ? My thought is that there should be no signal degradation if the signal is pure digital, which can't be said for analog...

I am considering purchasing a small form factor PC with Windows XP-MC operating system. I plan to use the PC as a DVR and also for web surfacing on my Samsung DLP. Just looking for some advice or website links that would help me configure the PC ? In particular, what is a good HD TV tuner...

I own a 46" Samsung DLP (HLR series), and continue be disenchanted with the technology due to macro-blocking while playing DVDs. I just watched "Lady in the Water" and almost every scene had macro-blocking. And it would be worse except that I had my Samsung professionally calibrated shortly...

I posted a similar topic recently in "audio/video sources" because I thought I might be having a problem with my DVD player(s), but now I think the problem lies with my Samsung DLP. I have had a problem with blocky background images from the first day I set up my DLP, but running an Avia and...

I just got the Oppo DV971H player, and decided to calibrate with Avia and DVE immediately (before watching any DVDs). I was shocked at the poor quality of much of the video leading up to the actual test patterns. I always suspected that someone simply used a hand-held camera to shoot the...

I know this has probably been asked over & over, but here goes again... Are there any good (distortion free) subwoofers available for under $300 ??? I am just looking for a bit more punch on the low end, but I definitely do not want to add any distortion to my current arrangement. For my...

Just purchased and set-up a Samsung HLR-4667W DLP set, after selling my 34" Sony XBR CRT set. I have not tried any calibration on the DLP just yet, but I have watched some OTA HD broadcasts and a DVD (Memoirs of a Geisha) via my Denon DVD-1600... and I was disappointed with both inputs for...

I need a little advice. I am fairly certain the anti-glare coating on my 3-year old Sony KV-34XBR800 CRT is coming off. It seems to be wearing away mainly towards the bottom 1/4 of the screen, in the form of small (but numerous) smudges and vertical streaks. The smudges and streaks appear to be...

I thought I read that DLP rear projection sets with a separate red, green, blue chip would be coming out soon. Was I imagining this ? If not, does this creature already exist ? The Mustang HD2+ engine is still only a single chip, right ? I want to go DLP sometime in the near future, but my main...

I just purchased a DVI cable from Blue Jeans (nice quality) for my new Samsung SIR-T451 receiver. I used component cables for the first couple weeks, and I was pleasantly surprised with the video quality using the DVI cable. There does seem to be a small improvement in terms of even sharper...

I have a Samsung SIR-T451 digital receiver and Silver Sensor antenna that does a decent job of picking up local OTA digital signals. However, I have been using a Jensen programable antenna with built-in amplifier instead of the Silver Sensor because it generally produces a stronger signal. After...

I have been away for awhile, but with the duldrums of winter setting in I am getting the itch to upgrade. So I am wondering if there is a consensus on the best digital receiver for over-the-air reception ??? Are there any new models that out-shine the rest ? I currently have a Samsung SIR-T151...

Why is that widescreen DVDs of older movies (about 10 or more years old) do not display correctly ??? For instance, I just watched "Crimson Tide" and I needed to place my Sony widescreen TV in "Zoom" mode for it to properly display a 2.35:1 format. If I was to watch in "Full" mode, the image...

I have been away for a while, and kind of behind on any new technology, but have decided I would like to upgrade my digital receiver for over-the-air reception. I currently have a Samsung SIR-T151 that performs very well. I am able to pull in all but one of the local stations that is...

I recently read a very short blurb in the local paper that five of the seven Chronicles of Narnia books are scheduled to be made into live action movies, starting with "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe". And I guess they are to be filmed in New Zealand. I was very excited to hear this news...

I've never had this happen before on a DVD, but for about 1 minute the vocals were noticeably lagging the image. I felt like I was watching an old Japanese Godzilla movie !!! But I was watching a fairly new movie... "A Price above Rubies" with Renee Zellweger. (I will watch anything that she is...

I've got a Wharfedale surround speaker system. Mains are Emerald 97's, Center is an Emerald, and the Surrounds are Diamond Anniversary. For the most part, I really love the sound from these speakers for 5.1 movies or just stereo... but the center channel speaker seems a little weak. I notice...

I am considering purchasing an HP DVD re-writeable drive for my computer. It works with DVD+R and DVD+RW discs only, so I am curious if my Denon DVD 1600 will play the DVD+R discs ??? The manual for the DVD 1600 says it will play DVD-R discs, but no mention of DVD+R. Anyone have experience with...

I have been waiting more than 2 months now for some AR banana plugs ordered through Amazon. I have also noticed that the AR accessory website has been "unavailable" for nearly 2 months. Anyone know if Acoustic Research is having problems or getting out of some product lines ???

I've got a friend at work who purchased my old home theater receiver and is now thinking about buying a surround speaker set-up. He can't afford to spend much and would feel guilty if he did because he always puts his family first. (He drives a beat up old car just to save $$$ for his kid's...

What an awesome movie !!! I just watched this one tonight on ABC. I never picked it up when it first came out in the video stores because I thought it was just another one of these hokey sports movies. I think this one makes my Top 10 list, and it will be in my small DVD collection shortly. If...

Dog is O.K., but I and my equipment are not. (The experiment outside the kennel ends until she is at least a year old). And somehow she knew just which cords to take on... my two most expensive pieces of equipment. She went right through the Sony XBR cord and the H/K receiver cord, and some...

I did not realize until just recently that there are two types of component video inputs. What is the difference? (Can you not get HD signals through "standard" inputs)? And how do you know what you have? I have a 34" Sony XBR, and nothing in the manual tells me whether the component video...

I have a 19" Sony Trinitron computer monitor and realized my video driver has most of the same basic settings (brightness, contrast, hue, saturation) as my Sony widescreen XBR. So shouldn't it be possible to perform a basic calibration of a computer monitor using one of the calibration DVDs...

I have never bothered changing the default surround audio setting in the menu of a DVD, but I am now wondering if there are any advantages of one format over another ? It seems most DVDs use Dolby Digital sound processing as a default, but the "Chicago" DVD, for instance, allows one to choose...

I am just curious if anyone has come across reviews of this new player ? I saw it in the New Products section of "Sound & Vision" magazine, and it appears to have some awesome capability: DVD-Audio, SACD, THX certified, full bass management, and a DVI output. I am wondering how it compares in...

When watching 4:3 digital over-the-air material on my 16:9 Sony XBR800, some stations broadcast black bars on the sides and others broadcast gray. When stopping a DVD on my Denon DVD-1600, the screen-saver is plain blue. Just wondering what color is considered best in terms of preventing burn-in...

I have decided on HK for my new receiver, just don't know if I should go with the AVR225 or AVR325. Wattage is very similar, and in fact the 225 is actually slightly higher (55 W vs. 50 W) in surround mode. It seems the main differences are: 1) 225 can do only 5.1 while the 325 does 7.1, 2)...

The bottom of the image, when playing 2.35:1 DVDs on my Sony 34" XBR800, is higher at the center than at the edges by a good 4-5 mm (I measured it)... essentially forming an upside down smiley face :frowning:. The upper right corner of the image also curves downward by about 3 mm. I posted on...