Testy Area 51 (1 Viewer)

[Elijah]

I feel like this thread has become the equivalent of the abandoned diner, where the old folks still go and sit in the parking lot to talk about the way things were, while the bulldozers approach in the background...

And where is Steve anyway? Why back in my day, Steve practically lived here!...*confused senile grumbling*

 

[Elijah]

In lieu of Steve's regular Christmas greeting, we can recycle his 2004 one....*corporate card sir*

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Maybe Steve was on King Chuck's "naughty list".

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

 

[Steve Christou]

Merry Xmas Droogs!


I'm not getting email notifications either. How is everyone? I've barely posted this year, shameful! I was just a wee lad when I joined the HTF 22 years ago. It's still the only forum I was ever active in.

Bought a 4k Ultra HD in august, 58 inch Philips with Ambilight feature. My 42 inch LG looks puny in comparison. But the LG has 3D and is on standby in the next room. I have over 300 3D movies. It takes less than 20 minutes to set it up in front of the Philips and watch 3D and I have already done so.

The Ambilight feature on Philips is a fun gimmick, a series of tiny colored bulbs at the back of the TV light up the wall in sync with the visuals giving a cinema like effect, a Star Wars explosion would light up the room. It can be switched on or off or even synced with the sound instead of the visuals.

Anyway I'm happy with the quality of 4K, modern films look stunning but I would suggest a large TV to get the full effect. 4K on a 42 inch won't look much different to blu-ray when you're sitting 6 feet away. It needs to be eye filling.

On the downside film grain is more evident on some older titles and I'm not a big fan of film grain. The less noticeable the better. Spider-Man 2002 is grainier on 4K than it is on Blu-ray, so is Ghostbusters. Reviewers who say you can see more detail when film grain is accentuated have a screw loose.

I've just put Ben-Hur (1959) on, upscaling is fantastic, and very little noticeable grain, mmm.

 

[Elijah]

Merry Christmas Steve, good to hear from you again!

I've posted in probably a hundred different forums over the years, but none do I keep coming back to yearly like this, you built something good here in Testy : )

 

[Steve Christou]

Aloha Elijah! Good to see you're still around and posting in this ancient thread. I'm still amazed at how many posts I have, most of them from my first decade here, so this is my third decade on the HTF? [bites fist] And to put things in perspective Mike has nearly 4 times as many posts, jeezus.

[ramble mode on] Watching the news there was a scary big icestorm across America, 200 million Americans affected, wow! Boiling water turning instantly into ice. It's like that film The Day After Tomorrow, science fiction becomes science fact. Hope you guys are okay. I know Russell's used to it, living in Canada. We had a 'cold snap' recently here in the UK and everybody freaked, it wasn't even snowing for chrissakes. Well not here in Manchester. Okay our energy bills have gone sky high and people are avoiding turning on the heating, can't afford it. Some people are spending all day in shops just to stay warm. [ramble mode off]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Heck I can't even believe little Duke is going to be 17 this spring.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Heck I can't even believe little Duke is going to be 17 this spring.

Just like Leisl

 

[Ruz-El]

Hey everyone! I somehow missed the fun! Wishing you all the best in 2023! God, it has to be better than 2022, right?
Congrats on the new TV Steve! I have a PS5 that plays UHD plugged into a 26" Toshiba that doesn't have 4K, and I had to get a splitter for the audio since my little hometheater in a box doesn't have HDMI, only optical so I needed to split the HDMI to get surround audio. And I have more HDMI things hooked up to that TV than the TV has plugs so I got a splitter for more HDMI ports. I got it all working after sacrificing a pop tart to Cthulhu but boy, the TV really shits the bed sometimes trying to figure out what input is happening at what resolution with the PS5! Now I'm gonna get kicked off the forum for this blasphemy! Been lovely knowing you all!

 

[Elijah]

Since this is a HT thread (oh, is it really?) I'll add that I recently had to take out and test/clean the power switch on our Sony STR-DG1200 receiver so that the kids can play Minecraft without having to power-cycle the unit 20+ times.

I find it funny that after all these years with various 7.1 receivers (3x now) and having the full setup of Paradigm speakers, I'm still (since 2002) running 2.1 : /

I guess I've become a less discerning customer regarding my HT setup now that I'm in my dotage, and willing to enjoy in a less pristine state.

Aloha Elijah! Good to see you're still around and posting in this ancient thread.

Its one of the only place I really post anywhere "regularly" anymore (if yearly = regularly)

I had to get a splitter for the audio since my little hometheater in a box doesn't have HDMI, only optical so I needed to split the HDMI to get surround audio. And I have more HDMI things hooked up to that TV than the TV has plugs so I got a splitter for more HDMI ports.

Ah yes, splitters upon splitters upon splitters....they're all nitrogen bathed, 99.999% pure gold MONSTAR branded though right?!!?

 

[Ruz-El]

Ah yes, splitters upon splitters upon splitters....they're all nitrogen bathed, 99.999% pure gold MONSTAR branded though right?!!?

Those are the cheap ones on amazon that ship in one day, right?

 

[Mike Frezon]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Ah yes, splitters upon splitters upon splitters....they're all nitrogen bathed, 99.999% pure gold MONSTAR branded though right?!!?

 

[Mike Frezon]

View attachment 170589

You're not dressing like this already?!?

 

[Mike Frezon]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Fluffers has been gone too long now.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]