PC and Technical Help Forum

Quote from Jay J. Foraker

I must be easy to please. I can enjoy historical CDs that have some hiss in the background - actually some of those recordings from the 50s and 60s were better recorded than some present-day ones.
Since I don't have a theater system and a non-digital TV, I'm happy with regular DVDs and don't feel the need for added expense to purchase blu-ray to make my life complete! (No offense meant to those that relish blu-ray features.)

Its defintely a audiphile type thing or if you are looking at a gaming system for the family. I don't fault anyone for staying with regular DVD's. I guess for me I have been spoiled with a 50 inch plasma and home theater surrond sound. I said in a post awhile back one of the reason's I got into the type of system that I have is too watch Duke films on the best system that I can afford as I was not able to enjoy any of his films on the big screen growing up. And it has been a hoot, I can watch them over and over and over again and never get tired or them, even the B&W films.

Todd,

That is a good point. I didn't get to see the premire of The Quiet Man when it came out in the 50's. I wasn't born yet. It is great to see these pictures on a plasma screen anytime you want. To see the quality of the picture, and the great sound. Best of all, you can freeze it, back it up and watch it again. You can do things that we could never do when going to the old theater or drive-in.

The best part is maybe not to worry about distractions from noisey people, or hot and humid weather at the drive-in. I can watch Rio Bravo anytime I want and as many times I want. I guess if you are happy with a 19" TV with mono sound, well that's alright too.

I do want the best that's out there and I hope to be able to afford it for my entertainment value. How can you watch a great battle scene on The Longest Day with Blu-ray and see the sweat on their faces? You think a 50" is enough, Todd?

Cheers Hondo

Quote from Hondo Duke Lane

Todd,

That is a good point. I didn't get to see the premire of The Quiet Man when it came out in the 50's. I wasn't born yet. It is great to see these pictures on a plasma screen anytime you want. To see the quality of the picture, and the great sound. Best of all, you can freeze it, back it up and watch it again. You can do things that we could never do when going to the old theater or drive-in.

The best part is maybe not to worry about distractions from noisey people, or hot and humid weather at the drive-in. I can watch Rio Bravo anytime I want and as many times I want. I guess if you are happy with a 19" TV with mono sound, well that's alright too.

I do want the best that's out there and I hope to be able to afford it for my entertainment value. How can you watch a great battle scene on The Longest Day with Blu-ray and see the sweat on their faces? You think a 50" is enough, Todd?

Cheers Hondo

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Bigger is better as they say. But in terms of a TV you have to look at where your TV will be at in your home. Also your viewing distance needs to be taken into consideration. If you have a small room then you will probably not enjoy a 50 inch TV when you are sitting 3-5 feet away from it. My main viewing couch is 10 feet from my 50 inch TV. They recommend 8-10 feet for best viewing for a 50 inch TV. Also if your room that the TV is in is well lit then that would deteremine LCD or Plasma, although that is becoming less of a problem with the newer LCD's having better blacks and brighter colors. Some of the LCD's also have a slight disadvantage when it comes to viewing from a angle or from one side or the other over a Plasma, but that is changing as well on the newer LCD's. I guess I would stick to a name brand manufacturer and go look at the TV in the store and look at it from different angles.

Viper,

What would you say if you are around 15 feet? What size flat screen plasma would you recommend? And do you have a preference of the brand of TV you like. I lean toward Sony.

Cheers Hondo

Sony makes a good TV. I have a Samsung plasma TV. I would probably go with a LCD at this time since the new ones use less energy, have just as good of a picture as the plasma's and are generally more widley available then the plasma TV's. Toshiba makes a nice one called the Regza as well. I found this as well that might help with your decision:

A plasmahttp://www.crutchfield.com/Lea…e/tv_glossary.html#plasma TV might be for you if:

• You want really rich, warm colors and deep blacks.
• You'll be sitting off-axis when you watch TV or movies.
• You don't watch a lot of TV shows or play lots of video games with static images on the screen for more than a few hours at a time.
• Your room doesn't have a lot of ambient light, or you can easily reduce the light by closing the blinds, for example.

An LCDhttp://www.crutchfield.com/Lea…home/tv_glossary.html#lcd TV might be for you if:

• You watch a lot of TV shows or play lots of video games with static images on the screen for extended periods of time, multiple days a week.
• Your TV room is relatively bright, or you do a lot of daytime viewing.
• You want 1080p picture resolution — the highest resolution currently available — so you'll see a very sharp, detailed picture. There are many more 1080p LCDs than plasmas.
• You're looking for ways to save energy. LCD TVs usually consume less power than plasma models of the same size.

The new plasma TV's are not as prone to burn in as the older first generation plasma's were so don't let someone tell you that they have this problem.

As far as viewing distance, if you are at 15 ft I wouldn't go with anything less then a 50 inch TV. Here is a handy chart that I found on the internet:


Screen size Viewing

30" 3.75-6.25 feet
34"4.25-7 feet
42" 5.25-8.75 feet
50"6.25-10.5 feet
56"7-11.75 feet
62"7.75-13 feet
70"8.75-14.75 feet


Isn't this fun buying a new TV????

That's very good information Todd, but don't you think that 45" is a little too close for a 30" screen?

Cheers

Hondo, these are just guidlines and your personal preference will dictate how you want to setup your home theater. We have a 36 inch regualr 4:3 screen upstairs and I guess viewing distance is 5-8 feet depending on where you are at in the room. You are going to see a really big difference if you had a big tv and a short distance as it will just not look as nice.

I appreciate your input on this information. I was just asking for your personal opinion. My old TV just died in my bedroom, and I was just looking to see my options here. You've answered a lot of my questions, and I just having to decide what I'd like to have with the money I have in my pocket.

Cheers Hondo

Hi all,

Having read all of the above posts,
I have to say that I would consider
buying a blu-ray player, if as Todd
says, it would enhance my DVDs.

Quote from Emmanuel

Hi all,

Having read all of the above posts,
I have to say that I would consider
buying a blu-ray player, if as Todd
says, it would enhance my DVDs.

Emmanuel,
If your kids play video games, the Playstation 3 is both a game system and a DVD/Blu-Ray player.

I only know that because my sons pooled their money to buy a PS3 and that's what we've been using to play DVDs since our DVD player died a few months back. One of the first Blu-ray movies we watched on it was Rio Bravo, which mo son rented.

I don't see us upgrading to a stand-alone Blu-ray player anytime soon, or investing in Blu-ray discs. In the meantime, we can watch them if we want to, on the PS3.

Chester

Quote from Emmanuel

Hi all,

Having read all of the above posts,
I have to say that I would consider
buying a blu-ray player, if as Todd
says, it would enhance my DVDs.

All high def DVD players will upconvert your regular DVD's to "near" high def quality. Doesn't matter if it's HD DVD or Blu-Ray version. HD DVD has been abandoned now but there are still players available and they are relatively cheap. One thing to consider when buying a player is that if you want to upconvert your existing DVD's you must use the HDMI connection or DVI connection on older high def players. Using S-Video(single wire, like PS2 keyboard connextor) or component video will not allow upconversion. Component video(3 wire cable) can be high def and depending on the player can be 720p, 1080i or 1080p. HDMI is the only cable that has both video and audio, all the others are only video. So, saying all that you must have a TV that has those same connections or you will not be able to upconvert your regular DVD's. They will look nice but not as nice as they could.

Sure is lots of stuff to know isn't there???

Have you tried turning the computer off and back on?

That sometimes "cures" problems like that, that pop up out of the blue. When all else fails, I do it.

Give it a try - it can't hurt!

Mrs. C

Quote from ethanedwards

Hi gang,

My Windows Media Player, has decided to freak out.
It will not me play any audio CD!
I have re-instlled WMP 11,
and cleaned up the library,
but when I insert a CD to play or burn it shows this error message,

Windows Media Player cannot find the file. If you are trying to play, burn, or sync an item that is in your library, the item might point to a file that has been moved, renamed, or deleted.

Anyone have any idea, how to resolve this?

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Does your cd/dvd player on your computer work with other applications?

Can you read the cd from windows explorer?

You might have a problem with the drive.

Also, when you "re-installed" WMP 11, did you uninstall it first or just reinstall it over the top of your old one? If there is anything corrupt in the program it may still be there if it hasn't been removed before the re-install. Do do that go to your control panel and look under "Installed Programs" and uninstall it. Then reboot, then install it again.

I recently bought a new XPS laptop from Dell and I must say, that durn thing has the worst speakers of any computer I've ever owned. Very "tinny" sounding and no hint of bass at all. This even though their XPS laptops are supposed to be "top of the line". I had an Inspiron laptop before the XPS (which I gave to my grandson who's going to Baylor) and the music playing on it didn't sound half-bad (though naturally not as good as that from my desktop). Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a heads-up in case they're thinking about buying an XPS laptop. (Yesterday, I ordered some small external speakers for the XPS)

Okay, so go with the program. uninstall it and then reboot computer. Re-install program. Make sure you reboot after the uninstall as that will ensure deletion if there are any files that maybe related to the program that might still be residing in the system cache or drive.

Quote from Stumpy

I recently bought a new XPS laptop from Dell and I must say, that durn thing has the worst speakers of any computer I've ever owned. Very "tinny" sounding and no hint of bass at all. This even though their XPS laptops are supposed to be "top of the line". I had an Inspiron laptop before the XPS (which I gave to my grandson who's going to Baylor) and the music playing on it didn't sound half-bad (though naturally not as good as that from my desktop). Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a heads-up in case they're thinking about buying an XPS laptop. (Yesterday, I ordered some small external speakers for the XPS)

I have a in with Lenovo computers. They are the computer company that purchased the IBM PC division. As IBM employee I get a deal on those and I have 4 people purchase laptops through me and they are really happy with them. They purchased the Thinkpad model T61's. Very durable and very nice laptops. I am not trying to steal your thunder Stumpy but I really like them and my neighbor had a Dell laptop XPS model for his buisness and there company went to Lenovo brand laptops because they are far more durable.