http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php Home Cinema and Audio Visual Home Consumer Electronics Forums - biggest in the UK en Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:03:40 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.avforums.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=492 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:14:43 GMT Here's a list of my favourite films. You can make a list like this using a number of criteria, and I've had to think long and hard about what to put on or leave off.

So I've gone for films which I love and which I find at least relatively accessible at most times. Obviously my mood might affect what I choose to watch, but most of the time I can stick any of these on and enjoy it, if I have a couple of hours to spare.

Or longer if it's Das Boot, obviously.

So, some 'favourites' have been missed off because most of the time I'm simply not in the mood for Conspiracy, The Exorcist, or Come and See. But here are the one's I could pop in the player and watch right now.

Alien
Aliens
Angel Heart
As Good As It Gets
Das Boot (The Boat)
Brazil
Broken Flowers
Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
Casablanca
Chinatown
Clerks
Crimes and Misdemeanours
Dead of Night (1945)
Dead Poets Society
Dog Day Afternoon
Double Indemnity
Fail-Safe (1964)
Fargo
A Few Good Men
Fury (1936)
Gandhi
The Godfather 1&2
Groundhog Day
Gun Crazy (a.k.a. Deadly is the Female) (1950)
Heat (1995)
A History of Violence
Hot Fuzz
Identity
The Innocents
Key Largo
Kill Bill
Kind Hearts and Coronets
LA Confidential
Leon
Manhattan
A Matter of Life and Death
Melody (a.k.a. S.W.A.L.K.)
Mona Lisa
OldBoy
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Profondo Rosso (Deep Red)
Pulp Fiction
Rollerball (1975)
Rushmore
Separate Tables
Se7en
Sexy Beast
The Shawshank Redemption
Strangers on a Train
Suspiria
The Swimmer
Swimming Pool
Tales from the Crypt/Asylum /Vault of Horror
The Third Man
The Truman Show
L'Uccello Dalle Piume di Cristallo (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage)
Vertigo
Wait Until Dark
Witness
Z

Actually there are 2 films there which I couldn't watch right now, because I don't own them. They are A History of Violence and Z. The former I caught on Sky Anytime, and thoroughly enjoyed. It was in high def, so I'm waiting for a HD release before buying. As for Z, I never caught the DVD when it came out, and it's now deleted, with copies changing hands for £80 or £90. I'll wait for a HD release, or at least a re-issue.

That's 62 films...well 64 if you count Kill Bill and The Godfather 1 & 2 as two films, 7 of which I have in High Definition: Casablanca, Dog Day Afternoon, A Few Good Men, Hot Fuzz, Identity, OldBoy and Sexy Beast.

The following 12 have been announced on Blu-ray Disc with a formal release date: Angel Heart, Dead Poets Society, The Godfather 1 & 2, Kill Bill 1 & 2, LA Confidential, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, The Third Man, and L'Uccello Dalle Piume di Cristallo (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage).

Well, that's 19 down and 45 to go.

Steve W ]]> Pecker http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=492 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=491 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:23:47 GMT I am renovating a 12 by 18 foot living/dining room area and planning to set up a home theater, upgrading the TV, receiver and speakers. The idea is to wall mount the TV (most likely a 46 inch Sony XBR4) against the 12 foot wall. The two fronts plus the center speakers would go on the same wall and... I am renovating a 12 by 18 foot living/dining room area and planning to set up a home theater, upgrading the TV, receiver and speakers. The idea is to wall mount the TV (most likely a 46 inch Sony XBR4) against the 12 foot wall. The two fronts plus the center speakers would go on the same wall and the two rear speakers would go directly across from them.

1. I am debating between two speaker sets (i) 5 B&W’s FPM5s + PV1 sub (ii) 4 B&W’s XT2s + XTC + PV1 sub. I listened to both and I like the XT2s a little more (but I am not sure how they would look mounted on the wall). Any ideas on the choice of speakers? Any other speakers that I should consider?

2. In terms of receivers, I own some old Harman/Kardon speakers and I like the looks of their latest receivers (sleek silver look). The new HK AVR 354 just came out in the US and some more models (AVR 645 and 745) are to be released in the fall. Any ideas on receivers? Would the HK AVR354 power the B&W speakers properly.

I must honestly say I am a novice in this. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance. ]]> cgt http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=491 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=490 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:32:42 GMT The last few years have seen HTPCs maturing as a genuine Audiophile media sources.

One thing that has remained an area of particular contention for myself is HDMI audio. With software such as Cyberlink's PowerDVD and Arcsoft's Total media Theatre HTPC users have been able to watch and enjoy HD-DVD & Blu-Ray for as long as standalone players have been available to everyone else.

The achilles heel of the HTPC has been it's lack of security and content owners have enforced legislation on software vendors to downsample audio to protect them. The whole idea is quite absurd really, it is very simple to copy a Blu-Ray for anyone who would want to so why this draconian downsampling, and why only on sources over 16bit / 48khz? I don't think there is a sensible answer but the fact remains we have had to put up with this from the birth of HD-DVD & Blu-Ray on the HTPC.

There are those that argue that a lot of content is still only 16bit / 48khz anyway and that you can't hear the difference between that and 24bit / 96khz, so why get so worked up about it?

For me it is knowing that I can't get the best from something I have paid for, HTPCs aren't cheap and nor is the media. Maybe I won't be able to hear the difference but you know what I don't care. What I want to be able to do is stop wondering and KNOW I am getting the best possible audio quality.

There has been a standard around for quite some time that if supported by both software and harware manufacturers would give us exactly what we need, a Protected Audio Path (PAP).

The good news is that there are finally a number of solutions on the Horizon that will finally allow us the full unmolested audio from our HTPCs, PAP is almost here.

Auzentech have a couple of solutions in the works. The first is a new dedicated Soundcard that features HDMI 1.3 Input and Output, the Auzentec HomeTheatre 7.1. It will take the HDMI video from any graphics card and combine with it's own Audio and outbut the combine signal to your AV Processor or Receiver. It supports LPCM as well as Bitstreaming of DD TrueHD and DTS MA. The second is a daughterboard for the existing X-Fi Prelude which adds the same functionality, details are still sketchy about whether this board will become a reality. The Auzentec solutions will come bundled with a new version of PowerDVD which has a proprietry (oh dear) version of PAP designed to work with the Auzentech hardware.

Asus have announced the Xonar HDAV1.3 which offers similiar features to the the Auzentech solution but includes an optional daughterboard with analogue connections and upgradeable opamps. A full 8 RCA outputs makes this an attractive proposition for those wishing to make the most of analogue connectivity.

The Asus card comes bundled with Total Media Theatre and AFAIK another proprietry version of PAP. My only fear at the moment is that these two proprietry PAP will not be compatible and we will be stuck with a specific software package depending on which solution we go for. Fingers crossed this isn't the case...

So the near future is looking much better for the HTPC user intent on enjoying full bitrate audio. :smashin: ]]> AngelEyes http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=490 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=489 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:50:09 GMT Just thought i would write the first blog, in my new redesigned blog, i was originally going to do something else but this seems definitely more me. I am just writing this whilst waiting for my Laptop to install Civ IV, havent played it in ages and thought i would give it a go as i am getting... Just thought i would write the first blog, in my new redesigned blog, i was originally going to do something else but this seems definitely more me.

I am just writing this whilst waiting for my Laptop to install Civ IV, havent played it in ages and thought i would give it a go as i am getting CIV revolutions tomorrow for the PS3.

For those that dont know what CIV is i will put some links below;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_(series)

For full series information see above and for the new game see below;

http://www.civilizationrevolution.com/

Looking forward to playing this when sat the on the sofa with the 5.1 setup. I know that hardcore CIV players may think that this is a bit of a dumb downed version of the game but looking at reviews and playing the game i definitely think it has alot to offer. The only concern that i have for the game that i hope is addressed in a post realese patch is the ability to carry on playing the game after the scenario is complete.

If i have put 2-3-4 hours in then i want to be able to still finish the game to my satisfaction without being told that this is the end. What i mean by this is that there are 4 different ways that you can win the game;

Domination - Eliminate all opposition

Culture - Different mix of great people, Wonders all the like

Economy - Make a certain amount of money

Space Race - Same old hat here where you have to be the first into space

So this is where my earlier point comes into play if you have spent 4 hours on the game and just got pipped to the post on the space race i would like to reap my vengeance and eliminate all the other AI on the game before quitting. Not just GAME OVER

So looking forward to getting that tomorrow, no onto a game that i have had a few days to play with.

Battlefield Bad Company

I bought this for the PS3, i have all three next gen consoles but a friend on mine just bought a PS3 so were a playing a bunch of this together.

My initial impressions of the game are around 8,5 to 8.7 just on some of the problems that i have with the game.

One thing straight off the bat with the PS3 version is the sound is a little borked, it was fine on the 360 demo, but i had really hoped that it would be fixed when it was released on the PS3, full retail. This is also more concerning for me and this is the second game i have opted for on the PS3 instead of the 360 to feacture sound problems, the other one being Condemned 2. Really really pulls you out of the game and the sound on this game really is a thing of beauty.

The Lag that was apparant and acceptable in the demo has now gone and i cant say that i have had any what so ever thus far so that is pleasing.

However,

Although playing and finishing 1-3 in most every game i have played it has never been that ultra enjoyable yet and i really want to get into this game. The reason why is that i really don't like how arcady it feels.

I am all for burst fire but how many times do i have to shoot a dude before he takes a dirt nap. I think they have had a really hard time getting the balence right on this game and i think it needed a longer Beta period.

To use an American Term the Assault class has the Nerfed grenade launcher, as they wanted to include there killer app in multiplayer, the destructible environment but try killing someone with a grenade, it is very hard a there really is little or no splash damage. I mean it does that to a wall but no damage to a person. I may be over egging that a little but my point is a valid one.

Also i am having trouble with the vehicles in that on all the guns it just seems impossible to kill someone, i mean your crosshair can be right on them and still no joy.

The realism has really been sucked out of this game to accommodate the feature set, for example why cant the small tank blow out walls ? Or tanks for that matter its pretty useless to be fair.

I like the film grain MTV style graphics i think they are sharp and it runs well on both 360 and PS3, the sound is outta this world and really takes advantage of any 5.1 system, i re-arranged my setup from the default movie configuration to give me optimal configuration and localization detection and man it really helps on this game.

I wish the controller vibrated when getting shot as you are always nearly dead before you figure it out and the direction of where the shots are coming from is a little small.

I will post a full review of both CIV IV and Battlefield when i have played them both fully and these comments are just my early impressions, more will probably be added as i go on before the review as i would want to give them both a fair amount of time before deciding.

Roger and out....... ]]> stud http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=489 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=488 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:06:43 GMT Geeders 0 goberpiles 1 Geeders 0 goberpiles 1 ]]> goberpiles http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=488 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=487 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:35:47 GMT hi'
can anyone help regarding contact phone number of bracketsrus company.
i ordered and paid for cantilever bracket and hdmi lead, delivery within 24 hours. That was nearly 4 days ago still nothing have sent umteen e-mails to them asking where my order is ..no replies cant find number to call them anywhere...anyone had similar contact probs?

ps my brand new georgeous samsung tv is sitting on an old coffee table in the meantime.
craig. ]]> 19craig44 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=487 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=486 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:06:06 GMT Well, thats June out of the way, and I fell short of the 6K a month target by around 750G, and it would have been a lot worse if wasn't for one of the Madden games bleeding points like they normally do - Still, 15K in 3 months isn't too bad.

July looks like being a big one, the last 2 months have been largely occupied with 2 games, and in the case of MGS4 I just couldn't pull myself away from it, even after completing it I went back for a 2nd go, so its Snake's fault I miissed my 6K target!

June saw the score tick over the 60K milestone, and to stay on target I'll have to hit 70K at the end of this month - seeing the score tick over another 10K is pretty motivational.

I had a it of a pleasant suprise a couple of days ago - I logged into MyGamerCard.net to see where I was in the world rankings - about 2,900 overall, and around 550 in the UK - what was quite eye-opening was the "Genre" leagues for different game types - I've always been a fan of racing games and was pretty suprised to see that out of 1.2 million, I was No. 31! So thats a new sub-quest - climb up that leaderboard, I'm only around 300G from breaking the top 25 which would put me on the first page. :thumbsup:

I don't seem to have hit many games for 1000G this month - in fact only 2, Cars : Mater-National which I played with the boy as spectator and PGR4 which I'd already done most of anyway... this is mostly down to my early decision to play games I already own or rent for free - although I did buy Stuntman & Madden 07 for the princly sum of £13 fopr the pair courtesy of HMV's & Zavvi's sales...

So, finish off my current games (main targets are Madden 07, Lost, FIFA RTWC, Orange Box, Grid) and use the cash to buy some racing games... better get going then eh? :grin: ]]> Paul_T http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=486 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=485 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:03:13 GMT Does somebody have experiance with this Benolli smart systems device? I'm using the Application Designer 2008 and can't find to many information on this device. I checked their website www.benolli.com ]]> ryan US http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=485 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=484 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:06:51 GMT hi ,this is my first blog,has anyone any info about the above receiver ,price or specs,many thanks jimmy. hi ,this is my first blog,has anyone any info about the above receiver ,price or specs,many thanks jimmy. ]]> jimmytheweed http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=484 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=483 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:58:35 GMT With the up and coming release of The Dark Knight here in the UK, we at the AVForums Movie Review team are going to wet your appetites by bringing you a whole host of Batman Blu-ray reviews! Wham UK and USA releases of Batman Begins Thwack UK and USA releases of Batman: Gotham Knight With the up and coming release of The Dark Knight here in the UK, we at the AVForums Movie Review team are going to wet your appetites by bringing you a whole host of Batman Blu-ray reviews!

Wham

UK and USA releases of Batman Begins

Thwack

UK and USA releases of Batman: Gotham Knight

Ka-pow

USA release of Batman: The Movie

Crunch

And finally the film itself brought to you by our very own Chris McEneany, The Dark Knight

Enjoy

Simon ]]> Seniorcrusty http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=483 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=482 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:05:31 GMT http://files.filefront.com/The+King+of+Fighters+2003+Video/;9201380;/fileinfo.html http://www.metacafe.com/watch/208601/rc_airwolf_replica http://files.filefront.com/The+King+.../fileinfo.html

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/208601/rc_airwolf_replica ]]> meansizzler http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=482 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=481 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:22:36 GMT i have been given a ucm telivision, but it does not have a remote, i have bought a univeral remote but need a code to enter my tv, i have looked through the booklet and although there are HUNDREDS of makes of tv there is no ucm, can anyone help me out :lease: i have been given a ucm telivision, but it does not have a remote, i have bought a univeral remote but need a code to enter my tv, i have looked through the booklet and although there are HUNDREDS of makes of tv there is no ucm, can anyone help me out :lease: ]]> diane59 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=481 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=480 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:52:35 GMT ok i have a sony ericsson w810i and went to use it today and it froze up. so i took out the batery and inserted it and now its not turing on at all. i plugged the charger in and the red light up the top on the infra red started flashing but then it stopped. im really low on money so i dont want to... ok i have a sony ericsson w810i and went to use it today and it froze up. so i took out the batery and inserted it and now its not turing on at all. i plugged the charger in and the red light up the top on the infra red started flashing but then it stopped. im really low on money so i dont want to be spending lots of money on the phone as i have other excpences such as saving up for an av amp. any help would be very apreciated.


Thankyou. ]]> Tom_1234 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=480 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=479 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:00:58 GMT Can anyone help, how best to connect these together to get the best picture & sound - current system: LCD: Samsung LE46A656 / amp: Onkyo TX-SR606 / dvd: Sony DVP-NS36 / Sky+ box / speakers: Acoustic Energy AEGO 2.

In addition, are there any components that should / need to be up graded?

Ta ]]> g5agoo http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=479 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=477 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:36:54 GMT what is your favourite film? please list them all Thankyou what is your favourite film?

please list them all

Thankyou ]]> Tom_1234 http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=477