Recently in Entertainment Category
I just finished watching Fracture, which I enjoyed a fair bit. I like that sort of film a lot. For whatever reason, though, the thing that appealed to me most are the marble tracks created by Anthony Hopkins' character. Those things were pretty cool.
I think it's funny when something is broadcast in letterbox but not in widescreen. What a lovely little box in the middle of my nice big widescreen television. Thanks, sci-fi channel.
I have been MIA lately. There's been a lot going on here with work, my personal life, and my move. That's right, I moved. With the move, I decided to upgrade my home theater to something a little more... well, a little more. I've already got a nice television, though there are nicer out there. What I did buy was new audio equipment, a PS3, and a TiVo HD. What I want to talk about is the TiVo HD and the setup.
First off, I am in the Boston area. I say this for the benefit of readers who find me with a search engine and are researching this purchase. That said, here's what I learned:
1. Comcast does offer cable cards in the Boston area. A TiVo HD forgoes the traditional use of a cable box in favor of this technology. This has two major effects (in my opinion).
a) Cable cards, obviously, use cable. This means that TiVo HDs kind of freeze out dish users. Sorry.
b) Cable cards are a one-way technology. This means that using a cable card forces you to sacrifice interactive features your cable provider otherwise offers. The most important features lost are the on-screen guide, which TiVo replaces anyway, and On Demand programming. I have also read rumblings that more programming will require two-way communication between your box and the provider later down the road. I have no way of knowing if this is true.
2. Comcast does offer multi-stream cable cards in the Boston area. A multi-stream cable card is a cable card capable of decoding multiple signals. This means you'd only need one cable card instead of two for your TiVo HD to be able to view and record two stations at once. This is a Good Thing(tm).
3. The reason multi-stream cable cards are such a good thing is financial. The first cable card is free from Comcast, so you don't have to pay a rental for the second card. That being said, the rental of a second card is only a few dollars at the time of this writing ($2.50 I believe), so don't be sad if your installer does not have a multi-stream cable card.
4. Your installer may not know what a cable card is or how to install it. Don't worry. The directions that came with the TiVo HD are thorough and good. Remember to ask for a multi-stream cable card. Your installer may not know what that is or if he has them. Mine brought up two multi-stream cards saying they were single stream. If it says M-Card on it, you've got a multi-stream card. When in doubt, your TiVo HD will detect the type of card and tell you what it is when you insert it.
5. Pairing information is important. Your TiVo may sit on a cable card status screen, but you'll actually need the pairing screen.
That's all stuff I had a little trouble finding information about when I was researching. I hope it helps someone down the road. And if not, at least I've got it documented for myself.
I have a Sony DAV DZ100 and use it as both my DVD player and sound system here at home. I admit it's not the highest end unit on the planet, but the price was right when I was in the market. What's a little bit sad is that I never bothered to take advantage of the system fully - I laid the speakers out, but I never hung them or laid them out properly.
Tonight I did, and I have to say it's been worth the effort. Unfortunately the wires show. There's not a whole lot I can do about that in an apartment. Already I've learned that it's worth the effort, hands down. I would certainly prefer the wires not show, but that is not an investment I am interested making in an apartment. One benefit to my system is that it has a two channel stereo mode - something I would recommend making an absolute requirement if you're in the market for a system and live in an apartment. This allows me to disable the rear speakers with the push of a button, which helps me avoid annoying neighbors at night.
That said, in a condo or house I don't think I'd hesitate to purchase a nicer system and run the wires through the walls. Television and movies sound better and at a lower volume. This is great.