vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 11, 2009 at 01:45 AM UTC
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sweetcell wrote:
vansmack wrote:
The driver of the vehicle that ran the red that struck Nick's car was drunk, and driving on a suspended license for a previous DUI, according to Fullerton Police.
That will be a murder charge in California.
"The minivan's driver fled the scene and was later arrested, Brower said. Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside will face charges of manslaughter, felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run" [source]
Suspect in Adenhart Crash Charged with 3 Counts of Murder
sweetcell
Joined: July 18, 2006 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 22608
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 16, 2009 at 08:10 PM UTC
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this coulda been you, smaxedit:
ewwwwwww (somehow i had missed this… sorry i caught up)
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 16, 2009 at 08:23 PM UTC
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sweetcell wrote:
this coulda been you, smax
Sorry, but my list of Stephen Coletti exes is topped by LC.
Venerable Bede
Joined: October 16, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 3863
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 16, 2009 at 08:41 PM UTC
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sweetcell wrote:
this coulda been you, smax
how ryan reynolds got out of marrying alanis morrissette, then ended up with scarlett johansen is truly mind-boggling.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 16, 2009 at 08:53 PM UTC
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Venerable wrote:
how ryan reynolds got out of marrying alanis morrissette, then ended up with scarlett johansen is truly mind-boggling.
True. That might deserve a thread of its own.
kosmo
Joined: September 23, 1999 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 16329
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 20, 2009 at 01:44 PM UTC
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Robbie Williams's big comeback record to be produced by Trevor Horn enough said
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 20, 2009 at 04:15 PM UTC
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kosmo wrote:
Robbie Williams's big comeback record to be produced by Trevor Horn enough said
Now that is how I like to start my day. Thanks for the heads up Kosmo!
elj
Joined: October 09, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 5970
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 20, 2009 at 04:20 PM UTC
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vansmack wrote:
sweetcell wrote:
this coulda been you, smax
Sorry, but my list of Stephen Coletti exes is topped by LC.
Wise man.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 05:02 PM UTC
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Not that anybody has any left, but if you do….
Trade in your HD DVDs for Blu-ray editions
godsshoeshine
Joined: September 18, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4826
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 07:02 PM UTC
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i have a blu ray, and i think it would be good if you are in to that sort of thing. i cant say i really watch too many dvds or blu rays
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 07:09 PM UTC
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Tangible media is dead. The disc itself is simply a delivery medium that is no longer needed.
As soon as business models for internet content delivery evolve into business models for disc content (I'm talking to you Blockbuster! Vansmack is offering you your only chance of survival FREE OF CHARGE), people will stop buying tangible media.
I'm probably the biggest gadget guy I know and have never seen the need for a Blu-Ray player, and probably never will.
godsshoeshine
Joined: September 18, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4826
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 07:11 PM UTC
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i am with you. mine was a gift
chaz
Joined: December 09, 2002 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 5111
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 07:32 PM UTC
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walkonby wrote:
vansmack wrote:
Not that anybody has any left, but if you do….
Trade in your HD DVDs for Blu-ray editions
i thought blu ray would be dead by now. the whole thing, after owning it for about six months seems sort of gimmicky and in your face with , "you must buy into this because it is new." i guess though if i had a killer sound system it would make all the difference.
I?ve got a really nice sound system to go along with my really nice display ? the high-def audio codecs contained in Blu-ray discs make a huge difference to me?possibly more than the much improved picture over DVD?.depending on the film though
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 07:47 PM UTC
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chaz wrote:
I?ve got a really nice sound system to go along with my really nice display ? the high-def audio codecs contained in Blu-ray discs make a huge difference to me?possibly more than the much improved picture over DVD?.depending on the film though
I'd agree with that. But the 5.1 surround codec comes with the HD download as well. I have yet to make the 7.1 jump yet as there is not enough on the market in my eyes to justify the jump, but I eventually will. By the time I do, I'm sure the 7.1 codec will be in the download (if it's not already - I haven't checked in a while).
One of the main differences I've noticed with newer DVD/Blu-Ray players is when folks use an optical cable the player itself selects the correct audio out codec (Dolby D, Dolby EX, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS etc.) and your stereo adjusts accordingly. That makes a huge difference in the sound quality, especially for those that don't take the time to fully understand their equipment. The quality was probably always there, the user just didn't know it. Now it's nearly fool proof.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 08:32 PM UTC
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No sooner were we talking about this when Amazon and Tivo announce:
Amazon Video on Demand supports 5.1 surround on TiVoSo we were pretty bummed in our early testing of Amazon's newly HD-enabled Video On Demand service to find that it only streamed stereo audio instead of full 5.1 surround, but it looks like that's actually device-dependent – we just tested it out on our TiVo HD, and movies play back in Dolby Digital 5.1. Yeah, that's still no Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD, but it's definitely a vast upgrade from the sad two channels we got off the Roku Video Player. So why the difference? The TiVo doesn't stream content like the Roku – it actually downloads a video file and plays it locally from its hard drive. That means that in addition to surround audio, we also saw a pretty dramatic increase in picture quality – not exactly Blu-ray, but at least on par with the Apple TV, which also downloads content locally first. Sure, downloading first means playback can be much slower to start, but we'll take the delay over a blocky image any day.
——-
What Engadget means by not exactly blu-ray but on par with Apple is that it was 720p and not 1080p. DirecTV is allowing for 1080p downloads that match Blu-ray quality visually (and I think Dish Network is too), but I'm not sure if the DL's are DolbyHD.
chaz
Joined: December 09, 2002 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 5111
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 09:40 PM UTC
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vansmack wrote:
chaz wrote:
I?ve got a really nice sound system to go along with my really nice display ? the high-def audio codecs contained in Blu-ray discs make a huge difference to me?possibly more than the much improved picture over DVD?.depending on the film though
I'd agree with that. But the 5.1 surround codec comes with the HD download as well. I have yet to make the 7.1 jump yet as there is not enough on the market in my eyes to justify the jump, but I eventually will. By the time I do, I'm sure the 7.1 codec will be in the download (if it's not already - I haven't checked in a while).
One of the main differences I've noticed with newer DVD/Blu-Ray players is when folks use an optical cable the player itself selects the correct audio out codec (Dolby D, Dolby EX, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS etc.) and your stereo adjusts accordingly. That makes a huge difference in the sound quality, especially for those that don't take the time to fully understand their equipment. The quality was probably always there, the user just didn't know it. Now it's nearly fool proof.
I don't use 7.1….very few releases have 7.1 soundracks to them as you said. 7.1 is usually achieved by the receiver or pre/pro overlaying some sort of addtional processing on top of the exitsting 5.1 stream.
What i'm referring to are the Dolby Digital HD and DTS HD Master soundtracks that are included on most blu-ray disks. These codecs can't be passed over digital toslink or digital coax connections - not enough bandwidth. They must be travel via bitstream over HDMI to a reciever or pre/pro that can decode the codecs. If the receiver or pre/pro can't decode the format your not dead yet…..but you'd need a blu ray play that can decode them natively and then (not all can) output them via PCM over HDMI, or even over 5.1 analog outs to the receiver or pre pro, but analog is not as good because then all bass management options must be set on the player and these options are very limited on most BR players.
If you haven't heard the new codecs on good equipment and you're into this stuff and have the $$ to make it happen, you won't be dissapointed ;D
*edit - saw your previous post after i posted this. In short though, the quality i've come to enjoy via BR disk is not avialalble via yet from any download service. Someday soon, but not yet.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 10:02 PM UTC
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chaz wrote:
*edit - saw your previous post after i posted this. In short though, the quality i've come to enjoy via BR disk is not avialalble via yet from any download service. Someday soon, but not yet.
This is absolutely correct. Even the DirecTV 1080p movies are not Blu-Ray quality because the bit-rates are starved, but it's not enough to justify buying a BR player in my eyes because it's still a huge improvement over the current DVD standard (480i/p). I was unaware of the the need for HDMI for the HD sound codecs though - thanks for the heads up. I will definitely check that out. What I am wondering now is if the DirecTV DVR or the X-Box 360 can natively decode them - I'm doubting it, but I will find out.
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 22, 2009 at 10:06 PM UTC
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vansmack wrote:What I am wondering now is if the DirecTV DVR can natively decode them - I'm doubting it, but I will find out.
That didn't take long (I know people):
"They will never do 7.1 or any of the new HD audio formats as Dolby Digital 5.1 is the max the chipsets in the receivers can handle."
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...
April 24, 2009 at 12:04 AM UTC
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CHARLIE "CHALO" QUINTANA LEAVING SOCIAL D AFTER 10 YEARS
After ten amazing years behind the drum kit for Social Distortion, Charlie "Chalo" Quintana has announced he's moving on to explore other musical opportunities. Charlie had this to say about his departure, "Playing with Social D for ten years was a good time in my life. I was lucky to play on two Social D records and the second solo album, and I am proud to have been part of the band. We hit some spectacular heights which I will never forget - adios amigos!"
Filling Charlie's big shoes is none other than Atom Willard. You've probably seen Atom wailing on the skins with Rocket From The Crypt, The Offspring, or his most recent band Angels & Airwaves. We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome such a great talent and individual into the band. Atom's first show with Social D will be the Jay Thomas benefit on May 18 at the House Of Blues Anaheim.