I agree. The "Dragon Book" is a classic book in use for decades past and for those to come. Another great book is "Modern Operating Systems"; can't recall the author off-hand but it had a bright-blue cover!:)
From RB (a TiVo employee), taken from the AVSForum:
"For the record...
"In our next release we are reinstating the use of the record button (the only thing that changed between 1.3 and 2.0.1 for customers who bought units that shipped with software prior to 2.0. We did not really mean to change that functionality. We do apologize for the inconvenience this caused for the time it takes to get the new software out.
"In 2.5, with no service, on boxes that were purchased with a software release prior to 2.0, pressing the record button will record for 30 minutes, and then stop. Nothing else should change in the no-service-state.
And if anyone reading these threads is in the Puget Sound area, you can catch Mike's live performance on the weekend's for only ten bucks. I can't imagine he's really making much off that. I've only seen the online video; thought it was hilarious. I hear there's always an empty seat set aside for Jeff B, but he hasn't shown up yet;) Sure he flames Amazon a bit, but overall it sets a pretty funny image about how all these dot-coms thought things were gonna happen.
I loved Dungeon Master on my Amiga, the graphics and sound were awesome! I recently downloaded the PC version from Underdogs the other day; the PC version just can't quite compare.
Shortly after I bought the Amiga version, I attended the AmigaWorld Expo being held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA. FTL Games was represented, along with some guy from San Diego that had put together a music CD containing 21 tracks of audio that completely and accurately represented some of the best puzzles and battles of the game. To this day, I still have the CD and find the music to be inspiring! The artwork on the disc's front is a beautiful red, black, and silver dragon with the DM logo below. The jewel case front has the DM logo above a pile of skulls holding what looks to be a sling.
They told me at the time it was a limited release CD. I've never met any DM lover since who has it. My bandwidth would never survive a/. onslought, but if anyone had the resources, I could be convinced to post the songs in our beloved digital music format;) -- jon_godfrey at yahoo dot com
I recently went through the same search. I've always been a fan of Onkyo, but I decided to look at other units this time as well. I was strongly considering the Yamaha DSP line, Onkyo and Denon. I did a lot of listening to all of them. The Yamaha line is very nice, but a bit on the pricey side. The Onkyo didn't sound as nice as I hoped, even compared to my 1990 Onkyo ProLogic receiver. The Denon was very good, with a warm sound. It's also the manufacturer I ended up going with. I picked up a Denon 3801 A/V receiver for around $1100 as an early Christmas gift to myself.
The Denon unit, for my personal listening, doesn't hurt my ears after hours of playing. The warmer sound doesn't get to me like some of the other units that play a crisper/harsher audio. But again, that's personal opionion.
What I look for in a receiver obviously includes price. But I also consider a receiver to be one of your components that should outlast most of the others (kinda like a monitor in your computing environment). You might change out your DVD or MP3 player from time to time, but a good A/V receiver should last for a good while (perhaps 10+ years). My last one did, that's for sure.
Along with the video switching capabilites (and make sure there are enough for your needs), I recommend paying particular attention to the number of digital inputs. The Denon 3801 has 4 (3 optical, one coaxial). I was a little hesitant at only four. If a receiver is supposed to last a long time (by my thinking), then how many devices produced down the road will offer digital audio outs? My guess... a lot more. You just got a DVD player, so that almost certainly has an optical out (and maybe a coax as well). Most cable and satellite systems provided digital out, as do most quality CD players. That's three already. I hope the next gen TIVOs/Replay PVRs have them too. That already fills up my receiver's inputs. So, I consider it an important aspect to consider.
Also pay attention to the amps inside your receiver. Does one big amp drive all the channels, or does each channel have its own isolated amp circuit? This can prevent fallout in one channel while others are being abused by big explosion sounds, etc... The Denon model I got has the latter.
Other things you might want to consider are DSP modes (theatre, game, etc). I personally don't consider these much. They usually end up distorting the sound. Dolby Digital vs. DTS? Most decent receivers handle both nowadays. THX certification? Ok, this "seal" says that the receiver has been built to provide a certain level and quality of sound at a given condition. I don't really know what the levels or conditions are. The Denon unit supports the EX rear effects speaker from the THX spec, but has not been THX-certified. I think the certification gives a lot of money to Lucas for a seal-of-approval. I don't buy into it (at least until that guy gets off his ass and gives us Star Wars on DVD:)
Lastly, check out the heat the unit gives off. Is it too enclosed for a cabinet you might have? Does it support the new DVD-Audio format? (probably will). Can you set indidual volume levels for the channels that increase/decrese appropriately to the master control? Test tones? Etc...
Outside the receiver, I found a big improvement in audio and video when I powered all of my components through a Monster power filter. Depending on the power requirements you need, these can be had for $100-$300. In my opinion, very worth-while additions.
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I agree. The "Dragon Book" is a classic book in use for decades past and for those to come. Another great book is "Modern Operating Systems"; can't recall the author off-hand but it had a bright-blue cover! :)
From RB (a TiVo employee), taken from the AVSForum:
"For the record...
"In our next release we are reinstating the use of the record button (the only thing that changed between 1.3 and 2.0.1 for customers who bought units that shipped with software prior to 2.0. We did not really mean to change that functionality. We do apologize for the inconvenience this caused for the time it takes to get the new software out.
"In 2.5, with no service, on boxes that were purchased with a software release prior to 2.0, pressing the record button will record for 30 minutes, and then stop. Nothing else should change in the no-service-state.
-RB
And if anyone reading these threads is in the Puget Sound area, you can catch Mike's live performance on the weekend's for only ten bucks. I can't imagine he's really making much off that. I've only seen the online video; thought it was hilarious. I hear there's always an empty seat set aside for Jeff B, but he hasn't shown up yet ;) Sure he flames Amazon a bit, but overall it sets a pretty funny image about how all these dot-coms thought things were gonna happen.
I loved Dungeon Master on my Amiga, the graphics and sound were awesome! I recently downloaded the PC version from Underdogs the other day; the PC version just can't quite compare.
/. onslought, but if anyone had the resources, I could be convinced to post the songs in our beloved digital music format ;) -- jon_godfrey at yahoo dot com
Shortly after I bought the Amiga version, I attended the AmigaWorld Expo being held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA. FTL Games was represented, along with some guy from San Diego that had put together a music CD containing 21 tracks of audio that completely and accurately represented some of the best puzzles and battles of the game. To this day, I still have the CD and find the music to be inspiring! The artwork on the disc's front is a beautiful red, black, and silver dragon with the DM logo below. The jewel case front has the DM logo above a pile of skulls holding what looks to be a sling.
They told me at the time it was a limited release CD. I've never met any DM lover since who has it. My bandwidth would never survive a
Wasn't this from the movie, Real Genius, with Val Kilmer?
The Denon unit, for my personal listening, doesn't hurt my ears after hours of playing. The warmer sound doesn't get to me like some of the other units that play a crisper/harsher audio. But again, that's personal opionion.
What I look for in a receiver obviously includes price. But I also consider a receiver to be one of your components that should outlast most of the others (kinda like a monitor in your computing environment). You might change out your DVD or MP3 player from time to time, but a good A/V receiver should last for a good while (perhaps 10+ years). My last one did, that's for sure.
Along with the video switching capabilites (and make sure there are enough for your needs), I recommend paying particular attention to the number of digital inputs. The Denon 3801 has 4 (3 optical, one coaxial). I was a little hesitant at only four. If a receiver is supposed to last a long time (by my thinking), then how many devices produced down the road will offer digital audio outs? My guess... a lot more. You just got a DVD player, so that almost certainly has an optical out (and maybe a coax as well). Most cable and satellite systems provided digital out, as do most quality CD players. That's three already. I hope the next gen TIVOs/Replay PVRs have them too. That already fills up my receiver's inputs. So, I consider it an important aspect to consider.
Also pay attention to the amps inside your receiver. Does one big amp drive all the channels, or does each channel have its own isolated amp circuit? This can prevent fallout in one channel while others are being abused by big explosion sounds, etc... The Denon model I got has the latter.
Other things you might want to consider are DSP modes (theatre, game, etc). I personally don't consider these much. They usually end up distorting the sound. Dolby Digital vs. DTS? Most decent receivers handle both nowadays. THX certification? Ok, this "seal" says that the receiver has been built to provide a certain level and quality of sound at a given condition. I don't really know what the levels or conditions are. The Denon unit supports the EX rear effects speaker from the THX spec, but has not been THX-certified. I think the certification gives a lot of money to Lucas for a seal-of-approval. I don't buy into it (at least until that guy gets off his ass and gives us Star Wars on DVD :)
Lastly, check out the heat the unit gives off. Is it too enclosed for a cabinet you might have? Does it support the new DVD-Audio format? (probably will). Can you set indidual volume levels for the channels that increase/decrese appropriately to the master control? Test tones? Etc...
Outside the receiver, I found a big improvement in audio and video when I powered all of my components through a Monster power filter. Depending on the power requirements you need, these can be had for $100-$300. In my opinion, very worth-while additions.
Whatever you decide, enjoy your new toys!