Re:Do activision really care when it's released ?
on
No Doom 3 This Year?
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· Score: 1
Of course they care. For one, the XMas buying season is the largest buying time of the season. Companies count on that revenue for their quarterly earnings. If it is released another quarter, their earnings are effected. Another reason is that people have less money to spend in January than they do in December. In December, many will pick up games for their kids or friends. Not so often in January. Moreover, once people get their December credit card bills, they may be more reluctant to spend $50 on a game (not to mention $150+ for a video card).
Here's a guide to DVI found in the AVS Forum. (It is in MS Word format.)
Key points that many posters to this thread don't seem to know:
Many people on the AVS Forum who've actually tried DVI output say that the picture quality is much improved over component video and is close to HDTV quality.
There are numerous TVs that have DVI inputs, including most good projection TVs. It's not limited to Plasma or LCD.
Bravo isn't the only DVD player with DVI, though it is the only one that is not copy protected.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Almost new widescreen projection TV available today has DVI. (Almost every new widescreen is also HDTV capable also). Even the $2000 and below TVs have them. Few midrange TVs have component? Have you been to a TV store lately? Component inputs are standard on almost anything over $300.
If you want to get DVHS, you also need to find:
An HDTV tuner with 1394 output
Invest in a good broadcast TV antenna (None of the cable HD boxes seem to have 1394 outputs)
Invest in an HDTV display.
Not quite true. You only need an HDTV tuner if you wish to record HDTV. One of the benefits of the D-VHS system is the ability to buy pre-recorded HD content. As for the HDTV display, why the hell would you buy a HD player/recorder if you didn't already have, or plan to get in the near future, an HD display.
A good VHS recording, played back on a 6-head VCR, displayed on a nice TV actually does look better than the same recording done on DVD, played on the same TV.
Then you say
There are a lot of DVDs where the VHS version looks better on our 4-head VCR and ancient 19" TV (no RCA inputs) than on his DVD player and new 21" TV.
You're not watching the same TV. So you're not making the comparison you said you were. I doubt anyone with a properly calibrated TV and DVD player would ever say that VHS looks better than DVD.
Since there is extra storage space and interaction capabilities many immature designers do unnecessary stylistic things that in the end detract from the experience. Bad menuing systems on DVDs remind me of (the very typically horrible) desktop themes/skins.
It reminds me of Flash for web pages. Every web designer in the world seems to think that I want to see a Flash intro and Flash menus when I go to a site. But at least most of them have a Skip Intro button.
1) It goes out of its way to screw you over by refusing to route video signal through a VCR, thus rendering it inoperable with most legacy TVs.
It's not going out of the way to screw you. There are better connections available. You can't be backward compatible with everything. You can buy a TV for about $150 that has the connections needed to plug in a DVD player.
2) Discs usually have mandatory, can't-fast-forward-through-them FBI warnings at the beginning of disks. By jove, when I buy a movie, I want to see a MOVIE, not some goddammed threatening legalese from the MPAA!
Correct. And very annoying.
3) artifacts. DVD players (or at least the Sony my sister lent me) can't seem to keep the most basic artifacts suppressed. I remember seeing a white-painted wall, and noticing that the paint "crawled" like white noise as action elsewhere in the frame caused a wacky encoding of a simple signal. Call me back when you can film white walls.
Never noticed this. Perhaps it's your connection?
4) compatibility issues. One in twelve DVDs I rent doen't work on my player, in which case I have to watch it on a laptop. (Unless THAT also doesn't work.) Yes VHS tapes get eaten, but not at that high a rate. VHS is more reliable.
5) Skipping. Usually have to endure this once or twice per film on rentals. Lame.
I've rented 6-10 movies a month from Netflix since September 2001. Number of compatibility problems = 0. Number of skipping discs = 0.
6) Frilly menus. Please less ghay animation, more do-what-I-want.
God I hate those menus. They have to have these huge intros and "cool" references to the film that you won't get until you watch the film. Just have a menu with simple choices: (1) play movie (2) select a scene (3) special features. That's it. No animations in the menu. No intros to the menu. No audio in the menu. Give me the choices and let me watch what I want to.
One other thing I should have mentioned. Who cares about violet lasers? The linked to article points to a DVD recorder, not a player. The various manufacturers have yet to finalize on a format for next generation, pre-recorded DVDs (presumably High Definition). According to the DVD FAQ site, there are at least 6 competing formats, and it will be a while (if ever) before they standarize on a single format. Waiting it out will be years. Buy a player.
I agree with the others. This is a stupid question. Whatever the faults are of the DVD format, it is still many times better than viewing pre-recorded VHS. But I'll be a little more serious with the recommendations.
You can buy a very cheap player for about $50. But why not spend a little more. For just a little more you can buy a decent progressive output DVD player. Check out this DVD Benchmark test which seems to be more thorough than most DVD tests. They recommend several players that retail for only $230 (street price is a lot less).
Other things to look for:
If you care about audio at all, you may want to get a universal player, one that plays DVD-Audio and SACD discs as well. Before the/. drones comment, I will mention that those formats are copy protected. Two caveats to the copy protection: (1) there isn't a single disc that is exclusive to SACD/DVD-Audio. Each release is also available in CD format; (2) the sound quality improvement is supposed to be substantial.
You may want to look at how you're connecting the DVD player. Generally speaking, the best connector for most is component video, followed by S-Video, composite video, and finally the dreaded RF-converter box. However, there is now a player on the market that is supposedly even better quality connection, the DVI connection (same as the connector to a computer LCD monitor). The first player to have such an output is the Bravo D1 player, only available on-line. Be careful though. The reviews say that the picture quality is near High Definition quality, but some have had quality control issues with the player. It retails for $200.
Where do you get the idea that you would serve a lot of time for uploading a file? Sentencing is not in the bill itself, yet several posters here have said that you get more time for this than armed robbery.
First of all, armed robbery is not a federal crime. You would be prosecuted under state law. To pick a state at random, in Arizona armed robbery is a class 2 Felony. According to the sentencing law, a class 2 felony gets you 4 to 10 years in prison.
I've never understood the importance. I have a PS2 and even kept a few PS1 games. But if I buy a PS3, I will still have the PS2, so I really don't give a crap if the PS3 will play PS2 games.
Same thing happened to me. The Thorns, a "supergroup" featuring Matthew Sweet, has a new album out. I downloaded a few of the tracks. They all contained about 30 seconds of what I believe is a Michael Jackson song, followed by silence for the rest of the track.
Same question I have. The solution is simple. Create a Hotmail or Yahoo address and use that address to register for NY Times, LA Times and whatever newspaper you want to read. Create an easily rememberable password (how about NEWSPAPER) and use the email and password to access the news. Takes no more time than it does to make a posting at Slashdot. If you have cookies enabled, you may never even have to log in again.
We're talking about user's registering to view web pages. Not authors registering with the copyright office. Presumably, a large media organization like NY Times registers all their works with the copyright office.
Clinton was a smart person of college age. What smart person of college age doesn't go to college?
Bush joined the Air National Guard (and was subsequently AWOL for a year when he was supposed to be serving in the Alabama ANG....a very under-reported story - especially on Fox News (go figure)
That story is false. It was already proven that he asked for time off and received it, then served the remainder of his time later.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course they care. For one, the XMas buying season is the largest buying time of the season. Companies count on that revenue for their quarterly earnings. If it is released another quarter, their earnings are effected. Another reason is that people have less money to spend in January than they do in December. In December, many will pick up games for their kids or friends. Not so often in January. Moreover, once people get their December credit card bills, they may be more reluctant to spend $50 on a game (not to mention $150+ for a video card).
You sure as hell implied it. You wrote:
Your statement said that an unencrypted DVD is legally copyable, implying the DVD is in the public domain.Key points that many posters to this thread don't seem to know:
LCD TVs aren't the only TVs with DVI inputs. Most new CRT projection TVs have them as do many of the larger screen direct-view screens.
But most receivers don't even switch DVI.
Look at the Hitachi RPTVs. What do you notice? All of the current models have a DVI input.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Almost new widescreen projection TV available today has DVI. (Almost every new widescreen is also HDTV capable also). Even the $2000 and below TVs have them. Few midrange TVs have component? Have you been to a TV store lately? Component inputs are standard on almost anything over $300.
Not quite true. You only need an HDTV tuner if you wish to record HDTV. One of the benefits of the D-VHS system is the ability to buy pre-recorded HD content. As for the HDTV display, why the hell would you buy a HD player/recorder if you didn't already have, or plan to get in the near future, an HD display.
I used to contract with the Navy. They also used burn bags for certain materials.
You're not watching the same TV. So you're not making the comparison you said you were. I doubt anyone with a properly calibrated TV and DVD player would ever say that VHS looks better than DVD.
It reminds me of Flash for web pages. Every web designer in the world seems to think that I want to see a Flash intro and Flash menus when I go to a site. But at least most of them have a Skip Intro button.
It's not going out of the way to screw you. There are better connections available. You can't be backward compatible with everything. You can buy a TV for about $150 that has the connections needed to plug in a DVD player.
2) Discs usually have mandatory, can't-fast-forward-through-them FBI warnings at the beginning of disks. By jove, when I buy a movie, I want to see a MOVIE, not some goddammed threatening legalese from the MPAA!
Correct. And very annoying.
3) artifacts. DVD players (or at least the Sony my sister lent me) can't seem to keep the most basic artifacts suppressed. I remember seeing a white-painted wall, and noticing that the paint "crawled" like white noise as action elsewhere in the frame caused a wacky encoding of a simple signal. Call me back when you can film white walls.
Never noticed this. Perhaps it's your connection?
4) compatibility issues. One in twelve DVDs I rent doen't work on my player, in which case I have to watch it on a laptop. (Unless THAT also doesn't work.) Yes VHS tapes get eaten, but not at that high a rate. VHS is more reliable.
5) Skipping. Usually have to endure this once or twice per film on rentals. Lame.
I've rented 6-10 movies a month from Netflix since September 2001. Number of compatibility problems = 0. Number of skipping discs = 0.
6) Frilly menus. Please less ghay animation, more do-what-I-want.
God I hate those menus. They have to have these huge intros and "cool" references to the film that you won't get until you watch the film. Just have a menu with simple choices: (1) play movie (2) select a scene (3) special features. That's it. No animations in the menu. No intros to the menu. No audio in the menu. Give me the choices and let me watch what I want to.
One other thing I should have mentioned. Who cares about violet lasers? The linked to article points to a DVD recorder , not a player. The various manufacturers have yet to finalize on a format for next generation, pre-recorded DVDs (presumably High Definition). According to the DVD FAQ site, there are at least 6 competing formats, and it will be a while (if ever) before they standarize on a single format. Waiting it out will be years. Buy a player.
You can buy a very cheap player for about $50. But why not spend a little more. For just a little more you can buy a decent progressive output DVD player. Check out this DVD Benchmark test which seems to be more thorough than most DVD tests. They recommend several players that retail for only $230 (street price is a lot less).
Other things to look for:
First of all, armed robbery is not a federal crime. You would be prosecuted under state law. To pick a state at random, in Arizona armed robbery is a class 2 Felony. According to the sentencing law, a class 2 felony gets you 4 to 10 years in prison.
I've never understood the importance. I have a PS2 and even kept a few PS1 games. But if I buy a PS3, I will still have the PS2, so I really don't give a crap if the PS3 will play PS2 games.
And here's the perfect girl.
Not to mention the fact that you can use P2P without using CDRs (e.g., iPod or listening via speakers connected to a computer).
Same thing happened to me. The Thorns, a "supergroup" featuring Matthew Sweet, has a new album out. I downloaded a few of the tracks. They all contained about 30 seconds of what I believe is a Michael Jackson song, followed by silence for the rest of the track.
Same question I have. The solution is simple. Create a Hotmail or Yahoo address and use that address to register for NY Times, LA Times and whatever newspaper you want to read. Create an easily rememberable password (how about NEWSPAPER) and use the email and password to access the news. Takes no more time than it does to make a posting at Slashdot. If you have cookies enabled, you may never even have to log in again.
We're talking about user's registering to view web pages. Not authors registering with the copyright office. Presumably, a large media organization like NY Times registers all their works with the copyright office.
So that was his fault?
Clinton got a college deferment
Clinton was a smart person of college age. What smart person of college age doesn't go to college?
Bush joined the Air National Guard (and was subsequently AWOL for a year when he was supposed to be serving in the Alabama ANG....a very under-reported story - especially on Fox News (go figure)
That story is false. It was already proven that he asked for time off and received it, then served the remainder of his time later.
Not that simple. Sales are down and RIAA members are using it as proof of P2P's effect on sales.
They are treated differently because you can make a digital copy of a webcast easier than from FM radio. (Yes, stupid reason).
Anyone know when 10.3 is going to be released? How about G5?