New Sanyo HDTV
Mood:  happy
Topic: TV

I have been wanting an HDTV set for quite some time. Problem was that they were so damn expensive. With the FCC promising that all over-the-air broadcasts will have to be digital by 2009, I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. For quite some time I have been watching all local channels via antenna. I don't use some fancy rooftop antenna. I use a 10-20 buck antenna. It worked fine. Well, not really. I was nearly unable to get NBC or CBS unless I messed around with the antenna a lot. I knew that with HDTV you either get the channel or not when using an antenna.

Today I bought a 19 inch widescreen HDTV for just under 300 bucks. First off, its light. Well that's to be expected since its an LCD monitor. After removing it from the box, I had it up an running in about 2-3 minutes. I just hooked up my cheapo antenna (available anywhere for about 10-20 bucks) and after a quick setup I was watching digital channels. Gone where the static lines and ghost images. The sound was much better too. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to easily receieve HDTV programming via antenna. Well I guess if you can get a regular analog picture with your old TV and an antenna, there's a good chance you can receieve that local channel's digital offerings. I live between two local markets. So in order to get all the channels, the antenna needs some adjusting.

After testing things out a bit here are my findings:

I truly believe this will be the new (and only) format for getting over-the-air channels in the future. People shouldn't be afraid of the new technology either. Its great! The days of bad reception are over! Finally you can see a picture comparable or even better than what digital cable or DBS can provide. Best of all, your local networks are free! With some of the locals you get the regular broadcast channel in digital quality as well as a few other sub-channels. For example the Syracuse NBC local channel offers not only its regular channel in HDTV but a music channel and a weather channel! I am quite pleased with my purchase. If you've been thinking about upgrading to HDTV now just might be the time. At Wal-Mart, they finally have digital LCD TVs that are small (15 inches) for around 200 bucks. These sets have the new digital tuners right in them. Just hook up an antenna and you're ready to watch crystal clear digital broadcasts!

Bought a Digital Camera
Topic: Electronics
I've just bought a new digital camera a few days ago. I'm still getting used to taking pictures with it. So right now my pics don't look so good. Very amateurish I must say. Anyways I've decided to start a photo album online. You can check it out here.

Finally Leaped Over To PC Land
Mood:  happy
Topic: Personal
After being on WebTV/MSNtv for what seemed like forever (since 1997 I believe), I purchased a computer on May 6, 2007! Its common sense now that MSNtv is practically a paperweight. There won't be any significant upgrades to it. MSNtv2 doesn't sound any better. I expect more blog entries now since I can actually access Tripod much easier.

Glitch Filled GameCube Game - BEWARE!
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: Mudvayne - "Fall Into Sleep"
Topic: Video Games
Just a heads up folks!

Yeah, its been quite some time since last my last entry, but I will try to change that for this summer. I just haven't thought of anything worth blogging about.

I just thought I should pass across this warning though. There is a game for Nintendo GameCube called True Crime: New York City that is filled with glitches. Its like playing a beta version of the game! Apparently they didn't test the game before they released it for sale. I picked up the disc at Blockbuster Video used for $14.99. I thought I was getting a fairly decent deal until I saw the first glitch. After playing it somewhat, and then trying to play it again, it stated on-screen that my memory card was corrupted. WTF?? Corrupted by what? Corrupted by this damn game! That's right! Check out GameFAQS.com for more info about this glitch filled game. Just search for "True Crime New York City" and click on Reviews. It has been rumored that this game can corrupt your memory card making all your other stored files useless. It is suggested that if you do own this game to use a separate memory card you don't care too much about. I'd hate to lose my saved files just as much as the next guy. So you've been warned. There are some video games out there that sell today that are full of major glitches.

'Saw 2' Review
Topic: Movies
My girlfriend and I decided to go see Saw II on its opening night (last Friday). She seen the first one and liked it. I didn't see the first one, so I only knew a very little about the story. Nevertheless, even without seeing the first one, the second one is quite enjoyable.

Since it was opening night, the theatre was packed with people. The majority of them being teens clearly under the age of 18. I thought this was an R-rated movie? Apparently the rule about having a parent/guardian accompany you if you're under 17 wasn't followed. Oh well. I guess Cinemas today are interested in the money instead of protecting innocent eyes? Obviously since they packed nearly every seat in the rather large theatre (the building has a total of 8 screening rooms). LOL, I don't want to go off on a rant about that, so carrying on... Even though the audience consisted of nearly all young teenagers, they behaved quite well. This is a movie that you need to pay close attention to afterall.

Okay, so the movie opens with this great scene with a guy wearing this spiked mask contraption on his head. Well lets just say he doesn't make it out of it, and we get to see an awesome death. Oh, by the way, I love horror movies. That might be the reason why I liked this movie so much. They don't water things down in this movie. The deaths are quite gory. If you can't stomach gruesome scenes, I'd say stay far away from this movie!

From that scene on we meet a cop who ends up angrily telling his son to go stay with his mom. Those are the last words he gets to say to his son. Later he finds out his son is a part of the game set up by the "killer" in this movie. The reason that's in quotation marks is because this guy hasn't actually killed anyone. Sure he leads them into killing themselves. But he does none of the actual killing. He sets up these scenarios where the unwilling participants in his sick game screw up and end up killing themselves. Of course if they play the game right they would of spared their life and escaped. Lucky for the audience, nearly no one makes it out alive. So the cop finds the killer and tries to save his son. Of course he doesn't pay close attention to the rules of the game, and he ends up putting his son's and his own life in jeopardy!

The ending is not a closed one. In other words it sets up a possible part 3 quite well. And that's all I'm going to say about that. I don't want to give much of the plot away.

If you like horror movies, or like to see gory deaths, I recommend you check out this flick. You might want to do it the proper way and see part one first. I did end up seeing part one right after watching this movie. I have to say I do like part 2 a little more. If you've seen the first one and liked it, I'm sure you'll more than likely like this sequel. Sequels usually get a bad rep because they usually aren't as good as the original. But this one isn't bad at all when compared to the first film.