When Netflix announced their new pricing plans this week, it was as if they'd kicked a baby. Twitter, Facebook, and even the desolate Google+ ignited as thousands cried out in horror: "How dare you raise your prices!" "I'm cancelling my subscription!" and the terseless "Netflix is making their service more "convenient" by charging me $5 more a month. Thanks a lot."
I have two cars but only a one-car garage. As you might expect, my favorite car (a red 1968 Porsche 911 Targa) gets the garage. Plus, since it’s vintage, it deserves indoor parking. From a performance standpoint, that car is still impressive. It’s lightweight, with lots of horsepower, and since the laws of physics haven’t changed in the last 4 decades, it can blow away most modern cars.
I have an older Toshiba 57H82 TV with component-video inputsnot HDMIand an Onkyo TX-SR608 A/V receiver with HDMI. I would like to connect HDMI hardware, such as a Roku box and DirecTV tuner, to the HDMI inputs of my receiver, but I can't connect the HDMI output of the receiver to the TV. I have heard of the HDfury, which is supposed to convert HDMI to component. Will that work? Do you have any suggestions, or am I stuck until I buy a new TV?
And now for something completely differenta speaker made of concrete! Designed by Shmuel Linski as his final project to graduate from Shenkar College in Israel, the so-called Exposed speaker is nothing if not unique.
Take a deep breath and inhale that acrid air, my friends. No, it's not the wildfires burning out west this season, but the stench of fuming Netflix customers as they cancel their subscriptions in droves following the announcement Tuesday of a startling 60% rate hike for the company's popular streaming/DVD combo plan.
In my Track One column in the print edition of S+V’s June/July/August 2011 issue, I mentioned that I would be discussing my experiences with Autonomic’s Mirage MMS-5 media server in this space. Wellll... things change. Because we’re all good friends here, I’ll give you the scoop.
Price: $200 At A Glance: Skype video calling • Reference-quality Blu-ray playback • Limited HDMI options
Building Blu-ray Bridges
Since the beginning of the Blu-ray format, Panasonic has been a leader in the price/performance segment of the market and my go-to recommendation for anyone who’s looking for excellence on a budget. From the top to the bottom of Panasonic’s line, you always seem to get stellar video with both Blu-ray and DVD playback—and typically a host of other great features as well.
Some people immediately get that the iPad can become the controller for an automation system, allowing them to control not only their audio/video gear but also their lights, HVAC, security, and irrigation systems.
There are times when prejudice is forgivable. One can hardly be blamed for assuming that store-brand whiskey, truck-stop coffee, or music by a lite-jazz artist who goes by a single-letter surname is going to suck. Likewise, one might reasonably presuppose that a little cube-shaped speaker isn’t going to please serious listeners.