The Spam Thread!

[huckleberrypie]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoKNjILXYsQ[/youtube]

TF2 in a nutshell.

[cpd2009]

The urge to get an HDTV is back, and this time, I may follow through on it because of one thing....it will motivate me to not spend anything for one whole month. Im fine with my food and art supply purchases, and I already have enough entertainment options as it is. The deal breaker is...Anna-Lena II will be easier to transport around than the current Anna-Lena, being flat panel LCD.

And, if I want BluRay, I need a TV with HDMI. And CRTs aren't going to be around forever, so I have to get used to playing the retro games on newer flat panel sets. In fact, before I got picky about how those games looked, I was fine playing them on Max.

So yes, I now eat my words saying I will fight the impulse. The action plan for Anna-Lena II is on. I will have to buy a flat panel TV eventually, so better to do it now than later. The overall result will be that I will have a TV set I can actually move without help, and I will essentially future-proof my TV viewing experiences. Thank the MPAA for partially influencing my decision. (and somewhat to my parents awesome LG HDTV)

The set I will look for won't be too expensive...perhaps around the $150 to $200 range. That is beyond my current budget limit, so when I do purchase the set, I will not make any purchases or spend for one whole month. It will be tough, but I have done this before. When I was saving up money for Wendell last semester, I successfully fought the urge to buy anything (no eating out, no unnecessary buys, etc) for one month, and it worked! I am certain I can do it again. So the rules will be in place, and I have to ensure I won't break them. No eating out. No unnecessary buys. Only way I can spend any of my remaining money is for emergency purposes, such as if my art teacher suddenly wants us to buy an art supply for a future project, and you have to purchase that supply or else. Either that, or surprise medical emergencies. I hope the latter doesn't happen. (and yes, next months Eisbär purchase is off. I hope that eBay store doesn't run out of those CDs during that time)

Now, here are the technical requirements for Anna-Lena II..
*Resolution of at least 1080p, but Im fine with 720p.
*Must have at least two HDMI inputs...one for my DVD/VCR (which has HDMI output), and BluRay.
*Must have SVideo capability for the low end DVD player, which has SVideo
*Must have an ATSC/NTSC tuner...but all TV sets in the USA do thankfully.
*Must have VGA input for Xbox.
*Must have component input for Elsie.
*Must have a headphone/audio out jack to connect to external speakers.
*This one isn't really a requirement, but the power LED should be blue. Anna/Lena, the character, does come from the North Pole.

As for brands, I already have a couple. They are the lower end brands, but seeing how Max handles the old video games, I'm inclined to get a Sansui brand set. I seen the newer Sansui sets use the same firmware as Max, so that should mean the input lag should still be unnoticeable. Other brands I have been researching are iSymphony and RCA.

I read stories on various audio/video forums about horrible input lag on some Samsung, LG, and Sony sets...even with Game Mode set to on. Seeing as how my DVD/VCR unit has HDMI output, plugging that into the HDMI port would probably not introduce more lag since the DVD/VCR is the one upconverting the signal to HD...you can select 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i. If I use 1080i, I shouldn't have to worry about lag. I can use unconverted SVideo as it is. No input lag at all!

As for the current Anna-Lena...yeah. Im going to have to let her go, as well as Ruby II. I should recoup some of the loss with selling these sets at the local flea market. I won't price them too high, but I'm thinking about selling the RCA TruFlat for at least $20. As for Ruby II...Im not sure. I discovered that she has a problem with her CRT. Every once in awhile, the screen completely goes green! It happens at random too. Not sure what it could be. It works most of the time, but seeing how she goes green, I'm not sure if I can even sell the set.

[RAMChYLD]

The urge to get an HDTV is back, and this time, I may follow through on it because of one thing....it will motivate me to not spend anything for one whole month. Im fine with my food and art supply purchases, and I already have enough entertainment options as it is. The deal breaker is...Anna-Lena II will be easier to transport around than the current Anna-Lena, being flat panel LCD.

I think you meant deal-maker

The set I will look for won't be too expensive...perhaps around the $150 to $200 range.

If you can find one. I think LG has a 1080p 22 inch TV out- saw one on sale at the local electronics store. Problem is, it's Analog only. The tuner's world multi tho- guess it would be a good model to buy if it was released in the early 2000s.

Now, here are the technical requirements for Anna-Lena II..
*Resolution of at least 1080p, but Im fine with 720p.
*Must have at least two HDMI inputs...one for my DVD/VCR (which has HDMI output), and BluRay.
*Must have SVideo capability for the low end DVD player, which has SVideo
*Must have an ATSC/NTSC tuner...but all TV sets in the USA do thankfully.
*Must have VGA input for Xbox.
*Must have component input for Elsie.
*Must have a headphone/audio out jack to connect to external speakers.
*This one isn't really a requirement, but the power LED should be blue. Anna/Lena, the character, does come from the North Pole.

That's a pretty big list. But I guess most 24-32 inch TVs will fit that bill.

I read stories on various audio/video forums about horrible input lag on some Samsung, LG, and Sony sets...even with Game Mode set to on. Seeing as how my DVD/VCR unit has HDMI output, plugging that into the HDMI port would probably not introduce more lag since the DVD/VCR is the one upconverting the signal to HD...you can select 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i. If I use 1080i, I shouldn't have to worry about lag. I can use unconverted SVideo as it is. No input lag at all!

Kinda strange for the sets to do that, given that Sony usually advertises their TVs to be used with a PS3, and of course both LG and Samsung advertises theirs for use with the XBox 360.

As for the current Anna-Lena...yeah. Im going to have to let her go, as well as Ruby II. I should recoup some of the loss with selling these sets at the local flea market. I won't price them too high, but I'm thinking about selling the RCA TruFlat for at least $20. As for Ruby II...Im not sure. I discovered that she has a problem with her CRT. Every once in awhile, the screen completely goes green! It happens at random too. Not sure what it could be. It works most of the time, but seeing how she goes green, I'm not sure if I can even sell the set.

I've talked to my dad about this, and he says that there's most likely a loose high-power transistor on the small board connected to the picture tube. Definitely can be fixed, but it's not a work for the inexperienced (seriously, said board carries high voltages, and by high we're talking a few hundred volts above 110 here). Best left to a repairman.

[cpd2009]

Well, I can knock the SVideo off the requirements list...I found this at TigerDirect.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=51230&CatId=3648">http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=3648</a><!-- m -->

It's an iSymphony 22'' LCD set with two HDMI inputs, a component input, a composite AV input, RF (ATSC/NTSC), and headphone out

Some of the info in the spec sheet is incorrect. One of the reviewers states there are two HDMI inputs, and the photos do show the spots where two HDMI connectors are. The official specifications though only state one HDMI connection.

As for the hookups, the HDMI is not an issue, but it appears the Component and Composite AV inputs share the same L/R audio input. Max is the same way. If I go for this TV, I could just have the DVD/VCR go through HDMI, the second port being reserved for BluRay , and the component being used for Elsie. I also want to hook up the cheap Menards DVD player to component as well since there is no Svideo. Component is higher quality than SVideo anyway, so that is why I knocked Svideo off. (even my parents TV doesn't have SVideo!) I'll probably need to get a component video switch as well, so Elsie and the DVD player can share the same input.

Either way I hook things up, this TV should fit the bill nicely. If it doesn't work out, I can just return it; I just have to keep the box though.

I just thought of something....I wonder if the HDMI is HDCP compliant? It should be, but I don't see any mention of it anywhere. Other similar lower end sets (even some from more well known brands like Magnavox) don't state HDCP compatibility. No matter which set I buy, I may just have to find out if HDCP does exist or not. If not, I'll just skip getting a BluRay player...maybe a BluRay Drive for Lilly instead.

[RAMChYLD]

Hmmm... I don't think there's Blu-Ray playback software for Macs tho.

But then, many TVs release after 2009 should have HDCP support for HDMI I think.

[RAMChYLD]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBI8aJAvnqc[/youtube]
... Pretty much sums up my feelings for not being able to get FIM.

[cpd2009]

I tend to do a complete 360 on decisions a lot, both online and in real life.

The case in point is my new TV I bought last night. At first, just a few days ago, I said I would rather keep Anna-Lena over buying a new HDTV.

Then last night, I did a complete 360 on the idea and decided to go for it anyway.

Sometimes, I feel bad for doing such things. I can never make up my mind. I want to do something, like buy that TV, end up pushing it aside and say I won't do it, then I end up doing said thing anyway a couple days later.

Being autistic, I do tend to have this problem from time to time, especially when wanting new gadgets or electronics. I sometimes successfully ignore the impulse, but at other times, it's too difficult to ignore.

I could have got along fine with Anna-Lena as she is now, but since I want to get BluRay, I would rather watch BluRay on an HD set rather than downscaled to SD, which essentially turns BluRay back into DVD. I also need a better way to transport my main TV set and a flat panel TV is the answer. My parents are the ones who help me move around to college and back, and they are starting to get on in their years. Ten more years or so, and they may be unable to help me move, meaning I have to move all my stuff on my own, or hire someone else to help me. Getting a flat panel set will make this easier, since I won't have to have someone help me move a bulky CRT around anymore. (I am capable of lifting a CRT set like Anna-Lena, but it's tough taking it up stairs. I also don't like carrying heavy objects down stairs either since I'm afraid I'll fall)

And, because the fine folks at the MPAA want to limit how people watch movies legally, I may end up with a BluRay player that won't output HD over Component connections.

So yeah, these thoughts and more have been bouncing around my head for a little over a week now, and it finally led me to buy an iSymphony 22'' LCD TV. Seeing that it's only a small set, SD content should look fine once I get used to it. And, I will finally be able to experience Elsie in 480p widescreen.

I really need to learn how to think things through before I post them here though. I should only say something once I actually perform that task.

[huckleberrypie]

I tend to do a complete 360 on decisions a lot, both online and in real life.

The case in point is my new TV I bought last night. At first, just a few days ago, I said I would rather keep
Sometimes, I feel bad for doing such things. I can never make up my mind. I want to do something, like buy that TV, end up pushing it aside and say I won't do it, then I end up doing said thing anyway a couple days later.

Being autistic, I do tend to have this problem from time to time, especially when wanting new gadgets or electronics. I sometimes successfully ignore the impulse, but at other times, it's too difficult to ignore.

The same goes in my case.

[RAMChYLD]

The same goes in my case.

Same, happens all the time here.

[huckleberrypie]

The same goes in my case.

Same, happens all the time here.

Yeah, never actually considered about buying a PS2 controller and an adapter for it. And now I have two dual-analog controllers at home.