CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:03 pm Post subject: Ruby still going strong!

Just an update on the Ruby.

Total hours 700 (ish).

With new DVD player (Cambridge Audio) picture has improved dramatically. Still only using component, as haven't sprung for a 15m HDMI cable yet.

Have removed the Focus Enhancements CS1 from the video chain, and not even noticed its loss. At least I now have a spare scaler for my next CRT...

Image is bright, punchy, and sharp. I have no mis-convergence anywhere. Must have been lucky.

Have not fed any 1080p signals to the Ruby yet, as Blu-Ray here starts at $3k, with minimal software (at present). Plus I spent the HT budget on the CBR1000. Have some 1080p trailers on the macbook, but need one of those fancy video adapters, and then some form of HD to supply my fix, as I have no doubt that the resultant image will be stunning. I think HD is probably like heroin, only more expensive in the long run...

Anyway, this digital is going stong, and apart from a total fade to black, paints the best image that I have ever seen. Including an XG based Runco, a new cine7, and a few ECPs.

**kal** · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:42 am Post subject:

Blu-Ray starts at $3K? How is that even possible?

The new Sony BDP-S300 lists at $499US. Even with adding a few bucks for NZ, I'm sure it's not x6 the price!

You could also order it from anyplace in the US, and with to cost of shipping, duties, taxes, there no way it would be anywhere near $3K!

Or buy a first gen player on ebay for even less.

Kal

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:55 am Post subject:

locally available players are the panasonic and samsumg, both retail for $3k. rude, huh.

not counting the ps3, at $1200. game machine - yuk!

if i import a machine from the US, it won't play my region 4 dvds, of which i have maybe 1200.

**kal** · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:42 am Post subject:

Those prices are insane!

Forgot about the region coding for SD discs... very true...

Kal

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

wow, a whole 700 hours huh? Come back and let us know how it's doing at 7 thousand and then we can talk. Laughing

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:35 am Post subject:

not preaching to the converted - i am still one of the faithful.

and have dreams of a blended setup.

jask · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 10165 Location: kamloops BC

Do the pc HD drives allow the user to select or change regions or are they locked to market of sale? for that sort of coin you could build a very nice htpc and still have a few thousand left over.

kschmit2 · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:12 am Post subject:

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:19 pm Post subject:

we be of the mac fraternity, so no anydvd...

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1174

Hey,

Thanks for the update. I watched a well setup Ruby for a couple of minutes once and if CRT FP wasn't do-able for some reason I think I would be able to get by with one. I bet if you saw a PS3 feeding that pj 1080p you response wouldn't be yuk.

My take on game consoles as source components used to be - no thanks. But PS3 is the first that really does it well. The Xbox360 elite with hd-dvd drive gives it a good try but it's still plenty buggy and it's still Microsoft which annoys anyone who has gone to the trouble of minimizing MS in thier life. (I'm typing on a macbook and I like it but I still have my old PC in the basement and sometimes I still need it for something or other.)

-Brian

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4901 Location: Flower Mound, TX

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1174

Yeah,

The region thing is the sad part about the fact that Blu Ray will win the format war. I go abroad often (Though I could do with yearly trips to Europe, such a waste) and I wish the region coding stuff was abandoned. Nowadays the hardware can detect voltage differenes of Europe or USA so I can pretty much just plug in whatever when I'm there but software has to be copied to make it region-free for some of my devices. Certainly got a point there.

Now,.. resisting the move to HD sources is beyond silly even on a Ruby. Like dave says you can get a HDDVD player for $500 and then rent HD like crazy. (Do places rent HD DVD's where you are?)

People will continue to cling to standard def but it really makes no sense. At least look into getting a Hd tuner,.. maybe the Ruby has one of those built in?

-Brian

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:45 pm Post subject:

no hd here in new zealand. the only subscriber tv is "looking" to broadcast 576p. woo-hoo...

there are some locally available hd-dvd titles - about 5, and about 20 blu-ray titles.

nobody is renting them here, and we have parallel importing laws (that are only applicable to movies...) so it would mean importing everything.

the only HD solutions available in NZ at the moment are the samsung (1st gen) blu-ray @3K, and the Panasonic @$3k. We have the X-box 360+HD drive for $1k, with no 1080p support (no hdmi) and the PS3 @$1.3k.

I personally think blu-ray will win, but would have bought one of the toshibas if they would play my current region 4 discs, of which I have about 900 or so, along with about 250 US discs.

Mrs John is pretty good with letting me buy whatever the hell I want, but will only allow 1 disk player in the theater. And come to think of it, I only want 1. 1 that will play everything that I CURRENTLY have. As well as the HD content that I will be purchasing.

Currently, no domestically available DVD players are region coded. Neither are the 2 Blu-ray players, for SD-DVD. So they fit my needs, but do restrict me to blu-ray from the pal zone. seeing as this includes europe, i guess it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Hell, australia still has the same discs available as the states. I just refuse to pay $3k for a first gen player. As soon as the price drops to $2k, I'm in on the panasonic.

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1174

Well,

Lord of the Rings movies made NZ look like such a fun place but seems hard to be into HT there. Maybe things will change. I guess HD DVD would have been your best hope with it's lack of region coding. PAL and NTSC should really just go away at this point.

At least you have good upconverted DVD which is still quite watch-able.

-Brian
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Bighitter · Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 159

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1174

Quote "Sorry but I would take MS any day over Sony"

No need to apologize,.. I was the same way a few years ago. I minimize MS in my life now so we can just agree to see things differently.

I use a Macbook for internet and PS3 in the theater and my PC is in a corner of the basement and I still use it for that eventual task that can only be done with a PC.

oliverg · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:02 pm Post subject:

Honestly, the PS3 was the best buy of 2007 for me - I actually prefer it to my S1 for playing BR movies as it is much much faster and the PQ is the same. There's a thread that Kal wrote up on the PS3 and he did a really good job of it - and was spot on the money.

Go and try it out, you wont be disappointed! (truly!) As for the remote, one dongle fixed all that for me - it sits on one of the USB ports and works well. There's a problem with on/off but seeing as you have to 'load' the disc, this is a problem that really isn't one.

Graham Johnson · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:00 pm Post subject:

on aussie ebay, you can buy an R4 Samsung BD-P1000 for AUD $599

Thats the cheapest bluray buy in I have seen