Saturday, March 18, 2006

Shiny

Well, it was inevitable really.
Now that the Xbox 360 is only 5 days away from being in my hot little hands, it was time to 'prepare' for the arrival of my new baby.

That meant: living room upgrade.

With many thanks to Lumpy and his research and advice, I'm now the proud father of a bright and bouncing 32" Samsung LCD TV.















I was able to swing a deal at MYER (where I bought it) and for an extra $100 got a Digital HD Set-Top Box thrown in for good measure. (I wasn't aware that over 85% of Melbourne's free-to-air TV is broadcast in Widescreen HD - bonus!)





Next on the list, was a truly digital 5.1 surround system. The one I have currently (Logitech X-530) isn't true surround, and doesn't have digital/optical inputs; not good enough for the Xbox360 i'm afraid!
















So, once again with thanks to Lumpy, I grabbed a Logitech Z-5500 Digital system.

And, well, you know what it's like when you're on a shopping roll; time to get a decent digital camera too! (Right?)
I ended up with the Sony Cyber-shot® DSC-T9 Carl Zeiss Digital Camera. Very nice, very compact, 6 megapixel, optical (not digital) image stabilisation, and optical zoom.

Also can't have it sitting around naked, can we?
So off I trotted to the Lt Bourke St Crumpler Store and bought
a Thirsty AL. Very cute, very neoprene.




Very happy. (It's charging at the moment, so pics will follow later tonight..)




So, all in all a good day's work for moi.
And, finally, I'll be able to enjoy all my DVD's and games in Surround Sound, and HiDef where possible.

Now, the unfortunate part of unpacking and connecting it all.. *sigh

PS: Names! They need names!
  • Crumpler is to be named 'Harry' according to the chick in the Crumpler Shop, although it already has a name (Al)..?
  • Camera has 'Carl Zeiss' written across the front of it, so is it's name Carl?
  • TV - no idea
  • Surround Speakers - do they require a name?

    Comments of help please!

    **Update:
    sambo is now wireless yay! Got one of them fangled D-Link AirPlus G DI-524 Wireless Router thingy's.

    Although i'm not even going to attempt to set it up yet - might need DK for that.. (please?)


    **Update #2:
    See comments, but effectively: GET A SET TOP BOX NOW, so you can enjoy free-to-air digital, HD, widescreen, 5.1 dolby surround, television.
    No, really..

  • 21 Comments:

    At 8:31 pm, March 18, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    lol @ the Sony camera manual. It would appear that the most common words in the manual are "not" and "included".. hmmph.

    No memory stick (but fortunately i have lots spare via the PSP and my phone).
    No power supply adaptor (there's a battery charger module, but of course you need to *buy* an adaptor for it if you want to CHARGE THE CAMERA ITSELF with it..)

    And a classic also from the manual: "Note: when opening the lens cover, be careful not to touch the lens".
    Well, design the fucking camera better so the cover *grip* is nowhere NEAR THE FREAKIN LENS, MORONS!
    gah!

     
    At 8:42 pm, March 18, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    ..and oh golly gosh - on a 32mb memstick i can squeeze a whole TEN (thats, 10) 6mp photos onto it!
    *blink blink
    why do i feel like i've just taken 3 steps forward and 4 steps back?
    i reckon Carl Zeiss is on drugs. Arty, maybe, but on drugs. the picture i had of him in my mind was looking like Warhol. Imagine my surprise when i discovered he looks like this!

    ahh well, also just discovered it comes with 54mb built-in, but i think the 1GB memstick i have in the psp gathering dust will need to move house.
    also just noticed it does HDTV shots as well, so that's handy (a use for the new tellie hehe).

     
    At 9:15 pm, March 18, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Decay says to tell you that you're a moron, I'm more inclined to say you're easily seduced by the lure and chase of shiny things. As for names, surprisingly, I have no idea. I kind of need to see the things in action prior to anointing anything with a name. So... XBox360 party, anyone? (:

     
    At 9:17 pm, March 18, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    ok this is freakin ridiculous.
    i thought the *kings* were the ones having to do unpacking tonight??
    it's funny that it's not until one decides to rearrange things, or add things, that one reaises how many things are connected/dependant/fiddly/cabled/HEAVY ouchmyback/or otherwise complicated.

    hmm.

    there's shit everywhere.
    and i'm hungry. *fumbles for Shapes

    AND, i now have a perfectly good 29" 'normal' CRT TV (tube was replaced under warranty last year) that has nowhere to 'be'.
    I mean, it alone is nearly half the size of my damn bedroom. What to do.. *tap tap

    and umm, what.. is it a trend nowadays to have boxes the SIZE OF APARTMENTS for everything?? (hmm, where am i going to store those - cant throw any of them away - might come in handy one day.. teehee)

    i need a voddy.

     
    At 9:23 pm, March 18, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    I like your description, [0-0], more than DK's. =)
    Even though he's likely right. Bugger.
    BUT, his comment is about me in general, not about my new toys. So that's ok.
    (oh, hang on..)

    Hmm yes good idea. I think Xbox360 + NewShinyToys+ Alcohol + Music + Friends might just be a good enough combo for a party.

    Done. Will organise for Sat 25th.

     
    At 11:00 pm, March 18, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    OH
    MY
    GOD

    ok, it's now almost 11pm, and all i seem to have achieved is creating Spaghetti Land in my apartment.

    I can barely see the floor for cables.. what with the ones from my old system, plus the ones from the Set Top Box, plus, new sound system, plus TV, plus consoles.. AARRGH!

    And if I EVER HAVE TO UNDO ANOTHER TWISTY TIE, or foolishly try to PRIZE SELLOTAPE OFF PLASTIC WRAP WITHOUT A KNIFE, AGAIN IN MY LIFE, it will be too soon.

    and i forgot to eat anything 'real', too. bugger.
    and i've run out of Vodka. double bugger.

    maybe i should take a break and go grab supplies.. if i can get out of the apartment without TRIPPING over anything on the way out. (tip: don't wear 'oh my god i'm a cable so i think i'll latch myself onto steve' thongs when renovating your electronics.
    :-|
    and of course, when you lose your balance, and place your other foot somewhere to stop yourself falling over, aNOTHER cable decides to magnetically attach itself in and amongst *that* thong..

    ..if only i could've reached my camera at that point. only i was too scared to move even an inch in case i caused something on the other end of one of the (five) cables to plunge to an untimely death off a shelf..

    oh i'm so good at this stuff.
    yep.

     
    At 11:06 pm, March 18, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    honey, you are so cute (read; neurotic but loveable)

    i told you I'll buy the old TV from you.

    and, you should put those boxes in your basement!!!!!?

    Or, they can go to be recycled with the coffee jars. Think of it like reincarnation for inanimate objects, they will be remade as something more interesting and evolved next time (like a Santini shoebox for example).... Set them free, if they love you they will come back again.

    xxoo

     
    At 11:24 pm, March 18, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Um... we're going to be in Sydney on 25-26 March, and we're already missing like, 50 gazillion other social commitments that weekend because apparently we have a life somehow (how is that possible?!) But go ahead and have a naming party for your shiny things - let someone else do the naming! Yay!

    One should never run out of vodka. That is a bad thing. Although, having the beginnings of a hangover *before* falling asleep from having all of ... nearly 2 drinks is pathetic of me!

     
    At 11:38 pm, March 18, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    but i might need them one day! ;p
    besides, i don't believe in reincarnation. instead, i believe that those 're cycle' bins are really more like 'collect points' for others whom also like to keep their boxes. i reckon they go straight to a 'box hoarders market' and get sold off to others with the same affliction as i.
    conspiracy? you bet!

    OH
    MY
    GOD (part II)

    TV - here's a case of liberal use of the word 'THE'.
    in this instance, it's in the TV manual as such:
    "use THE screws to attach the stand to the screen"

    right.

    WHAT FUCKING SCREWS?!?! YOU ARSEHOLES!!!!!!

    *ahem

    *calm down

    perhaps, a more suitable way of writing that part of your manual, Mr Samsung, would be:
    "use screws (NOT SUPPLIED) to affix the base to the screen"

    take a FREAKING LEAF OUT OF SONY's MANUAL. (oh god i cant believe that i'm sanctioning Sony for telling me that every damn possible thing i would ever want to attach to my camera, is NOT SUPPLIED)..

    and speaking of which, it woulda been REAL NICE, SAMSUNG, to have at least included an AERIAL CABLE IN THE FREAKING BOX, YOU BIGFATMUTHAFUCKERPRICKASSHOLEWANKSTAINS!!

    *deep breath*

    okay, so i cant actually PLUG IN my SAMSUNG set top box into my SAMSUNG lcd HD Tv;
    minor setback.
    UNABLE TO FREAKING-WELL WATCH ANY FKN TELEVISION
    but i'm sure it's only minor. i mean, i can simply go ALL THE FREAKING WAY BACK INTO TOWN TOMORROW and pick up a lovely male-to-male coax cable from the lovely and knowedgeable staff at Dick Smith, or similar.
    i mean hell, the last thing i feel like doing after FIVE COCKSUCKING HOURS OF SETTING ALL THE SHIT *UP* would be WATCHING TELEVISION, right?

    oh, and, i now have three more remotes to add to the family.
    i cant juggle one, let alone SIX NOW.
    jeezus, i know how woman feel now..

    i need food.
    and don't give me a gun.

    :\

     
    At 11:52 pm, March 18, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I sense some anger in you, young (!) padawan...

    And, we don't want the boxes, we have more than enough of our own to unpack. Besides, we're keeping a whole bunch of boxes, so we um... don't fill up space with crap we don't want/need. Don't want to have so much crap to have to look after.

    Also, that's some colourful words you have in your vocabulary there ... I can hear them all in my head (:

     
    At 12:19 am, March 19, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    yep, only just slightly annoyed.
    i mean, it's only that i CANT WATCH ANYTHING - PERIOD. gah

    mind you, i shoulda known that i was pushing my luck getting three electronic things to mate with each other. despite two of them being the same species, I guess they need some alone-time first to get to know each other..?

    ..or maybe it's the lack of vodka that's making it all seem worse than it really is.

    no, its not. *GRR

    Oh yeh (Sydney). Youse guys won't be around next weekend. Never mind, we'll call then John, Joe, and Jane Doe until another time.

    But, light at the end of the tunnel, in terms of food. Good 'ol Toppolino's are coming thru with a nice'n'spesh late delivery for me.
    At least my stomach will stop grumbling; can't give anyone any guarantees that my mouth will..

    =)

     
    At 12:23 am, March 19, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    No, don't go to House of Dick and buy cables tomorrow, call Myer and blast them for not selling them/throwing them in for you today and insist that they courier/express post them to you for free!
    And make sure that they know that they missed out on a 1GB Memory Stick sale too.

     
    At 1:58 am, March 19, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    Good point.
    And actually it turns out I need some digital cables as well (because of course none of the devices, although ALL DIGITAL, *have* digital cables packed in the box).

    Makes sense. :-|

    pizza finally arrived about 30mins ago. naturally, my stomach had contracted to the size of a pea, so the huge peperoni pizza and the med garlic pizza i ordered will, well, be nice as cold leftovers tomorrow for breakfast.
    and lunch.

    and sunday dinner.

    and there's possibly enough damn food there that it'll last til next Thursday, taking bits to work each day.
    doh

    well, it's 1:50am and it's as 'finished' as it's gonna get now. managed to get xbox going, but of course to top everything off, it looks worse than it did on my old 29" CRT.
    (Make that 5 steps back)
    but i'm sure it's just a matter of pushing buttons on one of the six remotes i have, to get it looking all.. well..

    ..shiny.

     
    At 10:38 am, March 19, 2006, Blogger Reggie Lacerta said...

    "my god Gary!" what a read! Should we be getting to some anger management classes?

    ...mmmm names, names, names - persaonly i'm stuck for one (that i'm goveong to give to my new laptop, whenever i get it) (oh, that was not a hint or anything - i'm also watching a few on ebay)

    right back to it, are the "newbie shinys" male or females?

     
    At 3:25 pm, March 19, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    hehe well things are better today. figured out how to make things look and sound awful pretty.

    God Of War, in widescreen, full 5.1 surround, is AMAZING to say the very least.
    As is Black on Xbox.
    DVD's are like a whole new world of sight and sound, and all that's left is HDTV which should be sorted later this afternoon after a quick trip to MYER. (M34tb4LL, i called them and the cables are waiting for me to pick them up. yay!)

    Guru G - not sure on the sex of things yet. I'm thinking they're all fairly 'male'though..

    thank goodness winter's coming up, is all i can say. no excuse not to sit inside on my big fat ass and delight in the audio visual experience.

    now, just one more round with Kratos before i head into town..

     
    At 3:55 pm, March 19, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    It's amazing what a little sleep can do for your sense of shiny-fu, hey?

     
    At 7:26 pm, March 19, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    yep.
    well, sleep, and vodka. =)

    hey i'm wireless now! (no DK, not witless, w-i-r-e-less).

    bought a D-Link Wireless Router.
    According to that website, it comes 'plus G'.. erm sorry M34tb4LL, but i honestly had nothing to do with it!)
    Also grabbed a remote-holder-thingy for the coffee table. Funny, what you have to buy, as a result of buying other things.
    Oh yeh: consumerism.

    Now to see if my new cables allow me to watch HD TV. (that is, *if* this building's wiring doesn't strip out the HD signal..)
    Fingers crossed. ++

     
    At 8:19 pm, March 19, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    D-Link?


    hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


    *gasp*


    bwahahahahahahahahaha

     
    At 8:53 pm, March 19, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    ..so that wasn't a good one to buy?
    or you're laughing at me cos i cant set it up?

    or both? :D

    ok
    OH

    MY

    GOD (Part III)

    Digital Free To Air TV:
    Why did i not know about this earlier?!?

    And why would anyone pay for Foxtel now? (Aside from the ads)

    I did not know that 10, 7, 9, SBS and ABC all have full digital service to the extent i'm looking at now.
    Not only can you select from Digital Standard Definition (widescreen or normal 4:3) (SD) with Dolby Surround for normal TVs, but if you have a decent TV (which i now do of course) you can select Digital High Definition Widescreen (HD) with Dolby 5.1 Surround.. *jaw drop

    I'm looking at all the channels like i'm seeing TV for the first time.
    CRYSTAL CLEAR, deep colours, sharp-as-a-pin images, and mind blowing sound.
    On free-to-air.

    And all channels have a 'guide' complete with scheduling info, news, weather, and such.

    I flicked to ABC and discovered the HD version of the London Bombing raids in WW2.. it was like watching a frekin movie!

    And speaking of movies, how ironic is it that, albeit with ads, i am watching Signs right now in FULL HIGH DEFINITION 5.1 SURROUND DIGITAL DOLBY, and it's ten times better quality than putting on the DVD i have of it.
    Bring on BlueRay i spose, so they can fit HD content onto a DVD, but until then i think my TV viewing hours may well go up.

    Unbelieveable picture quality - honestly like you can reach into the screen and touch the content. And of course all the 'tv' graphics are crystal clear. (ie you can actually *read* the tiny credits that 7 put in that red strip down the bottom of the screen).

    It's so freaking amazing.
    And it's free.

    Why don't they pump it more, marketing-wise?

    Heavenly yours,
    S.

     
    At 12:29 am, March 20, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Yeah, we saw a bit of that WW2 show tonight too.
    It was my father's birthday today and mum got him a LG HiDef DVR with 160GB hard drive for The Bold And The Beautiful (Seriously, my Dad watches it religiously)and Inspector Rex. My brother and I had to set it up for them. The only challenge we faced was that the composite cable supplied by LG was dodgy but it only took five minutes or so to figure that out and use the component cable instead. Of course it doesn't quite look as good on the 10 year old 68cm 4:3 CRT. We're hoping that a new TV will be next on their list of purchases. They have the perfect wall to hang it on too.
    Now, my parents are of the generation that still says thing like "I don't like those black bars on the screen" so I made sure that I left it in 16:9 in the hope that they'll become very annoyed by their old TV and rush out to buy a new one.
    My next task will be explaining how to set it to record stuff.
    That may take some time.

     
    At 12:44 am, March 20, 2006, Blogger Zarres said...

    hehe - you're *evil*.. ;p

    But nice present for them! Happy Birthday M34tb4LL Snr! (does that make him M34tL04f?)

    And yes, good luck indeed with the instruction session. *memories of taking my father through his first computer.. :-|

     

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