This due to ship tomorrow, thanks to Amazon's "Up to 57% discount sale:-

1 of: Hairspray (Two-Disc Shake & Shimmy Edition) [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: AVP - Alien Vs. Predator [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: The Devil Wears Prada [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: Chicken Little [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: 2001 - A Space Odyssey [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: Hellboy [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: The Day After Tomorrow [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 of: Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall [Blu-ray]
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC

Hairspray for its thunderous soundscape, plus it's fun! AvP for those gory goodness. I always have a soft spot for Anne Hathaway in Prada, Chicken Little for that amazing PQ. 2001 to satiate the Kubrick thirst in me, Hellboy to prep myself for the upcoming sequel ,Hellboy II: The Golden Army. *Super-Sapien II for you folks, it stays as Hellboy II here. Day After Tomorrow for those crazy-but-goody SFXs, and Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall as the ultimate torture/showcase test for your AVR + speakers setup. Andrea Bocelli and Nine Inch Nails are also very good BDs to do this.

Also, this has just arrive today:-




......along with the DVD version as well for upscaling benchmark/tests. Comes in handy for that unrefutable benchmarks to score how your display + player stand when it comes to deinterlacing or proper cadencing HD material. The Onkyo DV-HD805 scores perfect marks for this, while Playstation@3 stays in the middle with the P1400 trailing behind, failing some of the HD tests. Going to changing my screen to either an Bravia XBR3 or a Kuro in very near future.

Coming titles in the future? Expecting Blu-ray's FIRST Profile 2.0 title, Saw IV, coming end of this month from Amazon. In the horizon? Independence Day, I Robot, Gattaca, Twister, 30 Days of Night, No Country for Old Men, and Dogma. Especially excited for Dogma for that Jay and Silent Bob banters!


Tonight's Movie Night is Zodiac on HD-DVD at my place, good night folks!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 14 2008, 09:44 PM

The BD-HP20A is not a good player to go for. Mediaplex has that unit, and it has all kinds of problems playing BDs, even older ones. The only good thing about this unit is that the upgrading can be done easily by downloading the firmware into a USB thumb drive and plugging it into the USB port at the back of the unit.

Answering you both:-

After having this unit for 1 week, i can safely say i can neither recommend nor reject this unit entirely. Got it as a "probationary" unit a.k.a the loaner, until the units from CES 2008 hits the American market. Tested it with a variety of BDs, with zero audio or picture dropouts. The back says manufactured Nov 2007, maybe Sammy did better QC with the player past the October problematic players.

The daisy-chain in my setup, you all know. But I think the HDMI cables play a definitive role to ensure that there are no dropouts or glitches. My setup has all cables rated 1.3a, even though my XBR2 doesnt support Wide Color Gamut or the coveted 24p. The P1400 eats every single BD I fed it, this is after the latest firmware update. Even stubborn titles like Live Free or Die Hard and RE: Extinction loads fine, although the load time can be teeth-grating.

I got this for free, and for all that it's worth, it us a good player. It doesnt load Extinction's PiP at all, the option to do that wasn't even visible. It is a Profile 1.0 player after all. But everything else works, DTS HD-MA on Shoot 'eM Up sound phenomenal. The HQV benchmark tests I did for this player scores it below the Onkyo DV-HD805 and the PS3, failing the cadence and film resolution loss test.

I'd still recommend waiting for the Panny DMP-BD30/50 to hit the market, or if you already have the PS3, stick with that. The PS3 should be getting the Profile 2.0 once Saw IV releases end of this month.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 15 2008, 02:14 PM

January 15, 2008 04:49 DHL Wilmington Airpark, OH - USA Departed from DHL facility in DHL Wilmington Airpark - USA

January 16, 2008 21:06 Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia Clearance processing complete at Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

January 16, 2008 22:32 Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia Departed from DHL facility in Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

January 16, 2008 23:25 Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia Arrived at DHL facility in Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Figures! Good things happen when you're not at home to receive them. Like Cloverfield premiere tomorrow.



8 more titles to the library!

8 juicy titles to savor tonight!

Damn, Prazole, you are absolutely right! Day After Tomorrow is frickin' awesome indeed! Pristine transfer AND DTS HD Master Audio to boot! New York City in HD, baby, I'm blown away!

Next up, Dave Matthews Live at Radio City for that Live-in-the-concert feeling.

Kiathoong, Fifth Element Remastered is indeed beautiful, but i'd suggest Pan's Labyrinth on Blu-ray as a showcase/reference demo material for live-action category, or Cars or Ratatouille for animated flicks. Remember to calibrate your display as well, either get an ISF-certified personnel to do the calibration for you, or if you cant get that, scour AVSForum for particular settings. Trust me, calibrated displays makes your movies shine, colors pop , temperature correct and blacks deeper.

If you still want Fifth Element Remastered, i can loan ya, but need "deposit" first.

Next order, on payday, the 25th. Probably group together with Saw IV. Getting Lost Season 3 on Blu-ray, that one is also deemed as "reference material".

Off to Dave's concert!

DVDs are pretty good, provided you get an upscaling player that can do it justice.





Holy $hit, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds is THE Blu-ray to get for all you music loving audiophiles out there. PCM Stereo is already phenomenal, tune to Dolby Digital 5.1 640kbps and it is like a crisp studio recording, swittch it to Dolby TrueHD, and WATCH(yes, i do mean WATCH, not listen!) your soundscape transformed into a fullblown concert hall! If you have this title, or planning to get it, IMMEDIATELY skip to the part where Dave is singing on his kapok, while Tim strums his guitar solo on the song "Crush". I swear, i kid you not, you can implicitly and clearly hear the very twangs and swishes of Tim's deft fingers hitting those guitar solos so impressively, the audience in the concert hall, FREAKING cheers and thunders the LFE channel on the subs, you swear your room is shaking from the ovation! Your center channel speaker is filled with Dave's raspy, breathy voice, while the surround fronts switches madly during Tim's masterful solos. It doesnt let up , even until these two guys were basically facing off each other battling guitar riffs at each other, and when it came to the end, the standing ovation at the end, fills your entire speaker setup, you immediately can close your eyes and FEEL like you are there. You are freaking there, baby! And all this, is mother-effin' LIVE, right infront of you, and not prerecorded and mixed in some studio, makes it even more impressive. BUY THIS, and your speakers will thank you for it!

Disclaimer: Most probably will appeal to the crowd digging Dave's choice of music, balladic rock and slow tempo music, live with guitar plucks. Hiphoppers, rappers and the like need not apply.Guitar Hero lovers will, like what happened to me just now, immediately be entranced with what's happening onscreen and offscreen with your speakers. It is like your speakers are making love with your eardrums, and they are continuously orgasming each other.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 18 2008, 02:46 AM

Good catch there, Corez!

So excited when i logged into work schedule next month...another NY trip! w00t! This time it's the Panny DMP-BD30K and more BD shopping.

Anyone wanna kirim, you got till 16th next month to decide.

Single titles are around Amazon's price, but for bundles like Spidey, im not so sure. Im checking www.virginmega.com now for clarification. I may be wrong on both accounts.

GGW? Can! Kalau diorang ada jual lah. I saw a Bikini Destination and that GGW title on both BD and HD-DVD for sale at FYE there, so it's a possible prospect.

BTW, im eyeing to get that PerfectShot too. Part of the shortlisted items to get from either Gamestop or Nintendo World.

EDIT just check Virgin Megastore. Their price cannot beat Amazon, im afraid. Spidey Trilogy is selling USD65 IIANM on Amazon, while it is USD82 on the Megastore. You cant beat Amazon's price since they deal in bulk.

Ahahahah, can sure can! Hit that F5 like mad, and hope it turns USD199.

Bear in mind that the A35, from what i read, is fcuked up in the 1080p24 department. Judders like hell, but the upscaling is excellent. Personal preference though, some prefer ABT chipset, while im a Reon kinda guy. Reon VX chipset, NOT the JAV pornstar!

That's what i did for the Onkyo HD-DVD player, and that i believe is heavier than the Panny.

Tell you what, just keep that thought in mind, and come back to me before 16th if you are still interested. If i do buy the Panny DMP-BD30K, i arranging it to be shipped out to my LA home, so that means i can carry yours in my luggage bag. If you are comfortable with that arrangement, and the fact that it travels inside my luggage bag that will be loaded into the cargo hold, then we got a deal.

Also bear in mind that the NY state adds another 8.375% on every sales purchase as tax.

How are we going to do that, bro? Once there, you may have to wait for me to get back to LA and then bring it back here. The "when im going to get back to LA" part is still undetermined, it depends on when i can get extended day offs from work. Plus, im a little bit hesitant to give our LA address to strangers,if you know what i mean. Learned that lesson with the nasty folks here.

Small volume/size items like BDs i can help, no problemo. But items in boxes, and delicate electronics, it may be a little bit tricky.

What!!!? Spidey Trilogy at USD43!!? Teh powah of Amazon! Kind? Im not kind, but if i can help while im there, why not? Spread the BD cheer!

RX, i dont like disappointing a buddy, so tell you what....... We get the dimensions/weight of both the Panny 20K and A3 boxes and see if it fits my luggage bag. If it does, then i can carry them together. Miniacs already has that portion of my luggage bag for his Panny 30K if he wants it, so if there are space left, we can fit in your A3.

If the A3 box is anything like my E1 box, then i can even hand-carry it into the cockpit. The E1 box was small enough to do that.

Discarding the boxes, i dont think that is an option, we need the styrofoams to shock-absorb the bumps.

No trouble at all, im only carrying it till the airport only. The rest, the baggage handlers handle lah. But better still, if you want it fast, meet me at the airport once i landed. You get your stuff instantly, and i get back home relatively lighter in load.

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Added on January 18, 2008, 3:47 pmCrazy, sexy and cool!

Dont ask. You'll wake the trolls.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 18 2008, 03:47 PM

Crap, i forgot you're from Down Under! Hmmm....that poses a problem. No represetative to get it for you here in KL?

If there's anything else we can work it out, give me a holler.

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Added on January 18, 2008, 4:31 pmTouchdown KUL 26th early morning, 7am-ish. If you can arrange it, that would be great.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 18 2008, 04:31 PM

Anybody interested to kirim BDs or games from US, drop your list at the "NY Kirim/Tumpang" thread on the main Console Couch section.