The "New Toys" Thread

Hey sorry for the late reply.

NO problem :)

I paid ~$1200 AUD which is around ~810? I believe.

I paid 985 Euros but also spent additional 150 Euros for a high speed HDMI cable and wall brackets. So far I'm very satisfied with the TV, though.

Only "problem" I have so far is, that in the dark the surface reflects even the tiniest source of light.
 
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I dunno, that seems like a lot of money to spend on a mouse, my $15 Razer does me just fine.

I thought Razers were expensive stuff, I don't think I can find something made by Razer at $15 here, maybe some mouse pad.
 
I was thinking the same thing. Who the hell buys an automatic sports car? :(

Unfortunately over here only something around 4% of cars are available with manual transmissions. It's actually kinda rare to find a manual you have to look. I think most Corvettes sold are autos.

And don't get me started on tiptronics and flappy paddles.
 
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I gots me a new PC monitor. It is an LG Flatron W1934S. (no pics due to lack of mem card reader ATM)
 
My birthday present to myself:

UltimateEars-18Pro_press.jpg
 
I paid 985 Euros but also spent additional 150 Euros for a high speed HDMI cable and wall brackets.

I hate to break it to you but you got ripped off. All HDMI cables are created equal. A $9 one will work just as well as a $100 one.

There's also no such thing as "high speed" HDMI cables. The data transmission rate is controlled by the devices, not the cables. Yes, better quality signals can result in a better connection and less data errors, but HDMI is digital. If there's an error, the byte is just resent. You don't buy higher quality ethernet cables, do you?

If you don't believe me, I can dig up the Gizmodo or whatever article on the matter.
 
Arrives Monday:

68-105-034-V01
68-105-034-V02
74-117-090-S01



I already own it for the PC, but all my coworkers play it on the 360 and I want to join in. Plus since I moved on to BC2 on the PC, I shouldn't have as many issues playing the same game on two platforms at once. The controller will drive me nuts though. :(

Also looking forward to playing Forza and other 360 games. :)
 
NO problem :)



I paid 985 Euros but also spent additional 150 Euros for a high speed HDMI cable and wall brackets. So far I'm very satisfied with the TV, though.

Only "problem" I have so far is, that in the dark the surface reflects even the tiniest source of light.

150 Euros??? I don't even have to bother converting. I wouldn't spend more than $5 on one personally and it would be damn hard to justify more than $20 on a well-built one (assuming we are talking normal lengths).
 
Well, what if the mounts are 150EUR and the cable was "free".
 
There's also no such thing as "high speed" HDMI cables. The data transmission rate is controlled by the devices, not the cables.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Cables]Wikipedia[/url] said:
HDMI 1.3 defines two cable categories: Category 1-certified cables, which have been tested at 74.5 MHz (which would include resolutions such as 720p60 and 1080i60), and Category 2-certified cables, which have been tested at 340 MHz (which would include resolutions such as 1080p60 and 2160p30).[53][57][58] Category 1 HDMI cables are to be marketed as "Standard" and Category 2 HDMI cables as "High Speed".[1] This labeling guideline for HDMI cables went into effect on October 17, 2008.

You don't buy higher quality ethernet cables, do you?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_3_cable
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_6_cable

;)

And like smib said, it was 150? for the cable *and* a wall mount. :p
 
Well, the thing is:

a) I have a long connection: 1,5 meters from the player to the AV receiver and 6 meters from the AV receiver to the TV (with the projector it's even 8 meters). A long way, when a cable is not sufficiently shielded.

b) All digital connections are sensitive to interruptions, if the cable is cheap. For example when I connect my CD player to the amp with a cheap digital cable, I have dropouts when I switch the light in the room on and off or when my neighbour starts working in his cellar, which he converted into a workshop :rolleyes:
With an analog connection or a more expensive digital cable (or an optical one) that simply doesn't happen. It may be a digital signal but that doesn't mean it's immune against the laws of physics. Ask Siemens about the problems with digital connections. They had to rewire a whole terminal of the new Munich airport, because somewhere a digital cable was bent too much. I talked to a guy from Novell once, who worked on that project, and he said they simply had to replace cable after cable, because they couldn't find the problem otherwise.

c) More expensive cables usually have better plugs. They fit better and wobble less in their sockets, which is a problem especially with HDMI, because the connection is very fragile, compared to an RCA plug or a DVI connection, and the cheap HDMI cables wobble around a lot -- one false move and they're out of their sockets. You can set a stopwatch and wait, until they start making problems.

d) I spent 113 Euros on my HDMI cable. Maybe not necessary but better make sure. You could put a wardrobe on it and wouldn't damage it.

e) If there isn't a difference in the speed of HDMI connections, why is there an option in my BD-player to switch from low speed to high speed HDMI and why is the picture less shaky, when I use the high speed connection?
 
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d) I spent 113 Euros on my HDMI cable.

I take back my previous post. I spent about that many Saudi Riyals* on my Sony-branded HDMI cables, and I thought even that was paying way too much. A 7.62 m cable from Monoprice would have been less than 50?, and more than half of that price is just for shipping.





*current exchange rate: 1 EUR = 5.07 SAR
 
I take back my previous post. I spent about that many Saudi Riyals* on my Sony-branded HDMI cables, and I thought even that was paying way too much. A 7.62 m cable from Monoprice would have been less than 50?, and more than half of that price is just for shipping.





*current exchange rate: 1 EUR = 5.07 SAR

Look at it this way: If I ever move to another home and have to sell the cable, because I need a different connection, I will get much more money for it on e-bay, when the writing says "MonsterCable" :)

And it could have been worse: http://www.hifi-regler.de/shop/wireworld/wireworld_silver_starlight_hdmi-8386160-5_0m.php
 
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