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What are you watching now?

I find watching football, in fact all sports to be dull and uninteresting. When I first got my HD service hooked up the installer naturally turned on a football game, since 'that's what all guys like.' Well, I was so dumbfounded by how good it looked in HD, that I actually watched for more than 10 minutes. For me, that is almost unimaginable. :eek: :D

GKE, now that you've got a HD TV, you should borrow, or buy an Avia calibration disc. Your TV will look much better for it. I Bought one, used it, and later paid to have the TV professionally adjusted. The Avia results were almost identical, and IMO, slightly better.
 
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Vizio 52 " LCD 1080P

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Toshiba HD-A20 1080p HD DVD Player

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Dish network VIP 622 DVR.

Watching a recording of "Flags of Our Fathers" on the VIP 622, recorded earlier on Cinemax HD.
 
Nice, Kraig. Picked a side in the new format war then, eh? What made you go with HD-DVD, and what are some of titles you have?

"Flags" is a great flick. Make sure to catch the companion film "Letters From Iwo Jima."
 
Ahhhh, HD. Yeah, as 2 week old HD owner, I have to say that this is the first time one can state the sales pitch that's been used to death about every new generation of visual associated appliance, when setup properly it REALLY IS "just like being there". I watched the (American) football last weekend and not only was it one of the more remarkable jumps in quality I have ever seen on a screen, but it single-handedly converted my perception of my Expanded Cable (the notch below digital, but with a box and On-Demand still piped in) bill amount from "Rip off" to "Good Deal".

Add to that the Toshiba A2 I added to it shortly after getting the tv itself, and now I have realized the majority of my possible HD value (sports on the "free" HD of the Big 3 tv stations, and adding new life to the hundreds of Standard Def DVDs I already own..... save for those ones with CGI, still don't know what might help those..... my poor B5 DVDs :( ).

Desire for the wow of movies seen on HD DVDs might just finally do it to get me back into Netflix, given the hard-to-beat $20 barrier for HD DVDs currently. Especially since purchase of HD DVDs is a bit of a minefield, given that some movies get well converted into HD for their HD DVD rerelease, while others (I hear) recieve very little rework and look disappointingly similar to their Standard Def DVD counterparts. Truely it's looking to me as though Netflix was born for this niche, at least until the discs come down in price so that I can toss 5 or 10 bucks at one and not feel entirely burned if the quality lets me down.

And for those who aren't aware, one of the PRIME HD DVD viewing experiences is the BBC mini-series called Planet Earth, filmed with HD equipment (I'm not aware of the specs, currently) and the final product showing it (and at 60-80 dollars for purchase, perhaps also a PRIME candidate for Netflix, if they are carrying it). I guess this would count as one of the things I am currently watching....... :)

Also, I'm in agreement about Scrubs (and Arrested Development for that matter), it just kind of sits there. But then I was one of the few people who didn't thrill to most of Seinfeld (save for one particular Frogger episode, a brilliant translation of a game's virtual reality to physical reality using the game itself.......Nice touch, as Garfield might say), so there may not be much validation in my tastes. And The Office is indeed pretty near brilliant, especially once one experiences the real thing and has trouble seeing any difference between the reality and supposed spoof of that reality. Really pretty scary actually. I'm currently trying to size up Chuck. It has promise, but has remained a shade flat thus far, and that's with a great looking woman kicking ass and a foil that has to be amusing to anyone who is a fan of the Jayne character from Firefly.

So Chuck is also something I'm currently watching, well that and American Movie Classics channel's new tv series Mad Men (brilliant, haven't seen anything as good in dialogue and subtle satire since the first 4 seasons of The West Wing). Finally a little new tv content good enough to get me to go looking for tv on certain nights and cut down my overdose of DVD viewing.
 
Nice, Kraig. Picked a side in the new format war then, eh? What made you go with HD-DVD, and what are some of titles you have?

"Flags" is a great flick. Make sure to catch the companion film "Letters From Iwo Jima."

The price was right. Amazon dropped the price of the 1080p HD DVD player to less than $300 and threw in 5 HD DVD titles free. The free titles I selected were: Sky Captain and the World Tomorrow, Apollo 13, Casablanca, We Were Soldiers, and Blazing Saddles. I also purchased Season 1 of Heroes and Blood Diamond.

The HD DVD player also makes all my old DVDs look even better.
 
I'll be watching Flags of Our Fathers soon, as I am HD DVRing it. I'd also like to see Letters From Iwo Jima, and hope it comes on cable.

I'm still waiting on the HD vs BD war, and hoping BD (Blu-Ray Disc) wins out.

Kraig, I'm a bit jealous of your 1080p set, since mine is 720p, but mine is DLP, which I much prefer to LCD, and plasma, for that matter. In a couple of years I will buy a new 1080p DLP. 3D HD TV is just beginning, but it requires a DLP TV, because it has a response time about 100 times faster than other systems. Also, I believe that 3D discs will be BDs. But by the time they become common, you'll probably be ready for new equipment anyway. I'm hoping the HD format war is resolved by dual system players...
 
I replaced six year old rear projection HDTVs with the LCD sets. I got tired of having to take apart the sets and clean out the spiders and their annoying webs.
 
When I first got my HD service hooked up the installer naturally turned on a football game, since 'that's what all guys like.'

Is that what he actually said, or you just betraying the usual "geek vs jock" thing?
Thing is, HD benefits sports more than anything right now. Every major sporting event is broadcast in HD, and it is a huge difference in quality and enhancing the viewing experience.

I'm watching Meet the Press in HD. It's not knocking me out. :)

If it weren't for sports I probably wouldn't care about HD.

That Planet Earth doc is, I believe, also available on Blu-Ray. I'm hoping for it to be broadcast on public television in HD again.
 
Spaced is awesome.

"Derek? Babylon 5 is a big pile of shit!"

Have now watched the two Simon Pegg movies I could get my fingers at (--> that have been released on DVD here), Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The guy's a genius. I was "prejudice" against him due to him having been in the worst episode to date of New Who, but he's still bloody brilliant.
 
As a huge fan of the George Romero zombie movies, especially Dawn of the Dead, my favorite of the series and one of my favorite movies ever ever (seriously), you can imagine how much I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead.
 
I think I want Halloween early, or something. I've watched the original "Haunting" and today the Vincent Price film "The Fall of the House of Uscher".

:)

Vincent Price certainly had a unique talent. I can't think of any other actor who just set the tone for these (cheap) horror films that are counting on their story and acting to draw the audience in.

Now I can't figure out what to rent or try to catch on t.v. as Halloween actually comes around. Hmmm.
 
Is that what he actually said, or you just betraying the usual "geek vs jock" thing?
Thing is, HD benefits sports more than anything right now. Every major sporting event is broadcast in HD, and it is a huge difference in quality and enhancing the viewing experience.

I'm watching Meet the Press in HD. It's not knocking me out. :)

If it weren't for sports I probably wouldn't care about HD.

That Planet Earth doc is, I believe, also available on Blu-Ray. I'm hoping for it to be broadcast on public television in HD again.

He immediately turned it to football, and indicated to me to check out the HD service, so I think it is fair to say that he assumed I would like football because I am a guy.

No, Meet the Press isn't any better in HD, but Planet Earth, HD films originally in IMAX, and good movies are spectacular in HD. I think it was Lyta who turned me on to Planet Earth, so thanks again, Lyta... :cool:




I think I want Halloween early, or something. I've watched the original "Haunting" and today the Vincent Price film "The Fall of the House of Uscher".

:)

Vincent Price certainly had a unique talent. I can't think of any other actor who just set the tone for these (cheap) horror films that are counting on their story and acting to draw the audience in.

Now I can't figure out what to rent or try to catch on t.v. as Halloween actually comes around. Hmmm.

Two of my Vincent Price favorites are The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and Theater of Blood.

Two of my top recommendations for Halloween films are Carnival of Souls, and the original The Wicker Man. If you've not seen either of those, you really should!
 
Nah- I'd use football to show off HD, too, even to people I knew weren't into it. Sure if I knew Planet Earth or something like that was on, but outdoor sports is something that is guaranteed to look noticeably great.

Favorite scary movie: Night of the Living Dead. Nice black 'n' white, low-budget but well made, genuinely creepy flick with a great ending.
 
Favorite scary movie: Night of the Living Dead. Nice black 'n' white, low-budget but well made, genuinely creepy flick with a great ending.

All also true of Carnival of Souls, from the same era. Have you seen it?
No question, though, the original NotLD is a classic.
 
Another old favorite, very creepy movie, that doesn't seem to show up on TV any more is Dead of Night, a story about an architect with a recurring nightmare. He drives to look at a job/house in the country and experiences deja vu, because it is the beginning of his nightmare. Freaked me out as a kid, and still does a bit. Very enjoyable. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037635/
 
Thanks for the suggestions. :)

I think I've seen Theater of Blood, but I don't recall it so if I did it was decades ago. I do recall seeing Night of the Living Dead in college. I actually laughed during part of it.

But it was well done, actually, just the wrong atmosphere to watch as a good, creepy movie. Every Friday was College movie night, and I'll simply say if you were old enough, and the supervisors knew you lived on campus and were with a gang of friends, they didn't watch or question what you might be doing.

Hell, I'm lucky I remember the film, actually. :eek: Same with Flesh Gordon. I think I laughed basically throughout the entire movie on that one. But then, it was meant to be stupid.

But some great rental ideas. Thanks, guys. :)
 
Here's my current schedule of things to watch and/or record during the week:

Monday
8PM - Chuck - watch
9PM - Heroes - watch & record
9PM - WWE RAW - record for later

Tuesday
8PM - Beauty & the Geek - watch
9PM - whatever's on Discovery, History, or TLC - watch
10PM - ECW

Wednesday
9PM - Bionic Woman - watch & record
9PM - Ghost Hunters - record
10PM - watch the recorded Ghost Hunters
(when does LOST start back up?? or Jericho?)

Thursday
8PM - My Name is Earl - watch
9PM - anything but 30 Rock
10PM - The Office - watch

Friday
8PM - Odyssey 5 - watch
9PM - anything but Flash Gordon
10PM - Stargate Atlantis - watch & record
 
It's not him -- well, not entirely -- it's Tracy Morgan. I can't STAND that guy.

Baldwin does a good enough job at comedy, but I'm all too aware that while he may play an ass on TV, he really is one in real life. :)
 
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