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#16
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OT Blue
In message , Wolf K
writes: [] Bottom line: avoid BluRay. FWIW, I noticed a rack of deep-discounted BluRay disks at the bargain store yesterday. Same price as discounted DVDs. Looks like BluRay is fading away. Probably along with all forms of solid media. Have a good day, -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf Society has the right to punish wrongdoing; it doesn't have the right to make punishment a form of entertainment. This is where things have gone wrong: humiliating other people has become both a blood sport and a narcotic. - Joe Queenan, RT 2015/6/27-7/3 |
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#17
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OT Blue
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote
| Looks like BluRay is fading away. | | Probably along with all forms of solid media. Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Turned out a lot of people like to have an actual book to read and don't see any bargain in paying 50% of the cost of the book to get nothing but rental access to a digital version. I do no streaming. Partly for privacy. Partly because I don't feel like setting it all up. But also because the content is just not there. I also haven't had cable for many years. It's wildly overpriced for things I don't care to see, and privacy is also an issue there. In addition to TV stations over the air, I get DVDs from the local library and from Netflix. The Netflix streaming has a far smaller selection than the DVD rental. Hollywood studios don't want people to be able to see *anything*, at any time, for $9/month. So they restrict access. From what I've seen, Netflix streaming is similar to premium cable stations, showing mediocre top-40 fare from 2+ years ago. Meanwhile I get virtually anything I want to see from Netflix DVDs, the library, or both. From what I can see it seems the success of Netflix streaming (which is not as profitable for them as DVD rental) can be attributed to one factor: People don't want to wait for what they want. |
#18
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OT Blue
In message , Mayayana
writes: "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote | Looks like BluRay is fading away. | | Probably along with all forms of solid media. Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Turned Very true! out a lot of people like to have an actual book to read and don't see any bargain in paying 50% of the cost of the book to get nothing but rental access to a digital version. I can see that. I don't think I'd ever "buy" anything like that where it turns out I'd only be renting. (I don't own a Kindle or anything similar, or such software for my PC.) I do no streaming. Partly for privacy. Partly because I don't feel like setting it all up. But also because the Likewise. content is just not there. I also haven't had cable for many years. It's wildly overpriced for things I don't care to see, Never had it, not any form of pay TV (which for much of UK, used to mainly mean satellite - we didn't have extensive cable penetration before the internet). and privacy is also an issue there. In addition to TV stations over the air, I get DVDs from the local library and from Netflix. The Netflix streaming has a far smaller selection than the DVD rental. Hollywood studios don't want people to be able to see *anything*, at any time, for $9/month. So they restrict access. From what I've seen, Netflix streaming is similar to premium cable stations, showing mediocre top-40 fare from 2+ years ago. Meanwhile I get virtually anything I want to see from Netflix DVDs, the library, or both. Me too - though I haven't actually bought (or borrowed from a library) either book or music or DVD for some time; I somehow don't have the _time_ these days. (I'm even three weeks behind in the Radio Times cryptic crossword!) From what I can see it seems the success of Netflix streaming (which is not as profitable for them as DVD rental) can be attributed to one factor: People don't want to wait for what they want. Indeed. -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - Mahatma Gandhi (according to the film Gandhi [1982]) |
#19
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OT Blue
On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 16:59:38 -0400, "Mayayana"
wrote: "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote | Looks like BluRay is fading away. | | Probably along with all forms of solid media. Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Turned out a lot of people like to have an actual book to read and don't see any bargain in paying 50% of the cost of the book to get nothing but rental access to a digital version. Leaving aside the price, I greatly prefer Kindle books for three reasons: 1. I can easily take umpteen books with me when I travel. I take them on my smart phone. If they were real books, I would have a giant problem with weight and space in my luggage. 2. Built into the Kindle app are multiple dictionaries and other reference sources--different languages, slang, wikipedia, etc. I can quickly and easily get to any of them as needed. 3. I can quickly and easily go back to reread something on a page long gone by. A search gets me there with no trouble. And since I can get Kindle books from the local library, price is seldom a consideration. |
#20
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OT Blue
In message , Ken Blake
writes: On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 16:59:38 -0400, "Mayayana" wrote: "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote | Looks like BluRay is fading away. | | Probably along with all forms of solid media. Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Turned out a lot of people like to have an actual book to read and don't see any bargain in paying 50% of the cost of the book to get nothing but rental access to a digital version. Leaving aside the price, I greatly prefer Kindle books for three reasons: 1. I can easily take umpteen books with me when I travel. I take them on my smart phone. If they were real books, I would have a giant problem with weight and space in my luggage. I can definitely see that. (I guess I just haven't flown anywhere for years.) 2. Built into the Kindle app are multiple dictionaries and other reference sources--different languages, slang, wikipedia, etc. I can quickly and easily get to any of them as needed. I can see that too. 3. I can quickly and easily go back to reread something on a page long gone by. A search gets me there with no trouble. Excellent. On the whole, I like electronic copies of text for most of the same reasons as you - certainly the searching one. (I like paper ones because I can make notes [yes I know you can with some of the electronic ones, but ...], although I still hesitate before "defacing" an actual book.) I guess the main reason I haven't is, like Mayayana, I can't be bothered with setting them up. And since I can get Kindle books from the local library, price is seldom a consideration. I'd forgotten you could do that. -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf A good pun is its own reword. |
#21
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OT Blue
On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 22:35:12 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote: In message , Ken Blake writes: On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 16:59:38 -0400, "Mayayana" wrote: "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote | Looks like BluRay is fading away. | | Probably along with all forms of solid media. Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Turned out a lot of people like to have an actual book to read and don't see any bargain in paying 50% of the cost of the book to get nothing but rental access to a digital version. Leaving aside the price, I greatly prefer Kindle books for three reasons: 1. I can easily take umpteen books with me when I travel. I take them on my smart phone. If they were real books, I would have a giant problem with weight and space in my luggage. I can definitely see that. (I guess I just haven't flown anywhere for years.) Then it's probably nowhere near as important to you as it is to me. I typically fly somewhere 5 or 6 times a year. But that can be an advantage even if you go somewhere not by flying. For example you could drive somewhere that you will be at for a few days. Weight and space in my luggage isn't as important if I'm driving, but it can still be a pain to have to lug around big. heavy luggage to and from the car. 2. Built into the Kindle app are multiple dictionaries and other reference sources--different languages, slang, wikipedia, etc. I can quickly and easily get to any of them as needed. I can see that too. 3. I can quickly and easily go back to reread something on a page long gone by. A search gets me there with no trouble. Excellent. And a more minor point, but still a point, 4. I read in bed a lot, and my smart phone is much lighter and more comfortable than a real book. On the whole, I like electronic copies of text for most of the same reasons as you - certainly the searching one. (I like paper ones because I can make notes [yes I know you can with some of the electronic ones, but ...], It's easy to do in Kindle. I don't do it because I very seldom buy Kindle books, so I won't have it for long. although I still hesitate before "defacing" an actual book.) I never do. When I was a little boy, my mother taught me that a book was my best friend. That stuck and to this day, I can't deface a book. I guess the main reason I haven't is, like Mayayana, I can't be bothered with setting them up. Setting up Kindle is very easy. You hardly have to do anything. And since I can get Kindle books from the local library, price is seldom a consideration. I'd forgotten you could do that. I can, at my library here in the US. But I don't know about the UK. Can you do that there too? A good pun is its own reword. I had to cut and paste that here, since it's part of your signature and gets deleted in the quotation. But I couldn't resist telling you how much I liked it! |
#22
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OT Blue
In message , Ken Blake
writes: [] And since I can get Kindle books from the local library, price is seldom a consideration. I'd forgotten you could do that. I can, at my library here in the US. But I don't know about the UK. Can you do that there too? I _think_ we can. A good pun is its own reword. I had to cut and paste that here, since it's part of your signature and gets deleted in the quotation. But I couldn't resist telling you how much I liked it! Not original I'm afraid! I can't remember where I saw it, but I liked it too. (I'd have replied privately. If you email me your email, I'll gladly share my quotes file.) -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf Anybody can garble quotations like that -- even with the Bible... Er... "And he went and hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). Go, and do thou likewise (Luke 10:37)." |
#23
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OT Blue
On 2017-03-21, Mayayana wrote:
Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Ditto for vinyl records, which have experienced an amazing and unexpected resurgence in recent years: https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...rips-streaming Another problem with not having physical media is that streaming services such as Netflix frequently discontinue content. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roger Blake (Posts from Google Groups killfiled due to excess spam.) NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com Don't talk to cops! -- http://www.DontTalkToCops.com Badges don't grant extra rights -- http://www.CopBlock.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
#24
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OT Blue
On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 21:28:49 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote: In message , Mayayana writes: "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote | Looks like BluRay is fading away. | | Probably along with all forms of solid media. Maybe. But that's what they said about books. Turned Very true! out a lot of people like to have an actual book to read and don't see any bargain in paying 50% of the cost of the book to get nothing but rental access to a digital version. I can see that. I don't think I'd ever "buy" anything like that where it turns out I'd only be renting. (I don't own a Kindle or anything similar, or such software for my PC.) I do no streaming. Partly for privacy. Partly because I don't feel like setting it all up. But also because the Likewise. Video streaming is one of those things where, once you get a taste of it, you wonder why you waited. It's similar to the feeling you might have had the first time you stepped foot in a public library and saw the seemingly endless rows and rows of books. Sure, the library keeps track of which books you've checked out, but that's completely overshadowed by the vast selection and the awesome convenience that comes with access that's only a few clicks of the remote away. I'd say video streaming is a game changer, and is hastening the demise of physical video media. For me, video streaming came along at a time when I had 3 DVD players in the house, not counting the PC-based drives, and I was already completely dissatisfied with the video quality that DVD provides, so it was almost a foregone conclusion that I would move to BluRay. But at the last minute, I decided to check out the streaming options, and it didn't take long at all to decide that not only would BluRay not become part of my household, the DVD players were also suddenly obsolete and all went quickly to the local Goodwill. Good riddance to DVD, so sorry about BluRay. -- Char Jackson |
#25
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OT Blue
"Char Jackson" wrote
| Video streaming is one of those things where, once you get a taste of | it, you wonder why you waited. For you, and probably for the majority. Especially for the movies-as-entertainment crowd. The people who thought Avatar was a good movie. The people who have cable TV and don't hesitate to pay $5 for pay-per-view selections. But for many people, seeing thoughtful movies with depth, which may not have wide distribution, is more important than being able to be entertained by "something, anything" when the the mood strikes. Netflix DVDs provide nearly everything. I think we pay something like $13/month for 2 at a time. Even taking our time, we probably get about 8 per month. I find that an amazing and effortless bargain. But it does lack the instant gratification aspect. Much of what I want to see only shows at small theaters in big cities. Those movies are often not on streaming. But virtually all are on Netflix DVDs and many are at the library. In the past 2 weeks I've got The Eagle Huntress, Manchester by the Sea, and Fences. Maybe those are all available on streaming now, but I doubt it. The studios don't want to release that way. They don't want movies reduced to an all-you-can-eat buffet the way pop music has been transformed. (Movies, after all, cost a lot and take a long time to make; then may not succeed. Pop music is more like a manufactured drug that can be churned out consistently to a starving audience of addicts who will dependably pay.) A separate issue is spyware. Maybe you don't care about that. I oppose it on principle. Once you're connected online you're dealing with letting a lot of shady characters into your living room. The business of selling private information has become almost integral to online services and now "the Internet of Things". Just last month, the TV maker Vizio settled with the FTC over spying through their TV sets: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-their-owners/ That may seem surprising, but what's more surprising is that it's not new. In 2015 Vizio changed their "terms" (who knew TVs had terms?!) to allow serving ads to any device connected to the same IP address as one of their TVs: https://securityledger.com/2015/11/v...-your-screens/ To clarify, this is a company that sold you a piece of hardware and they're claiming the right to spy on you! Will we get refrigerators that refuse to make ice cubes unless you agree to sending info about your shopping to frozen foods companies and your health insurance dealer? In the same article (above) is info about Samsung doing audio surveillance through their Internet-connected TVs. A change in "terms" with LG TVs in 2014 required people to either agree to surveillance or lose some functionality: https://securityledger.com/2014/05/b...g-no-smart-tv/ By accepting these things you help to establish those intrusions as standards. The only way to avoid it at this point is to not connect your TV online. |
#26
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OT Blue
On 03/22/2017 08:40 AM, Wolf K wrote:
[snip] Movies aren't novels. I recall a review of 2001: A Space Odyssey in the Saturday Review. The reviewer just didn't get it. He thought of "film" as literature in another medium: that he was watching a novel instead of reading it. One of the things that annoyed him was that the dialogue was banal. Of course it was, it was the kind of purely functional talk real people say in real life. But long stretches of the movie had no dialogue at all, which I think is one reason the reviewer didn't understand the movie. Nobody was explaining it to him. Have a good day, There were also a lot of breathing sounds (what you'd expect to hear in a spacesuit). BTW, I saw that movie in a theater when it was new. I remember a scene near the beginning where the apes were sitting around, and there was a message at the bottom of the screen saying "our forefathers". People in the theater seemed to think that was funny. I've seen 2001 several times after that, and the message was missing. -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "If reason don't 'splain it, disdain it!" |
#27
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UPDATE: OT Blue
Solved the sound problem on the PC.
I have never in my decades of experience seen this and I work in electronics all my life. I have external speakers plugged into the monitor as I said before. As it turns out, the connector, eitehr plug or socket seems to be faulty. Usually when there is a bad connection the sound would crackle or cut out all together. In this case I got no crackles or anything like that, just that the volume significantly reduced to a whisper. So wiggling the connector and in and out fixes the problem for a while. The it happens again. Maybe it is not really the connector but the electronics in the speakers. They are powered, have volume and tone controls. So maybe it fades and then removing and inserting the plug wakes up the electronics in the speakers. This is a more likely scenario. Since the sound on both stereo speakers fades to a whisper. Look for a new set of speakers now. Powered Volume control Tone control Balance (maybe) Good quality sound BUT CHEAP ! Suggestions please. |
#28
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OT Blue
"Char Jackson" wrote
| Video streaming is one of those things where, once you get a taste of | it, you wonder why you waited. ...... |I'd say video streaming is | a game changer, and is hastening the demise of physical video media. | I got curious about this and did some looking around. It turns out that Netflix numbers are now about 95M streaming and 4M+ getting DVDs. Many articles about Netflix actually talk about streaming without noting the distinction. Like you, they assume DVDs are in the past. It turns out there are some interesting wrinkles. The best numbers I can find for DVD selection vs streaming selection is 90,000 DVDs vs 4K+ streaming titles. Almost the reverse of subscriber numbers. https://netflixupdate.com/netflix-up...x-dvd-service/ (That link says 90,000, as have other sources. I never found a specific report comparing the two options.) Streaming options have been steadily dropping, from 6,400 to 4,300 in the year up to 3/2016: https://www.allflicks.net/netflixs-u...han-2-5-years/ One problem is that DVDs can be rented as copyrighted property, like a book. Streaming requires a deal with the provider. Netflix can only middleman the streaming service. The article above speculates that with more streaming competition, Netflix just can't afford the licensing fees for so many movies. One intriguing theory is that Netflix are coming up with their own programs in order to transition to being more like a broadcast station and lower their total cost of streaming. (If more people watch more Netflix shows then Netflix pays less per customer in movie fees.) Meanwhile, new services are popping up to offer more specialized streaming selections. So far I'm very happy with Netflix DVDs, but if they eventually stop the service I may just stick with broadcast TV and the library. I could almost do that now, if I were willing to wait longer for movies. I wonder if it might end up like radio, with people subscribing to their favorite stations for particular styles. That seems counter-intuitive. Why not all streaming services just offer all selections? Apparently the market is not likely to make that feasible. Then, of course, there are the rural people who don't get decent high-speed. They tend to be forgotten by urban dwellers who assume high-speed Internet and cellphone service everywhere. Many people in less populated areas still don't have either. |
#29
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UPDATE: OT Blue
TrialAndError wrote:
Solved the sound problem on the PC. I have never in my decades of experience seen this and I work in electronics all my life. I have external speakers plugged into the monitor as I said before. As it turns out, the connector, eitehr plug or socket seems to be faulty. Usually when there is a bad connection the sound would crackle or cut out all together. In this case I got no crackles or anything like that, just that the volume significantly reduced to a whisper. So wiggling the connector and in and out fixes the problem for a while. The it happens again. Maybe it is not really the connector but the electronics in the speakers. They are powered, have volume and tone controls. So maybe it fades and then removing and inserting the plug wakes up the electronics in the speakers. This is a more likely scenario. Since the sound on both stereo speakers fades to a whisper. Look for a new set of speakers now. Powered Volume control Tone control Balance (maybe) Good quality sound BUT CHEAP ! Suggestions please. Test the computer output with headphones. That's to help you determine the problem isn't on the computer end. ******* It could be a cold solder joint in the speaker, on the amplifier board. That's what happened to mine. I ran a fingernail over the solder joints. Each joint would have been failed by a trained inspector, so I had to try all of them because they were done so poorly. (They were all ball-shaped, and didn't have a curved meniscus.) But, I found the bad joint and re-soldered it. And the speakers still work today. Some audio circuits stop working, because the DC bias is upset. Both the computer output, and the speaker input, use capacitors and the circuit is "doubly-capacitively-coupled". Normally, the odds of DC leakage from the computer side, upsetting the bias point of the speaker input amplifier, would be near zero odds. But, with poor quality caps from the "capacitor plague" era, stranger things have happened. Standard debugging technique (apply stimulus to input, walk through the design, stage by stage), that's only practical if you have a schematic. It may not be possible to follow the circuit well enough by just eyeballing the components on it. The speakers also need a power source. To drive "watts", the speakers need "volts". For example, my puny other speakers, the internal supply on those is around +16VDC. On the stereo I used to have, it was around +50VDC. You could check the power source and verify it is quasi-stable. Lots of these things use simple bridge rectifiers and a large filter cap, to create the power. The circuit is typically unregulated. If the line voltage goes too high, something can blow up. Typically cheese-flavored amplified speakers, are at the mercy of your power company. My power company here, blew up my stereo, and it was because the standing voltage on distribution here is wrong. (My 110VAC should measure 113VAC at the mast, and it regularly rests at 121VAC.) It burned out my stereo in stages. The display failed. The tuner failed (no more FM). Then the mixer/remote control failed. Only the amplifying portion remained, but I couldn't get any signal into it. ******* You will find buying speakers, to be a difficult process. High power amplified computer speakers, only seem to last a few years. The low end stuff, when you read customer reviews, not all the customers have the same "tastes". That makes it hard to decide whether the reviews are being truthful about the value of the product or not. For example, a review may say "OK for the price", you get it home and there is no output below 200Hz or so. I don't expect miracles from cheap speakers, but it is possible to get decent speakers. The ones I got, cost only $20, but they haven't been for sale for about 10 to 15 years. You can't buy them any more. If you can go to a local computer store, and try their "demo rack" of computer speakers. That will at least familiarize you with how bad some of these things are. Nothing I saw at the stores here, would I buy. Some were "cute", but didn't sound right. So I bought a pair of speakers at the "surplus computer" place. And they turned out to be better than speakers at $100 at the other computer store. Price means nothing on the low end. You can pay $100 and get sheer crap. Or pay $20 and be happy. The problems with the higher end stuff, shows up after you've been running them for a few years with the volume at 7. The vibration kills the amp (located inside the Sub). And typically the knobs or control box or the like, fails. The controls, they just can't seem to make rugged assemblies for those. Have fun, Paul |
#30
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OT Blue
In message , Mayayana
writes: [] Then, of course, there are the rural people who don't get decent high-speed. They tend to be forgotten by urban dwellers who assume high-speed Internet and cellphone service everywhere. Many people in less populated areas still don't have either. They tend to get forgotten by the media, politicians, web designers ... almost everyone, in fact )-:. (And it's not _entirely_ rural folk: granted, it mostly is, but there are parts of towns [here in UK, and I'm sure elsewhere too] that are "not-spots".) 2 -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf But this can only happen if we replace the urge to blame with the urge to learn so that it is safe for staff to admit errors and raise concerns without the fear of being punished. - Former MI5 boss Eliza Manningham-Buller, RT 2016/5/7-13 |
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