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lern4483
Last reply · posted in General Home Theater Equipment
Ordered a Toshiba 55''Led(backlite) 3d set. Bundle came with two 3d glasses.

Bought from Amazon. Because Im a prime member no shipping charge.
That was nice. Opened up an Amazon card a received 24 months interest free.
I probably will pay all off in one shot though. I hate having a charge hanging over my head.

So, whole package ran me 1700. All new stuff. I could have saved more by
getting
opened box or used through Amazon Whare house deals. Kind of leery about that though.

Just before I bought this set, I almost pulled the trigger on a 60 3d sony.
Even though Im anti Sony at the moment.
It turned out to be a scam. A scam on Amazon?? Kind of shocking to see these pirates on Amazon.

Deal was too good to be true.
The minute the guy said wire the money..Ding, ding, ding...
Scam all the way. The dude was in Italy selling a set in Chicago. lol
Glad im not gullible enough to fall for that trick! Id be out 1700 bucks!
41 Replies · 4655 views
gadgtfreek
Glad you like it! I just ordered a 55" Samsung, should be fun. Why do you need to turn the 240 off? On my set it was called "ClearScan".
lern4483
Glad you like it! I just ordered a 55" Samsung, should be fun. Why do you need to turn the 240 off? On my set it was called "ClearScan".

I guess I dont need to turn it off. But Ive read that for movies it looks better?
Ive been watching Hockey and Tennis on it and it looks outstanding.

Hey Defergie, im salavating at the thought of the 3D!
Any recomendations for 3D blu ray discs?

Should I just break down and buy Avatar??

Elway, keep me posted about your new Samsung. Is that the 8000 series?? Ive heard its going to be spectacular!
gadgtfreek
I would leave it on. I was back and forth, but preferred it on. It also gives you almost the full lines of resolution when its on (I found no negatives to it being on). It's really not a 240hz set, like one other brand, the Toshiba is a 120hz set that scans the backlight to give a 240hz effect. It's not as good as say Samsungs AMP, but it does a good job IMO.

Yeah, its a 55D8000, comments so far look like its a nice set.
dfergie
I guess I dont need to turn it off. But Ive read that for movies it looks better?
Ive been watching Hockey and Tennis on it and it looks outstanding.

Hey Defergie, im salavating at the thought of the 3D!
Any recomendations for 3D blu ray discs?

Should I just break down and buy Avatar??

Elway, keep me posted about your new Samsung. Is that the 8000 series?? Ive heard its going to be spectacular!
You can get a Panasonic player and Avatar for about the same price as Avatar is going for... Despicable Me & Coraline are pretty good, been hearing good things about Tangled also...
lern4483
I would leave it on. I was back and forth, but preferred it on. It also gives you almost the full lines of resolution when its on (I found no negatives to it being on). It's really not a 240hz set, like one other brand, the Toshiba is a 120hz set that scans the backlight to give a 240hz effect. It's not as good as say Samsungs AMP, but it does a good job IMO.

Yeah, its a 55D8000, comments so far look like its a nice set.

I had a budget or my wife might have skinned me alive..lol

I guess I could have sneaked in a couple of more bucks.
But for what the Toshiba gives I guess it will do the trick.

I was really into getting the whole 3D package.
So Toshiba allowed me to put my foot into the water without jumping head on.

Ive in the past spent a fortune on high end sets.
This time I needed to be a little bit more careful.

I was contemplating the Sony 60 nx810. Expensive but I was thinking about it.
2 issues. My past two Sonys broke on me within three years.
Next issue was you need an emitter for use with 3d??
Its not built in. Thats nuts!
So I moved on.

That said I loved the Samsung sets!
gadgtfreek
I really enjoyed my Regza 670u, just the LED Local Dimming blooming got to me, be curious how these side lit new ones work. Not as good of blacks maybe, but no blooming. We shall see!
lern4483
I really enjoyed my Regza 670u, just the LED Local Dimming blooming got to me, be curious how these side lit new ones work. Not as good of blacks maybe, but no blooming. We shall see!

Whats the blooming all about??
gadgtfreek
Well, local dimming backlit LED LCD's are setup in blocks across the screen, meaning random LED's cant just shut off, one of the blocks (cluster of LED's) has to either be off, dimmed or on. When you have a bright area, say a face int he dark, that touches into a block that should be off because the area around the face is actually dark, it has to light to show part of the face. This affects the darkness off the rest of that block. If you moved a small white ball across an entire black screen, you'd see the blocks turn on and off, and sometimes this bugs folks.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68764 Replies · 2686035 views
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dishstaller
Knights In White Satin - The Moody Blues
Bobby
The Topical Song - The Barron Knights
dishstaller
The Logical Song - Supertramp
sdfntx
From a Logical Point of View - Robert Mitchum
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long_time_Dish
Point Of Know Return - Kansas
Neutron
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
Does anyone here use Apple Home/HomeKit with HomePods or Apple TV to automate smart devices in their house? We have had Amazon's Alexa set up in our house for the last 10+ years and I have been waiting to switch them out to Apple for a few reasons; We are already in the Apple ecosystem with our phones, tablets, and computers. I have never liked Amazon's stance on privacy and I really like that Apple has pushed for privacy for a long time.

I bought 4 of the new HomePod Mini 2 speakers to go in various rooms in our house and we have one of the new Apple TVs on preorder that will be the start of me replacing our Rokus. I have the HomePod Mini 2s set up and have an RPi that is running HomeBridge for our legacy smart devices that worked natively with Alexa but don't work with Apple Home natively. I had trouble with the older smart bulbs not keeping the brightness or light color consistent with what our routines were with Alexa despite trying every setting in HomeBridge with the bulbs just not shining very bright. I ended up replacing them with updated versions that are Matter compatible so they work in Apple Home natively. That in and of itself has been interesting to set up because I have my home network segretated with the IoT devices on their own vlan and wifi and pretty locked down. Matter requires IPv6 and due to how my home network is designed I had to do some digging with AI to figure out how to make it all work correctly.

Apple Home definitely has some shortcomings that Alexa does much better with but I am hoping Apple will continue to improve their Home products and introduce features that will bring it closer to the functionality of Alexa.
2 Replies · 14 views
b4pjoe
I tried HomeKit to be able to see my Ring cameras on my Apple TV as they are not supported natively on Apple devices. The best I could get was to be able to view the cameras live but I could not view any recordings. After the last major update version of HomeKit I could not even view the live cameras anymore. I gave up on it after that. If I were going to do it again I would only buy devices that can work on Apple devices natively as HomeKit didn't work well at all for me.
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Neutron
I tried HomeKit to be able to see my Ring cameras on my Apple TV as they are not supported natively on Apple devices. The best I could get was to be able to view the cameras live but I could not view any recordings. After the last major update version of HomeKit I could not even view the live cameras anymore. I gave up on it after that. If I were going to do it again I would only buy devices that can work on Apple devices natively as HomeKit didn't work well at all for me.
That's what I started doing after seeing legacy devices work hit or miss using the HomeBridge. At least Apple is following a standard now with Matter which is unusual for Apple. Looks like HomeBridge does allow you to see the live views but I haven't seen how to view past recordings. I'd really like to ditch Ring altogether due to their stance on privacy and if I had my choice I'd go with UniFi since that's what I use for my network and I like the idea of my camera recordings being all local and not in the cloud. UniFi doorbells and cameras are quite pricey though.

I'll try to access the Ring doorbells in Apple Home for now but I'll see if it's useful any.
b4pjoe
Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
6 Replies · 171 views
harshness
Given that Tubi is one of the hottest FAST services out there, I don't expect it to go anywhere. Building up intolerance for ads takes a while, and as long as the advertisers are willing to foot the bill, why not?
osu1991

Surprise! Fox Corp. said Friday it has closed the acquisition of streaming platform Roku, a deal valued at $22 billion, well ahead of the expected 2027 date.
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Neutron
Another reason I'm glad we are swapping or Rokus out for Apple TVs. I was already planning on ditching the Rokus earlier this year and had been waiting on Apple to announce the new one last month. Our Rokus have had issues the last year or so with freezing video and reboots, and one with an HDCP issue randomly.
dishstaller
Building up intolerance for ads takes a while, and as long as the advertisers are willing to foot the bill, why not?
That is what I have to explain to customers all the time. They want it free with no ads :facepalm
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Thought some might find this encouraging. It turned out good but I still feel a little bad about it.
Had to drop by Walmart on my way to the store this morning, I had enough time but no time to spare either. As I was walking across the parking lot I noticed an older gent pushing his buggy with a confused look on his face. I said hello as I passed but he didn't respond...something was bothering him. I kept walking and then stopped and chided myself for being in too much of a rush. I turned around and asked him if he needed some help. Turned out he had NO idea where he had parked his truck. He told what color and model and looked around...nothing. I asked him if he had tried his key fob, he wasn't sure what I was talking about and got it out and handed it to me. Hit the lock and listened for a horn like my F150 does. Nothing. Finally I hit the panic button and we heard his truck...it was on the complete other side of the parking lot. He thanked me and I went on about my business.

I felt bad however because I almost didn't stop. I was so focused on what I had to pick up that I almost just kept walking without seeing if I could help. Years ago I wouldn't have hesitated. It seems that as we age it is easy to focus more on ourselves and ignore others which is why you'll see footage of these muggings in big cities and people just walk by the wounded victim who is laying on the sidewalk.

Moral to the story: Don't let your humanity die just because so many others have allowed theirs to.
3 Replies · 50 views
T
Years ago you wouldn't have hesitated...What was your hesitation? In breaking stride to assess another's situation, which you wouldn't have done when younger? Usually it's younger people who are less observant or likely to break routine to help an old lady cross the street, etc.
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TRG
TRG
Kinda reminds me of a verse from an old John Prine song.

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare as if you didn't care
Say, "Hello in there, hello"


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Jimbo
Thought some might find this encouraging. It turned out good but I still feel a little bad about it.
Had to drop by Walmart on my way to the store this morning, I had enough time but no time to spare either. As I was walking across the parking lot I noticed an older gent pushing his buggy with a confused look on his face. I said hello as I passed but he didn't respond...something was bothering him. I kept walking and then stopped and chided myself for being in too much of a rush. I turned around and asked him if he needed some help. Turned out he had NO idea where he had parked his truck. He told what color and model and looked around...nothing. I asked him if he had tried his key fob, he wasn't sure what I was talking about and got it out and handed it to me. Hit the lock and listened for a horn like my F150 does. Nothing. Finally I hit the panic button and we heard his truck...it was on the complete other side of the parking lot. He thanked me and I went on about my business.

I felt bad however because I almost didn't stop. I was so focused on what I had to pick up that I almost just kept walking without seeing if I could help. Years ago I wouldn't have hesitated. It seems that as we age it is easy to focus more on ourselves and ignore others which is why you'll see footage of these muggings in big cities and people just walk by the wounded victim who is laying on the sidewalk.

Moral to the story: Don't let your humanity die just because so many others have allowed theirs to.
Actually, I think it's a bit different ... as we age, we do what we need to ... I being retired, don't leave home as early as I would other wise have, some day I have a ton of stops to make, others just a few ...

I think the problem is the generations behind us are all about themselves and generally could care less about others ...

Thats not everyone behind us, but I would guess a majority ...

There comes a time in life that you decide your going to do whats Right, or not ...
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 12 views
K
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
'Rockford Files' Reboot Gets NBC Pilot Order

I grow tired of all the reboots. Most I don't bother with but will depend on the actor chosen.
22 Replies · 846 views
long_time_Dish

I wonder how they're/if they're going to do something like the answering machine message opening? It was always funny...
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Howard Simmons
I wonder how they're/if they're going to do something like the answering machine message opening? It was always funny...
I hope they can find enough Pontiac Firebirds to keep the show going.🤔
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dishstaller
I wonder how they're/if they're going to do something like the answering machine message opening? It was always funny...
I had forgotten all about that part of the show. Used to really like it.
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TFLEV
· posted in TFLEV
0 Replies · 18 views
Bruce
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum
Comcast is the first to report, with a massive 274,000 loss in video subscribers.

In the 3Q of 2016, Comcast had 21.42 million video subscribers and was the #1 provider, now at 10.39 million and is the #3 Provider, YTTV is #2 ( who also surpassed DirecTV-8 Million and Dish-under 5 Million), Charter/Spectrum is #1.

19 Replies · 756 views
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dishstaller
Got to admit I never thought I'd see the day that cable lost internet subs.
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Ronnie-
Got to admit I never thought I'd see the day that cable lost internet subs.
I think the cable companies didnt either, back when they had no real competition in their footprint.

But today, for many, maybe even most, cable isnt the only choice, or even the best.
NYDutch
I think the cable companies didnt either, back when they had no real competition in their footprint.

But today, for many, maybe even most, cable isnt the only choice, or even the best.
In my new apartment, my only choice is Spectrum due to the cost, just $30/mo for 100 Mbps service. And just the other day, I received a notice that I can have Amazon Prime at no cost through Spectrum. I already had Prime, but when I activated the Spectrum deal, I received a $75 refund on my annual subscription. I don't know how widespread the offer is being made, but it sure looks like they're trying to hang on to Internet subscribers.
ncted
All my parents had to do to get a discount on Spectrum Internet is say the words "Verizon Home Internet," and they cut the price by $30/month.
NYDutch
All my parents had to do to get a discount on Spectrum Internet is say the words "Verizon Home Internet," and they cut the price by $30/month.
I don't think they'll go below the current $30 price since it's part of a deal they have with the non- profit that owns the apartment building.
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ncted
I don't think they'll go below the current $30 price since it's part of a deal they have with the non- profit that owns the apartment building.
Yeah, I was just saying Spectrum suddenly wants to keep what customers they can.
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Tom Speer
Optimum, which bought up our previous cable company, Suddenlink (originally COX), replac ed all of their coax disdripution with Fiber several years ago. They ran new fiber links to the house, but installed RFOG (RF over glass) devices on the outside of the house, which makes the house coax system look like a cable system. They used DOCSIS modems and of course we had the same assymetric bandwidth of cable internet. When I called them a couple years ago, and said I had installed a connection to the local Fiber provideer, MetroNet, They panicked and offered me the 300 MBit "Fiber powered" cable service for $20 per month. They were bleeding customers. I cancelled my Metronet and went with the $20 deal for a year, even though I didn't like the old cable technology.

Then T-moble Fiber struck a deal with Metronet Fiber where T-mobile would take over the marketing, billing and customer relations for residential Customers. They offered a "Founders Deal" for 2 Gigabit service, symmetric speeds, for $70 per month for new customers. That included all taxes and fees and was guaranteed for 10 years. I couldn't resist. That deal is no longer offered, but I am set for 9 more years.

Now the successaor to the old local telephone company, Brightspeed has also installed a modern Fiber system in the neighborhood, but won't be getting my business. But their Fiber technology is also superior to Optimums cable based system.

With Fiber competition, the cable companies are eventually doomed.