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vurbano

Supporting Founder

Last reply Jul 19, 2006 · posted in Movie Talk

45 GB HD DVD Tested.. bye bye Blu Ray

http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/

According to the Tech spec section of this HD DVD site, 45 GB HD DVD's have been tested. So ends the theoretical advantage of BluRay.

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vurbano

Jul 17, 2006

mike123abc said:
The current # of players and discs sold by HD DVD cannot support that format either. As I mentioned there have been no major movie support on HDDVD yet. Neither format is beyond the experimental stage yet. Studio support is key, even if you have the best picture and the cheapest price, if you are selling old movies and not the hottest hits you will not succeed.

HDDVD does not need 50 Gb disks to look and sound incredible. They have accomplished that on DL 30 GB disks. There are enough studios and the rest will follow the money.

Ilya said:
The list of movies announced for HD DVD:
(Last updated 07/10/2006)

Universal Studios
Serenity - 4/18/2006
Doom - 4/25/2006
Apollo 13 - 4/25/2006
Jarhead - 5/9/2006
Cinderella Man - 5/9/2006
Assault on Precinct 13 - 5/9/2006
The Bourne Supremacy - 5/23/2006
The Chronicles of Riddick - 5/23/2006
U-571 - 5/23/2006
Van Helsing - 5/23/2006
Happy Gilmore - 06/13/2006
The Rundown - 06/13/2006
Friday Night Lights - 07/11/2006
Pitch Black - 07/11/2006
Ray - 8/8/2006
National Lampoon's Animal House - 8/8/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Unleashed - 8/8/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
The Interpreter - 8/22/2006
Spy Game - 8/22/2006
The Bone Collector - 8/22/2006
Traffic - 9/12/2006
Red Dragon - 9/12/2006
Seabisquit - 9/12/2006
Backdraft - 9/19/2006
End of Days - 9/26/2006
Dazed and Confused - 9/26/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - 9/26/2006
George A. Romero's Land of the Dead: Unrated Director's Cut - 9/26/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Army of Darkness - 10/10/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 10/10/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)

King Kong - ?
The 40-Year-Old Virgin - ?
Fast and the Furious 3

Warner Bros.
Phantom of the Opera - 4/18/2006
The Last Samurai - 4/18/2006
Million Dollar Baby - 4/20/2006
Swordfish - 5/02/2006
Goodfellas - 5/02/2006
Rumor Has It - 5/09/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Training Day - 5/09/2006
Full Metal Jacket - 5/16/2006
Unforgiven - 5/16/2006
Blazing Saddles - 5/23/2006
The Fugitive - 5/23/2006
Constantine - 6/06/2006
The Perfect Storm - 6/06/2006
Firewall - 6/06/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
16 Blocks - 6/13/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Syriana - 6/20/2006
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - 6/20/2006 (DVD/HD DVD Combo)
Lethal Weapon - 6/27/2006
Enter the Dragon - 7/11/2006
Dukes of Hazzard - 7/11/2006
Aviator
Batman Begins
Twister
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Matrix Trilogy
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Charlie & Chocolate Factory
The Green Mile Special Edition
Ocean's Twelve
Troy
Friends

HBO Video
Band of brothers
Sopranos
Deadwood

Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
Tomb Raider - 7/25/2006
Sahara - 7/25/2006
Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow - 7/25/2006
Sleepy Hollow - 7/25/2006
Four brothers - 8/01/2006
We were soldiers - 8/01/2006
Manchurian candidate - 8/01/2006
U2: Rattle and Hum - 8/08/2006
Aeon Flux - 8/08/2006
The Italian job - 8/08/2006
Braveheart
Mission Impossible
Mission Impossible 2
Mission Impossible 3
The Ultimate Star Trek Movie Collection

New line
Seven
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Magnolia Home Entertainment / HDNet
Best of Get Out! Vol.1 - 07/11/2006
Best of Get Out! Vol.2 - 07/11/2006
HDNet World Report Special: Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission
World Extreme Cagefighting: Halloween Fury 1
World Extreme Cagefighting: Unfinished Business 2
Best Of True Music
World Cafe Music
Bikini Destinations: Mexico
Bikini Destinations: Hawaii
Chic Corea - Rendevouzs in New York - Part 1
Chic Corea - Rendevouzs in New York - Part 2

Magnolia Home Entertainment
Bubble
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
The War Within

Brentwood
Classical Touch Beethoven - 07/11/2006
Classical Touch Chopin - 07/11/2006
Classical Touch Mozart - 07/11/2006
Classical Touch Tchaikovsky - 07/11/2006

Morningstar Entertainment
Chronos
Concert Hot Spot
View From Space With Heavenly Music - 6/06/2006
Muriel Anderson: Guitarscape Planet - 6/06/2006

BCI/Navarre
That's the Way of the World - 08/29/2006
Galaxina - 09/19/2006
Golgo 13 - 09/19/2006
The Sonny Chiba Collection (box set)
The Bob Hope Collection (box set)
The Spanish Horror Collection (box set)
Son of Paleface
The Lemon Drop Kid
That's the Way of the World
Night of the Werewolf
Vengeance of the Zomblies

Additional titles revealed at Microsoft website:
12 Monkeys
2 Fast 2 Furious
American Pie
Animal House
Army of Darkness
Backdraft
Battlestar Galactica (2004) Season 1
Conan the Barbarian
Dante's Peak
Dazed and Confused
Dracula (1931)
Dune Theatrical
End of Days

Expected list price is $29.99 to $39.99

HD titles shown in green are expected to be exclusive to HD DVD.

I think more can be found here http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/

mike123abc

Jul 18, 2006

HDDVD is producing a lot of titles, but how many of those are big hits? None that have been released are recent hits. Yea a few big ones are listed (like Harry Potter, MI, etc) but they are not exclusive to HDDVD. Having 400 titles and only a few recent hits vs the promised (and I know not yet released either) 200 titles with many more recent hits listed, which will the consumer pick. Yeah they have to pay $500 more for the player with the hit movies, but what good is a $500 paperweight if the movies the consumer wants are not released.

Nobody ever said this is a technology contest. Content is what matters. Sony by hook or by crook has managed to line up the studios and appears to be holding on to them very tightly. Yes controlling 55% of the movies ever made gives them a huge advantage, they are not stupid at Sony. Other studios will probably release on both formats eventually, but it will be a long time before Sony controlled movies make it to HDDVD.

I own an HDDVD player, and yes I agree 30 GB of VC-1 seems more than enough, but then I have not seen what could be done with 50GB of VC-1. It looks like Sony botched the launch by not having VC-1 or MPEG-4 authoring software available. The 50GB disc issue was pretty well known, they were not expecting 50GB until next year, so it is not a shocker. What I think is the real shocker to Sony is that HDDVD would use VC-1 so successfully that they ran away with the disc quality in round one.

The average Joe will be walking in to BB/CC and see 5 BR players and a PS3 at the end of the year. Due to Sony buying the space they will be prominately displayed, the HDDVD player will be hidden in the back of the store somewhere. They will also see the hits they want in BR. They do not have any idea of picture quality, they will look better than DVD and in their minds to justify the expense they will look fantastic... This is what will happen if Sony manages to get its ducks in a row. The whole price and quality issues will not be there because the consumer will never see the choice to start with.

colofan

Jul 19, 2006

So does anyone have a calculation that if a movie was 1080p60 what the speace requirement would be? Just looking at the frame rate being 2 1/2 times higher than the current release would lead one to increase capacity that much? I know that compression could make a big difference here.

vinnyv07

Jul 19, 2006

vurbano said:
A year from now, the HD DvD player will be even cheaper do to the volume they will have sold, and the media too. IF 50 GB disks are available they will be even more expensive. And do the the failure of SONY to deliver that media now, sales of there players will be so small that the price will still be 1 grand a pop. Its over.

I do agree with you somewhat. I think before this format war really gets heated and on its way...PS3 will have been released. I'm not saying that HD DVD won't win the format war....I'm saying that the success of PS3 will have a great deal to say about the success of BLURay. I remember when the first PS2 came out and the game system was actually the first DVD player that some people had in their homes.

T2k

Jul 19, 2006

colofan said:
So does anyone have a calculation that if a movie was 1080p60 what the speace requirement would be? Just looking at the frame rate being 2 1/2 times higher than the current release would lead one to increase capacity that much? I know that compression could make a big difference here.

Actually not really as both would use the same VC-1 codec.

OTOH VC-1 only supports 1080p60 in Advanced Profile@L4 which would be out of range for probably anything until some upcoming new format like HVD kills these current wannabies.

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 10:49 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

USA Healthcare Costs are Ridiculous

Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.

Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.

After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.

I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.

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osu1991

Sunday at 7:39 PM

Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs.

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dishstaller

Sunday at 8:15 PM

osu1991 said:
I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years

That's why I cancelled ours and just started saving the money. We're about to do the same thing with our home insurance.....not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage. We're paying over $5k right now and that is AFTER I dumbed things down...and it keeps going up. Got a couple trees I want to have taken down first before I do that however. After we do that, it will knock about $3k off our annual premium.

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harshness

Yesterday at 10:51 AM

dishstaller said:
not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage.

Other than fire, what other kinds of damage do you guys get down there?

dishstaller

Yesterday at 11:26 AM

harshness said:
Other than fire, what other kinds of damage do you guys get down there?

Not much else. Fire is the only thing I really worry about. I honestly didn't know I could remove wind coverage until someone told that they had....dropped their annual rate from $6,500 to $1,800. I'm currently paying $5,160.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 6:36 PM

dishstaller said:
Not much else. Fire is the only thing I really worry about. I honestly didn't know I could remove wind coverage until someone told that they had....dropped their annual rate from $6,500 to $1,800. I'm currently paying $5,160.

Does the Wind portion cover Hurricanes ?

dishstaller

Yesterday at 8:58 PM

Jimbo said:
Does the Wind portion cover Hurricanes ?

Yes. I covers ANYTHING wind related. If the wind blows down a tree on my roof...that is wind related.
That is why I want to take out a few trees first before I drop it.

I'm not worried about my roof. House was very solidly built and has hurricane straps. I put the metal roof on myself with the help of a friend and I recently replaced all of the outer screws with #12 2 in screws which I also dipped the tip in silicone before driving them in. Any other damage I'll fix myself like I did after Michael gave us a visit in 2018.

dishdude

Yesterday at 9:06 PM

The other thing you can look at are deductibles. I bumped my homeowners up to $10k and it dropped my premium in half - I'm not filing a claim unless the damage is catastrophic.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 10:13 PM

dishstaller said:
Yes. I covers ANYTHING wind related. If the wind blows down a tree on my roof...that is wind related.
That is why I want to take out a few trees first before I drop it.

I'm not worried about my roof. House was very solidly built and has hurricane straps. I put the metal roof on myself with the help of a friend and I recently replaced all of the outer screws with #12 2 in screws which I also dipped the tip in silicone before driving them in. Any other damage I'll fix myself like I did after Michael gave us a visit in 2018.

So, the Roof will stay, hopefully the rest of the house stays as well ... if the Hurricane decides to take the house and move it down the street, well at least the roof will go with it !

meStevo

Yesterday at 10:44 PM

dishdude said:
The other thing you can look at are deductibles. I bumped my homeowners up to $10k and it dropped my premium in half - I'm not filing a claim unless the damage is catastrophic.

Yeah, I made our homeowners insurance deductible tied to a percentage of value or something - basically will only use it if the place burns down.

dishstaller

Yesterday at 10:49 PM

Jimbo said:
So, the Roof will stay, hopefully the rest of the house stays as well ... if the Hurricane decides to take the house and move it down the street, well at least the roof will go with it !

Why be such a smartbutt.
We went through a cat 5 hurricane.....the foundation is sound. Trees hitting the house are the only thing I am worried about when it comes to wind related damage.
IF you had actually been through multiple hurricanes like I have, you would know that most of the damage, unless you were stupid enough to build along the coast.....something ALL of our ancestors knew better than to do, is roof related. In a lot of cases the roof gives way and then the house suffers water damage due to the heavy rain.

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mheisen

Last reply Yesterday at 10:47 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Hopper 3 with Hopper plus internet connection problems

Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?

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slow_poke_pete

Friday at 3:43 AM

mheisen said:
Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?

Buy a roku and dump the hopper plus you'll be better off. If you have a smart tv you don't need either one. No hopper plus here and no issues!!!

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Almighty1

Friday at 3:34 PM

slow_poke_pete said:
Buy a roku and dump the hopper plus you'll be better off. If you have a smart tv you don't need either one. No hopper plus here and no issues!!!

The Roku costs $$$, Hopper Plus is free. That may not be the only costs as it depends if the TV in question still has available HDMI ports and if not, it will require a HDMI switch and HDMI cable which adds more to the cost.

I have a LG 3D OLED Smart TV and I still need either of them because it does not have Android TV built in. Add a Hopper Plus and see if you actually have issues or not as until you actually tried it, it means nothing.

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jsmit86

Sunday at 9:05 AM

If the OP has a router and a managed switch, that could be the problem.
I have a Hopper 3 and 5 Joey 4s. I recently updated my Router, Switch and access points with Ubiquiti UniFi gear. I had an issue where the switch interpreted the communication between the hopper internet connection and one of the Joeys as a data loop. I had to change some settings in the switch to re-enable that port. Your router could possibly be doing the same thing blocking the connection.

If your router has a malware connection setting, try disabling it temporarily, and see if the internet comes back. Contact your ISP and see if there is a block happening at the router or switch level, or via the ISP's threat protection.

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Almighty1

Sunday at 5:20 PM

jsmit86 said:
If the OP has a router and a managed switch, that could be the problem.
I have a Hopper 3 and 5 Joey 4s. I recently updated my Router, Switch and access points with Ubiquiti UniFi gear. I had an issue where the switch interpreted the communication between the hopper internet connection and one of the Joeys as a data loop. I had to change some settings in the switch to re-enable that port. Your router could possibly be doing the same thing blocking the connection.

If your router has a malware connection setting, try disabling it temporarily, and see if the internet comes back. Contact your ISP and see if there is a block happening at the router or switch level, or via the ISP's threat protection.

Can you share what settings you had to change?

Required Inbound & Outbound Network Ports
The standard ports designated for DISH Hopper configurations include:

- TCP Port 80 – HTTP communication
- TCP Port 443 – HTTPS secure communication
- TCP Port 5678 – Neighbor Discovery / Device Sync
- UDP Port 80 – Alternative streaming/network data
- UDP Port 443 – Alternative secure media streams
- UDP Port 5678 – Remote pairing and network discovery

Critical Network & Security Considerations

- UPnP (Universal Plug and Play): Enabling UPnP on your router is the easiest way to allow the Hopper to automatically handle its own port maps.
Internal Communication (MoCA & Local LAN): The Hopper Plus and Joeys communicate internally over your local home network using router's default internal traffic policies. Local firewall software or strict internal VLAN isolation can block the Hopper 3 from seeing the Hopper Plus or Joey extensions.

The other thing is that these are streaming channels which was why I asked if they have worked correctly even without the Hopper Plus as checking the post history of the OP, it appears that the Hopper Plus was added around 1/2 a year ago and from looking at my own Internet settings portion, all the Hopper 3 does is really measure signal strenth for WiFi and probably just check ping times to show it is connected or not to the internet, it does not check the actual speed or latency. Since the OP has a Hopper Plus, OP can always install the Speedtest app for diagnostics and then take a photo of the results and post it here. Before 2017, I used tȯhave 6Mbps/768Kbps ADSL and even though the Hopper 1 and Hopper 3 also showed internet connectivity is okay, everytime my Ring Doorbell is uploading, it would knock the entire internet connection off-line as the upload pipe would be 100% filled by the Ring Door bell uploading the video because the ACKnowledgement packets would not have priority being sent back in time which was fixed with QoS traffic shaping but that still does not mean streaming will work as it requires at least 25Mbps minimum or more if there are other devices on the same connection sharing the bandwidth.

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jsmit86

Yesterday at 4:45 PM

Almighty1 said:
Can you share what settings you had to change?

Required Inbound & Outbound Network Ports
The standard ports designated for DISH Hopper configurations include:

TCP Port 80 – HTTP communication

TCP Port 443 – HTTPS secure communication

TCP Port 5678 – Neighbor Discovery / Device Sync

UDP Port 80 – Alternative streaming/network data

UDP Port 443 – Alternative secure media streams

UDP Port 5678 – Remote pairing and network discovery

Critical Network & Security Considerations

UPnP (Universal Plug and Play): Enabling UPnP on your router is the easiest way to allow the Hopper to automatically handle its own port maps.

Internal Communication (MoCA & Local LAN): The Hopper Plus and Joeys communicate internally over your local home network using router's default internal traffic policies. Local firewall software or strict internal VLAN isolation can block the Hopper 3 from seeing the Hopper Plus or Joey extensions.The other thing is that these are streaming channels which was why I asked if they have worked correctly even without the Hopper Plus as checking the post history of the OP, it appears that the Hopper Plus was added around 1/2 a year ago and from looking at my own Internet settings portion, all the Hopper 3 does is really measure signal strenth for WiFi and probably just check ping times to show it is connected or not to the internet, it does not check the actual speed or latency. Since the OP has a Hopper Plus, OP can always install the Speedtest app for diagnostics and then take a photo of the results and post it here. Before 2017, I used tȯhave 6Mbps/768Kbps ADSL and even though the Hopper 1 and Hopper 3 also showed internet connectivity is okay, everytime my Ring Doorbell is uploading, it would knock the entire internet connection off-line as the upload pipe would be 100% filled by the Ring Door bell uploading the video because the ACKnowledgement packets would not have priority being sent back in time which was fixed with QoS traffic shaping but that still does not mean streaming will work as it requires at least 25Mbps minimum or more if there are other devices on the same connection sharing the bandwidth.

This was for port settings for the switch, not the router.

Originally was recommended to use EDGE vs. Infrastructure, but had to change that back to Infrastructure.

Had to leave STP (Spanning tree protocol) ON, but disable BPDU guard, and also had to disable Non-STP loop protection.

The previous settings were flagging normal dish system packets as a data loop, and fully blocked that port on the UniFI Pro Max 16 POE switch.

These were specific to my managed switch, and may not apply to the OP's issue.

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Almighty1

Yesterday at 10:47 PM

jsmit86 said:
This was for port settings for the switch, not the router.

Originally was recommended to use EDGE vs. Infrastructure, but had to change that back to Infrastructure.

Had to leave STP (Spanning tree protocol) ON, but disable BPDU guard, and also had to disable Non-STP loop protection.

The previous settings were flagging normal dish system packets as a data loop, and fully blocked that port on the UniFI Pro Max 16 POE switch.

These were specific to my managed switch, and may not apply to the OP's issue.

Yes, a switch unlike what the consumer calls a router does not use NAT (Network Address Translation. There could be other settings in the router itself that may have a effect as well. A router does contain a Layer 2/Layer 3 switch as well. A Managed switch does contain a Layer 2/Layer 3 router as well, just not the NAT type of router.

I have both HP/Aruba and Cisco Managed 1GBit and 10Gbit switches and never had any of the issues mentioned as my modem goes into the switch first while the router(s) all are connected to the switches. As for the OP, until we know his configuration and whether it ever worked with the Hopper Plus or without the Hopper Plus and just the Hopper 3 only, it would be hard to know where the issue lies since it could be a issue with the provider, bandwidth or the network hardware configuration among other things.

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reubenray

Last reply Yesterday at 10:43 PM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

New Laptop?

After having continuing trouble with my eight+ year old Dell Inspiron laptop I am looking to hopefully catch a good deal on new one. My options to buy is Costco and Sam's Club. It seems like a lot of new laptops are 2 in 1 which I do not need. I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus. The keyboard would need to lighted also. I don't game any. It would have to be Windows instead of and not Mac. The brands I see the most are Asus, Dell and HP. My two last laptops has been Dell's. Of these brands are there any standouts over the other brands. My budget (hopefully) is $600+-. Also while researching I noticed that do not have ethernet ports.

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arlo

Sunday at 12:16 PM

Can't really help with an exact set of suggestions. I can say that if you have a set budget. And $600 these days wont get you much. One thing I can say is check out Dell Refurbished.
I've suggested and even configured, ordered a few for friends who were a bit iffy in deciding what they needed and wanted.
Refurbished doesn't mean that they came back defective and were repaired. Companies and organizations who order quantities of the same computers often cancel or modify their requirements.
Dell builds usually on demand. Their direct refurbished line will be brand new, unused. Perhaps not exactly the "today" specifications of the latest-greatest. And you can get a nice pc for quite a bit less with full warranty.
Just a suggestion.
"I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus".

As far as Asus, HP goes. And others you may consider. I'd think $600 (new) would get you a laptop. A quality, long lasting one? Not so sure. Now. If you could get a $1000 lappy for $600. Good deal, don't you think?
Surf the web doesn't need a killer Nvidia graphics chip. Nor a pinnacle, top of the line Intel, AMD processor.
12-16 gigs of memory will get you by just fine.
I'm personally an Asus fan. Brands aside. The one thing is the batteries. We discussed that here someplace else.
I repair these critters. Batteries. Cheap laptops have cheap batteries. Asus suggests that you don't keep the charger plugged in all of the time to make them last. Like you see on phones where 85% vs full charge is suggested to preserve battery life.

Reactions: HipKat, Foxbat and reubenray

Foxbat

Sunday at 9:56 PM

GB is the new MB (remember when Windows used to be happy with 8 MB of RAM?)

I had great experiences with Dell's Refurbished systems in the past. I ended up getting Business desktops instead of the Home PCs since they didn't come loaded with bloatware and the one Desktop I got for Mrs. Foxbat even had a license for MS Office Professional included.

arlo

Yesterday at 3:58 AM

arlo said:
Can't really help with an exact set of suggestions. I can say that if you have a set budget. And $600 these days wont get you much. One thing I can say is check out Dell Refurbished.
I've suggested and even configured, ordered a few for friends who were a bit iffy in deciding what they needed and wanted.
Refurbished doesn't mean that they came back defective and were repaired. Companies and organizations who order quantities of the same computers often cancel or modify their requirements.
Dell builds usually on demand. Their direct refurbished line will be brand new, unused. Perhaps not exactly the "today" specifications of the latest-greatest. And you can get a nice pc for quite a bit less with full warranty.
Just a suggestion.
"I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus".

As far as Asus, HP goes. And others you may consider. I'd think $600 (new) would get you a laptop. A quality, long lasting one? Not so sure. Now. If you could get a $1000 lappy for $600. Good deal, don't you think?
Surf the web doesn't need a killer Nvidia graphics chip. Nor a pinnacle, top of the line Intel, AMD processor.
12-16 gigs of memory will get you by just fine.
I'm personally an Asus fan. Brands aside. The one thing is the batteries. We discussed that here someplace else.
I repair these critters. Batteries. Cheap laptops have cheap batteries. Asus suggests that you don't keep the charger plugged in all of the time to make them last. Like you see on phones where 85% vs full charge is suggested to preserve battery life.

Just an edit. I did look on Dell's refurb site. To me I didn't really see anything approaching the six-hundred dollar range that I'd even consider owning. That's me though. Marginally in the $700 range.
Upwards of $1000, sure. Me? I'd save up a little more. I think their warranty is 100 days. Not that you'll need it. Square Trade is a viable option too.
The other guys replies after my first post here are viable. All I can say is that my friends and folks who chose refurbished over new have been entirely happy.

Just beware of cheap. It might just bite you. We do have tariffs now since when you bought your lappy 8 years ago.

Harshness' comment of on-cpu gpu. Intel Integrated Graphics is usually accompanied with and Nvidia gpu also.
Low power drain, good graphics and when needed, the Nvidia kicks in.

2 in 1 goes along with touch screen. Fold the display over and use it as a tablet. They go hand in hand. The keyboard shuts off. Normally open, the touch screen works as is should. I never use the touch screen when opened normally on mine. Kind of clumsy. In tablet configuration, does as it should.

harshness

Yesterday at 10:44 AM

In a world where Chromebooks are retailing for upwards of $600, that probably isn't enough for a self-respecting Windows laptop.

Come to think of it, it is barely enough for a reasonable mini PC with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse these days.

If a laptop is a mandate, you're looking in the used market, and that's a complete crap shoot unless you can get a factory refurb with a >90-day warranty.

reubenray

Yesterday at 11:54 AM

After checking on new laptops and not liking the prices I checked to see when I replaced the battery in mine. It was about five years ago. I also installed a bigger 1TB SSD drive a few years ago. It already has 12GB of RAM which was more than most new laptops I looked at. I plan on replacing the battery to see what happens. The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 5570. Is there anything else I need to replace?

primestar31

Yesterday at 10:43 PM

reubenray said:
After checking on new laptops and not liking the prices I checked to see when I replaced the battery in mine. It was about five years ago. I also installed a bigger 1TB SSD drive a few years ago. It already has 12GB of RAM which was more than most new laptops I looked at. I plan on replacing the battery to see what happens. The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 5570. Is there anything else I need to replace?

Maybe replace the CMOS battery? Power on while taping the F2 key to get into the Setup screen, then take photos of all your cmos settings before replacement, so you can easily restore them after replacement.

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Ray_Clum

Last reply Yesterday at 10:29 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Wireless Joey4 (Android TV)

I had an old Wireless Joey replaced by a Wireless Joey 4 (Android TV) - still have a Hopper 3 without the Hopper Plus. What do I have to do to get the EPG to show channel logos instead of "Dish"? This is annoying as hell and it's been this way for over a month…

4 Replies · 120 views

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bnewt

Sunday at 8:13 PM

That kind of crap annoys me to no end.
That is one reason I haven't switched to h3and the same wireless joey 4
Hope you get it resolved.

Reactions: MikeD-C05 and charlesrshell

KAB

Yesterday at 7:27 AM

Just so you know, my WJ4 (with no Hopper+) shows all the logos. I can't think of why yours isn't. I'll do some digging in the settings.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Scott Greczkowski

Yesterday at 8:29 AM

They "should" appear after a few days. If not reboot the hopper and joey. Sometimes it needs a kick.

Reactions: MikeD-C05 and charlesrshell

Almighty1

Yesterday at 10:29 PM

There are some channels that would not show the logos but the ones you listed should all have logos as I have a Hopper 3 + Hopper Plus here. You might try forcing a Guide Update first before doing what Scott mentioned.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Yesterday at 10:08 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

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....

68713 Replies · 2683317 views

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long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 6:50 PM

Fountain Of Sorrow - James Browne

gms49ers

Yesterday at 6:52 PM

Funk #49 - James Gang

Reactions: dishstaller and long_time_Dish

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 8:52 PM

Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders

Reactions: gms49ers, RaiderPower and dishstaller

dishstaller

Yesterday at 8:54 PM

My City Was Gone - The Pretenders

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long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 10:08 PM

Already Gone - The Eagles

Reactions: dishstaller and RaiderPower

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dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 8:51 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

TVs are really getting big these days

Was raining yesterday so I went to Sams up in Dothan to stock up on some things. Haven't been there in quite a while. I was amazed at how large most of the TVs were. When I walked in they had a 100 in Vizio (I think it was Vizio) that was marked down to something like $1,200. The first rows of TVs were all in the 80 in + sizes. The next couple of rows had the "smaller" models....those 75 and under. I was amazed at how small the 75s looked when lined up with the larger screens.

7 Replies · 117 views

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Foxbat

Yesterday at 2:45 PM

I'm at a limit for TV sizes at this time. My Father-in-Law crafted a custom entertainment center for our family room and we were restricted from going too big based on the side cabinets and central bridge fitting in the width of the room. It turns out to be where a 55" screen with bezels fits but no 65" bezel-less screen can fit. I think there was a brief period where 58" screens where a thing, but no more.

So, no huge screens for the Foxbat's…

TRG

Yesterday at 3:04 PM

Foxbat said:
I'm at a limit for TV sizes at this time. My Father-in-Law crafted a custom entertainment center for our family room and we were restricted from going too big based on the side cabinets and central bridge fitting in the width of the room. It turns out to be where a 55" screen with bezels fits but no 65" bezel-less screen can fit. I think there was a brief period where 58" screens where a thing, but no more.

So, no huge screens for the Foxbat's…

55" is plenty big.

Reactions: Foxbat

dishstaller

Yesterday at 3:11 PM

TRG said:
55" is plenty big.

And to think....I was SO proud of myself when I bought a 27 in TV in the late 80s. Everyone just had a 25 in so I was really in high cotton.

Reactions: Foxbat, primestar31, navychop and 1 other person

Jimbo

Yesterday at 7:20 PM

dishstaller said:
And to think....I was SO proud of myself when I bought a 27 in TV in the late 80s. Everyone just had a 25 in so I was really in high cotton.

I remember buying my 1st Sony .... a whopping Big 27" CRT XBR .... $1200.

Reactions: AZ., dishstaller and Foxbat

Bobby

Yesterday at 7:39 PM

I bought my 50" Mitsubishi rear projection in 1981!

Reactions: dishstaller and Foxbat

dishstaller

Yesterday at 8:51 PM

Jimbo said:
I remember buying my 1st Sony .... a whopping Big 27" CRT XBR .... $1200.

Yep....because they weren't going to get any bigger and the CERTAINLY weren't going to get any cheaper.

I remember MANY years ago I went into Sams Club and saw a thumb drive on sale for $49.88....the storage capacity was a whopping 256mb....yes, MB. I just KNEW that was as cheap as they could ever go and there was simply NO way they could fit any more memory into something that small.

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Yesterday at 8:34 PM · posted in The Sports Section

Auto Racing 2026

New thread or keep this one?

View: https://www.youtube.com/live/AgOI9DNCmPg?si=l-YcZmHl7GXXF8fX

161 Replies · 3780 views

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Reactions: Foxbat and meStevo

Foxbat

Sep 26, 2026

Weird F1 weekend is already over with a Saturday race.

dfergie

Oct 9, 2026

Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…

Reactions: Yespage

Yespage

Oct 16, 2026

Today is the anniversary of Dan Wheldon's passing at Las Vegas in a dreadful crash that luckily didn't take more drivers' lives. I vaguely remember the crash, but I more strongly remember Paul Tracy trying to keep it together as he left the Medical Center knowing that Dan most likely wasn't going to.

The safety in these vehicles is beyond incomprehensible, especially relative to what it was 60 years ago, when dying wasn't unexpected. But it is still very dangerous. I always scoff at the prayer invocations, but never scoff at the risks these drivers take and the emergency workers out there who might need to pull short of a miracle to save a driver's life.

dfergie said:
Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…

HBO Max has the live in car streaming without commercials, which provides an interesting take, but you are driving blind, knowing only what the team is telling the driver about what is happening on the track. The stages definitely ruin the NASCAR set up.

Reactions: dfergie

Yespage

Friday at 4:09 PM

NASCAR is an abject mess, but at least it has Kyle Larson. Guy had the lead on the green/white checker, fell back to 12th or the like, kept his cool, and charged back to win with room to spare at the line. And win very cleanly!

NASCAR needs to stop racing at Talladega. Especially if they are going for elderly Sunday drives at the track! Stage racing is real stupid, but NASCAR should consider one half point a second per group gap as a bonus.

Foxbat

Yesterday at 8:34 PM

Congratulations to the youngest Formula 1 World Champion, 20-year old Kimi Antonelli! The podium at the Mexican Grand Prix featured three World Champions with 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen, 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and newly-crowned World Champion Kimi Antonelli. A dozen World Championships represented!

https://youtube.com/post/UgkxnO1m73VHzLCyqFP8qgvzZMJyvwqtcc4d

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 7:32 PM · posted in TV Shows

Percy Jackson - Disney+

View: https://youtu.be/nK0HytQwrw8

Coming December 20, 2023

7 Replies · 986 views

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Foxbat

Jan 17, 2026

Still enjoying the show.

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osu1991

Jan 17, 2026

Ive got to find time to get back to it. Watched the first episode and been too busy to squeeze it into out watch schedule.

osu1991

Jul 23, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/7D8y_W4YmoI?is=5XX-XPh0je2O4aRw

Season 3 starts Nov 20

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osu1991

Aug 15, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/dhXp_rpzUJ0?si=YwKlil2p3bO8ZGab

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Foxbat

Yesterday at 7:32 PM

The latest trailer for Season 3 starting November 20th just came out:

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Ramy

Supporting Founder

Last reply Yesterday at 7:18 PM · posted in The Sports Section

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.

184 Replies · 3231 views

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meStevo

Sunday at 9:24 PM

View: https://x.com/CSOonX/status/2117053113781698800?a=-y87e7mFcfr7a6ptnjc&s=20

Reactions: AZ.

osu1991

Yesterday at 9:15 AM

View: https://youtu.be/b9vzhHLNUcQ?si=iNzfZTeZ3m9UKyKw

Reactions: Foxbat and Jimbo

Yespage

Yesterday at 10:31 AM

Parity is growing in College Football. Making it even harder to tell who is better than each other.

Reactions: Howard Simmons, Jimbo and Ronnie-

rvvaquero

Yesterday at 11:48 AM

Yespage said:
Parity is growing in College Football. Making it even harder to tell who is better than each other.

I agree to a point. The transfer policy is creating parity, but only for the top 20-25 teams. The other 110+ teams in the FBS are just breeding grounds for the bigger schools which have more money and more recruiting appeal.

If a smaller school recruits, trains, and matures a quality player, they can't keep them past their sophomore year because the bigger schools snatch them up. Example: LSU didn't cultivate Sam Leavitt, they just harvested him from other schools. LSU is a top contender, in large part because of Leavitt. Michigan State and Arizona State.................are not. If either of those schools had been able to retain his services, who knows where they would be now.

Reactions: Jimbo, Yespage and AZ.

osu1991

Yesterday at 7:18 PM

View: https://youtu.be/rIo_AKwhuro?is=j487ez2Gx1kGS565

Reactions: Foxbat

View all replies (184)

TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Yesterday at 6:22 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Home Theater Geeks 556

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vc6LXyvmmE

Direct YouTube Link - Home Theater Geeks 556
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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45 GB HD DVD Tested.. bye bye Blu Ray

USA Healthcare Costs are Ridiculous

Hopper 3 with Hopper plus internet connection problems

New Laptop?

Wireless Joey4 (Android TV)

Song Name Game Part 3!

TVs are really getting big these days

Auto Racing 2026

Percy Jackson - Disney+

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Home Theater Geeks 556