Man, our site must be getting as much traffic as Facebook for this to happen!
It has come to our attention that this blog has received a rather unusual form of Spam. Several "comments" have been added to our postings, but these "comments" have several things in common. First, they contain no real content. Their content is very general, contains obvious statements, quotes of one of our posts, or is pointless considering the post they are commenting on. Second, the "commenter" is a link to... wait for it... a web site marketing products! Sweet.
Commenters: Someone here (me) cares about what's posted. Those marketing "comments" lasted less than 24 hours, and now they're gone forever. This blog is about home theater technology, industry developments, and points of interest. Readers are encouraged to comment on any post, but not if it's simply an attempt at marketing. I respect my readers far more than to permit marketing by unqualified third party vendors through my blog. Readers deserve and get way more respect than that.
Readers, you will never find spam-type marketing on this site. If we've partnered with a company, it's because of their high value to our clients, top quality products, and the benefits we can bring them through those products or services. Look at the main site, check out how many companies we mention, you'll see we don't pick everyone, or just anyone, and there are very few links to other companies. We are VERY selective. We are all about integrity, and that means keeping the site clean. Truth is far more important, and the truth is that in any market a ratio identical to the classic Pareto Principle (80:20) is present. 80% of what is marketed is total junk, 20% is worth considering. We at Platinum end up selecting somewhere around 10% of that 20% (that's 2% of everything) to recommend to clients. That means that product being guerilla marketed on my blog has a 98% probability of being rejected by me.
If you wish to partner with us and have a link on our site, contact me by email and just ask. I'll review your company, products and services, and if it meets our standards, offers benefit, and matches with our direction of top quality service with integrity, I'll consider your link. You can't beg it, or buy it or spam it. You have to earn it.
Thanks, everyone, for visiting the blog, and keep watching this space for important news and industry developments. We might not be as popular as Facebook, but I'll bet we beat them out cold for truth in information.
Comments can be added by anyone, but are now moderated and will not post until approved.
Thanks,
Jim Addie
Platinum Home Theaters
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
New Mac Mini Unboxing photos
Drooling! So clean, and look at the back - and the RAM access - makes me want to replace mine!
Click here for official link
Click here for official link
New Mac Mini released - with HDMI!
from TUAW:
Amidst all the excitement over iPhone 4 being available for pre-order, Apple also snuck an update to the Mac Mini under the radar -- and it's a pretty big update. The new Mac Mini comes in two flavors:
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
320 GB hard drive
$699
or the "server class" Mac Mini:
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
Dual 500 GB hard drive
$999
Both models of Mac Mini have been updated with NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, the same integrated GPU present in the MacBook and MacBook Pro.
The Mac Mini has received far more than a simple spec bump, however. The enclosure itself has been updated to a unibody aluminum construction similar to the MacBook Pro, and the "server" Mac Mini omits an optical drive entirely in favor of dual hard drives [this was the case for the previous server model –Ed.]. Perhaps more important than that, the Mac Mini is now the first Mac ever to include built-in HDMI. You read that right: the Mac Mini has HDMI. The Mac Mini also has an SD card slot in the back. [Ed: This is one sexy little machine!]
Apple has also addressed the well-known difficulty of upgrading the Mac Mini's RAM. There's now a removable twist-off panel on the Mac Mini's bottom that allows for easy access to the Mini's RAM slots. We're not sure yet if the hard drive will be as easy to upgrade, but at the very least, a RAM upgrade looks like it'll take less than a minute with this new model.
The Mac Mini is available now.
Mac Mini gets a sneaky update: spec bump, unibody enclosure, HDMI
Amidst all the excitement over iPhone 4 being available for pre-order, Apple also snuck an update to the Mac Mini under the radar -- and it's a pretty big update. The new Mac Mini comes in two flavors:
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
320 GB hard drive
$699
or the "server class" Mac Mini:
2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
Dual 500 GB hard drive
$999
Both models of Mac Mini have been updated with NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, the same integrated GPU present in the MacBook and MacBook Pro.
The Mac Mini has received far more than a simple spec bump, however. The enclosure itself has been updated to a unibody aluminum construction similar to the MacBook Pro, and the "server" Mac Mini omits an optical drive entirely in favor of dual hard drives [this was the case for the previous server model –Ed.]. Perhaps more important than that, the Mac Mini is now the first Mac ever to include built-in HDMI. You read that right: the Mac Mini has HDMI. The Mac Mini also has an SD card slot in the back. [Ed: This is one sexy little machine!]
Apple has also addressed the well-known difficulty of upgrading the Mac Mini's RAM. There's now a removable twist-off panel on the Mac Mini's bottom that allows for easy access to the Mini's RAM slots. We're not sure yet if the hard drive will be as easy to upgrade, but at the very least, a RAM upgrade looks like it'll take less than a minute with this new model.
The Mac Mini is available now.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Controllr iPhone App - Best remote for Plex!
There is an iPhone app called "Controllr" for $2.99 and is the best app (that I've tried) for Plex. Check it out in the app store and give it a try!
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Sneak Peak at Plex 9 Alexandria!
Wow, this just looks amazing. The new media server is going to make things SOO nice.
Click here for the official link, or read the paste below.
I know, it’s been a bit longer than we had hoped (sorry!), but we are super excited to finally be able to share a first look at what we have been building. Our good friend Raindancing (known around here as “Señora Awesome”) was kind enough to put together a great introductory screencast . Yes, there’s a lot more to show (tip of the iceberg!), and yes, you’ll have many questions, but hey, this is a good start, right?
Hope you all are having a great Wednesday (or Thursday)!
Click here for the official link, or read the paste below.
I know, it’s been a bit longer than we had hoped (sorry!), but we are super excited to finally be able to share a first look at what we have been building. Our good friend Raindancing (known around here as “Señora Awesome”) was kind enough to put together a great introductory screencast . Yes, there’s a lot more to show (tip of the iceberg!), and yes, you’ll have many questions, but hey, this is a good start, right?
Hope you all are having a great Wednesday (or Thursday)!
Plex/Nine First Peek from Elan Feingold on Vimeo.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
ESPN 360 App now available for Plex
I really wish I had ESPN 360 in this area! Plex just posted this on Facebook:
The World Wide Leader in Sports is now available in Plex! ESPN3 is the online home for live sports. Watch more than 3500 events every year, including College Football, College Basketball, MLB, NBA, Wimbledon, the Masters, International Soccer, Cricket and Rugby. ESPN3 is currently limited to select ISPs, so call your I...SP to request it if it's not available. Special thanks to Dbl_A for working on this!
The World Wide Leader in Sports is now available in Plex! ESPN3 is the online home for live sports. Watch more than 3500 events every year, including College Football, College Basketball, MLB, NBA, Wimbledon, the Masters, International Soccer, Cricket and Rugby. ESPN3 is currently limited to select ISPs, so call your I...SP to request it if it's not available. Special thanks to Dbl_A for working on this!
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
3D Causes Cancer!
"3D Causes Cancer in Lab Rats!"
Yes, it's my first "teaser" headline. Sorry. Not true. But there are some people expounding on the possible problems with 3D projection and video. Oddly, some of the strongest articles are coming from a Broadcast trade journal, Broadcast Engineering. Here are the links:
Unknown Heal Issues Loom as 3D is Deployed
Roger Eber's Alternative Perspective on 3D
Not (3D) Tonight, Dear, I Have A Headache...
Note in the first article that Samsung's health warning sounds more like an spot for the latest anti-depressant drug.
There are many factors for 3D eyestrain and headaches, but the biggest one is that 3D images force your eyes to converge on a virtual image at one location (close to you), but the real image requires them to focus on a different plane (farther from you). This never happens in life, and like other physical abilities, such as flexibility, some people can do it, and to varying degrees, some can't. It's now estimated that almost 20% of 3D viewers have "issues".
Here's our concern. If you watch a 3D movie, you've been exposed to this visual challenge for 2 hours, more or less. If 3D becomes standard on TV, which people watch for hours on end, day after day, your highly adaptable visual system may try to adapt to something that is flawed to begin with, causing longer term health issues.
It's very early in the game, but if 3D were a drug, it's unlikely that it would be FDA approved if 20% of test subjects experienced negative side effects. Oddly, the FDA might approve a drug with a low percentage of subjects with side effects, but more severe ones. We constantly laugh at the anti-depressant drug ads which warn of possible side effects, like death for example.
Platinum Home Theater's stand on 3D is "Caution". If a client demands it, we'll install it with the proper waiver/disclaimer. But we don't plan to actively promote it until 3D is shown to be free of health issues.
On the other hand, highly dimensional audio systems like Audyssey DSX, causes only one side-effect: Increased Enjoyment! Highly dimensional audio adds to the "suspension of disbelief" so important for home theater systems. It also is "backwards compatible" with your existing media library, and ready for any future material in all surround formats. Try that with 3D!
Audyssey's DSX 9.1 surround is our pick for the ultimate in HT sound systems.
Yes, it's my first "teaser" headline. Sorry. Not true. But there are some people expounding on the possible problems with 3D projection and video. Oddly, some of the strongest articles are coming from a Broadcast trade journal, Broadcast Engineering. Here are the links:
Unknown Heal Issues Loom as 3D is Deployed
Roger Eber's Alternative Perspective on 3D
Not (3D) Tonight, Dear, I Have A Headache...
Note in the first article that Samsung's health warning sounds more like an spot for the latest anti-depressant drug.
There are many factors for 3D eyestrain and headaches, but the biggest one is that 3D images force your eyes to converge on a virtual image at one location (close to you), but the real image requires them to focus on a different plane (farther from you). This never happens in life, and like other physical abilities, such as flexibility, some people can do it, and to varying degrees, some can't. It's now estimated that almost 20% of 3D viewers have "issues".
Here's our concern. If you watch a 3D movie, you've been exposed to this visual challenge for 2 hours, more or less. If 3D becomes standard on TV, which people watch for hours on end, day after day, your highly adaptable visual system may try to adapt to something that is flawed to begin with, causing longer term health issues.
It's very early in the game, but if 3D were a drug, it's unlikely that it would be FDA approved if 20% of test subjects experienced negative side effects. Oddly, the FDA might approve a drug with a low percentage of subjects with side effects, but more severe ones. We constantly laugh at the anti-depressant drug ads which warn of possible side effects, like death for example.
Platinum Home Theater's stand on 3D is "Caution". If a client demands it, we'll install it with the proper waiver/disclaimer. But we don't plan to actively promote it until 3D is shown to be free of health issues.
On the other hand, highly dimensional audio systems like Audyssey DSX, causes only one side-effect: Increased Enjoyment! Highly dimensional audio adds to the "suspension of disbelief" so important for home theater systems. It also is "backwards compatible" with your existing media library, and ready for any future material in all surround formats. Try that with 3D!
Audyssey's DSX 9.1 surround is our pick for the ultimate in HT sound systems.
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