Jeff brought home a DVD player on Friday.
We had both been wanting a DVD player for quite a while; I even went so far as to buy a few DVDs (starting with the extra-special ninja extended 12-disk Lord of the Rings for Christmas), but we couldn't play them. We tried once with the DVD drive on Jeff's computer, which used to work, but this time it didn't.
A few weeks ago Jeff mentioned that one of his co-workers had an old DVD player he might be willing to part with, and I authorized the purchase of the player for a reasonable sum. I was thinking $50-$100 depending on the condition of the player; Jeff bought it for $20.
As I said, Jeff brought it home on Friday; we tried to hook it up and discovered that our TV (a Freecycle freebie) didn't have the necessary RCA cable jacks. (Damn the connector conspiracy!) So, in order to use our $20 DVD player, we went out that night and bought a $200 TV.
Much of this weekend was spent in front of our new TV, watching Firefly and then Serenity. I am sad that I completely missed Firefly while it was on television, so that I couldn't be one of the fans pestering stupid television mucky-mucks who couldn't recognize quality storytelling if it bit them in the ass, but I am infinitely relieved by the fact that I live in a time when TV series are released on DVD and it isn't necessary to hope for reruns that will never come.
And, of course, I am very glad to have a DVD player. I think it's worth much more than $20; we'll just have to owe Jeff's co-worker a favor.
Today we finished Serenity, but I'm not quite ready to stop playing with the DVD player yet. Even though it's getting a little late, I want to break out The Lord of the Rings and visit Middle Earth for a little while. I said to Jeff, I just want a little Bilbo.
He said, You always get a little Bilbo.
Jeff says:
Normally, I'm a big fan of droping $1-10 on a dongle to thwart the "Connector Conspiracy". However, this time, it is a little worse than usual. The only jacks on the back of the (rather) old TV are UHF/VHF screw terminals—these are the ones that your analog antenna would attach to. As Laura said, it was a freecycle freebie.
RCA jacks indicate that raw analog video signal is being sent over the wire. Whereas cable terminals and UHF/VHF screw terminals indicate that the signal has been modulated into a certain frequency range, and is thus on a specific channel. These are incompatible signals, and require some not insubstantial analog electronics to do the modulation/demodulation. So, unlike a cable signal, which is just at a different impedance, you can't just get a $5 plastic box that has RCA on one side and UHF on the other (which is what we did to get the VCR hooked up, it has a cable out on the back).
The other problem is that the converter boxes are pretty specialized, you only usually see them used by cable companies and people making TV hardware.[1] About the only place to get these electronics on a Friday for an ordinary citizen is to get it with a TV Tube or LCD attached. Hence the new TV (that and the picture quality is way better).
Jeff
[1] I work for the latter type of company, and I have one that I use for encoding channels...
Lori Melton says:
Oh, a TV is something you'll use for a long time. It's a good thing to spend money on :-)
Actually, around here, if you're willing to set foot into WallMart (which I am not), a reasonable dvd player can be bought for $30.00. I know this because my school stepped into the 21st century this year and bought dvd players.
And now we know that you don't need LOTR...or at least you don't need it given to you. Those dvds are some of my very favorites, and have been watched more than once. Enjoy watching them again, and don't miss the Easter Eggs! The "Two Towers" egg involving Gollum is probably my favorite.
Laurabelle says:
Jeff and I are not willing to step into Wal-Mart, either. Stepping into Worst Buy was bad enough.
To be honest, I am a little appalled at the extent of extra material that's on those 12 DVDs. Not one but four full-length commentaries, interview, documentaries, yadda yadda. LOTR fans are mad.
On the other hand, Jeff and I spent yesterday evening in an anthropological discussion of the Reavers' social structure and whether their population is self-propagating and sustainable, so maybe I'm not the one to judge.
Lori Melton says:
I've never managed to watch all the bonus material on LOTR, but some of it is fun. Some of it is pretty interesting, some of it...well, some people really do want to know /everything/ about the film, I guess.
We need to rent, borrow or buy "Firefly." We liked "Serenity" and I really enjoy "Buffy" and "Angel."
Jeff says:
You really need to go see Firefly. Beg, borrow or steal. It really is incredible, and the movie is really just an extended final episode. I highly recommend it.
Jeff
Alita says:
Two iSchool alumns are tying the knot, and up for consideration is a cake with dinosaurs that reads, "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrothal!" I'm not sure if they are going to do it, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Laurabelle says:
Alita: That is both horrifying and hilarious.
It would be great as a groom's cake.