My Media Room!

After our house renovation ended a couple of months ago. My guess is my wife's centerpiece would definitely hands down the kitchen and our master's bedroom, but for me, it's definitely our MEDIA ROOM! It really took some convincing for my wife to agree in giving me a standalone room just for my toys. After a compromise (room can be used as a guest room), I got my own MEDIA ROOM!

It will take a long piece to write and tell the story about the room's evolution, so I decided to just post pictures upon pictures of it, as they say "a picture's worth a thousand words".

The Renovation

The room still needing a coat of paint! Old stuff still cluttered all over.

The old parquet floor also got a much needed rehab!

The Furnitures

The Molave Daybed, handcrafted from Nueva Vizcaya.
The old Tangile bookshelves from my parents, repainted to be used as a dvd rack!

The La-Z-Boy, no Media Room should be missing one!

Sabre TV Rack, got this pre-owned! looks like new.

Sigma Rack, for my AV eqipments!

The EQUIPMENTS

The centerpiece of the room, my new Toshiba 37" LCD TV!

The speakers, Wharfedale Atlantics, also pre-owned, bought it for a song,
not seen in the picture are two surround speakers to complete the set.

Toshiba HD DVD Player HD-A3, although the loser in the hidef contest,
I got it cheap, HD DVD are cheap too!

Pioneer DV-600AV, an uspcaling DVD player, upscales
standard 480i DVDs to hidef resolution of
720p/1080i/1080p through interpolation.

Popcorn Hour A-100 Network Media Tank, a harddisk based media player,
plays all sorts of video & audio files including MKVs (for hidef content!).
All I need now are hidef MKVs!

Hyundai Premiere 98+ Karaoke Player, for those singing moments!

Onkyo TX-604G, a 7.1 HDMI based AV receiver, the power plant
that make everything works!

These two US Audio subwoofers, an 8 incher and a 12 incher provides
the oomph factor in movies and music! there are better ones,
but these babies will do fine..... for now!

The Nintendo Wii, need I say more.

No Media Room is complete without these networking stuff!

The universal remote to control them all! The Logitech Harmony One!

The Almost Finished Product (90%)

Front part of the Media Room.

The viewing area, back part of the Media Room.

The DVD cabinet, now full! Look at Stitch.

The customary movie posters for effect.

Well, that is all for now, I hope some of you can find inspiration from this place, I know some of you might have bigger or better place, then good for you. The most important thing is to enjoy all the hardwork and money put into projects like this. I know I do! Ciao!

HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray

As the title goes, its about the next generation video format. And I have to say it was confusing at first. On one side is HD-DVD (High Definition DVD), a format that is supported by Toshiba and was the natural evolution of the dvd format. While on the other corner is Blu-Ray which is a format being supported by Sony.

Just to put things into perspective, what is the real big deal about the formats, as a lot of people were saying format wars were never good, because it is always tough to choose and usually confusing. And this one was no different, it started quite heated with a lot of movie studios supporting each side, Paramount and Dreamworks on the HD-DVD side while Sony Pictures et al were on the Blu-Ray camp. Warner Bros. was fence sitting by releasing movies for both formats. Sony was really in a fighting mood because they have gone into format wars before and were usually on the losing end (remember Betamax and MDs), so they went into this with a lot to lose, and it made them more focus on winning, and finally after less than two years, February 2008 to be exact, Toshiba conceded defeat and announced that it will discontinue HD-DVD by stopping its player production. So how did Sony do it?

This is my personal opinion. First, they made their very strong PlayStation 3 console Blu-Ray capable, by doing so, they have the cheapest Blu-Ray player in the market, imagine having a Blu-Ray movie player with a next gen HD game console to boot! Even though initially slow in sales as a game console, losing to XBox 360 and Wii it definitely outsold the stand alone HD-DVD players in the market. By the end of 2007, Sony has roughly around 9 million PlayStation 3 sold to roughly less than 2 million of HD-DVD players globally. With the player population secured, Sony went to work with content. That for me is reason number 2 on how the war was won, before 2008 started, both camps were even steven in terms of studio support. But come 2008, Warner Bros surprised everybody by declaring themselves Blu-Ray exclusive and with that one announcement (believed to be worth $400 million on Sony's part), spelled the eventual death of HD-DVD camp.
I am writing this on my blog because I am initially from the start a PS3 Fanboy, and as such, have hope from the start that Blu-Ray must win the war. But now that its over and I know that it has already won, what's the first thing I did? I bought myself a Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player, you might think that I am nuts to this, but I got the player for a song! And movies are selling for cheap too (locally, around 700-1000 pesos and on Amazon, as cheap as $10 per title). I know it won't last long, but that is the point, I am trying to get all the HD movie goodies I can get before the format totally dies and when it eventually dies, that is the time I will shift to Blu-Ray as my de facto HD movies standard!

And what happens to the player? as I said, it will be for my HD-DVD back catalog movies and the nice thing is this Toshiba HD-A3 player upscales ordinary DVDs to 1080i glory (HD). Not bad, rather than getting an upscaling DVD player which I would have paid the same money for. So for now, I am format neutral but buying HD-DVD content. Sorry Blu-Ray, my monies with them first, see you by the end of 2008!

My Birthday GIFT!

Its my birthday yesterday, yep, just turned 38! And I am feeling good about myself. And I owe it to myself to get me one mean gift, something I have been longing to have and the best thing is my wife agreed I could have one! (believe me that's IMPORTANT)

Hehehe, still don't know what I am talking about... it's definitely not a tattoo or body piercing for I am not a self-mutilating type of person. What I got is something more techie, something that will give me ends of fun... it's an LCD TV!

I went to Shangrila mall and went to Listening In Style, its a home theater audio and video shop where you can buy all your home entertainment device and gadgets from. Its got branches in Alabang (D-Cinema), SM Megamall (Listening Room), Trinoma (Theater Works) and Gadgets In Style also in Shangrila mall. Its got the lowest price on LCD TVs as far as I know, and I think that's saying a lot, I researched and researched before I decided on the brand and the price point which I think that is both acceptable to me and my wife. And this place supplied my LCD TV at 10 grand less than any other appliance store in the whole city. So if you are in the market for an LCD TV, just go to any of their shops in the Metro, or you can go to their website http://www.listeninginstyle.com.ph you can't go wrong!

Back to my gift. What I decided to get was a Toshiba Regza C3500E LCD TV, I got myself a 37 incher, just right for my planned media room. I got myself an LCD because me and my kids are into video gaming, me and my wife also plan to use the set as a HUGE computer screen for those net surfing moments and still sneak in those movies and cable tv shows on the side hence the reason we passed over the plasma tv option (although if you are really into movies and cable TV, I would suggest to get a plasma instead).

Why the Tosh, well its got great specs, its got a pair of 1.3a HDMI (the latest), its 1080p capable, its got the famous Meta Brain Pro chip for those image processing chore, its got a newly designed jet slit speakers were Tosh and Onkyo developed together, elegant piano-black finish and a hosts of standard features like multi system, lots of inputs and stuff. So overall its a great set. I know, the Sony Bravia line is the way to go, but sorry, I don't have enough moolah to buy those, my family's got to eat. And besides, there was this article that did a face-off between a Sony Bravia U, Samsung R8 and this Tosh, and the Tosh blew the reviewers away with its performance and price point. What I saw in the shop was a great machine and showed great pictures (BTW, beware of showroom screen pictures, they look great, right? That is because those sets are hooked up either through Blu-Ray or HD-DVD players or they are directly hooked up to a hard drive showing off high definition material). That is why I still can't get you my personal opinion about DVD movie, HD movie, cable tv, computer and video game image just yet, I will be writing that in the near future for you guys who are interested.

But for now, I am in tech heaven. A great gift to myself for my birthday... But come to think of it, the only thing missing now is my PLAYSTATION 3!

Walk This Way!

It is really funny that being born in Manila, I have not really thought about what my city is all about. Yes, the occasional passing through parks, museums, historical landmarks, but never really thinking why Manila is the way it is today. Enter Carlos Celdran, he is a self declared tour guide, who does the thing (guided tour, of course!) in different parts of Manila, as his website states, his mission is to change the way people think of Manila, one step at a time.

Me, my wife and son joined Carlos on his "If These Walls Could Talk", a deluxe tour of Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church and Casa Manila. And boy, was the whole experience worth it. Its not only the sights that he took us, but also the great stuffs he shared. His blend of history and personal analysis really hit the bullseye! He took us through how Manila was established; how it was before it was discovered, how it was during the Spanish, American, and Japanese times. It was a delightful mix of history, culture, jokes blended into his own brand of showmanship that makes his customers captive audiences during this three hours of travel back through time.

You have to join one to know and experience what I'm talking about. Definitely no regrets.
For details you may visit his website http://celdrantours.blogspot.com.

Monster of a Truck!

I just remembered going through my old posts that I wrote about my impending change of vehicle. Well, months after that post, March 2007 to be exact, I did change. It was a year earlier, it was definitely unexpected, but what the heck, I took it!

Well, the vehicle is not exactly brand new, but the mileage was pretty low (20,000 kms. for two years used), it was definitely well maintained, the best of all, I only have to use it for 3 years (instead of 5 years) before I can call it mine and of course the right to change to another vehicle (brand new by that time).

What I got was a monster of a pick-up truck, its got a 3 liter direct injected turbo diesel engine, its got 4x4 for those off-roading moments, its lifted for those battles with our famous Metro Manila flooding during the rainy season, the interiors are almost car like, with the leather seats, nice sounds coming out of the Pioneer stereo + Blaupunkt speakers combination, its got dual airbags and all the seat belts for the riders safety. And last but never the least, it's in color BLACK!!!

Ten months and 26,000 kms. later, I am a very satisfied customer, I drive everyday for around 100 kms (both ways), and the diesel conversion was at around 12 kms per liter of crude, that's a miser for a 3 liter engine. The riding comfort is a mixed bag, it feels more comfortable riding in front than at the back. The space for cargo is definitely loads better than a sedan. We actually experienced no water for a few weeks, and the pick-up helped us through by hauling water from our relatives homes to ours, can't say we can do that with a sedan, gallons of water maybe but not drum loads! Speed is of course diminished compared to a sedan, but at my age, its ok, I don't feel like racing Hamilton and Alonso anymore. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5 cylinders.

By the way, the monster I have been rambling about is an Isuzu DMax 4x4 pickup truck. Its now even better with its new CRDi engine, so for those in the hunt for a new utility monster, check out the DMax, it's good to go!

Do-It-All Digicam

Me and my wife spent our 10th year anniversary at Pearl Farm, Davao. It was her first time there so it was good that she liked the place as soon as we got there. The food was great, and we spent some time kayaking, going to the other island near the farm and of course the customary snorkeling and swimming in their pools (the eternity and the jacuzzi pools).

We got us a Samal House cottage, its a room on stilts that has a view of the sea, terrific! Waking up in the mornings will never be the same again (you'd wish its like that forever). The marine life is rich, with lotsa fishes and corals to explore when snorkeling. And all these activities we got to capture using our recently bought Olympus Mu-SW725 digital camera. What makes this camera special? Well, its takes pictures underwater without the camera being put inside a protective case. Yes, that's right, just take the camera along on your snorkeling and you are set. We got shots of us underwater in the pool, under the sea with the marine life. Its safe to use until the depth of 15 feet (5 meters) and it is also shockproof to a depth of 5 feet (1.5 meters). That's why its ShockWater. I would encourage anyone to buy one once their digital camera is due for a change, its also great at taking ordinary photos.Our trip to Pearl Farm was indeed a memorable one, apart from being able to spend some extra special time with my wife, its was also a time for relaxation and quiet time from all the pressures and stresses from work. And it is now ably documented with the help of our new digital camera the Olympus Mu-SW725!

Touch Generation

This '07 October is a very special year and month for me and my wife, because it will be our 10th wedding anniversary as it is her 33rd birthday. And I want it to be special, first off was we planned for a trip, and we are going to Pearl Farm in Davao this November, the second thing I did was to call a radio station to ask for a free dinner for us together with the radio program's disc jockeys (hint hint... Mo Twister's show) and lastly, is what to give to her on these occasions (by the way, I am traditionally allowed to give her just one gift to culminate these special days), and Steve Jobs of Apple Inc., save me the time to think when he launched the Ipod Touch last September 5, 2007. Upon seeing it on the web, I immediately knew my wife would love it (and I can sneak in some use time myself, hehehe).

I placed a pre-order from my supplier in Hong Kong and it was set to arrived 1st week of October. The almost a month wait was actually excruciating for me, I just fell in love with the devices by just seeing pictures and videos of it. It was advertised to have a 3.5" touch screen for your video on the go, it comes in either 8 to 16gb (I know, too small) for all those photos, music, videos, movies, tv shows and podcasts, it is only 8mm thick, it has wifi, it now has the Apple iTunes Wifi store in it, with wifi it also gives you direct access to the internet through Safari (web browser) and all the home made video via You Tube. Great piece of tech, this Ipod Touch is.

And when I finally gave it to my wife, I can tell she was extremely happy to get one of those launch hardware (this is actually the first time I bought a tech stuff upon launch). And at home, when we started to play with it, it became evident that all the hype was justified, the machine was gorgeous, it does what it was advertised to do. To put it bluntly, it was an iPhone without the phone on it (which was fine with us). I hope my wife enjoy the Touch in the next few years (hoping for 2 years atleast).

Now its my turn to wonder what my wife is giving me for our anniversary.....