Further Adventures in High Definition

Life with the new HDTV is going swimmingly, but not without a few hiccups along the way. I've got the old PC hooked up to the TV through the DVI connection, but found out the hard way that Creative still hasn't got their act together when it comes to drivers on Windows Vista. As such, the digital out port still doesn't work, and I'm limited to stereo sound on the PC side. It's really quite annoying.

After getting a new amplified antenna, I tried to give some HDTV action a go through Windows Media Center. Unfortunately, the system couldn't seem to give me anything but stuttering and pixelation, no matter how strong the signal was. I'd just about given up after reading all the problems other people were having when someone mentioned that for some reason, they had no stuttering problems when using the Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender. Sure enough, HDTV is a wonderful experience and stutter-free through the Xbox 360. At this point, I'd call the Xbox 360 a perfect device if it weren't for the fact that it's so freakin' loud, particularly when trying to watch an HD DVD with it.

I'm moving to a new place in a couple weeks, and I'll probably be back with Comcast since I don't think I can get a DirecTV satellite dish installed where I'll be going. But, that'll give me a chance to see how Comcast's HDTV DVR works compared to my trusty TiVo. I have very low expectations at this point, but I'm hoping that what I've heard about a TiVo software for Comcast's hardware is true and that they'll roll out soon. Either that, or I have a friend at Moxi that might be able to hook me up.

Next up ... Intec has sent me an HDMI/Component switch that I'll hook up and run through it's paces. Fair Disclosure: I didn't pay for this switch, but I'll do my best not to let that color my perceptions.

Sony Finally Brings Good News

Just when you thought Sony couldn't get some positive press if they opened a dry cleaning business (groan) ... they manage to drop a couple bombs at the Tokyo Game Show.

First up, Ken Kutaragi announced that they're dropping the price of the 20GB PS3 to roughly $430 US. However, this price drop is confirmed to be ONLY for Japan. I don't get that move, and it probably has something to do with how the allocation of units is spread out amongst the territories.

In conjunction with that announcement, they also stated that the 60GB model would be "open price", which means that the retailers can sell it for whatever they want. That's NOT good news for consumers, as you can expect the price gouging to be widespread and rampant, since Japan is only getting 100,000 PS3 units total.

The second piece of good news is that they have relented and put an HDMI port in the 20GB model, meaning that the higher priced model has less to differentiate it. I'm not sure who'd buy a 60GB model now. Still, these changes mean that Sony realizes that they've painted themselves into a corner, and they need to get back in the good graces of the "core gamer".