Monthly Archives: July 2009

$98 Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-Ray Player (4) – Usage Impression Follow Up

When I first got the Magnavox NB530MGX I was using an older Pioneer receiver that lack of HDMI connection which means I was not able to decode the HD audio formats. I was using the coaxial digital output of the … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

$1.99 10’ HDMI Cable at Fry’s

Fry’s this week has a generic 10’ HDMI cable for sale at $1.99! Granted, this is a sales price and the regular price is $7.99 at Fry’s. Although at $7.99 this cable may no longer be a bargain compares to … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ghostbusters Blu-ray $7.99 at Amazon for 7/31/2009 Only

Well, Amazon decided to drop the price for Ghostbusters Blu-Ray to $12.99 on the last day (7/31/2009) of the $5 coupon. After the discount, the net price for the movie is $7.99! The coupon code for Amazon is: GHOSTBLU Reminder: … Continue reading

Posted in Coupon | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Monoprice HDMI Switcher HDX-401E

HDMI has become more and more important. Not just because HDMI simplified A/V connections, equally or even more important is the evil HDCP DRM. Without HDCP, the DVD players are not allowing to upscale video beyond 480P; even I have … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

$98 Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-Ray Player (3) – Inside the Cover

Out of curiosity, I opened up the Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-Ray Player. I was surprised for a low end unit; there are more screws than a Yamaha RX-V665 receiver that need to be unscrewed to open the unit.  They probably can … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sony Movie Staycation Coupon Good Until 10/31/2009

It is interesting to see Sony has a $3 coupon that is good until 10/31/2009 for some Blu-Ray movies. One would think they want to encourage people to buy their movies but on the other hand, Sony does not make … Continue reading

Posted in Coupon, Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Yamaha RX-V665 (3) – Inside the Cover Part 2, Digital Section

The digital section of the Yamaha RX-665 looks much much better than the power supply and power amp section. Let’s take a look from the input end. The HDMI connectors are directly soldered on to the board. They are controlled … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Yamaha RX-V665 (2) – Inside the Cover Part I, Power Supply and Amplifier Section

 While just by the weight we already know the Yamaha RX-V665’s power amp is not going to be that good, we are still surprised by what we found inside the cover.   First, the power transformer is unbelievably small for … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Yamaha RX-V665 Receiver (1) – Packaging

By all account, the Yamaha RX-V665 is a just another mid range A/V receiver. What made this unit attractive to us is it probably the lowest cost A/V receiver in mid 2009 that has pre-amp output.  Why is pre-amp output … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Belkin F1PP010EN-SK Skype Phone

We have been using Skype for some time now. The biggest problem with Skype is lack of choices on stand alone phones. Most of the so call Skype phones really are no more than USB mic plus speaker with a … Continue reading

Posted in Products & Services Review | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments