iPod a Mini-Movie Theater
Almost all iPod owners initially bought their iPods to listen to their favorite brand of music (certainly beats carrying around your old walkman cassette player plus tapes!) But with the full-size iPods and iPod Touch out in the market, there’s more to it than just listening to your favorite tunes – you can even watch the music video! Sweet…
Why stop there, though. While you’re at it, why not get the latest movies out on DVD and put those in your iPod. You can even put in your favorite shows you’ve saved on TiVo and play it whenever, wherever you want! Care for an instant movie, anyone?
You might be a bit skeptical on how the movie plays on the iPod, with such a tiny screen – but you will be pleasantly surprised. DVD quality movies display really well on the iPod. And with the iPod’s strength of superb audio playback, you’re movie experience is almost right out of the Cinemas.
Now, getting that movie or television show on your iPod is easy enough. All you need is the right software to convert your DVD or TiVo video file to MPEG4 (which is a compatible format for the iPod.) There is a bunch of such software ready to download off the Net, pick the best one and go! AVI and the like. Go to our home page to read user reviews on the software for converting DVDs to the iPod.
You will soon see that it’s just the coolest thing to be doing – whether you’re taking a long commute, hanging out in the park or waiting your turn at the DMV.
Please, pass the popcorn!
Salt Shakes and Stirs the Movie Theater
Attention, America: the bad guys are Russian again. And lovely but deadly CIA agent Evelyn Salt has a major problem with that. So those of you who still want to topple the greatest country in the world: you’ve been warned.
If you’ve seen the previews for Salt, Angelina Jolie is named as a Russian spy by a defector. The question is, is she or isn’t she? Without spoiling any plot twists, more questions come up as the movie progresses. And it progresses at a breakneck pace, having enough plot twists to keep you more interested than confused.
After an opening reminiscent of the James Bond thriller Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan, Salt gets the ball rolling, showing that she doesn’t mess around. The plot point seen in the previews is truly just the beginning. If Evelyn Salt isn’t a Russian spy, who is? In short, which characters are America’s enemies? Go along for the ride and see for yourself. Evelyn and a coworker played smoothly by Liev Schreiber brave a labyrinth in which loyalty is constantly questioned, even balked at.
Accompanied by James Newton Howard’s score and whole fleets of crashing cars, Salt gets a running start and never lets up. Many critics seem to think that it’s just another Cold-War throwback, nothing new. Well, I can’t say it is anything new, but this is Hollywood. And on that level, Salt will keep you on the edge of your seat, guessing until the end. In this post-September 11 era, paranoia’s still a ripe theme for movies. One wonders what might happen if one of those movies were Salt vs. Bond. If so, I’m in!
Family Home Theater – 8 Reasons Why The Family Home Theater Is Better Then The Local Movie Theater
Young and old, moms and dads, we all love the movies. So when you want to spend some quality family time together what is the best option, the local movie theater or the family home theater?
First of all lets run down the advantages of the local movie theater. Unless you have a really, really big house, the movie theater is going to have a bigger screen. Ok, that about does it for the advantages of the local theater. Now for the 8 reasons why the home theater is better.
Ticket cost – Let’s start from the moment you walk in the door and pull out your wallet. A family of five is going to have to shell out at least $40 in most cases for tickets alone. For that money you could have nearly three months of unlimited movie rentals with NetFlix or purchase several new movies from the local Wal-mart that could be watched over and over again.
Food cost – Ticket cost is only the beginning. What about the cost of food? What is a movie without a pail of popcorn, candy and a large soda for each of the family? Add at least another $20 or so to the cost (not to mention several pounds to the waste). In your home theater you can pop your own popcorn, have the snacks and drinks of your choice without the inflated food and beverage surcharges.
Cleanliness – The movie theater floor is often littered with popcorn kernels, and sticky soda residue while the chairs are covered with a plethora of flavors of chewed up bubble gum. Your home theater on the other hand can be as clean and well kept as you like. (Of course at my house I must admit there are times where we rival the local cinemas level of cleanliness.)
Comfortable Seating – The local cinema’s seats are moderately comfortable at best. Seating is spaced for attendance, not for comfort. For the typical family home theater, comfort is key with the overstuffed, leather theater recliners spaciously separated for plenty of room to kick back and relax.
No cell phones – What movie experience would be complete without the group of noisy, obnoxious teenagers more intent on chatting on the phone with their friends that couldn’t make it as opposed to quietly enjoying the movie with their friends who did. Don’t get me wrong, a family home theater should not be a silent, stuffy place where you can’t laugh with friends, however a little respect for those around you can go a great way towards enjoying a movie.
Potty breaks – Remember when we talked about the large sodas for everyone? Well that soda eventually has to make an exit. Believe me I have missed too many exciting scenes in the movies due to the cries of “Daddy, I really, really can’t wait any longer.” At the home theater you can actually pause the movie so you and your guests can take a break without trying to struggle through the movie in discomfort.
Visual quality – - It is hard to compete with the sheer size of the screen on the local cinema, although the visual quality of many cinema screens can be lacking, especially when the movie picture begins to degrade after showing for many weeks. With the arrival of High definition projectors and televisions along with HD-DVD and Blu-ray players you can enjoy crystal clear movie visuals in your home.
Sound quality – The local movie theater now is no longer the only ones with surround sound. A moderately priced home theater surround sound system with a subwoofer can surpass many movie theater sound systems. Your family home theater can mesmerize family and guests with crystal clear voices, immersive surround effects and powerful, theater shaking explosions.
It is no wonder that the popularity of family home theaters has skyrocketed over the past decade. If you don’t have a room dedicated to the enjoyment of home theater, what are you waiting on? A family home theater is achievable in rooms of all sizes, with budgets great and small, so check out more information on how you can achieve the magic of the movies in the comfort of your own home.