Author Archives:

Yesterday’s Mail Bag

Posted by DJ JeffP on

So yesterday I received the last of the items I need for my Entertainment setup. Now you may be asking why I am choosing to go with this route instead of a Home Theater set up. Well to begin with I already had a 2.1 JBL Sound system that I very much love already and honestly living in this duplex with someone upstairs I always seem to find the thing off (after all their complaining that it is too loud) So I am usualy left to using the sound from the TV or just turning off the base from the JBL Speakers. Now if I had a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound system, well it would get barely used to its full potential. So I chose this route, plus I did not want to spend $150 and up for something that was not going to get fully used. However if you do live in a home and don’t have any neighbors upstairs well go for one of the Home Theater systems because it is definitely worth the extra money.

Anyways back to what I got in my mailbag, I received the HDMI Switcher, HDMI Cables, and and right angle adapter.

So now if you are looking into doing this also, well go for it! After trying everything together the quality of the images are amazing and I have not noticed any loss of quality. The build quality of the Switcher is plastic and all but it seems to be working very well. I turned on my PS3 and it immediately switched to the next input. Something I like about it. Also it is very small and compact so you could place it anywhere in your home entertainment center, and because it has an IR receiver you can use the little remote it comes with to switch through the inputs. Now the one I got was a 3×1 port but there is also many other HDMI Switchers out there, just look for the high quality ones.

Now for the HDMI Cables, well they are just HDMI cables. I have found that they are exactly identical to the cable I purchased from Best Buy, but labeled Dynex on it. Now why would you pay $30 for a cable that is $3 online which is pretty much identical. Take my word for it, it is definitely worth a try if your skeptical, I mean its only $3!! And now for the HDMI Right Angle Male to Female Adapter. Now I got it only to see how well it worked and well now I have left it connected to my HDMI cable. The little guy is perfect for those tight corners and if you want to clean up the mess behind the TV or in my case the projector. And like the rest of the items I got from Amazon, there is no loss in quality. So give it a try, I definitely did and have no regrets.

HDMI Splitter

Posted by DJ JeffP on

Since my projector is set up is behind my couch I have all my entertainment systems in front where the TV normally sits. And I didn’t want to move everything closer to the projector only because sometimes the projector won’t be used on the day to day basis; just for movie nights and special occasions. So what I did, instead of getting a home theatre surround sound system, I purchased a few things that made things a lot easier.

First we have the HDMI Cable 50′.
Click here
Now you might be thinking why would anyone need 50′? Well if you are like me and always worried about cables showing and wanting everything hidden well then your going to need the extra feet to play with. Now my living room is only 14′x11′ so I shouldn’t need that much cable. However I did use up the majority of the cable with maybe 6+ feet to spare. My first impression of the cable was wow. I paid $30 for a 50′ hdmi cable that in other stores listed for $150-200 for the same exact unbranded cable. The cable itself was very thick and looked very well made. Now I have purchased a few cheap HDMI’s from amazon before and this one would have to be one of the best ones I have gotten. And the image looks great, I would say it looks just as clear as the cables I have bought from Best Buy.

Next I ordered an HDMI Splitter
Click Here
Now for $25 this powered HDMI 1 to 2 splitter works just fine for my application. I wanted to get a powered one only because of the length of cable I am using to get to the projector. It came in some nice packaging and the build quality of the box was made out of metal, when the image online looks like it was made of plastic, so two thumbs up there. But so far with the two pieces of the puzzle solved it is looking very promising.

I did order a few more things that I wanted to test out, a HDMI switcher with remote and some right angle adapters you can find online. Now those two are still on the way so once those are in I will make a full complete review of everything.

Also if you are interested in the screen I have, I purchased it at Ikea for $2 now the rolling shade itself is usually $50 but I got lucky found it in the AS IS DEPARTMENT at my local Ikea (where I also got my cool entertainment center for $60). So if your on a budget and don’t want to spend $100-200 on a manual projector screen Ikea has these rolling shades for about $50.
71″

79″

Home Entertainment

Posted by DJ JeffP on


Ever thought of getting a projector for your home entertainment system? Well there are a lot of projectors out there that are really good. Like Vivetek. Decently priced projectors with HDMI ports and 3D ready. I recently picked up the Vivitek D511. A perfect little set up for Roughly $500. Not bad because if you were to have any problems with it, well then replace it. Not bad really. My initial thought on the projector were great, the image is crisp and with my PS3 connected I get 1080p connection. Now the projector is 720p native which isn’t bad at all. And in my place with a throw from 10ft away it is pretty big picture. Now if you are on a budget and looking for something definitely worth you money at the same time, well looks like you found your match because this bad boy is definitely worth every penny. Its small and compact and comes with a lot of good features, you can set it up for rear projection and all the other configurations, 3D and closed caption ready.



Super lightweight, 2600 lumens (super bright), 720p resolution, 3d ready, HDMI port, crisp pictures, <$600. What more do you need to know? If you interested in there other more expensive products I would say they are definitely worth the money without spending the extra bucks compared to the name brand projectors out there.Vivitek 1080p


click here for more info

Photo Project

Posted by DJ JeffP on

Now many people have started this project. And I have been contemplating whether or not to continue on with the photo a day for 365 days. But if you have one leave a comment with a link to your 365project. I sort of started to lets see how long this will last till I choose to not take any or forget to take a picture.

Here are a few random snaps from my 5d which I liked only because they seemed to have come out really weird.

1/365 First picture of the new year(not a weird one just love the shot.)

2/365

3/365

4/365

Happy New Year Everyone!

Posted by DJ JeffP on

Hey guys, sorry I have been missing from the blog lately but have no fear this new year I will be trying to blog a lot more then I previously did. New years resolution? Possibly, don’t really care too much about them but for the sake of my blog I will.

I just recently spent New Years Eve at Disneyland, and well I enjoyed the World of Color fireworks show. And well if you are interested here it is…

As for the video stuff I did get the $24 Cheap Shoulder Support found on CheesyCam. So stay tuned for some videos because I have some plans for this bad boy. Just planning on beefing it up and adding some extra support without spending too much money. So be on the lookout for that. Anyways Happy New Years and Happy building! Just build it!