High Class DVD Solutions Don’t Come Costly!

If we take a close look at the media player market of today and compare it with the traditional market, we can easily ascertain the difference between the two. While the present day DVD players’ market is on an all-time high, the same cannot be said about the traditional market. The traditional market is witnessing a downward trend due to immense market competition from the latest DVD players.

In addition to that, the benefits from these cheap DVD players completely outplay those of the traditional media players such as CD and VCR players. Since a DVD player offers exceptionally superior levels of image resolution, sound quality, quality, performance, affordability and consistency, the modern day customers are after them. After all, who wants to pay anything for an outdated product and who does not want to pay a justified price for an innovative and user-friendly product? The answer is quite clear and loud.

If you are searching for the best among the latest DVD players then you can have a look at the Intex R-25, Haier HD 110, Philips DVP 3126 and Philips DVP 5965. All these high-quality yet cheap DVD players are high on performance, consistency and come with path-breaking innovative features to their credit.

While looking for a new or even a second-hand DVD player, a prospective customer must study the prevailing market products and trends. This will help him to fetch a “reasonable and better” deal and he will be in a better frame to get better value for his hard-earned money. One must give due consideration to factors such as quality, warranty/guarantee, substitute products, price, customer service, brand name and reliability before embarking on a purchase deal.

The DVD market is blooming and is on the right track. With great hopes of continuing positive market trends and customers’ preferences in the coming few years, there is no doubt that the cheap DVD players of today will give enough benefit to the customers in the times to come.

How to Download Movies on the Internet

Quite a lot of people want to download movies and their favorite TV shows directly from the internet, but not very many know where to start. This walkthrough will take you by the hand and lead you through every step, and by the end you’ll be downloading movies in no time. Please note that this is for PC users. Mac users will actually have a much easier time performing these functions.

There are two methods by which you may view your movie. You can either watch the movies straight from your computer, or you can burn the movie to a DVD and watch it from your TV set as you would a regular DVD. Most people prefer the DVD method.

What You’ll Need

Blank DVD’s 8.5 GB
4.7 GB DVD’s are good only for 1 hour shows and shorter movies. Buy the larger ones. The size will be clearly listed on the packaging; if in doubt ask the store clerk.

DVD Writer
Most DVD Writers that are on the market today are inexpensive and cost less than two commercial DVD’s. You may already have one on your computer if you have a newer machine check the front of your computer for the DVD logo. You may have been using one as a CD burner and not even know!

If you are purchasing new, and aren’t familiar with the innards of a PC and installing drives, get an external DVD writer that you can just hook up with a USB port to your computer. Keep in mind that this option will cause your DVD’s to copy a little slower, so you may want to pay someone to install an internal DVD writer if you care about how fast your DVD’s will copy.

For a really fun touch, get a DVD writer with Lightscribe technology. Lightscribe allows you to literally burn an image into the face of the CD while you are copying it. It isn’t a full color picture, rather more like an outline with the details of the picture, but the end result looks really cool.

DVD Burning Software
You will require software that will allow you to convert the files that you are downloading into a format that is readable by your home DVD player, so that you can just put it into your DVD and hit play without having to worry about the format that it is in. Often this software comes with DVD Writers, and is easy to both install and use.

Want to Skip Burning DVD’s?
If your computer and television are reasonably close together, you can purchase an S Video or VGA cable to go between the two. This will allow you to set up your TV as a secondary monitor on your computer and watch movies from the comfort of your couch. You need a video card in your computer that will let you do this. Mine is an ATI Radeon Pro that I bought back in 2003. Most newer computers are already equipped for this. You also need plenty of disk space on your hard drive and a cordless keyboard and mouse won’t hurt either. They will be acting in the place of a remote control. I do both and quite frankly decided that it wasn’t worth the bother and moved to burning DVD’s like the rest of the world.

More Disk space
If you don’t already have a large hard drive, you will want to purchase a larger hard drive to store your movies before burning them to DVD. Until you can get more disk space, you will want to limit yourself to downloading a few movies at a time, burning them immediately when you do, and then erasing them from your hard drive. Keep in mind that you should always keep 1 Gigabyte free on your hard drive in order for Windows to run seamlessly on your PC. Anything less than a gigabyte of free disk space and you will find that your system performance degrades significantly.

Downloading Software

The world has moved from using P2P programs like Limewire or Morpheus to using Torrents and programs like UseNext. Torrents are a way to break up the original file so that the entire file is never resident on any one computer. This allows for faster download times for everyone.

Install A Program
There are several equally good programs on the market which allow you to download movies; most are free, and may be downloaded from the recommended Movie Download site.

Downloading and installing is easy. Any of the movie download sites above give complete instructions on using the software. If the software is blocked because you are using either client at work, it is perhaps best to do this from home only.

It is also advisable to not download from work because it is quite likely that you will be detected by IT technicians; Movie downloads eat up a huge amount of bandwidth, something every company is trying to conserve today as internet hosting companies are coming up with reasons to charge for bandwidth use.

Search a Movie Website

Now we come to the part where you actually find the files that you want. Even with all of my tech savvy, I was stumped at this point initially because I was used to the environment of the peer-to-peer programs like Napster, where you could search within the software. With movie download sites you can do this. It gets a little confusing sometimes but the movie download sites will give you step by step directions. You need to login to your download site to search for what you want.

It works just like any other site that you search on, plug in your desired movie title and it will give you results.

A Word on Formats

Make sure that the file that you choose is in a format that is friendly for DVD conversion if that is your end goal; just to refresh, DVD conversion is getting it to play in your home DVD player.

When referring to formats, what you are going to need to look for is the File Extension, or the three letters preceded by a period at the end of the file. For example, a Microsoft Word document has .doc as its file extension.

Formats like .mkv are not going to translate well to DVD. You want to look for an .avi file or an .mpg file. AVI files are the most common.

If all you can download is a less common format like .mkv, you will probably have to watch the movie on your computer.

Downloading Your Movie

You will then get a window popping up which asks you which components of the download you wish to initiate. If it is just one file, click OK. This is a great way to browse for the stuff that you want or don’t want, as the case may be with larger packages such as entire TV series. Specify the folder that you wish to download to. Once you click OK, the torrent software that you installed earlier will do the rest of the work.

Copying Your Movie

This is generally just a question of opening your DVD writing software, following the prompts, and popping your DVD into the drive. Here are a couple of helpful tips;

Make Sure you Choose DVD

Most DVD burning software will give you the choice of making a data CD or making a DVD for use in your DVD player. Make sure you choose DVD.

Don’t Save an Image on Your Computer

Most DVD burning software will also give you the option to save the finished file on your computer. I would advise against this unless you have purchased a 500 gig hard drive; it will eat up tons of disk space just to have it as a backup. If you have the room, you will want to say yes to the option of keeping the original file just in case something goes wrong with the burning process, but this can be deleted after you have successfully burned the DVD.

Make Sure the DVD is 8.5 Gigs

This is very important. If you went out and bought smaller DVD’s against that earlier advice, here is where you are going to run into problems. Most DVD burning software will allow you to split up the movie into two halves, but this is choppy and will inevitably end up in the loss or repetition of a portion of the movie.

Bad Disc - Troubleshooting

While this is usually a simple process, sometimes the DVD’s don’t work in the DVD player. There are a few reasons for this.

Cheap DVD Player

If you purchased an inexpensive DVD Player, this is where it is going to start to show. If you have rented DVD’s from the store and they haven’t played, it is almost a guarantee that the discs made by your computer will not function 100% of the time in your DVD player. The only way to really combat this is to get a new, better quality DVD player.

Check Your Settings

Make sure that you didn’t just make a direct copy of the file; make sure that it made a proper DVD copy. Pop the DVD back into your computer to check that it has indeed been converted to a different format. The file on the DVD shouldn’t be just one file, it should have been separated into different files that you won’t recognize. If it is simply a data DVD, pop another one in and be sure to choose the DVD rather than data option.

Otherwise, enjoy your new movie watching freedom! You are now in complete control of what you watch. It’s a great feeling! Go to the website and select an inexpensive membership. You can select yearly or lifetime. Lifetime is the best buy because it lets you download as many movies as you want year after year.

Advanced Tips

-if you are considering the purchase of a new computer, get one with a larger hard drive and a built-in DVD writer. If you want to make copies of your DVD’s, you may want two DVD writers for faster copies.

District B13 (Banlieue 13) - Foreign Film Review

District B13 (Banlieue 13)
Made in: France
Language: French

Synopsis: It is the year 2010. In this dystopic vision of the future, certain slums just outside of Paris have been walled off and isolated due to their “high risk” status.

Infested with drugs, rampant crime, and bad hairstyles, one particularly troublesome area called District B13 is reminiscent of the island of Manhattan from John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, only more French (and possibly with better food).

Leïto (David Belle) is a well-meaning punk who’s in trouble with Taha (Bibi Naceri), District B13’s tyrant drug kingpin. After stealing and then destroying a large stash of Taha’s dope, Leïto escapes the drug lord’s armed goons in a brilliant building-to-building chase scene that has to be seen rather than described.

In this sequence, David Belle, who’s a stuntman in real life, exhibits the art of Parkour (aka Free Running). Parkour is a sport invented by Belle himself, in which the practitioner uses the abilities of the human body to efficiently and creatively maneuver through physical obstacles.

Another vivid example of free running takes place in the 2006 Bond film Casino Royale when Bond (Daniel Craig) chases down a bomb maker (Sèbastien Foucan). Foucan also happens to be a good pal of David Belle.

Anyway, on with the review.

Soon after Leïto’s excape, Taha kidnaps Lola (Dany Verissimo), Leïto’s feisty younger sister. Although Leïto manages to rescue her, their escape is thwarted by cowardly police officials who refuse to enforce the law, thus allowing Taha to go free.

Lola is recaptured, and Leïto ends up in the slammer.

Six months later…

Taha gets hold of an experimental neutron bomb, and accidentally arms it. The French government, upon receiving this alarming news, send in Captain Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli), the best cop and martial arts expert in Paris.

More bad-ass than Nicolas Sarkozy at a cheese party, Damien has less than 24 hours to locate and diffuse the bomb. But to make his way through District B13 in one piece, Damien must convince the incarcerated Leïto to help him.

And so, it’s a race against time to save Lola and millions of other lives before Paris, like Jacque Chirac’s credibility, goes up in smoke…

The Good: Clocking in at a mere 85 minutes, District B13 is a great example of tight, fast-paced storytelling. The action is creative and highly entertaining, the stunts are cool, and there’s nothing in this action movie that doesn’t need to be there.

David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli are both amazing stuntmen/athletes, and without taking themselves too seriously, they pull off some great moments that are beyond many conventional Hollywood action filcks.

With a slick techno soundtrack to boot, District B13 may be short, but it’s short and to the point and feels complete.

The Bad: Some of the action is a bit far-fetched, but at least it never gets to the point of where it insults your intelligence (not mine, anyway). Also, a lot of the actors have silly fashion taste, but they at least get their asses kicked for it.

Who would like this movie: Whether you’re an action movie lover with the attention span of a hyperactive donkey, or looking to broaden your cinematic horizons, this foreign film is for you. It’s like a visual energy drink!

“The Bank Job” Movie Review

Based on a true story, “The Bank Job” is the story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery. When the British government learns that there are incriminating photos and the threat of blackmail keeping them from arresting a drug importer, Michael X, they secretly hire a group of criminals to break into the bank which holds the photos and steal them. There can be nothing tying the criminals to the government, so every action of the government is done with the utmost secrecy.

When Martine Love (Saffron Burrows) is arrested for drug possession, she strikes a deal with Tim, a government official who’s part of the group designed to solve the Michael X problem. The deal is that Martine must help put together a crew to commit the bank heist. She convinces a long-time friend and ex Terry Leather (Jason Statham - “The Transporter”) to help her, and Terry puts together a team. As a group, they rent out the building two doors down from the bank and dig a tunnel underneath the bank to rob the safe deposit boxes held in the vault.

Although they are successful in robbing the bank, the tides turn when they realize that the deal was not as simple as it originally was and they discover just what Martine was sent in to steal. In addition, it turns out that another prominent member of society has a safety deposit box at the same bank and wants his items back as well. Now, Terry, Martine, and their team must find a way to avoid jail and deal with the multiple dangerous people who want the photos and their items back.

Where “The Bank Job” succeeds is in keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat with the complex drama. The story is never simple, and even when the viewer thinks that everything is going well for Terry and his crew, something always happens to shake things up. With themes such as secrecy, blackmail, and corruption, suspicion surrounds each character, leaving the viewer waiting to find out the motivations behind each character’s actions.

The theme of secrets also plays out within Terry’s own crew as well, when the former relationship between Terry and Martine re-emerges, creating a new set of questions. Terry must decide what’s more important to him, the marriage to his wife, or the thrill that comes along with the criminal lifestyle. In addition, Martine’s feelings towards both Terry and Tim leave the viewer wondering who she’s really in the bank heist for, and who will she, if anyone, ultimately betray.

Where “The Bank Job” falls short, however, is that with so much secrecy going on, certain storylines are not described in enough detail and to a point, may not have been needed at all. The best example of this is with the character of Gale Benson. She is a British national attempting to infiltrate Michael X’s organization by sleeping with his friend Malik. Although her character is important to the real life story the movie is based off of, inside of the movie, her character is not developed enough. She is only brought up in conversation twice, once at the beginning of the movie, and once at the end. She is unable to succeed in her goal, yet there a number of scenes portraying her, taking away from the action of Terry and Martine.

Despite that minor hiccup, the rest of the story is neatly told, and the action scenes are nicely intertwined with the dramatic discussion scenes. For Jason Statham, who mostly stars in action-type movies (including movies such as “The Transporter”, “Crank”, and “The Italian Job”), he really gets a chance to do more than just run and fight. The viewer is introduced to his more serious side when you see how he acts around his wife and children. I was happily surprised with the quality of this film and recommend it.

One Tree Hill

Season 5 of One Tree Hill just ended last May and yet I am so looking forward to the next season which is set to open on September.

The season finale was such a cliffhanger that I have been searching for spoilers and even reading forums where avid fans discuss who they think Luke proposed to on the last episode. The scene where Luke calls someone and asks to get married in Las Vegas elicited oohs and aahs from fans everywhere. The million dollar question now is, who did he propose to? From the scene, it seems Peyton, Brooke and Lindsay all got calls and it ended there. These girls have had history with Luke so it really is exciting to find out who he will marry in the end and, if the girl will actually accept his proposal.

I so love the season finale and I love, love Bethany Galeotti’s song in the end entitled Feel This. I find her so talented and she has come a long way from the movie Bring It On Again where she played Marnie Potts, co-captain of the varsity cheerleading team. She’s one of the reasons why I watch One Tree Hill and she’s a really versatile actress and talented singer.

My favorite couple in the show is Nathan and Haley, played by James Lafferty and Bethany Galeotti respectively. I have watched since the first season and wow, they have grown and evolved into this mature couple who have gone through a lot and yet still standing strong and always together in raising their adorable son, Jamie.

I can’t wait for the next season to start and definitely I’ll be watching it so that I can finally know who Lucas will marry at the start of the episode.

Up and Coming: The X-Files 2: I want to Believe

The first X-files movie was shown when i was pretty much younger and silly as it may sound, i was scared shitless from the sound effects of the movie even from the start. I tried to watch it again a few years later when i was getting interested with sci-fi movies and it wasn’t really scary i thought. here’s another sci-fi film that i’d be adding up to my waiting list. and its pretty intriguing.. really..

In grand “X-Files” manner, the film’s storyline is being kept under wraps. This much can be revealed: It is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show’s most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder’s pursuits.

Also Known As:
The X-Files (sequel)
X-Files 2
X-Files II
X-Files: Done One
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Adaptation and Sequel
Release Date: July 25th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributors:
20th Century Fox Distribution
Production Co.:
Big Light Productions
Studios:
20th Century Fox
Filming Locations:
Vancouver, Canada
Produced in: United States

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)

I’ve been a fan of sci-fi and adventure movies and hearing about another up coming Mummy movie is like music to my ears. I think Brendan Frasier has made the Mummy series a box office series even from the first one. This 3rd film of the Mummy will surely be a highly awaited film especially for me! And hey I forgot to mention!! Jet Li is the villain in this film he’s playing the role of Emperor Han! Pretty interesting huh!! =)

Explorer Rick O’Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex, wife Evelyn and her brother, Jonathan. And this time, the O’Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service. Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress to spend eternity in suspended animation, China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O’Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents. As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force… unless the O’Connells can stop him first.

Also Known As:
The Curse of the Dragon
The Mummy 3
The Mummy III
The Mummy Returns sequel
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Action/Adventure and Sequel
Release Date: August 1st, 2008 (wide)
Distributors:
Universal Pictures Distribution
Production Co.:
The Sean Daniel Company, Sommers Company
Studios:
Universal Pictures
Filming Locations:
China
Montreal, Quebec Canada
Produced in: United States

Eddie Murphy in Meet DAve

Here’s another double-double film starring Eddie Murphy. His earlier movies such as Norbit, Dr. Doolittle has been hilarious. He could play both the woman and the man in a film.

A massive fireball from space hits New York’s Central Park and an ordinary man emerges unscathed. The man turns out to be a spaceship operated by 100 human-looking aliens who are one-quarter inch tall and seeking a way to save their planet; complications ensue when their captain falls in love with an Earth woman who’s always picked losers for previous romances.

Also Known As:
Starship Dave
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Comedy and Science Fiction/Fantasy
Release Date: July 11th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG
Distributors:
20th Century Fox Distribution
Production Co.:
Friendly Films, Guy Walks Into a Bar
Studios:
20th Century Fox
Produced in: United States

Will Smith as Hancock

After a series of super hero movies, here comes another one that’s not your typical super hero movie. Will Smith’s last movie I’ve seen - I am Legend is not a hit for me. Yes he made big ones before and I’m really hoping that this would be one of his great films ever.

here are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock. With great power comes great responsibility — everyone knows that — everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough — as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn’t the kind of man who cares what other people think — until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey, and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet — and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary, insists that he’s a lost cause.

Also Known As:
John Hancock
Tonight He Comes
Tonight, He Comes
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama and Romance
Release Date: July 2nd, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence and language.
Distributors:
Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Co.:
Forward Pass, Inc., Weed Road Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Overbrook Entertainment
Studios:
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
Filming Locations:
Los Angeles, CA USA
Produced in: United States

Legendary Comedian George Carlin Dies

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (June 23) - George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his “Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV” routine, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.

Carlin constantly pushed the envelope with his jokes, particularly with the “Seven Words” routine. When he uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested for disturbing the peace.

When the words were played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a Supreme Court ruling in 1978 upholding the government’s authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language.

“So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I’m perversely kind of proud of,” he told The Associated Press earlier this year.

The above article was originally posted here.

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