GeekSugar

A DVD Turns a Drab TV Screen Into a Fab Light Installation

GeekSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:33:33 -0700

I still get a kick out of those virtual flames fireplace DVDs, so when I saw the Colorlight DVD on Chip Chick I instantly thought - how great for a dinner/cocktail party! Once you pop in the DVD (which costs $25), eight different colors will slowly rotate and set the mood for your little soiree (or romantic nightcap). I've been in elevators (London), airports (Frankfurt), and in airplanes (Virgin America) that have all used this color rotation technique to enhance moods, so put it to use in your living room, and you may get rave reviews!

Behind the Scenes at ILM: The Making of Iron Man

GeekSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:00:52 -0700

When I took my tour of ILM studios a few weeks back, I was lucky enough to get some behind-the-scenes info on the special effects and animation that went into making Iron Man; straight from the guys who worked on it. Unfortunately for me that only made it harder to wait until I could own my very own copy of the Summer blockbuster!

A small group of us got a special Q&A session with Ben Snow (VFX Supervisor), Hal Hickel (Animation Supervisor), and Aaron McBride (Art Director, who by the way is pretty much John Krasinski's twin, but with longer hair - this made it very hard to pay attention), and got some fun details on the Iron Man suit, the flying sequences, and how cool it was to work with director John Favreau. To check out some geeky-but-fun facts from the film, just read more.

Although a full, tactile Iron Man suit was made for reference, they used visual effects for almost all of the scenes with Robert Downey Jr. in the suit.
Iron Man was chock-full of visual effects! ILM produced about 400 of the 800 visual effects shots in the film.
A bunch of the shots had to be filmed twice, once with the real Iron Man suit, and once as CGI.
John Favreau wanted Iron Man to fly the opposite way that Superman does: "Superman takes off fast and lands slow, if you think about it. He takes off really fast and always comes down for those soft landings. Iron Man is the opposite. He takes off slow and lands fast," which makes total sense with the weight of his suit!
The "Suit-Up sequence" (where those big arms place all of Iron Man's plates on Tony Stark's body) was completely CGI! They digitally placed Robert Downey Jr.'s head in to that scene.
John Favreau is one cool dude. Not only does Buzz think he was the perfect man for the job, but he's easy to work with as well. All three guys said it was refreshing to have the director ask for input from the crew, since it made the project more fun for them, and more of a collaborative environment.

I think it's a safe bet that there's going to be a ton of extras on the DVD, including the ILM test shot of Iron Man - the first shot they ever produced for the film. Needless to say, I'm leaving work today on a mission - to get my own copy of the movie, STAT! I have lots more information to share with you from my day at ILM, so stay tuned for some insider info on the making of Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!

Will Free Digital Copies Make You Excited About Buying DVDs Again?

GeekSugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:08:34 -0800

Fox's release of Family Guy's Star Wars parody Blue Harvest on DVD is exciting because of its inclusion of a free digital copy, so you can own both the DVD and iTunes copy - no long ripping process required, no legal bones about it.

The intrepid testers over at Gizmodo unboxed the DVD to find an extra digital copy disc and a slip with a code inside. Each can only be used once, which made testers question the complexity of something relatively easy to do - why not just give the code to enter online?

Anyway, it seems like a lot to do for a digital copy, but I like the idea that every time I buy a DVD, I have the digital version ready to go. Then again, every time I buy a DVD now, I think of the impending Blu-ray takeover and my piles of VHS tapes that landed in the goodwill bin. What about you? Do free digital copies make you excited to buy DVDs again?
Photo courtesy of Fox

The Canon DW-100: Portable DVD Burning Made Easy

GeekSugar — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 10:20:46 -0800

Do you have hours of video footage that you wish you could easily transfer to DVD? Thanks to Canon and their new DW-100 DVD recorder, you can instantly burn your videos onto DVDs by simply connecting your video camera to this device. According to Akihabara News, this type of recorder is not new, although it is one of the first to record high-definition videos with AVCHD codec. You will also be able to plug the burner into any PC or MAC via a USB connection. Unfortunately you won't be able to pick one up before Christmas since they are set to be released in March 2008. No word on pricing just yet.

Insignia Portable DVD Player Reviewed

GeekSugar — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:00:38 -0700

I've never been the target customer when it comes to portable DVD players because I hardly ever watch movies on small screens and when I do, I'm happy just using my laptop. Having recently spent some time with my friend's four-year-old, I learned that some people - particularly those who haven't lost their two front teeth yet - rely on portable DVD players for entertainment in planes, trains and other boring locations.

I got a chance to take the Insignia 10.2" 16:9 Widescreen LCD Portable DVD Player for a spin and was pleasantly surprised. I often think of Insignia as an "inexpensive" or "affordable" alternative to more pricey gadgets, but I was immediately intrigued by the player's compact size, light weight and sleek body.

To check out additional pictures of the player and read my full review, read more

I was most impressed with the player's design and usability. It features a fool-proof control wheel (yes, it vaguely resembles the iPod's clickwheel), as well as a small remote that fits into the body of the device for storage. It weighs 2.6-pounds, which is notably lighter than my laptop. While I'm still not sure I would travel with a portable player instead of my laptop, I see where this could be good alternative for keeping yourself or the kids entertained or even as a gift for a Luddite who wants to watch DVDs but doesn't want to deal with connecting a player to a TV (say maybe your great-grandama...).

The Insignia DVD player plays DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 and JPEG formats, which means you can watch videos stored on your iPod on a slightly larger screen. You can also connect to video game consoles. It ships with an A/V cable, car power adapter, AC/DC adapter and remote. At first I thought the price tag of $190 was a little steep, but discovered most of the other portable players on the market are 8-inches or less. For comparison, the Panasonic 8.5" Portable DVD Player with 12 Hour Battery is $260.

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HD DVD/Blu-ray Combo Products to Debut in 07

GeekSugar — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:36:51 -0800

The battle of Blu-ray versus HD DVD continues with the two technologies facing off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week in Las Vegas. There are however, a few neutral products that bring the best of both worlds together and should delight gadget lovers.

LG Electronics announced that it will launch the world's first dual-format high-definition disc player, capable of playing both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD content. The company said the unit will be released in the United States in early 2007, and that it "expects this technological breakthrough to end the confusion and inconvenience of competing high-definition disc formats for both content producers and consumers."

Warner Bros. followed with the announcement that it would launch a hybrid disc that works in both Blu-ray and HD DVD players. According to the AP, Warner Bros. developed the "Total HD Disc" to help break the stalemate between HD DVD, developed by a consortium led by Toshiba Corp., and rival Blu-ray, backed by Sony Corp.

HD DVD and Blu-ray offer resolutions that are much higher than standard-definition DVDs, and offer brighter contrast and color, sharper sound and higher levels of interactivity.

Get Your HD DVD Money Back From Best Buy

GeekSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:15:15 -0700

Now that the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray is finally over, I bet you're still wondering what to do with that dummy DVD player that you sunk your cold hard cash into. Thankfully, there is a silver lining to your HD DVD raincloud. For all you hard core Best Buy customers, rejoice! If you bought a Toshiba HD DVD player from the home of the Geek Squad before February 23, you're entitled to a nice $50 gift card to replace your defunked player. And if you are an Xbox fan and bought your HD DVD add-on, the refund applies to you as well. Best Buy president Brian J. Dunn, hopes that the gift cards will come as a nice consolation prize for choosing the wrong side in the format war:

"Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs,"

This coming on the heels of Circuit City offering full credits for HD DVD players within 90 days of purchase. To find out how to get your Best Buy refund, read more

For Reward Zone members, you don't have to do a thing! You'll get your gift cards sent to you right away. If you purchased the player with your credit card, cash or check, call (888) Best Buy and supply a receipt. What's more, even if you didn't buy your player from Best Buy, the guys in blue and yellow are offering a trade in program. Once you agree on a trade in price, Best Buy will send you a gift card in your agreed upon amount. But then again, maybe you should store it - it could be worth something someday. Remember LaserDisc?

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Wal-Mart: Out With HD DVD and in With Blu-ray

GeekSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:43:19 -0800

As the Blu-ray/HD DVD war continues with Netflix and Best Buy recently making the switch to Blu-ray, things are certainly looking gloomy for the future of HD DVD products. The hardest hit came today, with Wal-Mart announcing that it would be pulling the plug on on HD DVD and moving exclusively toward Blu-ray format movies and players.
By June, 4,000 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores will offer only Blu-ray movies and hardware machines, as well as standard definition movies and DVD players. In the meantime, Wal-Mart will slowly be selling off the rest of its HD DVD products. If everything looks as good as Beyoncé in Blu-ray, then I may also have to make the switch!

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Daily Tech: RealDVD is Now Available For Download

GeekSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:17:31 -0700

For $30, you can download RealDVD and make copies of your DVD that are playable within RealDVD. Probably a good idea if you are doing some traveling and want an extensive list of movies to watch later. - CrunchGear
Good ol' GPS has struck again. A man following the directions from his GPS led him right onto a set of train tracks and into the path of an oncoming commuter train. Thankfully no one was hurt. - Switched
SpaceX's Falcon 1 launched into space this past weekend, reading a speed of 5,200 meters per second. - Wired
How sexy is this rustic red DSLR camera bag by Acme? And all of this for only $40. - Crave
Adorable! Disney animation has created their very own version on how to hook up your home theater. - Gizmodo
Lee Broom's Rough Diamond and Neo Neon furniture collections are mixing old pieces of furniture with technology to create beautiful geek-chic pieces. - Unplggd

The Hotness: Hokkaido DVD Player

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:00:09 -0700

If Phil Bartoszewicz had his way, the days of storing those boring black-cased DVD players in your attractive entertainment center would be over. He would ensure that everyone had access to DVD players that blend in with your stylish decor. And that's exactly what he's done with his concept design called Hokkaido: a stand alone optical DVD player with a retro touch, but obviously modern in its design. Sleek and geek chic, that's how I like my components.

Seriously, can someone please give this guy a job so I can claim a Hokkaido for myself? Oh, and just one tiny suggestion? Make it Blu-ray compatible, please. Thanks.

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