Gear Diary » Movies and Streaming Video

Check Out this Awesome Recreation of the Original Star Tours Disney Ride!

Michael Anderson — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:45:39 +0000

Have you ever taken a ride on Star Tours at Disney? The first time we went as a family in 2001 was on a Star Wars Weekend, and taking the Star Tours ride was a major part of the fun for all of us. We rode it again the other two trips we made, and it possesses great memories, although it is clear that it is time for a revamp. This year the ride gets that revamp - but an independent film maker has recreated the entire ride in a 2D and 3D video experience! Here are some details:

In time to help celebrate Star Tours’ 25th anniversary at Disneyland, independent filmmaker Gregory Noacco

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Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace 3D Hits Theaters Today … Are You Going?

Michael Anderson — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:20:51 +0000

I am an unapologetic Star Wars fanboy - my wife and I pulled our kids out of school an hour early back in 2005 to hit an early matinee of 'Revenge of the Sith', and we saw 'Attack of the Clones' in normal and IMAX formats, and of course we own all of the movies on VHS and DVD (we skipped the 'dead man walking' Blu-Ray technology) and watch them on at least an annual basis. We covered the initial announcement of Star Wars returning to theaters in 3D, and after all of the trailers and press releases I questioned the basic value of the 3D releases. Now Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Paul McCartney Live Stream Event

Michael Anderson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:00:54 +0000

This week the new Paul McCartney album 'Kisses on the Bottom' launches, and to celebrate he will be performing live from Capital Studios in Los Angeles and the performance will be live streamed on iTunes! Here are the details:

Paul McCartney will commemorate the release of his new album, Kisses On The Bottom, with a free streaming performance that takes place 7 p.m. PST Thursday, February 9, from Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, where much of the new album was recorded. Fans can watch the show for free through iTunes. Kisses on the Bottom, which comes out Tuesday, February 7, via Hear Music/Concord, is a collection of standards McCartney

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Watch The Rolling Stones Rehearse and Record ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ in 1968

Michael Anderson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:30:30 +0000

Back in 1968 there was not the tendency to capture everything on video in the same way we do now - in fact it is not uncommon to learn that we have lost master recordings or out-takes from some of the great recording sessions of rock, pop and jazz. So finding this gem - a video showing the development and shaping of the classic 'Sympathy for the Devil'. You see the basic track grow, the rhythm change, you hear Keith Richards (and not bassist Bill Wyman) develop the classic bass part, and we see one of the last contributions by founding member Brian Jones. It is also interesting that in the early vocals you hear 'who killed Kennedy' but in the final track it is 'who killed the Kennedys' - the initial recording session took place the day before Bobby was shot. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Movie/Book Retrospective: The Accidental Tourist

Michael Anderson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I have said before that I have been reading much more since getting my Nook Touch last June, which has really been wonderful. The Nook Touch in my Oberon case is just a thing of beauty to hold and behold. It has allowed me to catch new books like Robopocalypse and recent releases like The Art of Racing in the Rain, re-read almost my entire Kurt Vonnegut collection, get ready for The Hunger Games, and grab books I always meant to read but had long forgotten - like The Accidental Tourist. Whenever a movie is made from a book, the comparisons are made and are generally unflattering - sometimes the movie is better (Godfather) but most times the movie is significantly lacking (pretty much everything else). There are a few examples where both are excellent - the recent movie The Help is a great example of something you should both read AND see. But recently I have fallen in love with another book/movie combo: The Accidental Tourist. Let's take a quick look at both versions! Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Get Going with Blu-Ray for Under $50

Dan Cohen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:40:06 +0000

Today's Gear Deal will get you up and running with Blu-Ray for just $49.99. That's right, LG's BD611 Blu-ray Disc Player is normally $119.99 but our Gear Sponsor found savings that knock a full $70 off the price. Add in the fact that it will ship for free and it can be on the way to you for under $50. The unit features full HD 1080p, the "sound of Blu-ray technology along with USB 2.0 Media Playback" and Up-Scaling to "deliver exceptional image quality from standard DVDs". Get details and ordering information here on the deal page. Gear Deal: Get Going with Blu-Ray for Under $50 via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sling Media Brings SlingPlayer to Kindle Fire!

Michael Anderson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:00:32 +0000

Sling Media, makers of the SlingBox, today announces the availability of the SlingPlayer app for the Kindle Fire. What is the SlingBox? It is a device that works with all of your various set-top boxes to:

allow folks to watch their TV from wherever they are with their PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone. And now, with SlingPlayer for Kindle Fire, they can bring their living room TV experience to their Kindle Fire tablets.

The SlingPlayer software is already available for Apple iPhone and iPad devices, Android Phones, Android Tablets as well as for the Blackberry, Windows Phone and other devices. We have written about the Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Deal: Samsung 55″ 3D 1080p LED HDTV and Blu-ray Player and 4 Pair of 3D glasses

Dan Cohen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:55:40 +0000

Big, bold and impressive. That's the only way to describe Samsung's top of the line UN55D8000 55" 3D 1080p LED 240Hz HDTV. And with today's Gear Deal you'll get it bundled with a Samsung BD-D5500 Blu-ray Player and 2 extra pair of 3D glasses (that makes for a total of four pair). The Samsung UN55D8000

features edge-lit LED backlighting with Micro-precision dimming Plus for enhanced image quality (higher contrast, darker blacks and eliminates "blooming"). It also features 3D ready, Internet TV (apps such as FaceBook, YouTube, BlockBuster, Flickr, Amazon on Demand, Skype), 4 HDMI versopm 1.4 inputs, 2 USB ports, ethernet, and wrapped in a slim .9" panel in black design.

As noted, two pair of Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Random Cool Video: Warm Leatherette

Michael Anderson — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:30:40 +0000

I have covered a lot of cool stuff introduced at the Winter NAMM show in the past week, with two prominent themes: analog synthesis and the iPad as the must-have studio tool. As someone who came into music long enough ago to appreciate WHY people ran to digital so quickly in the early 80's, I also have always appreciated what the technology added to music. I have personally sought analog sounds through digitally controlled systems or sample-based synths ... but there is nothing like the real thing, so it is great to see all of the advances in technology applied to synthesis. Along those same lines, this cool video from Analogue Solutions Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Samsung Pokes at a Key iPhone Weakness in New Ad

Michael Anderson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:15:10 +0000

If you were to ask a random group of smartphone users to name a feature that Android has that iOS is lacking, while you'd hear nonsense like 'open', you'd also hear one message loud and clear: turn-by-turn navigation with voice support. For me, this is one of three reasons I am still using Android (the others being physical keyboards and something work-specific). I use my Google Maps navigation everywhere and for everything - and it is awesome. I tried using the navigation built into pre-Mango Windows Phone 7 and it twice tried to tack on 30 minutes with inept guidance ... and I haven't tried it since (maybe Dan or Judie can comment on Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Wait … YouTube Has HOW MANY Daily Visits?

Michael Anderson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:15:57 +0000

When someone mentions a song I want to check out or something from my past, I turn to iTunes or Rdio or perhaps Slacker Premium. My kids? YouTube, YouTube and YouTube. And apparently that is the trend according to Reuters, which has exclusive data from YouTube claiming 4 BILLION daily views! Here is some of the article:

YouTube, Google Inc's video website, is streaming 4 billion online videos every day, a 25 percent increase in the past eight months, according to the company. The jump in video views comes as Google pushes YouTube beyond the personal computer, with versions of the site that work on smartphones and televisions, and as the company

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Gear Deal: LG 55″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for Under $1000

Dan Cohen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:40:28 +0000

We start the week with a Gear Deal on LG's 55LK520 55" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. This 2011 model HDTV features a 1920x1080 resolution, has 3 HDMI inputs, offers a 120Hz refresh rate and, of course, is Internet connected so you can watch Netflix and more. Normally $1,499.99, our Gear Sponsor has located savings that bring the price all the way down to just $949.99. It will even ship for free although there is tax in most states. Details and purchasing information can be found here on the deal page. Gear Deal: LG 55" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for Under $1000 via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sony Bloggie Live at Hoover Dam, a Video Demo

Dan Cohen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:00:29 +0000

Image taken with the Bloggie Live

Judie received a Bloggie Live video recorder last week at CES and we brought it along with us to take some images and video while at Hoover Dam. As the video demonstrates, this diminutive Bloggie Live takes some amazing video and is incredibly easy to use. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

NBC Hates Money, But Will At Least Air Olympic Trials Highlights

Carly Z — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:00:48 +0000

(image courtesy Competitor.com) I know, this is totally running-nerd news. But if you follow the world of track and field, you're probably aware that the marathon trials for the 2012 USA Olympic team are this Saturday morning in Houston, Texas. Unlike other countries who choose their teams by prior race performance, in the USA competitors use race times to qualify to run the Trials. The top three male and female finishers in Saturday's marathon will be the USA Marathon team at London in 2012! Unfortunately, NBC will not be airing the Trials live, nor will they be streaming them online. I could rant about how stupid that is (I WILL PAY THEM TO WATCH Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

DLP Pico Engine Powers a Smartphone Projector: From the CES Floor

Dan Cohen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:51:31 +0000

Here's another implementation of TI's DLP PICO chip... This smartphone is also a projector. This "embedded Pico smartphone" is not yet on the market but it may very well be the direction the market is going. (This post and many more being brought to you from CES-stay tuned to Gear Diary for more great coverage all week!) Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

DLP Pico Engine Powers World’s Smallest Standalone Projector: From the CES Floor

Dan Cohen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:40:46 +0000

See the device sitting in between the two iPhones? That's actually the world's smallest standalone projector. It is tiny but the picture is great. The product isn't out yet but it is coming... And soon. And it is powered by Texas Industries DLP Pico chip. It is amazing! (This post and many more being brought to you from CES-stay tuned to Gear Diary for more great coverage all week!) Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Movie Ticket Sales in 2011 Lowest Since 1995

Michael Anderson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:00:31 +0000

Last year started with an absolutely dismal showing - revenues the first quarter were down 21% compared to 2010, largely due to the impact of Avatar in 2010. Since then things have stabilized, but not enough to save 2011 from being a down year for movies. According to Boxofficemojo:

In a year that relied heavily on sequels and 3D, total domestic box office tumbled 3.8 percent to around $10.17 billion. That's the third-highest grossing year ever, though it ranks behind both 2009 and 2010. What's worse is that ticket sales fell roughly 4.7 percent to 1.28 billion, which is the lowest level since 1995. Around $400 million separates

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Samsung CES 2012 Press Conference: Pushing Boundaries

Dan Cohen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:17:51 +0000

Samsung's Press Conference brought news of some great evolutionary products. We waited in line for hours just to hear what Samsung had to share. It was worth the wait. Here's a look...

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Random Cool Video: Roger Wilco and the Radio Waves

Michael Anderson — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:30:11 +0000

Have you ever had someone say something that completely transported you back through time and space and landed you somewhere in your own history, completely out of context with the original conversation? Today someone used the expression 'Roger Wilco' and BAM I was back in my fraternity house in the mid-1980s. A few of us had come in at the start of our sophomore year and almost completely turned over the make-up of the membership, and brought in a ton of enthusiastic freshmen looking to reshape and rebuild something and really make an impact. So gone was the appreciation of the Grateful Dead and certain 'herbal remedies', replaced by Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Warner Bros. Makes Netflix & Redbox Wait 56 Days; Will it Help DVD Sales?

Michael Anderson — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:45:08 +0000

Today AllThingsD is carrying a story that Warner Bros has announced a deal whereby they are further delaying delivery of new releases to Netflix and Redbox up to 56 days after release! The reasoning is simple: help bolster DVD sales.

A new deal between Time Warner’s movie studio and Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster will double the “window” for new releases. That means the services will now have to wait 56 days after the discs first go on sale to offer them to their customers, instead of 28 days.

However, I cannot help but wonder if this strategy is the definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results? In Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Overdone Joke In Context … Arrow to the Knee

Michael Anderson — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:30:49 +0000

If you or anyone you know is a gamer to any extent, by now you have almost certainly heard the phrase "I used to be ... like you, then I took an arrow to the knee". If not ... well, consider yourself lucky - it has quickly become a massively overplayed meme! The phrase comes from the recently released 'Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim', a single player RPG from Bethesda (Elder Scrolls series including Morrowind and Oblivion, Fallout 3) that is extremely popular on the PC, XBOX360 and PS3. As you travel the MASSIVE world - trust me, any game you have ever played before is TINY compared to this - Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

How Many of the Redbox ‘Most Rented’ Movies Have YOU Seen?

Michael Anderson — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:15:23 +0000

This week Redbox announced their list of the 'most rented' movies of 2011, according to data collected from their hugely successful kiosk franchise. While Netflix stumbled, tripped, and kicked their customers in the face, Redbox bet that physical DVD rentals was still a viable business - and did very well as a result. Aside from the movies, here are a couple of other notes:

Redbox gave actor Kevin James the first “Redbox Lifetime Achievement Award.” James gets the honor, thanks to the Redbox success of titles like Grown Ups, Zookeeper and The Dilemma. Academy Award winner Natalie Portman got the title of “Most-Rented Actress” for 2011, thanks to her work in Black Swan

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The Silliness of Delayed Releases in a Global World

Douglas Moran — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:11 +0000

"Sherlock" is an excellent, excellent BBC series set in the present day, based on the Arthur Conan Doyle "Sherlock Holmes" stories. I could rave on and on about how wonderful it is, how it stays true to both the characters and the "feel" of the original stories, but I'm not really a TV reviewer. I will say this, though: a ton of geeks I know love the show. Why am I telling you this? Well, look at the dates for the show above; that's when it was broadcast in the United States. In the U.K., it came out 4 months earlier. And these days, where the world is so much smaller (electronically); where I can get Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Someone At Apple Was A Ghostbusters Fan…

Carly Z — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:15:00 +0000

I love "Ghostbusters". It's one of my favorite movies of all time. In fact, I had a plastic Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man decorating more than one of my apartments post-college. How can you not love it? It's pretty much the perfect movie. And according to The Verge, back in the '80s someone at Apple felt the same way, and made an anti-IBM/pro-Apple video called "Blue Busters". It's funny, though honestly I think the joke goes on for about a minute longer than necessary. Still, for the one-two punch of nostalgia and surrealism it's worth watching the whole thing! Then maybe pop in the real Ghostbusters while playing on your iPhone ;)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

PSA: Remember that iTunes in the Cloud Doesn’t Cover Movies Yet!

Michael Anderson — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:45:12 +0000

Not too long ago, when you downloaded anything from the iTunes Store you were responsible for managing those files - if you lost your hard drive to a crash you were out of luck. When the iTunes App Store arrived, you were finally able to re-download apps you had already bought. iTunes in the Cloud changed things for music - suddenly you could just re-download anything you had purchased from the iTunes Music Store and Book Store as well as Apps. Most recently iTunes Match allows you to add ANYTHING to your music library to download anywhere. Back in August Apple started allowing re-downloads of TV shows as well, which opened Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The Hobbit First Teaser Trailer Released

Michael Anderson — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:30:13 +0000

The first view of JRR Tolkein's universe most of us got was through the wonderful story 'The Hobbit', which is a less intimidating initial read than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now we get a first look at the upcoming Hobbit film made by Peter Jackson with most of the original Lord of the Rings cast! Here is the synopsis from the Apple trailer site:

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey

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This Holiday Season Let Slacker Radio Be Your Soundtrack with 4 Great Countdowns

Dan Cohen — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:30:49 +0000

Some music countdowns are based on so-called experts picks. Others are created by fan votes. Slacker Radio took a different approach to determining the Top 50 Songs of 2011- they looked at what Slacker listeners actually LISTENED to, shared and "hearted". In other words, their list of the top 50 songs of 2011 consists of the top 50 songs people actually listened to in 2011. How unique! They also have released Top 50 Indie Songs of 2011, Top 50 Country Songs of 2011 and the Top 50 Alt/Rock Songs of 2011. I'm enjoying the Top 50 Alt/Rock Songs of 2011 right now and it is Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Antenna + Roku HD + Netflix = $90 Savings Per Month

Matthew Hall — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:15:27 +0000

I hate bills. I also hate paying for things I can get for free. I was at Thomas' house last year just hanging out. We were watching a movie on his Roku box, and I realized that the little box was giving him everything that I watch on TV except for local channels. That was the beginning of my quest to get rid of my cable bill. At first I searched the web and found that all you need is an antenna to pick up local television stations. I could remember back to my childhood, and how we had an antenna that was pointed toward Indianapolis so we would get about 10 channels; that is Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Roku Gets Even Better with FREE iOS Remote App

Dan Cohen — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:30:07 +0000

I've been a fan of the Roku streaming media set-top box since pretty much the beginning. The company tends to fly a bit under the radar but offers a great series of devices that have only gotten better over time. I have the original device (two actually) and just recently got the current, top of the line, device, the Roku 2 XS. (It not only streams tons of media but it also plays games.) Seriously, the selection of media the Roku brings to your TV is awesome- from Netflix to Amazon Instant Video to Hulu Plus and Pandora… the list goes on and on and on. Judie and Kevin got one too and watched The Girl With Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Great Full-Length Movies to Watch for FREE on YouTube!

Michael Anderson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:30:22 +0000

Were you aware that there were free-to-watch full length movies on YouTube? Ones that the copyright holders either put there or haven't asked be removed? The folks at BuzzFeed have put together a great list of 74 movies you can watch all the way through right now! The image at top is from one of my favorites, Sam Peckinpah's 1977 classic Cross of Iron. I link to that directly below. But there are plenty more, such as: - Spiderman - Ghandi - Double Indemnity - 200 Motels - Day of the Dead - A Bridge too Far ... and many more! Check out the whole list! Continue reading on Gear Diary ...