All good things...

[clair_de_lalune]

Unfortunately, I've been out of touch with my LJ recently. (I was sick at a time when work was extremely busy, but am better now.) So, I missed last week's excellent news that The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction will be published next month. It seems that with a lot of hard work and determination, Steve Vander Ark has

Comments

[cjmr]

So is it the Blu-ray player or the HDTV that is making the difference in the picture?

BTW, do you see a snape/harry icon or an icon with two lit candles on this post? One of my icons appears to have gone kerflooey!

[clair_de_lalune]

It's a Snape/Harry icon, which seems very unlike you...

I think it's the HDTV that's making the difference. It's also larger than my previous TV and has a 16:9 aspect ratio. Essentially, shows broadcast in the 4:3 aspect ratio are about the same size on the new TV, but shows broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio are about 125% larger (since they take up the whole screen, which is wider, rather than being "letterboxed" into a narrower TV). In August, I bought a new all-region DVD player (a Philips that I got from amazon.com for about $85), since my old DVD player wouldn't open/close properly after many years of use. Anyway, the Philips DVD player does a progressive scan thing and hooks up with HDMI cables, just like the Blu-Ray player. They are both hooked up to the HDTV now and I don't see any difference in quality between them. I'll have to see what it's like when I actually get a Blu-Ray DVD. Of course, the Philips won't play Blu-Ray and the Blu-Ray won't play region 2 (UK) DVDs.

[cjmr]

I guess I'll have to re-upload the proper image--if I can find it.

[cjmr]

oh good. that fixed it.

[alwaysholly]

Oh congrats on the new TV sounds nice. An early Christmas gift for yourself.

I am going to get a blu-ray player eventually especially after I heard it can play dvd's.

[clair_de_lalune]

Thanks! It's more like a combined birthday/Christmas gift for myself. It's nice to have a birthday so close to the time of the After-Thanksgiving sales - then, I don't feel so guilty! *lol*

As I said in my post above, I think it's the TV that made the most difference. Although, I haven't properly tried out the Blu-Ray player with a Blu-Ray DVD, yet...

[wickedblonde]

Plasma HDTV, Blu-Ray player AND Lexicon-book all in one post!!

So much to be happy about :D

[clair_de_lalune]

I know! I've had the new TV and player for a few days, but it was the news about the Lexicon book that really made me excited to post right away when I saw it. :)

[lunas_ceiling]

My husband loves the plasma TV almost as much as his golf clubs. I was having trouble thinking of a Christmas gift but the Blu-Ray player might just be perfect.

I am so glad you're feeling better, we missed you during the breaking news. But yeah, I am really thrilled. Did you see gingergirl's cover on In Search of Harry Potter? We are forcing her to promote herself shamelessly. Just kidding on the shamelessly part. It is all terrific news though.

[clair_de_lalune]

Thanks, it's nice to know that I'm missed when I'm not around. *blush*

Yeah, gingergirl1977's cover art looks great!

[rattlesnakeroot]

I'm glad you are back and feeling better!

Your TV sounds awesome. My brother bought a huge plasma TV last year and he loves it, especially for football games. I don't have a big enough wallspace anywhere in my tiny house without moving alot of furniture around. My husband would love to have one, however.

I didn't know that Blu-Ray players would work with regular DVDs - good to know! :)

[clair_de_lalune]

Thanks!

Yes, I'm definitely loving the new TV!

My parents won't get a new HDTV, either, since they have only a very small space for their TV in a small room. After all, no one wants their TV viewing experience to be like sitting in the front row of a movie theater...