It’s actually much easier than you’re making it out to be, especially once you get used to the workflow. Personally, I’d suggest going with Ubuntu—it’s a bit more user-friendly if you aren't looking to fight the OS every single day.
But my best advice? Set aside an empty partition first. It makes everything smoother. Most of the process is automated; eventually, you'll just see a boot menu when you start the computer, letting you pick which OS to load. If you have that empty space ready, just select "manual" during the installation, pick your partition, format it as ext3, and you're done. The whole installation takes just a few minutes.🙂
You just install a PDF printer. When you send a blueprint to it, it basically generates a PDF file instead of printing on paper. There are plenty of free ones out there available online.
DVD, just some higher-quality DivX (preferably AC-3; if it's just stereo, then throw some Dolby Digital on it), plus a few movies and series on the TV using Dolby Digital too 🙂
Man, I actually assumed cinephiles—or those pretending to be—actually cared about technical specs, you know? Like solid picture quality and decent sound... but apparently, I was wrong. It turns out everyone here only cares about the "art." 😁
I’m on the same page regarding Adobe Premiere Pro when it comes to keyframing, editing, and effects. It’s straightforward, intuitive, and holds up well in terms of speed. That said, you really need a beefy rig to run the latest version smoothly, whereas an older mid-range machine handles the previous iteration just fine. One area where both versions fall a bit short is DVD authoring; in my experience, I usually have to jump over to Windows Movie Maker to get the job done right. 👍
I'm not finding much online beyond the basic definitions and surface-level stuff. I’m looking for something a bit more substantial—what are the actual consequences, what does daily life look like with this condition, and just general insights from people who know.
If I’m reading you correctly: you have your opinion, you couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, and if someone disagrees, they’re simply an idiot who doesn't know a thing. That pretty much disqualifies you from having a real conversation, so I have to wonder why you even started this thread in the first place? In my view, since this discussion isn't going to be productive on any level, it’ll be enough if you just realize how narrow-minded, exclusionary, and biased you're being. 🙂
redowl90 said:Calling someone a fool and an idiot is essentially the same thing...
And regarding your claim that you can't afford a trip to the theater... It’s interesting how people always seem to find the cash for a pirated copy. You'll sit there on your computer, hooked up to a receiver with speakers loud enough to rattle the windows and doors, all while watching on a decent Sony Way TV (which, let's face it, will probably be replaced by an LCD soon anyway)...
Hold on, you're putting words in my mouth again. I don't buy or pay for movies; it never even crosses my mind—I just get them for free. And maybe you could have noticed that time is an issue, as is the drive to and from the theater. You're selectively reading just to start a fight 🙄. I really don't care for your condescending tone.
redowl90 said:Ten years ago, it absolutely never occurred to anyone to skip the cinema. Nobody was ever complaining about "grandmas reading subtitles to their kids," or people with popcorn, or some guy sitting two meters tall... All that stuff was forgotten because you were actually in the theater enjoying the movie—it was the only way to see it (until VHS came along, obviously)... But with technology "evolving," people have just gotten lazy. Naturally, nobody wants to shell out $10 for a ticket anymore... High ticket prices are largely driven by the rise of the bottom-feeders (read: pirates) who realized they could make a killing off lazy fools... Unfortunately, they are.
Wait, are you seriously picking fights on a forum just because you're feeling nostalgic? Get with the times. Who actually cares how movies were watched ten years ago when there was practically zero choice? Nowadays, you can set up a home system that's better than any theater experience we had a decade ago, but the same thing happened to the theaters themselves. In my local AMC Theatres, stereo sound is a novelty, and the seats are still those uncomfortable ones that leave your backside numb until the credits roll. Plus, movies show up two or three months after they hit NYC, and even then, they're usually low-budget flicks I'd rather wait for on DVD. Or just watch via DivX 😛. And I know what you'll say: "Oh boohoo, poor theaters, the pirates ruined them." But what were they doing with their money when business was booming? Where is the tech, the new screens, or the comfortable seating? In the last twenty years, the only real change was stereo sound (from ear-splitting speakers), and that was maybe five or six years ago. So, that's why I feel zero nostalgia and zero sympathy. Business was good; God knows what they did with the profits. If a theater fails, maybe someone who actually knows how to run a business will buy it. Then there might actually be money to go see something every weekend without having to drive all the way to 124 miles! 👎
White said:Give me a break... A guy who watches movies just so he can claim he saw them before everyone else, while completely ignoring quality or the actual viewing experience—that’s a fool in my book...
Well, give me a break... a guy who calls other people fools without presenting a single real argument is an idiot in mine.😉
The main reason I sometimes settle for a digital rip is simply because I live more than 62 miles from a decent theater. I work over sixty hours a week, spend my Saturday mornings in lectures, and usually don't have the cash or the time to make a trip happen—maybe once a month if there's a major premiere I *have* to see on the big screen. For everything else, I'm selective: low-quality pirated files are out of the question, though maybe a massive blockbuster is okay if it's a high-quality rip and I can't make it to the cinema anytime soon. Otherwise, watching a comedy with my partner (for instance, she's a huge fan of Jennifer Aniston—is it really worth driving ninety minutes each way and paying $33 on top of that?) is perfectly fine on a DVD rip. Being "first" to see something is the absolute last thing on my priority list.
Besides, my setup for a digital movie is basically the same as watching a DVD: my PC is digitally hooked up to a receiver and massive speakers that rattle the windows and doors, a solid Sony Weg TV (which will eventually be upgraded to a larger LCD), a cold beer in hand, and a bowl of buttery popcorn. It feels just like the theater. Nobody ever complained about the experience.☕
shadowviper12 said:When it comes to audio, the difference is that DivX usually doesn't offer 5.1 surround; it’s just standard stereo. For watching movies, that works perfectly fine for me, and I don't feel any real loss in quality!!
Pairing it with Dolby Pro Logic makes it totally acceptable. Plus, there's a huge amount of DivX content featuring original AC3 audio and decent picture quality—it's basically the equivalent of two CDs 🙂
Someone mentioned this earlier, but our local distributors are total crooks. Most movies they put out are barely passable in terms of both video and audio, and DTS is practically unheard of here. Some releases looked like they were ripped straight from a VHS tape, honestly worse than most DivX files I've come across 🙄. Of course, everyone wants to lecture you about how DivX is piracy and copyright infringement and blah blah blah—but my personal take is that there needs to be some balance. Some things simply aren't worth sitting through when the quality is such a massive compromise. Then again, there are times I'd bang my head against a wall if I had paid $8.25 for a movie theater ticket... quite often, actually, and $4.00 I rarely regret spending 🙄 on a DVD. When I watch some nonsense on a DivX file, at least I find comfort in knowing I didn't drop 😬
Look, I know players and receivers support it, but I haven't come across a single Matrix release that offers anything beyond Dolby Digital. It’s still solid, though... some people even argue that the original Matrix was really what pushed the DVD format into the mainstream because of how good the quality and bonus features were. 🙂
Generally speaking, anyone running DTS is getting Great Sound. Take Star Wars, for instance... you can usually find a few copies floating around. It’s just frustrating when domestic distributors assume anything mediocre is good enough for the American market. 😢