What 2 Watch 4

My posting has been sparse at best lately. Reason is I am tied up in negotiations on a new house. The good news? When this is all said and done I should have plenty to post about in way of home renovations and home decor as we will have a whole house to fill.

I am not saying it will all happen overnight once we close, after all, your home should be an evolution of your style over time- you truly cannot rush and throw every room together, hoping you find all the right pieces at once to complete the puzzle (despite what every HGTV or TLC show attempts to prove to you).

Anyway, stay tuned...

Gimmick Schmimmick. It's 25 Free Songs!

I am not usually the "free gift if you sign up now" type. But in this tub of downloadable content that many of us bathe in, I can honestly say I'll "buy" what eMusic is sellin'. Specifically- get 25 free songs if you sign up now for a 7-day trial.

Granted, you have to do the following:

1. Sign up for the trial.
2. "Agree" to one of their paid monthly music subscription packages (that you can cancel after you DL 25 free songs).
3. Put up with the B.S. of their ads to upgrade and/or sign up for other services during said sign-up process.
4. DL the emusic file downloader (5.5 MB).

So, yes, there are a few minor inconvenient steps. But they pave the way to 25 free downloads of audio goodness of your choosing. Not to mention eMusic's really cool features like free daily music download that's part of a plug-in for your Web browser or suggestions that other users DL'd, should a given search not yield any pertinent results- think iTunes' Genius feature, but with- you know- brains.

You may not like every song they offer for free in the daily free download, but hey, by signing up you get 25 other chances to get at least 1 song right- all for free! That is, if you don't wallow in buyer's remorse for that moment of weakness where you bought the entire "Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber" Volumes 1, 2, & 3. (What the hell were you thinking?!!)

I recommend the really sweet Dark Was the Night (Red Hot Compilation) by that famous band they call Various Artists. Contributors to the 29-song (YES, 29!) album include Feist, The Decemberists, Spoon, and Cat Power just to name a few.

See below for a comparison of eMusic's service versus the big boys. With a library of over 4.5 million titles, it's worth the trial- just stay away from the musicals/sountrack section, Broadway Boy.

Surround Sound. Where Height Matters.

Take a look at this...


This is a rendering of an Onkyo 9.1 surround system using the new Onkyo TX-SR607 A/V Receiver as the "engine" for the new proprietary Dolby ProLogic IIz sound processing, to utilize high and low vertical front speakers.

Without getting into minutia, but for those who need to be brought up to speed or are in need of a refresher course:

• 5.1 Surround Sound is 5 channels for speakers (front center, left front, right front, left back, right back) and the .1 for your subwoofer.
  
• 7.1 Surround Sound is 7 channels for speakers (front center, left front, right front, left back, right back, left side, right side) and the .1 for your subwoofer.
  

NOW, the TX-SR607 will be the first receiver to feature Dolby ProLogic IIz sound processing, which can expand existing 7.1 soundtracks to 9.1, routing some of the audio to "front high speakers," which are positioned above your standard front speakers. Dolby ProLogic IIz sound processing is the TX-SR607's most touted feature in the news release. (courtesy CNET).

Um, I do not know about you, but if I have the ridiculous inclination to have a 7.1 surround system in my home theater setup to begin with, chances are I do not need to have my ears blown off my head from above and below.

It's like going back for the second helping at the all-you-can-eat casino buffet. Sure, I got roped into paying 9.95, I heaped my plate with sub-one dollar per unit items that filled me up and I feel good, but DAMN, this is an all-you-can-eat-buffet! I gotta get me some VALUE, so let me just soak up the grease in my stomach with this last morsel of bread at the table and go back for another heaping pile of pre-pressed riblets and STPP-riddled Coconut Shrimp skewers!

Get the point? There should be a warning label like:

"WARNING: Creating excessive enjoyment opportunities may cause permanent hearing loss, dizziness, and a complete lack of reason."

Maybe it's just I'm jealous because I'm still living the Napoleanic complex-inducing 5.1 dream. It could also be my anger over the picture above inaccurately representing either 7.1 or 9.1 (notice, no L/R side speakers). It's actually a hybrid 7.1 system that is capable of high and low front action, but no side audio. Or maybe it's just some deep-seeded resentment from my childhood fear of being yelled at for having the TV turned up too loud, manifesting itself into my hatred of audio bliss.

Whatever the reason, I think if I see an 11.1 system on the mass market soon, I may just go numb.