Blu-ray madness

Looks like Blu-ray is hitting Singaporean shores finally. I have tried two Blu-ray movies on my PS3 thus far: Casino Royale and Pirates of the Carribbean 2. Both movies blown me away with exceptional clarity visually. The bloody thing is that it is damn hard to find Blu-ray discs in Singapore. A few stores carry it here: HMV, Gramaphone, and they are pricing them very high. I bought Pirates for about S$59, but it is only selling for about S$40 (including delivery) in Amazon.

I am eyeing Blu-ray versions of 300 and Apocalypto next! BTW, please check out Blu-ray official website for anything Blu-ray.

Sony and Pioneer have both launched high-end Blu-ray players in Singapore recently. Both are priced rather high at around S$1.8K. Both promises true HD playback at 1080p and 24Hz!!! BTW, I am linking you to Pioneer EU's website as the SG site sucks.

So, if I am to consider buying a Blu-ray, I reckon I need to match it with a new and full HD Plasma and multi-HDMI AV receiver. Sadly, my current Plasma is only 1080i. My wishlist? For plasma, I will go for Pioneer PDP-5000EX. The problem is that there is not a lot of AV receivers which have mutli HDMI inputs and outputs. I am also very curious how current AV receivers optimise Blu-ray discs' lossless true audio output.

There is no point to get the above HD gadgets yet - the prices will likely drop further early next year to more affordable price points. No getting gadgets...

Expensive paper weights

Gosh, where do I start about the expensive paper weights I have accumulated these recent years. Here're my top three paper weights:

1. Sony PSP: Gosh, I was so crazy about PSP that I planned a Japan trip so that I can buy it immediately when it was launched. What's there not to love about Sony PSP? It's one of the first wide screen video game and multimedia device - all less than S$300. I was almost embarassed when I paid for it in Yen. Many unplayed games later... my PSP is collecting dust somewhere in the house. Look... there are just too many average games on PSP! Check out Nintendo DS' crazy concept games that allows you to learn cooking or pretend to be a doctor.
2. Muji wall CD player: Another paper weight from Japan - bought it right off the shop. What's not to love about a cool-looking device right out of campy 70s sci-fi movies? It now looks campy and dusty in my master bedroom.
3. Nintendo DS Lite: Well, my wife wanted it and so I bought it for her. She played it for a total of three weeks. I had fun with it for another three weeks playing mario classics. It must be somewhere in the house with my PSP.