Useful Consumer Review

I’ve got most of the rooms in the apt. wired up for sound, but I’ve never managed to work up enough stamina to get the bathroom wired.

So I’ve been using this Creative wireless blaster thingie for years and years, and it works OK. It sounds fine and it usually works. But it’s… kinda a lot of stuff.

It’s got an external power supply, and there’s all those wires back and forth… I mean, I can’t stand untidy wires.

Just look at what spills out whenever I open the cupboard door next to my main computer.

Aaanyway.

The amplifier in the bathroom died some months back, and I got a new one, and this one has bluetooth built in. So I thought: Hey! An opportunity to slim down the chaos on top of that cupboard in the bathroom, at least. I should be able to get rid of basically all of that by switching to internal bluetooth.

Order! Cleanliness! Goodness!

So I bought this bluetooth transmitter.

It’s a Homespot Dual Stream Bluetooth Audio Transmitter, and I got it because it talked about low latency bluetooth (in addition to aptX and all the other modern bluetooth goodness).

Getting the devices to pair was slightly tricky, because the amplifier will pair with anything, anywhere, and the transmitter will pair with the first willing device when it’s switched on. Which was confusing, because the first three times I switched it on, it paired with something, but not the amplifier. I got it to work on the fourth try by holding it two centimetres from the amplifier when I switched it on.

Heaven knows what it’s streaming music to in addition to the amplifier now…

But remember that “low latency” thing? Well:

If you pump up the volume you’ll hear a lovely Machinedrum ditty coming from the office (wired sound), and then I turn the amplifier up in the bathroom. Listen to that loooow latency.

*sigh*

Well, it’s not like I usually have the music on the bathroom switched on. I mostly just use it while showering, and in that case I can’t hear any music coming from other rooms.

But that’s really annoying. The Creative wireless thing has a much, much lower latency: You mostly experience the effect as a sort of thickening of sound, not the stumbling effect you get from the bluetooth latency.

So I dunno… I think I may just switch back to the old setup, even though it’s so… messy…

ACW1995: Village of the Damned

John Carpenter. Village of the Damned. 1995.

Well, this isn’t a good movie, but it’s still got a kind of charm going. I’m not quite sure what that charm is, though.

Carpenter isn’t an overtly distinctive director, but it’s obvious that he’s got… something…

Even if it’s not really on display here much.

This post is part of the A Carpenter Winter series.

ACW1994: In the Mouth of Madness

I might be slightly mad here, me.

John Carpenter. In the Mouth of Madness. 1994.

I have no idea whether this was a studio film or not. It has a mid-level budget (more than twice of any of Carpenter’s indie films), but it’s wild and wacky.

It’s not really all that scary, but it keeps tension up throughout the movie.

And it’s so meta. I love meta, so.

This post is part of the A Carpenter Winter series.

ACW1993: Body Bags

John Carpenter. Body Bags. 1993.

After the horrible (but high-budgeted) Memories of an Invisible Man, Carpenter retreated to TV (Showtime) and made this fun anthology horror show. He directed two of the bits himself (and acted as the “Crypt Keeper” like host for the show) and left the third for Tobe Hooper.

This is the first non-2.35:1 Carpenter film I’ve seen since forever. He’s really hung up of that very wide screen wide format, but this one is only 16:9. I guess you have to make concessions for TV. But it still looks great and luxe, like Carpenter’s films always do, no matter what the budget is.

It’s scary! And it looks like the filmmakers had a hoot while making it.

I love the look of the Gas Station segment: It has a very “filmed at night” look instead of the usual “day for night” thing you often see.

I think this may be one of Carpenter’s best flims. It’s just so breezy, fun, snappy and unforced.

(The bluray I bought didn’t arrive in time for this screening, so I pirated it from teh torrenzt.)

Tobe Hooper’s bit is the weakest one by far. It’s more dramaey than hootey, and it kinda drags.

I threw the die based on the Carpenter parts only.

This post is part of the A Carpenter Winter series.