Bargains - not CDs!

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  • LMcD
    Full Member
    • Sep 2017
    • 8704

    Originally posted by Boilk
    In one Victor Lewis-Smith sketch (c.1990s) I recall him saying something like "...One good thing about Alzheimer's is that you get to meet new people everyday. I guess this could be extended to holding onto box sets in your declining years - a new episode of Inspector Morse every single day, no matter which DVD you randomly pick out.
    See my #176. I also recently purchased the complete Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes for a few pounds.

    Comment

    • Dave2002
      Full Member
      • Dec 2010
      • 18049

      We have a few box sets, including one we never opened of Shakespeare plays in case we ever want to watch them all. The West Wing set gets an outing occasionally. We started again during the lockdown period, but other things took over, so I think we're about 10-20 episodes into the series. Not rushing to go back to it, but it's one which can bear some repetition.

      Comment

      • gurnemanz
        Full Member
        • Nov 2010
        • 7417

        Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post
        We have a few box sets, including one we never opened of Shakespeare plays in case we ever want to watch them all. The West Wing set gets an outing occasionally. We started again during the lockdown period, but other things took over, so I think we're about 10-20 episodes into the series. Not rushing to go back to it, but it's one which can bear some repetition.
        I have been using lockdown to catch up with some less familiar Skakespeare plays from the BBC complete box on DVD - one of the best bargains I ever got at about 30 quid. I enjoyed Cymbeline with a strong cast, including Helen Mirren and Robert Lindsay, which I had not known at all. Also Jonathan Miller's Troilus and Cressida with a young Anton Lesser in the title role and a hilarious Charles Gray as Pandarus.

        Comment

        • Dave2002
          Full Member
          • Dec 2010
          • 18049

          Originally posted by gurnemanz View Post
          I have been using lockdown to catch up with some less familiar Skakespeare plays from the BBC complete box on DVD - one of the best bargains I ever got at about 30 quid. I enjoyed Cymbeline with a strong cast, including Helen Mirren and Robert Lindsay, which I had not known at all. Also Jonathan Miller's Troilus and Cressida with a young Anton Lesser in the title role and a hilarious Charles Gray as Pandarus.
          That might be the box we have. Perhaps we should try the plays you mention. Personally I felt we ODd on Shakespeare at the NT over the last couple of decades, and I admire my friend who openly admits he doesn't like Shakespeare at all. Occasionally I do - but sometimes I find it very tedious.

          Comment

          • Dave2002
            Full Member
            • Dec 2010
            • 18049

            I found some interesting pages about Jazz harmony - and there seems to be some sort of sale on right now of some of the programs and apps.

            Some might be interested - https://mdecks.com/mapharmony.phtml?...oaAsZDEALw_wcB

            I might try the iOS app - and there's a free download of something ....

            it's not only Jazz. This page also has something about Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn - scroll through it to see the videos and find the other material. See Decoding Beethoven's Harmony - reallly very interesting even in the first few minutes.

            Comment

            • Bryn
              Banned
              • Mar 2007
              • 24688

              This may not help many, or indeed any, here but yesterday I went into one of the local Poundland shops (there are 2 within a few hundred metres of each other) to buy some black plastic storage boxes which I use for many of my CDs, DVDs, etc. Just inside the shop was a basket loaded with packs of McVities chocolate digestive biscuits with a promotional mug. These packs were originally priced at £3 but had been reduced to 25p due to the best before date on the cardboard packaging being yesterday's. I bought 4 of them. When I got home, I opened one. To my surprise the best before date on the packet of biscuits itself was 10th June 2021. So, I have at least 2 months in which to consume them before they are no longer thought to be at their best.

              But will the mugs fail after June 10th?

              Comment

              • Dave2002
                Full Member
                • Dec 2010
                • 18049

                If anyone is looking for software for editing photos, or for designing images, or publishing, then currently the Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer and Affinity Publihser packages are under £25 each - at £23.99.

                At these prices the packages make very good alternatives to some other packages such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
                The packages are not perfect - but then not much is these days. A significant advantage for some
                would be that they are a one off purchase and not operating on a subscription model.

                There are also iOS packages for the Photo and Designer programs - also currently reasonably pried at under £10 - though the bigger savings are on the desktop packages.

                I only noticed this yesterday as I spotted a change in my own Photo program which now also does Astro Photography stacking - see https://affinityspotlight.com/articl...ffinity-photo/
                At the current prices even user users of other packages might find it helpful and interesting to explore these packages. There are trials available for anyone who doesn't want to committ immediatly, though how long the software will stay at the lower prices I can't say.

                I have no connecion with Serif Affinity. There are some aspects of some of the software which are infuriatingly awkward to use, but there are many online tutorials - many of them excellent.
                Most of the basic features are easy to get a grip on - not eeryone wants to rush into HDR and photo stacking techniques.

                These are almost a no-brainer for anyone who doesn't already have a photo editing package or a designer or layout package, and at the latest prices could also be useful additional tools for anyone who already has similar software.
                I have all of these packages already and have used them all, but the Photo package is the most useful one for photographers. The Designer package is also useful for photography enthusiasts as it enables layout plans to be created quickly. I don't use the Publisher package much, though I have no doubt that some would find it useful.

                Comment

                • Dave2002
                  Full Member
                  • Dec 2010
                  • 18049

                  I should have mentioned that most of the prices shown for the packages in msg 187 are under 50% of their normal price.

                  Comment

                  • Bryn
                    Banned
                    • Mar 2007
                    • 24688

                    For those who do not get eClassical notifications, https://www.eclassical.com/performer...concertos.html

                    Comment

                    • Bryn
                      Banned
                      • Mar 2007
                      • 24688

                      Originally posted by Bryn View Post
                      For those who do not get eClassical notifications, https://www.eclassical.com/performer...concertos.html
                      Checking with QOBUZ, those who have a sub can stream or import as a "try before you buy" in a couple of hours or so. No surround option that way, of course.

                      Having now listened via QOBUZ, I think I will take advantage of the eClassical promotion. Around £7.60 for Hi-Res, including 5.0 surround, seems a pretty good deal, and if one is to play this concerto on a modern beefed-up violin, one might as well pick the Schnittke cadenzas. Oh, and hard beaters for the timps as a nod to HIPP.
                      Last edited by Bryn; 07-05-21, 10:50. Reason: Update.

                      Comment

                      • Beresford
                        Full Member
                        • Apr 2012
                        • 557

                        Steljes Streamer + Internet Radio for £23

                        Steljes MS2 Streamer + Internet Radio for £23

                        I've had mine for a month. Well made, and it's good for Internet radio, and streaming music from your PC, and Spotify.
                        You need a smartphone or tablet, Apple or Android, to control it using the free UNDOK app, which works very well, and is easy to set up, despite the instructions.
                        Stores 20 stations locally, and a further 20 stations on the Frontiers Silicon portal, when you have registered the device. Switching stations takes less than a second.
                        It has an optical output for a separate DAC; it's internal DAC is the same series as the Chromecast audio.
                        UNDOK can search for music on your PC, by files or tags, and stream them using DLNA protocol (not Chromecast).

                        Steljes is a British company that seems to sell much of it's stuff in Holland.
                        On orders going to Mainland UK. With this simple little box you can make your existing Hi-Fi capable of playing wireless streaming music in high resolution. The only connection required between the MS2 and your Hi-Fi is a simple 3.5mm/Aux or 3.5mm to RCA phono interconnect which is supplied.

                        Comment

                        • Bryn
                          Banned
                          • Mar 2007
                          • 24688

                          Originally posted by Beresford View Post
                          Steljes MS2 Streamer + Internet Radio for £23

                          I've had mine for a month. Well made, and it's good for Internet radio, and streaming music from your PC, and Spotify.
                          You need a smartphone or tablet, Apple or Android, to control it using the free UNDOK app, which works very well, and is easy to set up, despite the instructions.
                          Stores 20 stations locally, and a further 20 stations on the Frontiers Silicon portal, when you have registered the device. Switching stations takes less than a second.
                          It has an optical output for a separate DAC; it's internal DAC is the same series as the Chromecast audio.
                          UNDOK can search for music on your PC, by files or tags, and stream them using DLNA protocol (not Chromecast).

                          Steljes is a British company that seems to sell much of it's stuff in Holland.
                          https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WiFi-Musi...-/203074827397
                          Can I take it that this device is strictly limited to 2 channels, including via the TOSLINK output? It's a pity that there appears to be no Windows or macOS app to control it. With SIM enabled Qualcom-based laptops coming on stream, such apps might be handy.
                          Last edited by Bryn; 03-10-21, 10:00. Reason: Update

                          Comment

                          • Beresford
                            Full Member
                            • Apr 2012
                            • 557

                            Originally posted by Bryn View Post
                            Can I take it that this device is strictly limited to 2 channels, including via the TOSLINK output? It's a pity that there appears to be no Windows or macOS app to control it. With SIM enabled Qualcom-based laptops coming on stream, such apps might be handy.
                            Strictly two channels. I cannot test the TOSlink output above 48k.
                            There is a Windows app called RadioRemote, which purports to do similar to UNDOK, but I haven't tested it.

                            Comment

                            • Dave2002
                              Full Member
                              • Dec 2010
                              • 18049

                              Is this similar to the Chromecast devices - in that it connects direct to the internet, but just uses the local wifi for control purposes?

                              It doesn't need a phone or tablet to be active to actually stream, does it? If playlists are set up on streaming sites, can it just be "pointed" at one, and then play everything from that?

                              Could be an interesting toy to play with - and it seems cheap enough.

                              Comment

                              • Bryn
                                Banned
                                • Mar 2007
                                • 24688

                                The most comprehensive review I have been able to find is in French, on QOBUZ: https://www.qobuz.com/ch-fr/info/Hi-...streamer179788 The output is limited to 48kHz sample rate and 24-bit quantization.

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