It had to happen soon ... HD-DVD R.I.P.

Ever since the announcement that Toshiba was withdrawing from the high-def market, things took a turn for the worse in the HD-DVD camp. A 3-year format war finally comes to an end with Blu-ray emerging the winner. Parent company Sony is obviously happy with this outcome alongside other partners such as Buena Vista/Disney and SPE.

The first nail in this coffin was the announcement made over new years when Warner Bros. defected to the BD camp after sitting on the fence. An earlier annoucement by fence-sitter Paramount to support only HD-DVD also garnered some attention but not to this extent ... mostly because WB had more titles in comparison and predictably more market share. Supposedly Paramount had an escape clause in their T&C when they went over to the HD-DVD camp, but they got egg on their faces these past few weeks. Soon after Toshiba's announcement, Paramount had to release another statement that they were returning to the BD camp alongside Dreamworks and another company that I forget (Google if you want to know).

So what happens now? HD-DVD players will still continue to play until they break down and releases will be sold until stocks run out. This will probably be VERY soon as most stores are slashing ... no ... obliterating their profits to get rid of stocks. Previously priced HD-DVDs at US$39 now go for as low as US$4. Scary huh? Its a FIFO war now at video stores to stock up whatever titles that remain. The same scenario is happening in UK and Australia.


What about Malaysia, some may ask? A better question would be HD-what? High-def probably runs a low priority here plus with the price of players remaining quite high (Toshiba's AX player still runs around RM3k) the uptake in the market is comparatively slow. I think there was even an ad in the local newspaper promoting a full-priced Toshiba HD-DVD player with 3 free titles on the day the annoucement was made in Japan ... talk about slow response.

Another thing is that most households are NOT fully HD ready ... even those with plasmas and LCD screens are the ones with the WXGA resolutions that cannot display the minimum resolution required to view TRUE high-def (min 1080p resolution people!!). Budget screens .... *sigh* Can't blame them though, a standard 32" WXGA LCD panel can be bought for as little as RM1899 (approx US$590)

Additionally, piracy still reigns supreme. Legal high-def discs now retail are RM139 onwards per title (for both HD and BD) but the neighborhood pasar-malam vendor sells DVDs for RM6 onwards ... a pittance in comparison. Heck, VCDs still sell quite well here so high-def still has a long way to go in the SE Asia region. Legal DVDs range from RM12 to RM129 per title depending on whether they are Region-3 or Region-1 or special editions.

When high-def players drop to the sub RM500 range and titles go for RM60 and below then we can talk people .... anything before that, just shaddup and just enjoy the movie (pirated or legal your choice!)

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Java game frenzy .... ooh my poor thumbs

After a week with the 6610 and getting to grips with its interface and requirements, here's a quick post of what Java midlet games I've found that are worth installing and playing or at least taking a look at. Here are 8 out of the 36 I've tried ...

<- This game was one of my favorites on the Linux/Unix platform. I could play it for hours as my NS simulations ran in the background :) Much to my amazement, there was a Java port of the game for the S40 series of Nokia handphones. The orientation of the game is turned 90 degrees (it shoots right instead of up) but it is still fun to play although it is sometimes hard to see where the cannon is pointing to.

Basically a bling-bling version of tetris with several new variations - not only can you rotate the blocks but also cycle the arrangement of the jewels to suit the built up pattern. Slows down occasionally whenever the number of gems on screen increase but otherwise is quite a pretty game to look at. ->

<- Lara "Size D" Croft is back on the small screen and in 2D!!! I thought the idea of changing a first person shooter/adventure into a 2D platform game was going to be a disaster ... but after 3 levels, I was hooked. A nice blend of button mashing, button combos and puzzle solving makes the Osiris Codex a interesting one. Only problem is that you are forced to go through the "Training" level and you can't save/return or start a new game (not that I can see, but I'm still stuck at level 6)

Not the same mahjong that Asians are used to but the American match-up style game. Also another staple game on many Linux/Unix platforms and the new Vista operating system. Good game for those non-hectic moments but using the directional pad to move between tiles is pretty frustrating after a while. ->

<- A simple kids' side scroller based on one of my favourite movies "Finding Nemo". Use keys to guide Marlin across the ocean avoiding obstacles such as puffer fish, sharks, jelly fish and coral reefs. Wrecks havoc on the palms as this game constantly uses the vibrate function on the phone (lucky there is the option to turn it off though)

Yet another sideways scroller action game based on the PC version of "Prince of Persia". It remains quite faithful to the original in terms of gameplay although it misses out on a lot of the ingame actions (i.e. fighting sequences have been undestandably simplified). This is the only game so far that makes use of full in-game MIDI music on the 6610 platform. It does get kinda cheesy after a while but makes it unique compared to the rest ->

<- Another Prince of Persia game, this time subtitled "The Two Thrones". This version has updated graphics and uses a slightly isometric view compared to the flat 2D version earlier. This makes for prettier graphics but slows down gameplay whenever action increases on screen

Platinum Sudoku was my first install of any Sudoku game and it actually worked quite well. However, since then I've preferred "5ud0ku" released by a wintermute.de which has support for full screen graphics without borders and more customizable options. Additionally it is open source and completely free. ->

Note that some of these games are freeware whilst others are demos or *ahem* versions. Anyways, I've had my share of games to last me for the next few months ... if the keypad lasts that long :D

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恭喜发财—新年快樂 (i.e. Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le)

It's a week after Chinese New Year 2008 and back to work/studies again ... you can almost hear the groans from everyone across Malaysia :)

Hmmm ... so what happened over the CNY weekend? Well, I finally got my stuff from Australia - two DVD boxsets and two DVD movies, plenty of angpows and the bloaty feeling from eating too much CNY stuff.



Took over a handphone from my aunt from Singapore - she has since upgraded to a Nokia N80 (I think) so the phone was basically draining batteries doing absolutely nothing. It ain't top of the line (model 6610) but will do nicely since my life doesn't revolve around the capability of people being able to contact me 24/7.

Since then I've been busy playing around with the stuff inside - uploading Java apps and games just to see what it can handle. With the limited memory on board, I've only managed test about a dozen or so full games (namely Bubble Bobble, Gem Jam, Tomb Raider, Frozen Bubble Micro, Sudoku, Prince of Persia, Finding Nemo etc.). I've also been trying out the MIDI capabilities too with several self-written ringtones (with help of Nokia's Audio Suite and MobiMB) ... gawd it has been years since I've written a ringtone let alone a polyphonic one for a Java platform.

My room is still (since Dec 2007) a mess after rearranging the stuff around 'cos I haven't really gotten to storing the stuff away. Add to the fact that there are additional items brought over from my neighbours' house (they migrated to Singapore and sold the house) ... really have to stop procrastinating and once-and-for-all tidy up my room :P

Wierd ... but it works!

Funny thing this - the earbuds on my Ipod Shuffle suddenly failed for no apparent reason and started producing annoying buzzing sounds whenever loud volumes or beats were present. The fix -> blow on the earphone lightly!

Seems the membrane on these buds are so thin that at certain times the magnets within them might force them out of shape thus creating a break in the usual dome shape and make them vibrate at certain frequencies (i.e. a bzzzz sound). If you've blown too hard causing the membrane to invert you'll get the out-of-phase effect ... in this case suck ever so gently on the bud to restore the shape.

Wierd fix ... but it works and it saves me RM50 bucks for a replacement Apple pair.

Testing the < iframe > tag in blogger ...

This post is just my own test on blogger. I kinda like the effect ... plus it overcomes the lack of scripting that is allowed on Blogger and also avoids the use of Flash. The only problem is that it relies on the webpage host to be online else you get a big 404 error. The actual file(s) are hosted on 1asphost and I just made use of the embed iframe tags as below. There are 25 images which are pre-loaded into a Javascript array and displayed based on the mouseover function call.

<iframe src="html webadd here"></iframe>

Move your mouse to spin the cover!!


If you had been collecting them since 2001 then the whole set should look like this (inclusive of the MOHE IPTA competition)

And so another year passes on ...

23rd January was Malam Juara-juara and this year it was packed. DTC was filled to its capacity on every floor ... probably due to the public holiday for Thaipusam which was declared on Monday. KK9 reclaimed the overall champion title for Feseni 2008 with an overall lead of 45 points (not inclusive of Nyanyian Irama Malaysia of which KK9 won several positions). It was a slow night and only ended past midnight after many performances and 8 competitors for NIM. One thing does come to mind though ... MJJ has become a drag after 4 consecutive yearly wins. Don't get me wrong ... its not that I'm not grateful or not thankful for winning (which I most certainly am) but then the chore of having to go for MJJ has since lost its novelty and has become somewhat a burden instead.


This year the KK9 choir combined forces with several members from kk6 team (which incidently won 2nd place) to substitute those having exams and could not make it to MJJ. Two nights of preparation were hardly enough but they managed to pull of a barely credible performance of Malaysia oh Tanahairku, Lenggang Kangkung and Stand By Me ... I guess beggars can't be choosers


So whats in the future for the team? Well, there's the self organized get-together with UKM in early March but other than that, nothing is scheduled until the next competition. Now its back to editing the videos into the 2008 compilation (3 DV tapes only ... far less than the 7 last year). Here's a quick 3D rendering of a possible cover design for the 2008 set. I cheated a lot by using a cropped of section of the Feseni 2008 poster (designed by Kak Ira from PKUM) and flooded the rest of the area with the same translucent blue and white in 3 layers ... Hey! whaddya expect for 20 minutes of work in PaintShop? *sheesh*

I haven't tested it out yet but I hope there's enough resolution to apply to the final cover file. Comments anyone ??

Another win ... but it feels different

After a relatively tough Feseni competition night, KK9 emerged tops again (much to the overall dislike of the audience I guess). After hearing the song probably a thousand times, it was easy to spot the mistakes but I guess a first time hearing of both songs left quite a good impression on the judges.

Thinking back now, there were a few good things that happened to us and also several large mistakes by other teams which might have contributed to the win (note that this is MY personal opinion and might not reflect the actual judges' opinions of which I know nothing of). Here are my own findings in no particular order

1. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I guess other teams must do so because it felt like I was watching cloned choirs on stage. This year there are more attempts at a-cappella pieces (more than ANY other year that I can remember) and also the lack of any conductor to guide the team on stage. What other teams probably don't know is that KK9 goes on stage without a conductor NOT because they want to show off or anything ... its just we can't get anyone to stay as the conductor. Those that DO want to conduct just can't handle the team or the piece or simply just can't conduct accordingly. As for a-cappella songs, KK9 is cursed (probably for life) to never have any good pianists/accompanists. What they have are pianists that can do solo pieces but not accompany a team and this is a NO-NO for a choir competition. A choir accompanist is someone who can adjust to the team's performance in terms of speed and rhythm and dynamics. Its hard to find someone who can do that ... so we've always settled for unaccompanied pieces.
   
2. The first group on stage curse!! I guess this myth still survives up till today ...
   
3. Choice of song played a big role as commented by the chief judge for the night. KK9 took a VERY big gamble on the competition with 2 Malay songs. One was premiered at the MYOF competition, albeit revised and corrected at parts, whilst the other was written for the Feseni use .. I don't think it qualifies as a song choice in any other competition :)
   
4. KK7 took a very big gamble too with their "Speedy Gonzales" but unfortunately minor pitching and obvious tempo problems stopped them from presenting the song to its fullest potential. The spoken parts would have given a better impact had they changed them to local slang and sayings instead of the mexican/spanish lingo which no one understood in the audience. I noticed the judges writing something during this section of the song (second time round) which could mean they either liked or disliked this section too ... but for me it was a wasted opportunity.
   
5. KK1's choice of doing Mamma Mia was very ambitious and although executed quite well, they had a very, VERY serious problem. Tempo - plain and simple. If they had sped up the song a bit instead of the dragging tempo which they did, it would have sounded sooooo much better. The song felt like someone driving a Ferrari with a semi-trailer truck tied to the back. A few missed opportunities dynamics wise (especially at the chorus/bridge parts i.e. "just one look and I forget everything")
   
6. KK4's medley of I feel good and Stand by me also suffered the same fate as KK1 because of bad tempo. Although safer in terms of coordination, it really brings the song down in terms of emotional impact. And the "Owhs" were terrible ... instead of the excited exclamation it sounded like someone in labour about to give birth.
   
7. KK9, although they won, also had serious problems. Biggest was volume of which there was none. Nervousness probably got the better of them and this brought the overall volume down. Additionally, the complexity of both pieces probably added on to their nervousness because everyone was scared about starting off key, tempo wrong etc. Some dynamics worked whilst others were forgotten or not noticable enough.
   
8. KK11 ... dunno what happened with this one. Seems they hired an external coach, but from the performance it seems like their coach was tone deaf.
   
9. Whichever team (I forgot) that presented Shenandoah had to be commended on their attempt at an American classic but its execution was poor. Balancing was off and pitching was bad.
   
10. Which brings me back to KK9, pitching wise although it sounded stable to the audience/judges ... it was actually off at quite a few places. Thankfully (or maybe luck had something to do with it) the team somehow manages to auto-tune back after the checkpoints (hint hint to other teams, use checkpoints!)
    
11. I really liked KK7's Setia arrangement and thought it had great promise but repetition of the entire song without any changes just brings the excitement down. Simple changes such as girls VS guys, ostinato parts or a soli line would have heightened the song in the second round. Singing the same thing twice only allows judges a second attempt to hear/confirm any mistakes. If there were any changes, I guess there weren't enough 'cos I didn't notice them.
    
12. Sister groups KK8 and KK6 did very well considering the amount of practices involved. KK6 did their kolej proud with a first time second place finish whilst KK8 only had problems with the sops in the first song. Else, I think they could have easily have gotten better placings ... but fifth is good nontheless.
    
13. Mic-ing problems. This problem surfaces with every team but I think it was worst with KK4 (I could be wrong though, so apologies before hand) DTC is somehow plagued with bad acoustics when mics are used. So when the mics are placed at mouth/voice level it tends to bring out individual voices and thus cause the choir to sound noisy. KK6/8 had the best mic-ing overall of the night since they used the same arrangement

Now to wait another year ... more stress ... more pressure ... *sheesh*
I should probably give up now and move overseas.

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One more day to go ...

It's the day before the annual Feseni competition and the nerves are at an all time high. The kolej hasn't been doing too good this year and from the looks of things the other teams are also facing stiff competition between other kolej-es and themselves.

When will it ever end?

The things you find when shopping online

Was browsing online and spotted this through the Kelkoo search engine. Anyone interested in owning a £637.32 double disc DVD set of Hairspray ... thats the equivalent of RM4076.12!! (as of 12th January 2008). Don't you just love database errors? The actual page is here at FrontRowDVD until someone notices and corrects the mistake, so here's a screenshot for when it does happen.


Anyways, the MOHE project is moving along quite nicely. It is compiling in the backgroud as I am writing this post. Compared to the previous project, it is far simpler and more compact but actually has longer content. Owing to the fact that a single layered DVD has to hold 3 hours of video and audio, the compression ratio had to be raised quite high and is sometimes quite noticeable (especially on title and key pages). Only one (1) hidden feature this time round and no subs and audio options due to lack of space and time.

MOHE project connections screenshot

Feseni 2007 connections screenshot

And this will probably be the final version of the cover. Made a few cosmetic changes but mostly still looks the same.

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Post New Year 2008

New years' was a tiring one (which brings to mind ... since when has it NOT been tiring). This year instead of having the NY party at someone's home, it was held at Yuen Steamboat in Sunway. Taking up 3 tables, the dinner revolved around big crowds, long queues and chicken grabbing.

After that it was off to 1U for the countdown. To avoid the crowds we walked there (thank god ... the traffic jam was horrendous). According to the press the next day, an estimated 100,000 revellers were there for the fireworks display. 1U started off the countdown 5 minutes early to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to watch both displays at the Central Park and The Curve.

Watch the fireworks from 1U (WARNING loud audio)

Those that managed to continue, ended off the morning in McD's which was also packed with people. By the time we were done it was nearly 3a.m. and I had been awake since 5 because of exam invigilation duties. I don't think I could have lasted much longer ... thank god for public holidays!

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