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KC
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# Posted: 26 Aug 2010 12:04am
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My wife and I enjoy the occasional movie on our weekend getaways. We used to fire up the generator and run the DVD player and a small color tv. Kind of a hassle. Now we just bring a laptop with us.
Today I received a great little gizmo in the mail. It's called a usb speaker bar (this one is made by Insignia and sells for about $20). It's a nice and loud external speaker for your laptop or netbook that sits on top of your computer screen. It's usb powered, so no extra batteries to mess with. Way more volume than the 'puter's built in speakers. Nice way to listen to mp3s too. We'll give a good work out over the labor day weekend and report back.
What's your particular set up for videos and/or music?
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Cedar Trip
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# Posted: 26 Aug 2010 01:58am
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We use our low watt generator when we watch movies. We have a bunch of old VHS and DVD that we can watch. We seem to enjoy watching our friends series alot.
Cedar
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bugs
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# Posted: 26 Aug 2010 08:02am
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Initially we just used a netbook. The internal speakers were really crappy though. When the batteries ran low we would listen to audio books on the ipod with little ipod plugin speakers.
Now that we have solar power we have the netbook plugged in and a set of ordinary computer speakers. We have an external usb dvd plugged into the laptop. The whole set up does not seem to use much power at all.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 26 Aug 2010 07:46pm
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The wife and I have stocked the tiny cabin with books, as she is an admitted bibliophile, and they have nicely taken the place of insulation on one wall. We chose to keep video stuff home, as we tend to fall asleep somewhere in the middle of movies anyway. But interested in KC's test run of that usb speaker bar, since our low end 3500w generator (Jenny) would dub any movie we'd want to see as R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R........
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spelk1
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# Posted: 27 Aug 2010 10:14am
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When we travel we always just use a small DVD player with a screen. I think ours is 7", and uses almost no power at all. For some extra umph from the speakers I use a little batter powered 'tube' speaker from Princess Auto (similar to Harbour Frieght for our American Friends). Works pretty good.
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islandguy
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# Posted: 27 Aug 2010 05:48pm
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We bought hundreds of videos at an auction for $20, but then our tv/vcr combo packed it in, so now we use a dvd player on 115v, or just a small portable 7" dvd/tv combo when we are only running on 12v. (which is when we havnt run the cord over to the other cabin, 300' away.) We discovered many old series available on dvd for fairly cheap, so now we watch the Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, Dragnet, ect. My wife still threatens to "whomp up a mess o' possum innards" when we stay at the cabin and watch those hillbillies. (;-)
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Kithera
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# Posted: 1 Sep 2010 11:02am
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I to use a netbook, and at least for myself, I really prefer a good set of headphones. Top quality audio with absolutely no extra power draw. I use a solar charged deep cycle 12V battery and an after market automotive power adapter on the netbook to keep my power needs minimal, as well as prevent needing to use a generator during the quiet evening hours.
Go to a place like Guitar Center or Sam Ash Music as they often have demo versions of their headphones. It really helps to show if a set is worth $100.
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KC
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# Posted: 4 Sep 2010 08:12pm
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A quick update: We used the Insignia usb sound bar the last couple of nights at our cabin. Works like a champ! We had guests over last night and all five of us were able to enjoy an old John Wayne movie on the laptop. The volume was nice and loud and clear.
Several companies manufacture usb sound bar speakers and they're just the ticket for an affordable external (stereo) speaker set up that doesn't require additional batteries and a bunch of extra cables.
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fasenuff
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# Posted: 6 Sep 2010 05:09pm
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I have over a thousand movies on portable hard drives along with quite a few TV series all of which I play on my netbook. I like the fact it is a low energy consumer but as stated above am unhappy with the sound. The computer speaker set I have uses more juice than the netbook and had been looking at the same insigia bar speakers as an option. Glad to hear they work well. Will go ahead and get a set now. Thanks!
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KC cabin
Member
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# Posted: 6 Sep 2010 06:15pm
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You're welcome, fasenuff! Btw, ebay regularly sells them now for around $15.00 with free shipping.
Most of the movies I've watched have had plenty of volume, but a couple of vids were just a tad bit quiet - It all depends on the original audio quality of your files. Overall, I've been very, very pleased.
I use a regular laptop (15.5" screen) with a 12 cell battery ($37.00 on ebay) and I can watch about three full length movies if I choose. When I use my 10" netbook a little tab of velcro helps to hold the sound bar in place more securely.
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fasenuff
Member
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# Posted: 22 Sep 2010 07:04pm
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I ended up buying a set of Altec Lansing BX1220 speakers from Walmart for 14.96. After reading many reviiews on them I thought they would be good. They are! USB powered they have good volume and a rich sound. I am very happy with them.
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munkyfst
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2010 10:45pm
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I got a place in the colorado rockies, if I put up the "big sheet" and the reel to reel projector for the neighbors we watch movies from the other side of the canyon, no really, the sheet is a silver tarp 20'x30', and a pair of old concert speakers. I use a Honda EU3000 for this set up (its only about 60-70db and silent from 50ft away), it all started during a party, now it's a once a month "event". Nothing like "Frosty the Snowman" in the late fall from the neighbors deck. Kids think I'm a super hero ha ha.
For something more sedate I use an old 12v powered TV and a small dvd player (wal-mart sells them, very small) with xtra small (90 watt) inverter, everything runs for almost 8-10 hrs a night. My kindle will last for a month or more on one good charging and holds a ton of books, so I always revert to it anyway, i have a voracious reading appetite, 4-7 books a week, anything with words essentially.
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KC cabin
Member
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2010 07:21pm
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Hey munkyfst, I bet that "big sheet" theater will be something those kids will never forget. What a great monthly event!
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islandguy
Member
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2010 12:56am
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Reminds me of the area our cabin is in, used to have little or no tv service many years ago, and the vcr was becoming popular at the time, but expensive, so my dad, an electronics tech, built a low wattage transmitter, and started a pirate tv station, transmitting rented vcr movies about 1 mile in every direction. neighbors used to call him every night to see if he was showing a movie, and what tonights movie was. He did that for a couple years until a repeater eas finally put up, and gave the community a couple stations. Most of the community just uses sattelite tv now.
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2010 11:02pm
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For movie entertainment, and participation of grand kids and mid sized younguns, one can make their own projector with some simple items.
Cardboard box (keep the flaps to cover top)
Magnifying glass
wire to secure the glass
sheet of white paper
knife to cut holes in the box
one can insert objects in the hand hole(they'll appear upside down), adjust placement to focus and create a scene or two, with puppet like animation
It's amazing how 6-10 yr olds can still use their imagination if you can gently remove their ear bud growths from the sides of their mishapen techno heads.
popcorn not enclosed
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2010 09:34am
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My dyslexia prevails
A quick fix to the projector drwg
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