I was given a Marantz 2110 tuner and a Marantz 1122DC pre amp from a buddy who use to own a pawnshop. Both are fully functional but the 1122DC has 3 broken pushbutton switches that with a little luck and a lot of searching I can replace. These are going to replace the Marantz 2220 (also a freebie from same buddy) in my vintage rig.
I'll let you in on a little secret. A lot of us down here have that same hatred for our visitors from the north every winter. Then spring comes and the obnoxious fuckers go back home. Of course we will probably never learn how to properly pronounce wine names, but life goes on.
Blurays
Bought:
True Blood Season 2
BBC Planet Earth
Apollo 13
Saving Private Ryan
Pre-ordered:
BBC Life (the one with Sir David, not fucking Oprah)
Alice In Wonderland
Sparticus
Not a damn thing since I just sent off 700 bucks to the state of Arkansas for my taxes. This is in addition to what they already recieved from me throughout the year. Fucked up year for taxes in my house.
Down to 8.99 today for all of them except First Rays of New Rising Sun and Valley of Neptune (they are still 10 bucks). Just ordered all 5 and can't f'n wait
I went with Nikon, but it was mainly because I was already invested in the Nikon system. I bought a D50 and all of my older Nikon lenses and flashes work on the D50 body. Both brands make fine cameras.
Its called "soap opera effect". A lot of "purists" refuse to use the 120hz or 240hz modes when watching a movie because of this. You might try disabling it and seeing which you prefer. From what I have read, that calibration disc seems to be a pretty good one.