The book and the DVD player.

Nope, we won't rewrite Five Point Something, we will write "Seventy and Counting" (seventy being the percentage that would mark you as an excellent student in my class). Of course, this book will be about us elite people and the adventures we had in the middle of nowhere. In fact, I invite Chaos to contribute chapters to this book (profits, if any, will be shared in proportion to the number of pages contributed to the book*). Any other RECTian who's not already in a lucrative line of work can contribute too. Especially those with lurid details which we are woefully short of.

I was actually looking at a Panasonic model on the web (For the context-switching-impaired readers - we're talking about DVD players now). This one is for my folks in Bangalore, I aleady have two DVD readers (one each on the desktop and laptop). The point is that the older generation does not wish to be at the mercy of us young folk to turn on the PC and start the software for playing DVDs/VCDs. DVD players are easier to use. And they are pretty cheap nowadays too. Things I thought of that a player should ideally have:

- multi-format support
- photo cd support + functions like browse
- play slow motion / fast / single frame advance
- zoom / pan
- good remote control features (i.e. easy to use)
- THX sound
- dts/dolby built-in decoders
- multi disc / cd changer
- continue on power cycle
- 10 bit video DAC (also saw a model with 4 bit DAC!)
- progressive scan (I don't need this right now, but the future is uncertain)
- virtual surround sound
- 24 bit audio DAC
- optical & coax audio out

From what I see on the web, pretty much all players have most of these features (except maybe the CD changer and continue-on-power-cycle). Considering it's Diwali time and everyone seems to be putting out discounts and offers, it might be a good time to buy something like this.



* Conditions apply. Acceptance of chapters at the sole discretion of this author. Contents may be edited for clarity. Font size and line spacing will be consistent across pages of the published book. Pictures/photos will not be considered for sharing of profits. Void where prohibited. No warranty, express or implied, is made for fitness of purpose. All rights reserved. May require some assembly. Batteries not included. Results may vary.