GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra on Blu Ray Review

I watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra on Blu Ray this weekend in our home theater with my husband. Since I had picked up two romantic comedies, I figured I should pick up something with some action, as well.

My husband hated it! We generally liked director Stephen Sommers previous works, including the Mummy movies and the Scorpion King. Movies that sound great in the home theater, and that the whole family can enjoy together. Sienna Miller's performance as the Baroness fell flat, she does not sell her tough kick ass traitor role and Channing Tatum just fell victim to a poorly written script, but truly the only performance I really enjoyed was Rip Cord's played by Marlon Wayanns. He keeps the movie moving. The other issue I have with G.I. Joe, is why produce a movie clearly targeted for younger audiences and make it overtly violence so it receives a PG-13 rating? The action was not worth it, would have been better off, focusing on a younger audience that might have a greater ability to shrug off ridiculous inconsistencies in the story. My recommendation: don't bother, I fell asleep.

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Press Release: Win a $50.00 Shopping Spree from OnlyFactoryDirect.com

What type of cable should I use for my in-wall or in-ceiling speakers?

Speaker wire is rarely considered early on by most people, however understanding your needs with speaker wire can greatly impact the sound quality of your system and potentially save you a lot of money. First, most speakers don’t include wire, and therefore whether you are having your speakers installed or you are taking the DIY approach, it is important to understand your needs. Even the greatest speakers won’t sound their best with poor-quality wires.

It is important to know the distance between your receiver or amplifier and speakers; longer distances can cause significant power loss, and thus require thicker cable. The distance of your run is how you will decide what gauge speaker wire you will require. For multi-room installs, it may be beneficial to buy two different gauges. A thicker gauge for the longer runs and a thinner gauge wire for your shorter runs. If you are using an installer, he/she should be able to assist you in this calculation. Otherwise use a string from your receiver location to each of the intended locations of your speakers. Carefully pull the string along and doorframes, corners, or other obstructions in the intended wire path. Allow plenty of slack for the wire to take gradual turns, since sharp bends can impair performance and allow for a margin of error.

Gauge is determined by the thickness of a wire’s conductive copper bundle as standardized by the American Wire Gauge or AWG number. The lower the gauge the thicker the wire (or more copper) and the better capacity to pass the amplified audio signal. While clear jacket cable is suitable for most in-room speaker installations, if you are running wire behind the a wall or in a ceiling, you need to use UL rated Class 2 or 3 rated cable (CL2, CL3) to be in compliance with most building codes. Class 3 cables will not degrade in extreme temperatures because it uses an extra plenim sheath to protect the cable.

Now that you have determined the distance use the chart below to determine the gauge speaker wire you need.

Distance from speaker to amplifier________Gauge
Less than 40 feet__________________________16
40 to 120 feet_____________________________14
More than 120 feet_________________________12

CL3 UL rated speaker wire can be affordable, however I have seen the price vary by $500.00 for a 500 foot roll of 14 gauge wire. One of the most cost effective ways to keep your price down for a low voltage installation is to purchase your own speaker wire and speakers. Remember, installers are essentially resellers of goods and installers, so if they can make additional money from an install by selling you the speakers and the wire, they will. Its good business, however as an educated consumer, you will save money by being honest and straight forward upon the initial bid, that you have the speaker wire and speakers, you are strictly seeking an installation only bid.

I urge you to compare pricing.

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Product Review Contest

Product Review Contest

$50.00 Shopping spree with http://www.onlyfactorydirect.com/

All reviews are welcome, make sure to follow format

as listed in contest rules.

Read the official contest rules below and email your product reviews to sasha@onlyfactorydirect.com.

OFD Product Review Contest


The Onlyfactorydirect.com, Inc. Product Review Contest Rules & Regulations.



The Onlyfactorydirect.com Product Review Contest ("Contest") review submission begins on November 1, 2009. Contest ends December 10, 2009. One (1) winner will be chosen on December 15, 2009, based on helpfulness of review, over all coverage of product, and explanation of use of product. A winning review will be chosen by a team of employees of Onlyfactorydirect.com. Winners will be notified via blog post, twitter, and/or facebook associated with the winning Product Reviews by the 12/15/09 of the following month. Contest conducted by Onlyfactorydirect.com, 6433 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Suite 175, Canoga Park, CA 91311.


1. Entrants/Winners must be legal residents of the U.S. who are 18 years of age or older as the date the Product Review was submitted.


2. HOW TO ENTER:

1. Simply write a review of a product from one of our manufacturers (Podium Pro Audio, Tapco, Mackie, Theater-Solutions, Monster, Goldwood Sound, Eminence or SychoSound.)

2. E-mail your review to sasha@onlyfactorydirect.com

3. Title your E-mail “Product Review Contest Entry”

4. Include your name and state

5. Give a rating between 1 and 5, include coverage of product, what you like about the product, and how you use the product (set-up, karaoke, band, etc..).

6. Check your review and Send!


3. In order to review products, you must be a registered follower on twitter of OFDAudio or AudioHotSpot.blogspot.com or a friend of Onlyfactorydirect / Sasha Letourneau on facebook.


4. WINNERS: One (1) Prize: $50 Gift Certificate valid only on OnlyFactoryDirect.com. Only one entry is necessary for eligibility to win. Any expenses not specified herein are the responsibility of the winner. Winners will be notified via announcement on AudioHotSpot.blogspot.com and via twitter announcement. The Winners will be determined by helpfulness of review, and overall coverage of the product and will be chosen from all approved Product Reviews received from SashOFD@yahoo.com during the calendar month. Entries must be received by December 10th, 2009. Odds of winning are determined by the total number of Product Reviews received during the contest period. All prizes will be awarded. Limit one prize per individual/family or household per calendar year.


5. Limit of five (5) entries per individual/family or household per month. Any product reviews submitted in excess of 5 will not be entered, but will continue to be posted on Onlyfactorydirect.com, according to the Product Review Guidelines.


6. Any Product Reviews rejected by Onlyfactorydirect.com, as not within the posted Product Review Guidelines will not be eligible.


7. Neither OnlyFactoryDirect.com, nor any of its agents, employees, parents, affiliates or subsidiaries are responsible for lost, late, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, postage due mail, for hardware or software or any telephone, electronic, network or computer malfunctions, failures, errors or data inaccuracies. In the event this contest becomes technically corrupt in any way, electronically or otherwise, sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate or suspend the contest. In such an event, winners will be selected for any remaining prizes by random drawing from among all valid entries received before cancellation, termination or suspension.


8. Any prize notification returned as undeliverable through no fault of Onlyfactorydirect.com will result in disqualification of the potential winner and an alternate new entry will be selected. Potential winners will be notified by email and/or phone to the address/phone number provided by entrants, who are solely responsible for its accuracy. Potential winners may be required to verify address and must execute and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within 14 days of notification attempt or the prize will be forfeited and an alternate potential winner selected.


9. All aspects of the prize are NON-TRANSFERABLE and no substitutions are allowed. No cash equivalent or exchange of prize is permitted and any and all local and state or federal taxes resulting from winning and accepting this prize are the responsibility of the winner.


10. The contest is only open to U.S. residents, 18 years of age or older as the date the Product Review was submitted, excluding all full or part-time employees of OnlyFactoryDirect.com, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, as well as their agents and representatives. This offer is void wherever prohibited and subject to all federal, state and local laws.


11. Entrants, by participating in the Contest agree to waive (and potential winners in accepting their prize, must agree in writing to waive) any and all claims of liability against OnlyFactoryDirect.com, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies and agencies, representatives and employees from any accident, loss or injury occurring from this promotion or in any way related to the prize or the use or misuse thereof.


12. By submitting review entrants agree to the use, publishing, and posting of submitted review with name and state on Onlyfactorydirect.com and associated social media outlets.


13. Winners must agree in writing to the use of their names, addresses (city, state), photographs and likeness for purposes of advertising, trade and promoting in any and all media on behalf of OnlyFactoryDirect.com, without further compensation, except where prohibited by law.


14. The sponsor of this promotion is OnlyFactoryDirect.com

Don't Delay Contest Ends December 10, 2009!!