OK, one thing past the unfortunate designer dress choices and cheesy overstaged production numbers!

We notice that there are a lot of movies and actors who are nominated for awards who we don’t recognize, and that we have a lot of catching up to do so that we can talk intelligently to movie devotees the week after the awards show airs.

While the best way to watch movies always will be on the big screen, as they were designed to be seen, the majority of us just don’t make it to the theater all the time.

After all, it costs a lot of money to see a movie these days. Movie tickets average $10 or more each, and by the time we buy our snacks and drinks, the tally for a movie date can really get expensive.

And why spend all that money when  you can watch the same movies at home for a fraction of the cost? When the first VCRs hit the market, it changed the way we all watch movies forever.

VCRs have gone on their way, with most homes updating to DVD players. The cost of DVD players continues to drop, and a movie lover can purchase a very good quality one now for less than $100.

Technology changes and grows however, and many movie lovers are now discovering that there is something that delivers an even better movie experience – the Blu-ray player.

For the general movie watcher, there are a lot of similaries between Blu-ray and DVD, but Blu-ray offers better audio and visual quality, as well as more special features. A Blu-ray disc can hold more memory than a DVD, and the overall resolution is better.

So, if you’re a movie lover who has found yourself missing most of the Oscar nominees, you might be tempted to really amp up your experience and update your DVD player to a Blu-ray player.

You’ll love the improved quality, yes, but there are some drawbacks. There are not as many title choices for Blu-ray, and the movies are often more expensive than DVDs. Additionally, many of the popular inexpensive rental services, such as Netflix, Blockbuster and even Redbox don’t offer Blu-ray choices. Luckily, Blu-ray players will play DVDs, but if cost and availability of titles are important to you, you might choose to wait a bit before making the investment. DVD players, however, will not play Blu-ray discs, so if you’re hoping to take a shortcut with your purchase, it just isn’t going to work.

Another choice would be to purchase a PlayStation 3. In addition to featuring some of the most exciting video games on the market, a PlayStation 3 will also play Blu-ray discs, meaning you’ll get more bang for your buck.

Many IMshopping visitors are showing a great deal of interest in Blu-ray players, so it appears that the technology is not just a temporary craze, but one that’s here to stay.

If you’re looking for a great deal on a Blu-ray player, there are some sites that are now selling refurbished models for much less than new models.

You can always rest assured that as these become more popular, the prices will continue to drop. If you don’t want to make the investment this year, perhaps the prices will come down even more by next year’s Oscar show!

Back when the PSP was first announced, Sony made the claim that they were going to put out a PSP keyboard for it that would also double as a screen protector. After a short while, a company called Logic announced they’d be creating the Logic 3, a keyboard made specifically for the PSP. It would connect to the PSP via its headphone jack and would allow gamers to type notes to themselves, as well as chat with one another while playing against each other (or with each other for co-op missions) via the wireless online game play. However, in 2006, Logic announced that they were canceling development of the keyboard, making the claim that Sony would not give them certain vital information they needed to know in order for the accessory to run smoothly and correctly.

Perhaps the reason for Sony not sharing such information is that they decided they could do the job themselves (and it will be more profitable as a whole rather than outsourcing the work). In 2008, Sony announced that they were in the process of perfecting a PSP keyboard which would have all the functionality of the one Logic 3 was going to create just two years earlier, and probably even more so! Sony has not release a whole lot of information regarding the new device in the works other than they are “looking at several designs, but can’t tell you anything more specific”. They’ve also set a release for the project as coming out in mid-2009.

For those who don’t want to wait 6-9 more months for their PSP keyboard, TyDoPad has come up with a solution. They’ve come up with a modification hack to allow the PSP to be compatible with the Palm(one), a fold-up universal wireless keyboard.

Soft Case with Wrist Strap
One of the many PSP accessories is a soft case and wrist strap. This case came with the PSP-1000, but none of the later models despite the obvious need and demand for it. It’s a slim foam case that is small enough to still fit easily into your pocket while also being sturdy and protective enough that if you were to accidentally bang your PSP against a table while it’s inside the case it won’t even be scratched. The wrist strap is also a very useful idea. It can be worn on the wrist while playing the console so that if you lose your grip and the PSP slips, it won’t fall any further than the give of the wrist strap (which is only a couple of inches).

Skins, Decals and Faceplates
The original PSP came only in black. While more colors have been introduced, many people want to further personalize their hand held console. For this reason, skins, decals and faceplates make great PSP accessories. By changing the colors or even by adding unique designs, the PSP gamer can be sure that his gaming system is unique to his or her own personality and turn their store bought item that all their friends have into something that can be one of a kind.

Speakers
With PSP accessories, you can easily turn your gaming device into a miniature home theater system. Speakers made exclusively for the PSP let you plug your gaming system in so its sound can be projected for everyone to hear without the need for ear buds. This can be very useful to play UMDs for a more theatrical-like experience.

Memory Cards and Expansion
The PSP accessory that you virtually cannot do without is a memory card. The memory card is where all your data (such as saved games) get stored. These come in data sizes allowing you to store more games or even photos and music. There’s also a memory expansion converter which allow you to use SD cards, Mini SD cards, or MMC memory cards instead of the PSP memory stick, allowing you a much greater amount of storage capability.