Videos Have No Sound On XBox 360 [Fixed]

So, last night I was trying to watch an AVI video file from a USB flash drive on my XBox 360. For some reason, no matter what I did with the audio settings (on the XBox or the television), I couldn’t get any audio. The video worked fine.

Another strange thing I noticed was that the audio portion of the intro that plays when the XBox is turned on was no longer playing. I still had sound effects on the Dashboard, and games behaved normally. A real puzzler.

I should mention that my XBox is connected to my TV via HDMI. And this brings me to the solution of this issue.

After spending about a half-hour fiddling with the audio settings, I finally determined that it’s got to be something with the HDMI cable. Something to do with audio compatibility. So, I went downstairs and grabbed my HD cables that come with the XBox and hooked it up. Voila! Fully functional sound!

I’m not sure on the details of this, but it probably has something to do with the audio codec configuration and sound compatibility with HDMI. When using the standard HD cables that came with the XBox, the sound works normally.

That’s what I’ve been able to conclude. If you have additional information, leave it in the “Comments” section.

Update as of 7/19/2009

I’ve discovered that actually turning the television off and back on resolves the issue. So, it appears this could be a television issue and not an XBox issue.

Infinite Skeptic Or Christian? [Debunked]

So this Evangelist by the name of Kerrigan Skelly of Pinpoint Evangelism has a video on YouTube where he debates some kids at N.C. State University on the topic of Atheism (or any other belief system) versus the Christian world view.

I actually found it quite disheartening that the college students present at this debate were so ill-equipped to refute his arguments. It was in seeing this lack of real response to his statements that prompted me to make these videos. Here they are:

Infinite Skeptic or Christian? [Debunked - Part I]

Infinite Skeptic or Christian [Debunked - Part II]

Further Analysis

I think my biggest problem with this guy’s line of argument is the whole idea that he can trust his senses because he “believes in God.” Yet, people who don’t believe in God cannot trust their senses? This is nothing more than mere speculation; an assumption on the grandest scale. An ignorant assumption, at that. He provides no evidence for his claims. You can’t just make a claim like that without offering reasonable proof of it. I’m not about to take his word for it. And yet, he demands evidence from his opponents? Hypocrite.

Essentially, throughout the video he tries to make every argument he puts forth unfalsifiable. Any time someone counters his arguments, he replies with, “Well, I believe in God.” As if that’s an explanation – or “foundation,” as he calls it. How can he trust his senses? He believes in God. How can he have morals? He believes in God. That is a non-sequitur. It doesn’t logically follow that because he believes in God, he can trust his senses. Believing in God has no bearing on the truth of his claims. There’s no causal connection. That would require evidence.

Then there’s Empiricism. He says that Empiricism is “just an idea in your mind.” Yet, he would not even have a Bible to read from were it not for Empiricism. No written language or printing presses, no paper or writing tools.

He’s trying to have it both ways. He wants to condemn Empiricism because the evidence which springs forth from Empiricism contradicts his precious Bible. But yet, he needs Empiricism for a Bible to even exist. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

Over and over again he says his opponents haven’t “proven their foundation” for what they believe/don’t believe. Yet, I haven’t seen ONCE in these videos him prove anything even close to the existence of God. He has not shown one stitch of evidence to support his “foundation.” Again, he is a hypocrite.

Conclusion

I could go on, but I don’t want to go over the same things I addressed in the videos. I think his poor logic speaks for itself. Pretty much everything he says is based on a lack of understanding of either science or logic.

And this is what Believers do. That sacrifice intellectual honesty and integrity for the conversion of a few “sinners.” Who cares if you lie and manipulate? You’re leading people to Jesus, right? That’s all that matters. Who cares if you are leading people down a path of ignorance and unenlightenment? It’s the tithe dollars that really count.

Watch and let me know what you think.

Read a book. It’s good for you.

Also, if for some reason the people who put this video up claim that I’m copying their material and ask to have it taken off YouTube, I will be making it available in higher quality via BitTorrent. Probably on The Pirate Bay. We’ll see what happens. That’s how these Christians are. If they can’t fight back with good arguments, they’ll just claim copyright infringement.

No, I’m Not Gone

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. Just been busy with other things. I do have a couple things in the works right now, though. Never fear!

The first thing I’m working on, which I’m pretty excited about is Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto. Yeah, no kidding… insane. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the movie “Shine.” Best movie ever, in my opinion – and it also happens to be a true story. Here’s a video from that movie. The main character (David Helfgott) stumbles into a restaurant only to baffle the customers at his skill in playing Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight Of The Bumblebee.”

In Shine, David (aside from all of the other things going on in the movie) finally learns the “Rach 3,” Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto, after spending his life studying it. This kind of gives you an idea of what I’m tackling here.

There are many videos on YouTube of people playing parts of it… my favorite is the Cadenza (Ossia). Here’s one of my favorite videos…

I’m not tackling the Rach 3 all at once. For anyone familiar with the piece, and who has the sheet music (in particular, the Schirmer’s Library version), you’ll notice that it’s conveniently broken into sections; 79 sections to be exact. I will be studying it on a section by section basis… in no particular order.

If all goes well, I plan on putting the videos of each section that I learn on my YouTube page. They’ll probably be titled “The Rach 3 Project” or something like that.

I’m starting with section 10, for anyone who has the sheet music. It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful melody in the whole piece. I’d considered taking on the Cadenza (Ossia), but right now, it’s looking pretty intimidating. I’ll leave it for later… probably much later.

The other thing I’m working on is a skepticism piece on 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists. While it focuses on the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory, it’s also on why you can’t have an honest debate with someone who’s a “True Believer.” Someone who believes something regardless of evidence to the contrary.

I don’t want to reveal too much now, but just know that these things are in the works.

To conclude… read a book. It’s good for you.