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Flippin the Script on Autism – Fundraiser Auction!

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This is something close to our heart, so we thought we’d share the below press release with you all 🙂

PinShades is a proud sponsor of Flippin the Script on Autism

We are excited to announce LoserKids and TPN teaming up to help children with Autism! Flippin the Script will be a 12 hour charity stream. So mark your calendars for October 20th (Thursday – US time) at Pinball Expo in Chicago. The stream is directly going towards Learning Solutions. An Utah based organization that helps with early intervention Autism therapy for kids that are as young as 2 all the way to late teenage years. The organization helps kids with Autism by giving them a one on one teachers to help develop skills like: Speech, social, and positive reinforcement to name a few.

Stern, JJP, American, Multimorphic, CGC, Haggis, Lit Frames, Flip N Out, The Pinball Company, PinShades, and others are donating products that will be auctioned off during the stream. LoserKids, TPN, Poormen, and others with be hosting the stream and interviewing some of your favourite people from the pinball industry including Keith Elwin and Eric Meunier to name a few.

We hope you join or stream us on October 20th at Pinball Expo!



Review: EPOS H3PRO Hybrid Gaming Headset & B20 Streaming Mic

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We have been fans of EPOS (formerly Sennheiser) audio gear for ages, so we were quite excited when the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid wireless closed acoustics gaming headset and EPOS B20 streaming microphone landed in the office.

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid Wireless Closed Acoustics Gaming Headset:

We had previously reviewed the EPOS H3 Hybrid headset, which we really liked, so we were keen to see how these new premium gaming headphones compared. Well, they are both premium quality, with the H3PRO version having a few additional bells and whistles. Firstly, the H3PRO Hybrid are wireless, so they are immediately able to connect in more ways than our H3 Hybrid headset. Secondly, the ear cups were super comfortable (on our big head) and had the added ANC manual switch which worked a treat when needing some noise cancellation in our aural pleasure. We didn’t know how much we missed this on the H3 Hybrid till we started using the ANC feature on our H3PRO Hybrid headset.

Boasting low latency gaming and up to 19 hours of wireless gaming with ANC on, our Ghost White H3PRO Hybrid are now our new favourite headset!

EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone:

Microphones can make or break your sound experience. We’ve never had a top notch mic before, so the immediate impact of the EPOS B20 streaming mic was quite stark! The build quality is premium, with the side-neck stand giving stability on any flat surface.

We connected our EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset via the jack on the bottom of the microphone, which just topped off the sound experience. Just speaking into the microphone and hearing our voice through the headset was so cool. For the technically inclined, the B20 houses three condenser capsules that can be set to four different pickup patterns: cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional and stereo. It samples at 24 bits and 48kHz, with a frequency response of 50Hz to 20kHz. All this adds up to configuration options to make you sound as good as possible.

We did find that the mic picked up the slightest background noises, like our hand moving the mouse or the fan on our laptop – not a big deal if you are in a Zoom session or having a casual chat online. Podcasters may need to tinker with their setup to ensure optimal sound without any background distractions. The other little niggle we found was with the gain and volume knobs on the mic – they spin freely without any minimum or maximum setting, meaning lots of knob turning till you find the sweet spot. Once we had the pickup pattern locked in and the gain and volume set to our desired setting, the pickup of our voice either at close range or a few inches away from the mic made us sound like some professional radio DJ. Coupled with the EPOS Gaming Suite software, users can tweak settings to their heart’s content. Thanks to the B20, we no longer have to worry about the quality of our voice when guest speaking on podcasts!

There is a reason why the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid wireless closed acoustics gaming headset won the Design Award 2022 – they are as close to a perfect gaming headset as you can get for under AU$400! Not to be outdone by the headset, the EPOS B20 Streaming microphone is another Design Award 2022 winner, which says quite a lot – it’s a pretty good mic for under $230!

If you are in the market for premium quality audio gear for your gaming and streaming experience without breaking the bank, then the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset and EPOS B20 streaming mic should be right at the top of your purchase list.

Cost & where to buy:

  • EPOS H3PRO Hybrid Wireless $399 (currently available at Amazon AU One-Day Prime deal for $299)
  • EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone $229 (currently available at Amazon AU for $159)



Disclaimer: The EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset & EPOS B20 streaming microphone were provided by POWER UP PR for this review.

Watching Popular Gamers on Twitch

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image source: WSJ

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

A few weeks ago, on a popular HBO late night show, the host talked about his disdain for people watching popular gamers playing games like “Fortnite” and “Grand Theft Auto V” on Twitch. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but the host said that he thought people were wasting their precious time watching gamers. Couldn’t that be said about all forms of entertainment? Why does the act of watching gamers play and teach other gamers how to come up with strategies bothersome for some with an enormous platform?

There’s also a very famous podcaster (and a very rich one) who has issues with the viewers of Twitch. Do these critics know how big the view numbers are during a gamers live stream? It’s never a small number.

Critics say watching entertaining people playing video games on Twitch is a waste of time, but couldn’t you say the same for watching a UFC fight or a late-night show that’s past it’s prime. Entertainment is different for everyone. Binge-watching a great series could be considered a waste of someone’s time as well. However, there’s not a lot of criticism of binge-watching a television show. I’m guilty of binge-watching some series’ twice; and I don’t for an instant feel like I was wasting my time. I was entertained, like the people of all ages who watch famous or popular gamers on Twitch are.

I personally have never watched a gamer play on Twitch, but I watch a lot of Major League Baseball. Am I wasting time when I watch baseball? Perhaps, although it doesn’t feel like a waste of time to me. To someone who likes watching HBO late night shows or gamers on Twitch, they may think so, but we all have different tastes and interests.

I would never criticize another person’s entertainment choice. Entertainment is a vast and diverse thing.



Podcast: Vertical Hold – Retro Gaming In Self Isolation

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I can’t believe that we (myself and Ms. ausretrogamer) have never appeared together on a podcast! Well, I am here to tell you that we finally made our debut together in guest speaking on episode 275 of the Vertical Hold podcast!

The topic of discussion was how we were passing the time and keeping our sanity in this worldwide pandemic. We delve into the midst of nostalgia and discuss all things gaming, from retro and modern, pinball, arcade, board games to the Commodore 64, SNES, RetroPie and Nintendo’s Wii! Oh yeah, Double Dragon and Zelda came up in conversation too 😉

Thank you to Alex Kidman and Adam Turner for having us on their brilliant weekly Vertical Hold podcast, we had a blast!

 

8 Bit Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo

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That earworm of a song has invaded the 8-bit space! Yep, you’ll be singing “Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo” all day long, so we apologise in advance – at least the 8-bit visuals will be to your liking.

Once you are done singing this mega viral YouTube song, listen to the fascinating history of Baby Shark via the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast.


source: Baby Shark Official

 

Sum Of All Parts Podcast: 13.0 Chiptune

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There are literally thousands of podcasts out there, which makes it difficult to find some gems.

ABC Radio National’s the Sum Of All Parts podcast usually has interesting topics. Speaking of interesting topics, back in August they had podcast about chiptunes, which piqued our interest.

Lots of great discussion with well-known chiptune artists, like Chris Mylrea (aka: cTrix) and author of the ‘Bits and Pieces: A History of Chiptunes’ book, Professor Kenny B. McAlpine, amongst a few other chiptune maestros.

Kick back, press play and listen to Bel Smith’s report on the evolution of the 8-bit music scene.

image source: cTrix and Game Boy LSDj via ABC: Belinda Smith

 

Podcast: Vertical Hold – The Retro Gaming Special Episode

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Being invited to guest appear (or should that be speak?) on a podcast is always humbling, very cool and a bit nerve-racking. It is exceptionally cool when invited by two of our good friends, Alex Kidman and Adam Turner to come on their Vertical Hold: Behind The Tech News podcast.

Episode 254 of Vertical Hold goes all retro in the modern era, from revived Nintendo and Sega classic mini consoles, huge arcade control decks from Capcom that hook up to your TV, to questionable emulation and some iffy jailbreaking – this episode has it all!

Thanks again to Alex and Adam for having us on their podcast – we make a great triple AAA* team!

*Triple AAA team = Alex, Adam and Alex 😉

Title image source: Fordham IPLJ
Slider image source: Vertical Hold

 

PAX Aus 2019 Highlights

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Judging by our PAX Aus Classic Gaming highlights feature, you would have been forgiven in thinking that there was nothing else to see at this year’s PAX Aus.

Well, we are here to tell you that there was stacks to see and experience, from great panels, awesome cosplay, pin and badge hunts to booth raids to check out the latest games and wares from indie devs and the big AAA studios and gaming companies.

There was so much to see, so we hope this Rest of PAX Aus 2019 Highlights photo package can make you feel like you were there!

The calm before the storm! The crowds waits patiently for the start of PAX AUS 2019!

 

2SER Radio Chat: The Commodore 64 Returns

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“In a world of fun and fantasy, and ever changing views
And computer terminology, Commodore is news
Are you keeping up with the Commodore?
‘Cause the Commodore’s keeping up with you“

If you remember this (in)famous 80s jingle, you’ll know that it was for a particular 8-bit micro computer.

If you were curled up in bed this morning and missed the chat about all things Commodore 64 (and the comeback with the new THEC64 Mini) on Nic Healey’s 2SER Breakfast show, then you are in luck – go and listen to it over here!

Let the C64 legacy live on!

 

Reset Podcast Episode 01: The Hewson Episode

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reset_podcast_eps1_hdrIf you have ever wondered what shenanigans go on behind the scenes in creating a retro computing magazine, then you are in luck! For those of you in the know, the Reset magazine crew got together for the inaugural podcast of the same name to chat about the making of Reset issue (it was the Hewson Consultants theme issue).

If you weren’t in the know, now you know! Listen in and make sure you grab the issue for free over here!


source: Reset on Soundcloud