Short circuits

short circuits

A brief look at new and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.

DVD

What happens when a movie flops in theaters during the summer? It comes out today on DVD. That's certainly the case with Mike Myers' jump-the-shark effort "The Love Guru" (Paramount, $30), about a bumbling spiritual adviser. The two disc editions on standard DVD ($35) and Blu-ray ($40) seem like overkill for a film that barely brought in half of what it cost to make. And then there's "Speed Racer" (Warner, $29-$36), a live-action version of a cartoon that hasn't been popular in decades. It returned only a third of its $120 million production budget in theaters. Go, Speed Racer -- just go.

Today's other major DVDs: "The Busby Berkeley Collection" (Vol. 2), "Charlie Chan Collection" (Vol. 5), "Chuck" (Season 1), "Dirty Sexy Money" (Season 1), "Duck Man" (Seasons 1 & 2), "88 Minutes," "Made of Honor," "Pushing Daisies" (Season 1), "Star Trek: Alternate Realities," "Torchwood" (Season 2).

GAME

Ladies and gentleman, it's "Rock Band 2"! The follow-up to one of last year's coolest video games, which expanded the "Guitar Hero" concept to include vocals, bass and drums, has just come out for the Xbox 360. Features include improved guitar and drum peripherals, enhanced online play and many new songs -- with a library of 500 planned by year's end. PlayStation 3 owners will have to wait until Oct. 19 and PS2 and Wii owners until mid-November for their second shot at air-band glory. Sorry, dudes.

WEB

When you're looking for a video on the Web, the first impulse is to go to the ubiquitous YouTube. And why not? It's the top video-sharing site by far. But there are things that YouTube doesn't have, including full-length TV programs and streaming video. That's why your second stop should be a site such as Online Video Guide (www.ovguide.com). Want to relive one of the speeches from the recent political conventions? OVGuide will tell you where to find them, whether on YouTube or elsewhere. And for TV shows that aren't officially posted online by their networks, such as Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," OVGuide will show you websites where they've been tucked away by fans. Give it a try next time your YouTube search comes up short.

RANDY A. SALAS

SATISFY YOUR INNER GEEK

Get daily technology news and musings from Randy Salas at startribune.com/technobabble.