Most of you know I love technology - especially the kind that results in creating a perfect audio / visual world of entertainment.
Last week I took another jump forward with the purchase of a DVD / Hard Disk recorder.
I think most people know what a DVD recorder is (although I was surprised to hear that a good friend of mine doesn't even own a DVD player), but if you're not familiar with the PVRs and Tivos of the tech world, a Hard Disk recorder is basically a way of recording TV or other video sources onto a computer-like hard disk. From there, you can watch the recording or copy to a DVD for backup or playing on a regular DVD player*.
Why would I subject myself to this, you ask ? Well, I love technology. The appeal - a nice solution for transferring 8mm home videos to DVD and also defeat the familiar tech snit...I'm tired, want to go to bed, but don't want to miss Letterman tonight, but F*** me - I can't find a VHS tape that "clearly" has space or unwanted material on it ! I even managed to sell my wife on the idea, so A/V component #19 is added to the home.
I did quite a lot of research and found a number of manuals online that provided some interesting reading - maaan- this stuff is almost as complicated as configuring Microsoft Smart Card Logon. I ended up choosing a combination DVD / Hard Disk (160GB - 70 hours worth) recorder - Pioneer DVR-633H-S. Other ones I shortlisted were the Panasonic DMR-E85H and the LG LRH-539.
But this thing has a mind of its own. You can imagine there's a certain about of complexity setting up a new fangled digital component that wants to show you a cool on screen TV Guide when you have a digital cable box - ugh. So, get this, it comes with a small IR transmitter that you place in front of your cable box so that it can change stations on the cable box like you would do with a remote. A little low tech, but it works. However, when it's off - it's not really off, because it goes hunting for program guides (or porno for all I know). The real mystery is what channel it will select when it turns on again ! The menu system is pretty wacky but recording success rates are now climbing above 50%.
So this got me thinking a little about all the gear I have around the home and making my life rather complex... *so if I pick up a disk at home, I can hopefully identify whether it's an audio CD, CDR, CDRW, CDR Music, video DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, Video CD, CD+G, CD ROM or Direct CD formatted CDR, all I have to do is then figure out which one of the 13 disk players I have around the house that will be able to play it.
Life wasn't this complicated with tape was it ? Oh, I forgot Betamax !
Now, if I could only find the right remote !
2 comments:
Little dick here!
Well, sounds like you have a need for some "smart home" AV solutions in the near future!
Ironic, I am reading this at the shop while the boys next door play with their new Perinet 1-terabyte Audio/video server... really cool stuff. Will hold 500 buned DVD/s, or 25,000 burned CD/s, or any combination of the two. Then it will output seven different steams to seven different locations at the same time.... totally crazy!
Don't know the cost, but I am sure it is a small car!
But remotes gone, cables all over the place gone, equipment gone.
Phil, your future is next to my shop, maybe it will just have to go missing come Christmas time.
I am envious of your new toy though, especially as our list of cool shows grows, and our schedule gets tighter.
Cheers, Bro
huh?
not following the techie talk - well, I don't mean in our house, as I have kind of figured that out- I don't think I have messed up the taping yet, (and yes, it is great to record things 'on the fly' that I wouldn't have bothered before) but "bro" you lost me - I thought I was doing well, sort of, but what you're talking about is out there.
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