spog

I am a big fan of the Bangkok Christian Hospital on Silom road (near Sala Daeng BTS)

You get to see specialists in their fields

Time to buy a new one, I'm afraid. Salt water is possibly the worst thing you can dunk it in.

You can have a try yourself: open up all the casings, remove the battery, sim card anything that comes off.

Leave it in a warm place and see if dries out after a few days. You *might* get lucky.

If you can get the right tools, try and open it up so you can swab the circuit boards in alcohol.

If you try and get it fixed (I guess they will just open it up, and clean it) - you must do it immediately as corrosion will start in a matter of hours after dunking.

Bad luck.

:D !!!! LOL...  Scary, that's exactly what happened in my case..  I was also informed that at a mere 500 baht extra for the microphone/karaoke version, this should be a total no-brainer.

So there we have it.   I looked up a picture of DVP-K870P and I think that's mine, yes. Can check for sure when I get home.

For me the main issue was that my old DVD player didn't play my own home-burnt discs very well, especially not the +RW and VR ones.  I indeed took those to the shop to test them. 

A copied DVD should have had any copy-protection removed to be able to copy it in the first place, so I can't see this as a problem.  I think mostly when copied DVDs don't play it's because they're home-burnt copies and not factory produced DVDs?  (And/or mistakes were made when making the copy, like not finalizing the disc, unsupported media, etc, etc.)

Cheers,

Chanchao

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Actually I wonder if this concept could be applied to all gadgetry and hardware we'd like to buy...  So next time we want to buy this cool MP3 player or a really awesome digital video camera or a laptop computer, we could hint at the fact that it supports karaoke and thus obtain purchase approval from our respective CEOs..

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It's funny cause I always thought that I hated karaoke. I guess I was wrong.

If this model works fine with you, then I'll take the risk. I did review the specs of these models and they appear to support practically every kind of media, so I really was surprised that the assistant was claiming it had a problem.

Most pirated DVDs are made on the same equipment as legal discs (sometimes in the same factory!) With, as you pointed out, the copy protection removed.

I'll take at look at Firefoxx's link. (or get someone to look for me)

I am not sure that this concept would be a good idea for getting purchase approval for new toys. While it would mean that you would get permission a lot easier, it also means that karaoko is available anytime, any place. Just think about that for a while......

Thanks a lot guys, I'm happy now.

(setting up a home network. two different OSes, two different types of WiFi cards, two different type of config software - not something to do last thing at night).

You lot are much faster than the support that I pay for from my ISP

Recently got the Sony, one step up from the base-model (includes microphone/karaoke).  Also Plays DVD+R/W, which is the more difficult one.

So far it's played anything I fed it.  I didn;t even ask about regions, God what a backward idea that was.  Maybe I should look into if the player makes a fuss about regions?  Don't know how though as everything I come across is all-region anyway, and I'm seriously unlikely to go buy DVDs in Europe or the USA...

Cheers,

Chanchao

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I've just been told that apparently I do like karaoke and will therefore be buying the same model as you - that's the DVP-K870P, right?

Ahah! I'm after the model just below yours. The something-something375.

(I don't like karaoke)

If your's is fine, then mine will be fine. Thanks.

Region coding was a stupid idea. I loathe and despise it as much as the anti-piracy warnings that you have to sit an endure because you cannot skip past them. I legally own original DVDs from 3 different regions, yet I am supposed to buy three different players to play them on. Stuff that.

That's my thought too.

Funnily enough, I have a PS2 that I use for playing my DVDs on, but it is slowly dying so I want to preserve the life that is left in it for gaming.

Sony DVD players can be modded to ignore region coding and they come that way from the shops. (I have some original discs which are from both regions 1 & 3)

I just can't see how they could stop you from playing a pirate disc, so I am putting it down to yet another assistant after more commission. But once you get the idea in your head, it is hard to shake it out.

Hello,

I'm buying a new DVD player and the cheapest sony looks like it will do all I want.

They even remove the region coding for you.

However, when I tried to enquire about one in Central, the assistant refused to sell me one, saying that they would not play copied discs.

Very obviously, he was getting better commission from Philips as he kept pushing their stuff. The sony is supposed to support all kinds of discs (including DVD-RW, etc)

But now I am a little worried. Anyone experience problems playing a Pantip disc? Especially in a Sony.

Two comments:

Water damage is never covered under electrical warranties. Some products have little 'telltales' built in that indicate whether it has had a dunking - even if you dry them perfectly (I know mobile phones definitely do and I am sure that cameras). Accidental damage is also not covered. You might be covered under your home insurance policy.

Thai warranties are terrible. I always buy my high ticket stuff from HK.

Panasonic are lovely cameras. Also check out Canon - a lot of people have a lot of love for them

Hello,

I'm after a couple of valid DNS IP addresses.

I am using Anet dial up, so anet addresses would be preferred

thanks

There is a safe shop, on silom Road, opposite the Narai Hotel (next to the Tower Inn).

You can't miss it - it has a lot of safes in the window.

No personal experience of them, though.

An Australian friend of mine (Annie) is helping at Phuket Town Hall and has asked for tents to be donated to the Town Hall as many are still sleeping outside. She also said, any foreigner that hasnt registered at their Embassies, go along to Town Hall as every Emabssy has an offical there - even if your an expat as if they are not looking for you, they can go onto the next.

You can also register to help, from driving people, councelling etc.

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So do they need people to help? I don't have any specialist skills (apart from scuba diving). I'd like to help, but I don't want to come all the way from BK if I am going to just get in the way of those who know what they are doing. It would make more sense to save the cost of travelling and donate the cash instead.

RDN

It is the Red Cross where you should donate

Most of the hospitals are not and have not been able to handle donors.

The only exception is Chulakorn hospital.

If you want to donate (and if your are A-, please, please do). Contact the Red Cross

Not many hospitals are taking blood donations.

I was at Bangkok Christian and they definitely weren't taking and they had never been.

The Red Cross is the place to go (apart from Chulakorn Hospital)

UPDATE

Just spoke to my friend who is following the situation on the TV carefully. According to the news yesterday: (maybe a mod can highlight this)

All blood types are still required.

Especially A RH-. if you are this blood type, please donate now as they are very short

I went to the Red Cross Centre in BK yesterday (weds).

There was a big queue of Thais (100+) donating blood and they were taking it.

RH- was set up as a separate 'express lane' with maybe 20 waiting and 12 donating at any time. They seemed keen to receive RH-

The papers say that the hospitals have enough RH+, but they aren't making a big announcement as they are topping up reserves for the traditional New Year carnage on the roads.

I guess that they want to keep up the supply of RH- as there must still be a big demand for it and very few registered donors and not many stocks. On Tuesday, the news channels were still making urgent requests for RH- donors and I would be surprised if they have gone from 'desperately low' to 'completely full' in a single day.

The BBC's website has a similar list of people looking for people

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/4129995.stm

Hopefully some of your guys can help?

I've heard that the blood banks are short of RH-Negative blood.

If any of you have this blood type, it would be very helpful if you donated.

You could honestly save someone's life

This is a request for information regarding a resident of Phuket.

His name: Christopher William Mock (a farang)

His wife: Khae Mock (Thai, family name unknown)

Runs the Chill Bar in Phuket, near the entrance to Paradise Waterfalls.

His sister is trying to find out information about his condition.

I have checked the list and his name does not appear (which is some good news).

Can anyone in Phuket get any further information so I can forward it on.

Thanks

spog

CORRECTION: Not in Phuket, the bar is in Suratthani -so it should be okay!

that's some good news, anyway

Please link the pictures to this url, as you are not allowed to steal/copy or deep link  these pictures. Thanks.

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Okay, I'll give it a miss then.

(If I link to TV, then there is a good chance that the extra demand will overwhelm your servers and I don't want to screw up people's only form of accurate information)

Is there anything we can do to help? Like volunteer work of any kind?

I'm not in one of the affected areas and though I'd be happy to travel to help, I can't help but think that another Farang would just get in the way.

Dear Laura,

The earthquake doesn't seem to have been too bad in Thailand. There have been reports of buildings shaking a bit, but I slept through it without noticing,

I have spoken to friends in Chiang Mai and they are fine and say the area is okay.

So your friends are probably okay, too.

I hope that this reassures you.

Would anyone object if I rehosted these pics and posted them on another message board?

If I point to TV, the servers will get hammered to the point of collapse.

Carrefour in Pattaya were selling them for B30-40k - not a hugh sum of money really.

I doubt you'd be able to get finance.

Don't forget to put aside a suitable amount to cover your funeral costs!

Yes Orange UK still block there phones. But good news that an orange thai simm  will work in my phone.

Can someone give me the full dial string to call UK and how much using the 009 prefix? If I want to dial mobile 07977 456277 what's the dial sting I need?

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I'm surprised at that - O2 stopped blocking a long time ago.

you dial 009 44 7977 456277

Basically you miss off the first '0' of the UK number.

If you want to dial the 001 (full rate, best quality), you can dial +44 79....

But unlocking is not a problem - it is just a switch in the software.

Hi All,

Am looking at getting a camcorder, baby on the way and all, and have noticed that some can be used as webcams, my questions are,

1/  What, if any problems have you had during set-up, and during operation etc

2/  What brand and model did you purchase?

Am looking to spend upto 25,000THB,

Much appreciated,

I have a an iBook, if thats any help.

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I got a Panasonic DV camera. Expensive as it's the triple CCD model.

They are relatively simple to set up - just plug them in to the USB port.

But, you you need to plug in your USB cable, then the power cable, then screw in a tripod to line it up...etc, etc. then you are worried about knocking it over.

Frankly speaking, it's easier to just buy a webcam. They cost sod all - probably the same as the cost of a desktop tripod for the camcorder. I'd go down that route.

With the camcorder itself, I think the general recommendation is to buy a cheap DV recorder. After all, your mac can do all the fancy editing - you just need something that puts it onto tape. As long as the camera has a firewire connection, you can happily transfer to the mac, edit it, and tranfer back

Sony has a good reputation for camcorders, as does panasonic