January 20, 200521 yr In order to keep up with family life I record most of the TV programmes that I like to watch. Then, if the family interupts my veiwing I do not need to get annoyed, I just pause the vcr. The trouble is that my vcr's are getting to the end of their useful life. One Sony machine no longer has spares available, well it is 12 years old. I have now bought a new DVD recorder. It is programmed just like a vcr, but records to a 160Gb disk, which will hold 70 hours of good quality recording. It can write programmes I want to save, onto a DVD-R or DVD-RW disk. There are editing facilties to cut out the annoying ads, and anything else you do not like. It also takes video camera input and I can edit and title that material as well. All in all a super piece of equipment. A little expensive, but what the heck, it sure does the job, and does not use W****ws.
January 20, 200521 yr Powerbuy has it listed for 39,990 baht. Not just a *little* expensive, I think. http://stores.col.co.th/webapp/commerce/co...fromcat=1060797 Most people can't justify a purchase of that magnitude. If I had half that much to spend, I'd get a nice TV tuner, DVD writer, and a couple of big harddisks to connect to my computer. More versatility, at the expense of not having the ease of appliance. The price of HDD DVD recorders is still a bit stratospheric. Even the cheapest (from Soken) is still 16k.
January 20, 200521 yr Strange, can't find the edit button. Anyways, the Soken is not a HDD DVD recorder, it's just a DVD recorder. The cheapest HDD DVD recorder (80GB HD) is the LG, at 29,900 baht.
January 20, 200521 yr They'll come down. Last holiday season they had them on sale in the US for less than $200 or BT 8000. That's a good price point when you consider they were $1000 last holiday season. TIVO's are even cheaper. You can pick up a TIVO for less than $100 now.
January 21, 200521 yr >DVD Recorder At least the guys who designed the remote control apparently had a good sense of humour.. The center console of the Airbus A380 has less buttons. I think I'll just add a 1000-2000 baht TV capture card to my PC. That'll record fine to harddisk and/or burn to DVD/VCD. Cheers, Chanchao
January 22, 200521 yr Author Strange, can't find the edit button.Anyways, the Soken is not a HDD DVD recorder, it's just a DVD recorder. The cheapest HDD DVD recorder (80GB HD) is the LG, at 29,900 baht. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You must be careful of what you buy. Some machines just record to DVD disk and are limited to 2 hours. Hardly worth the bother I looked at the LG and the Panasonic with 80Gb disks, and also lusted after the latest Panasonic with a massive 400Gb disk, very expensive at US$1500. I settled on the Pioneer which cost me 34,200 baht. Well if I have replaced both vcr's I would have wasted 8000 baht on a defunct technology. One to record and the other for simultaneous play back! Even buying a video tape is a hassle these days. I few shops still stock them. Anyone want any video tapes? 2 and 3 hour versions. In due course I will look at what is involved in a hard disk upgrade and let you know.
January 22, 200521 yr The HDD DVD recorders offer of course some benefits: - large combined storage of 160GB (instead of 40 standard DVDs) - it integrates perfectly in the Home Theater setup. - recording is as easy as pushing a button - optimal recording quality But considering the alternative of computer based recording/playback: - large HDD - video card with VIVO capability - internal DVD recorder which costs around THB 9,000, there's still a large gap between that amount and THB 34,200.
January 23, 200521 yr Author The HDD DVD recorders offer of course some benefits:- large combined storage of 160GB (instead of 40 standard DVDs) - it integrates perfectly in the Home Theater setup. - recording is as easy as pushing a button - optimal recording quality But considering the alternative of computer based recording/playback: - large HDD - video card with VIVO capability - internal DVD recorder which costs around THB 9,000, there's still a large gap between that amount and THB 34,200. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes but you left out the size of the dedicated PC. The noise it makes. Reliable sw to allow it to do the job, plus Windows........... The need for a UPS. I am not sure you would have much change out of 34K and a lot more hassles.
January 23, 200521 yr And don't forget the costs of a mousepad. BTW I don't see the reason to use a dedicated PC. And a UPS? What happens when there is a brownout? Do you expect your HDD DVD player to continue to work?
January 23, 200521 yr I went to Data IT in Chiang Mai today. And got me a 'Pinnacle' stereo TV capture card, including a remote control for 1600 baht. Very happy with it, installed without worries and the picture quality is excellent. Just need to get some proper length cables for the S-Video and audio feeds from the UBC receiver.. So that's a pretty good deal: 1600 baht gives you an extra TV around the house to watch on when the missus watches the dreaded soaps, ability to record TV and watch in 'timeshift' mode so you can skip through that horrid red UBC coma screen, and finally burn stuff to VCD or DVD.. And.. I'll never miss Top Gear again.
January 24, 200521 yr Author And a UPS? What happens when there is a brownout? Do you expect your HDD DVD player to continue to work? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If the power goes in the middle of a programme, it is lost. That is life. I could put the DVD rec and the ubc receiver on the UPS, then the answer would be Yes. Does your pc reboot and logon again when the power comes back on? No. The DVD recorder carries on regardless where it left off. Is the pc as simple to setup as a vcr............ NO! If it is not a dedicated machine the kids will play and b------r up all the recording settings. Connection to the internet invites viruses (viri?) to invade the machine. Not an option in my book. If I am away for a few weeks I can still set up the recorder and not miss good programmes like Top Gear!!
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