Tea? (Part 2)

[Baggy]

The roads look pretty icy still so I don't know when I'll be able to get the bike out .

There's irony in the fact that you've trundled all that way through Canada and then can't get out here! Icy roads: we're doing it wrong.

 

[Speicher]

So, Night Train and Potsy. Thenks for you help, and I have some more questions.

On my current video player, I can record one programme and watch another, provided one of those programmes is on Terrestrial tv. Is a dvd player not the same. There is a scart toggle wotsit that has been set up.

My current tv is widescreen but is about ten years old. Do I need to get a High Definition DVD player for when I update the tv in say five years' time. And what, in common parlance, is this Blue Ray apparatus?

My electronic gizmos tend to last a very long time. The video recorder is fifteen years old. I can remember that because its predecessor was the one item damaged when moving house. The tv is ten years old. The tv before that reached the age of about 23, when I won this tv as a raffle prize. I have a cheapo dvd player that I was given, but it is a pitb to operate.

I know I could ask this on the open forum, but then I tend to get so many people saying things in such a technie way, that I get confussed. We have an excellent independent shop in town for buying electronic items, but it helps if I know the basics before I ask the very helpful lady for guidance.

 

[Night Train]

If your tv is analogue then you won't recieve the freeview digital channels.
You video tuner won't either, nor any other analogue tuner.

A DVD player generally doesn't have any tuner at all as it will only play DVDs. A DVD, or hard drive, recorder that has an older analogue tuner will not receive any freeview channels.

My DVD recorder only had one analogue tuner so I could only record one channel at a time. It now has its own dedicated freeview box but I no longer use it for recording tv in general.

I have a freeview hard drive recorder that has twin digital tuners, £120 from Asda. That means that I can use it to record/watch two channels at the same time. Added to my digital tv I can have three channels all at the same time, one being watched and two being recorded. If I use my DVD recorder with freeview I can then record a third channel while still watching tv.

I replaced my old analogue CRT tv with a 26" wide screen digital tv. I wasn't bothered about HD or anything like that as at the time there was no settled concensus on what was available.

Like wise I didn't bother with Blueray as I am quite happy with the image on my tv without having to then get a HD tv to watch the Blueray high definition on.



Firstly, I would say that you need to have equipment that will receive digital signals, either a set top box or a new tv etc if you are replacing anyway.
I have found that a hard drive recorder is more reliable then a DVD recorder as there is negligable degradation in the hard drive compared to the limied use DVD RW discs. Also the HD recorder can have twin tuners and USB input/output and can be cheaper then the single tuner DVD recorder.

As for Blueray and HD it really depends on how much you want to have high deinition films and a whole new DVD library to go with it. I didn't think it was worth the cost.

 

[Speicher]

Perhaps I should have mentionned that I subscribe to Sky. Sorry I forgot to mention that. I do not have a separate Freeview box. No I do not intend to acquire a whole new dvd library. I agree there is a limit to the cost involved.

I will re-read all the other points you have raised. It is very kind of you to explain all these possibilities. If I know what I would like the machine to do, then the assistant will be more able to point me in the direction of the right machine.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Err - doesn't your Sky box have a record feature? I think my neighbour's one does.

I has a freeview telly and a freeview box - so I have 3 tuners and can record 2 programmes as I watch a third. As for adverts - I can just skip thro' those on the recordings.

 

[potsy]

Have you got normal Sky or Sky+ Speich? Sky+ is a hard disc recorder but you'd then need a separate DVD recorder if you wanted to transfer things to disc.
We have Virgin TV that we use to watch TV if watching it live, and the Freeview DVD recorder to 'tape' anything else.

I wouldn't bother getting a HD DVD if you're not planning on getting a HD TV for 5 years, who knows what will be around then.

Blueray is now the main way to get HD DVD's but you'd need the HD TV to go with it.

My Panasonic DVD recorder has 'upscaling' which is meant to give a similar picture to HD but I haven't got a HD TV either.

So, if you just want to record TV programmes and watch later and be able to record 2 channels at once I'd go for a decent Freeview HDD like a Humax, making sure it has twin tuners.

If you want to be able to put stuff onto disc then you'll need a DVD recorder.

Plenty to get your head around now, sorry if it confuses you more.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Ah - I see. Sky+ has a recorder function but Sky doesn't. You pays your money..........

Just rewired up my speakers on my Music centre. Might test it with some Vinyl 33 1/3 tonight. I'm old technology me.

 

[potsy]

Ah - I see. Sky+ has a recorder function but Sky doesn't. You pays your money..........

Just rewired up my speakers on my Music centre. Might test it with some Vinyl 33 1/3 tonight. I'm old technology me.

Better not mention MP3 players and I-pods then?

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Better not mention MP3 players and I-pods then?

Oh - I got one of those off e-bay. At some point it would be nice to put my vinyl on it. Is that possible?

 

[Night Train]

Oh - I got one of those off e-bay. At some point it would be nice to put my vinyl on it. Is that possible?

It'll be a tight squeeze!

I would like to do the same with my big stack of vinyl and I keep saying that I would get a turntable with usb output, or just a good turntable and do the rest in my friend's recording studio.

 

[Speicher]

Better not mention MP3 players and I-pods then?

Mention what?

I pod peas?

 

[potsy]

Oh - I got one of those off e-bay. At some point it would be nice to put my vinyl on it. Is that possible?

26x25 you need to move into CD's then when you've mastered those you can attempt the world of digitally downloading music, don't rush it though will you?

Shouldn't laugh as I'm quite late to all things technological myself, only had a computer 2 years, MP3 maybe 18 months.

 

[potsy]

Mention what?

I pod peas?

There's you're pressie, MP3 player ready loaded with 'The Black eyed Peas' latest album

 

[Arch]

Mention what?

I pod peas?

I don't even do that, I buy them mushy from the chip shop....

I'm having a large stir fry - one lump of noodles just didn't look like enough...

 

[Speicher]

Pots, when I started work, computers needed a whole room to themselves. All they did was invoices for a medium-sized company.

Someone once said, only two computers would ever be needed in England. One for the Inland Revenue, and one for MI6. That's military intelligence not the M sixteen.