My two new favorite electronics
 

I just have to share my opinions on two cool new electronic devices I just bought. I highly recommend both.

video (svideo/composite) to vga converter

$59

I just got this in the mail and only connected it for a minute before I had to go out of town for a week. But my initial impression is very positive. It's awesome! I needed it because I have several video players/recorders (dvd/hdd recorder, vcr, 2 dvd players) going through a switchbox to my projector. But I hate having to turn on the projector just to set the recording timer. I had an extra 15" CRT monitor that makes an ideal "TV" after connecting this adapter to it. And man! Is it ever crystal clear!

JVC DR-MV150B DVD/VCR Recorder Combo

I got it at Sam's Club for $199.

What makes this thing so cool is the ATSC/QAM tuner. I can record my shows now from cable without using the settop cable box. I wish it had a hdd, but I am OK with it as it is. It works with re-writable discs, and even has a VCR. I don't think it compares to the pro-sumer JVC decks, but it's nice to have a new VCR just in case one of my old ones break down.

This thing records HDTV shows that are widescreen anamorphically. And it records with great quality too. I'll report more as I get to know it better... but as I said above, I am out of town for the week.


Darryl

Yep, not bad.

The Philips 3505 or 3506 would be better for a DVD recorder, better quality, more modes to choose from, and the ATSC/QAM tuner.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.ht...reative=390957
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.ht...reative=390957

Those VGA converters are useful, in the right scenario.

Sounds like you've got a smoothly-working setup there. That's always nice isn't it? Nothing is more aggravating than video or computer setups with problems.

Wow! I did not realize the Philips model had a QAM tuner. Why don't they promote this fact? That's a huge feature!

So tell me... I saw one of the complaints on Amazon was that it cropped the sides of widescreen recordings. But I believe the guy had it set wrong. For instance, I am telling my JVC recorder that I have a widescreen TV (which I do). And it records widescreen shows anamorphically. But I am certain that if I set it to 4x3 pan and scan that it will crop, and that if I tell it 4x3 letterbox then it will letterbox widescreen material.


BTW, on the s-video>VGA converter... I saw complaints on Amazon (for a very similar model) about picture quality. I have no problems. But I did notice that if I use the inlcluded s-video cable that it picks up EMI. So I am using a better cable and the EMI is gone. I have the output set at 800x600.


Darryl

Most negative user reviews are reflective of the person, and not the product. In other word, it's user error, the person is the idiot and not the device. This one be one of those times.

Set it to 4:3, it records in letterbox or 4:3 as 4:3.
Set as 16:9, and it will pillarbox 4:3 or record WS as WS.

Philips kept calling it a "digital tuner" for the longest time. These were made in 2007, after all. This was before most people knew what ATSC or QAM was. It just happened to have both.

Yeah, I guess nobody cared about QAM back in 2007 since Cable was still sending analog channels... at least for the majority of channels. Today is different. Now they are only sending locals in analog.


Darryl

Cable still sends analog. The digital cable is encrypted, excluding locals, so the TV QAM tuner can't decrypt it anyway -- a cable box is required for channels like Cartoon Network, Syfy, USA, TNT, etc. The QAM can broadcast either HD or SD.

Most people still confuse HDTV with DTV.

Maybe in your state, but here only locals are sent analog. The rest are QAM in the clear except for "premium" channels (HBO, Showtime, and some HD stuff). But stuff like Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, Discovery, TLC, Syfy, USA, TNT... they are in the clear. Which is why I love this recorder so much. And of course the locals are sent in both SD and HD.

Yeah, my dad was all confused about it. He went through and wrote all his channels down on a sheet of paper and anything that was digital he wrote HD next to. I showed him the difference. All those channels except for only a few were SD (480i), only the locals were HD (720p - 1080i). I just had to intervene. The poor guy was watching the Alabama football game in SD stretched... something that drives me nuts! I had to find the HD version of that channel so he could see the difference. He won't go back now. :-)


Darryl

[how the hell did I double-post?]

Who's you cable carrier?

Comcast.