Info and forum posts by 'rogeralpine'

RE: kitkat kitkash promo loooks crazy!

?? If bids can only be incremented by 100 points, how the do they get to the dizzy heights of 1 million points? Do you hit "enter" when you want to bid and the system automatically enters your bid of the previous amount + 100?? Hence if there are hundreds of biiders, the one who hits "enter" last gets the item (assuming they have enough credit??)

RE: Dukey - you must only have a small one for your 505

Not sure - but it just hit our newsagent today - defo Feb issue.

It was the review that said "don`t touch the 505 with a bargepole!" and gave picture quality 48% which has to be the s***tiest mark I`ve seen.

Dukey - you must only have a small one for your 505

...have a look at one of the new DVD mags that has just reviewed the 505. Basically it said that unless you play it on a 4 inch screen the quality is s***e!

I must admit, after all of your `rockin` about the 505 I do view this `pants` review with some sceptism!

RE: Playstation 2

I thought chips were available for the PS2 - so that you can play import games etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: Aiwa 370 connections - Scart / S Video

Yeah, Comet don`t half feed you s***e.

Phoned the national number and spoke to a guy - yes I did get his name - and he said "yes, the AIWA 370 is available on buy now pay in 6 months" - I thought, not a bad deal and although I could get it cheaper on the net, I thought I may as well benefit. Went to one of my local stores and said, "I`m interested in one of these, you can do it on 6mths int free can`t you".

You can guess what`s coming, "no chance!! mate" - basically who are you trying to kid? I gave the spiel that I spoke to Comet national - gave him the number - and said I even had the chaps name who I spoke to. I really felt like a twat as I`m sure they thought I was takin` the p***.

And surprise, surprise, a call to Comet revealed that no one by that name worked there. I went on the phone myself - in the shop - really p***ed off at this mysterious guy who didn`t exist - I felt like I was trying to prove I was telling the truth.

Anyway, I have to applaud the floor manager for being extremely pleasant (and the sales chap) - although they still probably thought I may have been takin` the p***. Head Office "looked" into it but could not find who gave me this s***e info - I mean, their investigations commenced with them asking me "hold old do you think the guy was?" - well, he sounded about, well 23, 24 - comon` , how many people do you speak to that you could put an age on - alright if there are 6 or 7 people, perhaps they should have offered to do a voice check with me!!!, but when the guy said there are 500 or so people here what friggin` chance have they got. Well I suppose because he was `male` they could probably eliminate half!

Anyway, HQ offered me one on 3mths interest free - but not before he said, "well, we`ll have to send you the forms out - with New Year and all that it may not get there until Thursday, then you have to send them back and we have to sort the rest of the paperwork out and then we can arrange for a machine to be despatched" - yeah, as if they`d have any left by then. In any case I thought sod it, so I just went and got one.

Morale of the story, don`t just get a name, get the name of their boss, the exact section they work in, their telephone extension number and anything else that you may need. Nearly got ripped off with the RAC like this - but that`s another story!!!!

Baaaastaaaards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: Comet are F****** shite

Got to agree with this. After establishing that stocks were low I thought "sod it - just get one". They were showing 6 on stock at Stockport - called the store and they reserved one. Went down there - knowing there were 3 colours - and asked the guy if he could sort a Champagne one to match my VCR. He punched a few keys on the computer and said he didn`t know what colours were available. He thought they only had black!! Anyway, he went away and about 10 minutes later - god knows where he went - he came back with a box. I asked him if he was able to check what colour it was he replied - "errr, no I didn`t - the box was taped up" - and there on the outside of the box were the words "N - GOLD" - what a dick head!!

RE: ALBA v SONY.. ITS NOT A JOKE

The ALBA can play MP3 & SVCD (not sure about the Sony)

The ALBA can`t play all features on Stuart Little - try the game!!

The picture quality on the ALBA is not good. You`ll find out soon enough.

RE: Question for Clayts

Awww, come on - be a sport Micro!!! Giv` us a clue where to look - purely for investigative reasons only you understand!!

"Ignore this post - I`m too quick off the mark sometimes!!"

This item was edited on Wednesday, 3rd January 2001, 22:48

AIWA 370 @ Comet Stockport!

Anyone after an AIWA 370 from Comet try Stockport. Had 5 in last Saturday!

RE: Yet another cry for help! (including aiwa 370)

I`d upgrade your telly first. You`re kinda tryin` to run before you can walk! You won`t really appreciate what DVD is all about on that TV - also, did you say it was a black & white set?

RE: Question for Clayts

Would the quality be `iffy? We`re not talking Pirate Vids here but the copying of digital data - if duplicated fully - i.e. no compression etc (DiVX) - then the quality will be the same as the original.

Stuart Little & Alba 103

Anyone had any probs with the R2 version of this disc? The quiz game included is all screwed up on my Abla. Selecting any answer right or wrong sets the thing in a loop which you can`t get out of!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Alba 103 Croks - Official!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Price for Sharp LCR60HDE TV for ALBA 103?

Being a bit disappointed with the Alba`s replay quality, I have decided to resolve the problem by getting the best TV possible.

I am interested in the above Sharp - available at www.unbeatable.co.uk - and wondered if anyone knows where I could get one a a few quid cheaper?

Scoop!! - Fisher Price DVD player now available

....now in stock at Toy`s R Us - the Alba 103!!!!!

It has many features, but in true Fisher Price style they don`t work. Let`s have a look at some of them!!

1) A splendid region select menu that does sweet FA.

2) A remote that by the time you`ve found the right button the film has finished.

3) A comprehensive user manual that really has concern for your safety - and not much else;

Here are just one or two of those great safety tips,

"Do not allow the DVD unit to get wet, i.e. dripping or splashing, as this MAY be dangerous" - and there I was just about to watch Gladiator from the comfort of my bath!!

"Make sure that no naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, are placed on top of the DVD unit" - bang goes my Satan worshipping session whilst watching The Exorcist.

"Use of the controls or procedures other than those specified within this manual may result in hazardous radiation exposure" - so removing the laser mechanism and aiming it at our Guinea Pigs may cause them ill health?

....and finally, no manual is complete without that essential and comprehensive `Troubleshooting` section!! - the top five are;

at 5 - "No Power - Ensure the equipment is connected properly"

at 4 - "No Sound - Ensure the equipment is connected properly"

at 3 - "No Picture - Ensure the equipment is connected properly"

at 2 - "Remote Control does not function - Ensure their are no barriers between the remote control and the unit" - what, like a brick wall and the front door when I`m in the garage - s***, now they tell me?

and at No 1, the all time favourite, "Disc cannot be played - Ensure a disc is in the unit"

and btw - I really have bought the 103 for my son this Christmas.

Aiwa 370 vs Encore

OK - it`s one or the other, but I can`t make up my mind!

Re the Aiwa;

1) The Macro disable. I presume from discussion on this forum is a hardware mod - i.e. get you wire cutters out!!

2) RCE - although it is mentioned that the hack allows region selection, I presume from this that when region 1 is selected, it plays RCE disks no probs?


Re the Encore;

1) Do versions bought now come with the upto date firmware - i.e. no lip sync probs with R1 disks?

2) The component video interests me. Although I can`t make use of it at the moment, come the new year when it`s decorating time the wife thinks all I am doing is whitewashing the rear wall - but I plan to hide a projector in there somewhere. Is a `budget` player with component video out a bit like buying a twin barrel Ansa exhaust for your 1.1 Escort - i.e. it looks the biz to a 16 year old but really it sounds like it`s on steroids and does f**k all for speed?


& for both;

1) Has anyone seen the picture quality on both of these machines and if so are there any noticeable differences (and do either have blockovision)?

2) I already have a DD 5.1 decoder so the onboard decoder with the Encore is not necessary - therefore, am I wasting my money on a feature?

RE: Hacks for Alba 103

Interesting Steve - any chance you could enlighten me about the preferences setup screen. I have it on a menu select, but it is not selectable. As the player shows it you must be able to get at it - but how? Please could you check with your mate how he was able to set the region?

RE: Budget DVD Player or not?

Just the sort of response I was looking for - cheers Max!!

RE: Budget DVD Player or not?

Thanks for the advice folks - gives me something to dwell on.

Talkin` about `block-o-vision` - I was watchin` Drop Dead Gorgeous` last night and whether it was just me or whether it was a problem with the player I don`t know (my mind playin` tricks on me!!!), but I definitely noticed some pixelation in some of the background and even foreground picture. One such scene was when the camera was looking across the basketball court to half a dozen girls sitting in the opposite stand. I happened to notice one of them had `fuzzy` hands which, on careful inspection, looked like the blocky pixels of a Crime Watch `cut out the face` scene!!!!!!

I became increasingly paranoid about this occurrance and spent most of the next half an hour not concentrating on the film but looking for repeats of the above. I then became extremely critical of every aspect of the picture quality and I`m sure that I reached the point where I was convinced that in every scene pixelation occured!!!!

Now, on a `decent` player would such pixelation occur as in the scene mentioned above - even minor pixelation - or would it just not happen at all? Maybe it was just that particular film, I don`t know, but I`m off now to examine some of my other films with my head 2mm from the TV screen!!

RE: help with alba 103

I have no prob with my 103 running MP3. What I am not sure of is whether the player can pick up more than 99 tracks on 1 disk? Also, it`s not a RW disk is it? It only reads CD-R disks.

You should also get an on screen display on your TV showing the tracks/folders.

Budget DVD Player or not?

I know this has been discussed all over this forum - but can anyone advise me what is the best player to go for?

I`ve seen all the budget player reviews and can`t believe that one player gets a decent review in one mag and a crap review in another.

I`ve already bought an Alba from Toys R Us for my son for Christmas - good excuse to get a player now and see how good it is. In all fairness I am quite impressed. Not being any sort of DVD expert, I don`t really know what to expect in terms of picture quality. I certainly don`t see any `block-o-vision` tendancies or any major lip-sync probs.

The player is Region free out of the box - already tried a couple of R1 disks - and experienced absolutely no probs. It also plays MP3 stuff, but only on CD-R`s - not RW`s. Not really a major prob because most stuff I listen to I will take the time to put on a CD-R anyway. I like the way that on a CD-R MP3 disk the menu`s are displayed on the TV - I must admit, navigation is a little awkward but acceptable. VCD`s are also no problem.

OK, it hasn`t got a decoders for 5.1 or DTS, but I have an A5 for that. That only leaves Macro as a feature to discuss - which it hasn`t - but, in all fairness, I`m not sure I`d bother with anyway. Once I have got/seen a film on DVD, why bother putting onto VHS with crap sound and picture?

So, the question is whether I buy another Alba at Christmas when I need to give one to my son - or plump for a different player, like the Yelo (which I WAS considering before seeing certain comments), which has extra features like Macro and decoders on board.

After reading various forum comments, I am tempted to go for a Pioneer, Hitachi etc...to benefit from excellent picture quality. How much of an improvement in terms of picture quality can I expect over a sub 200 deck? I know if I do this I will lose MP3 playback so I`ll have to resort to burning WAV`s instead! Another factor I am also concerned about is the `new` coding on some DVD`s just being released and their incompatibility with certain? (Wharfdale???) decks that are meant to be region free!!! via a hack or mod. Will this be a problem?