Info and forum posts by 'nostalgiadvd'

RE: Can you use an old Sky+ box with freesat?

You can use any Sky box to view Freesat channels and it will in fact give you many more channels than a Freesat box will.
But you won`t be able to record them even with a Sky+ box.

The £10 charge for recording was scrapped years ago but it was on the condition you had some kind of Sky sub and it still is.

The HD sub is also still there ripping off Sky customers but you don`t need to pay it unless you have taken out a deal from Sky.

Get a box secondhand or wait until your 12 month sub is up and even without the Sky HD sub you can still get BBC HD , C4HD,ITV1HD ,FIVEHD ,Luxe HD and later this year BBC1HD too.

But once again , you need a sub to record them or you need a Freesat+ box

RE: BLU RAY BAD TRANSFER THREAD!

You can add the US Bluray of Spartacus to the list

RE: Dr. Terror`s House of Horror DVD comparison

It`s the end credits that are from non standard source

RE: Any ebay experts.

The current way of auto bidding has been with us on Ebay since I joined in 2002.

If it says "Administrative cancellation" then ebay themselves have removed the bid .
They may have suspended the bidder or suspect it`s a shill bid or a dodgy bid for one of many other reasons

RE: Buying DVDs From American/Canadian Websites

I`ve ordered the Alias 30 disc boxset and the Land of the Giants boxset both from Amazon USA and they got through without additional charges.
Seems to be potluck.

Every £18+ item I order from PLAYUSA gets a custom charge

RE: Help with an odd Sky+ problem

This is a known problem with Sky+ COPY on certain Sky+ models.

I have a Sky+160 that works fine.

I`m surprised Sky are sending out an engineer as Digital Spy users are also having the same problem.

Its a software glitch that will be sorted.

Only way out at the moment is to transfer stuff one at a time.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 17th October 2007, 21:37

RE: The Digital Bits names a winner in the Hi Def Disc war...

Although any betting man would put his wager on Bluray at the moment I still cant see it replacing dvd unless HDDVD formally gives up.

DVD as it stands still offers superior quality to what most people seeon their digital tv systems so I cant see Joe Public rushing out to buy into HD movies unless the amount of normal tv in HD increases massively.

We all know about the rubbish quality that SD gives on an LCD or plasma so unless we can spend money on a new tv AND get better quality most of the time I can see BR limping on and existing alongside DVD just as VHS did with Laserdisc

RE: Actor Chris Langham `in tears over child porn`

While Langham is rightfully on trial for the stuff allegedly on his PC there`s no way he should be on trial for the other charges relating to the girl.

As it was 9 years ago there is obviously no evidence whatsoever to prove it either did or did not occur.

As we see time and again ,the CPS see the charges for porn as a useful stepping stone to convincing the jury that the underage sex took place aswell.

It all boils down to "Well he did that so he must have done that too".

This is one of the many examples of the farce that is called Justice in the UK.

Whether the Jury find him guilty will be based purely on the performance of his lawyers and accuser in court .It wont be based on evidence thats for sure.

RE: Is High Definition the death knell for old movies?

Of course old movies should be released on HD.

35mm quality is better than the HD we have anyway ,so if its visible in HD then it was more than visible on the big cinema screen.

Some tv shows may exhibit some low budget defects but thats no reason for them not to be released in their HD glory.

Many tv shows ,especially UK stuff wont benefit from HD because they were made on Video or 16mm or super 16 so the remaining UK shows on 35mm (mostly ITC) and US shows should come out ,low budget or not

RE: Cloudy Disc Alert: X Files Season 2

Are you referring to the complete 60+ disc box set or the original season 2 set in th fold out packaging


Edit:Just checked mine and most of the discs are misting.
I got season 1 on R1 .I wish I had carried on doing the same

This item was edited on Wednesday, 27th June 2007, 21:32

RE: Blu-Ray imminent death!!!

Much as I will enjoy watching Bluray join the Sony format graveyard I think its a bit early for that.

The HCC story is merely conjecture about a possibility we all knew about anyway.

That finalised BD-J will not be compatible with current players.

As annoying as that will be for some buyers it wont be that films are unplayable.

Its a stab in the back for early adopters but only PS3 buyers will feel the pinch.

Lets be honest,the number of Bluray standalones sold to mugs wont be much higher than numbers on your national lottery card ,so its not a big deal in real terms for users but its certainly good ammo for HDDVD supporters to laugh at Blu-ray punters

This item was edited on Sunday, 24th June 2007, 20:40

RE: Blockbuster Ends Hi- Def Format War??

Video rental availability may have eventually given VHS the edge over Beta but it took a long time to die.

I got a recorder in 1981 and VHS was ahead thanks to the agreement between JVC and Thorn EMI that made VHS almost exclusively the format of choice when renting a recorder (as most did at the time) but Beta machines were available for decades afterwards.

By the mid to late 80`s Sony were producing their own dreadful VHS machines ,but Beta and Superbeta machines were available well into the 90`s ,and Japan only ceased Beta production in 2002.

The oft bandied about theory that VHS won because porn labels chose it is complete rubbish (in the UK anyway) .

Its also obvious that its far too early to declare a winner in the HD war just yet.
With the numbers of the general public buying Bluray standalones possibly reaching the dozens its stupid to finalise anything.

Unless Bluray players start going down to HDDVD player prices the only future for both formats is extinction.

Unless one format gives in ,this war is most likley to be decided by whoever gets an affordable recorder to market first

This item was edited on Tuesday, 19th June 2007, 21:43

RE: Blockbuster Ends Hi- Def Format War??

If the HD disc market was being used by the mass market then the Blockbuster decision may have had some bearing on the situation ,but everyone buying HD discs of either format at the moment can be counted as early adopters ,most of which will be into buying their discs.

I think the Blockbuster decision is just a short term cash in on the PS3 buyers who may want to sample HD movies,and will have little bearing on the eventual outcome of the format war.

There are still no affordable Bluray players bar the PS3 so mass market sales are still a long way off.

But the HDDVD camp should start releasing some quality titles.

With Universal the sole HDDVD only company ,they have some real classics they could get out into the shops to help the format along

RE: USA DVD code change

If the tv dvd`s are home recordings then yes,as home recorders do not add region coding to discs.

If they are official commercial dvd`s then it all depends whether your player is being enabled for multiregional playback.

Region code hacks normally enable playback of all regions

Are you in the US?
What is your player?
What discs are you trying to play?

RE: OMG!!! The ultimate collection is here spanning over a whopping 179 Discs!!!!

This was posted elsewhere months ago.

Heck of a set though

RE: Philips DVDR 880 Error code

The fact that you still have a working Philips 880 is nothing short of a miracle.

These diabolical piles of junk all ,without exception,left the factory with faulty parts and every single one will have had one ,two or more repairs since 2002.

Most people cut their losses and dumped the Philips rubbish before important recordings were lost.

Normally +R discs start to be faulty on recording,along with problematic playback of prerecords then +RW goes too and the machine is fit for the bin.

I should pat yourself on the back for lasting this long,but now is the time to move on and buy a proper dvd recorder will full features.

Whatever the error code refers to ,you will need to pay for the repair and its simply not worth it for the 880

RE: Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

I got this classic on the 1997 VHS releases and have had to put up with those transferred to dvd for years so it will be nice to finally get a proper dvd of it.

What will be really interesting will be the quality.
The masters used for the tapes were a bit ropey but I would be surprised if any restoration has been done ,but here`s hoping.

The more recent re-release of the cd soundtrack was superb.
Ironically the most memorable thing about the show was the music ,and this was written specially for the English version.
The original foreign version has totally different music

RE: Recommend me an DVD player with Hard drive.

Pioneer recorders also use the improved quality at low recording levels that Panny do.

As a bonus Pioneer also record to dual layer discs (only dvd- IIRC)

RE: Recommend me an DVD player with Hard drive.

Liteon announced their withdrawl from set top recorder production.

It was said that this was due to the high number of problems with their recorders.

If you get Pioneer or Panasonic they also write to both + and - so you can take your pick

RE: DVD REGIONS

As long as it states R2 or even R2 and R4 on the box it will be ok.

Many Australian dvd`s labelled on the box as R4 are also coded for R2.

And a selection of R1 titles (mostly cartoons and tv series) from Warner are also coded for R2 aswell as R1 and sometimes R4

RE: Recommend me an DVD player with Hard drive.

Unless you want a cheap nasty supermarket brand I would go for Pioneer.

They are full featured and very reliable.

Whatever you do,dont get one that relies purely on the DVD+ system for dvd recording

RE: recording from freeview telly

Buy a Freeview PVR.

Seems quite normal if the FV tuner is built into the TV that when switched off you wont be able to record from it.

You really should have asked these questions before buying the set.

A Freeview PVR will allow you to record 2 channels simultaneously while using the FV tuner on your tv to watch a third

RE: Colourising old movies....

Night of the Living Dead was another film that fell into the US public domain,and the colorised version is the same awful quality as the L&H.

On R2 IIRC the Bewitched season 1 and 2 were only available in colour ,whereas on R1 there were separate sets for B&W or colour,so I got season 1 in B&W and season 2 in colour.

If you watch them (they were shown a few years back on Granada+) you wont believe they were made in B&W,its flawless.

However,the R1 re-release of the 1947 Miracle on 34th Street appears to have sourced a colorised version from the 80`s,so luckily the B&W one is there too.

As long as you have a choice I dont see a problem.
Some of the early Carry On`s like Spying and Teacher could look good in colour

RE: Colourising old movies....

The L&H films were one of the earliest examples of 80`s colorisation,along with Its A Wonderful Life and so the quality is dreadful.

It was perhaps because they were so bad that the general feeling towards the process became very negative and collectors and most broadcasters quickly stopped being interested in the stuff.

However,in the 21st Century the technology has come a long way and if you take a look at the first 2 seasons of Bewitched (and other stuff) its absolutely impossible to tell they were not originally in colour.

ON the + side,the process has made it possible for some aging tv shows to be repeated as most channels wont entertain B&W stuff,they just miss those out and move to the colour seasons.

But as with the L&H dvd`s (and Bewitched on R1) its nice to have the choice.
As a film collector I prefer to watch them in B&W if thats how they were made,but if a colourised version is presentable then at least other viewers get to watch.

But L&H are not an accurate representation of whats possible with colorising today

RE: Are the R2 Die Hard movies cut ?

I am almost certain that Die Hard 2 is uncut on R2.

Edit-DVD Compare confirms that the R2 is uncut.

There was some fuss a decade ago because the icepick shot was missing on the VHS which was given a 15.
At that time the UK laserdisc came out and was complete with an 18.
This lead to discussion about different versions with different certificates being available-it was the same with T2 which was cut on VHS but uncut on the UK LD.

The cuts present in DH 3 were nothing to do with the BBFC but with Buena Vista who unintentionally released a butchered version.

Edit-DVD Compare confirms that SOME cuts were not BBFC originated.

As I said before,at least some of the bits that need not have been missing were back in on the DVD re-release.

Its really not a good idea to follow the BBFC website for 100% accuracy on waiving of cuts as their database always seem to be missing some info .

Best bet is sites like DVD Compare where real fans who know the films back to front can confirm their status

This item was edited on Monday, 9th April 2007, 21:02

RE: Are the R2 Die Hard movies cut ?

Die Hard 2 was cut for its VHS release but IIRC the cut was restored for dvd.
Die hard 3 was mistakenly released in some kind of airline version for its original UK dvd release but I was under the impression that some ,if not all the cuts were restored for dvd re-release.

But its this kind if uncertainty with key titles like the Die Hard series that always makes sure I go for r1 on those

RE: How essential is HDMI on a HDD/DVD Recorder?

HDMI is really only to enable and HD input.

As there are no devices yet capable of recording in HD (apart from Sky HD) I would not worry about it.

RE: SKY + PROBLEM

I have a Sky+160 ,a Freeview HDD recorder and a Pioneer HDD recorder and all exhibit this type of grinding sound ,but it should be very low.

If you were expecting constant silence then you are mistaken.

I dont think you have anything to worry about if its not audible under normal viewing conditions

RE: V the tv series, where can i get the complete set.....what is the complete set????

I also have them but the miniseries is still cut.

The episode trailers/recaps/previews that were present at the beginning and end of each episode are missing.

Obviously not essential to the story but very well put together and they were shown on the repeats by ITV.

But the VHS and dvd versions are all missing

RE: V the tv series, where can i get the complete set.....what is the complete set????

The first time the SF channel aired the show years ago ,the miniseries was shown in the 10 episode format,and so did the early broadcast on Sky One.

Current SF channel screenings seem to be in the original format,although not uncut-but then,neither are the dvd`s