Info and forum posts by 'Keldus'

RE: Where to buy a MacBook Pro...?

What kind of work do intend to use it for?

I was going to get one but since I burn a lot of DVDs I went for the 15 inch Powerbook G4 because the DVD drive can burn dual layer discs (only the 17 inch Macbook pro has this but it costs nearly 2 grand) I found The 15 inch model Macbook pro for only 1245 quid on www.cancomuk.com.

I hope this was helpful.

Virtix Arsenal installing problems

I downloaded virtix arsenal (a plug in for imovie that enables you to put lightsabers and gunfire effects in your videos) last month and i`m having trouble installing it. I use OSX Tiger and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

RE: Anyone recommend me an ISP?

If you changed your isp, avoid Pipex like the plague. I use BT (Its worth the extra cash) Aol is really good.

RE: New Imac

cheers a million anil, the info was great.

New Imac

I read that the new imac has a dual processor but at 1300 quid it sounds too good to be true because some video editing programs such as adobe after effects recommend multiple processors to run it. i was wondering if it was wise to use an imac for after effects or am i better off with a power mac. any advice would be really appeciated.


:) ;) :) ;) :/ :/ :/ :/ :) :) :D :D :D

RE: Any DVD Recorders with HD for under £200?

I would go for LG over yamada.

RE: Any DVD Recorders with HD for under £200?

i agree with wad, i have owned a DMR EH50 for 1/2 year now and i have found no problems whatsoever. the format compatibility, the editing options, flexible recording and the picture quality is just as good as a Sony recorder. it may be £50 over budget but its worth the extra cash. I wouldn`t recommend goodmans recorders because I bought 3 goodmans products in the past and they were all unsatisfying.my goodmans dvd player was working fine for 2 days and suddenly the disc tray got jammed open because it was so flimsily built and the remote was unresponsive so i took it back, my goodmans tv had an unresponsive remote and flimsy scart sockets and my goodmans stereo kept saying "no disc" when there was a disc in it and the remote was, once again unresponsive.

The Panasonic Dmr eh50 is my recommendation and There are a couple of hard disc dvd recorders from Pioneer which are worth a look and they are cheaper than the Pannys

HAPPY SHOPPING

Firewire question

I am considering getting a MAC but there is one thing which is puzzling me. Firewire 400 and 800, i have never come across the 800 version before. i know its twice as fast but the question is.................. What devices support firewire 800 so i know if i need the port so i don`t waste the extra 300 quid on a port i don`t need.

RE: Are all GOODMAN DVDR300R rubbish ?

Goodmans products should be avoided like the plague, their build quality are rubbish and they have the feeling you would be relpacing it after 2 months due to their murky picture quality. Goodmans products are generally among the worst products on the market. The following brands should be avoided like the plague: Goodmans, Mustek, cyberhome and Bush. here are a few brands which make reliable DVD players: Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Pioneer and Philips. Sony and Panasonic are technologically the best quality but i usually go for Panasonic due to their lower prices

RE: Dvd recorders,is playback good with retail discs

Playback quality is just as good as a playback only machine, if not, better than a playback machine if it has an HDMI terminal. i once saw a samsung recorder with HDMI in currys for £230, the other dvd recorders i know of with HDMI are >£500 but the one you are considering is basically the same recorder (mine is the hard disc version) and the playback quality is the bees knees.

RE: problem playing some DVD on LG RC1000 DVD recorder combo

always check the region of the dvd recorder and the dvd and i f they have the same region they should be fine. if thats not the problem, try cleaning the disks that won`t play (wipe them from the middle to the edge, don`t clean them in a circular motion as it will likely make it worse) and look out for heavy scratches. if it`s not the disk, then the laser might need cleaning, you can buy lens cleaners in electronics retailers for less than a fiver. if none of those solutions help, consult a professional.
:¦ :¦ :) :) :)

Good luck

RE: DVD Recorders

A dvd recorder with built in freeview will actually give you proper digital recording because a scart is not a digital connection like many people believe. if you find a DVD recorder with a built in freeview and an HDMI output, that would provide end to end digital recording and playback and i mean truly digital unlike Sky digital (which becomes analogue due to a scart
lead). In other words, a built in freeview recorder gives better recording quality than an external box so i would ditch the freeview box. The only Dvd recorder i know of with built in freeview and HDMI port is the Sony RDR HX910 which you can buy for less than £500 if you
shop on the net but it does`nt have twin tuners but you sacrifice that for HDMI which will make a huge difference to the playback quality.

The Panasonic DMR EH60D is probably the next best option, it has twin freeview tuners and a 200GB hard disk and shedloads of editing options but no HDMI.


If you own or plan to buy a plasma/lcd tv with HDMI input, i would go for the sony, if you have a CRT telly i would get the panny which you can get for less than £400.

If you cannot quite afford to spend £400, the Panasonic DMR ES20 is basically the same recorder as the EH60D with no hard drive and no SD card slot which is only around the £200 mark.

HAPPY SHOPPING

RE: Which One Should i go for?

I would go for the Pioneer one for shedloads of reasons:

[*]The recorded picture quality

[*]80 GB hard disk which has got decent editing functions (Unlike some cheaper brand recorders such as mustek and goodmans)

[*]it has RGB scart and progressive scan


Philips recorders are ok, but i don`t really trust the +r/rw formats because of their limited editability. I would strongly adivse the Pioneer due to superior picture quality and
build quality.

RE: Anybody recomend a decent dvd recorder

You can buy any Dvd recorder in multiregion if you shop online, the Panasonic DMR ES10 records nearly all dvd formats, LP recording with high resolution and there is a hard disc version (DMR EH50) which is ideal for editing and time slipping which can cost as low as £270 (£130 of rrp). if you want slightly cheaper, Avoid if it has: No RGB scart, no Progressive scan and if it a Mustek or a Goodmans recorder as their products would do better as scrap metal. Panasonic is, quality wise as good as Sony except they charge less (thats why i always buy panny stuff).

RE: pioneer dvr 433h or jvc mh20

I would go for the Pioneer because of RGB input which makes a big difference to recorded picture quality. JVC dvd recorders are best avoided because of the glaring omission of RGB scart leaving you with S-video as your best input connection and S-video ports are quite rare on freeview boxes so always make sure you buy a dvd recorder with RGB input.

RE: looking to buy my Xmas pressie LCD / Plasma 42" recomendations please £1000

If you want High definition, i would go for an LCD because HD ready plasmas go £1500 and up so you can get better quality picture for less, despite the lower contrast and smaller screen size. 42 inch Lcds cost megabucks so you would be luckier than a lottery winner if you managed to get a 42 inch LCD for only a grand. The Panasonic TX32 LXD52 is an excellent screen which is HD ready, brilliant black levels for lcd technology and its only £1080 at digico.co.uk

Good luck

RE: Video to DVD recording.

A problem i encountered was that it flickered for a few seconds in the middle of recording so i would advize a Hard disk model with decent editing options so you can take out the bad part of the recording, record on the same bit of the tape and hopefully it will record it fine, if so put it in the place where you took the bad part out and trim the ends of it if necessary and you should have a perfect recording exept the slight pauses between chapters.
here are a couple of dvd recorders with a hard discs and shedloads of editing options:

Panasonic DMR EH50 <£300

Toshiba RD XS34 <£290 (best dvd recorder for editing according to What Home Cinema magazine)

GOOD LUCK! :)

:) :D :D :D

This item was edited on Monday, 31st October 2005, 18:58

RE: Freeview box need amped arial .. info needed please

The higher the DB, the better the reception. I have a fine freeview reception in Bournemouth but it can go blocky at times so i bought an an aerial booster and the blocking hasn`t happened once since.

Freeview marked ones are recommended

RE: matsui dvd recorder - problems

Third party dvd players/recorders Like Goodmans, Matsui, Mustek and Bush often have that sort of problem (my school had a Goodmans cd player with a very reluctant disc tray) and most of them are pretty unresponsive from my experience (pressing play at least 10-20 times before it works). you just need to know what brands are reliable, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Pioneer are good brands. The clock problem is something i have never come accross before.

I hope this was helpful and if you consider a new player/recorder, i can recommend one within your budget :)

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

RE: Do you think buying an xbox is a waste?

I would wait for the xbox 360 because its backwards compatible and if you bought a regular xbox, it would feel like a real waste of cash when the the 360 comes out (a friend bought a plasma tv and 2 months later, HD ready screens started coming out, what a bummer) so get the 360, relax and enjoy

RE: matsui dvd recorder - problems

What is the fault because you never explained what it is and i will be willing to help all i can.

RE: Worth get an HDD/DVD Recorder?

I own the DMR EH50 and having a HDD makes a huge difference and loads of advantages:

Editing out adverts and boring bits of a programme or film before sticking it on a DVD (there are too many to mention) i agree with Sj, it is an exellent recorder although i own the non freeview one. i also like it because you have more format options so you can record something for a friend without worrying they don`t have a compatible player, Philips ones only record the +R/RW format which can be a problem If the friend owns a -R/RW dvd player (the EH50/60 is free from that problem). you can`t go far wrong with a Panasonic DVD/HDD recorder as the LP mode is almost as good as SP mode (An 80 GB hard disc will be just fine).

Happy shopping

A question for Sj, does a built in freeview tuner give better recording quality than an external box.

This item was edited on Friday, 28th October 2005, 17:17

RE: problem with dvd player(sound)

It could be a dodgy scart socket or whatever connection you use. if not, the dvd player might be dead. If so, the Toshiba SD 350 has an Hdmi socket, prog scan and it can cost as low as £75 if you shop on the net, plus, it got an excellent review on What home cinema, good luck.

RE: Component video cable for gamecube?

Older Uk gamecubes support component video, but newer ones don`t, I was just wondering where to get them from.

Component video cable for gamecube?

Does anybody know where i can get a component video cable for gamecube in the uk? I recently discovered a digital av port on the back of my gamecube (which is apparently not on newer models) and read about component cables on american websites. If anyone knows where i can get them, any info will be appreciated.

RE: best digital camera under £100?

The Panasonic Lumix dmc ls1 is only £100 in kelkoo.co.uk with a 4 megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom. Panasonic products rarely dissapoint (Most of my gadgets are panny products). If you want something a bit cheaper, the following brands should be avoided like the plague:

Mustek and Goodmans

Happy Shopping

Keldus

RE: My TV Just Went Bang, Advice On A Replacement 32

The Panasonic 32 TX LXD52 is very similar to the Toshiba and you can get it for £1090 on kelkoo (£40 more costly but It is the bees knees) It brother, the LXD 500 is the UKs NO.1 lcd according to What home cinema magazine which is basically the same tv (The only difference is that it has an SD slot for MPEG4 recording) so the LXD52 is a screen worth the extra cash

RE: Portable dvd player

strong Magnets can wipe out VHS recordings and and warp cds and circuit boards and distort the sound so keep away from strong magnets.

RE: Recommend me a Freeview box

Goodmans and Mustek products are best avoided like the plague, I own a Matsui with top up tv and it is really good for £50. Panasonic models are known to have top quality picture and they are known to be easy to use like Their dvd recorders. you will benefit well from shopping on the net (I saved £150 on a Panny dvd recorder), here are some good bargain sites:

www.kelkoo.co.uk

www.pricerunner.co.uk

Happy shopping and good luck and i hope the advice was helpful

PS. Philips and Sony ones are worth a look

RE: dvd +rw and dvd -rw

DVD-RW comes in 2 forms, Video mode and VR mode. VR mode enables simultaneous recording and playback and non linear editing such as deleting stuff from any place you like (even the middle) and changing the order of the chapters, however VR recordings are not compatible with most dvd players but video mode can but the editing on those is basic.

DVD+RW is essensially a replacement for vhs, nothing more and nothing less (That format is often found on cheap dvd recorders so you would be be better off with DVD-RW)