Info and forum posts by 'kuat'

RE: AIWA 370, Factually accurate review from what Hi-Fi etc etc

I guess the problem with most professional reviewers, whether they are "experts" on DVD players or Cars or whatever, is that they are being paid to have an opinion to make copy.

In the course of their careers they have to deal with testing the latest technology at extortionate prices to the latest budget offerings using less than cutting edge tech.

It is inevitable that they will write reviews which don`t accuratley reflect the needs of the target market for product.

The best example is car magazines - your average car buyer doesn`t really give a s*** about the quality of the plastic covering the dashboard or the fact it doesn`t have side airbags etc. but these guys have to come up with something and often judge the rest against the best fot want of a better comparison.

so it is with AV gear as well - try b4 you buy is the best idea

RE: TOSHIBA!

what about the SD200 - is that also being discontinued?

RE: Recordable dvd players coming out?

Why not buy a TiVo - available now, £400 , records 40 hours - a perfect addtion to your existing A/V set up surely?

anybody got one - I AM intrigued by them. How is the quality etc.

This item was edited on Sunday, 28th January 2001, 12:24

RE: Aiwa 370?

same thing happened to me - I signed up as a new member but then it said I needed to ask permission to get in?

I fear the unknown and left it there.......

RE: Aiwa 370?

ooh, a chance to scoop Jimbo on spreading the good word on the 370...I`ll take it.

check through the forum mate - the 370 is highly regarded with all the feature you are looking for.

BUT......

they are almost totally sold out as far as I`m aware - they aren`t being restocked until March. If you find one in comet it is likely an ex-display or repaired return.

I believe the LG 3350 is closely related to it but a bit more expensive. I`m sure I will be corrected if this is not true.

I couldn`t be arsed waiting and bought a Scan 2 weeks ago. I have had no bother at all with it and in my opinion it is a fine machine. Still, if I had £300 to spend I probably wouldn`t bother with the Scan - the extra £115 in your budget brings tastier machines into reach

This item was edited on Thursday, 25th January 2001, 22:33

RE: Just got Scan2000..big problems..new to DVD..help..

true to form wasp - I expected no less

cheers

RE: Just got Scan2000..big problems..new to DVD..help..

nice one - so the machine was fine afterall

we`ll no doubt get apologies from the snipers now

..yeah right

RE: SCAN SC2000 macro disablement

Jaxon,

Night and Day mate.

The Daewoo was utter rubbish as far as the picture quality went - pixellation all over the shop.

I did have reservations that the improvents to the chipset in the Scan would not go far enough to curing this, but I am glad to say I am entirely happy with the picture.

The sound is fine but I`ve not really given it a full workout through my stereo yet, but the 28" widescreen Hitachi does just fine

RE: Budget TV & DVD - suggestions?

hmm, budget DVD player and TV and a mini system as well.

There are a couple of Aiwa mini systems that have built in DVD playback the XR DV120 and the XR DV525.

check out the aiwa.co.uk website for the full specs, but the 120 is readily available at around £200. The 525 is a bit more i think as it is a dolby pro logic 5 speaker system.

I asked the question to the forum last week if anybody had any experiences of these systems, but the zero replies suggested otherwise.

Jimbo - you must have something to say about them given your line of work and Aiwa DVD appreciation. Are these systems based around the revered 370 (albeit somewhat pared down as far as some of the features go)???

As for TVs, Tesco do a 28" Widescreen Wharfedale for £280, but I`m unsure how good they are - I suspect you would probably do better spending a wee bit more on an end of line Philips or Hitachi.

RE: Connecting DVD player with other systems!!

Stu

you could try typing "connection" in the search box, but being a kind bloke I`ve done it for you.

this next section is entirely ripped off from clayts jan 10 2001. For Sky read any digital tv system. Check you TV manual for the SCART settings.

"The general consensus is this :

SCART from DVD to TV AV1 (or whichever of the two sockets is RGB enabled : you then want to tell your DVD to bang out an RGB signal thru that SCART)

SCART from SKY (VCR out) to VCR AV1 or AV2 (makes no difference)

SCART from SKY (TV out) to TV AV2 (I know SKY can output RGB too, but your DVD picture will be so much better than a SKY RGB picture)

(Incidentally, should your DVD be macrovision-disabled you could also stick a SCART from DVD to VCR)

RF lead from SKY to VCR, and VCR to TV (for the analogue signal)

This means that when you press PLAY on your VCR it will switch the telly to AV2 automatically. It also means when you switch on your SKY it will switch the telly to AV2 automatically. And when you press POWER on your DVD player that should switch the TV to AV1 automatically.

You can also tape the old analogue broadcasts (that`ll include ITV with SKY then !!!), as well as tape direct from SKY (without your timer, unless your video has satellite control), and if you so desire DVD !

From SKY to AMP : decent pair of phono leads (i.e. phono-phono X 2)
From VCR to AMP : ditto
From DVD to AMP : depends on your amp - is it a Dolby Digital job ? If so hook up the two with either a coaxial or optical digital cable (£20 from Richer Sounds). If it isn`t then either phono-phono X 6 from your DVD player (if it has an on-board decoder) to your AMP (if it has six inputs!) or a decent pair of phono leads (i.e. phono-phono X 2)

Er...I think that`s it ? (you say your Sky digibox has only one SCART, but I think you`ll find it has tw"

RE: What player do you have, so I can work out the which players have sold the most.

Scan SC2000 january 2001 spec - very happy with it

RE: Just got Scan2000..big problems..new to DVD..help..

paul - did nelleys suggestion work?

RE: Just got Scan2000..big problems..new to DVD..help..

there are a few things you could try

firstly, make sure the video output in the player setup menu is set up for your tv, i.e. PAL (if your tv is PAL obviously) muck about with the scart output - mine is set to RGB.

you may also be able to alter your TV scart inputs - sometimes they are setup for a specific input - what kind of TV is it, does it have s-video and composite inputs?

sadly, there is also the possibilty that the machine is buggered.

RE: SCAN SC2000 macro disablement

I have a newer SC2000 and I haven`t hacked it yet so on that front I can`t help.

however, I did have a Daewoo machine before (pretty much the same as the older Scans`) and the macrovision options came up at the end of the secret region choosing menu which is enabled with the handset hack

no disk in drive, power off, power on , OPEN,SETUP,SHUFFLE,STEP,NEXT

RE: Just got Scan2000..big problems..new to DVD..help..

I had a similar problem with mine - turned out to be the VCR interfering with the signal.

what else is plugged in to your tv?

Aiwa XR-DV525 and XR-DV120 DVD Mini Systems - any info?

Has anybody else seen these combined Mini Systems/DVD players in the shops recently?

the XR DV120 is only £200, I don`t know about the XR DV525 as I haven`t seen any apart from in aiwa.co.uk, but I`d imagine it is more expensive as it has built in Dolby Pro Logic and comes with 5 speakers

What I really want to know is if the DVD player is essentially a pared down 370? If it is (and isn`t too pared down) surely this would be an excellent budget AV setup.

RE: Orac, how`s it going?(in MY opinion - you have had your say guys(again and again and again...))

orac,

excuse me butting in on your "conversation" but what was that about customs doing you for one disk?

I was under the impression that goods of a value of up to £50 were generally left alone.

I haven`t yet ventured into the world of importing disks yet so any recommendations would be welcome

cheers

kuat

RE: Scan 2000 / Aiwa 730 / LG3200 - What a dilemma !

by all accounts the Aiwa is a top machine and well worth the cash. However, you`ld have a better chance of buying unicorn horns and mermaids tails at the moment as there appear to be no machines apart from ex-display and exchanges around.

bear and the duke have had well documented "bother" (to put it mildy) with Scan machines. They are entitled to their opinions given their experiences, but it does not mean that Scan machines are the total crap they make them out to be.

I received the latest Scan yesterday - I think its great, everything works and it was well priced with top features (in MY opinion - you have had your say guys (again and again and again...we get the picture)) I would have waited for the Aiwa if I had any patience at all but I am 100% happy.

RE: REASONS TO BY A SCAN.

"Bear i know your annoying"

Rule 1 of pointing out spelling errors - don`t make any yourself.

It should have read "Bear, I know you`re annoying"

I know everyone hates a pedant but you started it Python. It doesn`t make you wrong either.

RE: Playstation 2

fair point, but having seen one in action all I can say is that it is a fairly reasonable DVD player.

so long as the PS2 owners see the DVD Video function it as a "bonus" to the machines game playing capabilities and aren`t expecting perfection they won`t be dissapointed. My mate has one and he isn`t too fussed about multi region etc - he will be using it for games and perhaps the odd rented movie so it fits this bill perfectly

For one thing the control of it via the joypad is a nightmare but apparently a remote is available for £15

RE: HELP!!! SCAN SC 2000,TOSHIBA SD100E OR DAEWOO 2200

Duke,

It is a concern that the supposed "cure" may turn out to be only an improvement of a silk purse-sows ear nature. I guess I`ll just have to wait and see - if it ain`t what I consider acceptable it will be going straight back to Scan.

I don`t expect the earth for sub £200 but I do expect better than VHS for chrissakes which the Daewoo was certainly not.

RE: Scan Firmware

nelley

my Scan is due here on Monday - will it need firmware upgrades already as I don`t have a CD burner?

RE: HELP!!! SCAN SC 2000,TOSHIBA SD100E OR DAEWOO 2200

As far as I am aware only the Scan has received the upgrade to the chipset which will sort out the pixellation, therefore do not even think about the Daewoo - I took mine back it was so bad, just try watching any of the Alien films with their dark and smokey corridors.

My Scan should arrive on Monday - needles to say if the new chip does not satisfy me it will also be going back but I hope it doesn`t come to that.

By the way, I would have ordered the Aiwa if I could have got hold of one but they are rarer than hens teeth just now. Or so I thought until I went into Comet in Kinnaird Park, Edinburgh today where they would have given me the display model for £190. DOH!! Still, the Scan should do the trick.

RE: Switch-it-on.co.uk ref buying aiwa 370 / toshiba sd100e / scan sc 2000

yeah, I was a bit dubious about the ordering system from switch it on, but it turns out it isn`t actually an online order form. If you take it to the end it asks you to print the completed form and fax/post it to them.

No offence to the guys there but I think I may wait and see what Comet can come up with.

Then again, I`m getting a new widescreen TV delivered tomorrow and Scan do next day delivery.

Nelley reckons the pixellation problems suffered by the Daewoo are now resolved due to the new chipset - I am hoping resolved means totally gone as opposed to merely improved. Apart from this the Daewoo was a cracking wee machine IMHO.

Switch-it-on.co.uk ref buying aiwa 370 / toshiba sd100e / scan sc 2000

comet have told me that they have no more 370`s in the country and will be getting no more as it is discontinued.

having returned my Daewoo 2200 to argos today due to it terrible pixellation problems, I have £200 burning a hole in my credit card and switch-it-on.co.uk seem to have the goods at £199. Has anyone got bad things to say about these guys?

or should I get the latest scan or the tosh?

RE: DVD`s on (UK) Playstation 2

compared a mates PS2 versus my Daewoo 2200 using Aliens . Didn`t give any problems, and the picture was actually better than the daewoo (which has now been returned to Argos by the way). may be a problem with your machine.