Info and forum posts by 'bryanc'

which low end camcorder.

i am looking to buy a relative a camcorder in the coming days. i have spent a while researching but cannot make a decision. the two i have seen that seem to fit the bill are the Kodak Playfull and the GE DVi. both are around £80 which is our budget, as we need a memory card too. our relative has a normal camera but wants something simple to take some video when they are out, on holiday etc.. basic day to day stuff. they don`t want one with lots of options, in fact one button or option would be plenty. the size of these look good too, can be put in a bag etc. and they both, i think, have usb arm so can be plugged into laptop or to a tv, again i think thats possible with at least one of them. the simpler the better.
i know there are better out there etc..but i need one that ticks several boxes so it`s not necessarily about quality although i don`t want to get them a rubbish one. any help would be much appreciated or any other suggestions. many thanks.

RE: Hobbit To Shoot At 48fps

i had never read lord of the rings, if i am honest i wasn`t even aware of it until they were making the films. when i saw them they connected, and have become some of my favourite films, when i saw they were making the hobbit i was obviously very interested. but you know what, from the first images then trailer it just didn`t connect with me, there was something very off. i still cannot put my finger on it. during last year as trailers and videos came out i just couldn`t get into it. so much so i didn`t see it until a month or two ago on bluray. know with the second part, i know its only a trailer, but i am not getting it, it is bugging me a little.

RE: BBC take down clock from website because of complaints

they still keep coming up with more ways to waste our money....

RE: making a dvd disk

thanks. to be honest its great to see the old tapes, going back a few decades. they are all very important i guess thats why we spend the time doing them. i have also been doing lots of slides from the 60`s. really satisfying when you have them done and can view them on the t.v.  the same with VHS, makes it worthwhile. thanks again.

RE: making a dvd disk

cheers. it will only be the odd VHS tape that would need a little editing, so i guess its trial and error. if i copy VHS on DVD recorder with DL disk then on the mac edit a little off/add titles etc..then make dvd again using DL disks, as long as the quality stays similar to the first copy, i will be happy.

thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

you are right, the advice has been and i guess will continue to be spot on, very valuable.

i have had the projector for a few weeks know but am only just getting round to watching it. the last week or so with the shelves and the unit has been good because on the face of it, it sounded simple, project on wall but crikey there was/is a lot more to it, well worth it so far. just to test it a little earlier i watched parks and recreation via the blu ray player, forgot i was watching the wall..going to watch a film tomorrow night. tricky when you have a budget, especially with this kind of thing. but i knew if i got the main component know i could add to it as i go on.

i do think a screen will be the next thing. i think in a few months i will look for one and i am sure i will get that bit more from the experience.

cheers

RE: making a dvd disk

many thanks for the reply. as soon as i clicked on the link i thought i had something very similar a few years ago when i first started transferring VHS. i think i got it to connect to a laptop.

i have just looked at the dvd recorder manual, i looked at the wrong one yesterday, my one is sony rdr gx350 but i was looking at the 380 which has a hard drive. so if my one can record on the DL disks i guess i would be best to go from the VHS player to the DVD recorder? if i need to i can then put the dvd in the mac and do a little editing before making another DL disk with the final dvd on it? if that makes sense?   cheers.

This item was edited on Thursday, 6th June 2013, 21:31

RE: making a dvd disk

thats great, i will take a look at that. might be worth a few £ more than standard dvd`s. especially as a fair few of the ones i am doing, VHS, are 3/4 hours. so rather than putting them onto 2 dvd`s or reducing the quality, this might be a good solution.

just had a quick look. my dvd recorder says it can read DL disks not record on them. my mac desktop says it can write DL disks. would this be any use for what i need? i am guessing not. cheers.

This item was edited on Thursday, 6th June 2013, 00:13

RE: making a dvd disk

can i ask about dual layer disks, i have heard about them but never seen or used one. i have done a quick search and they seem a little expensive, but i can see the benefit if they save a few hours and retain quality.

would they be ok on a dvd recorder or do you need a certain player? and how do they actually work? do you turn the disk over etc....? thanks.

RE: making a dvd disk

many thanks. i think the problem is the trial and error, usually error!!!! to get a sort of compromise were it doesn`t take too long but still looks good.

the straight copy using the dvd recorder is my preferred choice but there are a few that require a little editing and some credits etc. thankfully its a few tapes at a time which isn`t too bad, and once i have a system, that should help. actually left the computer on over night, something i have only ever done once or twice. cheers.

RE: making a dvd disk

well i knew it would take a good few hours but this is annoying. i have done some reading and some people are saying this process can take 10 hours. well i am off to bed for a few hours, i don`t want to stop it know as its been going 4 hours and it says 6 hours left. the two files combined are only 4gb/2 hours runtime. with very simple menu. i know i can tweak a few things/get some ram etc..but i doubt they will do that much. as i say i am leaving this to finish but i don`t want to do the second one like this. is there a quicker alternative to idvd? i could have just used the dvd recorder and gone straight from the vhs player but the quality wasn`t as good as i need. so thats why i am importing to the mac then burning/authoring.

as i say 4 or even 5 hours wouldn`t be too bad but i cant have them taking 10 etc..... do i have any other options please? cheers.

RE: making a dvd disk

Thanks for the reply, the picture, giff is it, made me smile....got the processing, making DVD going on know so not much to do for a few hours.
I don`t mind that so much but what annoys me is you don`t really know for sure if its worked.. Cheers

RE: making a dvd disk

many thanks for the reply. i think i am getting myself a little confused and maybe going about this the wrong way, complicating things. i have 2 VHS tapes, a 3hour one and a 2hour one. the 3hour one just needs straight copying, as is. but when i did this from VHS player straight to the DVD recorder. the quality wasn`t quite good enough. it was quite blocky. the noise etc isn`t a problem but it didn`t look right. so i raised the quality setting on the DVD recorder but obviously the time went down. so i split it into a few parts with the hope of using say idvd to make the dvd. but each part was 4gb or thereabouts. i might just have to grin and bear it with this one, choose the quality setting on the DVD recorder that is nearest to the VHS length and hope it is acceptable.

the 2hour tape needs a little menu and a few pictures added which is why i put it onto a dvd-rw and then from the DVD recorder onto the mac. but it is still coming in over 4gb. i am going around in circles here and wasting a lot of hours. i just need some simple steps to get this right. i am in for a long night but i need to get it done. thanks.

making a dvd disk

hope this is in the right place. i am looking to get this done tonight but have got myself in a right muddle. i have got two VHS tapes that i am putting onto DVD/making a DVD. the first thing i did was do a straight copy, as is, but the quality was ok, i know VHS can be hit and miss but  when i played the VHS back it looked a bit better than the DVD. i tried on higher quality, which looked good except i had to do them in 1 hour chunks as the HQ could only tape for an hour a time. i then converted the TS file to mpeg4 i think. but the problem know is each part is 2gb so too big for a dvd. 

i think i may be confusing myself a little and with it being time consuming i don`t want to waste time.  i have imovie, handbrake and burn as well as idvd. can anyone help please. even if it means going back to the VHS again, thats fine, i just want to get it right. cheers

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

many thanks for the reply. bit of an update since the other day....the shelf was probably too high, even though it was just my height 6 ft ish....the image was up on the ruddy ceiling. so i undone the legs to make the front end of the projector go down which lowered the image slightly. so i tried some options in the menu, like you mentioned, but again the effect was minimal. so i was about to put the shelf lower but i thought that would defeat the point of having it a little out of sight. 

the shelves were only cheap, but very good i thought, so i know have my two rear speakers on them, first time i have ever put the speakers on anything other than a stand in the ten years or more i have had them. i quite like them up out of the way. so i bought what i would describe as a book case type unit. it isn`t as high as the shelf but high enough. but this has the bonus of housing the blu ray player, the amp and blu ray disks, controls etc.... this has resulted in the image being just about where i want it. i cannot look up too much. 

i was going to look into the ceiling mount is it but to be honest i would be constantly worrying about it falling, i am like that, surprising i know!!  i think this is a decent compromise that will do for the time being, gives me some flexibility and didn`t cost too much. know i have to start watching some things and calibrate the projector, haven`t even started on that yet. i did have to do some alterations to the picture, moving it around a little in the menus, like you said, but i also didn`t notice any issues when i did it.

sorry for going on a little, needed to share..cheers..

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

bit of an update. i ordered the shelf, like the one in the link, and it was put up today. i had it put about 6 ft or thereabouts, i can just see the top when i stand. i put it there because earlier when i had the projector on and aimed at the wall this was the right sort of height. well i must have got it wrong as its way too high. i have raised the rear legs and it came down slightly, i even propped the back up which worked a bit but i don`t fancy leaving it like that. before i get the shelf lowered is there anything obvious i can do. i don`t really want it lowered too much.

because of this i haven`t really had much chance to set it up correctly so this is probably down to this, but there are dark bars above and below the main picture, my mum even noticed this. it added to the image being too high. i know from watching a lot of films on dvd/blu ray that in widescreen you get this which i like but i thought on a projector you didn`t. is this right or have i not set something up. it actually makes the image a lot bigger. cheers.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

thanks again for the continuing advice, all very valuable, really is. i have decided to keep the separates i brought down the other night. i have just put the two rear`s into the setup. they sounded really good, filled the room without being just loud so definitely enhances the effect, to go with a big screen. still van`t get over that.

as for the screen i think i am leaning towards putting up a screen. the window area was my first choice but to be honest there is too much going on there, blinds/big curtains and a fluorescent light tube. but the opposite wall, which i am using it on know, is big and plain so plenty of room to put the screen in due course. my immediate job is to put the projector up a little. at the moment whilst i am getting used to it and setting it up, it is on a sort of portable hi fi separates table/rack with glass shelves. but it is taking up to much room so i was looking at putting it on a shelf. in between the windows there is a wooden panel gong from floor to ceiling. so i thought i could put it about half way up. i don`t want to have the projector up near the ceiling as we have high rooms and i would be keeping the projector in a bag when not in use. would it be ok on a shelf and is there any you could recommend, i don`t want to buy the wrong one. i want to get it up this week if possible so it starts to feel permanent. i think then i can start to enjoy it.

would something like this work/be ok? it would be about 7ft or so, a foot above my head when standing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Invision?tag=myrev09-21®-Ultra-Modern-Mounted-Glass/dp/B006G0UF8A/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1369017395&sr=8-24&keywords=projector+mount


many thanks.

This item was edited on Monday, 20th May 2013, 03:45

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

They say a weeks a long time but a few hours is too. After my last post I have done some thinking on the screen issue. Although the room isn`t massive, it is big but square, the ceilings are high. The area by the window was my first choice, but on closer inspection, up a step ladder, the top of the window frame has blinds, Venetian I think they are called, and in front of them coming into the room are a pair of heavy curtains. To top it all off at the top is a fluorescent light/tube. So basically there isn`t any room to put a blind/screen. Because of the height involved I guess the screen would be high? I say this because in the few minutes I have tried the projector I have it at mid way up the wall which is how I like it, so I am thinking the screen, blinds or pull down would be too high.

This is partly why I was looking at pull up screen. Are they not very good? I know they are more expensive than the pull down ones but I would rather get one that is suitable even if its a few pounds more. Also the portable aspect might come in handy. I am more confused to be honest. I would like to sort this out in a few days if possible otherwise I can see this going on and on. I had it on the wall for a bit earlier and to be honest I was very impressed, I watched some of empire and it looked great, very big but not too big . And for the time being I have brought my amp and three speakers down and they played very well they really accompanied the effect of having a big screen, so I can put that bit of money towards a screen know. Cheers.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

i have just done a little reading on the blackout roller blinds. i know prices vary but a shop near to us has the sort of size i need for around £35. i think this might be a good option. how would i attach it? probably stupid question. we have a few of them here already, a lot smaller and were put up by the shop over ten years ago. if they are easy to do i wouldn`t mind trying. cheers.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

thanks for the input Re- screen and audio. we only looked at pull up screens thinking it would be easier/portable etc. but looking at the price i think its too much. i don`t want to be tight but i may need to look into sound and screen together so budget wouldn`t be great. i must admit having spent weeks reading about the projectors i hadn`t given much time to looking at screens. but the little i did was around the pull down ones. the curtains in our window, in the room with the projector, are around 95 inches across, so i was looking at putting it there. is it easy to do this? i am no DIYer..i can put a good picture up but thats it..i guess thats mainly why we looked at pull up screen as there would be none of that. 

as for the sound, the reason i mentioned the sound bar as an option is because my yamaha amp, a good few years old but still really good, and the speakers are all upstairs and to be honest the point of having the projector partly was no mess etc. i have seen a philips one at argos for £99. would this sort of one be ok? i know at that price it wont match a proper separates set up but to be honest that doesn`t bother me, as long as its good. cheers.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

Picked it up this afternoon. first impressions, i know it doesn`t mean that much but the way it was packaged etc..was a good start. nothing more annoying than finding a box that seems like its been opened/repackaged. the projector was wrapped and inside a carry bag which was nice. it reminded me of when cameras came in nice cases etc. i know its not always the case but you are lucky if you get a strap etc with cameras these days.

first proper reaction when it was switched on and hooked up to blu ray was crikey that is a very, very big picture. know i was expecting it to look impressive but i don`t go to the cinema know so i was not expecting that. i have a bit of tinkering and setting up to do, is there anything i need to do? but so far big thumbs up.

i mentioned screens briefly and said it wasn`t urgent and i would watch on the wall, well it quickly became apparent that this wouldn`t` really work. the walls are plain but a pale blue, but i forgot they have, well little dimple effect, so i think i need to look at the screen know. we measured the picture on the wall and it was around 90 inches. problem i guess will be money, do i have any options? i was looking at a pull down one but to be honest i have been told that maybe a pull up one would be more suitable. you see the room is a more traditional front room with no T.V. etc.. i wouldn`t know about attaching a drop down one, although from quick searches they seem to be cheaper than the pull up ones.

speakers could be the other issue. i have the 5.1 set up, upstairs with my telly. as i said earlier we want to keep it as a sitting room that happens to double up but having three/five speakers may not be great. for the coming weeks i will probably use them but are there any options? i have seen these sound bars, are they any good? sorry for all the questions, but i do need some help regarding the screen please. cheers.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

many thanks for taking the time to reply, really is appreciated as i know nought on this topic, although as i have been doing the research it`s starting to get better. well i have one on hold, optoma 600, in richer sounds for this afternoon. i guess i just wanted that nudge over the line if you like, bad sports analogy....


the screen will be the next thing, i think i might have mentioned the screen earlier in the thread but it wasn`t top of the list. i will be after some specific advice later if that`s ok? many thanks.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

thanks for those replies. the optoma is around £350 i think which is the top of my budget. i know if i bought a cheaper one then days and months later i would be a little annoyed i didn`t get a better one. i just didn`t want to get a cheaper one to save a few £ and regret it straight away. i have the bluray/amp and speakers so would be getting a screen later, the wall will do for know!!!!

the optoma does have good reviews from what i have read, the below i have noticed when looking for the optoma, they are all around £100 cheaper.

Philips PPX 2480 PicoPix. ACER X110P. INFOCUS IN112. Optoma DS211 2500 ANSI

as i say i am happy to pay the price of the optoma 600, i just wanted to be sure i wasn`t paying too much, a few £ either way is fine but the above examples are quite a bit cheaper. many thanks again....

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

hi. just a quick update and some more thoughts please. i am looking to go and have a look tomorrow or friday and hopefully, if i like it, get one. but before i do i just want to check that the optoma is good for the price. from looking it does seem that there isn`t much else in my price range, but thats fine if this one is good. the main question i need to ask is about cheaper ones. the price for the optoma is fine, but i have seen others for £150 to around £250. know as with all things you can pay anything for electrical goods, i know that, but with no experience of projectors, would it be worth getting one of these or would i be better sticking with the optoma 600? i will just be using a blu ray to connect/play.

many thanks.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

thanks for that. i thought from looking at the manual it would be reasonably straight forward but i just wanted it confirming, cheers. so as long as this optoma 600 is ok for the money i think that will be the one, unless there are others i am missing. thanks again.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

i have been having a think about it, as well as doing more reading. i am not going to be creating a cinema room, like a lot of people with projectors seem to do, although very tempting. as i have said i just want to watch some films big. my price will be around what the optoma 600 is. so i know it wont be as good as x/y etc.. but like with my tv i know that it is not as good as those a few ££ more. i will have to see if i can see one in use soon.

i just want to make sure it will be good. do i just hook the blu ray player to it and would i be ok using my yamaha amp plus 5 speakers with it? i have seen the manual on a website and it shows the connections so i think the answer is yes. i just want some reassuring i guess. the screen can follow because i should be able to use the plain wall to start with. we have a pelmet, is that right? maybe something can be done/added to conceal the screen when not inuse. anyway thats for later, the projector is the main thing know. again many thanks.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

many thanks for the input. a lot to read, but all very interesting. i will have a good read later when i have some time.

as with a lot of technical stuff these days i was put off because i didn`t understand much of it and didn`t want to waste money. as i say some friends had a projector a few years ago, it wouldn`t have been hd and connected to dvd player but it looked really good, more than enough for me. i couldn`t go much over £350 which is why the optoma appeals. are they easy enough to connect up? i have a panasonic blu ray player and an old, but pretty good yamaha amp and 5 speakers. i could sort the screen out later and use a plain wall for know, as long as it looked ok that wouldn`t bother me. i just want to watch a few films on a bigger screen and when i saw the cost of the projector was less than my last tv i thought it could be a good time to look into it. many thanks.

RE: projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

thanks for the reply. i often look at threads were people have done cinema rooms etc.. and thought how great would that be. but i have never wanted to do the whole thing, i just want the screen/projector so never done anything about it. but to be honest i just like the idea of watching films on a Big Screen. nothing wrong with the telly but as i don`t go to the cinema anymore, well not for years, i just wanted to see if it was possible. as i say the screen can come a little later as i probably couldn`t afford both know, to be honest it wouldn`t even be a case of saving to get a better projector as i wouldn`t want to spend more than say £350 on one whenever i may get one. this is were my problems start. can i get anything decent for this? i would be sitting say 10 feet away, its a biggish square room.

having looked a some prices i know this amount is nothing, but then looking at LED`s when i got my last one what i payed was nothing in relation to what you can pay but that didn`t mean i shouldn`t get one, but this might be different all together. out of interest the one i have seen is an optoma 600. hope someone can help as i have no idea, cheers.

projector/screen. help and advice needed please..

i know nothing about projectors etc. i have had experience of them once, at a friends around 8 years ago. we watched revenge of the sith on dvd projected on their wall and i remember it looking great. i only went on what i saw and i liked the `big` feel watching the film. their projector was second hand i think and maybe around £300 i think. 

i am not looking at a cinema room, i have been looking on forums recently and they all look great. i would be looking at using our front room, which is a sitting room, no tv etc..so i was thinking either project on wall or buy a drop down screen so it can be concealed most of the time. i have a blu ray player and decent, if a little old, 5.1 speakers and amp. i just want to/like the idea of watching films on a big screen. 

as i say i know nothing about this, so i suspect that the answers i will get will be NO. but i wanted to ask. i don`t have a lot of money to spend, which is why i mentioned projecting on a wall first then maybe get a screen later. i just want to know if i have any options and if it can be done.

sorry for sounding a little vague....didn`t quite know how to start this. cheers.

RE: can anyone translate chinese into english please?

cheers for that. really good of you, much appreciated. this is all really interesting. i know from watching a lot of asian cinema with all the subtitle/language options, how hard this can be and how many options for similar words etc....but both descriptions seem to be the same theme which sounds good to me.
i will pass this all on to our friend. thanks again....