Posted by Dale Walker on 09/22/33 11:36

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 13:42:21 GMT, spam@uce.gov (Bob) wrote:

>On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 19:13:44 +0000, Dale Walker <dale@sorted.org>
>wrote:
>
>>Anyone got any recommendations for a decent budget HDD DVD player I
>>can get in the UK?
>
>Hauppauge has a kit with a TV card, remote control, IR sensor, GUI s/w
>that converts a PC into a DVR.

Cheers but that's not at all what I'm after. I've already got a full
spec PC that's currently connected to the TV and is used as my main
entertainment console but it's too big, too clunky and too noisy. Even
got a DiNovo Bluetooth keyboard with detachable numpad which works
great as remote control. However, my 5.1 surround sound on my PC
combined with the 5.1 on my TV often results in an awful sound with
phasing of sound and even the odd noticeable echo.

Also, whenever I want to watch something, instead of just...

plonking down in front of the sofa,
switching on the TV,
selecting something I want to see
then watch.

, I have to...

turn the PC on.
Wait until it boots,
select the file I want to watch,
turn on the TV mode,
fiddle with the aspect ratio (I've got a widescreen TV),
turn off the PC speakers,
run over to the TV, turn it on,
run back to the PC to turn the monitor off,
run back to the sofa,
sit down and
press play
and watch.

Besides all that I said my priority was for HDD playback, not
recording. I really am not that bothered about recording stuff from
TV.

As much as I love PC's they're not small enough, quiet enough and
especially cheap enough to be used as a dedicated entertainment
console just yet. They've also got a very long way to go before they
catch up with dedicated systems for ease of use too.
--
Dale Walker
London Techno Events
dale@sorted,org
http://london.sorted.org

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