Info and forum posts by 'Combwork'

This user hasn't used our main site yet, so has no main account at present.

Joined on: Thursday, 30th December 2004, 10:53, Last used: Thursday, 27th July 2006, 15:08

Access Level: Competent

About this user: Likes odd tech stuff such as Seeburg Juke Boxes; repairs antique musical boxes.

This user has posted a total of 102 messages. On average, since joining, this user has posted 0.01 messages a day, or 0.1 messages a week. In the last 30 days, this user has posted 0 messages, which is on average 0 messages a day.

Recent Messages Posted:

RE: Digibox query

Thank you Sue,

I`ve looked up Humax on Google and found a couple of sets on offer from Amazon. Prices are not too frightening, but they both list in the specifications DAB= NO. Does this mean that I would not be able to receive any of the digital radio channels I presently get from the Matsui? If I`m working late, listening to Virgin Radio or hearing the presenters on `Talk Sport` winding the callers up helps keep me awake.

Best Regards,

Jim.

RE: Digibox query

Thank you Sue,


I think the signal strength is OK in this area; the MATSUI box I have locks on happily enough to both tv and radio. Problem is that it seems to lose most of the radio channels whenever it goes into standby mode; going through initial installation again gets them back. Is this common for digiboxes? (or should that be digibox`s). Someone on Ebay is selling an old ON digital receiver that he describes as "thought by many to be the best digital receiver ever". I`d appreciate your opinion on this.

Regards, Jim.

Digibox query

Hi,

It`s a long time since I posted anything, but I hope someone here can answer a query. With the multitude of `cheap` freeview digiboxes available, is there much difference between them? My present box (MATSUI, no model number I can find) works ok, but has an annoying habit of losing most (but not all) of it`s radio stations whenever it`s turned off or left on standby. It`s got two SCART sockets but one has a loose audio connection so maybe it`s time to replace it. as well as L and R audio out, it has a socket marked RS 232. Could someone tell me what this is for please? There`s nothing in the instruction book about it.

Regards,

Jim.

RE: Titanic - Alternate Ending

Actually let`s think.

I`m writing this as I work it out so it might be a load of b**** but lets stay with it. Ok, unless we`re going for a change of history ending along the lines of `What if the Germans had won the war`, the ship cannot be saved and reach New York. But what if it was saved after the initial collision ( great opertunity for cgi effects) but subsequently sank after it was thought she was safe? This actually makes a kind of sense when you compare where she was thought to have sunk with where the wreckage was found.

We could go for an irony/tragic ending. 1). (ship limping home, `I think we just might make it` says first officer, just before hitting a second iceburg which was genuinly too small to be seen, but large enough to finish the job).
2). (sky becomes overcast, ship just stable but electrics damaged. No way of knowing which direction to head; choose wrong one and steam two or three hundred miles with heroic engineers trying to hold everything together before finally sinking).

Both 1) and 2) would kind of fit in with the lack of rescue ships; enough people heard and responded, but Titanic wasn`t where she was thought to be.

There`s a lot written about the possible sister ship swop and insurance scam but the above kind of fits in with this as well as long as we assume that White Star Line wanted the ship to sink but did not want to kill the passengers. If there was such a scheme, very few people on board would know about it, and if after the collision the engineers said they could just maybe get the ship mobile again and make it to New York, what could they say? They couldn`t say anything about staying put because this is where the captain of the other ship in on this (Californian?) thinks we will be, could they?

It`s just a thought................... I liked the film. The love interest was kind of necessary to get mainstream success, and the technical and engine scenes looked very good.

Oh Well,

Jim.

Kenwood KRF V7030D Remote control problem (problem in receiver, not sender)

Hi,

The problem I have is that the remote only works after the receiver has been on for half an hour or so. Before I go hunting for dry joints and dodgy plug connections, does anyone know if this is a common problem with this model, and maybe whether there`s a capicitor that needs to be replaced?

Many Thanks,

Jim.

RE: Are There any DVD players which are Macro-free ?

Hi,

You could try multiregionmagic.co.uk They supply various makes of player modified `in house` so they still have full warenty.

Good luck,

Jim.

RE: DVD/VCRCombi

Have you considered Panasonic? I bought a model NV-VP31 from multiregionmagic.co.uk and was well pleased. Fully modified for multi region and macro disabled......... One advantage of this approach compared to the two box solution is that the DVD output goes out on the co-ax as well as the SCART socket so if your TV doesn`t have a scart socket, you can still watch DVD`s. Worth considering..................

Jim.

RE: DVD player that actually does what it`s told to.

Thanks Hamid,

Good information. Much appreciated.

Best Regards,

Jim.

RE: DVD player that actually does what it`s told to.

Thanks guys,

Sorry if my previous posting sounded a bit tetchy. I genuinly don`t understand why the manufacturers are still making machines that are region coded. Even Sony players are being advertised in the national press as multi region off the shelf from Sainsbury`s. This whole region coding thing has got to be a dead duck, surely.

Jim.

RE: DVD player that actually does what it`s told to.

Maybe Mark,

I`ve read this board for quite a while though; posted a few queries and replies to others, and there does seem to be a core group here who chat inanely amoungst themselves, share the odd `in` joke and like to sound superior. Seems to me the whole point about a board like this is to share knowledge, not hoard it. From what I have found out though, DVD drives on home PC`s could give me what I`m asking about.

Jim.

RE: DVD player that actually does what it`s told to.

Oh Well,

Guess I`m asking the wrong people,

Jim.

DVD player that actually does what it`s told to.

Hi,

Is there, (or was there ever) a DVD player that will allow the following?

1). Full multi region and copy protection disable.
2). The ability to go straight to the beginning of the film without having to sit through any `obligatory` warning screens.
3). The ability to output copy protected NTSC discs in a form that a PAL only recorder (DVD or VHS) can copy with no problems?

I`ve a Panasonic combination DVD/VCR deck that`s ok for 1), but cannot skip to the beginning of a film. When playing a NTSC disc, the DVD output can be switched between NTSC and PAL, but although I can copy PAL discs ok, NTSC discs won`t copy, irrespective of what the output is set at. If the above can be done as a hardware mod to the Panasonic, I`d be happy to pay someone to do it.

Regards,

Jim.

RE: Optical cable; any difference in quality.

Hello Sput,

Thanks for your reply. No real information from Ebay sellers, a lot of them seem to be offering the same product, described as TOSlink. Packaged in the same way I guess they are buying it in bulk then selling on. Would this cable work as a DVD to Amplifier connection? Most sellers have a lot of different things listed, so maybe their knowledge of specific items might be limited. Not as limited as mine though.......... I thought that digital connections either worked or didn`t; ie no progressive deterioation as with analogue.

Thanks for your help; if you could clarify any difference between TOSlink and PCM I`d appreciate it. I`m more or less ok on older stuff simply because I understand (to a point) what it does and how it does it, and that build quality can make a difference. On a personal level, the best sound I`ve ever heard was from a valve driven professionally rebuilt DECCA stereo record player running through a pair of Lowther speakers. Superb sound. Clear and detailed at all volume levels.

Best Regards,

Jim.

Optical cable; any difference in quality.

Hi,

I`ve a Panasonic DVD/VCR combination unit. If I`m going to use digital surround sound I have to use the optical PCM output as this model does not have a coax digital output.

I need 2 meters cable length. There`s a heck of a price difference on these cables between £5 plus postage on Ebay for 2 meters to £13+ in high street stores for 1 meter. I know that quality can make a difference with analogue cables, but is this the same with digital? If I buy to price on Ebay, am I cutting corners as well as costs??

Regards,

Jim.

RE: Surround sound query; optical or wire.

Thank you everyone,

Yes Chris, I`ve a Kenwood KRF-V7030D AV surround receiver that combines pre and power amp plus an AM/FM tuner in the one box. From what everyone has said, for all practical purposes a good coax connector will handle the digital output of the DVD/VCR combination player I`ve got. I`ve never used an optical conection before; I was just wondering what their advantage was.

Thanks again; once I`ve got a shelf up I`ll hook everything together and see how it sounds. With six speakers and a five way crossover in each cabinet, the Pioneer speakers are an audiophile`s worst nightmare. BUT, (and it`s a heck of a `but`), they look and sound superb.

Best Regards, Jim.

RE: Help!

Hi Malcolm,

Some car DVD players can be quite tricky; try contacting multiregionmagic.co.uk I`ve dealt with them for some time; they`re knowledgeble and helpful. Good Luck, Jim.

Surround sound query; optical or wire.

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what the sound difference is between optical or wire connections between DVD player and amp? My system consists of a Kenwood 100 watts per channel power amp driving two Pioneer CS99A`s for the fronts, JAMO 100 Centre and once I`ve replaced the mid range drivers, a pair of old but top quality Sony 3 way ceramic speakers for the rear. Properly balanced, the Sony and Pioneer speakers should make a fine mix. Not sure about a sub yet; the Pioneers have 15" bass drivers so I may not need one. Does anyone `out there` have practical experience of optical versus wire connections?

Jim.

RE: bose 28 need help

Hi again,

You say `without the disc nothing worked`. Have you tried the code with a disc playing? If you have and it still doesn`t work, try putting `DVD multi region modification` into Google. You should find a shedload of helpfull sites. If your Bose series 1 is out of guarantee, if all else fails it would be worth paying a specialist to make it multi region via a hardware mod.

Regards,

Jim.

Optical connection

Hi,

I`ve a Panasonic DVD/VCR combination unit and a Kenwood KRF-V7030D surround sound tuner/amplifier. Can anyone please tell me which would give me better quality and flexibility; hooking them together with conventional good quality leads, or using an optical connector.

Many Thanks,

Jim.

RE: Need to buy Multi Region or Hack-able recorder.....

Hi,

Try multiregionmagic.co.uk They`ve got the Panasonic DMRE95 marked down to £379 including multiregion mod; it`s got a 160 gb hard disc. They`ve other multi region recorders listed from around £160 up.

Good luck, Jim.

RE: Daewoo DF-4100P DVD Rec / VCR

Hi,

Can`t help with multi region code, but a thought about macro defeat. Would it be possible to connect a macro defeat scart lead from AV1 to AV2 and select AV2 as the source for the VCR? If this doesn`t work, how about using the macro defeat lead with an adaptor to connect AV1 to the composit or component input and try to tape from that :D

Have fun,

Jim.

RE: DVD Combi hack?

Contact multiregionmagic.co.uk As well as selling fully modified multi region DVD/VCR combination units, they offer a modification service for most makes. I bought a Panasonic combination unit from them, and their service was very good.

Good Luck,

Jim.

RE: bose 28 need help

Hi,

Have you checked page 5 on the multi region hack pages? I had a lifestyle 18 series 2, (acording to the hack pages, the code was the same as the 28) and the hack worked but with one important difference. Have a disc loaded and playing when you enter the codes. Watch the on screen display and hold each button in until the text associated with that button vanishes. On one button (I think it`s the last one you press) the text stays displayed but don`t worry; just hold this button in for a few seconds. If the code works, at the end of the sequence the disk tray should partially open and close again.

One possible problem. You bought your Bose in the USA (region 1?), I bought mine in the UK (region 2). Maybe the unlock code is different......... If you search the internet you`ll find hundreds of sites, (mostly located in the USA) offering to provide codes; some loaded from the handset, some loaded from a special cd. There are also companies that will modify the hardware, but this might nullify any manufacturers guarantee. The Bose is very well built; depending on how much guarantee your player has left you might want to go down this route.

Best Regards, Jim.

RE: Cyberhome

Hello Catherine

Try this site; it might have what you need.

http://forum.cyberhome-help.de/cyberhome-help.html

Good Luck,

Jim.

RE: Bose lifestyle 48

Hello again Klingfilm,

Sorry it didn`t work; it`s dam frustrating not being able to play the discs you want to. Seems to me there are a couple of options. First is contact a specialist company like multiregionmagic.co.uk They could almost certainly unlock the Bose for you, but you might have to send it to them. You have to be aware also that if their `fix` alters the internal wiring in any way, it could invalidate your guarantee, but it would be worth asking them. I`ve done business with this firm and would highly recommend them. Altenatively, there are several companies that advertise on the web, claiming they have `special` discs that load the unlock codes into your player. I don`t know how well these work, but it makes sense that manufacturers would use this method in production, rather than labouriously keying in region codes via a handset.

You`ve presumably bought the Bose for its sound and picture quality, plus its hard drive store. A relatively cheap fix might be to buy a cheap multiregion player (I`ve seen one advertised in a banner (trade) advert on Ebay for under £30) and wire it through the Bose`s auxilary inputs.

Jim.

RE: Bose lifestyle 48

Hi Klingfilm,

If it`s the same as the Lifestyle 18 series 11, you need to have a DVD actually playing, not just loaded. Once the DVD has gone through its menue screens and the film is playing, pressing each key on the remote for a few seconds and with a 2 second pause between each button press should do it.

Good Luck,

Jim.

RE: Connecting TV to Dolby Pro-Logic Hi-Fi

Hi,

What you need is the kind of lead used to hook up personal cd or tape players to powered speakers; should be cheap enough from any High Street Hi-Fi retailer. Have you any idea why the last one fried? If the TV`s developed a fault it could make the chassis live. Connecting an audio lead (where effectively the screen is earth) between the TV and anything earthed might just fry the lead again.

Jim.

Speaker/amp impedance query.

Hi,

I`ve just bought a Kenwood KRF-V7030D Surround receiver, which I intend hooking up to a front pair of Pioneer speakers (CS99A). The speakers are rated at 16 ohm, the Kenwood manual shows the speaker output terminals marked as 8 to 16 ohm, but the terminals on the amp itself are marked at 4 to 8 ohm. Is this likely to cause a problem?

Best Regards, Jim.

RE: DVD recorders

Hi. Try multiregionmagic.co.uk They stock several DVD recorders that play back multi region discs. Prices seem reasonable.

Jim.

RE: KITT LEDs for Corgi Knight Rider car

Is there a Tandy, or Radio Shack store anywhere near you? They sell miniture LED`s; don`t know whether they have ones that flash. Worth a look though.

Jim.