Info and forum posts by 'Desk'

RE: Return to boggycreek

If anyone`s after the original film, this seems to be the cheapest source...

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=HEN004082

Desk

This item was edited on Friday, 28th March 2003, 23:30

RE: Angel Season 1 R1 Peeve

Mike,

Many thanks for taking time to check this - I really appreciate it!

All the best,

Desk

RE: Angel Season 1 R1 Peeve

Does anyone have this set yet, and if so could they possibly reveal if it features the "Previously..." introductions that were cut off the R2 version?

A good episode to check is Sanctuary as it should feature a lengthy "Previously..." intro featuring clips from episodes of both Angel and Buffy.

Cheers,

Desk.

RE: Major problems with Philips DVD recorders!

As Mark Twain said, "There are three types of lies. Lies, damn lies and statistics."

I`m not sure how best to interpret the results of these polls, but at present over 40% of those participating in the latest have reported problems (excluding any caused by firmware upgrades).

In the case of recorders refusing to read pre-recorded disks the problem often only manifests itself after several weeks of use, so this might explain why reports of faults seem to be rapidly increasing.

Putting statistics aside here are links to a small sampling of very alarming anecdotal evidence...

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi?s=b2b2e81b438ed22d01e6221bfb512507;act=SF;f=4

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi?s=aac204f9f9dd7e7da8f2a81af9fe2d6a;act=ST;f=4;t=3514

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi?s=aac204f9f9dd7e7da8f2a81af9fe2d6a;act=ST;f=4;t=4553

http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&threadm=8EdW9.1175%24Ts5.12492%40newsfep4-win.server.ntli.net&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26safe%3Doff%26q%3Dalt.video.dvdr%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi?s=aac204f9f9dd7e7da8f2a81af9fe2d6a;act=ST;f=4;t=4339

Desk

This item was edited on Monday, 20th January 2003, 22:52

RE: Panasonic DMR-30

Great stuff, Chaz - happy to hear everything`s A-ok!

Desk

RE: Panasonic DMR-30

Which of the two modes are you recording in, Video Mode or the more sophisticated VR mode?

Video Mode is the one that produces disks that should be compatible with most DVD players.

Also, I assume the recordings are being finalised?

Desk

Major problems with Philips DVD recorders!

If anyone`s considering buying a Philips DVD recorder they might want to wait a couple of months until the new models come out, because, as many here will attest, the company`s current recorders seem to be riddled with bugs.

Faults are now becoming so widespread that on the pro DVD+R forum they`re running polls to try and chart the extent of the problem, and the results are simply shocking....

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=4;t=4832

The problems are seemingly endless, including machines gradually refusing to read pre-recorded disks, switching off during recording, the timer not working, the machine locking up completely, white-outs during recordings from video, failure to finalise disks, blocky lines appearing in recordings and successfully recorded disks later refusing to be recognised.

A general browse of the forum reveals endless tales of woe....

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/cgi/forum/ikonboard.cgi?;act=SF;f=4;st=0

I have to say I`m surprised there`s not more widespread coverage of the problems with these Philips recorders, in home cinema magazines or mainstream media such as TV shows like Watchdog.

It`s also frustrating that these Philips standalone recorders are seemingly selling very well yet have a monopoly on DVD+R, so if you want to adopt this increasingly popular format you`ve currently no choice but to buy a machine that has a good chance of being riddled with problems and bugs.. :(

Desk

This item was edited on Saturday, 18th January 2003, 10:53

RE: Which DVD Recorder Do I Buy?

Pioneer`s upcoming DVR-77H looks pretty appealing as it features an 80GB hard drive, and writes to both DVD-R and DVD-RW.

http://www.avland.co.uk/pioneer/dvr77/index.htm

There`s also another model boasting a bigger 120GB drive...

http://www.avland.co.uk/pioneer/dvr99/index.htm

They come as part of Pioneer`s move into cheaper DVD recorders with the DVR-55, which is hoped to cost under £400, and as with the rest features a new thumbnail indexing system...

http://www.avland.co.uk/pioneer/dvr55/index.htm

The existing Pioneer 7000 has a reputation for being arguably the best DVD recorder on the market, so hopefully these new machines will be of a similar quality.

Depending on its price the DVR77 could be the machine for me.

Desk

This item was edited on Wednesday, 15th January 2003, 18:36

RE: Philips DVDR890 Nightmare

I have to say I`m surprised there`s not more widespread coverage of the problems with these Philips recorders, in home cinema magazines or mainstream media such as TV shows like Watchdog.

Going by the volume of anecdotal evidence and my own personal experience it seems there are hundreds of people suffering with faulty machines. If it was a model of car that was affected this way you can be sure it would have been pulled from the market long ago.

The other annoying thing is that these Philips standalone recorders are seemingly selling very well yet have a monopoly on DVD+R, so if you want to adopt this increasingly popular format you`ve currently no choice but to buy a machine that has a good chance of being riddled with problems and bugs.

Desk

New DVD recorders revealed!

A whole host of new DVD recorders have been announced to coincide with the CES show currently running in Las Vegas, including new models from Philips, Sony, Pioneer and Sharp.

Sony`s new -R/+R recorder, except it doesn`t support +R!
http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/3072

Philips` two new machines..
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=3308

Pioneer`s two new models...
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=3302

Sharp`s entry into DVD recording...
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=3314

Thomson/RCA`s offering...
http://www.rca.com/content/viewdetail/1,2811,EI700424-CI258,00.html

Mico,Daewoo, Tae Young Telstar, Mustek and MET machines...
http://www.press.ce.philips.com/press/20030109_374.html

More cheap machines on the way...
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=3305

An explosion of new DVD recorders on the horizon, but I'm disappointed to say that I can't see one that stands as an ideal machine.

PHILIPS

DVD+R may theoretically be the better format, but from first-hand experience I know just how buggy and problematic the Philips recorders are, amid endless tales of woe on http://www.dvdplusrw.org Perhaps these new, inexpensive machines will resolve these problems but you won't know for certain until they've been in use for a good few months, and Philips still don't offer a machine with a hard drive.

PANASONIC

Both the Panasonic recorders seem pretty good machines. The E50 seems pretty cheap, but while the HS2 comes with a hard-drive it's highly expensive at £880. Crucially, however, neither machine supports a rewritable DVDR format.

PIONEER

The DVR-001 is quite a cheap machine, while the DVR-002H supports both DVD-R and DVD-RW, and also features an internal hard-drive. However, with Pioneer likely to use the same firmware that's on their 105 DVD drives there`s a chance they won't write to cheap, unbranded media.
http://www.dvd-recordable.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=161

SONY

The first machine to supposedly support both +R and -R. However, it now transpires it will only write to DVD-RW, DVD-R and DVD+RW disks, not DVD+R. The machine won't arrive until June, is a costly £500, and there's no model incorporating a hard drive.

SHARP

Rather too expensive at £500, and there's no hard-drive option.

THOMSON

Not a bad price at £370, but it remains to be seen if it has the same problems as the existing Philips models, and there`s no hard drive option.

MICO, DAEQOO, TAE YOUNG TELSTAR, MUSTEK, MET, ETC…

No details on price or release schedules, and none appear likely to provide an internal hard-drive.

IN CONCLUSION...

The only machine on the horizon that supports both a write-once and rewritable DVDR format and features a hard drive is the Pioneer DVR-002H. However, it remains to be seen if its firmware will allow it to write to cheap media.

It also seems that the cheaper manufacturers are adopting DVD+R as their format of choice, and although I`d like to think DVD-R is firmly established, at least for computer use, I`m now more wary about going down that route.

Desk

This item was edited on Sunday, 12th January 2003, 15:59

RE: DVD RECORDER WITH HARD DRIVE TO REPLACE VCR

Unfortunately the specs for the new Sony standalone recorder have been announced, and while it will write to DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW, it won`t write to DVD+R, confirming advance reports...

http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/3072

Also, there`s no Sony model on the horizon with a built in hard-drive.

The best bet at the moment looks to be the Pioneer DVR-002H which writes to DVD-R and DVD-RW, and also features an internal hard-drive.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=3302

However the Pioneer will likely use the same firmware that's on their 105 DVD drives so there`s a chance it might not support cheaper, unbranded media.

http://www.dvd-recordable.net/modul...article&sid=161

We`ll just have to wait and see.

Desk

This item was edited on Saturday, 11th January 2003, 21:39

Philips DVDR-880 not reading disks?

For the last few days I`ve been very close to buying a Philips DVDR-880 DVD recorder.

However, checking out the dvdplusrw.org forums I`ve seen horror stories about machines breaking down. The most common problem appears to be machines gradually refusing to play pre-recorded store-bought DVDs and DVD+R media.

Has anyone here had difficulties with their Philips machine, or can they reassure me? I`m very keen to get a DVD recorder but don`t want to be stuck with ongoing problems.

(BTW, there haven`t been many comments on the recording quality here. In the best, HQ mode, how well does the picture compare to the original broadcast from Sky Digital via RGB?)

Cheers,

Desk

This item was edited on Thursday, 21st November 2002, 20:05

RE: Charley Says availability?

Correction, release dates on both Rentaghost and Charley Says was given as 14 May.

Desk

Charley Says availability?

A little while ago DVD Reviewer reported that Network Video would be releasing Charley Says and Rentaghost on 14 June.

While Rentaghost is now available for preorder on a number of DVD sites, there`s no sign of Charley Says, and it`s not even listed on Network`s own web-site.

Has anyone found a place to order this compilation of classic public information broadcasts?

All the best,

Desk