Period computer problems.

[Feltwell]

GBH will cost you £13.69 on DVD.

You don't want to know what I paid for a VHS copy after it had been out of publication for several years! Such a brilliant series, I'm not surprised it eventually came back on DVD. I wonder if anyone's ever bought "Degsy" a copy for Christmas? :lol:

 

[wobs]

£5 will get you The Italian Job on DVD - in widescreen.
Our VHS was removed when the remote died making it impossible to set the clock, that having been its only real function since I got our first Tivo DVR in 2003

We've been gradually replacing our VHS collection for DVDs. They are so cheap these days, its worth it.

Ordered 5 last week, and most were less than £5. One of the advantages of all this is that it saves a lot of space on the shelves. The TV series of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy has gone from a double VHS box to a single DVD box.

The other thing is that when our VCR breaks down, its not exactly easy to replace, finding something to play DVD on should be easy in the foreseeable future. There are however some thing we can't replace, as they have yet to be released on DVD (Fatherland (with Rutger Hauer) to name one).

We now have a stack of films we need to watch, but no time to watch them!

 

[Flyfisher]

We now have a stack of films we need to watch, but no time to watch them!

That was the key deciding factor when we bought our first HDD recorder. Mrs FF was fed up with my constant purchase of new video tapes because I never watched my recordings but wouldn't record over them. I still do the same thing with the HDD recorder but I've become more relaxed about Mrs FF recording over things.

I've spoken to so many people who behave in much the same way that I've concluded that video recorders are simply surrogate television viewers and thus create hours of additional free time for their owners. In that regard, I consider them an essential part of modern life.

 

[Feltwell]

Well, it looks as if I'm going to have to catch up on one bit of new technology - as I won a Playstation 3 in a competition on the radio today! A nice surprise, not an item I know much about, but a quick Google reveals that it looks like you can use it as a Blu-Ray player, which sounds handy - so presumably it will play DVD's as well?

I *think* our telly will cope with HD - it's about 3 years old and was sold as being "HD Ready", with a resolution of 1366 x 768 according to Google, so I think that's better than standard non-HD but not as good as some HD, do our technophiles agree? It's a Panasonic TX-32LXD85 if that helps! It got good reviews as a "basic" HD ready TV when I bought it, but I knew then it wasn't as well featured as some.

The kids have a got a Wii with a selection of games for younger children, other than that this will be the first games console or PC game I've touched since playing on a student friend's Sega Mega-Drive about 20 years ago, so I suspect I'm in for a shock.....

 

[skier-hughes]

A blu ray disc played through PS3 to your tv will look far better than the non hd channels you watch now, unless of course you subscribe to the HD ones!!

 

[Penners]

I won a Playstation 3 in a competition on the radio today!

God grief! Well done! What did you have to do to win it - recite the periodic table or spell your own name? (Both of these are probably challenge to the majority of the population).

I *think* our telly will cope with HD - it's about 3 years old and was sold as being "HD Ready", with a resolution of 1366 x 768 according to Google, so I think that's better than standard non-HD but not as good as some HD, do our technophiles agree?

It won't come as news to you that I'm no technophile, but the following may help (if you can understand a word of it - which I can't).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

Scroll well down the page to find a chart of the various HD resolutions

 

[Feltwell]

God grief! Well done! What did you have to do to win it - recite the periodic table or spell your own name? (Both of these are probably challenge to the majority of the population).

Answer questions on rock music on air, with a little bit of very easy general knowledge chucked in - nothing too taxing. I heard the competition advertised on the radio (it's a promo for the launch of some new game) and it said apply online, so I did on a whim - first time I've entered a competition in years. I got a bit of a surprise when I pressed submit and it then told me I'd go forward to the next round and may be called by the station, I presumed it was online only. I got more of a shock when the radio show producer called me!

Ta for the HD link. I shall see what it's like when the console turns up - I ordered a blu-ray disc of The Italian Job (the original of course) last night just to test it out

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm not sure if congratulations or commiserations are in order Feltwell - have you seen the prices of the games?

Being the terrible parent I am, I've managed to prevent a PS-anything ever passing our threshold.

 

[Penners]

Being the terrible parent I am, I've managed to prevent a PS-anything ever passing our threshold.

Ditto, with the addition of the prefix grand-. Instead of playing video games the grandsons are forced to endure things like board games, books, tree-climbing, swimming, playing musical instruments... etc.

Am I sounding frayghtfully bourgeois?

 

[LadyArowana]

Ditto, with the addition of the prefix grand-.

....theft auto?

 

[Penners]

¿Qué?

 

[Feltwell]

I'm not sure if congratulations or commiserations are in order Feltwell - have you seen the prices of the games?

I can guess! It comes with 1 game from the competition (that will be totally unsuitable for the kids and probably scare the wits out of me!). If nothing else I'll use it as a new DVD player (as our current one is not the best and is getting a bit cranky) and for the occasional blu-ray disc.

Our kids have got a Wii console, which I got second-hand with a load of games from a work colleague about 3 years after that console first came out. I have to say, the Wii is much better than you might expect - lots of games that are actually fairly active and require good hand-eye co-ordination, you don't just sit there pressing buttons. Hardened "gamers" look down on it, but I'd say it's a very clever bit of kit, a games console that truly anyone of any age could play, given an appropriate game. My eldest son had a bit of a problem with his co-ordination, to the extent where his school had come up with specific exercises to help him. Playing on the Wii really helped him, and best of all it was fun rather than just being frustrating. I think I've said on here before, I've heard of the Wii consoles being used in care homes as some of the gentler games such as tennis, golf or bowling have proven to be of benefit to the residents.

Our kids are strictly limited in how much time they are allowed on it, but personally I think that now they are so common to ban such things in the family home outright is a mistake - "forbidden fruit" and all that. In grandparent's homes, it's grandparent's rules that apply! The current kid's addiction in our house, which I thoroughly approve of, is Lego - which of course requires Dad to provide some assistance 8)

I have found that Wii games that are £40 or so in the shops can easily be found for £10 or less secondhand online, provided you don't want the latest greatest game. I'm presuming the Playstation is the same, it's been available for a number of years. To be honest, I'm not sure it will get used much / at all for games, and I certainly wouldn't have bothered spending £200 to buy one!

As someone said on another thread - being 5-10 years behind the times as far as technology goes is considerably cheaper and as far as I'm concerned just as good!

 

[Flyfisher]

I'd put it on ebay as fast as possible. Slippery slopes and all that. :wink:

 

[Feltwell]

Mrs F did suggest that. I might have to "make sure it works" first :wink:

(Well, technology might not naturally be my thing but if a toy is offered to you it's rude not to have a little play, surely?)

Which is in no way reminiscent of Pamela Stephenson and Amex. Honest.

 

[Flyfisher]

I would reply but I can't think of anything clean enough. :lol:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

God grief! Well done! What did you have to do to win it - recite the periodic table or spell your own name? (Both of these are probably challenge to the majority of the population).

God Bless Saint Tom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYW50F42ss8

My favourite is probably Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.

 

[AMc]

A PS3 and an internet connection will allow you to watch all the catch up TV services (iPlayer, 4OD etc), blurays, DVD and Lovefilm streaming (if you subscribe).
If you plan on using it as a Bluray & DVD player then the official media remote will be a lot less hassle than using the controller. You'll probably need an HDMI lead for your TV - pick up a cheap one from eBay.

I've owned a Playstation, Playstation2 and Playstation3 & an xBox360 and love gaming. My mum and dad have my original playstation.
Hand/eye co-ordination and problem solving are skills - vegging in front of anything hours a day is a bad idea but once in a while does little harm.
Our kid seems to be fairly good at self regulating, but we sometimes have to ask her to turn off the PC/TV/DS.

Games can be picked up for way less than the £40 new price - second hand from places like CEX or Game or new from amazon, play.com and www.shopto.net.
Check out Little Big Planet (or LBP2) for a family friendly game which lets you build your own game worlds as well as play theirs.

 

[Feltwell]

Thanks for that AMc. I ordered an HDMI cable from thatcable.com, who get good reviews and are cheap - I know you can spend a small fortune on interconnects. The media remote is a good tip, I hadn't heard of that and having now checked even the official Sony ones are quite cheap on Amazon.

 

[Flyfisher]

I know you can spend a small fortune on interconnects.

Indeed you can, but it's a waste of money - especially with digital cables. The "quality" of the '1's and '0's that pop out of the end won't be improved if you buy 'super-duper oxygen-free monocrystalline unobtainium' cables.

There's an argument for spending a little more on 'robust' cables if you're likely to be constantly plugging/unplugging/moving cables around (e.g. a test lab type environment) but for typical home use the cheapest cable will give the same quality picture as the most expensive one - and here's why:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20056502-1/why-all-hdmi-cables-are-the-same/


But if you really have more money than sense then you can be sure there will be someone out there to take your money.
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Digital-Audio-Ethernet-Connection/dp/B003CT2A6I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

(For a really good laugh, ignore the product details and just read the reviews :lol: )

 

[Feltwell]

:lol: I like the reviews on that Amazon page! My cable cost the princely sum of £4.59, including P&P, so I'll live with my extravagance. Some fairly well respected publications reckon that there is a difference in quality of picture between cables, but I do agree if it's digital then I can't quite understand how.

http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/accessories/hdmi-and-video-cables

Even on analogue connections, where cable quality will make a difference, I reckon it's a huge ripoff for many interconnects. There's a clear difference between the very cheapest and the next level up, as I've found when changing speaker cable in the past, but beyond that it strikes me that the difference is marginal at best.