Weekly Site Roundup (11/17/03)
ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT
Home Theater - Easy and Inexpensive - Home Theater-In-A-Box
Looking for the perfect gift to get that special someone started in home theater without all the hassle of buying everything and figuring out how to install it? Then a home theater-in-a-box system may be just the perfect gift to give this holiday season. There are several types of configurations, but, basically, the majority of systems come packaged with everything you need to get a basic home theater started including a DVD player/AV receiver (combination or separate components), all the speakers, including the subwoofer, a remote control, and, the best of all, all the wire is included to connect it all together, including standard AV cables to connect to an existing TV.
HOME ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY NEWS HEADLINES
JVC Shows First Sirius Product (TWICE)
DVD RW Format Gains Momentum... (DVD Insider)
Gateway Chases Consumer Electronics Sales (BizReport)
JVC To Liquidate U.S. VHS Videotape Unit (Camcorder Info)
Philips Research Demonstrates Faster DVD R (EE Times)
Toshiba, Matsushita To End Domestic Output Of TV-Use CRTs (Yahoo News)
DirecTV Adding Satellites (Stereophile Guide To Home Theater)
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
Pioneer DVR-810H DVD/TIVO Recorder
Enter video recording "heaven" with the new Pioneer DVR-810H, which combines the benefits of both DVD recording and TIVO. This unit is equipped with DVD-R/-RW recorder, with both analog and USB input capability, plus progressive scan playback of both recorded and standard DVDs. In addition, DVR-810H is also equipped with an 80GB hard drive that can be used for storing video temporarily for copying to DVD later, or, when utilizing its TIVO operating system, you can record TV programs by title, time, or subject. You can then either dump your recordings off the hard drive latter or edit and copy them to DVD for permanent storage. This is defintitely one DVD recorder to check out!
BENQ Video Projectors
Exceptional video projectors at a modest price. Check out the latest lineup of digital projectors from BENQ
Featured in the Television/Plasma/Projection Displays Subject Page.
FROM THE HOME THEATER FORUM
BUYING NEW TV - NEED HELP!
From BOSTON2004:
My old faithful Sony television died last weekend. I went to "Best Buy" and I was in information overload! When did buying a TV become so complicated? I was feeling vulnerable & overwhelmed by the salesman's questions. I liked the the flat panel Sony but I'm not sure what brand to buy, what features to look for or where to get the best price. I would appreciate any advice.
Join in on the discussion.
ELSEWHERE ON ABOUT.COM
Cameras
Whether you are considering the purchase of a camera, digital camera, or camcorder this holiday season, before you go shopping check out the useful holiday shopping resources from About Cameras.
FROM THE MAILBOX
From Jonathan:
Thank you for your article on about.com regarding DVD-Recorders. I have two questions for you:
With the DVD Recorders that have the built in hard drives, I had heard that these were designed for systems that use TIVO. Can I use this type of system with a regular cable connection?
Can I setup the DVD Recorder with a hard drive to record on that drive first? Everything that I have read indicates that these hard drive units kick in once the DVD-RW disk is full.
From Your Guide:
Most DVD recorders with hard drives are not connected with services like TIVO -- they are mainly hard drive recording supplements to the DVD recorder -- In other words, you can use the hard drive section of a hard drive equipped DVD recorder for several purposes:
1. You can use the hard drive to record a TV show or satellite program, using the DVD recorder's built-in tuner to program the recording. You can then copy the program or programs from the hard drive to DVD later (with any basic editing you wish to do).
2. The hard drive can also be used to copy and temporarily store camcorder footage -- you can then choose later what to copy to DVD.
3. Some DVD recorders with hard drives also have card slots for importing digital still photos -- you can use the hard drive to temporarily store the digital photos, then copy them to DVD later.
4. As you have already stated, the hard drive can also be used to store excess video that doesn't fit on one DVD -- you can then copy the excess video to a second DVD later.
As of now there is only one DVD recorder with built-in hard drive that utilizes the TIVO operating system -- it is the Pioneer DVR-810H-S that sells for $1,199:
Let me know if this info helps.
SPECIAL FOR THE HOLIDAYS:
Holiday Shopping Resource Index
Halloween is over, the Thanksgiving turkey is slow cooking in the oven. Dad's in the basement getting that old furnance started back up, and its time to get those winter clothes out of the closest. The winter holiday shopping crunch is now upon us. Buying decisions need to be made. Where do you start? Before heading out the door with newspapter AD in hand, check out my Holiday Shopping Resource Index. The index includes several important resources for a successful holiday shopping experience, includng: Shopping Survival Guide, What's Hot and Not, Before You Buy information for a variety of products, and Home Theater Top Product Picks. This resource in the perfect jumping off point for every Home Theater or Gadget Holiday Shopper.
FINAL WORDS
Special Announcement: My homepage has a new look with daily news postings in addition to my weekly article postings. Be sure to check out the new look at: About Home Theater
If you need more great info on home theater and audio, with an emphasis on the higher end, be sure to check out About.com's related partner sites:
Audio Video Interiors.
Home Theater Magazine.
Stereophile Guide To Home Theater.
Stereophile Magazine.
Lastly, I would like your feedback on this Weekly Site Update Page. If you have any comments, either positve or negative, just let me know.
A Special Reminder: Although I update this site regularly, sometimes I miss broken links, this is especially a concern as old product listings expire and new ones have different link addresses. If you encounter any broken links in my articles or listings, just bring it to my attention so I can correct the address or delete it from the site if it has expired and can no longer be accessed.
For a look at earlier Home Theater Nooz and Vewz Weekly Updates, CLICK HERE
Feel free to email me at hometheater.guide@about.com
with your questions and/or comments.
