Video Player hardware question...

XJLI said:
no offense but, are you legally blind? if i put a std def dvd on i can tell a gigantic difference between that and bluray on my 46" plasma... even from across the house.
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Not so much - I just don't care, I think.

I can see when they push the contrast levels between "black" and "lit" on LCD & plasma panels, but I either don't see - or flat don't care - about the difference between regular and Hi-Def video.

If I want improved definition, I simply go outside. Perhaps is a preconception that there are limitations to technology that drives it - but it hasn't been worth the trouble to me (particularly since entertainment seems to be Hi-Def only recently - sports were first, and I don't give a damn about football. "Entertainment" is only called such because it "entertains" most people - I don't care about American Idol, ersatz "reality" television, and I don't see what's "popular" or "cultured" about "popular culture."

So, I do have a rather jaundiced eye on the world - I'll readily admit to that.
 
87manche said:
the requirements ARE simple, and easy to address if you have a digital TV.

your requirement for an ancient interface is what makes this difficult. As I said, nearly all of the OEM chips that manufacturers are using to decode video have dropped analog support. The IC's to do what you want simply don't exist on the market. So either find something used on ebay from a generation of players that still supported analog video, or go buy a TV that has current video connections.

upgrade the TV's or buy an HDMi composite converter:
http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Composite-S-Video-Converter-3RCA/dp/B0047PDBP0
Click to expand...

The "ancient interface" is simply what I have. The Lenovo I bought because I require it for business (and I was limping along on a secondhand T40 that I managed to salvage before we got the tax return from last year,) and most of our televisors and such are castoffs (we've been paying medical bills.)

Also, the need for the device to be portable interferes with the ability to use HTPCs and the like - I want to be able to use the thing anywhere, and be able to connect it to a TV wherever I am (if I choose.)

Not everyone has the "latest and greatest" - feature creep is doing us all in.
 
5-90 said:
So, I do have a rather jaundiced eye on the world - I'll readily admit to that.
Click to expand...

fair enough

5-90 said:
Not everyone has the "latest and greatest" - feature creep is doing us all in.
Click to expand...

i wouldnt call it feature creep, thats a negative term. what you're looking for is integration...covergence if you will. you can do everything on one device, and do it well.
 
XJLI said:
fair enough



i wouldnt call it feature creep, thats a negative term. what you're looking for is integration...covergence if you will. you can do everything on one device, and do it well.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call it convergence either, I'd call it progress.

We went from composite which was terribly limited in resolution, to VGA, to DVI, now the DVI standard has been modified into a universal connection with digital audio, and we called it HDMI.

Now you can have one standard connection for everything.

Really I hink the best soution for you is to byu a modern video player that uses HDMI, and then buy the $50 converter box. At least then when you eventually upgrade your TV your media player will be native.

I understand your unwillingness, I have 1 TV in the house, and until last year it was a tube, but then we wanted to ditch Dish network and the $80 a month it cost us, which necessitated a digital TV tuner and modern interconnects to run an HTPC on.

I was forced to buy new hardware because I wanted to do modern things, and you're pretty much in the same boat. For my end it was justified by the monthly savings, so in a year's time I'm on the upside of the ROI.
 
Yah - that's why I'm trying to convert to LCD if and when - power savings.

(Not that it helps. Professional Gouging & Embezzlement wants to help reduce power consumption, then drives up rates when they're not selling the power they used to. Same with the water companies, and fuel taxes. You can't have it both ways, people!)

You call it "progress," he calls it "convergence," I'll stand by "feature creep." The problem is it always ends up with having to spend more money than I really want to. It's about as bad as Microsoft - they keep lumping in "features" I neither need, nor want, nor use - but am stuck with. The primary reason I never ran Vista was because I was worried about the sort of overhead involved in an OS that shipped on a DVD (and required 1GB of RAM just to function!) I usually get drug kicking & screaming into the next OS upgrade - I just got a Win7 machine a few months ago - and I still stand by my opinion that W2K was pretty much the best version of Windows as an operating system.

If MS does so much testing, why are they always issuing patches? In the last week or so, I've had a Service Pack come down, and three major updates - all of which forced a restart, and screwed up something I had running overnight.

I keep trying to force the system to just let me know an update is required and to keep doing whatever I have it doing, but it doesn't listen. Damn.

"Feature creep" in vehicles is likewise a pain - I don't want ABS, I can handle a vehicle just fine (and don't need "ESP" or whatever they're calling it this week,) I can park parallel on my own (so no assist system, please,) and I usually catch a low tyre long before TMPS (I merely haven't pulled the bulb yet.) I'm not about to drop $40-$90 on tyre sensors when the batteries go flat - not being able to replace the battery only shows bad design - and I don't want to pay for any of the other systems I don't want or need. Everytime I hear about something else, I get the urge to look for a 1965 or so pickup and restore it.

I suppose I'm stuck with the HDMI, then - it will take a while for the rest of the house to catch up. Since someone doesn't like the resistive touch screen of the ZiiO - is there anything similar out there that would serve the same function? The key issue here, again, is portability - I don't want an HTPC, because I can't take it with me...
 
I posted a link to the archos 70 in one of my last posts. That's probably going to be your best option along with the hdmi - component box I posted.
 
menos said:
I posted a link to the archos 70 in one of my last posts. That's probably going to be your best option along with the hdmi - component box I posted.
Click to expand...

I've had Archos kit before (HDD-based mp3 player,) and it wasn't bad.

Just curious - why do you prefer it? Always lookin' for information - and "reports from the field" are usually better to me than marketing blurb...
 
I've got a buddy that's got one. He likes it. It's pretty full featured for the price which is pretty cheap compared to other tablets. It runs android and I'm pretty sure it's rootable. It's not an ipad but then again it doesn't cost what an ipad does.
 
I may have a WDTV (non-live, live has wifi for streaming) for sale if the price is right..
 
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/WDTV/
Is a small Media player box. Allows you to connect 2 usb devices (such as flash drive, ext hdd, etc). Connects to your tv via hdmi OR composite video/audio. Has a remote.
 
Maybe it would better suit your needs to have two devices? One for the house and one portable. I've always said 'a jack of all trades is a master of none'. If you remove the requirement to have video out on your portable device, it does open up a few more choices.

I personally run a wdtv and love it. They are pretty dirt cheap and you wouldn't have to constantly plug/unplug your device.
 
itouch itouch itouch, but wah you'll have to use itunes boohoo.

itouch > some creative junk. cowon came out with a new android based media player, but i do believe its a little $$
 
If you want portability, your best bet would probably be an ipod or ipad, 64 GBs of memory and a program for it called Azul. That program lets you dump your video files into it without having to convert to Apples supported formats. Ive got an Ipad and use it for video all the time and love it.
 
menos said:
Maybe it would better suit your needs to have two devices? One for the house and one portable. I've always said 'a jack of all trades is a master of none'. If you remove the requirement to have video out on your portable device, it does open up a few more choices.

I personally run a wdtv and love it. They are pretty dirt cheap and you wouldn't have to constantly plug/unplug your device.
Click to expand...

I still agree with this.

Buy the cheap Roku box for your TV, then buy a player for your portable needs with a screen. The roku box solves all of your connection issues with the old TV's, and then you can just use the portable player as a portable player. Plus people can still use the Roku box for netflix or streaming when you're not around. Just make sure whatever portable playeryou get rocks the SD card like the Roku box and you can just swap the memory card.
 
87manche said:
I still agree with this.

Buy the cheap Roku box for your TV, then buy a player for your portable needs with a screen. The roku box solves all of your connection issues with the old TV's, and then you can just use the portable player as a portable player. Plus people can still use the Roku box for netflix or streaming when you're not around. Just make sure whatever portable playeryou get rocks the SD card like the Roku box and you can just swap the memory card.
Click to expand...

Yah.

As much as I don't like combining devices (I prefer a modular approach - if one segment fails, I replace it and move on. My WAP, central hub, and Internet router are all different boxen, as is my cable MODEM. Something fails, I don't have to reconfigure the whole damned network or buy a a single expensive box - I just replace the failed component,) I'm probably going to end up getting a middlin' tablet and use it as an e-reader and mobile video player. May as well bow to the inevitable and get one with HDMI (which probably won't be a problem,) so when I do have televisors around the house with HDMI plugs, I'm ready for it.

The inbuilt Wi-Fi will probably be useful for file transfer as well (now, to find a tablet with decent HDD capacity and an SD slot...) but I could care less about 3G/4G data capability - since I don't plan to get a plan and use it anyhow. So, I'm hoping I can save a few bucks doing that - but I'll probably be stuck with it anyhow. Bluetooth would be a plus as well - I'll also be getting a Bluetooth desktop, and that would let me move keyboard & mouse back and forth so I don't have to paw up the screen so much and can actually type on the thing if I have to.

I know my requirements seem odd - but I prefer a modular approach to everything (makes it easier to service,) and I dislike unnecessary redundancy or features I don't need but end up having to pay for anyhow. Pity they can't bear in mind that there are people out there with much more simple requirements from technology - it would make my life a good deal easier, and I'd have an easier time budgeting technology.
 
5-90 said:
Pity they can't bear in mind that there are people out there with much more simple requirements from technology
Click to expand...

theyre called old people, and they dont buy enough tech and demand their 10-15 year old components work with brand new devices. that small, niche market isnt profitable enough to be worthwhile.

:anon:
 
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