Which do you like?

[matthewt]

good isn't it. what software do you use? my favourite is mythtv

No software, it's a Sony home cinema unit (RDR-HX900). I needed something the Mrs could operate, fiddling around with a PC would never work with her.

[Indiana_Jones]

Mate , you haven't lived until your seen Topgun on a large hometheatre rig , makes it a completely different movie , the opening scenes will blow you away (Literally) .

Would like to give it a go, and I would like to see Titanic with some nice sound, like at the flicks, way cooler

-Indy

[TerminalAddict]

No software, it's a Sony home cinema unit (RDR-HX900). I needed something the Mrs could operate, fiddling around with a PC would never work with her.

I keep telling people about TIVO ... but nobody listens

[matthewt]

I keep telling people about TIVO ... but nobody listens

A friend of mine has a Tivo setup, says it emails him more than his friends. I suppose it's not popular here because you need a reasonable amount of techo knowledge to get it setup. Probably not that tricky but beyond most non-IT types.

[zadok]

DVD. No contest.

[Slingshot]

I keep telling people about TIVO ... but nobody listens

A friend of mine is building one...just seems like way to much hassel to me. There's normally better things to do than watch TV. Even now when I record things on the VCR I find that most of the time I never get around to watching it.

[pyrocam]

actually. what would you rather see, a vhs with the standard degradation or a DVD with a few scratches on it.

at least VHS is actually watchable and doesnt skip and stuff.

[Drunken Monkey]

...Or better yet, get a projector. Then your veiwing screen is so big it doesn't matter if it's letterbox or full.

The projector still needs to support widescreen - some don't, including mine unfortunately. It does display a slightly wider image than the T.V., but there is a difference between true widescreen display and letterboxing.

[John]

actually. what would you rather see, a vhs with the standard degradation or a DVD with a few scratches on it.

at least VHS is actually watchable and doesnt skip and stuff.

vhs makes me sick at least I could copy the dvd and fix up the tracks.

[Mooch]

actually. what would you rather see, a vhs with the standard degradation or a DVD with a few scratches on it.

at least VHS is actually watchable and doesnt skip and stuff.

Good point , but I hate it when you need to open the VCR to cut out a tape that’s given up and tangled it's self around most of the insides , not to mention belts that wear out , and heads that do the same thing.
Probably watch one tape to 100 DVD's now.

[MikeL]

The fact that several major manufacturers have announced that they are ceasing production of VHS decks shows clearly that this is an obsolete format. Also the cost of VCRs now shows that the manufacturers have long since recovered all their R&D costs and got the maximum profits out of the technology.
What I mourn to a certain extent with the passing of videotape (apart from a certain nostalgic affection for a format which was a big part of my life for many years), is the replacement of a technology which, although mechanically complex, was understandable by anyone with a moderate grasp of mechanics and analogue electronics, and in which malfunctions were reasonably easy to diagnose, with a new one which works superbly most of the time, but when it fails, leaves you utterly perplexed.
In the course of my involvement in professional video production I would have produced and distributed something in the region of 10,000 VHS tapes, and the number of customers who have come back with a faulty tape would be a couple of dozen at the most. Last year I went into DVD-R. The experience (somewhere between a severe headache and a minor nightmare) left me with renewed affection for grotty old VHS...

[vifferman]

We've had our VHS player (Mitsubishi Black Diamond summat or other) for ten years, and had no problems at all with it - never even had to clean the heads (whereas the CD player we bought the same year has had to have its laser replaced a couple of years ago, and another CD player we had lasted less than 2 years). I bought it with some 'on call' money I was paid one Easter, and the criteria were that it had to be easy to use, have an on-screen menu, and multiple heads.

While it still goes fine, it's a bit crap quality-wise, given we've upgraded everything else, so eventually it will make way for a HDD/DVD recorder. It's a bit stink watching something on a 5.1 135W/channel system, when whatever you've recorded isn't even in stereo...