Thursday, March 15, 2007

Technology, GRRRR!

Almost finished The Search For Spiritual Family - Part 3, but I decided to start playing around with a Hauppauge TV tuner card that I acquired so I could start using the puter as a PVR and got a little distracted.

Yes that it right, we got cable. We took the plunge and switched all our services to Shaw, including telephone, bye bye Sasktel. Basic cable was part of the package.

I hate channel surfing, and whenever I watch TV that seems to be all I do. The solution? PVR! (Personal Video Recorder - basically turn your PC into a VCR, for the lay people). Well I managed to get the cable piped in, but getting the interactive menu downloaded so I could search for programs was a pain in the you know what. But eventually I even got that working.

Okay now for part two, because I do not plan on watching TV on my puter, I need to somehow get it to the TV\DVD player. Only option is to burn it to DVD.

Disk 1 - 5 kids shows, the process completes flawlessly. Put it in DVD player, interactive menus show up with content (very cool). First program works great, but the next four get glitchier and glitchier until they won't even play, grrrr.

Disk 2 - CSI and a couple episodes of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Disk fails during burning process (after 30 minutes of preparation time).

Disk 3 - Same content, but burning them in the raw div x format as my DVD player can read div x. Works great, but can't fast forward through the commercials without it skipping back to the beginning of the file. Too frustrating, turned it off and went to paint the bathroom, literally.

Once I get my big screen plasma, all my problems will be solved as I can hook up the computer directly to it and just play off the HD without the frustration of burning DVD's.This is an artists rendering of what I am hoping for

4 comments:

Trail Rider said...

Yes dear....as soon as we get a big ass tv....all our problems will be gone......;) (snicker)

Trail Rider said...

By the way, I am enjoying you taking me down memory lane from 10 years ago! It is healing for me too to hear our search for family. it was a long journey...so glad we finally found it.

Jenny said...

well you lost me after you talked about the PVR?...
My husband and I aren't even remotely technological(I could barely spell that word right now)...you should see us trying to program the remote...that's a post in itself!
Thanks for sharing you and Sarah's journey...it is amazing.

Nin said...

oooh....nice template! It suites you better.
By the way, I'm typing this with you sitting right beside me in my basement.
Just wanted to share that. Thanks for being here for my hubby in everything. Bless you

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