PMP's PVR's ???

[FOX]

Hi All,

I'm very tempted with getting a PVR PMP type thing and was wondering if anyone had any experience / advise.

I'm currently looking at these:

iRiver PMP 140
Reasonable name

Archos AV420
Seems to be industry std

Zen Portable Media Player
Looks nice

Hauppauge Thing
Like the Look of this one but not Mac compatible

Mustek PVR H140
El Cheapo!!

iStation
Sexxxxxy, but who are they and ebay seems to be the only source

Basically what i'm after in a unit is:

20gb+
To play all main stream audio files (WMA MP3 etc...)
To be able to record video from various sources (TV, DVD(schhhhh),PC etc...)
To store and display main stream image files
In built card reader (or usb transfer for a card reader)
Ability to playback through a TV
The moon on a stick
Around £300 mark

Any comments on the above (cheaper sources, opinions etc...) or alternatives?

Cheers

FOX

[Bantam]

PVR's are all well and good, but usually tiny screens, and useless if you get somewhere, buy a DVD then have to wait until you get home to watch it.
I looked at all the PVR's and they're all much of a muchness, and I'd not touch them yet. (Apparently apple are working on a PVR with a 9" screen although it's not due until 2007 as yet). I've an iPod for the music side of things, and then...

I thought of my situation and did the following.

At home I have Sky+ (with a 120Gb upgraded disk) and a Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD-RAM Recorder.

So I bought myself one of these. (£300 from Dixons at Manchester Airport for their display one, but can be got new for about £350-ish)



9" Screen, 2.5 hour battery life (up to 24 hours I think with the extended battery pack which goes underneath - £74 direct from panny). The standout features for me are;
1: DVD-Audio. Portable DVD-Audio player
2: Plays DVD-RAM and/or DVD-R - I can dump programmes from the Sky+ to DVD-RAM. Watch on the move, then erase the disks when back home.
3: 9" Progressive Scan High Quality Screen. You need to see the quality to believe it. Awesome screen. It doesn't output Progressive, but it definitely is progessive on the in-built screen. On purchased DVD's the quality is top top notch.

Most of the time I'm on the train, so I can plug into the train power. I also have an inverter for the car / plane so that's covered.

[Tim Ingmire]

Originally Posted by FOX

Hi All,

I'm very tempted with getting a PVR PMP type thing and was wondering if anyone had any experience / advise.

I'm currently looking at these:

iRiver PMP 140
Reasonable name

Archos AV420
Seems to be industry std

Zen Portable Media Player
Looks nice

Hauppauge Thing
Like the Look of this one but not Mac compatible

Mustek PVR H140
El Cheapo!!

iStation
Sexxxxxy, but who are they and ebay seems to be the only source

Basically what i'm after in a unit is:

20gb+
To play all main stream audio files (WMA MP3 etc...)
To be able to record video from various sources (TV, DVD(schhhhh),PC etc...)
To store and display main stream image files
In built card reader (or usb transfer for a card reader)
The moon on a stick
Around £300 mark

Any comments on the above (cheaper sources, opinions etc...) or alternatives?

Cheers

FOX

As a PMP140 owner I can tell you that:
1. 40Gb
2. Plays AVI
3. Will not directly encode video (but will encode audio)
4. No inbuilt card reader but will directly connect to another USB device (eg some cameras, card readers etc for direct transfer)
5. No Moon.
6. A bit more than £300 (actually nearer 400).

I have copies of a couple of my own films (ahem) on the device and the quality is excellent. I can play direct to a TV / projector and you would not notice a siginificant drop in quality.

How do I do this?

I use a DVD converter and a freeware program ireverter to ensure that it will play on the iRiver (actually the last step isn't always necessary). What I do not do is use the supplied iRiver media converter cos it's crap.

[Fathoms Down]

There seems to be a bit of confusion over what a PVR is here.

PVRs are also known as Personal Video Recorders such as the TiVO, SkyPlus and Microsoft Media Centre devices and they can sync to the PMP devices (so you can watch last night's Emerdale on the go). If you are buying a PVR or a PMP make sure you have the right meaning of "PVR" or you could have a rather expensive mistake on your hands!

[Pretty Flowers]

TIVO don't operate in the UK any more either. You might get one from ebay, but otherwise not.

I wasn't aware that Microsoft had brought out a PVR either. If you decide on this and have Sky at home, they might well not be compatable with each other...

If you are buying from North America, you need to make sure that your PVR can read both PAL and NSTC signals. Otherwise you will likewise be stuffed. This is why I had to dump all my TV's, Videos and DVD players before I got here.

HTH

Sarah

[Fathoms Down]

Originally Posted by Pretty Flowers

I wasn't aware that Microsoft had brought out a PVR either. If you decide on this and have Sky at home, they might well not be compatable with each other...

Microsoft haven't brought out a PVR themselves but provide an OEM licence for Windows MCE and are actively working with OEMs to produce units (there are about 30ish available in the Uk at the moment). The units tend to provide digital or analogue TV (including recording, pausing live TV, program guide, etc), DVD playing facilities, access to music files (MP3, WMA, etc), access to digital photos and home videos, pay per view services, Windows Messenger and other services. The units also come with hardware to allow them to integrate with other set top units from people such as Sky, cable, etc. In addition, its this "everything in one" server which syncs with the new PMPs so you can access your media when out and about.

I've recently built my own Microsoft based PVR and its very impressive (it makes products such as MythTV look very poor in comparison). I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft products but this is a very slick product and I can see it making its way in to homes across the world in a big way. The only real contender I can see at the moment is the Sony PS3 but thats not due out yet so is loosing ground already. Hopefully it will be compatible with the Microsoft one or another "VHS vs Betamax" battle could be looming....

[The Purist]

Originally Posted by Pretty Flowers

TIVO don't operate in the UK any more either. You might get one from ebay, but otherwise not.

<pedant>

TiVo are still supporting the UK market, and supplying UK programme data etc. They no longer have a manufacturer for UK TiVos since Thomson quit the market a few years ago, but there is no sign that the TiVo service itself will disappear from the UK. When Thomson withdrew a number of indivuals bought up some of their spare stock and these can still be bought as 'new' Tivo's (eg. tivoland.com), and pretty much anything from Ebay can be resurrected by one or 2 bespoke repairers.

</pedant>

<Tivofan>

And despite it being based on technology that's a few years old, its functionality still wipes the floor with $kyplu$ (and it's infinitely more hackable) - though as $+ records the raw broadcast data rather than sticking it through a decode/encode loop it has better picture quality and 5.1 sound recording.

Tivo S2 in the states can do pretty much all the things Fox was after (not sure about the moon...) but unfortunately they aren't available over here and you can't even hack a US Tivo to work in the UK

</Tivofan>

[Pretty Flowers]

Serves me right for posting on a technological subject - :woosh:

I'm struggling at the moment deciding on what TV's I need to buy for my new place - HDTV/ non HDTV (supported by my digital cable service)

Wide/non wide, comb filtering... etc etc. It was all so much simpler when all you did was go into Comet/ Currys, point at something and say "I want that one"...

A big difference over here is that you can buy your digital cable box/PVR. You don't have to rent them. The only problem is that I have to make sure that the ones I buy are Cogeco compatable...

[Bantam]

Some of the TV's in the US have cable boxes built into them. My mate's Sony 29" in LA is cable integrated.

Mark.

[Pretty Flowers]

Originally Posted by Bantam

Some of the TV's in the US have cable boxes built into them. My mate's Sony 29" in LA is cable integrated.

Mark.

Not for digital cable unfortunately

It means that I have to buy 3 boxes to go with my 3 TV's. Apparently it's essential to have a set in every room in the house...