Technobabble for the sextogenarian. Please?
June 14, 2007 7:26 PM Subscribe
Help me help my dad. One of those cheapest-best-multimedia-experience questions. Details inside. (Oh, btw, kinda long.)
Ok, so my dad's 60-ish, partially disabled, and a security guard. He spends many nights inside a guard booth or his pickup truck sitting there, watching nothing happen. About a year ago he picked up a portable DVD player and a blockbuster or netflix subscription, and I showed him how to "backup" movies so he could watch them at his leisure. Anyway, he's watched *everything*. He loves TV, especially the new serial-dramas, 24, the Unit, survivor, etc. My mom uses the VCR (ooh fancy!) to tape these shows, and then they each watch them at their leisure, assuming she remembered to put a tape in and/or rewind it, etc.
He's asked me for advice on how to watch the TV shows on his Portable DVD player.
He's fairly technologically savvy, and I've discussed with him how I use RSS feeds and torrents as my own personal DVR. He likes this idea. He understands that his portable dvd player won't play divx. His computer does NOT have the guts to transcode, and transcoding sucks anyway. He's NOT savvy enough to RSS his own tv shows and I don't have time to do it. What's the best solution?
I've got a Creative Zen Vision:M and I think it's hawt. There will be NO Ipod's. His portable DVD player DOES have RCA-in slots. I do know that my Vision:M could output to his screen, if that was the best solution.
So here's really the rub: what is the LEAST expensive way to make it so he can watch tv shows on his portable screen? Here's the options I've thought of, but please think of more:
1. Bite the bullet and get a low-end laptop.
2. Get a Tivo. Don't they have a "Send to device" option? Or did I make that up? Do they send to other things than Ipod's?
3. Intracranial implant to allow him to pick up the signals himself.
Oh, and it needs to be a bigger screen than just the vision:m---as an end solution. He doesn't see all that well, and he REALLY gets a kick out of plugging the tape adapter into the portable player and getting "Surround sound" out of his truck speakers.
Ok, so my dad's 60-ish, partially disabled, and a security guard. He spends many nights inside a guard booth or his pickup truck sitting there, watching nothing happen. About a year ago he picked up a portable DVD player and a blockbuster or netflix subscription, and I showed him how to "backup" movies so he could watch them at his leisure. Anyway, he's watched *everything*. He loves TV, especially the new serial-dramas, 24, the Unit, survivor, etc. My mom uses the VCR (ooh fancy!) to tape these shows, and then they each watch them at their leisure, assuming she remembered to put a tape in and/or rewind it, etc.
He's asked me for advice on how to watch the TV shows on his Portable DVD player.
He's fairly technologically savvy, and I've discussed with him how I use RSS feeds and torrents as my own personal DVR. He likes this idea. He understands that his portable dvd player won't play divx. His computer does NOT have the guts to transcode, and transcoding sucks anyway. He's NOT savvy enough to RSS his own tv shows and I don't have time to do it. What's the best solution?
I've got a Creative Zen Vision:M and I think it's hawt. There will be NO Ipod's. His portable DVD player DOES have RCA-in slots. I do know that my Vision:M could output to his screen, if that was the best solution.
So here's really the rub: what is the LEAST expensive way to make it so he can watch tv shows on his portable screen? Here's the options I've thought of, but please think of more:
1. Bite the bullet and get a low-end laptop.
2. Get a Tivo. Don't they have a "Send to device" option? Or did I make that up? Do they send to other things than Ipod's?
3. Intracranial implant to allow him to pick up the signals himself.
Oh, and it needs to be a bigger screen than just the vision:m---as an end solution. He doesn't see all that well, and he REALLY gets a kick out of plugging the tape adapter into the portable player and getting "Surround sound" out of his truck speakers.
What I would do:
get a cheap new laptop (or desktop, depending on his needs) with windows media center edition, if you don't already have it. Then get a tv tuner. Windows media center is excellent at picking up the tuner (probably a USB tuner, unless it's a desktop computer, then definitely get internal), and it gives you a tv guide just like tivo or digital cable. All this for free, except for the initial cost of the pc. Then your dad can schedule recordings on his computer, exactly like a tivo, even with a "season pass"-like feature. THEN, it even has a "sync with device" function that has worked flawlessly with my Toshiba Gigabeat S thus far, except that it takes awhile to transfer. Not sure how it works with other devices, with the Gigabeat it is easy because it uses Windows Portable Media Center, so it works well with it. I would imagine similar results with the Zune.
If you don't want a new computer, MythTV is an option. It is an open source program that does pretty much the same thing Windows Media Center does, and it is all free as well. not sure how syncing with a device works, but I would imagine MythTV gives you more recording format options- windows media center records in a weird format that isn't compatable with other stuff. So MythTV might be your best option there, although i hear it is a little more difficult to set up (since its open source and all).
posted by kraigory at 7:43 PM on June 14, 2007
get a cheap new laptop (or desktop, depending on his needs) with windows media center edition, if you don't already have it. Then get a tv tuner. Windows media center is excellent at picking up the tuner (probably a USB tuner, unless it's a desktop computer, then definitely get internal), and it gives you a tv guide just like tivo or digital cable. All this for free, except for the initial cost of the pc. Then your dad can schedule recordings on his computer, exactly like a tivo, even with a "season pass"-like feature. THEN, it even has a "sync with device" function that has worked flawlessly with my Toshiba Gigabeat S thus far, except that it takes awhile to transfer. Not sure how it works with other devices, with the Gigabeat it is easy because it uses Windows Portable Media Center, so it works well with it. I would imagine similar results with the Zune.
If you don't want a new computer, MythTV is an option. It is an open source program that does pretty much the same thing Windows Media Center does, and it is all free as well. not sure how syncing with a device works, but I would imagine MythTV gives you more recording format options- windows media center records in a weird format that isn't compatable with other stuff. So MythTV might be your best option there, although i hear it is a little more difficult to set up (since its open source and all).
posted by kraigory at 7:43 PM on June 14, 2007
Response by poster: I like both options so far. The DVD recorder tho--you can play the discs until they're finalized, right? And they don't finalize until they fill up? Yes or no?
I'm familiar w/ MCE and MythTV---myth's waaaay out of his league. I'm afraid that the laptop option just might be too expensive. He is, after all, a security guard, and I do, after all, work for an NPO. ;-)
posted by TomMelee at 7:51 PM on June 14, 2007
I'm familiar w/ MCE and MythTV---myth's waaaay out of his league. I'm afraid that the laptop option just might be too expensive. He is, after all, a security guard, and I do, after all, work for an NPO. ;-)
posted by TomMelee at 7:51 PM on June 14, 2007
Well since you showed him how to back up, why not just rent past seasons of his favorite shows and watch them on his dvd player? If he is not willing to wait until the shows go to dvd, then I would 'Tivo' the shows he wants onto your Vision M and rca them into his dvd player. No better/cheaper solution than that.
posted by wile e at 7:52 PM on June 14, 2007
posted by wile e at 7:52 PM on June 14, 2007
Neuros makes a standalone mp4 recorder. Not terribly expensive.
Sandisk makes a similar device.
posted by O9scar at 11:10 PM on June 14, 2007
Sandisk makes a similar device.
posted by O9scar at 11:10 PM on June 14, 2007
There are portable DVD players that play DIVX. Prices start at just over 100 bucks. (I have one made by Initial, but I can't recommend it as it recently died on me.)
posted by Otis at 5:50 AM on June 15, 2007
posted by Otis at 5:50 AM on June 15, 2007
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posted by Pinback at 7:41 PM on June 14, 2007