Still no comparison

[Kiwick]

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

One more thing...

For those who like to collect "early" examples of new technology, such as the RCA CT-100 color TV, you may want to consider buying the equivalent in the ATSC digital-TV tuner world. RCA led the market there, too, with the DTC-100 (notice the similar model number?). It sold for around US$650 in 2000, when other tuners were well over $1000. There is one on Ebay right now for $30.

(Am I going too far to suppose that collectors like "firsts and early examples" of lots of things, as opposed to getting themselves stuck in one specific time period?)

No way... modern digital stuff is stinkin' Chinese robot assembled junk and deserves to get recycled, crushed, landfilled & forgotten forever once obsolete...

Francesco

[OvenMaster]

I've finally figured out precisely what I want. It's just a matter of finding it. I want one box that will do the following:
*Have an HDTV tuner that will receive digital signals. 480i will be fine.
*Record those HDTV signals without a broadcast flag onto rewriteable discs; in essence, a DVD based VCR
*Have a built-in RF modulator to play back the signal in analog NTSC on channel 4
*Cost less than $100
My family has three fine analog NTSC television sets. I cannot afford new ones, and a $40 tuner box will not help me one bit in timeshifting and archiving off-air programming unless the output is useable for standard VCRs, of which I have three also. I do not have cable TV, but a mast-mounted outdoor antenna that is also used for FM. I refuse to pay to watch television. I am also in no hurry whatsoever to pay for new television sets when the ones I have work just fine.

I gave up "appointment TV" back in 1989 when I got my first VCR. For me, the ability to record off-air is vital; if I can't do what I've been doing since then, I will be one very unhappy camper.

Simply put, if there are too many roadblocks in my path, I will indeed use my television sets for pre-recorded shows and nothing else. Most American television is garbage anyway, and I can get news, entertainment, and information from books, radio, newspapers, and the Internet.

Call me a Luddite if you want to, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

[Whirled One]

Originally Posted by OvenMaster

I've finally figured out precisely what I want. It's just a matter of finding it. I want one box that will do the following:
*Have an HDTV tuner that will receive digital signals. 480i will be fine.
*Record those HDTV signals without a broadcast flag onto rewriteable discs; in essence, a DVD based VCR
*Have a built-in RF modulator to play back the signal in analog NTSC on channel 4
*Cost less than $100

Okay, you'll have to add your own RF modulator and it costs $179.99 right now (though wait a year or two and you'll probably hit the $100 price point for something similar), but here ya go:

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4156935

[for those who don't want to click, it's a Panasonic DMR-EZ17K DVD Player and Recorder, selected because it happens to be the least-expensive DVD recorder with a built-in ATSC tuner that happens to currently be offered on the J&R web site] Yer on yer own regarding the "broadcast flag" though.

[OvenMaster]

Just what the doctor ordered. At least they're out there; local TV salespeople don't even know what I'm talking about. I always had good luck with Panasonic VCRs and TVs, too. Thankyew.
Tom

[Whirled One]

Originally Posted by OvenMaster

Just what the doctor ordered. At least they're out there; local TV salespeople don't even know what I'm talking about. I always had good luck with Panasonic VCRs and TVs, too. Thankyew.

I originally wasn't going to mention this (because I didn't want it to sound too much like a commercial... ), but it so happens that I bought a Panasonic set-top DVD recorder back when they were still pretty "gee-whiz", and I've been very happy with it. It just runs like a champ. ...And I know exactly what you mean, as I've long watched most of my "live TV" using a video (either tape or DVD) recorder as a timeshifting/archival device.

Anyway, I was pleasantly suprised that it was actually a Panasonic that happened to be the lowest-cost option in that category when I checked that particular web site (note: the choice of J&R was just because they generally have a broad selection of consumer electronics products; not a specific endorsement thereof)

[compucat]

For $189 at Wal-Mart you can get a Magnavox VCR/DVD Recorder ATSC Tuner combo. You still have to use a modulator for analog TV output. It works great, will accept front panel input from camera, video game, etc. You can schedule recording to rewritable DVD just like a VCR. You can also dub between the VHS and DVD in either direction. It is what I am feeding my Zenith roundie with now. I highly recommend it.

[Kiwick]

About LCD durability... just 50k hours for the backlights and the LCD panel is subject to aging, some are showing dead pixels or lines or a sort of cataract after a few years,

The high voltage inverters used to power the backlights are prone to failure and are virtually impossible to repair, you will need to get a new one,then you'll likely find out that you can't get a new inverter for your 5 yrs old LCD and you need to scrap the whole thing.

I don't think anyone coluld even dream about fixing a bad LCD signal board...

That's the digital revolution for you... it's all about crappy disposable miniaturized SMD cards, flimsy flat wires, junky chinese chipsets, brittle silver painted plastic cabinets and so on... nothing that fits in my home...

Francesco

[Captain Video]

While countries like the USA and Germany are still far behind their original schedules for full implementation of digital TV, the brazilian government, led by the drunk-in-charge Mister Lula da Silva seems to be in a very strange hurry to make Brazil jump quicly in the digital bandwagon. Digital transmissions will begin in December, but it seems that very few people will be able to receive the signals. The gang called "brazilian government" set a few years ago a completely irrealistic goal of having digital converters for sale for US$ 100.00 by the time of the beggining of the transmissions. Now it's clear that, at least on the beggining, those converters will not cost less than US$ 800.00 . The answer of the idiots that run this country is simple: the brazilian industry must be "punished" for it's "incompetence" , and the way to "punish" the industry is by massive imports of converters ... made in China.

I hate to have to say it about my own country, but, it seems that Charles De Gaulle once said: "Brazil is not a serious country" , and I have to agree. The government told us that the brazilian standard of digital TV was unique in the world, so how the hell the chinese have the know-how to produce millions of converters on that standard? I thought that this information was very well kept under secrecy by the government and the brazilian industry. If this were a serious country, a press and congressional investigation would be under way to find out how the chinese know something that only the brazilians and the japanese ( who helped us creating that standard ) were supposed to know.

Today the chinese will produce converters, tomorrow...they will produce TV sets on that standard, and that will be the end of the almost 70-year History of the brazilian electronic industry. We will disappear in the same way the american electronic industry disapeared - crushed by cheap, low quality Asian imports.

Welcome to the 21ist Century.

[Richard D]

NOTICE ALL STORES- OUT OF STOCK 6/27/07
Check In-Store Availability

Durabrand 13" Tube TV w/ Digital Tuner, DTV1307
Model #: DTV1307
Price may vary by location. See our pricing policy for details.
Search Results
We found 5 stores near Miami, FL that carry this item. (Item availability status is approximate and updated every 24 hours.)

Sort by: Availability City Name Distance
StoreDistanceAvailabilityMiami
Wal-Mart# 2091
8651 N.W. 13Th Terrace
Miami, FL 33126
(305) 470-45108.87 miles
View Map & DetailsOut of StockHialeah Gardens
Wal-Mart Supercenter# 2814
9300 N.W. 77Th Avenue
Hialeah Gardens, FL 33016
(305) 819-06729.93 miles
View Map & DetailsOut of StockNorth Miami Beach
Wal-Mart Supercenter# 3235
1425 Northeast 163Rd Street
North Miami Beach, FL 33162
(305) 949-588110.63 miles
View Map & DetailsOut of StockMiami Gardens
Wal-Mart Supercenter# 3397
17650 Norhwest 2Nd Ave.
Miami Gardens, FL 33169
(305) 651-466111.1 miles
View Map & DetailsOut of StockHialeah
Wal-Mart Supercenter# 1590
5851 N.W. 177Th St.
Hialeah, FL 33015
(305) 558-606912.64 miles
View Map & DetailsOut of Stock

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by Richard D

NOTICE ALL STORES- OUT OF STOCK 6/27/07
Check In-Store Availability

Hay Richard, I don't care how I spend your money so why not spring for an RCA 14F514T like Whirled One and me. It's only $119.

[Richard D]

Originally Posted by Pete Deksnis

Hay Richard, I don't care how I spend your money so why not spring for an RCA 14F514T like Whirled One and me. It's only $119.

Hi Pete, I was not complaining about the price for the ATSC TV, just the fact that they advertise that all the Florida stores will have plenty of stock by the begining of June and you see that not one store in the South Florida area has one. I am going to keep the four sets I have until after the analog cutoff then get my one "free" converter from Comcast for the large Mitsu CRT rear projection that still has an excellent picture after 9 years with no service, no several hundred dollar replacement lamp, no color wheel motor, no "wobbulation" to make the micro-mirrors act like they are pointing in two places at once, no micro-mirrors, no cold cathode light tubes. When it dies then I will buy a "modern large scren. Yeah I am old fashioned and I like it! I know I am beating a dead format but when color came around it was backward compatible with monochrome
sets and I feel that should apply to digital and HD. BAH, HUMBUG.
Richard

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Captain Video

While countries like the USA and Germany are still far behind their original schedules for full implementation of digital TV, the brazilian government, led by the drunk-in-charge Mister Lula da Silva seems to be in a very strange hurry to make Brazil jump quicly in the digital bandwagon. Digital transmissions will begin in December, but it seems that very few people will be able to receive the signals. The gang called "brazilian government" set a few years ago a completely irrealistic goal of having digital converters for sale for US$ 100.00 by the time of the beggining of the transmissions. Now it's clear that, at least on the beggining, those converters will not cost less than US$ 800.00 . The answer of the idiots that run this country is simple: the brazilian industry must be "punished" for it's "incompetence" , and the way to "punish" the industry is by massive imports of converters ... made in China.

I hate to have to say it about my own country, but, it seems that Charles De Gaulle once said: "Brazil is not a serious country" , and I have to agree. The government told us that the brazilian standard of digital TV was unique in the world, so how the hell the chinese have the know-how to produce millions of converters on that standard? I thought that this information was very well kept under secrecy by the government and the brazilian industry. If this were a serious country, a press and congressional investigation would be under way to find out how the chinese know something that only the brazilians and the japanese ( who helped us creating that standard ) were supposed to know.

Today the chinese will produce converters, tomorrow...they will produce TV sets on that standard, and that will be the end of the almost 70-year History of the brazilian electronic industry. We will disappear in the same way the american electronic industry disapeared - crushed by cheap, low quality Asian imports.

Welcome to the 21ist Century.

I remember George Carlin said that the "two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity." Stupid is as stupid does, stupidy is a common trait, it is not unique to the United States or Brazil. I still watch a "made in USA" TV set as my main one but it was made in 1982 by Zenith when it was still known as "Zenith Radio Corporation" at the Chicago plant. It's been our daily watcher since we bought it new in early 1983, just think, I'll be 41 on Sunday (July 8th) and I'm watching the same TV I did when I was 16 years old in high school.

I'm getting a little OT on this one, but it seems like Red China will dominate the world with consumer items and otherwise, they already dominate here in the US and it seems like they are going to do the same for Brazil. Along with stupidity, I thin politicians do have two chips in their minds, a stupidity chip and a "sellout to the highest bidder" chip. They don't really care if they serve the interests of Brazil, the U.S. or wherever they come from and should serve the people therof but they worship the "almighty Dollar" instead. It seems like your politicians need the same "wake up call" as ours do.

I have a cartoon somewhere that was made in 1953 on how the Red Chinese will dominate the US and later the world, it seems like it is coming true.

BTW, getting back to the subject, which standard will Brazil use, ATSC or some other standard? I'm not a big fan on how they are ramming HDTV down our throats but it would make a good opportunity for have a one world standard although from what I hear, Europe will be different from us. Looks like we got another "Tower of Babel" on our hands.

[Captain Video]

Originally Posted by NowhereMan 1966

BTW, getting back to the subject, which standard will Brazil use, ATSC or some other standard? I'm not a big fan on how they are ramming HDTV down our throats but it would make a good opportunity for have a one world standard although from what I hear, Europe will be different from us. Looks like we got another "Tower of Babel" on our hands.

It's a hybrid system, half japanese and half local, a system specifically created for the peculiar characteristics of the brazilian TV market - a market in which the vast majority still don't have cable or other types of subscription-TV and on which the very complicated topography of the country makes TV transmission tricky. They say this system will allow for a greater number of TV channels and for mobile reception. I am no expert on digital TV, so I will have to wait for the beggining of the transmissions ( in my part of the country it will only happen in 2009 ) to see if it is really the wonder they are trying to convince us. What really irritates me is the sellout behavior of the politicians toward the chinese interests.

[Gianni]

Originally Posted by Kiwick

About LCD durability... just 50k hours for the backlights and the LCD panel is subject to aging, some are showing dead pixels or lines or a sort of cataract after a few years,

The high voltage inverters used to power the backlights are prone to failure and are virtually impossible to repair, you will need to get a new one,then you'll likely find out that you can't get a new inverter for your 5 yrs old LCD and you need to scrap the whole thing.

I don't think anyone coluld even dream about fixing a bad LCD signal board...

That's the digital revolution for you... it's all about crappy disposable miniaturized SMD cards, flimsy flat wires, junky chinese chipsets, brittle silver painted plastic cabinets and so on... nothing that fits in my home...

Francesco

Hi horseman!
Actually, in my opinion, LCDs are good devices for computers, but LCD in my Compaq Presario laptop from 2004 is not so bright than a new one...

But...
Is there an high voltage device in it?
There are only some LEDs, i think.

[Kiwick]

Originally Posted by Gianni

Hi horseman!
Actually, in my opinion, LCDs are good devices for computers, but LCD in my Compaq Presario laptop from 2004 is not so bright than a new one...

But...
Is there an high voltage device in it?
There are only some LEDs, i think.

Yes, there's a high voltage generator (the inverter) to feed about 2kv to a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, that's basically a tiny neon sign tube...

Laptop computers usually have just one lamp, monitors and TVs usually have two.

LED backlights are used only in smaller LCD screens such as cellphones or digital cameras

Francesco