19 posts tagged “video recorder”

The Minolta Master V-1400 was a camcorder from the late 1980's.  Despite its apparent size, it was surprisingly light at 4.4lbs.  It used VHS cassette tapes for HQ recording, had a black and white view finder, and could manage shooting video in 7-lux lighting.  Compared to Leo's recent camcorders, like the Panasonic HDC-SD5 (Episode 407) and the Canon VIXIA HV30 (Episode 552), this looks like a tank.

Animal Companions
In Episode 781, Dick talked about racehorses having friends or companions which have to be shipped with the horses to races.  Jeff Stewart from Texas has his own horses, and one time a horse had to see a vet, and his entire group of horses had to be taken all together.  More recently, he put 3 young horses together, separately from their own families, and then when they were put on the main pasture, they never left one another's side.  He's also heard that elephants have graveyards for the dead.  Somehow, this reminds Leo of his sigmoidoscopy visits when he is always accompanied by Jennifer.

Match Game Memories 2
Don't forget Match Game Memories 2 will on at 5pm (Pacific summer time) and 8pm (Eastern summer time) on 29 March, on TWiTLive.


Listen to Episode 790
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This is the latest offering by Pinnacle Systems of a USB HDTV Tuner, for the Mac platform, from Andy Marken, an old friend of the Daily Giz Wiz .  Dick reviewed the PCTV HD Ultimate Stick for Windows back in Episode 419.  A listener wrote in about a Mac version in Episode 457, which was an old Mac version that did not support ClearQAM and could only record in MPEG-2 (and hence the recorded videos were not compatible with iPods).  Leo was told then that a new Mac version was being developed, and here it is, the Pinnacle TV for Mac HD mini Stick.




It supports ATSC (over the air digital TV signal) HDTV and ClearQAM (unencrypted cable TV signal) up to 1080i.  It comes with a remote control and a telescopic antenna (with a magnetic base).  The bundled software is Elgato's EyeTV Lite for viewing and recording TV, which also supports the Electronic Programme Guide for scheduled recording.  However, EyeTV Lite records in MPEG-2, and contains no options for exporting to other formats.  You can upgrade from the Lite version to the full EyeTV 3 version for $50 to get more functions including exporting to your iPod, iPhone, Apple TV or to other formats.  See the comparison of the features of the two versions.

Mac users might want to check out the Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus (covered on a previous TTTT in Episode 582) which has a hardware encoder (especially if you use it as a video converter), or the 2009 version of the EyeTV Hybrid (without the hardware encoding).  Both are bundled with the full version of EyeTV 3 software.

The Pinnacle TV for Mac HD mini Stick can also be used on Windows, using the bundled PC software Pinnacle TVCenter Pro and Pinnacle VideoSpin.

Skype Issue Resolved
Dick and Leo were having problems with the quality of the Skype connection while recording yesterday's episode.  Dick resolved it by switching to his HP computer from the old Atari and stopping his internet-connected blender which was madly downloading movies using bit torrent.  Rebooting his router also helped.

Feeling At Home
When Dick travels, he uses his Slingbox (Episode 11) to watch his local channel, including his Channel 7.  It makes him feel at home.
 
A Love Letter
Tom Stidham asks Leo not to sing the jingles, which is painful.  On the subject of jingles, Tom thinks that the Wednesday Jingle can be replaced at any time.  It is actually pulling down the quality of the show, as if that were possible.  Other than that, excellent.

The Authorised Dick and Leo Not Singing Album
Dick and Leo think they should release an album of them not singing.  Get the authorised version.  Don't accept substitutes.

Coming Soon: The Amazon Kindle 2
Leo was hoping he could review the Amazon Kindle 2 for today.  It is arriving soon, and he should be able to cover it next week.


Listen to Episode 777
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The time was 1965, and Sony released the world's first "domestic" reel to reel ½ inch-tape video recorder.  It recorded black and white video on to ½ inch-tapes.  Each tape could take about half an hour of video.  It was the most compact and "portable" video tape recorder ever designed, housed in a "handy carrying case, and weighed all of 46 pounds.

You could also get the optional video camera CVC-2000, photos of which can be found both at the Rewind Museum and the Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation (smecc), links above.  Both websites contain a lot of info on the product and accessories, and you can see the brochures as well from SMECC, like this one:


Check out Lab Guy's World as well for more info.

3rd Anniversary
The time was 20 February 2006, and Dick and Leo released the world's first podcast by a man with a big moustache talking to another man on the other coast not yet seated on a blue ball: Episode 1 of the Daily Giz Wiz, Docupen.

Three years on, the big moustache is bushier, the other man is seated on a blue ball, the show is fully jinglified, the contents are searchable, and the podcast is marching towards Episode 1000, when Leo will have to devise a new naming system for the podcast's download files.  Currently it's only got 3 digits for the episode number.

OEM Betamax
Dick and Leo talked about the Sony Betamax SL-7200 (and the BetaStack) in Episode 30.  The Betamax may seem antique, but the CV-2000 is ancient.  Dick also saw a Zenith Betamax which looked rather similar to the Sony, and discovered to his amazement that it was indeed made by Sony.

Autographed Mad: A Christmas Surprise
Marie Kovar received from her husband a copy of Mad Magazine autographed by Dick, a photo of the Giz Wiz, and some GizWizBiz gadgets, for Christmas 2008.  Marie thanks Dick for contributing to her great Christmas surprise and wishes Dick and Leo and their families happiness and good health in 2009.

Valentine Gifts
Picture this.  It's Valentine's Day and Leo had against his better judgement polished off all the chocolate-coated, sea-salt-dusted caramels before they reached Jennifer.  Leo said to Jennifer, "Honey, our love is like this GizWizBiz ice-cube.  It can't melt, because it's durable like our relationship."  A kick in the groin later, Leo tried again, "Honey, our love is like this GeoBulb.  It will shine forever, or 10 years, whichever comes first."  Another kick in the groin later, Leo said, "Honey, I'm seeing stars."

Listening to the Stars
The time was 22 February 1892, and it was the premiere of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan.  Lord Darlington, a charcter in the play, spoke his line, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

The time was 9 February 2009, and Dick and Leo were recording the show.  Dick asked Leo to say something clever to end the show.  Leo obliged.  "I may be lying in the gutter, but at least I'm looking at the stars."

The time is 20 February 2009, and it's the 3rd Anniversary of the Daily Giz Wiz.  We may be in the gutter, but at least we're listening to the stars.


Listen to Episode 770
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Post-770 Chat
Dick and Leo have a chat after the recording session, and they are joined by Dane Golden.  They talk about the anniversary, the film Gaslight, Match Game, Gene Rayburn's mic, the Match Game theme Swingin' Safari (see also Episode 584), and much more.  Watch the video.

Swann Communications' Flashlight DVR is a flashlight which can also take videos/snapshots.  It's a heavy duty flashlight, with 3 levels of brightness, and the infrared sensors provide night vision up to 13 feet.  But you can also turn it into a camcorder for taking videos (640 x 480 MPEG-4), or a camera for taking snapshots.  128MB built-in memory, but has a card slot for mini-SD, up to 2GB.  USB-enabled.

Off To France
Leo's daughter Abby is off to France today.  Leo and Jennifer are going to be a bit teary.

MST3K
Doug from Stanhope, New Jersey, knows Dick loves doing movie satire in Mad, and writes in about the old TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, which did running commentaries on bad movies.  The creators of the show now produce just the audio running commentary soundtrack which you can download from their website, and play it at the same time as the movie.  It's at RiffTrax.


Listen to Episode 648
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VCR Plus, started by Henry Yuen of Gemstar, was a system of codes for recording individual TV programmes on your VCR.  Each programme had its own code, so that you could just enter the code into the VCRPlus-supported VCR machine or remote control, and your VCR would start recording the appropriate channel at the right time.  Watch this TV commercial from 1987.

Audible Jingle
Geoff Smith has made an "Audible Pick of the Week" jingle for TWiT.  Check out his ringtones on thegeoffsmith.com/.

Keyboard Cleaning
Mike of Eagle River, Alaska took Leo's advice to heart and put his keyboard into the dishwasher, let it dry for a few days, and even put it in the oven.  The result upon reconnection?  Sparks flew.

Listen to Episode 560
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Neuros produced the MPEG4 Recorder 2 for converting videos into MPEG4 for playback on portable devices such as the iPod and PSP (Episode 49).  It has now come up with the Neuros OSD (OSD standing for Open Source Device, Linux-based) with far more functionalities.  It is a video recorder for all your videos, and a bit of a media centre.

It makes use of the analogue hole to transfer the input video into digital form, on to your choice of external storage (such as a USB hdd, flash drive, memory cards or NAS).  Hook up the Neuros OSD between your video source and the TV (using RCA jacks), connect your storage to the Neuros OSD, and start recording into MPEG4.  You have a choice of 2 resolutions: 320x240 at 30fps for playback on portable devices, and 640x480 at 30fps for playback on TV and PC.


It is also a very capable playback device for audio, video and still photo, supporting many media formats, including mpeg4, mov, wmv, flv, avi (including Dvix and Xvid), mp3, ogg vorbis, wma, flac, jpg, bmp and gif.  You can choose your playback source from an USB-connected storage, or any memory card in the built-in card reader (supporting most major memory cards), or from any networked source via the ethernet port (such as your NAS or even the internet).


Its firmware is upgradable, and the software includes built-in automatic software update capability.  Because the device is based on open source software, Neuros also encourages open development of additional features for the OSD.  Comes with a remote control, an IR Blaster, and RCA cables (European models include SCART adapters).

Automatic Podcast Generator
Dick and Leo lament the missed opportunity of getting a push-button automatic podcast generator, while Leo was away in Tasmania, from Ludwik Trammer, DGW's official statistician, database compiler, RSS feeder, general factotum and all-round nice guy.

Missing Feature
Girl Geek Myra Joyce (who wrote in in Episode 495) referred to the letter read in Episode 526 about the Canon Pixma iP4300.  To her disappointment, the CD-label printing capability is enabled only in models shipped outside of the US (which could be enabled for US models but only with some dismantling and reassembly of the printer).

The Ultimate Toaster
Leo has come up with an idea for the ultimate toaster.  It can print any image you want on your toast.  A toast before it's even made and one destined for the Gadget Warehouse.

Listen to Episode 546
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This is Issue 114 for March 1985 of Gadget, "the newsletter for grown-up kids", sent to Dick by a listener.  Its 12 pages were filled with wonders of 1985 gadegetry, 23 years ago.  It had news of Sony's new 1-pound CD Player for $300, Canon's PC-20 Photocopier for $1,095, and Kodak's Kodavision "lightweight" 5-pounder 8mm video recorder for $1,900, and for an extra $300, you could get a timer/tuner for the Kodavision.  Other gems included a dental mirror, Intelliwriter, and a speakerphone.

No Letters Today
No letters today, but perhaps Dick is still looking for the letter from the listener who kindly sent him the Gadget Newsletter for the Gadget Warehouse.

Update
The listener who sent Dick the Gadget Magazine was British Columbia Provincial Court Judge Brian Davis.  See Episode 548.


Listen to Episode 510
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Lapworks makes a range of notebook stands, including the Laptop Desk Futura.  It can be used flat and extended (21") on your lap, or folded in a range of 5 incline positions as a stand (either on your lap or on a desk).  It has open ventilation slots for heat dissipation, and weighs about 1 lb.

Not to be outdone by Leo, Dick has a similar product up his sleeves, which he saw recently at a trade show - the iRizer made by Matias.


It raises by laptop by a maximum height of 6.5" (compared to the Futura's 3.75"), but doesn't give you the extra space by the sides which the Futura's "wings" give you, when extended.  Folded up, the two have similar sizes.  At 1.5 lbs, the iRizer is half a pound heavier.  The iRizer's list price is $10 more expensive than the Futura, but you get a free miniRizer (a mini-stand) for your iPod or cellphone.

Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick
Pepka, a magician from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, heard Episode 419 about the PCTV HD Ultimate Stick, noted that Leo was disappointed that it did not support the Mac, and was surprised to find one for the Mac in a BestBuy store which works perfectly on his MacBook.

There is a bit of confusion over the different versions.  The product which Dick talked about in Episode 419 was the HD Stick Ultimate for Windows (which overtakes the previous Pro version for Windows).  The difference between the two is that the Ultimate version supports ClearQAM and has the software embedded in the USB stick itself.  Both the old Pro version and the new Ultimate version can record in iPod and Sony PSP compatible formats.

There is only one Mac version, called Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Stick, which Dick and Leo did not mention in the previous episode.  It has been available for some time, but it does not support ClearQAM, does not have the necessary software pre-installed on the stick, and records only in MPEG-2.  That's why Pepka cannot put the shows recorded by the Mac HD Stick on to his iPod Touch.  Accordingly to Leo, Pinnacle is working on a new Mac version.

Listen to Episode 457
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Featured at CES 2000, the Panasonic Showstoppers were made for the ReplayTV service, as PVRs (or DVRs).  The original PV-HS1000, 2000 and 3000 models did not require a subscription fee for downloading the programme guides nightly.  Older models used a dial-up connection, while later models had ethernet connections as well for broadband connections.  One of the best features of ReplayTV was it allowed you to skip the commercials, which ultimately attracted copyright infringement suits.

TV programmes were recorded into MPEG-2.  The model 2000's hard drive offered 30 hours of video recording (at the lowest quality setting).  It also allowed you to pause a live broadcast and resume watching after the interruption.  Other features included Instant Replay and QuickSkip.

Snoopy in Petaluma
Wayne Thume was reminded by the talk of different levels of Mad jokes (Episode 424) of a Peanuts strip which featured Sam Snead.  At the time he just thought the name was funny, and it was only years later that he realised that Sam Snead was a great golfer.  There was another series of Peanuts strips in which Snoopy went to Petaluma to compete in the World Wrist Wrestling Championship.  He thought Petaluma was another made-up name, until he learned that's where Leo lived.

Leo adds that Charles Schultz used to live in Santa Rosa whose nearest city is indeed Petaluma which also used to host the World Wrist Wrestling Championship.

Henry in Mad
Henry Laporte has followed Leo's footsteps (see Episode 61) by appearing in the latest issue of Mad as a contestant on the game show 1 vs 100.

Listen to Episode 435
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