kjarman

Melbourne

Hi everyone I am hoping you can help me out and recommend a system that will work for us. My other half travels a lot for work with many hours spent in hotel rooms often in rural backwaters with little to no entertainment (and unreliable or non existent 3G/Wifi). Our current solution, that we have been using for many years, is to copy programs from our always full Foxtel IQ2 Planner to a DVD-RW using a Panasonic DVD recorder(connected to the Foxtel using composite cables). We setup a playlist on the Foxtel iQ before going to bed, hit record, it "downloads" to a DVD and we finalise in the morning - easy, portable and reliable. The DVDs are then played on a 10” portable DVD player either using the built-in screen or connected to the hotel room’s TV with composite (Red |White |Yellow) cables. This system works really well, is relatively easy to use and cart around. The other half is not very computer savvy so using the DVD recorder means he doesn’t have move files around on a computer or change file formats etc. And there is no way he could manage downloading files via a BitTorrent client. Every so often I scan the market to see if there is a new device that might improve our system. I have looked at other PVRs in the past but the first hurdle was to find one that had AV inputs. I have noticed that Topfield now has some devices that have AV inputs. So my question to you... Is there a way of doing this better? How can I get programs off the Foxtel box onto a portable format that can be transported easily and viewed in another location. We own an iPad3 with 64GB of storage so it would be really nice to be able to directly transfer files onto the iPad from the Foxtel box via some device but I don’t think there is an easy way of accomplishing that task. Maybe we can make use of a light laptop and PVR ? Thanks for your help!

I feel really silly, but have worked it out, the audio on the foxtel remote was muted. It doesn't affect the audio going through hdmi but it does affect the composite connection

Hi all I am hoping that someone can help me. We have a foxtel IQHD box with a hdmi connection to a Yamaha receiver. We also have a composite connection to a Panasonic DVD recorder. It is not a perfect setup but it meets our needs and allows us to copy foxtel programmes to DVD for either the kids to watch in the car or to on their tv. For some unknown reason the audio has stopped working out of the composite connection. I can get a picture but just no sound. It was working perfectly up until a few days ago and mysteriously stopped working. Has anyone else had a similar problem? Thanks

I have the 885 working quite well with my Foxtel IQ. I think the 885 is much better for the IQ because of the colour buttons. I am trying to convince my parents that they need one (and that the programable Pionner av rec. remote just won't cut it) I know you gave the email address but what is the guy's ebay name? or does he have a store?

Yes they have in stock, we bought it Thursday and it was delivered on Friday. Tony was the guy that my husband dealt with. I think it is very popular (esp now with the ticket price drop to around $2700) as quite a few places I called didn't have in stock

Just wanted to post up the deal we got - $2966 for the pana SD panel, Strong SD STB, 5 year warranty and delivery, from HN at Highpoint, Melbourne Very happy with it!! mxlaser thanks for your comments. Also what is the link for your calibration settings? Stupid me - found it!

Thanks for that - very interesting. I went shopping around for the 50A today and ticket prices were in the vicinity of $2700 (Highpoint, VIC). I was told at DSE PH that the $2398 price was a Boxing Day only price and they couldn't do it again ??? So if the cost price is $2300 then I know that I can push them harder, I would be happy with around $2500. So let me know if anyone can get under $2500 Thanks

Yes, i was also wondering about this, personally I seem to think it has something to do with widescreen. I have found the CSI type shows on Ch9 take a whopping 4% per episode and we had a movie the other day that took 8% - ouch!! Most seem to be 1% per hour but there is no degrees. I had a show the other day that was 62mins and it was 2%! It doesn't seem be very efficent with the space. Missing a second or two - OMG you are pedantic!! Better than my VCR that would routinely miss the last 10-15mins of a show