VCR grumble

[cellio]

Last week, although the VCR made all the right noises and light-blinks, we did not get West Wing. It did its thing for an hour but the search backward for the beginning took seconds and produced only a brief bit of new material before cutting out. I borrowed a tape from a coworker and recorded the episode onto that tape, so the media itself did not seem to be at fault. Since then I recorded another show using that VCR (different tape), so the VCR is not exhibiting a general problem. The programming is just fine.

It happened again this week. WTF?

So I'll see if I can borrow a tape again (sigh), and I'll retire the current tape even though a VCR-to-VCR copy onto it worked fine. (Tape's cheap, but this spoils my sense of orderliness.) And I just had an idea and have programmed another VCR to also record the show, lest it happen a third time.

But I really don't understand the failure mode.

Comments

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

I've seen TV cards you can get that will let you watch TV on your computer. You can even record shows as .mp3s and replay them on your DVD player if you have on that is compatable.

[cellio]

I've heard of that too. And I've heard people talk about downloading current TV shows, though I don't know from where. I assume it's some sort of peer-to-peer thing that I'm just not hooked into. But if anyone reading this could throw some hints (URLs, Google fodder, or whatever) my way so I could get this missed episode, that'd be wonderful.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Torrents (http://www.torrentreactor.net/sections.php?id=170).

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

I don't know about down loading or peer-to-peer networks, but this is the type of card I have.
http://www.hauppauge.com/

[cafemusique.livejournal.com]

Best way is to use a BitTorrent client (I've recently switched to Azureus, which I like better than the "official" BitTorrent client).

For links to TV shows, the site I use these days (they tend to have a short life) is http://www.tvtorrent.info/ Each episode usually appears within a few hours (by the next morning at the latest) of broadcast.

I'll be heading there, because I was at a concert tonight. And, actually, I can't remember if I watched last week's show. Oh, wait...was that the one that was centred around Vinick? I know I started it...don't know if I finished it...think so...hmm...

[jducoeur]

I assume it's some sort of peer-to-peer thing that I'm just not hooked into.

The quickie summary from my layman's understanding: BitTorrent is based on the observation that most people have very fast download capability, but relatively slow upload, plus the desire to farm out the work due to both legal and speed considerations.

So basically, it slices a show into a whole lot of little pieces, and distributes them around the network. When you ask for the show, a variety of Torrent servers work together to feed it to you as fast as your pipe can handle it. And as part of this, you're supposed to run the software yourself, to help others. (The client and server are closely linked.) Very elegant and effective architecture, even if the primary application is somewhat legally questionable.

Separately from that: get a DVR. Since getting ours (a rather nice Panasonic that doesn't require any sort of monthly service fee), we've started to understand just how annoying dealing with the VCR is. DVRs are much more elegant, and a DVR that *also* writes DVDs is a wonderfully useful tool...

[the-never.livejournal.com]

VCR? That's something like a gramophone or a telegraph, isn't it?

[cellio]

Something like, yeah. :-)

[steven.livejournal.com]

Methinks it may be time for a TiVo. Until recently, I thought a TiVo was ridiculously indulgent, but now I'm starting to see the good in it.

[cellio]

I've thought about it, but it would double my monthly bill. I only watch about three shows, and the cheap cable does the trick for me ($13/month).

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

But just think how much MORE television you could watch if you could TiVo them! And easily skip the commercials! Oooh the time you'd save would allow you to add all the re-runs of Caroline in the City your little heart desires! Oh. Um. Wait.

Right. Back to the VCR, I guess. Seth won't let me get a TiVo because I don't watch TV, and he doesn't seem to be buying the argument that if I had a TiVo I WOULD watch TV because I could watch it at my leisure instead of being bound by someone else's schedule (I hate, hate, hate recording TV shows on the VCR... I can never keep track of changes in schedule, and I hate fastforwarding through tapes to find the show that I recorded in the midst of the shows Seth recorded.... So neither of us record [or watch] any TV anymore)

[cellio]

It's only now that I've managed to disconnect the idea of TiVo from the idea of extended cable. I explicitly do not want the higher-end cable -- not just because of the cost but also because the model is different. As things stand now, a line comes into the house and I split it to my heart's content. (Hey, the cable guy saw that and didn't object.) With the higher-end service, you get a tuner box and use that to set the channel you want to watch. This box is not programmable, and of course it doesn't give you the option to see (well, tape) two different things at the same time. (Yes, is sad. It's not true this season, but last year or the year before there were, again, only about three shows I watched, and two were on at the same time.)

So I'd never really considered TiVo because I thought I'd also have to downgrade to the other form of cable, but there's really no reason those two have to be connected.

That said, I'm not sure I want a box to tell me what else I should be watching. I have friends for that. :-)

[jducoeur]

Following on from my other note: there is more to the DVR world than TiVo. I have no desire to have my devices tell me what to watch, and less than no interest in paying a monthly fee for the privilege. But there are some really nice non-service-based DVRs out there, if you look. In particular, Panasonic has several models of DVR/DVD-writer combo. We have the $700 model, and it's faboo. Expensive as hell, admittedly, but well worth it to us: it's much closer to our ideal for TV recording/watching than anything else we've come across...

[mbarr.livejournal.com]

If you need help with torrents, AKA downloading the current shows.. email me off list :-)

much easier than worrying about the tivo working, or the vcr dieing, etc.. Or, when they do, you have a backup option, really.

[cellio]

Thank you. It looks a little complicated to set up, between the firewall and monthly bandwidth limits that I have to be mindful of.

[ian-gunn.livejournal.com]

It might have been the tape tension. If it is too tight it will auto stop. I've had that happen and then fast forwarding or rewinding the tape will clear up the problem.

[cellio]

Thanks. I hadn't considered an intermittent tape problem. That could explain it.