"I wasn't aware that there were any converters that did this."
When I was shopping for mine, there weren't many -- especially converter-only units that qualify for the coupon program -- that did. The keyphrase to look for is "event timer".
"I've been saying all along that the converter boxes don't address the problem of people using VCRs because the VCR can't tell the converter what channel you want to record."
I kept saying that -- it was pretty damned well ignored by all the "look how easy it is" propoganda, and only sheepishly admitted to on a call-in show on MPT when a caller asked about hooking up a VCR -- and salespeople kept looking at me blankly and not understanding the problem. *grrrr*
I kept having conversations where they tried to explain how simple it was to hook up the cables to get the signal path right, and I'd explain that I knew that, but what about recording ... "Oh, that should work normally."
"Really? How do I make the VCR tell the converter when to change channels?"
"What? No, you just tell it to record."
"You mean the converter is a passive device that makes all the digital channels appear as analog channels at once, and I can just use the VCR's tuner?"
"No, no, you have to change channels on the converter box!"
"That's what I thought. How do I make the VCR tell it when to change channels?"
"Why do you need to do that?"
"[*grrr*] What if the reason I want to tape my shows is that I won't be home to change the channel on the converter?"
Then if I was lucky, I'd get, "Ooooh. Sorry, this won't do what you want," and the rest of the time I'd get a blank look while their brain went away for a while. Hmph. Note that most salespeople couldn't even tell me what features the one box their store sold had ("You just put it between the antenna and the television; what do you mean, 'features'?") and when I finally did find out (via the web) which models had event timers, those models weren't sold in any stores as far as i could tell, so I had to do mail-order. (Hey, retaildudes, if your store only sells one version of this device, how hard is it to familiarize yourself with what it does? It's not like you've got a dozen different models to keep straight in your head!)
Uh, can you tell I'm still feeling a bit peeved by that shopping experience?
"[...] one of which is actually a DVR"
*nod* And thus not eligible for the government coupon.
"But if you don't accommodate the VCRs in the transition, you really haven't accommodated the analog viewer."
Yes, that's what I thought too! But everywhere I turned (other than LJ/etc.), folks acted as though they had forgotten VCRs even exist! It's like waking up in some mirror universe where everyone keeps telling you you're crazy because the things you remember don't exist, until you start wondering whether they're right ... except that I've got the VCRs right here in front of me, and they still sell blank videocassettes in grocery stores and drug stores! Who do they think buys those tapes?
Sheesh.
"DVRs are easier and more convenient [...]"
If for no other feature than getting the space back when I delete a show even if it's not the very last show recorded (the big limit of a purely sequential medium in this application instead of DASD), I would like to move to DVR. I got my brother's old TiVo, and a friend sent me a remote for it, but it won't boot up. It gets stuck in an hours-long infinite loop, where it spends a half hour on one "please wait" screen, then a couple hours claiming to be doing something else, and eventually works its way back to the first starting-up screen. I haven't cracked it open to poke at the innards yet.
And I haven't scraped together the money for DTV tuner cards to stick into a Myth box yet. (I think there was one on Woot a while back that I missed for not having had any money in my bank account at the time.)
Oh my. When the pull-down list of icons reaches down into the dock, selecting an icon from late in the alphabet gets interesting...
Re: converter box
When I was shopping for mine, there weren't many -- especially converter-only units that qualify for the coupon program -- that did. The keyphrase to look for is "event timer".
"I've been saying all along that the converter boxes don't address the problem of people using VCRs because the VCR can't tell the converter what channel you want to record."
I kept saying that -- it was pretty damned well ignored by all the "look how easy it is" propoganda, and only sheepishly admitted to on a call-in show on MPT when a caller asked about hooking up a VCR -- and salespeople kept looking at me blankly and not understanding the problem. *grrrr*
I kept having conversations where they tried to explain how simple it was to hook up the cables to get the signal path right, and I'd explain that I knew that, but what about recording ... "Oh, that should work normally."
"Really? How do I make the VCR tell the converter when to change channels?"
"What? No, you just tell it to record."
"You mean the converter is a passive device that makes all the digital channels appear as analog channels at once, and I can just use the VCR's tuner?"
"No, no, you have to change channels on the converter box!"
"That's what I thought. How do I make the VCR tell it when to change channels?"
"Why do you need to do that?"
"[*grrr*] What if the reason I want to tape my shows is that I won't be home to change the channel on the converter?"
Then if I was lucky, I'd get, "Ooooh. Sorry, this won't do what you want," and the rest of the time I'd get a blank look while their brain went away for a while. Hmph. Note that most salespeople couldn't even tell me what features the one box their store sold had ("You just put it between the antenna and the television; what do you mean, 'features'?") and when I finally did find out (via the web) which models had event timers, those models weren't sold in any stores as far as i could tell, so I had to do mail-order. (Hey, retaildudes, if your store only sells one version of this device, how hard is it to familiarize yourself with what it does? It's not like you've got a dozen different models to keep straight in your head!)
Uh, can you tell I'm still feeling a bit peeved by that shopping experience?
"[...] one of which is actually a DVR"
*nod* And thus not eligible for the government coupon.
"But if you don't accommodate the VCRs in the transition, you really haven't accommodated the analog viewer."
Yes, that's what I thought too! But everywhere I turned (other than LJ/etc.), folks acted as though they had forgotten VCRs even exist! It's like waking up in some mirror universe where everyone keeps telling you you're crazy because the things you remember don't exist, until you start wondering whether they're right ... except that I've got the VCRs right here in front of me, and they still sell blank videocassettes in grocery stores and drug stores! Who do they think buys those tapes?
Sheesh.
"DVRs are easier and more convenient [...]"
If for no other feature than getting the space back when I delete a show even if it's not the very last show recorded (the big limit of a purely sequential medium in this application instead of DASD), I would like to move to DVR. I got my brother's old TiVo, and a friend sent me a remote for it, but it won't boot up. It gets stuck in an hours-long infinite loop, where it spends a half hour on one "please wait" screen, then a couple hours claiming to be doing something else, and eventually works its way back to the first starting-up screen. I haven't cracked it open to poke at the innards yet.
And I haven't scraped together the money for DTV tuner cards to stick into a Myth box yet. (I think there was one on Woot a while back that I missed for not having had any money in my bank account at the time.)
Oh my. When the pull-down list of icons reaches down into the dock, selecting an icon from late in the alphabet gets interesting...