Best friend just had a Mitsy delivered 65 RP, replaced some VERY FIRST generation, (what you ma call it) I can’t remember and she can’t either or I’d look the OLD model up on the web to see what its connection options were.

She IS NOT into AV but is a smart cookie trying to grasp it. She’s ticked because the delivery guys came 3 hrs earlier than planned when she and her husband were both out. The Cowboy in residence let them in. And the Delivery crew left without (1) removing the old giant bigscreen per order instructions. (just left it sitting to the side in their LR) And (2) left either one or two(shes not sure of the #) speaker not connected to the new unit.

Delivery guys told the cowboy …tell homeowners, - they need a receiver to hook the speaker back up, and we can’t hook it to the new display.

I’m trying to help her via phone, she’s in town for the week and will not be out there to describe to me what the old unit had on the back for connectivity. (and states she does not know how it was 'wired' orginally. Just an OLD big screen she can’t think what the brand is.

She swears they NEVER had a receiver set up to run the one (or two) speakers.

I’m trying to explain to her that speakers USUALLY do terminate in bare wire or spades etc. Via a receiver. Speakers don’t come with RCA interconnects wired (do they?) to go directly into audio output on a display, so something unfamilar (to me) is going on, I not visualising how the display audio could have orginaly been run to extenal speakers.

Any one familiar with what could be going on?

I’m trying to sort a shopping list to order for a wedding present for them, some decent quality interconnects VS the cheapies included in the box for their audio/video. A DVD player etc. But can’t comprehend how the old speaker(S) set up via the old display, to help them sort connecting the new display. It would be much better if I could figure it out in advance and carry all wedding AV presents and connections I need to rig it all, - during one trip. (it's a 2hr drive).
Any thoughts on the subject?


[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited July 08, 2003).]

If the speakers were originally designed to connect to the television, they may very well have RCA connectors. Speakers that are part of a system, such as those that come with a television or a minisystem, frequently have rca connectors.

In which case, she'd probably be better off getting new speakers, too ...

Jeff

I got rid of my old Proton 602M 25" monitor about 6 months ago. I purchased it in the mid to late 80's when it was state of the art. While it did not have, a TV tuner or speakers, it did have a small power amp built-in. My recollection was that the amp was in the 3 to 5 watt range. The connections were a spring loaded clip that could handle twisted bare wire or pins.

I recall that having an outboard speaker capability did exist on other units of that or a slightly later time frame. I also recall that most of these older auxilary type speakers that I have seen were hard wired on the speaker side with a simple twisted cable on the other. Therefore, I would not be a surprised if your friend's old TV had a similar setup for its external speakers.

Consequently, I tend to agree with Jeff about deep sixing the speakers. Hard to imagine that speakers (that were possibly even sold with the TV as options) and that were not connected to a receiver could be any better than the speakers built into the new Mitsubishi.

If the speakers were originally designed to connect to the television, they may very well have RCA connectors

My recollection was that the amp was in the 3 to 5 watt range. The connections were a spring loaded clip that could handle twisted bare wire or pins

Bingo, THANK YOU, - HAS to be one or the other of these two possible variations. I have just never seen that before. And swamped with work [hoped] someone here might have an inkling of what was going on out there, after I first heard of this today.

I’m holding on purchasing her AV presents. Trying to sort this all out via phone. I’ve been trying to explain to her the rational for CONSIDERING returning the Mitsy for a DVI-HDCP enabled display. But am having trouble explaining to her the possible benefits of that action, during the current copy protection quagmire. Trying to quickly research if ANY sets are on sales floor NOW, with DVI-HDCP in her price range. (2200) AVS has a list in one spot but LCD/Plasma displays only. Trying to find the CRT RP models listed by anyone in one post/chart. I’m holding on deciding which way on the DVD player for her and cables for it all, - till I see what capabilities her display will have.

I had an idea of looking up stats on recordable DVD player, to see if any have simple connections for transferring from your camcorder. (since she records the horses cutting, for training purposes and transfers it currently to VHS). May now should rethink that idea and switch to a 100 dollar DVD player, and add in (oh great) a HTIB type receiver setup to get her speakers up and on-line again.

The issue is her husband, - due to (a certain amount of deafness he won’t admit too) had a speaker wired near where he sits in the LR. This area is rather large and additionally an open floor plan to the Kit/ Dining area. He needs this speaker nearby to keep from cranking display volume too much. I know for a fact I’ve seen one speaker near his chair, and I could have sworn I saw one on the wall. (and she can’t remember) (don’t know if it was ever wired in). ( Bose cubes come to mind, don’t’ know if I dreamed that) so the system may have been like Bruin’s Proton (bare wire terminated into the old display).

Neither one of them does AV, and I  have volunteered to help lead them out of the dark ages of screen door effect and VHS resolution. (and come out there and hook it all up for them).

But non-AVites have trouble grasping why they REALLY need this or that. (PROGRESSIVE dvd on a 65” display etc). Should have known there would be hitches along this path!

I remember some friends in high school that had stereo record players that had removable speakers that conneced to the main unit with RCS plugs. Not quite state-of-the-art, even for that day.

Paul

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the 1derful1

I expect that most any DVD recorder will include from AV inputs (I know that Panasonic's recorders all have front s-video, composite, and audio). Panasonic's DMR-HS2 and DMR-E60 DVD recorders both have a DV input on the front panel for connection to miniDV camcorders, which would probably better suit her needs -- assuming she has a miniDV camera. The HS2 includes a hard drive for editing and some rudimentary Tivo sort of capability, but it is being replaced by the DMR-E80 (which just started shipping and does not include the DV input). The DMR-E100 will be out in the fall and will have a hard drive and a front panel DV input.

I'm thinking that 73Bruin may have pegged it. I vaguely recall seeing some TV's with spring clip speaker connections somewhere along the way, which would explain how they had speakers hooked up to the TV before and why the delivery guys told the "Cowboy in residence" that they needed a receiver to power the speakers.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

"Cowboy in residence" That looks strange when you pulled it out Gonk! Just to elaborate, I was not using floral personality trait descriptive terminology, the man really is a Cowboy, This is a ranch (where my horses are) so whenever I throw out mentions about “the place” it always appears to me (in here) as if I’m punning the Outlaw site. But it’s the real thing, last weekend one of the buffalo (used for cutting training) killed one of the 2 border collies ‘Bo” Bo was a tad goofy but what a nightmare glad I was not there to witness. (why I don’t like being out in the buffalo pasture, they are fun to observe (over the fence) but you need to maintain respect at all times towards their nature).

I’m printing your post Gonk thank you. Now I’ll have to get her to round up her camera to see what ‘it’ is. I’m getting sidetracked trying to help with the display research. Which will be my starting point for whatever I get them. I threw a wrench into their purchase, when I asked her what she got and brought up the digital connectivity issues, and she wanted to know what that was all about. As soon as that is all sorted, - I’ll decide which route I’m going (basic Prog DVD and some sort of audio setup for them OR the recordeable). Never looked into PVR-DVD or how they work so your post is invaluable for a starting point. She had assumed if her display had HD on it, - she was good to go for the next 10 yrs. I’m now trying to figure out for them what Mitsy Promise module is all about. Appears you can add it now for 1000. But oddly enough I found last night, - it DOES NOT include a DVI-HDCP upgrade, …just firewire. It’s a bad period to be buying displays right now.


[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited July 09, 2003).]

Sounds like you've got a pretty interesting upgrade project on your hands, Lena. Since I've been scoping out the recordable DVD market a bit as of late, I may be able to offer some info there. You're about twenty steps ahead of me on the current state of HD displays, so I'll just stay out of the way on that one.

There are still only a handful of companies in the DVD recorder market, and there are a ton of different formats still flitting around. DVD-R (probably the best for compatibility with standard DVD players), DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM are licensed by DVD Forum as "official" recordable DVD formats, while DVD+R and DVD+RW are not. DVD-R media is the cheapest (available for as low as $1/disc if you buy spindles of 50 or 100 discs). DVD-RAM is the most expensive, with everybody else scattered around in between. There was an article back in June that reported that DVD-RAM based recorders claimed 70% of the US consumer DVD recorder market in the first quarter of 2003. Philips and Panasonic are the most visible manufacturers; Philips uses the DVD+R/DVD+RW formats, while Panasonic uses DVD-R and DVD-RAM. Some of the Panasonic players show up re-badged as Samsung, apparently. Toshiba (DVD-R, DVD-RAM), Pioneer (DVD-R, DVD-RW), and Sony (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW) are started to join in now, as well, and both Toshiba and Pioneer have or will soon have players with built-in hard drives. Most of the recorders seem to also include progressive scan capability, but I don't know that many of them are particularly good at it. The DMR-HS2 was included in the last Secrets shootout and proved to be pretty disappointing -- apparently the new one-chip decoder/deinterlacer that Panasonic's started using is a real step back from the days of your RP91 and the RP82.

I am planning to probably get a Panasonic DMR-E80 in the next month or so (want to archive the 20 or so years of home videos that dad has shot on VHS and S-VHS before the tapes become unplayable). The plan is to transfer from my S-VHS deck to the hard drive, edit as needed, and then burn a copy or two to DVD-R to replace the old tapes. Since I'll be relying on my existing 27" display for a few more years and I have a decent DVD player already, progressive scan and chroma bug problems aren't deal-breakers for me.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited July 09, 2003).]

Lena:

You may want to consider a HT PC for a combined editing device, dvd player and possibly even audio. Considering that they don't have anything now, this may give them a ton of capability for the price. I saw a emachines box with a what appeared to be a universal DVD Recorder and a separate DVD player for about $800. Throw in a top of the line video card like an All-In-Wonder and I believe you would have it covered. You could probably even hook it up to use the video camera's.

By the way, my cousin owns a small quarter horse and cattle ranch in OK (north of Tulsa) so I quite understand about the "cowboy in residence". We go there every summer, its like having our own personal dude ranch.

If I was getting an HD TV today I would really want it to have an DVI-HDCP port on it. Although this standards thing seems to be continually shifting (firewire etc) it seems that the DVI option might be around for a while. That said, I don't know what price point they start showing up at - my Samsung DLP set has one (42" Model for $2800) but that doesn't sound like it's in their price range. I've got a DVD player with DVI and I know the new Pace HD cable box ships with a DVI port so it on it's way here. The risk is a set without it might be forever limited to 480P via composite - and $1,000 to upgrade is insane.

Turner F, I utterly agree. But have a feeling I have overwhelmed them with infor that they are not ready or capable of dealing with during this turbulent month. (and the old display broke – sans the urgency for immediate replacement) otherwise I’d HIGHLY recommend they wait for the fall lineup. (more choices in DVI, Firewire, more of a price range in low to high-end models launched). I have a feeling since its already sitting in their living room, they will sit on this model rather than 'deal' with the issues.
And Bruin when I get off this speaker thing, I’ll look up your suggestions (very unfamiliar product line to me).

Whatever I do it needs to be simple.

Follow's what I’ve been trying to post all afternoon, typed hours ago but not sent due to my work-related interrupts. Sorry it’s so messy. BUT HELP!?…..

Pulling My hair out in wads. Another call to the husband, Please let me know the model of your camcorder. He tells me JVC 320X. I say thanks, - plug that in google for specs, it appears to 320X refers to the ZOOM capabilities and is not the model # of the camera itself.

ADDITIONALY, and far more disturbing. My girlfriend just called. Asked for emergency help to get the speakers working with the new display this weekend. (the husband is making everyone else go deaf turning up the display right now. SO I call husband get him to go into the house (from the barn) and tell me what speakers he has…

This is what he tells me, (all satellite size). He has two speakers that sat on the floor L/R of the old display. He THINKS these have speaker wire attached. He has 2 speakers hung at ceiling does not know if wire runs through the wall (we will assume). All four are labeled RCA.

He has two speakers (and these are the CRITICAL ONES) that sat at the end table next to his chair, with no brand label,,,,,,,,,,,and no speaker wire attached. They just plugged into the wall into the electrical socket behind the table. And used to ‘work’ with the old TV. I asked him if these two table top speakers come with the original display? (thinking the display incorporated some sort of wireless station). He stated no,,,,these speakers were added after display when he had trouble hearing it. Next I asked for the number of the guy who came out and set this all up. He’s lost the contact, and states…”that guy did not know what he was doing anyway but somehow he got the sound out of the old display into the 2 tabletop speakers, but it won’t ‘talk’ to the new TV.” URRRRGGGGG.
Then I ask do you have some sort of box (the wireless base) sitting around, I feel these tabletop plugged in remote speakers (with no speaker wire attached), - HAD to interface with something! He said no, used to have a little FM/CD box the speakers went through orginially, - but does not have that radio cd player anymore. I asked if the tabletop speakers still received audio from the old display with the CD/Radio unit gone. He said yes.

My questions is: what am I going to find when I get out there. Any thoughts on how I can rig those orginial two tabletop remotes to receive from the new display?
Are there wireless products out currently that I can purchase two NEW remote speakers (wireless..any recommendations?) Where whatever interface is neccasary for this whole mess is included with purchase of speakers to connect to the new display?

Am I even making sense????


[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited July 09, 2003).]

Sounds like they had some sort of Recoton wireless speaker, which obviously is self powered (hence only plugging into the wall). If this is the case, and their is a broadcast, hookup point, you may be home free.

You have my sympathy. I remember helping my parents select a decent sound system in the late 70's. After my mom, passed away, my Dad (who was hard of hearing) announced that he had replaced that "hard to use system", with a nice simple boombox, that he could carry from room to room. So much for sound quality.

[This message has been edited by 73Bruin (edited July 09, 2003).]

Bruin, just checked the thread. You’re a GENUS!.

The husband had given me the only lettering he could find on the plug to the speakers, he spelled it out as ROCOTOM DC-15V

I typed that spelling in Goggle search with no luck. I gave up assuming it was something to do with the electrical plug manuf coding.

Unfortunately all links to RECOTON appear as if they have ceased business. I can pull up odd pics of their units which show a disc shaped transmitter included in with 2 speaker sets. (so there must be one around their house unless the delivery guys have thrown it away while setting up new set.

Unfortantly no specs or pics that show how the transmitter connects. (and recoton's #s are disconnected) (I assume bare wire terminated or RCA). If it is RCA terminated how do these little gizmo’s work with a display, Maybe the old display had some sort of center channel output option the new display does not. I’m not sure if these things would work with normal L/R audio outputs from a display?? Maybe in a pinch for them till I can get out there and sort them out? I’ll recommend they hunt till they find it, it ought to be somewhere.

THANK YOU!.

Lena:

I don't know if you are right about Recoton going out of business. It may truely be sloppy web site development. In either case, I was able to find another link that has a picture that might help you describe the system and its trasmitter over the telephone. It also indicated that the Recoton may use RCA presumably to attach to a line out feed. If so connection to the Mitsubishi should be a snap if your friends can locate the transmitter.

http://www.recoton.com/_archived_sites/recoton_wireless/wire440.asp

It sounds like Bruin may have got it pegged. Presumably two of the speakers around the TV (the two next to it or the two on the wall) relied on a small amp in the old TV -- maybe one set was driven by the TV and the other by the now-absent CD/radio unit. That would explain the installer's comment about not being able to hook the speakers up to the new TV. It's possible that those speakers will no longer be needed, as I'm guessing the new set has some decent speakers built in to it. The husband's speakers are almost certainly something similar to the Recoton's Bruin found a link to. Hopefully there's a little transmitter station sitting on the floor somewhere with a pair of RCA plugs on it, just waiting to be plugged into the audio outputs of the new set.

If the Recoton's not the answer and/or there's no way to connect whatever-they-are to the new set, a wireless speaker approach could still work. (Some possibilities: a few RCA wireless speaker models .) Also possible would be wireless headphones and a headphone amp connected to the TV's analog audio outputs (a little Creek headphone amp and a pair of Sennheiser wireless headphones would cost a little over $300) or even a pair of computer speakers hooked up to the TV's analog audio outputs if you can conceal the wires from the TV to the husband's chair (relatively inexpensive, and the equipment would be easy to get at any electronics store).

While we're on the subject of visual aids for remote troubleshooting, there's this collection of pics that might help if you think you're getting any misleading info over the phone.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Women in audio. It’s a scary thing:

While I was popping in here yesterday, these calls were going on concurrently which passed between herself and me. (Realize we have a hard rule being closest friends since the age of 13, we can hang up abruptly, per need basis, never offense taken).

Her: I’m in Lab, only have a min. Do you think you might come up this Friday, and go with me to help me purchase a receiver, I’m gong back out on Friday (she’s in town during the week to finish some college courses).
Me: No I have to be somewhere early AM Sat. I might can come up after that.
Her: Well, I cant’ stand it I’ll just go get something Friday night, I’m sure it will be okay.
Me: I wouldn’t advise that, we have time to deal with choosing a S System if you want one. Listen the guys at Outlaw have helped me figure it out. I never even knew little wireless Satellite’s existed till now.
Her: Why won’t getting a receiver do it? I know I should wait for you, but I AM NOT going to live this weekend with that display volume up, I have to get those two speakers working!!
Me: It won’t….
Her: My timer went off, gotta go.

(Next Call)
Her: It won’t what?
Me: It won’t help. Listen, the Outlaw guys helped me figure out what could be going on, you need to look for a transmitter, it HAS to be lying around somewhere. I’ve seen some pics on the web of your brand and it should look. ……..(Other Line beeps in)………..I’ll Call you back.

(Next Call- hour later)
Me: Hi, by the way, I just ordered you some cables for your audio from Outlaw they are very good. Had them shipped via 2-day.
Her: Oh good, the display salesman said this could really make a difference on the quality of a HD picture.
Me: No, I did not buy RF coaxial cable, You have a lot to do before you get to HD. We need to look at what you have. I believe you need something RG8 (9), give me some time on this we just need to be sure it’s capable of carrying larger bandwidth cleanly. Could be replacing your old cable if it’s chintzy stuff might help your general feed, and even SD, but you still wont’ see HD yet, and the cable might be fine.
Her: Why? Can’t we just get some?
Me: Well how long is the run from your dish? And how does it enter the wall, we might need a electrician to fish the new run through. And since the electrician wired the whole house for satellite when it was built not too many years ago, you may already have the grade cable that’s preferable. I need to see it and figure it out. Then we have to upgrade your Dish, and your STB
Her: STB? What’s that again?? Oh never mind, we’ll do that later. Well what kind of cable did you get?
Me: For your audio, I should not have said cables (but some use both terms) I bought interconnects……..gotta go.

(next call)
Me: Hi
Her: What’s an interconnect????
Me: It’s for your L/R analog audio outputs.
Her: For what?
Me: Between say your VHS, Satellite decoder and your display, and whatever DVD player we pick up.
Her: Oh. Okay…… Sounds Good. Why won’t a receiver help? I can’t live with those speakers not working!! I know I should wait for you but it will be okay.
Me: Okay, you pick up a receiver Friday, and bring it home. What are you going to do next? At this point that still won’t make those two speakers work.
Her: Why not, that’s the message the delivery guys left, “They need a receiver to hook the speakers back up”
Me: How are you going to hook those two speakers back up?
Her: Well, …..OH…….I see….wait a second, Oh Damm, .Ummm, how do you hook them up?
Me: You’ve got to look around and find that transmitter, I looked up that brand, there should be something around which looks like little flying saucer or an L if it was standing on a desk, upright shaped on the short base.
Her: No No, He’s looked, there’s no receiver or box around or anything like that that those speakers were run through. Well if I get a RECIEVER like those guys said, WHY wont’ it work?
Me: NOT a receiver, a transmitter, It will be a LITTLE black thing, very small, likely shaped like a flying saucer. If you get a receiver what are you going to do? Introduce them. “Here Mr. Onkyo meet the brothers, Retocon?” We have to find the part the INTERFACES between audio outputs and the speakers.
Her: But there were NEVER any wires connected to those speakers. SO what part???
Me: ..the part that TALKS THROUGH THE AIR TO THE SPEAKERS WITH NO WIRES.
Her: OH, wait, I think I remember, a few inches?
Me: YES.
Her: We thought you meant something the size of a DVD player!
Me: No, it will be smaller than one of those two speakers.
Her: I think I seen something like that….It’s always been around ….I thought it did something with the satellite!!!
Me: No, find that, then call me and let me know what’s hanging off the back. It will either have bare wire, RCA, or a 3.5mm terminating. Maybe one or two cables >.Oh JUST Call me if you find it!

I know this is not helpful in anyway, but please keep us up todate on this...I am afraid I find it very funny (just like when I try to give my family computer support over the phone) and now I am hooked! Will they get the satellite speakers (remote speakers... ) working for the weekend... find out next week on...

The mental picture that comment generated is comedy gold...

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Update:

Her: Guess what he found it!
Me: the transmitter
Her: Yes it was a little black flying saucer he says there’s 3 wires out the back. One DC plug and two wires.
Me: GOOD, what’s on the end of the wires? That should be your L/R audio. Do they terminate in RCA jacks?.
Her: I won’t be up there for a couple of hours. He doesn’t know what RCA jacks are, I don’t know what’s on the end. The Delivery guys are coming right now to pick up the old display and remove it. I’m going to call him back and have him tell the delivery guys to call you while they are there.
Me: If its bare wire you don’t have spring clips on your new display. They won’t be able to do anything.
Her: If it’s bare wire can’t we just solder RCA connectors on the end??

Me: Don’t know. I’ll ask Outlaw?


?????

Lena:

In my opinion the most important things the delivery guys can do is record how the transmitter was hooked up. Specifically was it attached to a line level out or an amplified line out. That will tell you if you need a receiver or not. From what has been exchanged previously RCA's could be either.

Sounds like you need to make a recommendation for Outlaw Wireless Speakers :-)

This thread is beginning to remind me of conversations with my late father and how the menu's and tool bars disappeared from excel. We had some very interesting telephone calls on that.

[This message has been edited by 73Bruin (edited July 10, 2003).]

That sounds like good news to me. If it's bare wire, I would not want to solder on plugs, but I also seriously doubt that a transmitter like that would need or even want an amplified signal -- the delivery guys will almost certainly find good ol' red and white RCA's. The speakers most likely do the amplification, much like PC speakers. That's what the Recoton speakers 73Bruin found a link to appear to do, and that is also how the wireless outdoor speaker I have works; the speaker(s) have a power source for receiving the signal and for a little amp with volume control.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Gonk, (since you’ve recently spent time on the topic) I hate to bother you, but if you have a minute. I’m lost on video cam equipment.

Finally got the camera model the girlfriend owns: JVC GR-SXM515

What little I’ve pulled up on it, doesn’t show me connectivity. (it appears to be a model launched in 99)

Do you think that the new Panasonic DMR-E80 could interface readily (easily for transfers) with that model camera? In other words can you plug direct from camera into the E-80 for download to 80’s harddrive, or do you have to transfer to VHS tape and go through the VHS deck to do it?
Since I never got around to any kind of camcorder purchase downloading to VHS, I.m fairly lost on how this works with no idea how the new DVD recordables intermesh.

And secondly how do you feel about using either the E50? (I believe it was) or the E80 as their primary DVD-V player? They are at a keep it simple level of HT. I don’t think I can convince them that they should pick up a dedicated player for better video. I know they would end by using the E50 as the sole player.
I felt it a great purchase idea for them, since they do record so much equine footage for various purposes, and the advantages of the DVD media storage (chpt skip etc) seem attractive (in theory).

Their JVC is an S-VHS-C camera (found a little info here on it), which means that it will have S-video and composite video outputs and a mono audio output (maybe a stereo output, but I wouldn't expect it). That would very easily connect directly to the DMR-E80, either using one of the two rear inputs or the single front input -- they could leave the cable hooked up to the back all the time or leave the cable in the camera case and hook it up to both the camera and the recorder. Since it isn't a mini-DV camera, there's no need to pursue a DV input unless they are about to replace this camera (which I'm guessing is not the case). With the DMR-E80, they could transfer to the hard drive and edit if they want, or they could transfer directly to DVD-R -- the hard drive appeals to me, but they might not necessarily need it (in which case the DMR-E50 would work).

As a dedicated DVD player, I would not be as good a performer as your RP91 (judging from the little info I've seen on the HS2), but it would certainly be a starting point that would give them everything in a single box -- DVD playback (including progressive scan, even if it may not be the best prog scan), DVD recording, and CD transport.

I'm probably going to get my DMR-E80 from Profeel , since they have one of the better prices available and were quick to respond to a couple questions I had.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

DV, does this bring up an issue? Never having LOOKED at camcorders. I assume DV stands for Digital Video, and did note trying to pull up a pic of what IS a DV connected camera, that they appear to all come quipped with firewire.

GASHES TEETH, (I’m so tired of trying to make different media’s and sources etc …mesh).and the ongoing DVI-HDCP VS FIREWIRE mishmash.

IF they break the camera …they’ll replace it. Are all cameras going towards DV? Increasing odds when it IS replaced they will end up with a DV camera and if the Panny E80 is still rolling it won’t have that connectivity.

The Misty they purchased does NOT have firewire. Yet (if they ever choose) they may/not add the Promise Module which will include firewire.

When I pull up the specs on the DMR-E80H it has no DV input (assuming DV input = Firewire port?).
Why on earth did Panasonic leave it off. The DMR-HS2 comes with it, also the DMR-E60S.

This'll really get those teeth a'gnashin... As you've deduced, DV is yet another name for IEEE-1394, I mean Firewire, I mean i-Link, I mean... A significant number of the current generation of camcorders are miniDV -- digital video recorded to a tape. Those cameras include a firewire output in addition to the standard analog outputs (composite, s-video, analog audio). The HS2 and E60 both include a firewire port, which can be used to transfer video from a source (camcorder or computer) to the recorder. The E50 and E80 lack this port in an attempt to keep the cost down; the upcoming E100 (due in the fall with either an 80GB or 120GB hard drive) will also have a DV port.

In the event that the existing JVC suffers a fatal drop, a DV camera could still be connected to the DMR-E80. It would introduce a D-A conversion a little sooner than would otherwise be the case if the DV interface were used to transfer the video to the DVD recorder's hard drive. It's probably not a deal-breaker, but if there is some concern you could always fall back to a DMR-E60 (no hard drive) or a scarce (discontinued) DMR-HS2, both of which have a front panel DV port. I'm not sure if the DV port would work with the Mitsu or not, especially on the HS2 ( a Mitsu TV owner who is trying it , another brief thread on the subject ).

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Lena: Are you sure the Mitsubishi your friends bought doesn't support Firewire/IEEE-1394? It was my understanding that Mitsubishi was standing almost alone in its continued support of that technology (for HDTV input) and was using it to connect their HD VCR's to their TV's?

Correct: it's called the "promise module" and can be retrofitted to the back of Mitsubishi hi-def TVs.

Sanjay

Gonk, thank you for letting me abuse your valuable time on topics I should (and normally) spend my own time researching. (how cameras plug-in to whatever). One: I appreciate SO much you clarifying that the camera will interface with the recorder (one way or the other). But GOSH, how utterly depressing this whole subject is.. Illustrating the boat future consumers will find themselves in for a long while. COOL , I’ve got that DVI thingy….Oh ….I don’t have it on anything else to hook it up too. Oh but I have firewire on THIS, …oh well don’t own anything else with firewire on it either. …but maybe I can plug this ole RGB termination into something!!!!.

I’ve still got my lonely DVI input unused on my Sony LCD, since I returned the HD200, -(one reason I’m itching for the Bravo D1 demo).
It’s really far too ridiculous. I had to convince the GF, that just because she bought a display that was HD capable, did not mean she owned a DIGITAL input/output display. She got very indignant and wanted to know why the Electronics salespeople are not explaining this all more thoroughly to lay people during current purchases.

She really was incensed when she found out the new HD is not capable of any kind of future straight digital path connectivity. (She vaguely assumed the label “HD capable” sounding like the latest greatest to her, - meant next several years digital products would be compatible) If their current purchase stays for years…..she might be forced to the Promise module upgrade, depending on what comes down the pike via broadcasters in connection with the new CP flags. Oh well.

Yes Bruin, unfortunately it’s the MITWS65311, you have to ADD the upgrade for a paltry 1000 dollars!

PS. She called me Saturday while crunched up behind her new display, (I had family member in hosp) could not go to the ranch this last weekend. And we got her 2 remote speakers back on line., via me and the OUTLAW tech support! BIG THANKS TO ALL THE OUTLAWS who helped salvage her bleeding eardrums!!!! Sadly I could not walk her through reconnecting her OTA feed, she was having trouble understanding me on that topic. The ‘highly trained’ delivery crew, dropped off the display leaving the old one sitting there, and ONLY hooked up their satellite feed. Leaving the few other items they had - remote speakers/VHS/OTA channels unconnected. She called me this AM and told me she stopped back in at her point of purchase. (She got a 48.00 credit towards a future purchase, after informing the manager she was not pleased with her 100 dollar ‘professional’ setup delivery fee after having to call a GIRL to find out how to hook the speakers back up when the setup crew stated it couldn’t be done!) Again THANK you guys!