Club Purchase

24 Sep 2009 10:56:54

Douglas Cheney

I have a suggestion that the club purchase a device for converting videos to digital. Roxio market one which is very good and can be seen at this web page
http://www.roxio.co.uk/eng/products/easy-vhs-to-dvd/mac/overview.html?source=hp_macvhs

Re: Club Purchase

24 Sep 2009 11:44:56

Mark Ford

Looks a good idea - thats the sort of thing one might only need for a short job and then never again.
Are you thinking that it might be loaned to members for a short time?
A small charge to cover postage perhaps? Or more as a modest 'hire fee'?
There must be other gismos like that that the Group could own to loan.

Re: Club Purchase

24 Sep 2009 12:01:51

John Surtees

If we could get the attendance above 20 at the Bournemouth meeting, perhaps the voucher promised by Solutions could be put to purchasing said gismo.

Re: Club Purchase

27 Sep 2009 20:26:42

Mark Ford

.

Re: Club Purchase

29 Sep 2009 21:17:08

Lionel Ogden

There could be a problem if software is involved: the user licencing agreement would probably preclude multi users.

Re: Club Purchase

2 Nov 2009 15:26:53

Derek Wright

If we are to buy s device for members use, we should buy something that is outside the scope of individual ownership ie a "pro" product - for example with a video converting device it should be doing time base correction stuff so that it will give us a super quality out put.

Re: Club Purchase

14 Nov 2009 15:04:37

Mark Ford

At the club's committee meeting recently it was decided to take up this suggestion.
When selecting items modest cost and wide take-up were considered important as was a speedy turn round of loans.
Software licensing limitations might be a problem as Lionel notes above.
Details of an initial trial will follow.

In the meantime if you have any suggestions this seems a good place to post them.

Re: Club Purchase

15 Nov 2009 15:48:55

Lionel Ogden

Sometimes freeware or shareware software is available as an alternative to that supplied by the manufacturer of the particular device. Version tracker can often help.

Re: Club Purchase

1 Jan 2011 16:11:55

Eric Jervis

For Christmas I bought the Good Lady a DVD/HDD recorder with two Scart sockets so I could copy VHS tapes to the hard drive, edit them and burn them to DVD. Unfortunately it didn't work, so it went back to Comet today. Looking online for such things revealed that they are pretty thin on the ground, and do not come with twin tuners, so you are obliged to watch the programme you are recording or read a book instead. 'AHA,' I thought to myself, remembering this post from fourteen months ago, 'I wonder if any of the chaps actually bought this piece of kit, which is obsolescent the first time it is used, (unless you are a masochist who goes to car boot sales buying videos for 10p a time); because if so, he would have no further use for it and would be pretty keen to sell it on at a discount.'
So.......Did you? and are you?
p.s. Is it any good?

Re: Club Purchase

5 Jan 2011 23:42:13

Gordon Clyne

Most software that requires hardware is not usually tied to the device or to an anti copying system, because you need the hardware which efectively acts as it's own dongle.... And it makes for easier upgrades if you are the maker.
I'd be glad to share my uMAX scanner with anyone.....

Re: Club Purchase

6 Jan 2011 11:02:22

Eric Jervis

Very decent of you, Old Chap.
I've now seen on line what appears to be a much better gadget at http://www.video-2-mac.co.uk/?gclid=CL2IqoTmm6YCFcxO4QodkjVMZQ for a mere £39.
But even better still; someone I know is going to lend me his one! Yippee.

Re: Club Purchase

6 Jan 2011 16:53:19

Steve Ryder

Another thought would be a device to convert 35mm slides to digital pictures. There are slide scanners available, but I understand that they take a long time to scan at anything like an acceptable resolution. The sort of thing I have in mind is essentially an optical projector coupled, via a small built-in screen with a camera, the resulting image being recorded on a memory card. I once used to have access to something similar, which was intended to operate in the reverse mode to make slides from computer power point (sorry) images, before the days of computer projection.

I believe that quite a few members would have a use for this sort of professional quality kit, and obviously it is also safe from software licensing constraints, as there is no software! If there is any thought that this option would be at all popular, I will do a search to see what is available commercially.

Re: Club Purchase

6 Jan 2011 19:18:12

Roy Rainford

This is the unit I would be interested in using: Beseler Dual Mode Slide Duplicator.

Re: Club Purchase

6 Jan 2011 19:29:04

Roy Rainford

Having read more about the above Beseler am not sure it would have wide enough appeal.

Re: Club Purchase

7 Jan 2011 13:22:13

Eric Jervis

I bought a gadget like this many years ago at a car boot sale, but I've never used it, for lack of time. You project an image onto a mirror placed at 45 degrees and photograph it with a digital camera or camcorder placed at right angles to the projector. I suspect that the 'gadget' is just a support for the mirror. Anyway, must go and see if the caustic soda has worked on my sewer blockage. Rather muck about on the Mac but a man has his duty!