Alternative to a Video player needed

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peter p

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After having wasted another day+ trying to revive a video player I need an alternative thats simple and transportable.
My wife is in her mid 70's, has always used a video to record her soaps etc. She will record in one room and often watch in another, she is not "tech savvy". Will not use a computer or own, or use a mobile phone. So I have a problem!!
We have run out of working (2 SCART) videos that I am constantly called upon to sort one problem or another. We purchased 2 video/DVD recorders that both failed on the video side within 2 years (Toshiba).
Is there a simple "box" of some sort that I can install on a very old analogue TV (in use in the kitchen) so she can then record through it onto a USB stick. She can then plug the stick into our latest LG television and watch the recorded programme. That way there is no mechanical parts to fail hence I can have a quite life after 25+ years of fixing videos.
If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I would be extremely grateful.
 
you might still find a working vid recorder if you try freegle or ebay or local facebook.

The last ones made by Panasonic were the best recorders ever made, and there will be plenty tucked away. There are also DVD recorders.

As for USB sticks, I have Samsung smart TVs that will record on a hard drive or memory stick; but mine will only play back on the TV that recorded them.
 
JohnD said:
you might still find a working vid recorder if you try freegle or ebay or local facebook.

The last ones made by Panasonic were the best recorders ever made, and there will be plenty tucked away. There are also DVD recorders.

As for USB sticks, I have Samsung smart TVs that will record on a hard drive or memory stick; but mine will only play back on the TV that recorded them.
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JohnD thats how I have survived up to now and the last one was Panasonic sadly broken up inside (bits of plastic). I have a LG LV880 with 2 scarts and have wired it up the same way but it wont record via AV2 or 3 and I cant for the life of me understand why. Tried every permutation and different leads but no joy, can only assume it's faulty.

The Novice said:
Sky+ or sky Q? These both record to hard drives.
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With Sky its about the cost (we are both pensioners) and again the recordings are not transportable between rooms, but thanks for the suggestion.
 
Easiest thing is to buy a small smart tv.
I don't know if the record feature is on all of them but probably is.

If you have a smart tv you can watch online anyway (can't record online)
I use lots of tv's that play videos on memory stick but don't know about the ability to shift a programme from one to the other.
If your main tv is an LG, it is worth looking at a smaller LG as it's more likely.
Email customer service and ask them
 
flameport said:
yes they are - that's one of the main features of Sky Q. Anything recorded can be viewed on any other TV with a Q mini box.
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I stand corrected, learn something new every day! Will have a look but concerned about cost, specially as the over 70 TV license is being scrapped.
 
I haven’t recorded anything for years. You obviously have an internet connection and a smart TV so why not just watch them on catchup? If your other TV is not a smart one, there’s plenty of streaming devices that can be had for very little money that convert an old tv into a smart tv.
 
The problem with a move-the-memory-stick idea is that the recordings made to it are generally encrypted to the specific TV they are made on. By that I mean that even if you bought two of the exact same model TV, you couldn't make recordings on to a USB memory stick on one TV then take that stick and plug it in to the other TV to watch them.

The closest thing I can think of is one of the small Freeview HD receivers that plug directly in to a SCART socket. They're much smaller than a VHS video cassette, and they have a USB port. This would allow you to connect a USB memory stick and so provide a moveable recording solution compatible with older SCART-equipped TVs and that has no moving parts. There is also a HDMI socket which makes the device compatible with non-SCART TVs too.

This is what I'm describing. The listing is from Ebay: item number 132491552173. It's a very comprehensive listing too; lots of pictures of the TV guide and how the device connects etc. There's an aerial connection in and out like a VCR has, so the device can record one channel whilst the TV is being used to watch something else. This records from its own in-built tuner.

TV recorder2.jpg



For USB memory, I can thoroughly recommend any capacity of the mymemory brand USB memory sticks. I use one to watch the movies I download on my Panasonic TV. It works great. I have a far more expensive Samsung stick that isn't anywhere near as quick.

This is listed on Amazon.

memory.jpg



To recap then, the memory would live permanently with the recorder device. The recorder would be moved between the two TVs. It solves the USB encryption issue and provides a recording solution with no moving parts.



If this or any other reply was helpful to you, then please do the decent thing and click the T-H-A-N-K-S button. It appears when you hover the mouse pointer near the Quote Multi-quote buttons. It costs you nothing. This is the proper way to show your thanks for the time and help someone gave you.
 
Last edited:
@Lucid Thank you so much, brilliant information.
Just had a quick look on e bay and if what they say is correct (This unit records in standard .MTS format which can be played back through most players)
I can buy two, get rid of both video players (Bedroom & Kitchen) and fit these instead. I have plenty of spare memory sticks. Recording looks simple enough but I feel another idiot guide coming on, bless her.
That way she can record or play on either TV and no more interruptions to my viewing to rescue jammed or stuck tapes and an empty draw were she stores her tapes at the moment.
If this works it will be heaven for me, after a few weeks of "I can't do this".
Will investigate this in depth first and probably order one to start with, will let you know how I get on.
Thanks again.
 
Lucid said:
Thanks for the reply. I would be very interested to know how you get on with it; specifically whether the files can be played back on other devices, so do please keep us appraised.

Good luck (y)
Click to expand...

It finally arrived this morning (23rd). Easy to set up, the sound and picture quality are great, but need a magnifying glass to read the instructions.
Have only done a quick/short recording using "instant record" with a mixed result.
The recording will play on the LG smart TV (43UM7000PLA) and on one of our two Panasonic Viera TV's as well as on a computor with windows 10, using VLC Media Player. No idea why it wont play on the other Panasonic TV, will investigate further but that is not a problem, it's the LG one we needed it to work on.
The quality of play back is excellent on all machines.
Another positive is that I have been able to remove a Free view box and VCR and replace it with this little thing, so much tidier.
Need more time to "play" with it but the initial results seem to solve our problem, Just need to teach my wife how to and that's another story :-).
Thanks Lucid, your a star.
 
Further update:-
A 16GB memory stick records just over 7 Hours of viewing.
Hand book, if you can read it, is incorrect, best to find your own way round the recording feature. Deposited this it is a good buy.
 
I don’t understand any of that but I’ve ordered one of those 128Gb sticks to try out on my telly.
 
Mottie said:
I don’t understand any of that but I’ve ordered one of those 128Gb sticks to try out on my telly.
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If you use a 128GB stick, based on my experience with a 16GB stick on this recorder. I would estimate that you will be able to record somewhere in the region of 56 hours of normal television (not HD programs) before the 128GB stick would be full up.
Hope that helps.
 
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