What's new

I want it all in one box - please (1 Viewer)

Duncan_Smith

Auditioning
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
2
Having just read the newbie FAQ (or bits of it) I know there is a lot more to know! But, here's my 'simple' question.

Can I replace my old separate am/fm tuner and VCR with something that will;
1) play DVDs (bought/rented from the local store!)
2) play CDs ('normal' ones)
3) play MP3s (I think that means play CDRW in my case)
4) record TV programs (onto DVD) i.e. replace the VCR
5) with an am/fm tuner
5) and all in one stylish, slim (probably silver!) pizza box

Anyone seen one of those out there?

Duncan
Cambs (UK)
 

Brian Ruth

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 21, 2002
Messages
563
Duncan:
I THINK most AV receivers will play AM/FM radio - I don't know of any DVD players that do, and you're probably better off getting the radio decoding in the receiver anyways.
As for the DVD player - it SOUNDS like the best option for you would be one of the combination DVD Recorder/Hard Drives out now, but they are EXTREMELY expensive at the moment - $600-$1000 here in the US. I'm not sure how much the players are over there, but I'm guessing that yours will be rougly equal in pounds to what they are over here in dollars (i.e. about 1.5/1.6 times the price).
The said DVD recorders will do everything besides the AM/FM (including the size/color request, at least here in America), though I'm not sure when they'll appear in the land of PAL.
Regardless, I'd wait a year or so until the price for a combo recorder/HD gets below $10 per GB of HD space (i.e. $400 for a unit with a 40 GB Hard Drive).
Official Jack Black SUBQUESTION: How big are your pizza boxes over there? Said DVD recorder is 8 cm tall, 43 cm wide, and about 31 cm deep, so that might be a bit bigger than a pizza box. Pretty small nonetheless. :D
 

Jack Briggs

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 3, 1999
Messages
16,805
All receivers offer at least FM capabiity. Otherwise, they wouldn't be called "receivers."

An all-in-one, do-anything, DVD-based recording-and-playback device that can do FM-receiving and amplification duties? Want fries with that?

No such animal exists presently.
 

Brian Ruth

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 21, 2002
Messages
563
EDIT: Duncan - since you seem to be in the UK, I pulled up this from Panasonic's UK site. It SEEMS to have everything the American version has, but for R2 PAL instead of R1 NTSC. Panasonic's eShop has it for £1,000. A bit pricey, but it has ALMOST everything you're looking for, at least everything you can find together in a single 'Pizza Box.'
Pair that with this and you've got yourself a Home Theater system scarcely larger than said Pizza Box - though it will set you back quite a bit (about £1,500). :)
As far as the single box solution, I think the closest you'll come is the 2-unit solution I outlined above.... UNLESS you make that single unit a HTPC computer - but that's a whole other thread. :)
 

Duncan_Smith

Auditioning
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
2
Given that Pizza Express and Domino Pizza now rule the world, I expect that we all get our pizza boxes as standard sizes from China!
The Panasonic ultra slim reciever was the kind of 'box' I imagined it would ALL fit in. Oh the innocence of 'youth' (newbie):laugh: Now of course I realise my mistake and will dive back into the threads to discover something about DVD RAM and HTPC and all the other delights you've opened my eyes to.
See you all in a few days!
 

Brian Ruth

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 21, 2002
Messages
563
Duncan - You actually CAN get an all-in-one unit, but these units are usually substandard (i.e. ones used in cheap HTiB systems), and they WILL NOT come with recordable DVD. My recommendation was in the hope that you were looking for something of quality.
If the size thing isn't a big deal to you, there are MANY receivers that are better than the Panasonic UltraSlim that beat the snot out of it in terms of sound quality, but these things are usually the size of about 3 stacked pizza boxes - Mine is so deep it won't fit the matching component shelf I wanted to get.
Tradeoffs are a part of the whole HT experience, though. What fun would it be if an inexpensive consumer product did everything you needed? :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,738
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top