One for techno geeks

[JeremyClarksson]

I have just recieved a promotional leaflet from a supplier I can not name (Hi de Hi springs to mind) and they are doing a 160GB Media Player for £110, I thought this was a bit interesting and when I looked at the PDF manual it has a 12V supply.

Hey presto DVD Player, MP3 Player, Memory for photos and additional storage for your laptop.

Anyone see any drawbacks?

 

[cliff_5040076]

Hi Garry,

Just had a look on map***'s site and it looked an excellent bit of kit.

Just two things - the 12v supply comes from a 240v adapter so working it from a caravan 12v supply may or may not work (if thats what you were thinking about doing).

Secondly you cannot just copy a retail DVD to it as they are copy protected. You will need to rip it to your PC hard drive with DVD Decrypter or similar software to remove the protection. You can then transfer the files to the device. Its a simple operation, takes no time at all. ( there may be a copyright issue )

Apologies if you know this already.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Cliff

Thanks for the reply

I am assuming it will be OK to connect the 12V supply from the caravan - it is shown as DC.

I have to use a DVDdecrypter to copy to computer hard drive before copying to DVD at the moment.

(I copy all the kids DVDs, hand them the copies and keep the originals as we have had some ruined accidentally.)

I can see another issue - if you wanted to record a programme while you were away you would need a laptop with a suitable TV package.

I am still thinking about this and am about 75% on the way to convincing myself to get one - I was thinking about getting a portable hard drive anyway.

If I get one will post how I find it.

 

[cliff_5040076]

Hi Garry

If you have use for a portable hard drive then its a good buy.

I would have one myself but I have a portable hard drive and my wife would not be pleased with me if I bought another one!

I have had problems with the stability of caravan 12 volt supplies before with an lcd tv. It kept switching off at random times. I bought a 12v 300 w voltage inverter then plugged the tv's mains adapter into it and had no more problems. That may just have been that this particular tv was sensitive to voltage variations as other electronic devices have worked OK.

Good luck

 

[JeremyClarksson]

I have got an 8" freeview TV and have not had any problems - I believe that you can buy a 12V stabiliser like the one that comes with some satellite kits for around

 

[Ian_5040589]

We use an Archos AV580 which acts as video recorder and dvd player at home and in the van.

Wired into a small lcd screen (