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azuriteFinally got my financial aid check today, and it looks like the Chase Loan hasn't been applied, so I don't have to worry about that-- yet. But nonetheless, I went shopping with what I did get-- I bought the EyeTV 2 Hybrid TV Tuner for my Mac (a nifty USB stick with a coaxial tuner end, and a tiny sort of USB end that I can use for the Composite red, white, and yellow cables, plus... some mysterious other cord that might be for HDMI) and some books, including Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne 4, which I'd been missing. I'm glad I waited to get that before reading KKJ #5! The plot THICKENS! Oh, it's so tragic...! I mean, I cried a lot when reading and watching Full Moon o Sagashite, but KKJ is certainly power-packed with emotional turmoil! Ahh...
I kind of want to read I.O.N. too, but I don't think it's been translated yet... has it? I really like Arina Tanemura's work. But I've been avoiding Gentleman's Alliance+ because I've run out of space on my bookshelf... and I heard it has some shonen-ai in it, and that just... hm, doesn't appeal to me. I'm a sappy shoujo fan at heart. :)
Anywho, I managed to get something MAGNANIMOUS done as soon as I got back to the house with my EyeTV... I connected the composite cable from my PS2 to the female ones on the EyeTV add-on, and I got Star Ocean 3 on my Mac screen! Huzzah! So now I can record videos AND take screenshots of gameplay! Hip-hip-hurrah! I haven't actually TRIED to take said screenshots yet, though...
I also managed to get TV via the coaxial cable. Now here's the tricky part... the TV I've been fiddling with is the one in the rec room, which gets cable channels, but nothing above channel 100. Technically, nothing above channel 98, which is QVC. :P That's okay, all the good stuff is on lower channels anyway (Spike TV = 48 FTW!!!) . But here's the weird bit, and I hope someone experienced with these kind of electronics/home appliances might be able to help me out...
The rec room has always had cable TV, but not always anything else (e.g. a VCR or DVD player). Now, my PS2 acts as the DVD player, but Scott had to give me a VCR. :P Well, yay VCR for all my old-school tapes (like Ranma, the Sailor Moon movies, and Clue!) What's weird is how the wiring works. The TV is old, but not ancient-- there's something on the back that SAYS S-video, but I don't see an actual S-video port. It seems to be covered up by some sort of panel, but said panel can't be taken off too easily... there are two holes on the right and left sides that look like they have some sort of pinching prongs in the middle (as in, pinch the prongs and the plate might pop off... problem is the prongs are INTERNAL and I tried using tweezers and they didn't pinch anything), and on the bottom, some sliding things... with no room to slide!
So the coaxial cable coming from the wall (and routed through the cabinets) connects to the VCR, because there's no apparent way to connect said cable to the TV. There's another cable that connects the VCR to the TV and it looks SIMILAR to a coaxial cable, but there's no "twisting" screw-on part; it just sort of plugs in (but it has the single needle in the center like the coaxial cable does). I'd tried that second cable first with the EyeTV, but no luck; it was only with the coaxial that I actually picked up any channels.
What I want to know is... is there a way to have the TV plugged in at the same time as my computer? Is there a way to find out if that back panel of my TV can be taken off to see if there's an S-video port? Because that way, I could plug in the S-video cable to the EyeTV add-on, and still have the TV routed to the VCR via the coaxial cable... I think. I tried a similar hookup using the composite cable (e.g. the non-PS2 variety; I used the ones plugged into the TV going to the VCR, but routed the VCR end to the EyeTV)... it didn't work.
Also, do you suppose there's a way to use this EyeTV TV tuner wirelessly, somehow? Like, I don't HAVE to have it plugged in to watch TV? Or would such a set-up only work with digital (ATSC/HD TV)? Or can it, even with HD TV? We have the other TV that's HD, but we don't have an HD set-top box from Time-Warner (even though it's free)...
But we're getting one tomorrow! Now if only we had an HDTV for the rec room... because then I wouldn't have to worry about a heavy-@$$ TV with all sorts of weird blocked panels and switches and not enough ports for the cables... but then, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" which is why I want to figure out the mystery of the labels on the back of the existing TV to see if there's some way to accommodate two things at once. After all, it's a bit of a pain to have to keep changing things around like that... Of course, nothing'll ever compare to the wired mess at my mom's house, but at least her situation is made easier by the fact that she never watches TV out there anymore (even though it's got killer surround sound) because the TV infrared is busted. :P
In short:
Help? Even if it's just with recommendations for small HDTVs (smaller than 36", the space I have in the bookcase in the rec room) or what cables to buy or something...
ALSO! I want to change my cassette tapes into digital files. Anyone know how to do that? There's a Macworld article on it, but it's not very descriptive...
I kind of want to read I.O.N. too, but I don't think it's been translated yet... has it? I really like Arina Tanemura's work. But I've been avoiding Gentleman's Alliance+ because I've run out of space on my bookshelf... and I heard it has some shonen-ai in it, and that just... hm, doesn't appeal to me. I'm a sappy shoujo fan at heart. :)
Anywho, I managed to get something MAGNANIMOUS done as soon as I got back to the house with my EyeTV... I connected the composite cable from my PS2 to the female ones on the EyeTV add-on, and I got Star Ocean 3 on my Mac screen! Huzzah! So now I can record videos AND take screenshots of gameplay! Hip-hip-hurrah! I haven't actually TRIED to take said screenshots yet, though...
I also managed to get TV via the coaxial cable. Now here's the tricky part... the TV I've been fiddling with is the one in the rec room, which gets cable channels, but nothing above channel 100. Technically, nothing above channel 98, which is QVC. :P That's okay, all the good stuff is on lower channels anyway (Spike TV = 48 FTW!!!) . But here's the weird bit, and I hope someone experienced with these kind of electronics/home appliances might be able to help me out...
The rec room has always had cable TV, but not always anything else (e.g. a VCR or DVD player). Now, my PS2 acts as the DVD player, but Scott had to give me a VCR. :P Well, yay VCR for all my old-school tapes (like Ranma, the Sailor Moon movies, and Clue!) What's weird is how the wiring works. The TV is old, but not ancient-- there's something on the back that SAYS S-video, but I don't see an actual S-video port. It seems to be covered up by some sort of panel, but said panel can't be taken off too easily... there are two holes on the right and left sides that look like they have some sort of pinching prongs in the middle (as in, pinch the prongs and the plate might pop off... problem is the prongs are INTERNAL and I tried using tweezers and they didn't pinch anything), and on the bottom, some sliding things... with no room to slide!
So the coaxial cable coming from the wall (and routed through the cabinets) connects to the VCR, because there's no apparent way to connect said cable to the TV. There's another cable that connects the VCR to the TV and it looks SIMILAR to a coaxial cable, but there's no "twisting" screw-on part; it just sort of plugs in (but it has the single needle in the center like the coaxial cable does). I'd tried that second cable first with the EyeTV, but no luck; it was only with the coaxial that I actually picked up any channels.
What I want to know is... is there a way to have the TV plugged in at the same time as my computer? Is there a way to find out if that back panel of my TV can be taken off to see if there's an S-video port? Because that way, I could plug in the S-video cable to the EyeTV add-on, and still have the TV routed to the VCR via the coaxial cable... I think. I tried a similar hookup using the composite cable (e.g. the non-PS2 variety; I used the ones plugged into the TV going to the VCR, but routed the VCR end to the EyeTV)... it didn't work.
Also, do you suppose there's a way to use this EyeTV TV tuner wirelessly, somehow? Like, I don't HAVE to have it plugged in to watch TV? Or would such a set-up only work with digital (ATSC/HD TV)? Or can it, even with HD TV? We have the other TV that's HD, but we don't have an HD set-top box from Time-Warner (even though it's free)...
But we're getting one tomorrow! Now if only we had an HDTV for the rec room... because then I wouldn't have to worry about a heavy-@$$ TV with all sorts of weird blocked panels and switches and not enough ports for the cables... but then, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" which is why I want to figure out the mystery of the labels on the back of the existing TV to see if there's some way to accommodate two things at once. After all, it's a bit of a pain to have to keep changing things around like that... Of course, nothing'll ever compare to the wired mess at my mom's house, but at least her situation is made easier by the fact that she never watches TV out there anymore (even though it's got killer surround sound) because the TV infrared is busted. :P
In short:
Help? Even if it's just with recommendations for small HDTVs (smaller than 36", the space I have in the bookcase in the rec room) or what cables to buy or something...
ALSO! I want to change my cassette tapes into digital files. Anyone know how to do that? There's a Macworld article on it, but it's not very descriptive...
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Date: 2008-01-17 08:28 am (UTC)If you want something a little more brand name you'll have to step it up to anywhere from $700 for a sharp to $1000 for a sony bravia. Black friday would have been your best bet, but if you gotta have it you gotta have it.