Sweet Harmony

My latest gadget is the Logitech Harmony 525 programmable remote control. Our coffee table was cluttered with 5 remote controls and it was quite a complicated matter to switch from watching TV to watching a DVD. Changing input on the TV, changing input on the HiFi turning off the set top box, turning on the DVD then switching remotes to control the DVD once it was playing.
Everything can now be controlled through one remote. The Harmony uses a web based programming system based on knowledge of thousands of different device remote controls. You just need to know the model numbers of your TV, DVD etc and it finds the information and programs the remote accordingly. You can then set up activities such as play a DVD. You program the harmony to turn on the DVD player, turn on and switch the HiFi to the DVD5.1input, turn on the TV and switch to the HDMI input - you can even program it to to open the DVD tray ready for you to put in the DVD. I had a bit of trouble getting it to switch to the correct input on my Toshiba LCD because you have to scroll through the inputs but it works like a charm now. Very easy for the wife and kids to get Dad's toys working in harmony. Oh - I got it on sale at Dick Smith Powerhouse for $99.95 - a steal. I like my gadgets but usually wait until they've been out for a year or so and drop to half of their original RRP.

Birthday Present

Yes, I have turned 39. Two weeks ago actually - and I apologise for the absence of posts. I've been away in New Zealand from the 30th June to the 6th July at the SPABC (South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges) Conference. But before I went I was "given permission" to buy myself a birthday present. It is a 37" LCD television. I've been researching these for about 9 months so I knew exactly what I was looking for. So after a morning of shop hopping I ended up - as a last resort - at Clive Peeters Ringwood where they had a great deal on the Toshiba 37WL66A - no inbuilt tuner but they threw in an HD STB with the deal. So all up very happy. I just wish the broadcasters would send their signal out at a higher quality - hopefully in the future.
I looked into the LCD/Plasma options but a 37" was as large as we could go using the cabinet we already had. You will notice from the pic that it fits snugly.

FM Transmitter

When we bought our new Honda Odyssey (which we hope will last us 10 years)- it became Annette's Car and I was given the old workhorse - Holden VR Berlina. It's a great car, don't get me wrong - It was my parent's car originally and it has served us both well for over 10 years. But it only has a cassette/Radio and no CD player. So I was considering putting a new CD player into so I could enjoy my music while I do my 45 minute each way commute to work. However, I came across a more ingenious gadget to achieve the same purpose at a lower cost. It is an FM transmitter that plugs into the audio jack on my super duper PDA. I can play music direct from the PDA and it will transmit on a set FM frequency. I then tune the radio to that same frequency and hey presto - my music coming out of the car stereo. This is how I've been listening to Jars of Clay recently. Very cool!!

GPS

Some time back I received a GPS (Global Positioning System) for my Phone. GPS uses signals from satellites to pinpoint your exact location. By connecting this signal to mapping software you can be given directions to any destination within the range of your maps. The mapping software I have is Co-Pilot and I have maps for the whole of Australia.
It sure beats having the street directory open on your lap while you're driving. Some other cool features are that it can tell you how fast you're going, your elevation above sea level, the direction you're heading and an approximate arrival time at your destination. You can set your destination to a street address, point of interest, landmark or a presaved destination.
It can also warn you of red light or fixed speed cameras or tell you how far to the next petrol station.

Changing the Way I Watch TV

A few weeks ago I purchased a PVR. PVR stands for Personal Video Recorder – see more info here. I’ve been following these machines for about six months now because we were using a VCR on the kids TV for recording and it was a real pain to record stuff and then I had to watch it on the kids 51cm instead of the 68cm TV in the lounge. I had a few options for our TV recording including a DVD recorder but I settled for a twin digital tuner PVR with a hard drive. There are a few on the market to choose from but I settled for the Mediastar 920PVR. It was not a company I had heard of before but on the recommendation of many on the DTV forum I took the plunge and haggled Harvey Norman down from the RRP of $699- and got it for $550-.
I must say that it has changed the way I watch TV. The digital tuners mean that the picture quality is perfect (DVD quality). It can chase play, which means you can pause live TV (like when you're interrupted by the kids when they should be in bed)and then continue watching in delay (catching up by fast forwarding through the ads). This means that now we often start watching a show 15 minutes after it starts and then skip through all the ads and by the time the hour is over you’ve caught back up to real time.
The Mediastar is a true twin tuner which means you can record one channel and watch another live at the same time or you can record two channels at once and watch a recorded show at the same time. The Digital tuner gives acces to ABC2 and SBS2 and these are actually broadcast in the same ‘channel’ so you could record ABC, ABC2, SBS, and SBS2 at the same time while watching a recorded show.
Because it has a Hard Drive you can also store MP3s on it and play them through the TV (or, in my case, the home theatre system connected to the PVR).
So, while Annette still says it was an unnecessary purchase she has to admit that it is a great way to watch TV. It is now easier for TV to be our slave rather than our master.

Where Would I Be Without My Jasjar

Jasjar - wierd name, great device.
As I mention in my "likes", I am a gadget man. But most of my gadget interest is limited to looking and drooling because of my limited budget and the wise counsel of my financial manager (wife).
However, I got my Jasjar for Christmas in 2005. It replaced my Imate Pocket PC which I'd had for nearly 2 years.
It's an all in one PDA/Phone/Camera/MP3 Player/Game Console/Video Player/GPS with built in WiFi, Bluetooth and it's 3G enabled. I carry it everywhere and use it all the time. It's my Bible, Calendar, Address book, Calculator, Street Directory, Dictionary, Remote Control, E-Book Reader, Note Pad, News Service and more.
It saves me time (or maybe it wastes time - depends who you're asking).
Anyway I'd be lost without it!