Thanks - I've amended the post. So, the Apple TV is pretty much like the Scaleo in that case? That's bad news for me in a way, if it implies that there's a market for that kind of limited functionality.
It sounds as if the best Windows equivalent is an XBox 360 (also about £200): ignoring the gaming aspects, that can act as a "Media Extender", i.e. it could access videos on my Vista desktop machine across the network (cables or wireless) then play them on the TV.
I think you have to get a sky enabled video card to make it work like that :/ which essentially replaces your sky box and isnt really what you are after.
At this point? Shout. You'd be surprised how far well-timed, well-worded shouting can get you...
Also, is experience with the Media Centre flavour of Vista really all that essential? I mean, I can't imagine a work situation where you'd need an in-depth understanding of its peculiarities: first, I can't imagine a workplace that would use that flavour of Vista, since it's firmly aimed at the home market; second, I can't imagine anyone with any sense and any familiarity with some other flavour of Vista having trouble working it out from first principles anyway. If it's not an essential, then you've got a lot more flexibility, I'd reckon.
Shouting is a bit tricky, mainly because I need to identify the right target. I intend to write a formal letter of complaint to Play.com (mentioning the delivery problems as well as the return problems), but I think I'm on shaky ground with the whole "fit for purpose" thing because I didn't explicitly ask them about it before I bought the machine. If I'd gone along to a high street shop and said "I want to record off Sky", then I could have just taken it back to them as soon as that didn't work, but it's all different for online purchases.
Career-wise, one of the requirements for exam 70-620 (MCTS: Configuring Vista) is "Configure and troubleshoot media applications." This specific issue isn't very likely to come up in an office, although maybe more so where I am (since we offer Sky TV, games, and internet access to our volunteers), but it's good for me to have that qualification in general. Beyond that, there's always the issue of "Hey, you know about computers, why doesn't my home PC work?" On the other hand, I think I've now
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You don't need to just shout at one person. In fact, shouting at multiple people has a far higher chance of actually working. In your case, I'd shout at Play.com, for delivery issues and not fit for purpose (the DVD playback alone puts it in this category, and "SCART video in" would imply to me the I would be able to see stuff that was coming in on a SCART lead
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Record from AV inputs on front should work
anonymous
April 10 2008, 18:51:47 UTC
Hi, despite your problems with your Scaleo EVi, I am considering buying such a machine because it is on sale right now for a good price in Sweden (approx €430) compared the the normal price of €800-€1000.
It clearly says in the data sheet for Scaleo EVi 2535 that there is no AV-in on the back of the computer except on the models with a dual TV card. Instead the AV in are placed on the front which is a sensible choice if you want to record from a camcorder. I guess they reasoned that people should use the built in TV card when watching/recording TV when they designed the computer.
A single TV card only has a single set of AV inputs so it is quite natural that you will need a second TV card to get a second set of AV inputs.
Anyway, it should be possible to record from the Front AV-in connectors (composite or S-video). Can you verify that this works? Because if it doesn't, there is definitely something wrong with this computer.
Re: Record from AV inputs on front should workjohnckirkApril 10 2008, 21:51:41 UTC
Hi Herbert,
I'm not quite sure what you mean - are you saying that there aren't any sockets at the back, or that the sockets at the back aren't supposed to work? Anyway, my machine has sockets at the back and front: I tried them all, but I couldn't get them to work. The only thing left to try is the RF socket (normal TV aerial), to see whether that works.
Re: Record from AV inputs on front should work
anonymous
April 11 2008, 07:15:45 UTC
According to the specification, the SCART sockets on the back are not supposed to work for AV input, just output and loopthrough. You would need the dual TV-card option to make this work. But the front AV inputs (composite, s-video, audio R/L) should work since they are supposed to be connected to the TV-card, otherwise something is badly configured on this computer. What brand of TV-card is there in your computer? The models with Hauppauge cards seem to work better than the models with Pinnacle or Asus TV-cards.
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Also, is experience with the Media Centre flavour of Vista really all that essential? I mean, I can't imagine a work situation where you'd need an in-depth understanding of its peculiarities: first, I can't imagine a workplace that would use that flavour of Vista, since it's firmly aimed at the home market; second, I can't imagine anyone with any sense and any familiarity with some other flavour of Vista having trouble working it out from first principles anyway. If it's not an essential, then you've got a lot more flexibility, I'd reckon.
But first, shout. :p
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Career-wise, one of the requirements for exam 70-620 (MCTS: Configuring Vista) is "Configure and troubleshoot media applications." This specific issue isn't very likely to come up in an office, although maybe more so where I am (since we offer Sky TV, games, and internet access to our volunteers), but it's good for me to have that qualification in general. Beyond that, there's always the issue of "Hey, you know about computers, why doesn't my home PC work?" On the other hand, I think I've now ( ... )
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despite your problems with your Scaleo EVi, I am considering buying such a machine because it is on sale right now for a good price in Sweden (approx €430) compared the the normal price of €800-€1000.
It clearly says in the data sheet for Scaleo EVi 2535 that there is no AV-in on the back of the computer except on the models with a dual TV card. Instead the AV in are placed on the front which is a sensible choice if you want to record from a camcorder. I guess they reasoned that people should use the built in TV card when watching/recording TV when they designed the computer.
A single TV card only has a single set of AV inputs so it is quite natural that you will need a second TV card to get a second set of AV inputs.
Anyway, it should be possible to record from the Front AV-in connectors (composite or S-video). Can you verify that this works? Because if it doesn't, there is definitely something wrong with this computer.
/Herbert
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I'm not quite sure what you mean - are you saying that there aren't any sockets at the back, or that the sockets at the back aren't supposed to work? Anyway, my machine has sockets at the back and front: I tried them all, but I couldn't get them to work. The only thing left to try is the RF socket (normal TV aerial), to see whether that works.
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What brand of TV-card is there in your computer? The models with Hauppauge cards seem to work better than the models with Pinnacle or Asus TV-cards.
/Herbert
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