Wellington Newbie

[petestrash]

I agree aesthetics is important to me too. VCR's are ugly :-)

Don't forget if using an IR blaster cable to control the VCR, it can be over a metre away from the TiVo and does not need to be in anyone's sight.

Most of My STB's are hidden away inside cabinets and cannot be seen.

Peter.

[Islander]

A major advantage of a Pal tuner mod is that if there is a break in the mains an exetrnal tuning device may not necessarily power up resulting in no recording until noticed.
This especially applies to using a VCR as a tuner as I have found out on several occaisions.

[petestrash]

I'm not arguing that having an internal tuner is preferable to an external device, the main benefit being never missing a channel chanel change.

I was mainly concerned that the cost of conversion in NZ appears to be quite steep, added to the fact there are no more tuners for sale in small qty's, you will need to look at other options.

The power on state after a blackout is a known issue and is one of the things we consider here when selecting Digital STB's for use with TiVo. The STB must return to the on state and tuned to the same channel as before the blackout.

There is one added benefit using a VCR with a US TiVo, you have the option of using a nicam stereo VCR. This is the only current option for stereo FTA in NZ.

Peter.

[Darren King]

Petestrash, according to Darrens website he no longer does PAL mods.

This is no longer the case. After a long think about things I am pleased to announce it is almost business as usual. I say "almost" because it is with the stipulation (as stated on my website) that the work is done when I can do it. I will no longer be backed into a corner doing mods when my job and family now dictate what I do with my spare time. I have ordered and taken delivery of a fresh batch of tuners and stereo chips and I have a hot soldering iron ready to go.