[Larry]

"NE Sailboat" wrote in news:gt6ah.4419$Kw2.3963
@trndny05:

TV Onboard Report ::; from the sailor who started this madness.


Got a laptop computer? My music/movie/TV machine is a Gateway 15.4"
laptop, MX6438, CC has them on sale at times in the $750 range. You can
run nav software on it, tons of movies downloaded for free from Usenet's
alt.binaries.movies.divx newsgroup, MP3 files, etc....

Then, there's this:
http://hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hvr950.html
Digital and Analog TV for your FAST laptop computer for $99. The little
whip antenna isn't much but this little Philips antenna turns it into a
powerhouse:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e/103-1042369-
4062224
(This says Zenith, same as Philips at Circuit City's TV department)
The USB stick completely EATS all computer time processing high definition
video, so you can't do anything else while its running, but the picture is
perfect! You'll need a little 100 watt 12VDC to 115VAC inverter to plug
the laptop into. The little inverters are MUCH cheaper than a 12V power
supply from the computer companies. Mine was $20 at Radio Shack...175W.

A laptop with LOTS of uses is far better than a little DVD player that will
only play STORE BOUGHT DVDs and CDs... With the laptop, you can even use
it for a boat phone on Skype if your marina has wifi...(c;

[285333]

A laptop with LOTS of uses is far better than a little DVD player that
will only play STORE BOUGHT DVDs and CDs...

What are you talking about? I have 3 DVD players. One at home, one at
work, one on boat and they all play DVD's I've burned. (The one at home
was also easily converted to region free and no copypro via a hidden
menu I learned about on usenet.)

How much jooce does that laptop require? I run 15"LCD & DVD off a cheapo
70W invertor.

I do think the device is great for easy HD if one has a fast laptop. But
that laptop probably costs twice or more what a dedicated HD set might
cost.

[Larry]

(285333) wrote in
:

The one at home
was also easily converted to region free and no copypro via a hidden
menu I learned about on usenet.)


Will it play DivX movies? Will it play other formats? 99% of the PORTABLE
DVD PLAYERS this guy is thinking about buying will NOT. He wasn't talking
about a HOME player plugged into a TV. He was talking about a PORTABLE DVD
PLAYER, one with its own screen. I have one. It'll play "some" of the
compressed movies...not all like the PC. It's a Philips, ran 50 hours
before failing, Philips offered me a new one for 25 CENTS less than Circuit
City wanted for the replacement at retail - an insult. It's a Pet1000
model. It sucks, but I, having nothing to lose, tore it down and found its
cable problem to the laser head.

My point is you do NOT have to hack a computer to get rid of the "region
restrictions", copy protection bull**** and all the other hobbling DVD
players have built into them. The computer is simply a better
player....yes, for more money.

The Philips PORTABLE player is about $250 on the street. A discounted
laptop that has a BIGGER screen, other uses on the boat, is $200 more....

Larry
--
Guess what I want to do with the Little Drummer Boy's drum
by Christmas Eve....rrrrump..pa-pum...pum...up his bum....

[Capt. Rob]

The thought of watching "Casablanca" on my super cool DVD player with
the
computer speakers ..........


Now you're talking! Nothing like a quiet night on the hook watching The
Devil and Daniel Webster...or Jaws before the next morning swim!
DVDs and CD's/Ipod offer smart entertainment onboard. They take up
almost no space and don't use much power. You can store 100 movies in
the space of a couple of paperbacks.



Robert
Beneteau 35s5
NY

[NE Sailboat]

Most Honorable Captain Rob ,,,

There is a reason that "babe" is sleeping on "your" boat!

Last summer as I was cruising about Casco Bay, I anchored up the New Meadows
River at a spot called The Basin. Had my after sail coffee, listened to
some music, starting reading and ................. then I plugged in my el
cheapo black and white tv. The B/W tv runs off of the cigarette battery
power plug ..

I figured I'd never get any reception. Wrong! A very clear station came
on ... it was the NHP Station ... national public tv ,, the education
station or whathaveya ..

I sit back, pour a cup ,,, relax ..... and guess what the show is?

A documentary of the sinking of the Andrea Doria.

How is that for irony?
===================

And then one night recently I am watching some show on some channel ..
history channel, discover ?? One of those ... and the show is all about a
nuclear submarine. One of the major problems on a sub is weight, and space.
Makes sense ,, under the water and all. As the program went on it showed
how the sub dealt with this ... one major breakthrough in sub technology
was the CD Rom. Those little CD's replaced all the paper on the sub. There
is a CD for everything. Menu for the gallery, storage, weapons, systems,,
you name it. And they take up about the size of a little closet. When the
sub had paper, it was a major problem carrying all the info. So much weight
was gone and so much space was available that the crew had more space to
live in.

So, not only will I be bringing DVD's for movies, I will bring along all the
system DVS's, fix it DVD's, the how to sail it DVD's, etc.

High tech !!

I will bring along my Disco's Greatest hits CD though... my boat was built
in 1975!




"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...

The thought of watching "Casablanca" on my super cool DVD player with
the
computer speakers ..........


Now you're talking! Nothing like a quiet night on the hook watching The
Devil and Daniel Webster...or Jaws before the next morning swim!
DVDs and CD's/Ipod offer smart entertainment onboard. They take up
almost no space and don't use much power. You can store 100 movies in
the space of a couple of paperbacks.



Robert
Beneteau 35s5
NY

[Jeff]

I don't know why you wouldn't expect reception in The Basin, its only
6 miles from Bath, about 8 from Brunswick. It just feels like it in
the boonies. My TV, admittedly with a powered antennae 20 feet up the
mast, gets a clear signal from up to 50 miles.


NE Sailboat wrote:
Most Honorable Captain Rob ,,,

There is a reason that "babe" is sleeping on "your" boat!

Last summer as I was cruising about Casco Bay, I anchored up the New Meadows
River at a spot called The Basin. Had my after sail coffee, listened to
some music, starting reading and ................. then I plugged in my el
cheapo black and white tv. The B/W tv runs off of the cigarette battery
power plug ..

I figured I'd never get any reception. Wrong! A very clear station came
on ... it was the NHP Station ... national public tv ,, the education
station or whathaveya ..

I sit back, pour a cup ,,, relax ..... and guess what the show is?

A documentary of the sinking of the Andrea Doria.

How is that for irony?
===================

And then one night recently I am watching some show on some channel ..
history channel, discover ?? One of those ... and the show is all about a
nuclear submarine. One of the major problems on a sub is weight, and space.
Makes sense ,, under the water and all. As the program went on it showed
how the sub dealt with this ... one major breakthrough in sub technology
was the CD Rom. Those little CD's replaced all the paper on the sub. There
is a CD for everything. Menu for the gallery, storage, weapons, systems,,
you name it. And they take up about the size of a little closet. When the
sub had paper, it was a major problem carrying all the info. So much weight
was gone and so much space was available that the crew had more space to
live in.

So, not only will I be bringing DVD's for movies, I will bring along all the
system DVS's, fix it DVD's, the how to sail it DVD's, etc.

High tech !!

I will bring along my Disco's Greatest hits CD though... my boat was built
in 1975!




"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...
The thought of watching "Casablanca" on my super cool DVD player with
the
computer speakers ..........


Now you're talking! Nothing like a quiet night on the hook watching The
Devil and Daniel Webster...or Jaws before the next morning swim!
DVDs and CD's/Ipod offer smart entertainment onboard. They take up
almost no space and don't use much power. You can store 100 movies in
the space of a couple of paperbacks.



Robert
Beneteau 35s5
NY

[NE Sailboat]

Jeff ,,, I was just looking at a chart .... since you seem to know the area
... is it a tough ride up the Kennebec?


"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..
I don't know why you wouldn't expect reception in The Basin, its only 6
miles from Bath, about 8 from Brunswick. It just feels like it in the
boonies. My TV, admittedly with a powered antennae 20 feet up the mast,
gets a clear signal from up to 50 miles.


NE Sailboat wrote:
Most Honorable Captain Rob ,,,

There is a reason that "babe" is sleeping on "your" boat!

Last summer as I was cruising about Casco Bay, I anchored up the New
Meadows River at a spot called The Basin. Had my after sail coffee,
listened to some music, starting reading and ................. then I
plugged in my el cheapo black and white tv. The B/W tv runs off of the
cigarette battery power plug ..

I figured I'd never get any reception. Wrong! A very clear station came
on ... it was the NHP Station ... national public tv ,, the education
station or whathaveya ..

I sit back, pour a cup ,,, relax ..... and guess what the show is?

A documentary of the sinking of the Andrea Doria.

How is that for irony?
===================

And then one night recently I am watching some show on some channel ..
history channel, discover ?? One of those ... and the show is all about
a nuclear submarine. One of the major problems on a sub is weight, and
space. Makes sense ,, under the water and all. As the program went on it
showed how the sub dealt with this ... one major breakthrough in sub
technology was the CD Rom. Those little CD's replaced all the paper on
the sub. There is a CD for everything. Menu for the gallery, storage,
weapons, systems,, you name it. And they take up about the size of a
little closet. When the sub had paper, it was a major problem carrying
all the info. So much weight was gone and so much space was available
that the crew had more space to live in.

So, not only will I be bringing DVD's for movies, I will bring along all
the system DVS's, fix it DVD's, the how to sail it DVD's, etc.

High tech !!

I will bring along my Disco's Greatest hits CD though... my boat was
built in 1975!




"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...
The thought of watching "Casablanca" on my super cool DVD player with
the
computer speakers ..........


Now you're talking! Nothing like a quiet night on the hook watching The
Devil and Daniel Webster...or Jaws before the next morning swim!
DVDs and CD's/Ipod offer smart entertainment onboard. They take up
almost no space and don't use much power. You can store 100 movies in
the space of a couple of paperbacks.



Robert
Beneteau 35s5
NY

[Jeff]

I've never gone all the way up by boat, but it isn't that bad a trip.
The river is wide and deep, somewhat bigger than the New Meadows.
Of course, with 100 foot hills on both side of the river, I wouldn't
expect it to be a reach.

Every trip that we've had the time to consider the various inland
routes, we've used that time to head further East, like to Merchants' Row.


NE Sailboat wrote:
Jeff ,,, I was just looking at a chart .... since you seem to know the area
.. is it a tough ride up the Kennebec?


"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..
I don't know why you wouldn't expect reception in The Basin, its only 6
miles from Bath, about 8 from Brunswick. It just feels like it in the
boonies. My TV, admittedly with a powered antennae 20 feet up the mast,
gets a clear signal from up to 50 miles.


NE Sailboat wrote:
Most Honorable Captain Rob ,,,

There is a reason that "babe" is sleeping on "your" boat!

Last summer as I was cruising about Casco Bay, I anchored up the New
Meadows River at a spot called The Basin. Had my after sail coffee,
listened to some music, starting reading and ................. then I
plugged in my el cheapo black and white tv. The B/W tv runs off of the
cigarette battery power plug ..

I figured I'd never get any reception. Wrong! A very clear station came
on ... it was the NHP Station ... national public tv ,, the education
station or whathaveya ..

I sit back, pour a cup ,,, relax ..... and guess what the show is?

A documentary of the sinking of the Andrea Doria.

How is that for irony?

[Wayne.B]

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:12:01 GMT, "NE Sailboat"
wrote:

I was just looking at a chart .... since you seem to know the area
.. is it a tough ride up the Kennebec?

In my experience the toughest part is at the entry. If you have a
strong outgoing tide/current against an incoming southerly swell,
things can get a bit "disturbed". Pick your day and time and you'll
be fine.

[Bill Kearney]

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"NE Sailboat" wrote in news:gt6ah.4419$Kw2.3963
@trndny05:

TV Onboard Report ::; from the sailor who started this madness.


Got a laptop computer?

Feh, jack of all trades, master of none. For something simple like watching
a movie using a laptop sucks compared to a plain old portable DVD player.
The DVD players don't have to boot (or have an entirely crappy BIOS player).
That and portable DVD players generally have *considerably* better battery
life than laptops. Finally, one's spouse, family, friends and/or children
can generally use a portable DVD player entirely without assistance. Never
underestimate the value of simple devices.

I've got laptops and know how to use them. I greatly prefer a plain DVD
player instead.