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VHS To DVD – An Easy Route For Those That Are Too Busy

Three different VHS-family video cassettes. Fr...
Image via Wikipedia

If you have a big collection of old home movies on VHS but you are just too busy to get really complicated, then let’s make this simple. Honestech has your back.

VHS officially only lasts about 10-12 years in terms of delivering the best performance. After that, age and environment can work together to tear away at the binder material that has held the magnetic particles on the tape all of those years.  As the chemical that binds the material to the tape breaks down, so will your VHS memories, too. The sooner you act, the safer you and your videos will be.

Now, there are quite a number of VHS to DVD video converters on the market out there that will rescue your memories quickly and easily – the two most important factors for the busy person like yourself. Some of these can also save you a tremendous amount of money as well – especially compared to the prices of the expensive high end video transfer service companies out in the market. The Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 digital conversion kit meets all of these requirements and satisfies most consumers’ expectations for transferring video that is over a decade old. Honestech comes with hardware and software to convert the video. Most people already have all of the other equipment that is needed. Other required equipment is a VCR or camcorder to play the old videos and a DVD burner, which may already be installed in your computer from when you bought it. You will also need some video editing software but you can use the free editing software that came with your computer.

Here is how it works. The video capture hardware will connect to a VCR or camcorder on one end of the converter box with an “S-Video” cable or a “composite video” cable and a USB 2.0 cable that connects to a PC on the other end of the converter box. All of these cables come with your Honestech. It is that easy. You can even use the system with other media formats such as VHS-C or Beta as long as the device playing those tapes connect to the cables that are used for the VHS format. Usually, this is the case.

So if you need a VHS transfer DVD kit to get your videos converted and doing it yourself sounds doable to you, then the Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 kit is ready for you. Get one today and you will be on your way in no time.

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Home Rental Trials internet tv Netflix satellite television

Seen in a Better Light

More than half of the million millions bits of data that continually enters into our stream of consciousness pass through our eyes. The sense of sight is that important so that when deprived of its use we lose more than half of the world. Our personal universe shrinks considerably.

Since the birth of television many improvements have already been added to provide viewers the clearest images possible. Giant electronics companies are in for a tight race among themselves to come up with the latest in television technology. Starting with black and white pictures they stepped up to deliver brightly colored images in our television screens. It stucked there for a while before a breakthrough was made. This ended with the introduction of LCD TVs. Compared to its bulky predecessors the LCD generation of TVs are conspicuously thinner, had wider viewing angles and more noticeably sharper images enough to make your cat jump when a rat is seen on screen.

With the proliferation of LCDs buyers would find it a bit difficult to decide which brand offers the best features. This is particularly true when it comes to choosing the best 22’ LCD TV. The reliable indicator and guide to determine the best currently available in the market are the feedbacks coming from users themselves. Statistics show that the PANASONIC 26’TV together with the 22’ LCD TV consistently rank numero uno in 90% of raters. These data clearly indicate that the Panasonic brand of TVs is leading the race. When it comes to all around quality in terms of providing high definition images, wider angle access, and affordability Panasonic tops them all.

Given these unique features you will be spared from a lot of hassle before you come to a decision which brand to choose from. Panasonic is the name. So with confidence you now can go right straight to your nearest dealer or to the net so that your choice will be quickly delivered. I am certain you will soon be one of the millions of satisfied customer praising to high heavens the sterling qualities of your 22’ LCD TV or the 26’TV all by Panasonic.

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internet tv Netflix

Instant Netflix’s Internet Takeover

For several years, it seemed like Netflix was in the process of merely killing off the brick and mortar video rental store. As it turns out, this was an understatement: Netflix is in the process of consuming not just video rental stores but the entire internet. With 16 million subscribers as of this October, Instant Netflix is now responsible for 20% of all primetime internet traffic. The service streams video to computers, handheld devices such as the iPad, video game consoles, set-top boxes, televisions, and just about anything and everything else with a screen and an internet connection. Furthermore, out of the 16.9 million people subscribed to Netflix, only 1.8 percent are responsible for this huge amount of bandwidth being consumed every month.

Most signs point to this trend continuing as time passes. To watch Netflix develop as a business in the 2010s will be to watch Netflix cease to be a provider of physical media, moving entirely to the streaming media system it has made so popular recently. As of November 22, Netflix now offers a low cost, DVD-free rental policy for users solely interested in streaming the website’s online content, a marked transition from when the service was a convenient bonus of having a Netflix DVD or Blu-Ray rental account.

In addition, Netflix has raised the cost of its shipping plans, built on how many discs at a time one has (plans can range from 1 disc at a time to upwards of 10) by $1 for lower tiers and by several dollars for plans offering large amounts of physical media. All of this points to the fact that Netflix will gradually phase out the DVDs that it built its reputation (and remarkable selection) on and instead solely function as a provider of online content, an ultimately more cost-effective, environmentally sound, and—for many customers—preferred means by which to receive content.

As a consequence, Netflix will quite possibly face two major hurdles in the next several years. The first is the company’s risk of losing customers who opened Netflix accounts in order to receive actual DVDs. Many users prefer the fidelity and bitrates of DVD (and especially Blu-Ray) over streaming video which lacks the definition and resolution.  There are also those who will find themselves alienated by price increases and perhaps by increasing unavailability of certain films. Losing access to Netflix’s huge selection of films may quickly drive users to other similar services or to specialty physical stores where such shops still exist (I, for example, joined Netflix in 2005 originally so that I could rent movies that I otherwise couldn’t ever find in the town of 3,000 in which I was living at the time).

The real struggle for Netflix’s growth, however, will be the one over bandwidth. As Netflix’s streaming service’s market share continues to grow, its users will continue to move huge amounts of data—a problem considering the increasingly restrictive internet access policies that attempt to meter bandwidth.

Despite these potential hurdles, however, Netflix has found a way to capitalize on emergent streaming media and plentiful bandwidth, leading to a service that its customers have found more useful than the one that the company once offered, and one that still has a fair amount of room to grow. The company’s change in strategy has so far worked extremely well for them, and it’s likely to keep them going well into the next several years.

Andrew Hall is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of technical schools for the Guide to Career Education.

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Netflix Roku DVR

Netflix Roku : Streaming Content as It Should Be

Netflix Roku – Streaming Content as It Should Be

Roku Video Recorder/Player is one of the most desirable devices at this
moment. The Roku for Netflix is so simple and easy to use, we could only play for a few minutes and we were watching a movie.

The Market

To start, we have to understand why it is important for a company that rents videos to be selling boxes for members to instantly watch videos on their televisions. Currently, Netflix has 8 million subscribers, 21% more than last year. The business is based on renting movies by mail, such as Bazooka does in Chile.

However, as efficient as the distribution of the DVDs is, Netflix has a cost that it assumes twice per film, per customer, as the physical DVD has to travel through the US Postal Service. In addition to administrative and logistical costs of managing the inventory, the company waste is great when you consider the volume that they handled daily.

That’s why companies like Netflix and Blockbuster are seeking new ways to distribute their films in a more efficient. Digital distribution is the solution. It is interesting to see how the industry has evolved: First there were neighborhood video libraries, then monopolistic chains, then the mail distribution of DVDs and now the virtual distribution.

The Roku Box roku-netflix-front-new-web

The Roku Video Player is not a media center, not a DVR, it’s no Apple TV. That’s the beauty; it offers so little and is so simple that even the price in U.S. is small, $ 99. With it, you do not buy movies, and renting is complicated by limitations of the DRM failed strategies.

The Roku does only one thing: you can now see over 10 thousand movies, whenever you want, whenever you want and for as long as you want. Netflix in the future wants to add his entire library of 100 thousand movies.

Inside, it has no hard drive, only 32MB of memory used by owners to manage their software and functions. One does not drop or download movies to the device, but you see content in pseudo real-time streaming, Internet Television.

The ports you have are: HDMI, component, composite video, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical. It also has WiFi and runs on an Internet bandwidth from 1.5 Mbps and up.

Installation of The Roku

Short and fast installation: The Roku Video Player plugs into the mainstream TV plugs and into an Ethernet connection to your broadband Internet connection. You log into your computer and your Netflix account, you select the movies to watch, and begin watching movies.

The Roku is only the beginning of a series of other devices that Netflix has already announced and will be available in the coming months in the U.S.

Conclusion

The installation took less than 10 minutes. When you are ready to watch movies, it takes about 2 minutes to start, and image and sound are flawless. It’s a completely seamless experience comparable with any cable or DVD movie.

If you desire to have more than 10 thousand movies available and want to watch them in great quality, buy it quickly without thinking twice. If you want advanced features you find in traditional DVDs and other advanced services, you might want to wait for a more robust solution.

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Nintendo DS

Pokémon Version Platinum: The Next Battle

Pokémon Version Platinum: The Next Battle

There’s more than likely not a child or a teenager alive today who hasn’t heard of Pokémon Platinum or played one of the games. Pokémon, the super successful card and gaming franchise started with a cartoon show and morphed into a video game giant that hundreds of thousands of kids still enjoy. The latest version, Pokémon Platinum, is a fan favorite just like all the others.

The Beginning

For those that are not familiar, Pokémon began with Ash Ketchum and his little Pokémon, Pikachu. An electric rodent, he is one of the most prominent of the charming miniature creatures. Pokémon in Japanese means “pocket monsters.” And since 1995, Pokémon has expanded from the broadcast series featuring a juvenile boy on a quest to become a Pokémon master to the video games and the card games known and cherished across the globe.

Nintendo DS

Pokémon has earned vast amounts of money for Nintendo who introduced the creatures to the video game world years back. Pokémon is considered to be an RPG, or role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has released preceding versions with Ash and his associates traveling to innovative locations and acquiring the latest Pokémon, the most recent versions for the Nintendo DS are Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl. The Pokémon video game series is safe for the whole family and rated E for everyone.

Earlier versions of the Pokémon video games were also released on Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Advance. The Nintendo DS provides two screens for play as well as gorgeous graphics of the new-fangled locations in the latest episode, Distortion World. Since the Pokémon games are RPG, you are battling in the company of your Pokémon against other masters. In the game there is only one player but you can expand this number and play wirelessly with up to twenty other Pokémon players.

Pokémon Premium

Many of the scenes in the newest release are reminiscent of previous versions but there are still the addictive properties of attempting to capture every Pokémon that you can get close to and moving onto the next level. This is what everyone loves the most about Pokémon: We have to catch them all! It surfaced as the mantra in the early stages and is still the motto of all Pokémon lovers today. Pokémon Platinum presents a great story line that continues the narrative as well as interactive conversation for the players.

The designers of Pokémon began with 151 (the genetically engineered MewToo included) and now there are almost 400 unique Pokémon species. Some are evolved characters of an original or second generation Pokémon but all have their own special features that make them difficult in battle. Yes, there is battling. That is what Pokémon training is about, winning battles. Pokémon owners compete against one another in tournaments for the opportunity to be awarded the champion and win a top prize. There are also opportunities to trade Pokémon characters and be awarded new ones at the end of a challenge.

The fame of Pokémon and the Nintendo DS has kept players purchasing the handheld games even with console versions on the market and in homes. How many more prized metals and charms are not parts of Pokémon versions? No one knows but we’ll all need to find more to keep up with the Pokémon franchise.

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Home Rental Trials Netflix

Netflix – DVD Movie Rentals

Rent Unlimited DVDs

With Netflix you have the ability to rent unlimited DVDs over any period of time. Receive in the mail, three DVDs at a time and return each when you are done watching. Then the next DVDs in your online queue will be sent to you. No late fees apply and shipping is free receiving and sending. And new DVDs are delivered in one business day from over 95 shipping sites countrywide.

Netflix Specials

Netflix offers over 100,000 DVD titles from Classics to New Releases to TV Series. Plans start as low as $4.99 a month and you can cancel at any time. No reason not to try the #1 movie rental source in the country for the next 14 days for free. And movies are now available online for you to download and watch immediately. This new feature is part of your free trial.

Netflix
Netflix (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Netflix New Releases

Select from all the newest releases as they become available or even place the DVDs into your online queue prior to their release and they will be mailed as soon as they become available. Netflix out-does the competition on Newly Released movies and their online availability. 8 Million current members cannot be wrong.

Netflix DVD Rental

So if you’re in search of the best online and mail DVD movie options with the least expensive plans and unlimited DVD rentals, Netflix is the perfect program for you.