**** BEGIN LOGGING AT Tue Mar 10 02:59:57 2009 Mar 10 04:12:09 ahoy! Any1 alive in here to answer a few quick Q's? Mar 10 04:12:44 Maybe Mar 10 04:13:09 Actually, it's just me and the bots Mar 10 04:14:06 G'day there. I have not got a beyonwiz but am looking..... Mar 10 04:14:38 Looks like you record to internal hdd then send to PC then burn to DVD....correct? Mar 10 04:14:51 no ability to burn direct to DVD? Mar 10 04:15:09 Yes, you can do that - there is no model with a DV burner. Mar 10 04:15:16 s/DV/DVD/ Mar 10 04:15:44 s/DV/DVD/ <----- ?????? Mar 10 04:15:50 But, even the model with DVD-ROM (DP-S1) is not worth the extra price. Mar 10 04:16:20 Substitute "DV" with "DVD" in the line above Mar 10 04:17:02 So the S1 has DVD but only for playing? And it is heaps more huh? Mar 10 04:17:56 DP-S1 is pretty much a DP-P1 with wireless network and DVD-ROM. Both the DVD-ROM and wireless networking are a bit sucky. I also think that the DP-P1 case looks nicer than the DP-S1 Mar 10 04:18:48 You are better off saving some money and choosing DP-P1 or DP-P2, then using an external wireless bridge (if you need wireless network) and buying a BluRay player instead of bothering with DVDs. Mar 10 04:18:51 and the P2? Mar 10 04:18:58 sorry Mar 10 04:19:04 did not see reply Mar 10 04:19:42 P2 has the ability to record from analogue sources (such as old VCR or Foxtel/Austar). The P1 can not do that. Mar 10 04:21:09 The P2 will only record standard definition from composite or S-Video source, so the quality will be limited by that connection (i.e best case scenario, as good as DVD) Mar 10 04:22:22 However, the recording format on the P2 is more advanced than what is used on DVD. It uses AVC / H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10 compression. That gives you high quality in small files, but needs fairly modern hardware to play back. Mar 10 04:22:49 Personally, I think the DP-P1 is the best choice. Mar 10 04:23:45 How good is the streaming from PC? does it need to buffer then play? Can you skip back and forth in real time? Mar 10 04:27:21 I have a NAS box with 1TB drive. I have no problems with 720p MKV content in realtime streaming. Some 1080i content is fine, some will struggle in spots - it depends on the encoding. MPEG-2 tends to be ok H.264 can have troubles if the encoding is not quite up to scratch. 1080p is not all that great over network. You can copy content to the local HDD, which should help, but I haven't bothered with that. Mar 10 04:27:31 I just use my laptop to play 1080p Mar 10 04:29:00 The Beyonwiz will only output 50 or 60 fps, so 24p content usually ends up being a little jerky - that's why I prefer to use the laptop, which can be set to 1080p24 Mar 10 04:30:14 But, the Beyonwiz is certainly a great PVR and a decent media player. It's amazing how much the guys squeezed from an old chipset. Most manufacturers can't get that much functionality even from the latest chips. Mar 10 04:39:32 can you upsize the internal hdd? Mar 10 04:46:48 Yep. 500GB seems to be popular in the P1. I have 320GB which I find enough. You can always move things off to the network and then stream directly from the NAS/PC. That works well enough even for HD content recorded from TV. Mar 10 04:50:48 do you have wireless network? also do you just put bigger hdd in and format from menu? Mar 10 04:54:11 Yes, HDD upgrade is as simple as plug in and say yes to "Format HDD?" You can also use external HDD in USB enclosure to copy / play files. Mar 10 04:54:39 I've used the Beyonwiz with wireless, but have it currently connected to a wired network. Mar 10 04:56:56 is that because of speed or dropouts or anything? Mar 10 04:57:29 I may have to set one up wirless and would like to know what modem etc to get. Mar 10 04:58:10 The DP-S1 wireless is not all that great. If you need wireless, you are better off connecting an external wireless bridge to the Ethernet port. I heard of people having problems with connecting to some WPA/WPA2 access points and drop outs. It's not all that fast either. Mar 10 04:59:47 I've had good success with a D-Link DWL-G810 wireless bridge connecting to a D-Link 2100AP access point - the two devices can do 108 Mbps wireless which for me was fast enough to stream HD video. Mar 10 05:01:35 I've had no issues with DP-S1 wireless connecting to Billion 7402 modem with WPA and doing SD streaming, but it's not fast enough to sustain HD. That could be the Billion though, I find it's not the fastest wireless solution around. Mar 10 05:01:47 It was reliable enough though. Mar 10 05:11:40 thanks for the info. I may pester you again. Searching the net on and off at the moment. Mar 10 05:20:39 You'll get all your questions answered on the Beyonwiz forums. Mar 10 05:20:52 It's quite an active community. **** ENDING LOGGING AT Wed Mar 11 02:59:57 2009