with DVD, CD-DA, CD-MP3 and CD-RW with a bunch of exceptions on the cd-rw
" Some PC application files on cd-r or cd-rw cannot be accepted by the unit,
e.g. cd-rom under pc Windows etc."
What the heck does that mean?
Hard to say but I think it means that some files read by windows cant
be read by the player. Obviously exe files etc that can run under
windows cant run in your player since its not a PC.
Compact Disk digital Audio?
Its hard to comment on upgrades since you live in the UK ? Dont know
the prices and availabilty of stuff there. But Im sure its not totally
different. You can slightly older generation stuff thats pretty cheap
and much better than your system and still very good.
A fairly old board would be based on the VIA KT133a chipset.
Which use older memory PC 133 . This may or maynot save you money.
Strangely memory is rising here and where , a little while ago they
were almost paying you take it off their hands with numerous free
after rebate deals - seems like the constant talk of cutting back the
glut of supply of memory has happened or something - cause prices
seem fairly stable and rising. Actually you can find some cheap deals
but the old PC 100 and PC 133 memory chips can be really high if you
dont find the right sale. Ive seen some around $39-70
A newer generation motherboard - with the chipsets the VIA 333 or
400. These can be pretty cheap. $39-100. These use DDR memory
2100,2700 etc. The faster memory is more expensive and so are
namebrand memory sticks.
Nforce2 boards - there are some cheap ones too.
Its about whats available in your area and balancing the tradeoff of
price , chipset - newer or older vs. brands of motherboards (name
brands probably better and more expensive) .
You might want to get a Nforce2 board with video and sound builtin to
lower costs. If you can then it might be say $80-90. You can upgrade
later.
1) Motherboard - 80-90
2) Memory 256 DDR 2100 - $25
3) Case - $60-80
4) Another Hard disk - 40-60 gigs
You can easily get around the $1 a gig price here.
5) CPU - AMD XP 1700 or so its around $47 here without fanand
heatsink.
Keep your monitor if its OK.
Keep your Bigfoot as additional space though 10 gigs
isnt much.
Keep keyboard and mouse - if they are OK.
Keep CDRW.
You can of course add a DVD drive and or new burner
like a Liteon 52x.
Keep the modem - here the software modems are really cheap.
Well if you just go buy one its often $20-40 but wait for the weekly
sale and its $10-15 or free after rebate.
About $200-300.
-----------------------------------
DVD players
Old ones often cant play CDRs but many can play CDRWs.
New ones - most can play CDRs to some degree.
Theres one well known brand here and some similar cheapo generic makes
- APEX and similar makes like Lenoxx etc were introduced in the US as
the $49 DVD player which had more features than the high end units
(except progressive scan of course) . These could play almost any
format and was very good at playing CDRs too. Incredible bargain at a
time when even high end brands couldnt often play CDRs.
Now most high end or namebrands in the low end and mid end - can play
CDRs. Then whynot just buy APexes and Lenoxxs ? Well - they are
CHEAP. Their overall quality control wasnt the greatest. Mine was
atrocious though it had mindboggling features and could play anything.
It wouldnt respond to controls properly etc. Felt like a beta unit.
There are similar stories Ive read but others have gotten good units.
But besides that - you cant expect tons of features AND the best
picture and sound for $49. The sound is OK for most and so is the
pic. Nothing wrong with it but top quality - nope.
If you are on a budget though - get one. Just test it out so its not a
lemon. The lower end Sonys and JVCs and Panasonics are fine though -
but cost a bit more. Ive got a Apex, Panasonic RV30 (good but older -
cant play CDRs ) and a newer Pioneer 656a - excellent but its $159
here but far more expensive in Europe where it also has SACD with
DVD-A features.
You can download movies , avis, mpgs etc and burn them to disc and
play them. Or audio etc. with readily available software with a
burner.
You can even back up DVDs and burn them to CDRs though thats not
really kosher. But theres lots of free software and commercial
software that will allow you to do that.
Also like to find out more about downloading movies? I've found a
couple
etc.
SVCD is about the minimum quality I would go for and that often equals
two CDRs or more. Thats over 1 gig to download on a modem !
Even with cable its a bit of a chore.
Probably better to backup stuff and laboriously download the
occasional flick here and there which may take days and days of 24
hour download sessions !
In the US cable is the best deal usually. Its around $35-45 a month.
