[K-Bat]

My 3-year old son loves to watch DVD movies, but the problem is that my Ti 1Ghz is the only DVD device in the house, and, as such, he takes over my PB during good part of each weekend. Very sad situation for me and for such an incredible computer.

We aren't heavy TV watchers, and our TV set doesn't have ports that take video signals from a DVD player...and we don't want to invest any money on a new TV set/cheap DVD player which we will rarely watch anyway.

Long story short, I need to get a PC w/ DVD player, but, as a Mac-only user since 1993, I have no clue as to the price, specs, models, stores, etc. I don't want to pay a dime more than I need to get a PC capable of running DVDs on Windows XP (good for Microsoft's Remote Desktop program). I went to eBay, but I was simply lost in the sea of unfamiliar models.

I appreciate if those among you guys who know the dark side well can give me some pointers. I have a CRT monitor so I guess I'm only looking for a CPU box. Thanks very much!

[Mark E]

you can probably get a DVD player and a 14-inch TV set for the same price as a computer. ($150? $200?) i'd go for that.. it'll also be a lot easier for your son to use, i'd imagine.

-Mark

[The Godfather]

First of all you have to drop the bad attitude against "Pee Cees". Go over to Dell.com for the cheapest, no-hassle PCs. BTW, the PC you want is never going to be cheaper than a new TV + DVD player.

[mixin visuals]

Originally posted by The Godfather:
First of all you have to drop the bad attitude against "Pee Cees".

no he doesn't. most people have those attitudes because they have used pee cee's before.

[IUJHJSDHE]

I don't much get the "I hate PC" "Oh no I need to get a pc" attitude.

I like pc's, I just don't like windows

You sure you can't get something to use a DVD Player with your TV?

[Mark E]

Originally posted by IUJHJSDHE:
You sure you can't get something to use a DVD Player with your TV?

yes, you can buy a little device that converts composite video (ie, RCA) and audio to an RF signal. they're about $50 i think.

-Mark

[K-Bat]

Thanks guys. I've been actually using all kinds of PCs at my work for years (not that I'm good at PCs), and have found them incredibly painful to use. May be I should blame my university's LAN tech team for my bad experience.

My thought about getting a PC instead of TV/DVD combo was that getting (comparatively) cheap PC would would be good for my son who is getting more and more attracted to comptuers these days...after all, having more options of things to do w/ computers sounds much better than sitting still for hourse in front to TV.

I went to Dell website as suggested and checked out their outlet units which run around $500-600. I assume these should be pretty reliable and the support service is a plus, but what do you guys think about those cheaper PCs from less-known manufacturers? (I saw many of them on eBay) Should these machines be reserved only for PC gear heads and just painful for average users? Thanks.

[IUJHJSDHE]

Originally posted by Mark E:
yes, you can buy a little device that converts composite video (ie, RCA) and audio to an RF signal. they're about $50 i think.

-Mark

Yeah thats what I am talking about, And watching it on a TV must be better. (Which is why I love that I can hook my ibook into one )

[K-Bat]

Our TV at least has a remote but beyond that there's nothing but only one inlet for coaxial cable. Does a coax cable carry RF signals (re: Marks' comment)? Sorry for being lame, but this $50 solution sounds very promissing.

[CyberDave]

Originally posted by K-Bat:
Our TV at least has a remote but beyond that there's nothing but only one inlet for coaxial cable. Does a coax cable carry RF signals (re: Marks' comment)? Sorry for being lame, but this $50 solution sounds very promissing.

Yes, coax carries RF signals (that's the whole point). What you want is called an "RF Modulator" (which modulates the comosite video and L/R audio from the RCA jacks on the DVD player into an RF signal that the TV can actually use). Standard Radio Shack RF Modulator is about $30. Some places have the same thing, too (sometimes under different names). I would be shocked if places like Best Buy, Circuit City, et al didn't carry RF modulators.

CyberDave

[Mark E]

Originally posted by K-Bat:
Does a coax cable carry RF signals?

yup, sure does.

i know of a site here in the UK that sells them, don't know of a US one though.

http://www.threedoubleyou.com/rfmodulators.htm

try looking on google?

-Mark

[K-Bat]

Thank you all for helpful comments. I'll grab one of these converters (and a cheap DVD player) this weekend.
I guess I lost a chance to be a proud owner of a Windows machine. May be next time...

[daimoni]

.

[K-Bat]

Daimoni, we made a 5-hour trip a few weeks ago with our two kids (3 & 1). Before the trip my wife and I were trying to strategize things in order to control the noise level coming from the back seat, and one of the ideas my wife came up was to "velcro" my Ti 1Ghz to the back of a front seat and play DVD movies! She even suggested that we could get one of these cigar lighter adapters to power up the thing.... Well...no thanks. I guess I was mistaken in thinking that it was only my son who didn't understand the value of my powerbook. She's too gotta learn a lot! I'll certainly look into a portable DVD player you suggested in a long run. Thanks.

[todrain]

I was about to suggest the portable DVD Player too... lots of places sell them starting less than $300, and they can go anywhere!