WAAAAY off topic

[Capn Trips]

Well, I had the pleasure of being welcomed to Europe's "kindler, gentler" sensibilities this past weekend when I had my house broken into and much of my electronic equipment stolen. Of the list in my signature below, I am now without my Plasma, Pioneer A-V Receiver, my region-free/macrovision-disabled Pioneer Laserdisc/DVD player, my Scientific Atlanta AFN Satellite box and my Sony Hi8 camcorder, in addition to one of our three family computers and two digital cameras.

The thieves also took my HTPro ($7.99 way back when) - programmed with extender 1 for my HT setup, but left all of the OEM remotes that were readily available right there. I'm not sure the HTPro will do them much good after the first battery change.

The bad news -
(1) bad guys broke into my home and took some stuff. If it has not ever happened to you (as it had not to me) the sense of personal violation is profound.
(2) Nobody was home, and nobody was hurt (they appear to have run off right in the middle of dismantling computers 2 and 3, so they must have been startled by something/body)
(3) They stole my AFN BOX RIGHT BEFORE BOWL SEASON!

The good news (from a "glass is half-full guy") -
(0) They did NOT trash the house.
(1) I have pretty good insurance ("replacement value")
(2) They unplugged everything they could and there was a minimum of "ripped out" cords and cables (just parallel printer cables from computers, which is making recovery of one of the computers a bit challenging.)
(3) The Plasma was NOT HD (843 pixel max horizontal vice the required 1080 resolution) and I had been wondering how to approach the spouse about an upgrade to true Hi-Def.
(4) The Plasma is 110v only(!) and they did NOT take the power cord, so they will not have the immediate visual clue that the plug is NOT a british plug. If they do not read the back panel data closely, I take some perverse pleasure in imagining them taking a standard british power cord and plugging the thing into a 220v socket.
(5) The camcorder was "only" Hi8 so now I can upgrade to a digital camcorder.
(6) The receiver, although it had component video switching, did not have HDMI or DVI handling, so I get to upgrade that, as well.
(7) They did not get the IMPORTANT computers, that had all of our personal financial information on them (?!?). Even though it's password-protected and encrypted, I would hate to have to try to recreate all of those data from scratch (!)

All things considered, it could have been much worse, as they left behind enough stuff that we can still do/watch what we want.

Lessons learned:
(1) Do not keep keys near the door in your house;
(2) Backup important computer files frequently;
(3) Get an alarm system if you can (our landlord refuses, but I have no leverage to force him to do so, and am moving out in 6 months. Rest assured, MY home will soon have one)
(4) Mark your valuable electronic gear with engraving or UV permanent marker or some other such technique with unique identifiers (NOT your Social Security Number!) that make them (a) more easily traceable, and (b) less easily "fence"-able. Follow this up by advertising that fact on the exterior of your house (Most local police stations can help you with appropriate markers and window stickers)
(5) Have good insurance.

Now it's off to shop for replacement gear - it may be a merry Christmas for me after all!

[The Robman]

I'm really sorry to hear about this Capn, I hope you get everything back to normal as soon as possible.

[Mark Pierson]

bad guys broke into my home and took some stuff. If it has not ever happened to you (as it had not to me) the sense of personal violation is profound.

I, too, am sorry to hear of your troubles. While I've never experienced a home break-in, I've endured a vehicle break-in and know all to well about the "sense of personal violation"... it's a terrible feeling.

Like they say, though, every dark cloud has a silver lining. Hopefully you can get yourself some new gear and ease the pain.

The thieves also took my HTPro ($7.99 way back when) - programmed with extender 1 for my HT setup, but left all of the OEM remotes that were readily available right there. I'm not sure the HTPro will do them much good after the first battery change.

We'll have to be on the lookout for requests from new JP1 users in the UK!

[zaphod7501]

Really sorry to hear of your situation.

From a technical replacement standpoint, have you backed up your analog Hi-8 tapes? The only digital machine capable of playing the analog tapes in the USA has been the Sony DCR-TRV480 (digital recording and analog/digital playback).

I don't know what the PAL equivalent model would be but analog playback might be an important consideration. Hi8 only machines seem to be available here for about $240 US but the Digital 8 only machine (DCR-TRV280) seems to be the only one stocked right now. Regardless of any advertising, D8 and MiniDV use the same recording format so MiniDV will not necessarily give a better image that D8 and creating DVDs will yield about the same result with all three formats (D8, Hi8, MiniDV --> DVD @ 720x576 for PAL).

[Capn Trips]

Thanks for the comiseration, guys.

Yeah, I know the Hi8 videos will be a PITA to deal with. Back when digital camcorders were just getting started, I considered upgrading to a Digital 8 model for the backwards compatibility. (Mine are all NTSC, not PAL) I see ony one model currently sold, but have yet to focus on what I'm gonna do. I may just suck it up and buy a Hi8 VCR on eBay (although they go for ridiculously high prices!) and do the complete switch to a future-looking digital format, since I don't believe D8 will last.

Not yet at that stage, however. Still trying to gather enough "proof" for the insurance company to prove I really owned this stuff, and that I really paid for it. (Of course, the Plasma and DVD/LD player were second-hand eBay purchases, so although I have PayPal proof, it's still a tough sell - and who keeps original purchase receipts for 5 years? (I will from now on.))

[whompus]

Sorry to hear this capn.

If you do decide to go hi8 vcr. I have been thinking about one myself. I have been looking at the Sony GV D800. Because I have v8, hi8, and d8 videos. I have put most of them on dvd but am more concerned with the lifespan of the dvd's in storage then the tapes.

[greenough1]

Yikes. I am sorry to hear about this...

Regarding the Hi-8 conversion, I have a huge number of standard 8mm tapes covering the past 10years or so. I just upgraded to a digital camcorder. I settled on the canon elura 100. It will allow me to input the 8mm tape playback from my old sony 8mm camcorder via the A/V inputs and record it to miniDV (format for the new canon). Then I can upload via usb to the computer for burning to DVD. Not an optimal solution as it'll only allow conversion in 1hr bites (max time for miniDV tape), but workable over time. Just another item to think about...

Best,
jeff

[vickyg2003]

Capn Trips,

I'm so sorry to hear this. I don't know anything about the equipment you are talking about, as ususual this stuff is way over my head, but I do know what its like to have a break in. They did take a lot more than equipment, they took your peace of mind.

Vicky

[ElizabethD]

Capn Trips, while it's great to hear that nobody was hurt, I feel for you the abuse from the thugs (and now the insurance guys (receipts, they must be kidding )). But the HTPro is irreplacable
It's all so sad. Like others, I hope this ends better than well for you.