20-06-2021, 01:23 PM
Let me start by pointing out that I am very much a novice in TV matters. Radios, amps etc are fine, but TV is still a black art!
I have two 405-line sets, Pamphonic as you might have guessed. One is a lovely Pam T958 12" set from 1955, based on the Pye V2. The other is a 17" Pam 600 from 1959.
When asked to demonstrate either set by visitors, I have been in the habit of cranking up a tangled heap of dvd player(s), freeview boxes, Aurora/Hedghog and lots of wires and power supplies. My go-to DVDs are of course the lovely ones distrubuted as part of my BVWS subscription from about 2004 to 2016. So in an attempt to make things simpler and tidier, I started looking at other sources. I wondered whether a tiny media payer based on an SD card might work, fed into an Aurora or Hedghog converter/modulator.
The spec was fairly simple:
- able to deliver many hours of material without intervention
- all files on easy to manage media (SD card)
- able to play files from standard DVDs (eg .vob etc)
- composite video and discrete audio outputs (not HDMI)
- compact, to fit in an overall box with Aurora and psu(s)
- optional remote control
My current experiments use a £14 "Mini HD PLayer" I bought on Ebay last year. The current model is probably something like this one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133408000135?...SwBAFeuTVH
It fits all the above criteria. I had a spare 32Gb micro-SD card from a defunct Android phone, and have used that, in an "adapter" that bulks it up to full SD size. A 32Gb card can hold virtually all the BVWS DVD films.
I did look at the flashy Android based media players, but it's clear that they expect a nice colour HD display, as their menus rely on minute icons. The menu system on the more modest player I am using is easily usable on old B&W screens. Stick to the simpler tech in this instance.
All I had to do was put each DVD in the pc, look for the .vob files and just copy those. The smaller files can be copied but are not necessary. The media player has a simple onscreen interface where you can chose the directory (if used) and the file you want to play. The player can also act as an audio source if you just want sound for radio sets, via a pantry-set transmitter.
So far the results are very good. The only issue is that the picture looks as if its displaying low on the screen, with a gap at the top. And on the older TV the audio is low, so may need a tweak. It's certainly a compact way of generating video to demonstrate older TVs. I have yet to box it all up in one unit but that's in train.
I would be interested in any comments, especially from anyone why has experimented with this route.
-Jeremy
I have two 405-line sets, Pamphonic as you might have guessed. One is a lovely Pam T958 12" set from 1955, based on the Pye V2. The other is a 17" Pam 600 from 1959.
When asked to demonstrate either set by visitors, I have been in the habit of cranking up a tangled heap of dvd player(s), freeview boxes, Aurora/Hedghog and lots of wires and power supplies. My go-to DVDs are of course the lovely ones distrubuted as part of my BVWS subscription from about 2004 to 2016. So in an attempt to make things simpler and tidier, I started looking at other sources. I wondered whether a tiny media payer based on an SD card might work, fed into an Aurora or Hedghog converter/modulator.
The spec was fairly simple:
- able to deliver many hours of material without intervention
- all files on easy to manage media (SD card)
- able to play files from standard DVDs (eg .vob etc)
- composite video and discrete audio outputs (not HDMI)
- compact, to fit in an overall box with Aurora and psu(s)
- optional remote control
My current experiments use a £14 "Mini HD PLayer" I bought on Ebay last year. The current model is probably something like this one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133408000135?...SwBAFeuTVH
It fits all the above criteria. I had a spare 32Gb micro-SD card from a defunct Android phone, and have used that, in an "adapter" that bulks it up to full SD size. A 32Gb card can hold virtually all the BVWS DVD films.
I did look at the flashy Android based media players, but it's clear that they expect a nice colour HD display, as their menus rely on minute icons. The menu system on the more modest player I am using is easily usable on old B&W screens. Stick to the simpler tech in this instance.
All I had to do was put each DVD in the pc, look for the .vob files and just copy those. The smaller files can be copied but are not necessary. The media player has a simple onscreen interface where you can chose the directory (if used) and the file you want to play. The player can also act as an audio source if you just want sound for radio sets, via a pantry-set transmitter.
So far the results are very good. The only issue is that the picture looks as if its displaying low on the screen, with a gap at the top. And on the older TV the audio is low, so may need a tweak. It's certainly a compact way of generating video to demonstrate older TVs. I have yet to box it all up in one unit but that's in train.
I would be interested in any comments, especially from anyone why has experimented with this route.
-Jeremy
Jeremy. G8MLK. BVWS Secretary. British Vintage Wireless and TV Museum Friend.
Pamphonic Website ______________ BTTT OB Truck Restoration
Pamphonic Website ______________ BTTT OB Truck Restoration
