Chris29

After having a bad batch of Yellow Datawrite DVDs (and speaking to a friend who thinks their quality has dropped recently) I'm currently testing a couple of new DVDs - Ritek 8x and Rivision 16x. Both seem to work fine on my standalone Panasonic DVD - even when copied at 16x. However, I need to check their compatibility accross a number of different DVD players. So, to test this I have decided to give away 6 DVDs. The next 6 people to post on this thread will get a free DVD sent out next week. There are rules though... 1. You can test it on a standalone DVD player - not just on a PC drive. 2. You accept that the DVD may not be compatible - there will be no replacement discs sent out if they do not work. 3. You provide me with feedback as soon as possible - look out particularly for the disc jumping (this will mean watching it all the way through), and check that all the options in the menus work fully without freezing. You can choose from any of the 4 DVDs currently available - check out My Site... Anyone can put their name down for this, whether you have bought DVDs in the past or not. If you already have all the DVDs there is nothing to stop you giving the DVD to a friend (if it works - or and enemy if it doesnt )... So - the first 6 names down here get them... I will PM you to get details.

Depends just how aging your standalone DVD Player is too - could you try it on someone else's DVD player first... Maybe someone with a newer player. About 4 years ago I got an LG DVD player for just over £100. This played original discs with no problem, but wouldn't recognise any kind of home made discs. The DVD market has changed a lot within this time, and you can now pick up a player for around £25 (or less) from Asda which will play everything you throw at it.

This is an extremely confusing area - the whole DVD format has never really been standardised, and current discs (DVD-R / RW, DVD+R / RW and DVD RAM) look like they will be replaced over the next few years by another war between formats for Higher capacity discs (Blu-Ray or HDDVD). Personally, the set up under my TV is Sky+, Panasonic DVD Recorder and a Bush Video. Sky + is amazing and makes it slightly more worth paying the Sky Subscription (I have a nifty trick to upgrade from the bog standard 40gb drive to a 160gb drive too - meaning that upto 80 hours of recordings can be archived). Anything that I want to keep can be copied from Sky+ to DVD overnight... I know that there are now some DVD Recorders available with a Hard Disk which should give you a similar functions to Sky+... (EDIT - like Les says above!) Before looking at the formats, you need to check what formats your DVD writer (if it is a writer...) in your computer takes so that you can go ahead without worrying about compatability between your computer and your stand-alone recorder. If Les', Waz's and my DVDs work in it, then it will accept the DVD-R format with no problem (actually the most compatable format accross different drives, players and recorders). Take a look here for a rundown of the different current formats...

IF ANYONE WANTS ORDERS BEFORE CHRISTMAS Royal Mail First Class last post date is next Tuesday 20th December. However, to be on the safe side (a friend who works at the PO has just told me that they are handling four times the usual amount of Christmas mail - something to do with internet shopping, she reckons), I would recommend that any orders wanted before Christmas are placed before the end of this week. Cheers Chris

Everything seems to be working ok now. Those who put in orders since Friday may have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday for the DVDs to arrive... Has the Xmas post rush started yet? Some were sent out yesterday though. I will email those whose DVDs get sent tomorrow after they have been sent. Sorry for the delay, and thanks for your patience!

It seems my email has been playing up this weekend . Just recieved nine orders which were placed on Friday!!! So, apologies for the delay if I haven't been in touch yet - My DVD burner is working overtime and I'm hoping to get everything out in the post tomorrow...

Here's a game to keep you occupied (a bit like a bugie and a mirror Craig! )... There's a shot of me - very clearly - on one of the Aycliffe meetings. Can you see me? Lets call it 'Find Riggo'

Back online and sorted (touch wood... where's Crasher? I need to tap his bonce )

Currently offline as Paypal links are not providing me with delivery addresses I'll sort it out when I'm home from work, and update here. As far as I can see, all the orders made last night are from people who have made previous orders, so I should still have addresses for them.

Get 'em while they're hot! Initial orders sent out tomorrow or over the weekend. I will be delivering right up to Christmas, but please be aware that you will be relying on Royal Mail 1st Class post - so the earlier the better... Get someone the whole set for Chrimbo!

Thanks for all the comments everyone . In case you are thinking of buying now, I think it's only fair to mention that the next two DVDs will be available at some point this week, so you might want to hold on. DVD3 contains the 1987 F1 Euro Cup from Northampton, 1987 F1 from Long Eaton - both full meetings - and a couple of 1984 races from Baarlo (plus a special 'Bonus Feature' ). DVD4 contains lots of F1 and F2 from Aycliffe between 1985 and 1987 - Skoal Bandits included! - and a F2 race from Hartlepool. I'll post a new topic here when they're ready...

Click here! The first two DVDs are available to buy now. Orders placed before Friday will be sent by the weekend... Cheers! Chris

See here for details of the first DVD which should be ready to ship the first week of November. You can contact me through that site to let me know you are interested...