Today, we joined the digital revolution by buying a Freeview set top box. That should please my TV geek brothers!
Unfortunately, there are two teensy-weensy problems with our installation:
- We’ve got a really old telly – in fact so old that our burglars five years ago left it behind. So it’s only got one SCART port. We therefore have to unplug the SCART from the set-top box and plug in the SCART from the DVD each time we want to watch a DVD. I have resorted to cabling diagrams to understand the spaghetti behind the telly.
- We have quite an old aerial that is considerably shorter than it used to be due to a rusty aerial post, and it won’t pick up quite a few channels, such as ITV*, C4, E4, FilmFour. In compensation, at least QVC works. It looks like we will need a new aerial.

[Web 2.0 diagramming with Gliffy.com]
I understand computers, but home entertainment systems leave me all confused. But I’ll work at it and we might spend many a winters evening happily digi-surfing.
You can get scart splitters, should help a bit.
It’s either that or a new idTV – and that might allow us to view the wide format DVDs better. Maybe in the post-Christmas sales?
Agree with Mark. Get yourself a little switchable scart splitter. That’s what we have. Or try plugging the DVD into the video and watch it through that. Or a massive plasma screen. Remember: the bigger they are the harder to nick.
It’s a very pretty flow chart. But I’m not geeky enought to draw one. Not geeky in that way, anyway.
Guess who wants his wife to buy him a plasma screen for Christmas….?
I have this fantasy of the top of our fireplace opening up and a nice plasma unfolding…
Yes, Rog is thinking of removing our original painting as it’ll cramp the plasma screen style. Ho hum! Mind you, our current TV has a chip in it from when your niece got stroppy with me and threw a stone at it…
Come on then. Who wants his wife to buy him a plasma screen for Christmas?
I had, once, just once, mentioned the thought of a modern ‘fireplace’ with a flat screen above. Can’t figure out how to make the wiring neat though.
Plasma unfolding? Will that be unfolding from behind the shark-infested tank, and showing a plan for world domination?