getting video from hotel channels

If you can`t physically get to the cables then it`s a no. Best bet would be to try to tape the screen - I had some luck with this method in DLP.

Make sure the cameras locked off in a darkened room, with no lights on and manually focus on the screen. You`ll have to play with apature settings to get the right balance, and frame rates to loose the raster line if it`s a CRT, and also manually white balance.

As for audio, either take it live in a silent room (not the best) or take the audio as Dolby did (headphone line perhaps) and edit it in post, as they say.
 
take the audio as Dolby did (headphone line perhaps) and edit it in post, as they say.

I had not even a headphone jack .. so I had to place the mic in front of the tv spaker .. but quality is quite good for that
 
marni1971 said:
You`ll have to play with ... frame rates to loose the raster line if it`s a CRT...

Do all cameras have variable frame rates? I'm looking at all the settings available on my older-model Sony digital HandyCam (DCR-TRV130 NTSC) and I'm not finding any way to adjust the frame rate. I would LOVE to be able to film things off monitors around home without getting the lines.

Lex
 
Lex the Robot said:
marni1971 said:
You`ll have to play with ... frame rates to loose the raster line if it`s a CRT...

Do all cameras have variable frame rates? I'm looking at all the settings available on my older-model Sony digital HandyCam (DCR-TRV130 NTSC) and I'm not finding any way to adjust the frame rate. I would LOVE to be able to film things off monitors around home without getting the lines.

Lex
Sorry - to make it clearer I should have said shutter speed. In lieu of a professional scan sync unit (which I doubt any of us carry around with us) try and tweak the cameras shutter spead. You may find you get flicker and no line which is just as bad, or may get lucky and be able to `hold` the line at the extreme top or bottom of the screen as the raster line comes back around for the next field.
 
Lex, you may be in luck, some Sony camcorders have a little control over the shutter speed. Mine for example, the DCR-TRV17, can be adjusted in the menu under MANUAL SET -> D EFFECT -> SLOW SHTR. It's not precise, but it does the job in a few cases. You may also need to manually adjust the exposure too.

BTW, this setting works WONDERFUL for fireworks. :)
 
I used a Sony DCR-TRV310 to tape Impressions de France flicker free (as can be seen in Martin's tribute) using SLOW SHTR and manual lighting settings.

The first try of Impressions de France was flickering a lot and was unusable. I actually practiced with the settings using the tv in my room. After some practice I was able to record flicker free from the TV. I gave IdF another try later that week with great results. Bear in mind though that I have a PAL camera which might make things a bit different.
 
Thanks for the slow shutter advice everyone. I'm playing around with my camera, which I've owned for years, and learning a tantalizing new possibility thanks to your expertise. I think slow shutter speed 2 works best. I wish I'd known about this a LONG time ago!

Lex
 
Consider a trip to the local Wal-mart - there's one on I-192 in Kissimmee - and buy the cheapest VCR you can find, with a couple of screw-on (unless you want to risk higher signal degradation with cheap push-on) cables. Disconnect the cable from the back of the TV, routing it to the tuner input on the VCR and connect the output from the VCR back to the TV. Perform VCR tuner setup operation and you'll be able to record directly to VHS.

I've done this a couple of times - leaving a $40 VCR behind once - and have fed the composite out and audio signals into my miniDV camcorder for even better results.

The set-top boxes at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort hotels made it even easier - unplug the composite and audio cables from the back of the TV and plug into the inputs on the camcorder... I had to monitor via the camcorder LCD and speaker but it worked great.

Things aren't always as bolted down as they originally appear. A pair of pliers and a multi-bit screwdriver can usually make the cable connection on the back of the TV available... I rarely travel without them in my checked luggage.

A more "permanent" solution which doesn't involve throw-away hardware might be to find a USB TV tuner - make sure it tunes "cable" as well as over-the-air analog and digital (HDTV) channels. Set it up on your laptop and route the cable from the wall to the USB tuner. You'd then use whatever PVR application is supported by your hardware to record the channels. After proper channel setup you might find - depending on the resort - an "extra" channel which isn't programmed into your room TV: the "keep kids occupied in the lobby" channel which shows cartoons and Disney movies 24x7. It's good to explore. ;)
 
Just curious...

Does anyone know how the TVs are bolted down? (type of bolt, screw, etc...)

If I know what kind of tool to pack, I could take a DVR on my next vacation and get some good source stuff.
 
dolbyman said:
I had the same problem in paris .. I gave up and only got the audio :-/
Paris' are the only hotels where I've tried and not gotten anything...and I even had a local friend bringing me cables and his VCR, trying to see if maybe it was a SECAM thing. Nuttin'.
 
the above solutions wont work if you have either a "secured" the set that just doesn't have any removable cables .. it's just the power and the antenna cable, but you can unplug them (like in paris)


also hotel tv (with localized playout center) can't be recorded that way (only if the tv set has video/audio outputs
 
So, you can unplug the cable cord from the back of the TV? Because then you can put the cable directly into the back of a VCR or DVR and tell the device which channel to record, right?
 
in paris there was no way to unplug these cables .. they were secured (some locked box behind the tv)
 
abovethefirehouse said:
USB tuner huh?  when would you find one or know if you need it?  i wish more hotels let you have composit out or s-video ;)

Check out Fry's Electronics, Best Buy or  the 'net before your next trip. Lots of tuners out there, usually sold as "watch TV on your computer" gadgets. You'll probably want one which handles as many standards (NTSC, PAL, SECAM) and operating modes (analog and digital) as possible if you plan to do much traveling with it... Disney's "World" is multi-standard. A quick Google for "USB TV TUNER" shows TerraTech, Hauppauge, HP, Ads Tech, and many other manufacturers. I don't currently have one so I can't recommend one over another.


From my experiences at WDW and TDR (and HKDLR):

WDW value and moderate resorts: you need a tuner of some kind (VCR, DVR, or USB/laptop) and probably a couple of tools to disconnect furniture from the wall before disconnecting the coax from the back of the set. I haven't encountered any coax locks - metal sleeves which make it difficult to disconnect the coax - at WDW but that doesn't mean that there aren't any.

TDR Ambassador and MiraCosta: they use the NTSC standard in Japan so I was able to disconnect the TV side of the RCA cables coming from the set-top box and connect to my US camcorder. I had to monitor the recording on the camera - my Sony only has a single jack for input and output - but it worked well at both of the official "Disney" hotels.

TDR "partner" hotels: There was a resort channel at the Mitsui Garden Hotel Prana, but no way of recording it without a tuner. I'd imagine that a USB tuner or VCR would work but prices are higher in Japan (from just a bit to extremely) than in the US on consumer electronics so I didn't attempt to find a solution.

HKDLR Disneyland Hotel: All the rooms had plasma or lcd panels directly connected to the coax, thus my suggestion of a USB tuner which can handle multiple standards - Hong Kong uses PAL - and modes to give yourself a decent chance. I didn't carry a laptop with me so the USB trick didn't work and I didn't have time to wrangle up a VCR... maybe next time. Consumer electronics are much more affordable in Hong Kong so buying something there to keep or leave behind might have been worth it.


I've yet to find a hotel anywhere which has intentionally provided composite or S-Video outputs but most of the resort-area hotels have inputs which can be used for camcorder or DVD playback. They're not interested in enabling you to transport their content out.
 
I don't this is the right tool ... it has only on input (for the terrestical hd thing) .. but no composite,Y/c or analog tuner
 
abovethefirehouse said:
saw a cool one here.

http://www.plextor.com/english/products/px-hdtv500u.html

This one looks extremely flexible if you're a Mac user:

http://pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/PCTV+Tuners/PCTV+Mac/Pinnacle+TV+for+Mac+HD+Stick+Documents/Technical+Specifications/Pinnacle+TV+for+Mac+HD+Stick+tech+specs.htm

Don't know why they don't have a PC version with PAL and SECAM support.
 
that looks nice ..


I took this one to paris (but it had no use)

http://hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_usb2.html
 
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