Personal Media Solutions

Vinyl Records are part of Peoples History.

martinwallman — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:01:56 +0000

I met up with Ian Crocker of www.absolutelearning.co.uk at the Fairmile in Cobham today at one of those great Business Biscotti meetings ( www.businessbiscotti.co.uk ). He showed me an article about someone who lost their entire vinyl record collection of 1600 discs! When I say lost, actually they were destroyed by US Customs whilst being shipped from the UK to Tucsan. The article goes on to explain how the records had be carefully collected and cataloged over his lifetime and now, copies had to found of each one to rebuild the collection again. The full article can be found on http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2012/apr/22/vinyl-records-lost-ed-vulliamy?INTCMP=SRCH

Now I love vinyl records. Nothing can replace that feeling of removing the disc, cleaning it, putting it onto the deck and carefully turning on the record player, ensuring that the needle drops gently into the lead in part of the groove. The sound really is smoother in some way compared to a digitised low bit rate MP3. However, if the vinyl is played and digitised well, at high bit rates, e.g. WAV or FLAC files, not only can it sound pretty good, you can listen to it without wearing down your precious records and most importantly, if anything should happen to your precious collection, you have a backup copy. I would certainly strongly recommend anybody with a vinyl collection, to get it digitised and have a backup copy stored offsite. When we digitise vinyl records we even split the tracks up and name them and add the album art, so you have a folder with artist, then album, then named tracks to import into iTunes or Windows Media Player etc. It is not expensive and our standard offering includes track names etc – more on http://www.personalmediasolutions.co.uk/

Do you need help in choosing the right TV to get connected to your media and the internet?

martinwallman — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:10:13 +0000

Choosing the right smart internet connected TV to buy can be a fun task. However, the list of features and specifications has increased enormously over the years, which makes choosing more complex. Many years ago, beyond the size and look of a TV, there were few other things to consider. Now you have LCD, LED LCD, Plasma, Projectors, Freeview, Freeview HD, Freesat, Freesat HD , Full HD resolution, applications, internet connectivity, smartphone remote control applications etc etc. If you do wish to connect your TV to your home network and the internet, which will increasingly be more and more useful, then one thing to look out for is DLNA compatibility. Digital Living Network Alliance® (DLNA) began in 2003 when a collection of companies from around the world agreed that they all made better products when those products were compatible. The latest version of the DLNA Interoperability Guidelines, version 1.5, was published in March 2006, and then expanded in October 2006. These guidelines enlarge the capabilities of a DLNA-defined network to include more home and mobile devices. To see what products are DLNA certified have a look on http://www.dlna.org/products/ If you want help with designing and installing a home media network system then contact us on http://www.personalmediasolutions.co.uk/

Nepali Connections Exhibition, Surrey Heath Museum, Camberley, 21st Apr-30th June

martinwallman — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:38:44 +0000

If you are interested in Nepal, its people and culture, then you can view the Nepali Connections Exhibition at Surrey Heath Museum, Camberley from 21st April to 30th June 2012. As part of the exhibition, you can watch a 20 minute film of a trek in Nepal on the Annapurna circuit. This film was produced and edited by Personal Media Solutions of Camberley from video footage, photos and music. More information on http://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/leisure/tourism/shm/ExhibitionsAndEvents.htm

UK TV over the Internet Explored

martinwallman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:33:44 +0000

The different options for UK viewers to get TV over the internet are growing really fast. Here is a very good summary of what is available http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/internettv.html If you need any help with setting or connecting things up go to http://www.personalmediasolutions.co.uk/

Netflix now on Sony PS3

martinwallman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:05:12 +0000

The Sony PS3 has always been an very good HD Media Player. The addition on Netflix this month means for a relatively small monthly premium you can get a lot of films and TV content. The Netflix site https://signup.netflix.com/HowItWorks says it is also available on Wii, Xbox, PC, Mac, iPad, Apple TV.

The Connected Home and internet TV

martinwallman — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:17:52 +0000

The Connected Home has been a long time coming. The internet connected TV will play a major role. Intellect http://www.intellectuk.org/ who represent the UK Technology Industry is saying that “the connected home is potentially the next big technology revolution. It could dramatically change many aspects of our daily lives. It is a networked home to which multiple services are delivered over superfast broadband. These connected services range from entertainment to education, home automation and security to healthcare, interacting with government and controlling our energy use.” They have produced some recommendations in a clear document http://www.intellectuk.org/connectedhome/

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martinwallman — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:56:26 +0000

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Excellent BBC iPlayer update for Sony PS3

martinwallman — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:02:23 +0000

There is a new software update on the Sony Playstation PS3 which includes an update to the BBC iPlayer interface. To be frank it is very very good. It is easy to navigate, search and to play content with the “proper” remote. Make sure you go into settings and set to HD (assuming you have a reasonable broadband download speed of many Mbps).

UK government to legalise ‘format shifting’

martinwallman — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:54:47 +0000

The British government has said that it plans to overhaul the country’s archaic copyright laws, making it legal to copy music and DVDs that people own to storage devices such as iPods and computers. So far, Britons have been copying music and movies from DVDs to other devices, perhaps unaware that it was illegal to do so. The government said that it plans to legalise ‘format-shifting’, reported The New York Times. Business secretary Vince Cable said, “We can’t carry on saying that businesses should embrace technology but then not allow consumers to use everyday technology to play works they’ve paid for.” http://media.cbronline.com/news/britain-to-allow-media-content-copying-in-overhaul-of-copyright-laws-040811 If you want to have a system in your home to play digital video, photo or music files directly to your TV / Home Entertainment System have a look at http://www.personalmediasolutions.co.uk

How should you store your precious old video tape memories?

martinwallman — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:57:04 +0000

Video tapes start degrading from the moment they have been recorded! In fact they sometimes only last 10 to 20 years, especially if they are not stored correctly. They should be stored vertically like a book on a bookshelf, not lying flat. They should be stored well away from heat sources and any damp or moisture. This is because it is mainly the moisture in the air which reacts with the glue holding the magnetic particles to the plastic video tape which causes the tapes to degrade and become unplayable. Making those memories accessible againWhether it’s your old camcorder video tapes, boxes of photographs, slides, negatives, your old record collection or even your CD or DVD library, we can lovingly transfer your memories onto a system so that they can be enjoyed once again at any time by the entire family on your TV and home entertainment system. Contact us now to arrange personal collection of your precious memories to be digitised onto CDs, DVDs, Memory sticks, USB drives or Network Attached Storage devices or to discuss how you can have a system installed. Call 01276 685968 or email info@personalmediasolutions.co.uk