I try to avoid off-topic stuff on this blog, but it’s Saturday and I’ve already posted a bunch of Flash-related stuff today, so…

My Tivo has done me well for many years now. I often tell people that it has been the best electronics purchase that I have ever made. However, my first generation Sony SVR-2000 and it’s puny 30GB HD has lead me to search for a replacement (*sniff*). My archive of “The Simpsons” episodes has grown so large that I have no space left. Deciding which episodes to part with is more difficult than doing my taxes, so I am instead going to seek out a Tivo-to-DVD solution. I’m going to try the Canopus ADVC-100 Analog/DV Converter to get the video off of my Tivo and on to my Mac for easy archiving. Once I have protected my episodes, I will seek out a replacement.

So I’m looking for suggestions on a replacement. Tivo has been great for me, and the new Series 2 Tivo’s remote access feature sounds really useful (if it works). However, I recently read in Wired that long-time second-placer ReplayTV has a good offering now.

I’m really looking for HD recording, but it looks like the market hasn’t quite caught up yet. DirecTV is offering the DirecTV HD DVR, which seems to be selling for $999 in most places (ouch!). The 250GB HD sounds great, but I’m curious to see what kind of space an HD recording actually takes up. Plus, it seems that I could build a PC and make my own HD DVR for less than $999.

Anyone care to make a suggestion?

I just found this cool app from Kinoma called “Kinoma Producer”. It lets you convert a wide variety of digital media formats, including Macromedia Flash, to their Kinoma format for playback on Palm OS devices using the Kinoma player.

I’m going to try this out to see if I can convert some of my DVDs for playback on my Treo 600 to give me something to do on my upcoming trip to Tokyo with the rest of the Flash team. My only worry is that almost every third-party Palm OS app that I’ve installed on my Treo has lead to a major OS crash – forcing me to do a full reset (ouch!). I’m not sure if it’s the GoodLink software that our IT department installs on our Treos to give us secure access to our Enterprise Exchange servers (great capability for us, by the way), or simply a problem with the Treo, but I have my fingers crossed.

I’m so excited about the upcoming release of my favorite video game franchise, Madden 2005! I own every single release of the best-selling franchise in video game history, now in it’s 15th year. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my favorite features of Madden 2005 is the Flash-based menu system.

I’ve just discovered that August 10th is National Madden Vacation Day! Go here to download your “Get out of work” form. Downloadable forms include “Jury Duty“, “Chicken Pox“, and “Sick Day“.

Pure marketing genius! I’ll have to make a note to have a few forms ready to post when we release “8Ball”. ;- )