The old days of TCM

Post by **moira finnie** » October 5th, 2007, 3:46 pm

Hey Anne,
Did you catch Geronimo (1962) with one of our mutual faves, Chuck Connors (yeah, I know you saw him first) the other day on TCM? It wasn't exactly The Searchers, but Chuck was good as the misunderstood leader of his people.

pktrekgirl · Post by **pktrekgirl** » October 5th, 2007, 4:04 pm

^ HA! I didn't watch it, but I did record it and burn it to DVD. And the moment I saw 'Chuck Connors', I thought of Anne.

mrsl · Post by **mrsl** » October 5th, 2007, 6:29 pm

Well heck!!!

No I missed Geronimo, when was it on? Like I said, I haven't watched TCM much lately, it seems like every time I check the cable guide, the next three pictures coming up are things I've seen already several times. I don't think I've ever seen Geronimo - I'll have to watch for it again.

Chris - movieman 1957:

You would think I would be an insurance company's dream wouldn't you? It's true - Never a moving violation, and the only ticket was parking too far from the curb overnight in the city. I would think they would be begging me to buy from them, but for my cheap little Neon, I pay only about $100.00 a year less now than I did back in the 80's for a fully loaded 82 Cadillac - doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Plus the fact that I don't drive a round trip of 100 miles a day to and from work anymore. I just tool around town shopping and such - tis a mystery!!!

You guys are right about November at least. I do like Glenda Farrell, another Joan Blondell type as Torchie and I've seen a couple of them. Then I discovered the last time they were on that I liked Richard Dix as The Whistler, so I'm sure I'll watch more of them this time around. Rusty the dog is a 'meh' (whatever that means), and I was a pretty devout watcher of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and I think those that are being shown are extended versions of two parters. In any case, I do like serials. It's like books to me. If I like a character, I like to see them in movies or TV shows. I only looked at the first week of Nov. but I'll go back and make a list of the rest of the month. Thanks

Anne

Hollis · Post by **Hollis** » October 5th, 2007, 6:31 pm

Hi Anne,

There's lots of things about movies that we can talk about here that aren't a regular part of the TCM lineup. You have a particular expertise in westerns and I'm sure that there's a lot that the rest of us can learn from you like what's good, bad or indifferent! Hang in there and please don't jump ship. By the way, I saw a stereo dvd player/recorder (an SV2000) at WalMart today for $39.95. Might be worth a look-see.

As always,

Hollis

TalkieTime · Post by **TalkieTime** » October 5th, 2007, 8:21 pm

Hollis,

The SV2000 VHS/DVD at the $40 price probably doesn't have a tuner, only Line In RCA jacks for connecting to a cable converter or satellite receiver that has RCA outputs. (Lower priced machines manufactured since March 2007 no longer have tuners.)

There is one very negative review on the Wal-Mart website for a SV 2000 DVD player/VHS recorder combo priced at $50.

In December 2006 I purchased a SV 2000 DVD/VHS combo recorder at Wal-Mart for $100. This model had an analog tuner. The SV 2000 could not dub home recorded videotapes to DVD. It claimed my recordings from (early 1990s) AMC were "copy protected." (My Panasonics dubbed the very same home-recorded videotapes to DVD without problem.) SV 2000 DVD recording quality was unimpressive when compared with that of my Panasonics. (I didn't try to use the SV 2000 for videotape recording.) Playback of existing videotapes and DVDs was satisfactory.

When I called the SV 2000 Customer Service (at Funai Corporation) concerning the "copy protected" issue, they suggested that I return the machine to Wal-Mart. At Wal-Mart I opted for a refund, cheerfully given.

Following that I purchased a factory refurbished Panasonic DMR-ES35V combo recorder, a much better product, for just a little more money. That Panasonic has performed very well. Factory refurbished Panasonics have a 90 day warranty.

I have posted more detailed information concerning my equipment experiences in the "Home Recording to DVD" thread under "The Marketplace."

klondike · Post by **klondike** » October 5th, 2007, 9:21 pm

JohnM wrote:As mules don't wear dresses, how can you say that a male mule wearing one, is a cross-dresser?

Why do you think mules don't wear dresses?

I saw Mr. Ed wearing a raincoat once (on TV).
I've seen donkeys topped-off with straw hats before (in Mexico), as well as an occasional mounted police steed gussied-up with a brassiere, having to do with special celebrations (April Fool's, St. Patrick's, Mardi Gras) in both the U.S. & Canada.
IMHO, a well-behaved mule (jack or jenny) would probably be content to wear most any garment you could get onto him/her.

Post by **moira finnie** » October 6th, 2007, 4:42 pm

Well heck!!!

No I missed Geronimo, when was it on? Like I said, I haven't watched TCM much lately, it seems like every time I check the cable guide, the next three pictures coming up are things I've seen already several times. I don't think I've ever seen Geronimo - I'll have to watch for it again. ~MrsL

Hi Anne,
Sorry you missed this Chuck Connors flick! I got home from work on Tuesday, Oct. 2nd and discovered that Geronimo (1962) was just starting at 6:15pm (here in the east). I opted to avoid having the vein in my temple pulse ominously, which usually happens whenever I see the state of the world when watching the news lately, and happily settled down with the Chuckster, complete with headband and his co-star Ross Martin, (as unlikely an American Native Indian as he appears to be, he was, after all, that master of disguise character on The Wild, Wild West, and he was pretty good here). I also tried to figure out who the sassy minx was who played Mrs. Geronimo (Kamala Devi, an Indian lass from the Asian subcontinent, not North America, who was Mrs. Connors off-screen from 1963-1972! She was very pretty too).

Good news, though. Geronimo will be repeated on Saturday, Nov. 17th at 12:30pm. Maybe you could catch it then? Here's a link to a TCM article about the background of this movie.

melwalton · Post by **melwalton** » October 7th, 2007, 8:19 pm

I got a big kick from those posts about Kay and the mule, in my studied opinion, she was prettier. as for the dresses, she'd look good in a potato sack ( don't know about the mule ) which she may have worn once or twice; I recall she wore a towel in one film, can't recall title.

Hollis · Post by **Hollis** » October 7th, 2007, 10:47 pm

klondike wrote:
Ah, but let us be fair & impartial about this, Boss Man: have any of us actually ever seen the mule in any kind of an evening gown?

A woman walks into a bar with a duck under her arm. The bartender says, "Hey, we don't serve pigs in here!" The woman says, "This isn't a pig, it's a duck!" The bartender says, "I was talking to the duck!"

Take my wife, Please...

As always,

Hollis

Hollis · Post by **Hollis** » October 7th, 2007, 11:03 pm

Good evening TalkieTime,

The model I mentioned was strictly a dvd player/recorder (no vhs function) and I don't know if it can be used to copy the image from a vhs tape playing on the same tv that the dvd recorder is hooked up to. You may be right about it requiring a cable tv hookup, which Anne has (otherwise she couldn't watch TCM or Encore Western) but at this time I think she's primarily concerned with watching dvds with recording being a secondary consideration and price is an important consideration as well (as it is for a lot of us.) I don't honestly know what function a tuner plays as part of a dvd player/recorder, but if it's not a necessary feature for either playback or recording from the tv, then it can probably be dismissed with. I used to have a dvd player only that was a Xmas special from Radio Shack of all places, and it was priced (believe it or not) at $19.95! Until I knocked it off the tv set while packing for my relocation to Alabame, it worked very well and gave me no problems. Of course I couldn't record with it but it did have all the basic functions and a remote too. When the time is right, Anne is simply looking (I believe) to replace her broken VCR with something more modern but not too technically complicated. Just like me, sometimes "less is more." But back to what you mentioned earlier, what purpose does the tuner serve? I'm far from being a "Techie" as I once was a looooooong time ago! Thanks.

As always,

Hollis

mrsl · Post by **mrsl** » October 7th, 2007, 11:28 pm

Hollis:

Actually, as long as I have an instruction book, I'm fine. The VCR I have is actually less than 2 years old, and it is a VCR/DVD viewer. I can (could) record to tape on the VCR side, and I can watch any DVD, but cannot record. That is what is broken - the VCR part - it eats up the tape suddenly. No problems at all with the DVD side. I have an inexpensive VCR in the bedroom, but I've tried all the combinations, and cannot co-ordinate it with the TV to use the Dish remote. I have to put the VCR on GAMES in order to watch a movie, and I cannot get it to record because of that. Believe me, I have never had a problem with recording. I can set up the VCR to record different stations all day long whether I'm home or not, I know how to use the timer to fast forward to a 2nd or 3rd movie to watch from the beginning. I can do all sorts of things, but when its broken, I'm stuck. What gets me is the fact that its a Phillips and the same thing happened to my last Phillips. But I had that one for 5 years and one day I was doing a lot of fast forward and backward because I had several tapes that I hadn't labeled and I broke it. So I figured I was being smart by buying both in one. I didn't realize I should have just gotten a new VCR and a DVD machine that recorded also. The box said 'Record with just the click of a button' so I thought I could record to both.

Anyway, enough of my woes, but I thank you for your interest, and for trying to help.

Anne

TalkieTime · Post by **TalkieTime** » October 8th, 2007, 1:46 am

Hollis,

VCR and DVD recorders with built-in tuners receive TV stations, cable and satellite channels and allow recording from those services. (A VHS or DVD "player" is just that, limited to playing those media formats, not recording.)

Until just recently VCRs and DVD recorders had built-in tuners. In the US, beginning with products manufactured in March 2007, those products equipped with tuners were required to have digital tuners in addition to current analog tuners.

To get around the additional expense of digital tuners several manufacturers eliminated tuners from their current low-end products. These products no longer have coaxial inputs and their remotes no longer have controls for channel changing as there are no more "channels" to be tuned. These products may still record signals provided by other tuning devices through "inputs," the yellow (video in) and the red and white (audio in) RCA jacks.

Some manufacturers added digital tuners to their new products. Of course, digital/analog products are more expensive than the analog only products they replace.

As cable converter boxes and satellite receivers came into more frequent use in recent years, these devices became the primary tuners of TV, cable, and satellite services. When connected to these devices VCRs and DVD recorders commonly recorded from channel 3 (or 4) with their built-in tuners.

I have several "analog" DVD/VHS combo recorders. These analog combo recorders are unable to directly tune and record channels that are transmitted digitally. Our local Comcast cable service places TCM on channel 501, among the "digital" premium channels. We have two Comcast digital cable boxes that convert digital signals to analog so that our combo recorders may record from TCM and other digital channels. Two of my combo recorders are set up as slaves to my Comcast digital cable box, one records from the cable box through channel 3 and the other records through INPUT 1.

I have two other (analog) DVD/VHS combo recorders directly connected to the Comcast cable feed (without a converter box). These machines use their built-in tuners to record up to channel 99, the "analog" channels of our Comcast service.

By federal government mandate analog tuning for broadcast stations becomes obsolete in February 2009. At that time analog-tuned devices will continue to function only if a digital tuning device, a cable, satellite or broadcast receiver converts digital signals back to analog for current analog TVs and other devices.

In the run-up to the digital change-over the government will implement a program in January 2008 that will provide up to two coupons per household for $40 off the price of government-approved digital to analog converter boxes for reception of digital broadcast stations. This money comes out of tax payer's pockets.

As the government, in collusion with industry and service providers, reallocates and sells frequencies to the highest bidders, grows the government through establishing and administering new regulations and new fees, this will make life "better." "Better for whom" do you ask? To ask the question is to answer it.

Hollis · Post by **Hollis** » October 8th, 2007, 9:13 am

Good morning TalkieTime,

It seems that "E Pluribus Unum" should be replaced by "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" Check out the two most recent issues of Rolling Stone magazine for government waste, greed and hypocricy taken to the extreme. Oh well, "The business of the United States is business." and it seems that it's "business as usual." Thanks for the technical explanation also.

Hi Anne,

I only wish I could have been of more help to you. Good luck in resolving your problem! Remember, "All's well that ends well!"

As always,

Hollis

The Silver Screen Oasis

The Silver Screen Oasis

The old days of TCM

Kay Francis.