|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/samscars/ |
Upload File : |
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="Author" content="MARK GIAMMALVO">
<meta name="GENERATOR"
content="Mozilla/4.04 [en] (Win95; U) [Netscape]">
<title>Remotes Act II Scene VI Toshiba SDV-280, Multi-brand, remote, programmable
remote, intuitive remote, Sony SLV-D100 Mark Giammalvo</title>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<table border="1" cols="2" width="100%" cellpadding="20">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left"
valign="top" width="10%" height="10%">
<center><big><big><b><i><font color="#3333ff">Giammalvo Files</font></i></b></big></big></center>
<big><big> </big></big>
<center></center>
<img src="mark3.jpg"
alt="Mark Giammalvo" height="180" width="167">
<center></center>
<p><i><font color="#000000">Mark Giammalvo specializes in driveability
diagnostics </font><font color="#000000">at his family business,
Sam Giammalvo's Auto Sales & Service, Inc. in New</font>
<font color="#000000">Bedford, MA. </font> </i>
</p>
<i><font
color="#000000">Mark, who has been with the business for
over 20 years, is an ASE Master Technician and Parts Specialist.
He also holds the ASE L1 certification, and has an
associates degree in business</font> <font color="#000000">management.
<br>
Mark is also a writer for Motor Age Magazine and is the past secretary
of the Alliance of Automotive Service Professionals, (AASP).</font></i>
</td>
<td align="center"
valign="CENTER"> <font color="#000000"><a href="ourarticles.htm"><img
src="sam-logo.gif" alt="Return To Our Articles Page" border="0"
height="71" width="351">
</a> </font>
<br>
<br>
<p><small><i><font color="#000000">(Printed in the Journal of The Alliance
of Automotive Service Providers, AASP) </font></i></small></p>
<center></center>
<big><big><b> Remotes, Act II Scene VI</b></big></big>
<p><br>
</p>
<div align="justify">
<p><br>
For those of you who liked my past article on the difficulties in programming
remotes, this ones for you. However, in this situation my problem was with
a VCR remote not an automotive remote. <br>
<br>
Ok, it's not exactly automotive related but it is an interesting story.
Shortly after the holidays I decided to retire my old Hitachi VCR. It still
worked but I wanted to purchase a DVD/VCR combination unit. I had done quite
a bit of research on the Internet as there are about 15 different models
to choose from. Being a satisfied customer of Toshiba products, (I have an
11-year-old Toshiba TV that has never needed a service call), I decided to
purchase the Toshiba SDV-280 VCR/DVD player. Other than the Toshiba name,
I decided on this model because it was advertised as having what is known
as a <span style="font-style: italic;">"Multi-brand"</span> or <span
style="font-style: italic;">"programmable"</span> remote. My Hitachi had
this feature and it is really neat. In brief, the remote can "learn" the
TV's functions so you don't need the TV remote. After bringing the unit home
from Sears I took my entertainment center apart and hooked up all the cables
from the Toshiba unit to my TV and stereo receiver. Tying it into the stereo
is a nice feature as you can use your stereo system's audio during movie playback.
Anyway, after fiddling about a ½ hour, I still could not get the unit's
remote to operate my TV. In fact, there was no mention in the owner's guide
of the remote even being Multi-brand. I knew that it was because both the
Sears and Toshiba web sites advertised it as such. Then I realized that the
remote does not even have volume control buttons. How can that be, I wondered?
A call to Sears for a discussion with their sales personnel revealed that
this unit does not come with a Multi-brand remote. The sales person, Jill,
was very professional. Hearing how much research I had done, and how both
web sites were wrong, she offered me the Sony model (which really has a Multi-brand
remote) for the same price as the Toshiba, (a $20.00 discount). The next
day, before going back to Sears for the swap, I figured I would call Toshiba's
customer relations number just to let them know that their own web site information
was wrong. Oh, by the way, did I mention that the box said the unit had an
<span style="font-style: italic;">"intuitive"</span> remote? Whatever
that means. Calling Toshiba proved to be an eye opener. I advised the customer
relations person what had transpired. His reaction was to tell me to read
the disclaimer on the bottom of their web site that stated: <span
style="font-style: italic;">"All design specifications and dimensions are
tentative and subject to change. Please confirm specific features and exact
dimensions by reference to the product itself."</span> I asked him what an
"intuitive remote" was. He said he had no idea. Well, he was honest anyway.
So much for buying Toshiba, Sony here I come. <br>
<br>
In the end Sears sold me the Sony SLV-D100. It is a good unit with a
remote that controls my TV. Well, it controls my TV to some degree. Are
you ready for this? The Sony remote will control any TV's: power, volume,
mute, and channel up & down buttons. However, I noticed that none of
the "numbered" channel buttons would work. Then I noticed that those buttons
on the remote all had little white "dots" next to them. Then I read the
owners guide: <span style="font-style: italic;">"buttons marked with
a dot only control a Sony brand TV."</span> That means I can't enter the
channel buttons directly by number. Do you know how long it takes to go
from channel 41 to channel 6 with the "channel down" button? </p>
<p>Looks like I'm back to using both remotes. Perhaps I should have
stuck with my Hitachi VCR. The numbered buttons worked fine on that one.
I do like the Sony unit though. I just don't understand with today's technology
why I am going backwards on features when buying a newer model. <br>
<font size="+0"> </font> <br>
</p>
<p> </p>
</div>
<p><font color="#000000"> </font>
<br>
</p>
<center><font color="#000000"> <a href="ourarticles.htm"><img
src="sam-logo_002.gif" alt="Return To Our Articles Page." border="0"
height="71" width="351">
</a> </font><font
color="#ff0000"><font size="+3"> </font></font> </center>
<center> </center>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</center>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</body>
</html>