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The BT Vision PVR is a great product and in many ways preferable to a Sky+. One slight disadvantage is that like other Freeview boxes and TVs, it needs occasional retuning when the channel lineup changes. The box will normally prompt you to retune if it spots a change to the Freeview channel line-up.
Just occasionally the retuning process goes wrong and gets stuck at 0% progress. The solution to the problem is quite simple though – switch the box to standby and turn the mains off at the socket (or pull the plug out…)
Leave the box off for 10-15 sec then turn the mains back on. After the box reboots, which takes a few minutes, you can start the retuning process by pressing the ‘BT Vision’ button, going to Settings, selecting TV Settings then Add Channels to TV Guide then finally Scan for Channels.
Happy viewing!
Got the message “SAPISVR 5 has encountered a problem and needs to close” and found that neither Windows speech recognition nor your Office programs will work? The problem is caused by your speech recognition user profile having become corrupt. You need to switch to the default profile or another users’ profile to restore system stability. Your profile contains all of your speech training data, so having the file corrupt itself is a bit of a pain.
Here is how to switch away from the corrupt profile:
- Go to the Windows Control Panel (Start/Control Panel) and double-click on the Speech icon
- In the middle of the window is a box listing the speech user profiles, each of which has a tick box next to it
- Select another profile (often the default profile is the only option) and click the ‘Apply’ button at the bottom of the window
You should now find that windows speech recognition is working again, although the computer may need a reboot before it is happy again. You should now go back to Control Panel/Speech, delete the old profile, create a new one and re-train the system to your voice.
The Thomson DTi6300 PVR can become slow and unresponsive if the available free disk space falls below 15%. This easy to fix by deleting a few programmes.
Sometimes however these boxes can get their disks in a twist, which can result in flaky operation even when there is sufficient free space. In this case, the answer is often to reformat the disk, which can be accomplished by following the steps below.
Thomson DTi6300 disk reformat instructions
Warning – this operation will delete all recordings!
- Select Menu then Set-Up and finally Help
- Press the green remote button to access the Advanced Information menu
- Press the blue button
- Finally press the green button to proceed
The process takes about a minute, after which the box will restart, then go into standby. Hopefully you will then find your box operation has been returned to normal.
You may have seen some of the hype for the much rumoured Apple Tablet. The device has been talked about for years and is reported to be near launch. In fact a major feature of the new device is likely be its use as an eBook reader.
With the iTunes store, Apple are in the ideal position to act as the bridge to the fast-disappearing world of the newspaper. We have seen a few paper closures in the UK (such as the London Paper) but the situation in the US is dire, with papers closing left, right and centre. Expect iTunes newspaper subscriptions to sell like hot cakes to commuters starved of their daily news fix. Add in sales of books and electronic magazines and it is clear that the market is one Apple will find hard to stay away from.
The device is likely to be usable as a web tablet but its processing and display capabilities may disappoint those expecting a large-screen device with PC-like power for the rumoured £350.
We’ll have to wait until Sept 2 for the final details but Nokia are about to launch their very first Netbook, called the Booklet. The basic details are similar to most of the other netbooks on the market: Intel Atom processor, 10 inch screen, weight around 1.2kg, webcam, SD card reader.
 Nokia Booklet 3G netbook Where the Booklet will score is in connectivity and battery life. Not only does the device have wifi and bluetooth but also an internal 3G modem – removing the need for an external 3G dongle. Nokia have also thrown in GPS, all on top of an impressive 12 hour battery life.
Astonishingly a number of the Windows 7 launch partners are selling the pre-order version for even less than the cut-price £49.99 that had been expected.
The full list of launch partners can be found here. Apart from Amazon, who unusually haven’t got their act together yet and appear to be only offering the Professional version, the following are offering Windows 7 Home Premium E for £44.99, while the rest charge the full £49.99.
Comet
Ebuyer
Currys
PC World
The price of Windows 7 goes up on 10 August. Home Premium will then cost £79.99 until the end of the year and £149.99 after that. The Professional version costs £89.99 now, £189.99 from 10 August until December 31and a whopping £219.99 after that.
Buy now while stocks last!
Windows 7 in Europe is going to ship without Internet Explorer. The move by Microsoft is in response to its recurrent problems with the EU. Manufacturers of new PCs will be able to choose a browser to install on the machine (most likely IE of course). Consumers purchasing Windows 7 will have to have broswer software ready on disk before they install the new OS.
US websites have reported the efficiency of the Windows 7 upgrade process but it looks as if we Europeans aren’t going to find out for ourselves how smooth the process is. It seems that Microsoft have taken EU demands to stop shipping a browser with the OS so literally that they will not allow an upgrade from a version with an integrated browser.
Consumers buying an ‘upgrade’ version of the OS will have to wipe their hard drives and install the new operating system afresh. Then they will have to install all of their applications again. Then reinstall all their data. Assuming they remembered to make a backup in the first place of course.
The pricing of Windows 7, which launches on Oct 22, has been announced and shockingly it’s quite reasonable if pre-ordered.
From July 15 to 9 Aug you will be able to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium E for £49 or Windows 7 Professional E for £99. The offer is being handled by ‘participating retailers’ and Microsoft will be putting a list of retailers on the Windows 7 website at windows.microsoft.com/install-windows-E.
See our story here about the way Windows 7 upgrades will work and about the differences between the US and European versions of Windows 7.
But otherwise our list of features wasn’t too far out was it? The phone launches June 19 but rumour has it you can order one from Carphone Warehouse from Wed.
Better battery life – 5 hours talk time, 9 hours surfing
A better camera that finally does video – 3 Megapixel autofocus video-capable camera
Voice memo and cut & paste – Yes, yes, and they added voice control for the phone and iPod features
Support for stereo bluetooth headphones – erm sounds like it doesn’t have this
Wifi auto-login – or this
In-device search – Spotlight search built in
A digital compass – and they called it Compass
Another couple of new features are
- Faster data speed (‘up to’ 7Mbps HSPA 3G)
- The keyboard works when the phone is in landscape mode
You can also use the iPhone as a modem to connect your laptop to the web while on the move. Assuming O2 play ball.
There is/isn’t a budget iPhone. You can buy the 8Gb old model for $99. In the states. On a contract. A long one.
Oh, and Steve Jobs didn’t turn up.
PS Got an old iPhone? Update it to V3.0 software for free and get many of the new features. Except the best ones of course.
You may have read here earlier in the year that a new iPhone was likely to appear this summer. Well that time is almost with us, with rumours of the product being launched at the Apple worldwide Developers Conference tomorrow. And just to add to the excitement there are now stories curculating that Steve Jobs will be making an early return from sick leave to announce the new product.
What features would a new iPhone be likely to have? How about:
- Better battery life
- A better camera that finally does video
- Voice memo and cut & paste
- Support for stereo bluetooth headphones
- Wifi auto-login
- In-device search
- A digital compass
If the rumours are true the one feature missing will be Flash video. When the new phone does appear it may actually turn out to be two different models – a full spec version with all the bells & whistles and a cut-price version aimed at soaking up the lower end of the smart(er)phone market.
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Apple to launch eBook reader?
You may have seen some of the hype for the much rumoured Apple Tablet. The device has been talked about for years and is reported to be near launch. In fact a major feature of the new device is likely be its use as an eBook reader.
With the iTunes store, Apple are in the ideal position to act as the bridge to the fast-disappearing world of the newspaper. We have seen a few paper closures in the UK (such as the London Paper) but the situation in the US is dire, with papers closing left, right and centre. Expect iTunes newspaper subscriptions to sell like hot cakes to commuters starved of their daily news fix. Add in sales of books and electronic magazines and it is clear that the market is one Apple will find hard to stay away from.
The device is likely to be usable as a web tablet but its processing and display capabilities may disappoint those expecting a large-screen device with PC-like power for the rumoured £350.