The Past, Present & Future of this site!

The past:

The all thing started when I bought my SONY TR780E in Europe. a Hi8 model. It had no inputs.
for the price I paid for it, I had other plans for it, besides using it as a camcorder: like a stereo VCR, editor, and so on. I was disappointed to find out it had only outputs!

As an electronics "Practical" engineer, and video service man (I used to fix VCR's as a side job from the age of 18 to 24...) I knew I could do something about it, and so I found the SONY well kept secret...

I started this site for the sole reason of getting more information from other people with the same experience as mine. After all, it did not seem reasonable that I was the only one in the world to stumble on this secret!

As it turned out, I was. I published the way to enable a camcorder the first day this site came on. I never thought about selling the information. It seemed too simple!
a month later someone told me about a prize waiting for me on the "dvcentral" site! They where hunting for a solution to the DVin problem in the european market. The EU is charging more customs for a camcorder with video inputs, so manufacturers block this function for the europeans!

I knew nothing about DV and never held a DV camcorder in my hands at that time! it did not stop me from buying the PC7 service manual and finding out the exact codes! I was on my way to the $5000 prize just waiting to be taken! First - I deleted the page where I published the way to make changes, so no one else would beat me to it, Than I negotiated for the prize. I was packed and ready to go to germany to demonstrate it, but on the last minute the whole thing was canceled, because the sponsors found out it was illegal for them to deal with this subject, and will harm their relations with sony!

So I had no prize money, just a bill from sony... for the service manual!

Bertel Schmitt - the guy running DVcentral did do something for me - he linked me. Very soon, this otherwise unreachable geocities long URL became swamped with visitors!

On the US front, another popular site contributed to the flow of readers: supervideo.com owned by Chuck Littman, a good pen-pal (or is it keyboard-pal now days?)

I would like to thank them both!

It didnt take long for the rumor to spread. Other people knew now about the service manual and RM95 lethal combination... from there it was a short path until someone could have found the codes by himself!. I waited a few weeks, just so the guys who did not pay, will not get the secret right away for free... and than published the PC7 codes.

Using the same method I described here, other people sent me codes for other models, some worked, some didnt, but at the end we all got a huge wealth of information! Isn't the internet great?

The present

My readers divide into two categories: one category is the "private" enthusiasts, who read my pages for fun and education, and use them to upgrade their own equipment. They are usually not professional, and just follow the instructions given here to upgrade their equipment. Others are more professinal in electronic and sujest their own ideas and solutions. They are my target group - as I mentioned, the whole site was built in order to SHARE that information.

People that use the information given here to reach new information, and than share it with all the others are going to keep this site going. This is not just "my" site - its a place to concentrate all knowledge about video - not only DV information, and not only upgrading information - but practically all information.

I'm not asking anyone to send me his information to be published under MY name! I dont have the time to write it all down! I just want to link or publish the material under your name!

In the other category you find the "business men". Those guys just piss me off! I give away the information and they use it to rip you off! there is nothing bad about making money, if you use the information given here to produce a new product and sell it for a reasonable price, But ripping people off by charging about 1000 DM for enabiling DV input, like some companies in germany are doing, is too much!

I also think a small contribution in the form of one free product from what you are now producing and selling, to the guy that made it possible, is not too much to ask... after all, some free publicity on my site would do you some good two!

"The VIDEO domain" was mentioned in two german magazines and one magazine based in the UK. Please help this information get around so people will not be able to rip-off those that are not on the web!

The Future

If you are a video freak, like me, you have probably searched the net over a million times, looking for an interesting site. A site that will give you just the kind of info you need, on the kind of equipment you can afford, or dream about.

Every other guy has a different field of interest, some are looking for technical info, some just want the basics. some are 'pro's, some are just enthusiasts. This site is going to be there for all of you, interested in the video domain. From the beginner, taking his first step in operating a camcorder (or even contemplating on what model should be his first) to the professional, looking for new information in this rapidly growing field.

I do not claim to know it all or have all the answers. There are many people, more experienced and much more knowledgeable! The only problem is that their site is usually dedicated to one subject or a limited range of subjects.

My point of view on the video world is purely technical. I have poor experience in video production, and I'm not much of a videographer either... I will give a my technical oriented readers a mater for thought, as my motto is never to accept things as they are, always experiment and strive to perfect and get the most out of the equipment you use... the other readers will be able to use this site as a link to all other subjects I cannot provide with my own knowledge.

For this, at the first stage, your input is required. Let me know what is interesting you, what kind of info you are looking for, and if you know any informative site not mentioned here!

I will try to the best of my ability to put it all into some order, divide links to groups, providing direct link to internal pages on other site to save you the trouble of looking for what you need. For the meantime, the links are usually to the homepages of other sites.

A look at the future of the video industry, HDTV and other futuristic terms will also be here eventually.

All this is going to take time. A lot of time. I'm a student, and between my studies, my family and my work... I hope to have enough time for this site. This place is on for less than a month (true for June 19, 1997), and coming along just fine! I hope you would BOOKMARK this site and check in again!

My "arik's HOME page" will expand and will include some more information about me, my views and ideas. I hope you all will find it at least as interesting as "the VIDEO domain".

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