Audio-Visual Gadget Christmas Gift Ideas

Most terrestrial TV channels let you watch past programmes on the Net through what is named On Demand TV - BBC iPlayer, 4OD, ITV Player etc. Whilst viewing On Demand TV on a computer is perfectly feasible, would not it be lovely in case you could view it on the new digital flat screen TV you have installed?

As know-how moves inexorably forward, new ground-breaking products come in to popular use until, all of a sudden, everyone seems to have. They always bring great performance advantages & improved usability with them, but the annoying thing is that they usually make some other older know-how redundant.
Most households now have a digital TV (or an analogue TV using a freeview box) as they plunge towards the digital switchover dates, but video machines need an analogue signal, & time it is been turned off, you will no longer be able to make use of it to record your favourite programmes whilst you are out. A digital recording tool will be necessary.

Smartphones don't make phone calls or take pictures; you can now browse cyberspace & download & watch TV & films. However, they are all designed to be flat & narrow, so unless you need to hold it on a regular basis how do you keep it at the proper viewing angle?

In response, a whole industry of converters/adapters/senders - devices in other words - has grown up to connect all these disparate technologies, & make well received Christmas presents for those technically minded friends or relatives. Here are a few:

If your friend/relative subscribes to Sky or has a freeview box or a digital TV, a wireless AV sender will let them send that signal to any other TV in the house - even an 'old' analogue - without running wires all over the house.
Convert your boxed set of 'Last of the Summer Wine' videos to DVDs using a combi video & DVD recorder (pricey), or a USB converter to convert your elderly video player output in to a digital signal for a laptop computer computer computer computer or PC, that can then burn onto DVD ( cheap).
Most people have an extensive range of music on LPs & tape. These can be converted to CD (& cleaned of all the crackles & pops from scratched vinyl or the hiss of audio tape), either by using a USB turntable or by connecting your elderly music centre to a laptop/PC, which can then burn the CD.
My elderly grandfather drove my auntie mad with the volume at which they had to watch the TV. Peace was resumed when they was bought a little box that hung on the TV speaker & then connected by a long wire to an earpiece they wore. Nowadays the same calming effect can be had without the wires. Wireless headphones are a great gift idea for the hard of hearing relative.
A wireless AV sender can send whatever is on your laptop/PC screen direct to your lovely flat screen TV, allowing you to watch On Demand TV in the comfort of your living room, whilst the laptop/PC in the study does all the work.
Oh, & that iPhone/smartphone/iPad viewing issue? No issue, you can buy little foam supports that prop the screen at the right angle, with no fear of damaging it. A great idea & an cheap gift.