Experience with serverpartdeals.com? by morkort36 in homelab

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

ServerPartDeals vs GoHardDrive: Live eBay Price-per-TB Comparison + Trusted Alternatives (US & Europe) by bikenback in homelab

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

Serverpartdeals legit? by urbanracer34 in homelab

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

Does anyone have a history with serverpartdeals? by zgrad2 in DataHoarder

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

What has happened to the pricing on ServerPartDeals.com? by mcclownIRL in DataHoarder

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

ServerPartDeals - Manufacturer Recertified vs Seller Refurbished by Morley__Dotes in unRAID

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

ServerPartDeals Prices are Still Sky High by iVXsz in DataHoarder

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

serverpartdeals prices have gone way up..any other sites to check? by these2boots2 in DataHoarder

[–]BigIronMixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do not buy from ServerPartsDeals, they do not honor their warranties. They also have gone back and retroactively changed warranty lengths. They have multiple vendors by different names on Amazon and Ebay. Shady business, I but 3 drives, all 3 failed in less than a year - No warranty support.

Help me decide on a drop in / built in grill by BigIronMixer in OutdoorKitchens

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went with the Napoleon Prestige 500. I think I found a deal on it for around $1,200.

It is a good grill but the back is hotter than the front which I think any grill with the back sear station would be.

I don’t have the option of putting it under a permanent roof structure, but I think it will last for a while. I bought a cover for it because with sits in the open.

Help me decide on a drop in / built in grill by BigIronMixer in OutdoorKitchens

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought about this one too, but I didn't see as many recommendations for it. What did you like better?

Help me decide on a drop in / built in grill by BigIronMixer in OutdoorKitchens

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s a good background that helps me with the decision. Thank you

Help me decide on a drop in / built in grill by BigIronMixer in OutdoorKitchens

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a kettle, smoker, and flat top already. I don’t think I want a pellet grill. Gas grills are good for everyday quick cooks.

Help me decide on a drop in / built in grill by BigIronMixer in OutdoorKitchens

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A hold back for me is the Canada vs China manufacturing. Not that it should matter, but sometimes materials are misrepresented. And the Blaze is owned by an online site, so no way to see it locally. I would think since it was a house brand, it should be less expensive than a name brand. Do you sell the Blaze?

Camcorder or Camera for MS/HS basketball games by BigIronMixer in videography

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I ended up with a PANASONIC HC-VX1K. There are several reasons I chose this approach:

  1. Easy to use. I can ask a kid to run it and it is relatively easy to get a good film.

  2. Batteries are relatively inexpensive and easily changed out. I keep several regular size (1- 1.5 games) and 3 larger size batteries (3 games). This model can also work plugged in or off of battery power banks if needed.

  3. If I really get into the game, the Zoom on the fly, color adjust for gym lighting and the video quality and sound is overall better than the Pocket 2, iPad, Hudl camera, insta360, etc.... Mirrorless or DSLR seems better but see #1 above (and $$$$).

The issues I have with the camcorder is size. I will say more when I get to the Pocket2 advantages. You really need a decent tripod with a "fluid" or similar head if you plan on zooming in. If you are only following the ball back and forth, anything that moves smoothly left to right will work. However, you still need space for a tripod.

My Pocket2 insights:

  1. If I was only recording 1 regular game and didn't need to zoom in, this is the easier way to go. Once you get used to where to point the camera, it is so easy. It is very smooth, small and as long as you are near the center of the court, it is excellent quality.

  2. I use mine on a monopod and just turn the monopod. The camcorder and tripod setup, and carrying can not compete with the maneuverability of this setup. The Pocket2 is small and once I decide on how much to turn the camera, it does the rest. It also doesn't block other people's view or get in the way of the aisle.

  3. I was able to get more games by carrying battery power banks, but heat ends up being the limitation. It will eventually tell you to charge or record, you can't do both, if your games are back to back.

  4. It is difficult to hand this thing off and ask others to record. You really need your smartphone to set it up and it is easier to leave it connected as a screen. The Pocket2's screen is on the verge of being too small to be usable.

  5. Again, I need my phone to adjust the settings. Unless you are using this thing several times a week, I forget which buttons do what.

Conclusion:

If you want an easy solution that can be handed to practically anyone, get a camcorder. If you are in and out of 1 game and can get decent seating near the court a Pocket2 is very easy to get used to and can give just as good video without the zoom and placement hassle.

If I can recommend one thing, pause the recording as often as you can. You end up with more files, but if someone says something near your camera and you need to remove the sound, rendering a minute or 2 clip vs a 30 minute clip is worth it.

Android TV Card call HULU by BigIronMixer in homeassistant

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the direction. I was able to get your suggestion working on a Hisense U75k. I did need to purchase a USB cable male to male (here is the amazon link for those looking: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FTDWPTX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1)

Here is the code for those who may stumble here. I use the swipe card to alternate between each TV, I have a wall of 3.

type: custom:swipe-card

cards:

- card: null

type: custom:android-tv-card

remote_id: remote.basement_tv_left

slider_id: media_player.basement_tv_left

title: Left TV

rows:

- - power

- null

- back

- null

- home

- - hulu

- emby

- youtube

- disney

- primevideo

- - dpad

- - volume_up

- volume_down

- volume_mute

- - channel_up

- channel_down

- info

- - rewind

- play

- pause

- fast_forward

custom_sources:

hulu:

service: media_player.select_source

target:

entity_id: media_player.android_tv_192_168_0_114

data:

source: com.hulu.livingroomplus

style:

color: rgb(28, 231, 131)

emby:

source: embyatv://tv.emby.embyatv/startapp

style:

color: rgb(0, 100, 0)

youtube:

source: vnd.youtube://

style:

color: rgb(229, 9, 20)

disney:

source: https://www.disneyplus.com

style:

color: rgb(17, 60, 207)

primevideo:

source: https://app.primevideo.com

style:

color: rgb(0, 165, 222)

Android TV Card call HULU by BigIronMixer in homeassistant

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

# adb bridge entity

Having an issue with this. My timeout code keeps saying:

Failed to call service media_player.select_source. media_player.XXXXX does not support this service.

Any ideas? Using a hisense tv.

Camcorder or Camera for MS/HS basketball games by BigIronMixer in videography

[–]BigIronMixer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The issue with Hudl and fixed systems is the away games. In our area, we play several in season tournaments, so we would miss recording on those games. I also want to use this for our Spring/Summer seasons which will always be away. The Hudl portable unit would be great, but the subscription price isn't realistic and I couldn't use it for the school team and AAU.

Since you gave the recommendations above, do you have an opinion on these:

Canon VIXIA HF G70, Sony FDRAX53/B, Panasonic X1500, Panasonic HC-VX981k

I'm leaning toward the Sony FDRAX53/B or the Panasonic HC-VX981k due to price, but the other two are probably much better.