How to convert Topfield PVR .REC files to DVD
Converting Topfield .REC files into DVD compliant format is a somewhat tricky process. There are many ways to do it, which some are easier than others, some involve commercial solutions, and some are totally free. The approach to take in the conversion process depends on many aspects, like the amount of time you wish to spend, which operating system you work on (Linux or Windows) and how long is the actual recording. This article consists of several mini-guides to get you going. It does not contain every possible detail, but this should be enough to get you started. This guide is made with Topfield PVRc-5100 MasterPiece, but should apply to pretty much all non-HD models.
This guide may also applicable to other brands of PVRs that produce a similar standard program stream.



Something has gone south in the recent developments of the Linux operating system. My old linux rig IBM Think T41 is experiencing significant slow downs with very latest revisions of Ubuntu, and other major distributions. This is most apparent in web browsing which suffers of notable slowdowns on web pages that have higher than average complexity – it feels almost like using a Vista! So what happens when you throw in a distribution that comes with out-of-date kernel, Xorg, and desktop environment? The damn thing works like a charm again. The PCLinux 2009.2 is like going back to the 2007 again.
VSO software has released a new major version update of their well known PhotoDVD slide show authoring software. This new version contains several improvements: the animation engine has been fully rewritten, the image processing is using our new vso scaler. Now the DVD slideshow software can generate automatically DVD menus with better chaptering management. You have more control on animation, better load performance and better quality due to the new engine.
Hardly ever has a Linux distribution raised such a mixed feelings as the Fedora has done for us. On the other hand it represents the most up-to-date software and has some cool innovations, and is backed by one of the biggest Linux contributors – RedHat. However, the out-of-the-box experience of Fedora is far behind the other leading desktop distributions (Ubuntu, openSUSE, Mandriva..) which leaves me wondering that who is this Linux distro for? We decided to give the Fedora 11 ‘Leonidas’ a whirl and try to find out.

