zep516...you are right, calling Apple is a good place to start. Thanks. owbist....Not sure I am following you. Is the DVD-R the one that records things permanently and the DVD+R the one that can be repeatedly recorded over? When you say you didn't perservere with the DVD+R, was there something more difficult about using it? Were you recommending to buy the DVD-R because they are cheaper? urlee....first of all, thank you so much for that link. I did not have a good website to go to with audio/visual questions and that looks like a good one. Not sure how you managed to copy/paste the 'visual' directions for where I needed to go, but it is sure impressive! No, I don't need directions on how to do it, because I am probably never going to do that myself, but amazed that someone can...lol. I did a google search on Pioneer 640 and found references to 'not available' any more as you state. That is too bad. Do you know if there is another comparable Recorder on the market? Right now I am renting a Box from Comcast that records TV programs and I have just loved it since I have gotten it. It is so easy to use and fairly reliable. The problem is that you are not 'saving' anything permanently and you can't take anything on the box off and transfer to dvd. Obviously I can't use it to transfer home movies to dvd either. That is a long thread on the Pioneer 640, if I read the whole thing will it answer the question about whether I can actually buy one or will it point me in the direction of a substitute for it? I am just not a person who understands Audio/Visual very well. I can manage most of the time to connect and learn to operate a new piece of equipment by just following along with a manual, but connecting all the equipment and getting it all to do what you want it to do together...well, it is just very intimidating. It is like learning a whole new language and I just don't have the interest, time or energy to do it. If I knew someone who was proficient in it, I would be asking them to come and just set it all up for me and cooking them dinner...lol. But alas, I don't. I could very easily and quickly get to the point where I will throw up my hands and just take the vcr home movies to Ritz camera and spend $30 per vcr tape to have them do the transfer for me. So what I am looking for is easy and simple. That is why I love my comcast box, it was easy to rent it, they installed it and all I have to know is how to work the remote and set up the recording schedule etc. That I can handle. Maybe I should find an Audio/Visual school to send one of my kids to? [g]

I think it is generally not a good idea to install a tv over a fireplace or woodstove for 2 reasons -- Heat rises, and will heat up the tv some and shorten its life. If you have a brick wall, it's noncombustible, which is fine and safe. But the tv would have to be beyond what's called the "clearance" the distance between the firebox and the first combustible thing above the firebox. That means that, to be safe, you would have to put the tv pretty high above the firebox so it's not too close to the fire, which could cause a problem. And of course, second reason not to do this, the higher the tv is, the harder it will be to view it comfortably, because you will have to look up to see it. I feel for you. I know it's a problem to manage the arrangement of 2 focal points. But it's not that hard a problem to solve because the tv against the wall need not be such a big focal point. Another approach might be to consider that your room has 3 focal points -- the tv, the stove, and the sofa. If they each have about equal weight visually, they will create "balance" in the room. Another approach might be to have a richly patterned carpet in the center of the room -- that will draw the eye away from the competing double focal points that you are worried about. Good luck with your decision.

Is this small wall really the best location for a console table and mirror or is there a bigger more prominent wall. The space seems so very vast and this wall doesn't seem quite right for a table and mirror. Your home appears first rate and that Indonesian table looks .........frankly cheap when compared to the surroundings. Try something different if this is the right space for the table.

I would look into having that built-out trim removed on the fireplace wall and creating a flat surface. You'll be able to hang a larger TV over the fireplace then (because a smaller one that fits into the niche isn't going to be appropriately sized for the room), and will get rid of the choppy "fake built-in" look that those pieces currently create.