Ordering downloads and DVDs
- Thread starter Vrobinson
- Start date
mini-natty
Cathlete
Hi there 
90% of my Cathe's are on downloads. The newest releases are EXCELLENT in the Workout Blender (chaptered correctly, fast completion times, no glitches, ect.). What I love about downloads is that it will allow to you make your own mix & matches with various w/o's. Just the other day I made a wicked w/o (if I do say so myself ) with Tabatacise, All-Out, Tabatacise recovery step. The end results was 50min of one of the toughest cardio w/o I have put together, with a great emphasis on legs/glutes (I got brutal DOMS ). Another pro about downloads is no shipping fee or wait times!
One plus for DVD's though, is you get all the fabulous premixes at your finger tips. No fiddling around with the blender (some just don't have the time or patience). Just select your premix and off you go!
Bottom line: both are ideal, both have pros and cons. If you can swing it, getting DVD's + downloads would be the way to go, ensuring you get the best of both worlds.
HTH! Good luck!
90% of my Cathe's are on downloads
. The newest releases are EXCELLENT in the Workout Blender (chaptered correctly, fast completion times, no glitches, ect.). What I love about downloads is that it will allow to you make your own mix & matches with various w/o's. Just the other day I made a wicked w/o (if I do say so myself ) with Tabatacise, All-Out, Tabatacise recovery step. The end results was 50min of one of the toughest cardio w/o I have put together, with a great emphasis on legs/glutes (I got brutal DOMS ). Another pro about downloads is no shipping fee or wait times! One plus for DVD's though, is you get all the fabulous premixes at your finger tips. No fiddling around with the blender (some just don't have the time or patience). Just select your premix and off you go!
Bottom line: both are ideal, both have pros and cons. If you can swing it, getting DVD's + downloads would be the way to go, ensuring you get the best of both worlds
.HTH! Good luck!
jengollf
Cathlete
My question about the downloads is--how do you use them on your TV? Or do you have to do it with a computer? My workout room has a large TV and DVD player that are plugged into the wall and that's it--no cable, nothing. Now, the TV in our living room has cable, an Apple TV, a blueray player, a DVR, and a PS3. My husband does all kinds of stuff with all that though I have no clue how to mess with it and don't turn on that tv w/out him. (he has some master remote that I don't feel like learning how to use). However, I use my workout room tv every day! I like the idea of the workout blender, but I have A LOT of workout equipment and an entire workout room to hold it. I am not going to haul it into the living room every time I want to do a strength workout.
So all of that to ask--exactly how do you watch the downloads? Is there something I can do via my DVD player (other than burn DVDs--but I read somewhere on this forum you can't do that)? Like plug a laptop into it?
Do I sound as clueless as I feel about these downloads?
So all of that to ask--exactly how do you watch the downloads? Is there something I can do via my DVD player (other than burn DVDs--but I read somewhere on this forum you can't do that)? Like plug a laptop into it?
Do I sound as clueless as I feel about these downloads?
snyderca
Active Member
I am exactly like you. My fitness room is in my basement with a large tv and DVD player without any cable or Internet. . I have tons of equipment and space so that's the only place I workout. You can make up any workout you want using the workout blender with your downloads . You then save the video and drag into iTunes. You can either connect your laptop to your tv and play the video that way using the right cables. Or you can load the video on your iPod, iPhone or iPad and connect those to your tv. I have an 80 gb iPod and I bought a cable to hook it to the tv for $40. The video then plays on the tv with sound. I've made at least 8 workouts using the workout blender using xtrain, cf, thm and afterburn. It's addictive!!! Chris
jengollf
Cathlete
THANK YOU! That makes sense! My ipod is a nano, but my husband has more than one ipod with a lot of memory. Plus I've been looking for an excuse to purchase an ipad.....
mini-natty
Cathlete
You don't need internet connection to play downloads. The only time you need internet connection is while you are downloading. After that, they remain on your hard-drive.
Jen
I am pretty sure (don't quote me on it 100% though) that if you have the files on your laptop, you can hook up the laptop to the tv in your w/o room (with the appropriate cables) and be able to play the files no problem. My workout room is a computer/exercise area, so everything is set up for me. I can also play all my files via PS3, but that's in my living room.
Sorry if I could not give you a definite answer. Perhaps ask SNM, as they might be able to assist you
.
tralaiven
Cathlete
ok...now what to do? I ordered my dvd's at 10 last nite (woo hoo) but not the downloads because they totally intimidate me. But maybe I should reconsider. I mean, I would love to create my own workouts!!
I have often thought..."Oh if I could just put this with that and not have to change the dvd!"
However, the next scary thought is....I have just about all of Cathe's dvd's except for a couple. Oh man, would this be a slippery slope wherein I would just not be happy until I have downloaded all her workouts?
I wonder if she has a special deal for someone to just download everything and how much that would be?
I have often thought..."Oh if I could just put this with that and not have to change the dvd!"
However, the next scary thought is....I have just about all of Cathe's dvd's except for a couple. Oh man, would this be a slippery slope wherein I would just not be happy until I have downloaded all her workouts?
I wonder if she has a special deal for someone to just download everything and how much that would be?
snyderca
Active Member
THANK YOU! That makes sense! My ipod is a nano, but my husband has more than one ipod with a lot of memory. Plus I've been looking for an excuse to purchase an ipad.....
Ha ha! I agree! iPads are great. If you decide to get the downloads and you play them from either your laptop or iPad, iPod..make sure you either bring your laptop to best buy or wherever you buy the cables so you get the right ones. Also make sure the cables provide sound. This is important! When I first bought the apple cable for my iPhone (notice I said phone) it didn't provide sound through the tv AND it didn't work with my iPod. So I initially used some old speakers I had from my old computer. But I ended up taking the apple cable back and found one that worked with my iPod and iPhone/iPad AND had sound through the tv. Sounds like a lot but it really isn't. It's totally worth it. Chris
TRSTACIE
Cathlete
Yes there are many ways to hook up a computer to a TV that do not require the internet. Contrary to popular belief, you also don't need to have an HDTV in order to connect the computer as well. With the right cables and a converter in between, even older TVs can be used this way for minimal cost.
If you only ordered the DVDs and have decided that you really want both, I would contact customer support and see if you can modify your order. If they say no, it does say on the pre-order page that you can cancel your order once and then reorder at the pre-sale price.
HTH!
If you only ordered the DVDs and have decided that you really want both, I would contact customer support and see if you can modify your order. If they say no, it does say on the pre-order page that you can cancel your order once and then reorder at the pre-sale price.
HTH!
labnick
Cathlete
Jengollf, I am so glad you asked this as I had no clue either. And thank you all for explaining. Now everything makes sense to me!!
apple TV
I use appletv, the coolest mini black box ever. It connects to your (newer) tv via one simple hdmi cable. You can then wirelessly sync itunes on your computer to your tv. The appletv has a thin silver remote which allows you to select your workouts/premixes, pause/play, skip forward chapters, etc. If you've used an ipod, the remote is simple. If you haven't, it may take a moment to adjust to the clickwheel.
I have experienced no buffering/streaming issues. It looks like I’m just playing a dvd. I do worry about how well it would work if my laptop were not in the room directly next to the workout room, but I haven’t tested this.
My other option was to hookup my laptop or ipod to the tv. However, this was not an ideal option for me for various reasons that may not be an issue for others. For one, my 16gb ipod doesn’t even have enough room for my news podcasts and a fraction of my music, let alone workouts. I’d probably have to get a ipod classic just for the workout room and my videos, and an appletv is much cheaper and doesn’t require ever physically syncing to my computer. I don’t have a need for an ipad and they seem pricey just to use for workouts, plus not enough gb of space for my entire collection at one time.
Another issue: if I hookup my laptop to tv via hdmi (which I do for other things), I have to press pause/rewind/etc. on the laptop rather than a remote. I’m assuming this would be the same for the ipod. And I pause/rewind a lot.
I usually tend to not purchase cathe downloads. However, I’m contemplating getting the $20 download add-on to the dvd bundle this time around to save myself some time & energy.
apple tv pros:
a few cons:
I use appletv, the coolest mini black box ever. It connects to your (newer) tv via one simple hdmi cable. You can then wirelessly sync itunes on your computer to your tv. The appletv has a thin silver remote which allows you to select your workouts/premixes, pause/play, skip forward chapters, etc. If you've used an ipod, the remote is simple. If you haven't, it may take a moment to adjust to the clickwheel.
I have experienced no buffering/streaming issues. It looks like I’m just playing a dvd. I do worry about how well it would work if my laptop were not in the room directly next to the workout room, but I haven’t tested this.
My other option was to hookup my laptop or ipod to the tv. However, this was not an ideal option for me for various reasons that may not be an issue for others. For one, my 16gb ipod doesn’t even have enough room for my news podcasts and a fraction of my music, let alone workouts. I’d probably have to get a ipod classic just for the workout room and my videos, and an appletv is much cheaper and doesn’t require ever physically syncing to my computer. I don’t have a need for an ipad and they seem pricey just to use for workouts, plus not enough gb of space for my entire collection at one time.
Another issue: if I hookup my laptop to tv via hdmi (which I do for other things), I have to press pause/rewind/etc. on the laptop rather than a remote. I’m assuming this would be the same for the ipod. And I pause/rewind a lot.
I usually tend to not purchase cathe downloads. However, I’m contemplating getting the $20 download add-on to the dvd bundle this time around to save myself some time & energy.
apple tv pros:
- If I want to tack on a Coremax segment after I finish BM2, I don’t have to pop dvds in/out of a dvd player and wait for them to load.
- Plays workout blender creations.
- Space saver if you’re willing to give up dvds entirely (which I’m not).
- appletv has other functions which I do not utilize (hulu, netflix, etc.) but that others might find useful. I can already stream netflix through tivo (was there really tv-watching life before tivo?).
a few cons:
- As usual, hdmi cable is sold separately.
- Uses up an hdmi output on tv. My workout room tv only has 2 hdmi outputs. And since one is used to connect the tivo box and the other to connect appletv, I now have to connect the dvd player to the tv via component cable (next time I’m in the market for a new tv, I will pay closer attention to the # of hdmi outputs).
- No premixes in the traditional sense and workout blender creations take up hard drive space in addition to the original downloads themselves. I had to buy more external hard drive storage space to solve this issue.
- If I’m starting a workout from the beginning, the workout loads perfectly fine so that I never have to wait for it to “catch up.” But if I want to start a workout in the middle (e.g. I’m teaching myself combo#3 from amy bento’s ASC3 one week), it can take a minute to load up to combo#3. Although I could probably “rewind” to the beginning of the combo before exiting the workout and then choose “resume playing” rather than “start from the beginning” when playing it the next time.
pics of my apple tv
I took some pictures just now for anyone interested in what playing cathe downloads on appletv looks like.
If I acquire more downloads, I’ll definitely create more groups/folders on itunes to make it easier to select workouts.
FYI, that progress bar at the bottom of the screen during workouts only shows for the first few seconds after you press a button on the remote, and it makes it easier when you’re skipping or rewinding to see what the chapter is labeled.
I took some pictures just now for anyone interested in what playing cathe downloads on appletv looks like.
If I acquire more downloads, I’ll definitely create more groups/folders on itunes to make it easier to select workouts.
FYI, that progress bar at the bottom of the screen during workouts only shows for the first few seconds after you press a button on the remote, and it makes it easier when you’re skipping or rewinding to see what the chapter is labeled.
Attachments
MariaLurdes
Cathlete
I've bought DVDs and downloads ever since the Shock Cardio series, and I regret it because the Workout Blender is such a pain and SO buggy. I can import only the very latest workouts - Xtrain and LIS - all the others cause WB to give me an error message that the file format isn't readable. I wish SNM would focus some time and energy on cleaning up the WB so that the downloads could be maximally useful, especially for Mac OS users.
Oh, and I tried emailing about the problem but was told to direct all WB questions to the forum. But the forum replies are usually just some canned text, and when you reply that those suggested solutions don't work, then that's the end of the conversation. It's a bit frustrating.
Lurdes
Oh, and I tried emailing about the problem but was told to direct all WB questions to the forum. But the forum replies are usually just some canned text, and when you reply that those suggested solutions don't work, then that's the end of the conversation. It's a bit frustrating.
Lurdes
complik8td
Cathlete
I decided to get both DVDs and downloads for the very first time. I thought it would be nice to have the workouts on my iPad as a backup. Thanks for the detailed appletv info, amberdawn.