I've seen posts regarding the Magnavox 2160 indicating that it loses its timer memory during any kind of power outage.

Will the 3576 maintain timer memory when you lose power? The power in my area tends to go out from time to time and I usually keep a pretty extensive regular timer schedule (20-30 weekly/daily events)

Thanx

The Philips 3576 has a 30-sec power backup if auto-clock is not set, and from 2-3 min. if auto-clock is set.

Many people buy the ~$40 UPS at Walmart for backup if they have many power losses, like you do.

Besides if you're recording to DVD and the power goes out that DVD will be toast, you'll lose everything(unlike a VHS that just stops at the point the power goes off). Not sure what happens if you lose power when recording to HDD though, I've been on USPs for a couple years. For ~$100 Costco sells a nice Tripp Lite that will keep a DVDR going for hours, even recording.

I always eye that top of the line APC one that Sam's sells everytime I'm there, but it's over a hundred bucks and I never have been able to bring myself to buy it. I want one of the better models for the surge protection/line filtering (I've always had all of my A/V stuff on a separate one of those). That way I don't have to place one between (even though I think they recommend not to do that).

jjeff wrote:

...Not sure what happens if you lose power when recording to HDD though, I've been on USPs for a couple years.

From a computer perspective, powering down a HDD while it is writing is in the realm of something you should try to avoid. It could cause errors (although rarely).

As for the Magnavox 2160, which auto records whatever you are watching, it is continuosly writing anytime it is powered on. I would venture a guess that a lot of people who use this recorder do not have it connected to a UPS. I have not heard of anyone with a corrupt HDD following a blackout on these boards. I'm sure if it had happened, wajo would add a new section to his guide warning others.

Has anyone (with experience in DVR's, in general) ever seen recommendations in a manufacturer's owner's manual about using them with a UPS? It may sound like common sense, but manufacturer's write manuals assuming the user has no common sense. :p

When shopping for a UPS, you may want to consider the initial cost as well as the ongoing cost. The larger the battery, the more expensive it is to replace that battery.

I always eye that top of the line APC one that Sam's sells everytime I'm there



When shopping for a UPS, you may want to consider the initial cost as well as the ongoing cost. The larger the battery, the more expensive it is to replace that battery.

The Tripp Lite at Costco is slightly cheaper(right at $100 in my area anyway) and has a nice LCD display that tells things such as: Amp, VA, Watt, Voltage and frequency. I'm pretty sure it tells all those, I know it's a nice LCD display but sits behind my rack so I can't easily get to it. I don't think the Sams APC has a display. Anyway SteelTownGuy makes a good point about larger UPSs. Many times the replacement battery can cost close to the amount of a new one. I figure I'll be able to get at least 4 years out of mine and then I'll worry about the battery.

Thanks for the replies, all.
Obviously a UPS would be an excellent idea.
My current DVR is an older 40 gb Panasonic DMRE80H which has never lost timer data even through many multiple hour power failures. I don't know if these have some sort of battery backup for their RAM or if they keep a backup of the timer data on the hard drive. The latter would seem to make an awful lot of sense on any machine with a hdd.
I was just curious about how these machines perform with respect to maintaining their timer data assuming no UPS.

My '05 ES-30v Panny keeps it's timer settings indefinitely. I had one unplugged for 6 months and when I plugged in back in it not only had the correct time but a scheduled event I had set as well as all my "Phrase save" phrases. '06 and newer Pannys seem to forget things when unplugged for more than a few minutes. I'm guessing the older ones had some sort of small battery backup and the newer ones just use a larger capacitor, just guessing. They had to do something to drop the prices from what they used to be:D

...I'm guessing the older ones had some sort of small battery backup and the newer ones just use a larger capacitor, just guessing. They had to do something to drop the prices from what they used to be:D

To use another computer analogy, the motherboard simply requires a Lithium battery like this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_battery). All computer motherboards have these to keep the system time...even if you unplug it from the wall for days/weeks/months.

What richardbell describes is a Panasonic DVR that had smart enough engineering to borrow this technology from computers. It's been around for decades.

If you happen to notice your DVR / computer / etc suddenly losing its time and its over 5 years old, chances are you just need to replace the lithium battery. You can buy them in the watch department of any store, like Walmart, very cheap.

You'd have to open the unit up, but it's very easy to do. Just remember to avoid static discharge! Here's a picture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Asus_a8n_VMCSM02.jpg) of a motherboard where you can clearly see the "button" battery in the upper left corner.

As for those of us who have a new (less than 5 year old) unit...if it loses its timers after losing power for only a few minutes then, unfortunately, the motherboard doesn't have a lithium battery backup on it (so don't bother opening it up and maybe voiding your warranty).