I can't believe that right off the bat I can't get the unit to work. I disconnected the coaxial out from the back of my VCR and put it into the coaxial out of the Maggie. Nothing. I can't even get the starting screen. I take the cord back out and put it in the VCR and it's all fine. So, I know it's not the TV set to channel 3, I know it's not the cord, so what could the problem be?

Sorry forgot to mention: Yes, the menus do come up fine if I use the RCA video/audio connections and view it through the TV's Auxillary channel.

You need to keep the VCR out of the direct coax path from incoming feed to your TV. VCRs won't transfer the raw incoming signal with all the channels unless it's set a certain way. Most have a TV/Video button or similar and it has to be on TV to pass the signal thru to the 2160... it puts the VCR into a coax-passthru mode so your TV can tune channels by itself and doesn't need to stay on Ch. 3, where only the VCR's channels can be tuned.

Here's a help file with some sketches (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=12298409&postcount=10) and, since you didn't say if your on cable, satellite or antenna, pick the approp. sketch for your service.

For the VCR, either set it up to copy to the 2160 as shown in the sketches or, if you want the VCR to also tune and record channels, best thing is to use a 2-way splitter on the feed line, with one output to the VCR and one to the 2160.

If set up with a splitter, reun the coax out from the 2160 to the TV's ANT IN cuz the DVDR's coax circuit is just for passthru of the incoming signal. That way, your TV will be able to tune the incoming channels by itself, with nothing upstream being on. The VCR and the 2160 will also need their own, separate line connection to the TV.

All this assumes you're on antenna or cable...

Thank you for the quick info. The way I originally had it set up was…

Analog VCR coax out -> Analog TV coax in

What I tried was…

Digital Antenna to Magnavox coax in / Magnavox coax out -> Analog TV in

What I read was that I can't do this since it is an analog television. Ack. :P

So, my final goal to get everything on the same television, without switching cables, I'm going to have to do the following…

Analog VCR -> back Magnavox r/y/w-> Analog TV r/y/w
Nintendo Wii -> front Magnavox r/y/w (not to record, just to play)

Now, if I get a digital television, I can then just connect the DVR coax to the set like I was originally trying. Since its digital tuner can figure things out, right?

You really need to set up like sketch 1a cuz the 2160 can tune the digital channels for your analog TV... you just need the Y/W/R connection from the 2160 to the Y/W/R connectors on the analog TV. That will allow you to tune both analog and digital channels using the 2160's tuner.

You won't need the coax connection AFTER the digital transition, whenever that's going to happen, but until then, your TV can tune any analog channels you receive, so connect a coax out from the 2160 to the TV also, which will work until then and allow it to tune the analog channels?

The 2160 will serve as a "digital converter box" like those on the govt coupon program, except better.

The other devices can connect to L1 on the back and L2 on the front of the 2160. Both can be S-Video+L/R audio for best quality, then you select L1 or L2 as the Source on the 2160 using the Source button when you want to see the other device(s) or record from them.

Make sure you select "S-Video" for both L1 and L2 in the Video menu if you use that cable type for the external devices. If you use Y/W/R cables, no menu changes needed.