COSTCO now has the new LITE-ON for $299
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11123627&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=
Joe

COSTCO now has the new LITE-ON for $299
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11123627&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=
Joe

Thanks, jobedo! It appears to have all the right specs. Our cup runneth over with HD based decks this year. I have 2 LVW-5005's and have been pretty happy with them for the price paid. But now that Pioneer, Panasonic and others are in (or close) to this price range, they must compete on more than price. That said, if the build quality is there, they have a shot.

Looking forward to some hands on reviews!

The big thing I din't like in the specs. was Internal TV Tuner: NTSC-M which I'm guessing the "M" stands for Monaural.

If that's the case you can keep it & for $300 Lite-On could of at least included a "Stereo" tuner & it makes me wonder what other cheap parts are they using.

Liteon 740GX Specs: http://us.liteonit.com/us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=103&limit=1&limitstart=1

Bill1313, if true, that would indeed be a deal breaker. But having made that mistake with the 5001/5005, I can't believe they'd be dumb enough to do it again. Elsewhere I saw "2-channel" dolby digital referenced, but I note the specs on their own site seem incomplete and, I think, incorrect on the inputs (for example). At least, they differ from everything else I've seen. So we'll have to wait and see. I'd bet it's stereo, though. Other later modesl from them have all been stereo.

I also noticed "Just fit" recording says "yes" on the specs, though little referenced elsewhere. It records DL +R, and plays (but does not record, alas!) DivX. I've also seen a 760GX model referenced elsewhere but don't see it listed.

I like my 5005's even with all their flaws, but my expectations are much higher now. They've got some tough competition this time around. If they don't deliver a good, quality unit, they're toast!

Specs says audio is DD 2.0 (digital stereo) so I would not worry about that.

Any buyers please report their comments. Thanks.

Specs says audio is DD 2.0 (digital stereo) so I would not worry about that.

Any buyers please report their comments. Thanks.


That may only be addressing audio as recorded via the analog audio inputs not necessarily the tuner - so, until proven otherwise, I WOULD worry about it.

The big thing I din't like in the specs. was Internal TV Tuner: NTSC-M which I'm guessing the "M" stands for Monaural.

If that's the case you can keep it & for $300 Lite-On could of at least included a "Stereo" tuner & it makes me wonder what other cheap parts are they using.

I looked into this. It does *not* stand for "mono" - apparently NTSC_M is the precise way to reference the NTSC TV broadcast standard for the Americas (and some other countries) where M indicates the 525 scan line, 29.97 frame rate and some other parameters of the standard. See the table at this link for more detailed info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_television_system

My bet remains that it *is* a stereo tuner. I'm no longer a CostCo member or I'd be tempted to pick one up and find out for sure. ;)

My bet remains that it *is* a stereo tuner. I'm no longer a CostCo member or I'd be tempted to pick one up and find out for sure.

I'm a brand-newbie forum member and came across y'all while searching, searching, searching for a DVR that isn't impossibly cumbersome and complicated. I'd just about decided to try the Polaroid DRM-2001G DVR but then this thread came up. Let's see: an 80Gb model complete with recalls and complaints, or a LiteOn that at least sounds more tempting with twice the storage? (Dartman's drive-swap notwithstanding).

As it happens, I'm a Costco member -- I think I'll call my local store and see if they have the LiteOn.

Whichever I get, this would be my first DVR. (Frankly, a VCR and VCR+ is really all I need, but it's on the endangered list.)

NooB question: what are the options for a timed recording? I gather VCR+ is also on the way out.

All DVD Recorders that I'm aware of have the capability of programming Timer Recordings, just like a VCR before VCR+. That's all I ever do timed-recording-wise.

All previous Liteon models (that I'm aware of) have had a timer record setup that works exactly like that on a VCR. I assume this one will as well.

I'm back, and I bought the Lite-on 740GX. No local Costcos stocked it, so I had it shipped. Last night I integrated it into my home theater system.

That part was easy -- I substituted the DVR for the DVD player, using the same patch cords. I unplugged the cable TV input from the VCR and ran it into the DVR, and I was up and running. There's also an RF out (bypass) jack, so I ran another line back into the VCR. With my setup, this lets me watch & record on either or both the DVR and the VCR, as desired. (We have a lot of tapes.)

I've never used a DVR before, so as is my custom with a new tech toy I picked up the remote and set the manual aside to see how far I could get. It's fairly intuitive -- there's an "Easy Guider" button that walks you through all the menu functions. I could readily record to HDD from the TV using the menu, via one-touch recording (OTR) or timer. It has VCR+, but that won't work properly until you set up the unit's clock. (The remote has buttons for OTR and VCR+.) And, of course, I can watch a DVD.

I dunno if this is standard, but unlike the VCR I bought years ago, this unit doesn't auto-scan the channels to find a time signal when it's first powered on; that needs to be initiated via the menu. The unit requires a minute to scan each channel, so I left that for later and set the date/time manually. I set it up to tape -- sorry, record -- two randomly selected shows overnight (a 'Simpsons' rerun and 'Blade: the Series'), using both the manual timer and VCR+.

This morning I had a little trouble discovering how to play back what was recorded on the HDD. The 90-page manual's "Playback" section tells me everything about viewing video files, music files, DVDs, VCDs, XYZs -- but nothing about watching HDD files. The "Easy Guider" menu has a selection for "Play last recorded", which showed me Blade, but what happened to the Simpsons?

Turns out the remote has a "Contents" button which displays the HDD's contents. Problem solved. It's in the manual, but under a section called "Easier Application and Access". Since this is new to me, I don't know how this compares to other DVRs.

That's as far as I got. The manual is pretty good -- there's a lot of stuff about which formats are supported. The unit has a lot of capabilities that I'm looking forward to exploring.

Bottom line: so far, no complaints. It's not impossibly cumbersome and complicated. Then again, I've just scratched the surface, and it's only a day old.

The URL for the unit's specs are in a post above. (I can't yet post URLs here.) The English user manual (dated 06/12/06) and the firmware manual (dated 06/02/06) are available, but you need to click the 'Download' link on the sidenav and do a search.

What's with Lite-On and S-video?

It appears that none of the current non-HDD models have any sort of S-video connections at all and the HDD-models only have a single input at the front. (Older versions had both S-video inputs and outputs.) Although these appear to be nicely-featured units in other respects, it's strange that they make no concessions for optimum signal quality when used with set-top boxes.

Tony

arciervo, That's the Bean Counters cutting all the corners they can to get the unit out the door at the lowest possible price.

What bothers me about things like this is if they did that on things that you can see what have they done with the parts on the inside to keep the price down. :eek:

What's with Lite-On and S-video?

It appears that none of the current non-HDD models have any sort of S-video connections at all and the HDD-models only have a single input at the front.

The 740GX HDD unit has S-video input/output jacks in the rear, and an input in the front. The rear panel also has component and digital (coax and optical) out.

Newegg has a listing (no stock) for the HD-A760GX at $300. It appears to be the same as the 740 except it has a 250GB HD.

Search using "A760GX".

Newegg has a listing (no stock) for the HD-A760GX at $300. It appears to be the same as the 740 except it has a 250GB HD.

Search using "A760GX".

Which means you can probably somehow put a 250gb drive in the A740GX, and make it work like a A760GX. Plus I'd rather also have the added Costco warranty, over just the standard 90 day Lite-On warranty that you would get from newegg.

( newbie warning )

I am new to this forum but not the content, I was wondering ( as well as looking around ) - can you record on the hard drive AND watch a DVD movie at the same time, or are you limited to one activity or the other ??

( I understand that there is only one tuner - which would be in use for recording - is it needed as well to pump out a signal for the dvd )

I haven't found any mention on doing the two activities concurrently - you would think that this would be a no brainer - but I am trying to offload equipment and would like to get down to this unit, and a VCR (for dubbing old stuff).

thanks for your time, and any replies !

I am new to this forum but not the content, I was wondering ( as well as looking around ) - can you record on the hard drive AND watch a DVD movie at the same time, or are you limited to one activity or the other ??
One or the other. I just ran into this last night: I was watching a DVD and the timer shut down the DVD a full minute before the timed event while displaying an on-screen warning. (You can press STOP to cancel the timer, if desired.) Note: this is one of the many things that's not mentioned in the manual.

( I understand that there is only one tuner - which would be in use for recording - is it needed as well to pump out a signal for the dvd )
Yeah, it looks that way.

I haven't found any mention on doing the two activities concurrently - you would think that this would be a no brainer - but I am trying to offload equipment and would like to get down to this unit, and a VCR (for dubbing old stuff).
I've just picked up a stack of DVDs. I want to hook up my camcorder to the front AV jacks and record a tape to the HDD before copying it to a DVD.

Overall I'm pleased with this DVR. It's easy to use, and you can split/merge HDD recordings, add titles and chapter marks, etc. But there are some quirks.

The manual for the HD-A740 (and presumably the 760) is incomplete in areas that I'm still discovering. For example, as noted above, I found out the hard way that you can't watch a DVD while recording to the HDD. The manual doesn't mention this.

There's a Time Shift feature. You press the Time Shift button to start it, but I don't find any way to stop it after a certain time. If you press the button again, it simply stops. It would be nice if it worked like the One-Touch Record. I guess you're supposed to either just keep watching until you 'catch up' to real-time, or else record the rest of the show for later viewing.

There's an option to scan your available channels, which doesn't take long, and with it an option to disable certain channels -- say, channel 1. But when you use the timer function, and even though channel 1 is disabled, the on-screen menu defaults to channel 1 -- and static screams out of the speakers. I've found no way to fix that.

The remote: it's okay, but I'd like to avoid the handful o' remotes problem by programming one of my universal remotes to run the Lite-on. The manual doesn't have anything on its setup codes, so I emailed tech support via the Lite-on website. Their answer: "we don't provide remote code for this model."

Any Lite-on users have any ideas what the code might be? Specifically, I'd like to program the univ remote for my Kenwood VR-716 home theater system.

Any specific questions y'all want answered, just let me know. I want to put it through its paces.

You may want to check your firmware on the A740GX, because it looks like they released a new one on 6/2/06. They also posted the user manual on 6/12/06, but I don't know if it's any different from the manual that shipped with them in the box or not.

http://us.liteonit.com/us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=103&limit=1&limitstart=2

The manual for the HD-A740 (and presumably the 760) is incomplete in areas that I'm still discovering. For example, as noted above, I found out the hard way that you can't watch a DVD while recording to the HDD. The manual doesn't mention this.

If the HD-A740 cannot play a DVD while recording on the HDD, then this would be a first I've heard of this limitation with HDD DVD recorders. AFAIK all Panasonic, Pioneer, and Toshiba HDD DVD recorders allow recording to the HDD while playing a DVD. That really sucks if true.

What's with Lite-On and S-video?

It appears that none of the current non-HDD models have any sort of S-video connections at all and the HDD-models only have a single input at the front. (Older versions had both S-video inputs and outputs.) Although these appear to be nicely-featured units in other respects, it's strange that they make no concessions for optimum signal quality when used with set-top boxes.

Tony

This is exactly the reason I returned the one I bought from Costco, I believe the model was LVW-5115GHC+

Newegg has a listing (no stock) for the HD-A760GX at $300. It appears to be the same as the 740 except it has a 250GB HD.

Search using "A760GX". It's in stock now, just ordered mine for the same $$ as the Costco model, but I save the tax (& a little on shipping)!

Will post my experiences upon arrival & testing. I'm really interested to see if it's indeed impossible to watch a DVD whilst recording to HDD in the background; there shouldn't be any technical reason for that to be the case.

Not being able to watch a DVD while recording to the HD is a deal breaker for me.

I seem to recall a review of another unit where the reviewer mentioned something similar. The unit would interrupt the DVD playback to inform you that it was about
to begin recording. You could then resume DVD playback.

Maybe the 740/760 do the same???

If the HD-A740 cannot play a DVD while recording on the HDD, then this would be a first I've heard of this limitation with HDD DVD recorders. AFAIK all Panasonic, Pioneer, and Toshiba HDD DVD recorders allow recording to the HDD while playing a DVD. That really sucks if true.
That seems to be the case for this unit. If you're watching a DVD when the timer goes off, DVD playback stops and a warning is superimposed on the screen.

Once the unit is recording to HDD and you press 'play' to watch a DVD, you instead invoke the Time Shift feature to watch the HDD session from the beginning.

I've also found that once you start recording to the HDD, you can't watch a different channel. I don't regard this as a fatal flaw since I can use the home theater system receiver to switch to another input, but even old VCRs can switch between the VCR tuner and TV tuner. Or is that because this DVR only has one tuner?

You may want to check your firmware on the A740GX, because it looks like they released a new one on 6/2/06. They also posted the user manual on 6/12/06, but I don't know if it's any different from the manual that shipped with them in the box or not.
The manual appears to be the same; the only obvious difference is the location of the ObCaution pages. This suggests that the firmware doesn't add any new features or fix the annoyances found so far.

Then again, I'm new, so let me ask: generally speaking, what is the purpose/benefit of upgrading the firmware? I haven't encountered any of the lockups or kinds of 'quirks' that I've read about from other DVR manufacturers.

It's in stock now, just ordered mine for the same $$ as the Costco model, but I save the tax (& a little on shipping)!
Well, you also get a 250Gb HDD instead of 160Gb...

Will post my experiences upon arrival & testing. I'm really interested to see if it's indeed impossible to watch a DVD whilst recording to HDD in the background; there shouldn't be any technical reason for that to be the case.
I'll be interested in comparing notes. Maybe I'm just missing something, but this ain't rocket science!

Well, you also get a 250Gb HDD instead of 160Gb...

Yeah but he better hope that he does not want to return it either, because newegg charges a 15% fee for all non-defective returns for a refund.
Also he only gets the standard Lite-On 90 day warranty vs the Costco warranty/return policy, which is more or less the same thing as a life time warranty.

I've also found that once you start recording to the HDD, you can't watch a different channel. I don't regard this as a fatal flaw since I can use the home theater system receiver to switch to another input, but even old VCRs can switch between the VCR tuner and TV tuner. Or is that because this DVR only has one tuner?

Yes, all DVD recorders with a single tuner do the same. The RF output (if you use it) acts as a "pass through" signal splitter, so if you have it connected, it will pass the RF signal through and you can watch that signal on a TV.

Yes, all DVD recorders with a single tuner do the same. The RF output (if you use it) acts as a "pass through" signal splitter, so if you have it connected, it will pass the RF signal through and you can watch that signal on a TV.
Except that some "pass-through" are better than others. My signal is marginal - putting the signal through my 5005 causes the TV to lose all digital channels and the analog ones look much worse.

Except that some "pass-through" are better than others. My signal is marginal - putting the signal through my 5005 causes the TV to lose all digital channels and the analog ones look much worse.

But you would have that problem with a 2-tuner DVD recorder as well because the signal would still be split.

Yeah but he better hope that he does not want to return it either, because newegg charges a 15% fee for all non-defective returns for a refund.
Also he only gets the standard Lite-On 90 day warranty vs the Costco warranty/return policy, which is more or less the same thing as a life time warranty. Who says it wouldn't be defective by the time they got it back? ;) It's OK, my CC gives me an additional 1-yr. warranty on the unit.

...and Paul, I'm not trying to second-guess your findings, I'm just interested to see if I can find some sort of workaround.

For me, not being able to watch while playing isn't a deal-breaker, I've got MORE than enough players sitting around.

Anyone tried recording to +R DL media yet? I'm interested to see if there's any special intervention needed, or if it'll take it fairly seamlessly.

Paul, I'm not trying to second-guess your findings, I'm just interested to see if I can find some sort of workaround.
Not a problem - I'll take all the help I can get!

BTW, a query to Lite-on tech support -- 'can I watch a DVD while recording to the HDD?' -- brought this response:

Sorry for the inconvenience that you cannot record to the HDD while
watching DVD. But you can make recordings while watching TV programme.

This led me to ask 'how can I record one channel on the HDD while watching a different TV channel?'

Please connect the satellite RF out to recorder RF in, recorder RF/AV out to TV
RF/AV in. Make sure TV is in AV mode. [Then] you can make recordings to the HDD
while watching a channel on TV.

I'm not sure this helps me, given my setup and my older TV, but hopefully others will find it helpful.


For me, not being able to watch while playing isn't a deal-breaker, I've got MORE than enough players sitting around.
Yeah, it's not a big deal for me either.

I can see having two or more DVRs, so what other models might you recommend in the $300 range?

Except that some "pass-through" are better than others. My signal is marginal - putting the signal through my 5005 causes the TV to lose all digital channels and the analog ones look much worse.

That's because the tuner in the 5005 is a serious piece of crap. I own two and they're great in many ways, but the tuner sucks beyond belief. Do yourself a big favor and avoid using it at all costs, avoid passing any signal through it. Use the S-Video and RCA inputs and an external tuner. Any VCR you have lying around has a better tuner than the 5005. Hook it up and you'll see much better quality than you'll get from the crappy, noisy, cheap-ass piece of crap they crippled the the 5005s with!

The 5005 was a great value in its day, and is still a decent machine in many ways. With a decent tuner it would have been an awesome value. Whoever made that design decision cost them countless unit sales. The good news, great video chip and video quality for the price and the most flexible unit I've ever seen as far as recording capabilities (media-wise), also great, easy to use interface. Mine are both over a year old and still going strong.

Who says it wouldn't be defective by the time they got it back?


Yeah, I'm sure that they are so clueless that they could not tell that you purposely did something to it.... Not to mention, after 30 days, you no longer have any return options with them. I've personally dealt with newegg on returns that were indeed defective, and in fact were in DOA right out of the box, and it may even have been due to their poor substandard packaging of the product for shipping. And they still tried to charge the 15% restocking fee!

That's because the tuner in the 5005 is a serious piece of crap. I own two and they're great in many ways, but the tuner sucks beyond belief. Do yourself a big favor and avoid using it at all costs, avoid passing any signal through it. Use the S-Video and RCA inputs and an external tuner. Any VCR you have lying around has a better tuner than the 5005. Hook it up and you'll see much better quality than you'll get from the crappy, noisy, cheap-ass piece of crap they crippled the the 5005s with!

The 5005 was a great value in its day, and is still a decent machine in many ways. With a decent tuner it would have been an awesome value. Whoever made that design decision cost them countless unit sales. The good news, great video chip and video quality for the price and the most flexible unit I've ever seen as far as recording capabilities (media-wise), also great, easy to use interface. Mine are both over a year old and still going strong.
The tuner seems OK for me - I use the 5005 as my "DVR" - record shows from cable - tuner is part of that scenario. My problem is that the cable signal goes through 2 2-way splitters before the 5005 - not a very good signal to start with.

I got it over 2 years ago as a VCR replacement. In about a year when I can get a DVDr with HD and ATSC/QAM tuner, I'll dump the 5005. :cool:

The tuner seems OK for me - I use the 5005 as my "DVR" - record shows from cable - tuner is part of that scenario. My problem is that the cable signal goes through 2 2-way splitters before the 5005 - not a very good signal to start with.

I got it over 2 years ago as a VCR replacement. In about a year when I can get a DVDr with HD and ATSC/QAM tuner, I'll dump the 5005. :cool:

biker19, glad you're happy with it. I'm guessing you must be using your TV's speakers for audio. At any rate, if it's doing the job for you, cool!

biker19, glad you're happy with it. I'm guessing you must be using your TV's speakers for audio. At any rate, if it's doing the job for you, cool!
I realize there are better, but for example, the tuner in the 5005 is able to provide a better picture than the built in NTSC tuner in my Sony 30XS955, so it's all relative.

Biker, who is a "good enough" kind of person. :cool:

I realize there are better, but for example, the tuner in the 5005 is able to provide a better picture than the built in NTSC tuner in my Sony 30XS955, so it's all relative.

Biker, who is a "good enough" kind of person. :cool:


Agreed - :cool:

Issue w/ Time autoset once player is "turned off".

In playing w/ the new unit this weekend, I had an issue w/ the Auto time setting. While the unit would auto-detect the time from my local PBS station, I had to manually configure it to Central time and for Daylight Savings.

I noticed on Sunday morning that the time was off from when I'd shut down the previous evening. I reset the time from the PBS station and watched the clock when I turned the unit off again.

Upon turning off the power (timer mode, etc.) The clock IMMEDIATELY regressed 8 hours. It wouldn't rectify this situation unitl I had manually re-run the time config again. :eek:

Any suggestions? As I see it, I can either leave the unit on ALL the time, or go completely manual on the time set and pray for no power hiccups.

the HDD-models only have a single input at the front. (Older versions had both S-video inputs and outputs.)

The HD-A760GX has two S-video inputs (one on the back and one on the front), an S-video and component output and composite video inputs and outputs as well. It also has a DV 1394 (not mpeg2) input.

One thing they left out (and I bought one and went thru tech support and even they had to check it out!!) the built-in tuner is STILL MONO as are all the other Liteon recorders.

As side from that the 760 sports a 250gb hard drive and does do DL on DVD+R discs.

My remote control sensor falls off to the right (unfortunately the side I need the most sensitive for it's current position).

It is nice having two S-video inputs that can be controlled by the timer so I don't have to remember to throw a switch to make sure that I've got the proper input going to the set.

John

Costco now has both the 160gb and the 250gb Lite-On, listed on their website.

In playing w/ the new unit this weekend, I had an issue w/ the Auto time setting. While the unit would auto-detect the time from my local PBS station, I had to manually configure it to Central time and for Daylight Savings.
At least you can find a time signal... I haven't found one yet!

Any suggestions? As I see it, I can either leave the unit on ALL the time, or go completely manual on the time set and pray for no power hiccups.
I haven't had that problem. The time -- and timer settings -- are evidently saved (flash memory?) and have survived a lengthy power outage. I haven't had to reset the time at all.

Anyone else had the problem described?

Has anyone confirmed that the A740GX and A760GX have the vaunted LSI chip?- these models are not on the LSI website- the only way to tell is for someone to contact Lite-on, LSI or pull off the top. Here is the list..
http://www.lsilogic.com/products/product_showcase/index.html

Maybe Ron (dr1394) from LSI can answer that question.

This is a great machine. Bought mine last month. Loving it.

At least you can find a time signal... I haven't found one yet!


I haven't had that problem. The time -- and timer settings -- are evidently saved (flash memory?) and have survived a lengthy power outage. I haven't had to reset the time at all.

Anyone else had the problem described?

I had the same problem as H-Town_Dan. I found a time signal on PBS, and right after turning the machine off, the time immediately shifted (four hours forward, if I remember correctly.) I then changed the time to manual setting w/o a problem... until daylight savings time ends, when I will have to manually reset it.

Has anyone successfully used the auto time set with time signal function? If so, what version of firmware are you using?

This is a great machine. Bought mine last month. Loving it.
I second that. On the LP setting I can record about 100 hours -- it's great to not have to worry about swapping tapes. I pretty much record everything for later, or I just time-shift as I watch it 'live'. (I note that the unit doesn't actually record in time-shift mode.)

The only drawback is the mono tuner, but I can live with that. For now.

Has anyone successfully used the auto time set with time signal function? If so, what version of firmware are you using?
I found a time signal at one of the local (NJ/NY) PBS stations and I've been using it with the 'auto clock' function for about two weeks. I haven't lost the time yet.

I don't know what version firmware it has - I haven't updated it since purchase. How would I find out?

I have confimed that the Liteon HD-A740GX,manufactured in June 2006 AND the one Costco is now selling has the LSI DoMiNo FX Chip- It is emblazoned under the front drop down cover where the front inputs are. If yours does not have this you got another chip ,maybe media tek.

I have confimed that the Liteon HD-A740GX,manufactured in June 2006 AND the one Costco is now selling has the LSI DoMiNo FX Chip- It is emblazoned under the front drop down cover where the front inputs are.

Mine, which was made in April 2006. Has the same LSI logo behind the drop down panel as yours does.

Mine, which was made in April 2006. Has the same LSI logo behind the drop down panel as yours does.
Thanks John- that leads me to believe that all 740GX models have it.

Thanks John- that leads me to believe that all 740GX models have it.


After all the howling about earlier models, I can't believe they put a mono tuner in their new machines. What are they thinking? That will cause many to drop it off their prospects list. Too bad.

Bron- Do you run your audio through the DVDR direct to TV or the DVDR to an amplifier/receiver to speakers?

Bron- Do you run your audio through the DVDR direct to TV or the DVDR to an amplifier/receiver to speakers?

HG, right now it's running (RCA) to my TV (Hitachi 32" HDTV) and from the TV variable audio out to an amp and speakers (just 2.1). It's a simple setup, but sounds decent. Won't compete with digital out to an amp and 5.1 though, I know. The amp & speakers are a 'monitor' set as used for audio recording and have good bass with flat, clean sound. Had them around so went this way just to see and was happy enough with it that I haven't changed. Though tempted, I've put my money elsewhere. The room would make 5.1 speakers hard to setup, so I've just left things this way.

The mono tuners on the LVW-5005 were incredibly noisy - both video and sound. Bypassing the tuner on those units gave superb video and decent sound. Can't believe they would repeat their mistake.

Bron

One thing they left out (and I bought one and went thru tech support and even they had to check it out!!) the built-in tuner is STILL MONO as are all the other Liteon recorders.


Can you please explain how you figured out that the built in tuner is MONO? I downloaded their user guide and it says audio recording format is Dolby Digital - 2 channel. Is audio recording different from tuner audio recording?

Thanks!

Can you please explain how you figured out that the built in tuner is MONO? I downloaded their user guide and it says audio recording format is Dolby Digital - 2 channel. Is audio recording different from tuner audio recording?

Thanks!


Two different things. One is the recording format - the other is the capability of the built-in hardware tv tuner. If it's like the earlier models, you can feed a stereo signal via the inputs and get a perfectly decent recording. But if you use the built-in tuner and record, you get ****** mono sound. (To be fair, some people say it sounds OK to them. But it didn't to me.)

I'll leave it to the orignal poster as to how he verified the tuner is mono - I have no idea about that. Just saying, if true, it's a shame. (Think about recording music concerts or movies from channels with good audio quality using a mono tuner. Yuck!)

I found a time signal at one of the local (NJ/NY) PBS stations and I've been using it with the 'auto clock' function for about two weeks. I haven't lost the time yet.
OK, I'm here to report that after several months of trouble-free time, I discovered that my unit had somehow decided that the year was 3/10/42.

I reset the Auto Clock and ran into the same issue as two other users -- I turned the machine off and the time immediately shifted four hours forward.

H-Town_Dan and The_Fool -- do you recall whether you were using "Auto" for the time zone and/or daylight savings time, or whether you set them for your time zone?

I've tried various settings. I'm fairly sure the unit was on Auto/Auto when the '42 date cropped up. I tried setting the TZ and DST for my area, and had the four-hour-jump error. I re-tried Auto/Auto successfully, and tested it three times; it seems to be working again. For now.

Think I'll also see what Lite-on tech support has to say...

Doesn't that unit know that Daylight Savings Time will have been abolished by the year 2042?

Can you please explain how you figured out that the built in tuner is MONO?

I found out the hard way, bought a 760GX. I then listened to the same channel thru the Liteon and thru my JVC tv set and the sound being transmitted was stereo and the sound from Liteon was mono.

Then after extensive calls and emails from Liteon US tech support the confirmed that the US model has a mono turner, the unit sold in the UK is stereo.

I had a problem with the unit turning itself on and opening the tray. I did have it set up with auto clock (from PBS in Los Angeles). I didn't have a time or date problem, but I noticed that everytime it started a timer record, it first tuned to the PBS station (for the time) and then switched to the programmed channel.

I talked to Liteon about this, but I'm waiting to see if the change back to manual time setting solves the problem.

John

I have the LiteOn 1107HC1 (no hard drive). I was told the tuner was stereo but now I'm wondering. I don't use the built in TV tuner though. Does anyone know anything about this model, such as chipset and/or stereo or mono tuner? Thanks.

Can you watch a previously recorded program on the HDD while timer recording another (a program other than it is recording)?

Also, I am unable to program a new timer function nor open up the "Contents" folder while the HDD is performing a timer recording.

Can anyone confirm that these are limitations of the Liteon (or am not not going through the correct steps)?

Can you watch a previously recorded program on the HDD while timer recording another (a program other than it is recording)?

Also, I am unable to program a new timer function nor open up the "Contents" folder while the HDD is performing a timer recording.

Can anyone confirm that these are limitations of the Liteon (or am not not going through the correct steps)?

BUMP, also

1) Is there a commercial skip button
2) Is there a back-wards frame advance when editing?

I'm unable to come up with solutions on these.

TIA

Email from Liteon

"Kindly be informed that the TV tuner of HD-A740GX is stereo, press SETUP button
to select Audio,then press ENTER, you can see the letters TV Audio stereo
Joe

OK, I'm here to report that after several months of trouble-free time, I discovered that my unit had somehow decided that the year was 3/10/42... and also that when I turned the machine off the time immediately shifted four hours forward.

Think I'll also see what Lite-on tech support has to say...
I haven't had any time-set issues since my last post, but Tech support suggested a firmware upgrade. This I have done, and we shall see whether the time jump issue resurfaces.

It would have been nice, though, to have been warned that the firmware upgrade erases EVERY vestige of the setup, from the timer schedule to the channel names I had laboriously entered. Bah! Why can't this unit auto-detect the station names the way even cheap VCRs do?

Better yet, the unit should write the settings to the HDD and then auto-reimport them after the upgrade. I'm sure I can spare the 50K or so it would require.

Can you watch a previously recorded program on the HDD while timer recording another (a program other than it is recording)?

Also, I am unable to program a new timer function nor open up the "Contents" folder while the HDD is performing a timer recording.

Can anyone confirm that these are limitations of the Liteon (or am not not going through the correct steps)?
You can't do anything with it while it's recording except watch what's being recorded.

Email from Liteon

"Kindly be informed that the TV tuner of HD-A740GX is stereo, press SETUP button
to select Audio,then press ENTER, you can see the letters TV Audio stereo
Joe
Not mine --- it just gives me the option of selecting a language.

Anyone else?

Not mine --- it just gives me the option of selecting a language.

Anyone else?

I got the hd-a740gx yesterday, and have been putting it through some initial tests.

I have also had the problem of getting really ****** sound when using the internal tuner. I do seem to get some sound coming from other channels besides the center one, but its so weak, its hardly audible. I had to switch my audio center to a 2ch only signal. It does make watching TV stations a very crapy experience. I wish I could correct this situation. This will be my sore point, if I decide to return it.

When I went to the Sound option, all I get in TV tuner/Antena, I cannot select stereo, so I do not know where I can select stereo from the menu.

On a positive note, I was pleasantly surprise on the sound quality when playing back regular DVD movies. I did feel as if I was experiencing for the first time unknown movie sound areas.

But I have to correct the Tuner sound. I refuse to listen to only mono in 2006.

I got the hd-a740gx yesterday, and have been putting it through some initial tests.




Please be sure to add your reviews/comments to this thread or to the Liteon HD-A760GX User Report (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=724367) (identical unit but with a larger HD)

I haven't had any time-set issues since my last post, but Tech support suggested a firmware upgrade. This I have done, and we shall see whether the time jump issue resurfaces.
UPDATE: the time jump issue was fixed -- but did anyone else find that the unit failed to 'fall back' an hour when DST ended, as mine did? I had to switch to Manual clock and then back to Auto to reset the time.

I've read through this thread and I'm still a little confused about this mono-sound thing. Lets say I want to record from the yellow-red-white cables (are those called component?), will it record stereo sound that way? I've got Dish network, so I'd pretty much have to do that for the best picture quality.

Also, I'm curious about the menus and remote. Are they similar to the LVW5045 and Ilo HD04 models? I've got the Ilo and I love the simplicity of it.

They are called Composite Video cables (plus analog stereo audio) and yes, it will recorder stereo that way. Only by using the internal tuner will the audio be monaural (actually 2-channel but the same signal on each side).

Thanx for clearing that up. I guess the mono tuner would be a problem for some people on antenna or cable without a box.