|
|
|
|
|
Google™ Search AVS: |
|
11-17-07, 01:56 PM
|
#1 | Link |
|
|||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Philips 3575/3576 and Magnavox 2080/2160 Features, Setup and Operation
These are simple, but reliable and durable, std def (SD) DVD Recorders (DVDR) with a 160GB hard disk drive (HDD), on-board DVD burner, and NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners. A great VCR replacement. For more info, click any SUBJECT below. Forget everything you've been told or thought you knew about Philips and Magnavox standard-definition (SD) DVD recorders (DVDR). In 2007, they introduced the first of FIVE similar models that represent a new and better breed, the Philips DVDR3575H/37, followed by the Philips DVDR3576H/37, Magnavox H2080MW8, Magnavox H2160MW9 and, currently, Magnavox H2160MW9A. For the last 3 years, they've been the ONLY DVD recorders with hard disk drive (HDD) and digital tuners available in North America. The 3575/3576/2160 have an easily replaceable 160GB Hard Disk Drive (HDD) (upgradeable to 500GB), DVD drive, NTSC/ATSC/QAM analog/digital SD tuners, DV input, optical and/or coax digital audio out, 1080p HDMI upconvert, 36 timer programs, and amplified coax passthru of SDTV and HDTV signals. The 2080 has a smaller 80GB HDD, also easily replaceable or upgradeable, but no optical audio out, HDMI out, or DV input. These DVDRs are so easy to use they can be operated by the entire family, from kids to VCR timeshifters to gearheads. Timeshifters can reliably record a gazillion shows unattended and with NO tapes or discs, while gearheads can upgrade their HDD or create an "HDD farm" of multiple 2.5" and 3.5" external (E-SATA) HDDs with unlimited storage, <1-min. drive swapout, HDD portability, and external power for less internal heat and stress, as described in #5 here. These Philips/Magnavox DVDRs were designed by Philips, a Netherlands company, which also owns the Magnavox brand name everywhere except Australia. As noted at the bottom of the Magnavox website, "Philips has licensed Funai to use the Magnavox brand name for MAGNAVOX is a registered trademark of Philips Electronics North America Corporation and is used by Funai Electric Co. Ltd. and Funai Corporation, Inc. under license from Philips Electronics North America Corporation." These recorders are manufactured in China by Funai, a Japanese company that manufactures more than 50% of ALL DVDRs sold in North America under various brand names, including Funai, Philips, Magnavox, and Toshiba. Funai operates factories in Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, and Malaysia (a favorite of Panasonic). The Philips 3575 was a CES 2008 Innovation Award Honoree in the Video Components category. The only known changes in the 3576 are a black case and new Front-End (FE) Firmware for tuner ops. The Magnavox 2160 is a virtual clone of the Philips 3575/3576, i.e., it has the same internal design and ops. For clarity, here's a list of specific similarities and differences. Because of their setup and operating similarities, I've used "this DVDR" in these help files, when appropriate, to indicate any of these nearly identical units. A Philips and a Mag are a powerful pair... great for side-by-side use cuz they operate essentially the same way, but their remotes are model-specific! They can even use the other's discs with Make Recording Compatible set to ON (more info here under "OPTION 1"). For the past 3 years, this HDD-DVDR has proven to be a simple, reliable, and cost-effective way to record your daily and weekly shows on analog and digital channels, completely unattended, so you can go on a long vacation or business trip and you'll never touch a disc! Also, it's the only device you'll need to copy your family's home movies or your DVR recordings to a stand-alone, no-monthly-fee HDD, where you can edit or not, then high-speed dub to DVDs for a perfect mirror-image of the original. Finally, it's the most versatile for gearheads who "want more power" in storage and playback with ability to create an external "farm" of a virtually unlimited number of swappable, instantly readable and recordable 500GB HDDs. You won't need a digital converter box wherever you've got one of these, and the HDD will spoil you rotten! Philips DVDR3575H/37 (Jan07-Feb08)  Philips DVDR3576H/37 (Feb-Sep08)  Magnavox H2080MW8 (Oct07), H2160MW9 (May-Dec08), H2160MW9A (Apr09)  Some Philips DVDR model markings: H = HDD... V = DVDR with VCR... No letter = Single-disc DVDR... /37 = US/Canada... /37B = Refurb. Some Magnavox DVDR model markings: H = HDD... MW = Medium Wave or Made for/Marketed by Walmart?... 8 or 9 = 2008 or 2009. 104,302 words so far... Updated daily...
Last edited by wajo; 02-05-10 at 08:10 PM.. |
||||
|
|
|
11-19-07, 01:29 PM
|
#3 | Link | |
|
Advanced Member
|
Quote:
My hat's off to you, wabjxo! Bron |
|
|
|
|
|
11-19-07, 02:23 PM
|
#5 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Error Codes for 3575/3576/2160 (with IDE HDD)
Error Codes for 3575/3576. Codes for the 2160 are the same except 49 is changed to 50 and the new 49 is "There was no disc space on the HDD at the starting time for the HDD timer recording." See this help file for info on a common cause of "disc errors": failure of the Power Calibration (PC) test series the DVDR conducts on every blank disc every time it's loaded. As a burner ages and you use a lot of discs, and handle them by the center hole, dust and finger grease can accumulate on the burner's rubber gripper pad on the spindle, causing the disc to slip at startup or during a burn while the machine performs its PC tests.   
Last edited by wajo; 11-22-09 at 01:55 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-23-07, 11:51 PM
|
#7 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
How To Record a Gazillion TV Shows While You're In Jail!
Or, Why You Need a DVDR with a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)! If you're planning on going to jail anytime soon, see Item 3... otherwise, read ALL the items here!  Here are some things to consider regarding the typical DVDR options available today:
1. Save Yourself a Lotta Grief. 2. Eliminate Media Logistics. 3. Record a Gazillion Shows in a Row on ONE Recorder... While You're in Jail! 4. Record Virtually Unlimited Hours with Best (Unbeatable) Recorded PQ. 5. Record Virtually Unlimited Hours Instantly, the Moment You See Something You Like. 6. Record Virtually Unlimited Hours While Simultaneously Playing Other Recorded Shows on HDD or DVDs. 7. Eliminate Lost Recordings Due to Media Failure or Copy-Once (CO) Protection. 8. Edit Multiple Recordings on ONE Recorder... No 2nd Recorder, No Computer. 9. Resume Play on Up To 600 Titles... ALL Titles, ANY time. 10. Chase Play Instantly... ANY Time... ANY Show Length... NO Special Disc. 11. Extend the Life of Your DVD Burner. 12. Make High-Speed LOSSLESS DVD Copies of Your Favorite Shows on ONE Recorder. 13. Copy, Edit and Assemble Your Old Home Movies, Then Copy to DVDs on ONE Recorder. 14. Make More Copies of Your Home DVDs Anytime on ONE Recorder. 15. Save Enough $$$ on Discs to Pay for the This DVDR. 16. Be Able to Record Even If DVDs Are No Longer Available or Affordable. 17. Be Able to Record Even If Your DVD Drive Fails. 18. Help Save Our Planet and Prevent Macroeconomic Destruction. 19. Don't Worry about Panasonic Warning against Risky Behavior: USING DISCS.  20. Only One Thing Wrong with HDD DVDRs: Slow But Inevitable Loss of Mechanical Skills! 1. Save Yourself a Lotta Grief! If you buy a single-disc recorder, your life will be filled with grief! You'll discover, like this guy, that you're stuck with handling a buncha discs (smaller but less-durable versions of VHS cassettes), calculating disc space, tracking/identifying disc content, scheduling your watch/record times to the recorder's schedule not yours, failure to record, producing coasters, spending more $$$ on discs, spending even MORE $$$ on another recorder to make a copy, requiring a computer, inadvertently teaching your kids to curse, and no vacations over 2 hours! You won't even REALIZE you've become a SLAVE to a shiny little disc. You'll even go out and buy ANOTHER single-disc recorder just to make a copy, and you'll feel OK for awhile. You won't KNOW you're stuck in "gearhead" mentality, and you'll consider the $1000's you've spent on blank diiscs a good investment of family resources! By the time you capitulate, you might have 10 single-disc recorders stacked on top of each other cuz disc management tasks keep your mind off your bizarre OCD-like behavior. Imagine... this simple, inexpensive HDD-DVDR could save you from a whole lotta grief: Dr. Phil, divorce, straightjacket, padded cell... who knows how bad it could get!? Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 2. Eliminate Media Logistics! Remember videotape cassettes and your media-management headaches? Well, if you buy a single-disc recorder, welcome to your NEW media-management headaches. You'll just be replacing your old tapes with smaller, shinier versions... still "media" you gotta handle EVERY DAY, sometimes every hour or two... and they're EASIER TO DAMAGE! You could take SOME comfort in the fact that your stack of things to watch won't be as HIGH with discs as it was with VHS tapes!  BUT, you can be totally stackless and ELIMINATE hourly disc handling altogether with this HDD-DVDR! Don't worry about changing discs and identifying disc content, or having a disc loaded with enough space to record your shows (might require math skills!), or erasing your rewritable -RAM disc before next recording (you HAVE watched the shows already recorded on it, right?), or disc failure due to scratches, fingerprints, snot, dust mites, or a hundred other reasons (like a Memorex special at the drug store). This DVDR's HDD is guaranteed to be impervious to scratches, fingerprints, snot, dust mites, and totally Memorex-proof! You'll only have to handle a DVD if you want a copy off the HDD, then simply high-speed dub a mirror-image, lossless copy to the on-board DVD drive. AND, you'll never have to say, while in bed with other things on your mind, "Hey, did you load a good disc to record our shows on?"Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 3. Record a Gazillion Shows in a Row on ONE Recorder... While You're in Jail! One 3575 user recently recorded 35 shows in a row while he was on a long trip, 10 titles per week over 3.5 weeks, USING ONLY 6 TIMER PROGRAMS! This means you could record, what... a "gazillion" titles if you used all 36 timer slots!? (Except this DVDR can only hold 600 titles on the HDD... bummer! ) With this DVDR, your timer programs can cover multiple days, times and shows, back-to-back, different channels, rec modes, lengths, aspects... doesn't matter... and when you're released on bail or good behavior, your shows will be there on the HDD, accessible thru an on-screen menu with full-motion thumbnail pics and sound. Once in your lazy chair, watch your shows WHILE THE NEXT GAZILLION SHOWS ARE RECORDING! Skip commercials. Go back instantly and replay, watch in slo-mo, or advance frame-by-frame. Mark spots to return to and see again. FF/REW long distances at "digital" speed. Go to a specific time in a show, or the next show, instantly with a simple INFO- or DISPLAY-menu command. To duplicate this one user's 3.5 weeks of unattended recording at 2-hr-SP rec mode, you'd need 35 single-disc recorders! Oh, wait, you COULD train your cat to load and unload the discs... oops, need an opposing thumb and no claws for that... a monkey's trainable, but he might see his reflection in the shiny disc, think it's a rival and trash your house... you'd have to tell your ins. co. it was all caused by a single-disc recorder and a jealous monkey!P.S. This has NOTHING to do with long-term storage of titles on external HDDs. You can't really record a "gazillion" shows on any DVDR and, besides, you'd need a bazillion or kazillion external HDDs to store them all if it could... and so far, we've only had one user recording on FIVE portable HDDs! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 4. Record Virtually Unlimited Hours with Best (Unbeatable) Recorded PQ. You say you want the best SDTV pic quality (PQ) for your recordings? Just set this DVDR for 1-hr-HQ rec mode FOR VIRTUALLY ANY LENGTH OF TIME (up to 12 hours in one, uninterrupted rec session) and blow any single-disc SDTV recorder outa the water! You'll still be recording when the single-disc recorder has to stop recording after 1-hour at the same rec mode! PQ-obsessors are primarily single-disc-recorder gearheads who HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT PQ ALL THE TIME cuz their little discs can only fit a very limited amount of stuff, and they have to make the best use of that limited space! With a HDD recorder, the physical medium, the HDD, has virtually no physical time or size limits. You could record EVERYTHING at 1-hr-HQ mode and get amazingly beautiful recordings every time! Also no problem with making beautiful DVD copies later, if desired, as described in this post. If you're like me, you'll start using this DVDR by making lots of discs copying home movies, then you'll sit back and enjoy your favorite shows on the HDD, in the HIGHEST QUALITY POSSIBLE, and discs will only be an occasional nuisance, not an hourly chore. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 5. Record Virtually Unlimited Hours Instantly, the Moment You See Something You Like. Do you ever see something just coming on you didn't expect and wish you could record instantly? No sweat! With this DVDR, just press REC on that channel, then watch a channel on the TV or one of your shows recorded on the HDD, OR play a commercial DVD while it's recording (a neat trick for a single-disc recorder!). With a single-disc recorder, you must have a blank disc LOADED AND WITH ENOUGH SPACE LEFT, plus you must set the rec mode correctly for that show so it fits. Your panic episode might go like this: "Wait, how long is that show going to be... grab the TV Guide... hurry... I'm NOT hollering... I hate you too!" OR, if you're already watching a pretty full disc, even a -RAM, no option to record something else on THAT disc, so: "Get me a blank disc... hurry... hurry FASTER... DON'T SAY IT... forget it, I'll get it myself... I told you not to say it!" Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 6. Record Virtually Unlimited Hours While Simultaneously Playing Other Recorded Shows on HDD or DVDs. What's that you say... do both at the same time? Yup! Got a long list of Timer programs recording on the HDD? No problem... again! While it's recording, play the latest commercial movies on DVD or any other already recorded title from this DVDR's HDD... it's multi-tasking! With a single-disc recorder, it's one disc at a time, another reminder of how that cr***y little disc is your Master. I hear it talkin to you now: "change me... feed me... I don't like that disc... don't be so rough... w-a-t-c-h your l-a-n-guage!" Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 7. Eliminate Lost Recordings Due to Media Failure or Copy-Once (CO) Protection. Want to make sure you get a successful initial recording of your favorite TV programs, some of which might never be aired again? Record to this DVDR's HDD, where failure to record due to media problems is unheard of, compared to many reports of failure due to problems with DVDs. Also, if networks and advertisers continue the recent trend of embedding copy-once (CO) protection flags in the COMMERCIALS to prevent recording or offloading the entire show to std DVDs, you'll at least get a viewable copy of the complete show on the HDD... and you can still edit those commercials out to allow a dubbing to DVD. So, even if you get a wild hair and decide to timer-rec to a std DVD, rather than the HDD, and that DVD is bad or fills up during recording, or you forget to load a DVD, or the program is CO-protected, this DVDR will auto-switch a timer recording to the HDD! In addition, you'll have multiple chances to get your programs on DVD, even if that media happens to fail and you get a "coaster" (unplayable DVD disc)... the master recording is still safely on the HDD. With a single-disc recorder, you could easily be setting your next drink on your favorite show that won't play. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 8. Edit Multiple Recordings on ONE Recorder... No 2nd Recorder, No Computer! Want to slice and dice your daily/weekly recordings or special events, then assemble them for multi-title dubbing to disc for your library? Record a series of shows on this DVDR's HDD, then cut commercials, etc... at your leisure... in your leisure suit... in your leisure chair... take 2 days if you want. When you're ready, put them in order in a dub list and dub a copy to a DVD... the FIRST and ONLY disc you'll have to handle in this process. If a DVD turns out to be a coaster, just make another copy from the HDD. With a single-disc recorder? Well, uh, you DO have a 2nd recorder to copy the edited disc in real time, don't you? Or you could copy the VOB files to a computer and create a masterpiece with your DVD authoring software... OMG, loads of fun for the entire family... Oh, you DO have a computer and DVD authoring software, don't you... and lots of time on your hands... and a quiet place AWAY from your family... and, if you thought that jealous monkey in #3 was bad, your "abandoned" family will make you wish you had a monkey... and good health insurance! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 9. Resume Play on Up To 600 Titles... ALL Titles, ANY time. Someone calls while you're watching one of your HDD recordings or you have to suddenly go out? Press STOP, come back later, and start watching from where you left off. This DVDR remembers the last PLAY ("Resume") position of all HDD titles (up to 600). You can leave ALL your recorded shows at various places and come back to watch them later. With a single-disc DVDR, better finish watching an entire show before another show needs to be recorded cuz, if you eject that disc to load a NEW one, you'll lose your place... DVDRs don't remember the "Resume" position on ejected discs!? But then, you might LIKE your TV-recording/watching life controlled by a shiny little disc!? Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 10. Chase Play Instantly... ANY Time... ANY Show Length... NO Special Disc. Watching a show live and someone rings the doorbell or you get a call from Mom or Mother Nature? Don't worry, your HDD is ALWAYS ready to record. You won't have to panic and make sure there's a specialized RAM disc (unplayable in many machines) in the tray AND that it has enough empty space!!! Just calmly press REC, go to the door or tell Mom you love her but.... When thru, press PLAY and the show you were watching live plays back from where you pressed REC. Or, recording multiple programs with timer program(s) but decide you want to watch it now? Press PLAY and the show being recorded plays back from the beginning, with full-featured playback controls... AND your chase-play won't be interrupted by a disc needing to be changed mid-stream cuz it ran out of recording space! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 11. Extend the Life of Your DVD Burner. Heat is the worst enemy of the laser diode in your DVD burner, and recording uses max. power so it develops the most heat. In a single-disc recorder, you have to heat the diode at max. power for ALL recording! That heat and constant use are the primary causes of burner failure, and without a burner, a single-disc recorder makes a good doorstop. With this DVDR, you won't use your burner at all to record anything or edit those recordings. Playing commercial DVDs will use the burner at Standby power level, and only IF/WHEN you want a DVD copy will you use the burner at full power. Even then, it'll be for a MUCH shorter time cuz the HDD unit can dub at high-speed, whereas the single-disc recorder is ALWAYS running in real-time. This should extend the life of your DVD burner dramatically. Some sad news, tho: our HDDs are designed for a min. of 50,000 start/stop cycles so, if you power this DVDR up/down three times a day, you might get ONLY 45 YEARS out of the HDD! I plan to be buried with my working HDD... with my favorite shows on it, of course! (Typ. HDD warranties are for 3-5 years.) Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. The next three advantages of a HDD derive from the fact that a single-disc recorder's manual doesn't even mention "dub" and only mentions "copy" when it talks about "copy protection" and "copyright."12. Make High-Speed LOSSLESS DVD Copies of Your Favorite Shows on ONE Recorder. Recorded your favorite show, movie or sporting event, maybe even edited it some, then decide to make a copy? Easy to do with a HDD by dubbing from the HDD to the onboard DVD in high-speed, which makes a "mirror-image" copy without any loss of PQ. Let's see, where are the instructions for high-speed, lossless dubbing with a single-disc recorder... maybe even "lossy" dubbing... OK, ANY kind of dubbing? Actually, with a single-disc recorder, EVERYTHING is in REAL-TIME, so you're recording in real-time, then any copies you make... requiring another recorder... will also be in real-time, which can lose some PQ in the process. And EVEN IF you buy a 2nd recorder for copying, still gotta hope the 3 hours it'll take for a 3-hr movie won't end with another useless coaster! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 13. Copy, Edit and Assemble Your Old Home Movies, Then Copy to DVDs on ONE Recorder. Want to transfer precious memories from videotapes to DVDs for the family, edited and in a specific order? Use the HDD as a platform to store your home movies, in random order. Edit them if necessary. Then put them in proper order in a dub list before copying to DVDs for your library... and those family members you're still speaking to. In a single-disc recorder?... well, we know the answer by now! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 14. Make More Copies of Your Home DVDs Anytime on ONE Recorder. Got some home-made DVDs you need more copies of later... much later? Pop a Finalized or Unfinalized DVD in the tray, start it playing, press the DUBBING button and it copies in real-time to the HDD. It copies the entire title playing, from first frame, no matter where in the play cycle you press the DUBBING button. Then just dub as many more copies as you need in LOSSLESS High speed. Have fun figuring a way to do THIS in a single-disc recorder! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 15. Save Enough $$$ on Discs to Pay for This DVDR. Many people in this forum with single-disc recorders claim to have used thousands of discs in the past 2-4 years. Say you had a single-disc recorder and used 2,000 discs over those years at $0.34 each (plus a few more-expensive -RAM discs), it'd cost you ~$700 just for blank discs. But if you had this HDD-DVDR, and timeshifted only, you wouldn't need ANY discs, so you could pay for this DVDR and STILL have ~$400 left for almost 1,200 discs... or food, mortgage, bail, ...!? Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 16. Be Able to Record Even If DVDs Are No Longer Available or Affordable. If they ever stop making optical DVD discs, or you just can't afford them anymore (elitists will laugh at THIS!), your single-disc recorder will become a PLAYER... but then only if someone else keeps producing movies on them or you can afford to rent or buy them. If an HDD goes bad after many years, you can easily replace it yourself and get back to recording without discs! Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 17. Be Able to Record Even If Your DVD Drive Fails. Can't tell you how many sad stories I've heard here and in other forums about people not being able to record cuz their DVD failed to open, failed to close, failed to spin up, failed to record... just FAILED! There's a long thread in AVS just on Toshiba DVD drive failures and replacement by gearheads, not your average timeshifters. With a HDD, the DVD drive isn't used for daily timeshifting... the much more reliable HDD is. And when you want a DVD copy, the burn is at high speed compared to always in real-time with a single-disc recorder... less laser time = longer DVD burner life. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 18. Help Save Our Planet and Prevent Macroeconomic Destruction. By reducing use of petroleum-based DVD discs, a HDD recorder has a much smaller carbon footprint and, if enough people start using them, could prevent or delay our macroeconomic destruction! Al Gore probably has NOTHING but HDD recorders in his twin-engine jet and 17,000 square-foot home. You can do your part to save the North Pole ice, Polar Bears, and Eskimos who, by the way, have vowed to seek out and live with all single-disc climate-change cynics if they're driven out of their natural habitat by global warming. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. If the items above haven't convinced you to get a HDD recorder, only one bullet left, and it's a doozy!19. Don't Worry about Panasonic Warning against Risky Behavior: USING DISCS! The manual for virtually every HDD unit says essentially that the HDD is "not for permanent storage." One Panasonic stupor-fan posted that people should be "scared" by this and suggested to readers they should consider their HDDs "unreliable"... which, of course, prompted this response. Not even close to true... a HDD is so much more reliable than DVD discs, they're not even in the same game, much less ballpark! This DVDR's strong suit is its HDD, a best-of-class Seagate DB35.3 or a Hitachi Deskstar model with very high reliability specs. Both are easily replaceable by the user. However, what's REALLY scary is this in the manuals for virtually ALL Panasonic recorders, even single-discers that have NO HDD and must use DISCS to even BE recorders: "The manufacturer accepts no responsibility and offers no compensation for loss of recorded or edited material due to a problem with the unit or recordable media, and accepts no responsibility and offers no compensation for any subsequent damage caused by such loss. Examples of causes of such losses are
This disclaimer appears on a different page in each model's manual, and an incredulous reader can verify this by searching for the word "compensation" in the Panasonic PDF manual. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. 20. Only One Thing Wrong with HDD DVDRs: Slow But Inevitable Loss of Mechanical Skills! Sadly, among the MANY benefits of a HDD DVDR, as described above, there will also be a point of no return for many: If and when you go to set up your old VCR to record something, you will most likely forget to insert a tape! Please try to remember this procedure for when you really want to "tape" something on your VCR or the one in the local museum:
Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-11-10 at 03:22 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-23-07, 11:56 PM
|
#8 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Picture Quality (PQ) for Viewing, Recording, Playing and Copying... and a Craptastic Fallacy!
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes PQ Consensus by Users and National Reviews? The Philips MPEG-2 CODEC (enCoder-Decoder) for RECORDING A Craptastic Fallacy: "Best PQ at 4-hour Rec Mode Because It Retains Full D1 Resolution" PQ for VIEWING and RECORDING thru the Tuner or Line Input PQ for PLAYING Commercial DVDs PQ for COPYING VHS or Camera Tapes Some Personal Notes on PQ Some Personal Notes on Analog vs Digital Channels Notes
PQ Consensus by Users and National Reviews? There have been several users and national reviewers who tested the 3575 for PQ using display-alignment tools, i.e., discs originally designed for aligning a display/TV (the only thing that CAN be aligned) with its upstream video components, like a DVDR, using standard test patterns. (I did that often in my video lab.) The following 11/5/07 ZDNet review of a 3575 by Matthew Moskovciak seems to summarize this best: "We were pleasantly surprised with the introduction to Star Trek: Insurrection, as it demonstrated that it does have 2:3 pull-down by correctly rendering the curved edges of the bridge railings and boat hulls. We moved onto the difficult opening sequence of Seabiscuit, and again the DVDR3575H handled it much better than the test patterns on HQV. So while it struggled with the difficult video-based tests of the HQV suite, the DVDR3575H performed better with actual film-based program material." My personal consensus: If you're looking for a DVDR to watch test patterns, and you refuse to realign your display (with your DISPLAY-alignment tool, duh!) to accommodate this DVDR, you should consider another unit. However, if you want a multi-tasking DVDR to reliably record actual moving pictures, this DVDR is an excellent choice... and very simple to use (esp. good for all "technically challenged" members of your family)! OMG, it just dawned on me... Philips designed this thing for MOVING pictures and forgot that some people like to watch static test patterns (or "fine print")!? Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. The Philips MPEG-2 CODEC (Coder-Decoder) for RECORDING When we watch live TV thru our DVDRs, the signal goes "directly" from front-end (FE) to back-end (BE) components, i.e., tuner to output. When the machine receives a REC command, either manual or timer-activated, the incoming signal is directed to the MPEG-2 encoder for recording to disc. When it receives a PLAY command, the recorded MPEG-2 User Data is directed to the decoder for display on our TV. The latest Philips MPEG-2 encoder and algoritms in these DVDRs are exceptionally good at encoding/recording fast-movement and decoding the recorded MPEG-2 video stream for display. In my recordings, I've only seen a few instances of "smearing" in the production (commercials were perfect), which can occur even in small areas of scenes with little or no motion. However, I've seen little or no true macroblocking (MB), tiling, stuttering or jagged lines, at any rec mode, that some report with other DVDRs, even on fast-action sports. Neither has Mickboy, who says his 2160 shows no blocking and blows away the older, supposedly better Pio and Panny units at the longer rec time bitrates, as described here. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised in watching a House episode directly on my HDTV that had lots of actual blocks and slight freezing, typical of true MB, but when I switched to the simultaneous timer recording, my 3575 was REMOVING the MB... perfect pic... even in another room with another 3575, same live TV MB but none thru that 3575 either... all described here! Chrisb0 also posted on reduced MB thru his 3575 here. In Nov 2007, I posted about the great PQ I was seeing even at longer RECORD modes from my downrezzed digital HD channels and wondered if Philips had developed a "different algorithm" for MPEG-2 encoding or something. Shortly thereafter, my question was answered when I read a magazine article about who's doing what with DVD chips, part of which reads: "The gap between them [Zoran/ESS and LSI/Philips] could widen further, as LSI Logic...continues to hone its encoding skills, while Philips is adding to its new MPEG-2 CODEC optimized hardware blocks for running new picture improvement algorithms such as adaptive picture sharpness detection and deblocking* artifacts removal." *Deblocking - Digital TV signals are broadcast in small blocks, called "macroblocks," that have to be assembled (deblocked) in your TV or recorder. This is one reason why digital channels take longer to display on your TV. Sometimes you'll see random MB in different parts of the live pic on a digital channel... and on some analog channels too since they now use digital productions... caused by glitches in production, transmission, etc. You can also get DVDR-induced MB in recordings of fast movement at low bit-rates with SOME DVDRs, like the newer Panasonics... but not in my 3575 or 2160 due in part to the advanced "deblocking artifacts removal" capabilities of the Philips CODEC. In fact, you may see MB in a live TV pic that doesn't show up in the recorded title.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. A Craptastic Fallacy: "Best PQ at 4-hour Rec Mode Because It Retains Full D1 Resolution" A constant theme by one Panasonic super-fan is that Pannys have the "best PQ at 4-hr LP because they retain full D1 resolution" (720x480 pixels). This sounds nice but it's a craptastic, crockashitzu fallacy from the get-go! Video resolution does NOT equate to PQ... in fact, higher resolution can lead to LOWER PQ, as described below. As stated in Wiki: "The display resolution of a digital television or display device typically refers to the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube (CRT) and flat panel or projection displays using fixed picture-element (pixel) arrays. "One use of the term “display resolution” applies to fixed-pixel-array displays such as plasma display panels (PDPs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), Digital Light Processing (DLP) projectors, or similar technologies, and is simply the physical number of columns and rows of pixels creating the display (e.g., 1920×1200)." Maybe this Panny super-fan is thinking about "resolution" as in microscopy where it means seeing small details by increasing the "power factor" (100X, 1000X, etc.) of the microscope... there, "resolving" means "seeing." But, clearly, PQ is a subjective assessment of the quality of the recorded pic we see, which depends on how good a job our MPEG-2 CODECs do in creating their full or half D1 (720x480 or 352x480) video frames as the source for the TV image... and not all CODECs are created equal, as described above. Sadly, the "4-hr-best-PQ" claim was quickly shown to be craptastic (just a misleading marketing gimmick) when users discovered their sports and other fast motion scenes had bad macroblocking, smearing and other motion artifacts in recordings from digital channels at 4-hr rec mode... even a fast head turn or moves by those stars on "Dancing with the Macroblocks." Apparently, at 4-hr-LP, their CODEC is designed to portray slow-moving dramas and STATIC objects like "fine print" in sharp detail, but it has one or a combo of the following deficiencies: (1) poor motion-vector algorithm, (2) poor deblocking algorithm, (3) inadequate bit-rate to define the MOVING video content in their large, "full-rez" frame (i.e., their frames are "bit-starved"). Here's a good explanation of the macroblocking problem in DVDRs, found in US Patent 7400679 - Adaptive de-blocking filtering apparatus and method for MPEG video decoder, issued on July 15, 2008: "At low coding bit rates, blocking artifacts are a serious problem for moving picture compression. Since a realtime operation is necessary in coding and decoding a moving picture, it is difficult to reduce the blocking artifact with a small operation capacity [e.g., our DVDRs]. As such, existing video compression algorithms and standards continue to have unwanted visual artifacts appear when the original information is compressed with loss, and these unwanted visual artifacts become more visible when the coding bit rates become lower." [except not so much in these PhilMag DVDRs!] We know that any DVDR CODEC can pump out a continuous stream of 720x480-pixel frames with the highest SDTV bit rate if we select HQ rec mode, but ALL our DVDRs are designed to drop bit rate as we select rec modes of lower quality, like 4-hr-LP, so longer programs will fit on a single DVD. (Note that cable/sat DVRs and standalone HDTV DVRs like Tivo and Moxi don't have "rec modes" cuz they don't have an on-board DVD drive to worry about.) Unfortunately it's physically impossible to record with a bit-rate high enough to adequately portray action in a large 720x480 frame for a 4-hr time period cuz bit-rate and time are multiples in the "what'll-fit-on-a-disc" equation. Bit-rate has to be LOWERED as rec time increases, regardless of the resolution, but low bit rate in a large frame = bit starvation! With our PhilMag DVDRs, the Philips CODEC feeds full rez 720x480 pixels at a higher-than-std bit-rate thru 2-hr-SP rec mode. Starting at 2-1/2-hr-SPP, it drops frame size to 352x480 pixels, 1/2 the "territory" of a 720x480 frame, so the PhilMag encoder can fill that frame with MORE video info while staying under the time/bit-rate DVD limitations. Even more important, the Philips CODEC adds its special adaptive sharpness, motion-vector and de-blocking algorithms so you don't have to worry about DVDR-caused smearing or MB at any rec mode... unless it's hard-embedded in the original production! (See "Deblocking" above.) However, in the end, it's all IRRELEVANT cuz, with this DVDR, you're in a completely different ball game from any other SDTV DVDR user: you can set THIS DVDR to record multiple titles, back-to-back, on any channel, ugly analog or brilliant digital, to the proven-reliable HDD at the highest-quality 1-hr-HQ rec mode that'll produce a PQ that can't be beat by any SDTV DVDR ever made... and you won't even have to get up from your lazy chair to change discs... you know, those shiny little things REQUIRED to make any other digital-tunered DVDR a recorder! See this post for at least 19 reasons why HDD DVDRs are better than any other alternative for SDTV home recording. See this post for a comparison of observed PQ between some Panasonic EZ's and a Magnavox 2080 (same guts as 3575/3576/2160). Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. PQ for VIEWING and RECORDING thru the Tuner or Line Input The quality of any recording depends on several factors:
From my experience with my 3575's and 2160, the tuners are OK for analog channels but keenly optimized for digital ATSC/QAM channels. My 3575's analog tuner is only slightly better than my Pio 640 on analog channel viewing. PQ also depends on the type and size of TV screen you're viewing. For smaller CRTs, most live TV and recordings will look good on analog channels and brilliant on digital channels. Larger 16:9 HDTVs like my 47" 1080p LCD, however, are fixed-pixel, progressive-scan displays, which means they have a fixed number of pixels, in the millions, arranged in columns and rows. HDTV specs describe their native rez as "screen resolution," like 1920x1080p or 1280x720p. Those fixed pixels must be filled up by the video data in the source. That source, our SDTV DVDR, creates a native rez of only 720x480i (interlaced). Even if you upconvert it, it still starts with 720x480i (or smaller) native pixel rez. So, there's always a deinterlacing step (cuz HDTVs use progressive scan) and a "scaling" process to get our video to fill the much larger pixel area of the TV... we either upconvert it in the DVDR or the TV scales it up thru a lot of filters, circuits, etc. Some low-cost scalers upscale by "pixel replication" and some use other circuitry to help out, but basically they all have to create "new" pixels and/or entire lines which aren't really present in the 720x480i source, so any lack of quality in the source, even if subtle, will be amplified and readily visible on a large-screen HDTV. RECORDING introduces Rec Mode as the final element of PQ, and there's a vast, actually amazing, difference in recorded PQ between an analog program on an analog channel and a digital program on a digital channel! Analog programs/channels just don't have enough video bits to create a high-quality pic on a modern HDTV, even with Philips' outstanding CODEC. (Some 4:3 analog programs are shown on digital channels but the difference is pretty easy to see, esp. in a 16:9/stretched pic on your TV.) For 4:3 analog programs/channels, 1-hr-HQ and 2-hr-SP rec modes are best, but some programs, like dramas, will still look good at 2.5-hr-SPP or even 3-hr-LP on a 4:3 CRT TV. However, with a 720p or 1080p widescreen HDTV, recordings from 4:3 analog channels might start to look bad at higher rec modes... it IS a personal thing, after all... esp. when you try to stretch that compressed 4:3 analog crap to fill the 16:9 screen, it will prob. look "HMM" at a distance, but "EEK" if you sit too close... and, believe me, you WILL be stretching the 4:3 analog pic to fill the 16:9 screen... you won't be able to STAND a small 4:3 analog pic in the center of your beautiful, new HDTV's screen... esp. after you get used to some 16:9 natural WS digital channels! No such worries recording thru this DVDR's superb STDV digital tuner, which CAN deliver truly pristine bits from digital programs on digital channels sending programs created in HD. HD's higher starting (production) resolution, like 1280x720 or 1920x1080, has more pic info to work with than SD does... up to 5X more pixels... and they're cleaner and sharper than analog bits, making it much easier for our large-screen HDTVs to create a pristine pic. Pet Peeve #1: People who report on this DVDR's recorded PQ w/o telling people the recording was of an analog program on an analog channel. There's an AMAZING difference between that and a digital/HD program on a digital channel, as mentioned above.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. PQ for PLAYING Commercial DVDs Everyone should get a better pic with HDMI when playing most commercial movies since they're produced with digital Component video (YCbCr)... a digital source via a digital cable to a digital TV... brilliant, who's idea was that, anyway!? One example in my system: I was playing "Disturbia" via HDMI, YCbCr Format, 480p. One of the opening scenes is a father and son fishing in a pristine stream in mountain country. I put my face almost on my 1080p LCD screen, couldn't detect any pixels! Like a huge, continuous-tone photo... truly a Kodak moment! I'm actually IN the river... caught a 3-lb rainbow trout! When you can go nose-to-nose with a 47" 1080p 16:9 LCD and not see the pixels, just a clear, sharp pic, you're in PQ heaven! Even better: watch a really SCARY movie like "Hitcher" in a dark room, via HDMI, with DD5.1 surround turned up HIGH... one of those movies where you'll be saying "Quit talkin and just shoot him already!" many times! It could blind you with brilliance, give you a heart attack, and blow you outa your house! PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION... OR A GLASS HOUSE! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. PQ for COPYING VHS or Camera Tapes For those who want to convert their VHS or camera tapes to DVD, this DVDR does an excellent job on that too! The signal amplification built into this DVDR's coax passthru also amplifies the signal thru its line inputs. See this post for example of boost thru line input (E1). I've copied lots of VHS tapes, but one special tape made me realize what a good job it did. We had a cruise tape shot on std 8mm, which I had copied to a VHS tape for our home-movie library. When I went to copy the 2nd-gen VHS tape to my 3575's HDD, I noticed it started with a night scene on the ship and the black sky had many very annoying dropouts, like "sparklies." I copied the tape to the HDD via E1 and E2 (to see if any diff.), then dubbed to a DVD. When I reviewed the HDD and DVD copies, I thought the dropouts were gone! Only on close inspection did I notice the dropouts were reduced in size and quantity so they were no longer "noticeably annoying" (but now, I was really looking for them!). Many DVDRs have circuitry to "clean up" VCR tapes (some only on one input, others with user settings), but my 3575's copy quality thru its external inputs is very good...equal to or better than my Pio 640 in that regard. One 3575 user tested its time base corrector (TBC) capabilities and reported this: "I've been testing the 3575 lately, and it exhibits excellent TBC performance on external sources. The Horizontal Jitter reduction is comparable to the internal TBCs in the JVC and Panasonic VCRs, easily outperforming other DVD Recorders as well as the Datavideo external TBCs. Very impressive!" That post is here. Easy mistake: If you do this yourself and want to truly assess this DVDR's effect on quality, make sure you don't compare the original ("before") pic thru this DVDR since that will be the "cleaned up" version! Play the original tape directly to the TV so you'll have a true before-and-after comparison. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Some Personal Notes on PQ If you're mostly a watch-and-delete person like me, you could RECORD EVERYTHING in 1-hr-HQ, even sports, and get good PQ from analog channels and GREAT PQ from digital channels. I use 1-hr-HQ and 2-hr-SP for the FEW regular recordings I make from analog channels now, stretch the 4:3 pic to fill my 16:9 1080p screen, and love every minute of it... but you may not since stretching reduces PQ!? I subscribe to "basic" analog cable (not "extended basic"), which would normally give me only 61 channels thru my analog tuner. However, I also get 13 digital/HD channels: the local networks ABC-HD, CBS-HD, NBC-HD, and FOX-HD... which provide virtually 100% of what I record with my Philips 3575's and Mag 2160 on a daily basis... plus CW, CBS/UntamedSports, My68, DISC-HD, TNT-HD, TBS-HD, THiS-HD, ESPN-HD, and ESPN2-HD.... AND I WOULDN'T TRADE ANY OF MY DIGITAL CHANNELS FOR ANOTHER 47 ANALOG CHANNELS! I don't have to artificially stretch my digital/HD channels... they always look great! In fact, I've used several of the lower-quality rec modes on my downconverted digital HD channels, which are chock-full-o-bits (up to 5X more than analog channels) and don't need any artificial stretching, so I get outstanding, almost unbelievable results! For one of my MANY tests, I RECORDED a NFL game on digital ESPN HD in LP mode and the results were excellent except for the stadium-wide long shots, which showed slightly hairy edges on the teeny-weeny men running around. (See this post for the story of "teeny-weeny men.") Fortunately, ESPN zooms quickly when the action starts and the slightly hairy edges disappear. ESPN seems to use true HD equipment more than other networks cuz their pic is "always" outstanding! To me, LP mode is good for pro sports on digital ESPN HD for games I'm too lazy to do a lot of editing on but still want to high-speed dub, but other networks are very spotty in that regard, so bad that even their so-called "digital HD" feed looks only as good as an analog channel. The "premiere" way to record football, however, is to use SP mode and edit out the non-game stuff to a size that's high-speed dubbable. I recently rec a Sunday Night NFL game on NBC-HD at SP rec mode, cut the non-game stuff to get down to 2:08:00, and high-speed dubbed to a std DVD... excellent quality throughout! (2:10:00 is the normal max. for SP and HSD, but many (32-36) Scene Deletes adds some "overhead," so 2:08:00 was the max. on that NFL game.) I also used LP mode on a fast-action James Bond movie on digital TNT HD and, during a chase scene, Bond's in the back seat of a car and, with a lotta shakin n' rollin, I could count the hairs on his face. No smearing, blockiness or even "mosquito noise," just a great pic, even later in a wild car chase with all sorts of auto-acrobatics on ice! Also on digital TNT HD, I used SLP mode on a drama ("Heartland"), and the PQ was excellent. I had to search hard for evidence of any degradation caused by SLP mode, finally finding a small operating room instrument panel that had a very small, lighted "Power" display on the panel where I finally noticed a slightly hairy edge. IF YOU'RE "SELECTIVE" IN THE SOURCE AND TYPE OF PROGRAM YOU RECORD AT THE LONGER REC MODES, YOU CAN USE THEM WITH GOOD RESULTS IN THIS DVDR. OBVIOUSLY, NOT EVERYTHING WILL LOOK GOOD AT SLP MODE, EVEN IN THIS DVDR... EVEN WORSE ON SOME OTHERS!!! double-duh! If you don't want ANY arguments, use HQ mode for unbeatable PQ... it's actually mind-boggling. It's SO GOOD I was able to dub 6 real-time generations from HDD to DVD and back with no visible degradation in PQ! I know there's supposed to be SOME generational loss in PQ as more real-time copies are made, one from another, but I just couldn't see it on my 47" 1080p LCD. Gotta get a pixel microscope... or call CSI! The only drawback of HQ mode is the possibility that you later want to use lossless high-speed dub (HSD) to a SINGLE DVD... for HSD, anything over 1:04:55 in HQ rec mode will force you to use multiple DVDs or a real-time, mode-conversion dub, which takes longer but will still look as good as or BETTER than if you had originally recorded in SP mode! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Some Personal Notes on Analog vs Digital Channels I've been a lifelong viewer of standard analog TV channels, so my first look at a digital channel was STARTLING! I quickly learned how to immediately differentiate analog and digital channels: analog are dull and flat, digital are sharp and brilliant! The best illustration of this difference occurred just the other day. I walked by my 1080p LCD on my way to the kitchen to get my hourly snack and, from 2 feet away, the channel tuned on my 3575 showed every flaw in the analog pic on screen at that time... you don't want to be too close to a 1080p display... leads to great dismay! Anyway, when I returned with my strawberry-caramel sunday, I asked my wife to switch the 3575 to my favorite digital channel, TNT HD, and at the same 2 feet away, the pic was sharp and clean... actually, "brilliant" is the way I like to describe it... and that's thru digital COMPOSITE cables to the TV! I tried all four types of cable connections on my 3575 and found that MY system works best for viewing TV channels by preserving my cable's COMPOSITE feed all the way to the TV with digital Composite/AV cables (mfg to digital stds, better construction & tighter tolerances than typ. analog cable). If you can afford the $$$ and the time, you should also try ALL the TV connection types possible in your system to determine the best cables and settings for your source and TV. I can almost guarantee you that HDMI will NOT be the best connection for viewing analog OR digital channels delivered via cable TV. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-04-10 at 07:49 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-23-07, 11:58 PM
|
#9 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Interesting Info on "Digital" Channels
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Digital Channels in Your Basic (Analog) Cable Subscription Are Your "Digital" Cable Channels Really Analog? Digital Channels in Your Basic (Analog) Cable Subscription I subscribe to "basic" analog cable (not "extended basic"), which would normally give me (and everyone else) only 47 channels thru my analog tuner. However, with my 3575's digital tuner, I also receive, as a free bonus, 10 HD QAM channels. The HD channels broadcast in natural 16:9 widescreen either all the time or for special shows, like "Idol" and premium sports events. These digital QAM channels are the ones your cableco doesn't want you to know about in advance, as described in this Wiki entry on QAM tuners. We've been recording "Bones" and "House" in 2-hr-SP mode on Fox from our basic analog cable service, and the PQ was good with both our 3575 and our Pio 640 before that. For this week's shows, we changed the 3575's timer rec. to Fox's digital channel for the first time cuz we noticed the shows looked so much better on that channel. We also had our first chance to watch those timer-recorded shows on our new 47" 1080P LCD TV. When we sat down to watch the shows, my wife said something dainty like, "WOW, what a beautiful picture!" and I said something like "Holy sh**, will you look at that fr**** picture!" The digital version is like our good, clear, SD-analog-channel on steroids! Sort of reinforces the obvious: a high-quality recording starts with the source! That's proven true every time I've recorded a pro football game on ESPN-HD, a fast-action movie on TNT-HD, or a nature show on Discovery-HD... even tho I'm receiving a downrezzed SD feed in my basic analog cable subscription. I like to say, it's like comparing pressed beef to a filet... a lot moe real meat in the filet!  Recent experience: our cable has been giving us a terrible pic on the basic analog channels, but the so-called "digital" channels in my feed are still perfect! Another advantage to having the ATSC/QAM tuner!Go back to list. ...... Go to main list of help files. Are Your "Digital" Cable Channels Really Analog? I was playing with some of the TV's controls and noticed that, when on any of my 8 digital channels, I couldn't turn on Digital CC, only Analog CC... WTH... I know some or all of those channels have CC (ESPN HD, TNT, Fox, Discovery, etc.), and they're on "digital" channels!? Got me to thinking...maybe I'm not really getting true digital channels, just some cableco converted analog version of an original digital broadcast or microwave feed? In researching a little, I found a possible answer from Lauren Weinstein's Blog (lauren.vortex. com) in an article titled "Are You Being Cheated by Digital Cable?" A telling section hit home, when she said this: "The TiVo HD has easily accessible diagnostic modes which clearly spill all the beans relating to these issues. Here in the West Valley (Los Angeles) system of Time Warner Cable, I can clearly see that, at the moment, virtually all basic cable channels in the digital tiers that have simulcast analog (under channel 100) equivalents, are actually being delivered as analog channels, at least to my cableCARDs." Hey, I'm on TW cable and ALL my digital channels have an equivalent analog channel under 100! This might explain why I can't set Digital CC...I'm not getting digital channels, just a digital>analog version delivered in a TW-specified "digital" channel slot? Anyway, I do know the shows on my digital channels all view and record in 16:9 aspect and in much higher quality than shows on my analog channels, so they must start out as high-quality, HD digital (most have "HD" as part of channel name) and just get repackaged by the cableco as Lauren indicates in her article. I've never seen ANY of the "artifacts" that some people see and complain about, only some occasional macroblocks in a live program (i.e., in the signal). Since digital is broadcast in macroblocks, with instructions for reassembly, I figure those short "blips" will be normal for awhile, at least until the cablecos get their digital act together by or after 2009... and maybe stop compressing the macroblocks so much... one can hope, anyway. Go back to list. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-11-10 at 03:54 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-23-07, 11:59 PM
|
#10 | Link | |||||||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
CONNECTIONS with Sketches for Newbies and Advanced Users, with Explanatory Text
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes SKETCH 1 for ANTENNA Connections... Plus Detailed Explanation SKETCH 2 for CABLE Connections WITHOUT Cable Box... Plus Detailed Explanation SKETCH 3 for CABLE Connections WITH Cable Box... Plus Detailed Explanation SKETCH 4 for Satellite-only Subscribers or Anyone with Tunerless DVDR... Plus Detailed Explanation Notes for All Cable, Antenna, and VCR Users... Read This First! Additional Notes for Cable Subscribers with Cable Box Notes for Satellite-only Subscribers or Anyone with Tunerless DVDR Connections for a Complex System with Many Components Connecting to Your TV - Matching to Your Source Connecting VCR or Camera to This DVDR for Copying Snugging-Up Connector Nuts Where to Buy Cables Important Note on the "Digital Cliff" (Loss of Digital Tuning) Notes
Quote:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Quote:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Quote:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Quote:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Notes for All Cable, Antenna, and VCR Users... Read This First! The coax IN/OUT loop on this DVDR is different than the one on your old VCR or even other DVDRs: it's a built-in amplified splitter. It splits the incoming TV signal between this DVDR's tuner and the next component in the coax path, STB or TV, EVEN IF THAT SIGNAL IS HDTV. It does NOT send any internal DVDR stuff to your TV (menus, channels, HDD, DVD). For someone new to DVD recorders, this can be best described with an example: if you tune this DVDR to channel 7, the RF/coax output will NOT send channel 7 to your TV... it'll only send channel 7 from one of its "line outputs": Y/W/R Composite, S-Video, RGB Component, or HDMI. The RF/coax output will only send the raw, incoming RF TV signal to downstream components (STB or TV) to tune with their tuners (after scanning for channels in them, of course)... this is called "RF passthru" or "coax passthru." Note: The LG LRH-780/790 series and possibly other LG DVDRs DO NOT have pure RF/coax passthru... they operate like a VCR thru a TV/DVD button to select coax passthru (TV), or menu and recordings (DVD) thru the coax to TV ch. 3/4 or thru a line output.Because this DVDR splits the incoming signal, the designers thought the coax circuit should be amplified so no signal strength was lost... maybe even increased slightly. This amplification occurs thru a 4dB amp > Low-Pass Filter (LPF) > 2dB amp as long as this DVDR is plugged in... it doesn't have to be on for this OR for watching TV normally. In fact, unplugging this DVDR from a power source degrades the passthru TV signal signficantly. More info here on active and passive passthru. Here's olyteddy's measurement of the input-to-output gain with a Sadelco DisplayMax Meter. And here's videobruce's test of a 2160 amplified passthru circuit with a spectrum analyzer... plus an evaluation of the traces by a long-time "Sweep Tech." Connecting the Coax. Your first connection should be the incoming coax from antenna or cable on the TOP coax connector on the back of this DVDR (ANTENNA IN). Continue the coax from the bottom connector (ANTENNA OUT) to a VCR (if any), other DVDRs (if any), STB (if any) and TV (see sketches above). That gives you a passthru signal that you can tune with any downstream component with the appropriate tuner (and scanning for channels), whether this DVDR is on or off. "Line Connection" to TV The Line Connection shown from DVDR to TV is for seeing things internal to this DVDR (menus, channels, or HHD/DVD titles played in the DVDR)... nothing is sent to the TV from the DVDR's coax output, just the raw signal. You select the approp. "input" on the TV, either the ANT connection to view straight TV, or one of the TV's "Inputs" to view stuff from this DVDR. S-Video and Component video outputs need L/R (white/red) RCA audio cables also. On the 2160 only, if Progressive Scan is ON, nothing (or a B&W double-image) is output from Composite or S-Video connection. HDMI needs the "HDMI" button pressed for 1st-time use. Don't ass-u-me that HDMI is best for all things, esp. if you're a cable TV subscriber. Cable TV is a compressed Composite signal and this DVDR's HDMI circuit doesn't do a great job in separating the video components like your more-expensive TV does. MY HDMI is NOT best for viewing live TV thru this DVDR, nor is it best for playing recordings from the HDD. It's ONLY best for playing commercial DVDs cuz they're produced with Digital Component Video, YCbCr (RGB or YPbPr is Analog Component). If you're a cable sub., it might be worthwhile to at least TRY Digital Composite cables (better construction and tolerance than std Y/W/R cables)... I got mine from Walmart. Recording One Channel While Watching Another. This is prob. the greatest benefit of coax passthru: any components on the coax chain can tune the raw TV signal independently as long as they have the right kind of tuner (analog and/or digital). For example, you can watch one channel on the TV while simultaneously recording a diff. channel with this DVDR or playing something from this DVDR's HDD or a DVD. If your STB has a coax passthru connection like these DVDRs, and you connect coax from STB to TV, then you could even watch TWO other channels if your TV has PIP! ... after you scan for channels in the TV, of course.Simultaneous Output of INTERNAL DVDR Stuff (Menus, DVDR Channels, HDD, DVD). In a single-TV setup, you'll be able to connect all four outputs to a single TV and see internal DVDR stuff by selecting the appropriate INPUT on that TV. However, for wanting to see the same internal pic simultaneously on two TVs, like in different rooms, you have to use EITHER HDMI and Component OR Composite and S-Video. That's cuz when HDMI/Component are used, the Composite and S-Video outputs will not be active simultaneously... not sure about vice versa (no reports yet). To connect to more than two TVs for simultaneous viewing, you could use either group of connections and extend one or both with splitters on the output(s) cables you use? Connecting a Tunerless TV If you have a tunerless TV, it won't have an antenna connection, so you'll use just the line connection(s) described above. Combining OTA/Antenna Channels in a Cable TV System See this help file for how you can add OTA/antenna digital channels 7 thru 13 to this DVDR in a cable TV system. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Additional Notes for Cable Subscribers with Cable Box (STB/DVR) Read Notes for ALL Cable Subscribers and Antenna Users first or you might not gain a complete understanding of what connections are needed and why.If you have a cable box (STB, with or without a DVR), you may have some or all unscrambled channels, but you won't know for sure until you scan for channels with this DVDR, so it needs to be 1st in line on the coax. If placed AFTER the STB, this DVDR would be an "STB slave" (i.e., limited to receiving only the channel the STB is tuned to). Recording Scrambled Channels from STB or Recorded DVR Programs For recording channels only the STB/DVR can tune, connect S-Video+L/R audio cables (recommended) or Composite/RCA Y/W/R RCA cables from a STB "Line Out" (might say AV out or Out to VCR?) to this DVDR's AV IN connectors on the back (E1 or L1) or on the front (E2/L2). Check your STB's manual for "Timers" or "Reminders" that can turn your STB on and/or set it to a channel you specify at a selected time. If your STB has one of these, you only need to set a timer rec program in this DVDR to record unattended programs from your STB. If no such feature on your STB, you'll also have to leave it on the channel you want to record, and you prob. can only do one program this way since there's no way to change channels unattended? Connecting an STB/DVR to This DVDR Only one input, S-Video or Composite, can be active at a time on either front or back connectors in the 3575/3576... both front and back S-Video inputs active on the 2160. Composite is the default in the Video > Video Input menu ("Video In") so, if you use S-Video, make sure you select "S-Video In" in that menu for the input you connect to. For another option, see the "More Complex Setup" info/heading below. If your STB has only one S-Video output (stupid!), you'll have to use a switch (manual or remote-operated) on the single STB output, with one leg going to this DVDR and one to the TV. Coax Connection between STB/DVR and TV If your STB has a coax passthru, like this DVDR, and you have an antenna or cable TV connected to this DVDR, connect a coax from the STB to the TV so you can watch a channel on the TV while the STB and this DVDR are tied up recording a channel only the STB can tune. Of course, you have to scan for channels in the TV, and those should be the same as the channels this DVDR can tune by itself... some people find the clear channels they receive w/o the STB aren't worth making these connections. If your STB does NOT have a coax passthru, and you have an antenna or cable TV connected to this DVDR, and you still want to be able to tune channels on the TV separately, you can use a high-quality, balanced (-3.5dB each output) 2-way splitter on the incoming cable, with one leg to this DVDR and one to the STB, then a coax connection from this DVDR to the TV for signal passthru from this DVDR to the TV. All other connections are as shown in Sketch 3/3A above. Using This DVDR's Amplified Coax Passthru Even if ALL your channels are scrambled or you don't intend on recording thru this DVDR's tuner, you should install this DVDR 1st in line for the incoming coax just for the boost in signal strength its amplified passthru will give to downstream components... you might just get "a new TV." See this post for example of boost thru coax. See this post for example of boost thru line input (E1). For Recording PPV or Video On-Demand (VOD) Programs If you order PPV or VOD programs that cost extra, and you order that service thru the STB/coax, not a separate tel. line, this DVDR will block the return path to the provider. The same if you have a cable channel guide that allows you to request info for specific programs/dates/times. This DVDR's coax IN/OUT is not bidirectional so, for PPV/VOD/Guide purposes only, use 2-way bidirectional digital splitter on incoming cable coax, with one splitter output to STB and one to this DVDR., so you'll have to use a high-quality 2-way bidirectional digital splitter on the incoming feed (at least 5-1000MHz bandwidth, 5-42MHz return path, and each output marked -3.7dB loss). Connect one output to the STB and one to this DVDR. Poor PQ with This DVDR 1st on the Coax? Some people with certain STBs will get a poorer pic or none at all when putting this DVDR 1st on the coax. The channels this DVDR can tune should be clear and high-quality. If you don't see that, you might have to connect the incoming coax to a high-quality NON-amplified digital splitter, with one output to the STB and one to this DVDR. Combining OTA/Antenna Channels in a Cable TV System See this help file for how you can add OTA/antenna digital channels 7 thru 13 to this DVDR in a cable TV system. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Notes for Satellite-only Subscribers or Anyone with Tunerless DVDR CAUTION: Do not connect satellite cable(s) to the ANT IN coax connector on this DVDR...sat cables have voltage that could harm this DVDR's circuits.Satellite broadcasts are proprietary and require a sat receiver (STB, with or without a DVR) for tuning, so NO DVDR can tune a satellite signal with its own tuner. The only DVDR connection a sat-only user will need is an S-Video+L/R audio (recommended) or Composite Y/W/R RCA between the sat STB and the AV IN (E1) on the back of the 3575/76, L1 on back or L2 on the front of the H2160. Adding Optional Antenna or Cable TV With sat service, you can ADD an outside OTA antenna or good indoor antenna for local channels, or even add cable TV service. This optional antenna/cable service is shown in Sketch 4/4A above connected to the normal ANT IN of this DVDR (top coax connector), and requires an Auto Channel Preset to tune OTA or Cable (Analog/Digital) channels this DVDR can receive independently. With a Tunerless DVDR A tunerless DVDR will require a digital converter box (govt coupon-type) for the optional connection shown in the sketch. "Line Connection" to TV The Line Connection shown in Sketch 4/4A from DVDR to TV is for seeing things internal to this DVDR (menus, channels, or HHD/DVD titles played in the DVDR). You select the approp. "input" on the TV to view stuff from this DVDR. S-Video and Component video outputs need L/R (white/red) RCA audio cables also. On the 2160 only, nothing is output from Composite or S-Video when Progressive Scan is ON. HDMI needs the "HDMI" button pressed for 1st-time use. Simultaneous Output from This DVDR Be aware that, if you use HDMI and/or Component, the Composite and S-Video outputs will not be active at the same time (simultaneously). This is only important for people who want to output to multiple TVs at the same time using different DVDR outputs. You WILL be able to use all four outputs in a normal, sequential manner if connected to a single TV, i.e., by selecting the appropriate INPUT on that TV. For simultaneous output to more than one TV, see this note. Recording Channels from the STB/DVR and Copying Titles from the DVR For recording channels only the STB/DVR can tune, or copying titles recorded on the satco DVR (if any), connect S-Video+L/R audio cables (recommended) or Composite/RCA Y/W/R RCA cables from a STB output to this DVDR's AV IN connectors on the back (E1 or L1) or on the front of the H2160 (L2). Only one input, S-Video or Composite, can be active at a time on either front or back connectors. Composite is the default in the Video > Video Input menu ("Video In") so, if you use S-Video, make sure you select "S-Video In" in that menu for the input you connect to. For another option, see the "More Complex Setup" info/heading below. When you want to record something thru the Sat receiver, check your Sat manual cuz some STBs require you to set the STB's output to 480i (DirecTV HR10) and some don't (HR20 and 21) cuz they auto-downconvert the signal via analog output. Can't be any more specific, just things I've read. ALSO, check your STB's manual for "Timers" or "Reminders" that can turn your STB on and set to a channel you specify at a selected time. If your STB has one of these, you only need to set a timer rec program in this DVDR to record unattended programs from your STB. NOTE 1: If you connect an optional cable or OTA antenna, use a separate amplifier only if you KNOW your digital signal is weak cuz this DVDR has a built-in amp in the coax passthru, and another amp may "over-drive" that digital signal. See Important Note on the "Digital Cliff" at bottom of this page for info on weak and strong digital signals.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Connections for a Complex System with Many Components  For MANY external components, the diagram above shows how Member Charles_I used Switchers to set up his 3576 with a cable STB and six other components: 3 VCRs, 1 DVD player, 1 laser disc, and 1 stereo amplifier. The 2nd Switcher shown (before the TV) could also be an AV receiver with multiple I/O, which would eliminate the separate Stereo Amp. For multiple inputs to this DVDR, don't forget the front connections (E2/L2) and the 2160's extra S-Video on front, which the 3575/3576 doesn't have. Someone who just can't stand cables connected in front could connect both Composite video (Yellow RCA) AND S-Video to E1/L1 on the back. For audio, use two RCA Y-cables (available at Wal-Mart etc.) to connect the audio outputs of each device (White/White and Red/Red) to the single audio inputs (W/R) on E1/L1. (Might have to turn only one source on at a time if you get audio interference?) To record from each source, switch between the menu options in Setup > Video > Video Input. If you make one the "default" input, like S-Video for everyday recordings, then switch to Composite only when you want to copy a VHS tape, the odds of having the wrong input set for everyday recording FROM THE EXTERNAL INPUT are reduced... recording thru the tuner isn't affected by this setting. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Connecting to Your TV - Matching to Your Source As stated above, you need to connect cable(s) from this DVDR to your TV to see anything internal, like menus, tuner channels, HDD or DVD. You can use Composite (Y/W/R RCA), S-Video+L/R Audio (W/R RCA), Component (R/G/B+L/R Audio) or HDMI. Once connected, you select that TV input to see stuff from this DVDR. But, which type of cable should you use? That's something only you can ultimately decide, but I think you should start with a TV connection that best matches the type of signal your DVDR RECEIVES: Cable = Composite. OTA = Composite (analog) and Component (digital/HD). Satellite = Composite or S-Video matching the cable type you use from your receiver to E1/L1 on this DVDR... S-Video is usually best. For your tests, you can use QVC shopping channel for PQ comparisons of live TV since they have static shots, studio lighting, and text always on screen. I'm on cable TV so my signal is delivered as Composite. To preserve that signal intact to my TV, I use DIGITAL Composite/AV cables (mfg to digital stds, better construction & tighter tolerances than analog cable), RCA or Philips from Wal-Mart ($17)... you can see the high quality construction in the pkg. If you try these and don't like the results, they make outstanding cables for dubbing/copying from and to external sources so no $$$ wasted. Most, if not all, of today's HDTVs have multiple filters and other circuitry specifically designed to separate the video components in a Composite signal with minimal PQ loss. Experts say separating video components from a composite signal ALWAYS loses some PQ, so why do it BEFORE it gets to that circuitry? By sending my composite signal to the TV unchanged, it goes thru only ONE component separation process, in the TV, just before display. This gives me MY best pic for watching my many timeshift recordings thru this DVDR. I also use HDMI, a digital connection, for watching commercial DVDs, which are produced with Digital Component Video (YCbCr).... YPbPr is Analog Component Video. See this post for some info on HDMI settings. If using an old std CRT TV that has only Ant/RF and one or two composite/S-Video connections, use your remote to select "Video" or "DVD" or similar button to switch from a TV channel to the TV's input from the 3575/76. AND DON'T PLACE YOUR DVDR TOO CLOSE TO THAT CRT... electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the pic tube could cause lot of "wonky" problems, including playback stuttering, lockups, and false copy protection (CP) messages with failure to record from that. Note: Several people have complained about a "dark pic" from their 3575 when using HDMI. One person reported the same via all analog outputs (just tuner-related, all ext. inputs were OK). See "P3" heading here.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Connecting VCR or Camera to This DVDR for Copying To copy your VHS home movies to DVD, connect S-Video+L/R audio cables from a VCR output to S-Video IN on the back of this DVDR (E1/L1), if a STB or sat receiver is not already hooked up there. You can use Composite Y/W/R RCA cables, but the quality might be quite as good... I can't see any difference. Only one E1/L1 input on the back can be active at a time. Composite is the default ("Video In") so, if you use S-Video, make sure you select "S-Video In" in the Video > Video Input menu. If E1/L1 on the back is already occupied or you want greater convenience in temporary setup like this, connect composite RCA (Y/W/R) to the Video/Audio inputs on the front of the 3575/76 (E2) or the additional S-Video input on the front of the H2160 (L2). You can also connect a DV camera with DV/firewire cable to E3/L3 on the front of this DVDR. Since I do tape transfers only occasionally, I leave composite cables bundled up next to this DVDR for quick front connection. Also, connecting to E2/L2 or E3/E3 leaves your back connection (E1/L1) open for other, more-permanent components, such as a sat or cable box/DVR. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Snugging-Up Connector Nuts On every connection that has a nut to tighten, use a SMALL wrench to add just a LITTLE extra tightening at the end. Especially important on all splitter connections. I use a small, 7/16" open-end wrench. Don't use a large wrench, pliers or any FORCE at all...just a final snug-up with finger tips on wrench. I had interference once that was caused by an RF/coax input line that I finger-tightened, but I moved the DVDR several times for tests, etc., and it had come loose only about 1/100 of a turn...just enough to cause interference ("scratchiness") in my picture. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Where to Buy Cables For online cable purchase, Monoprice and Blue Jeans Cable, both sponsors of the AVS Forums, make excellent cable. Click their ad at top. Both sell good HDMI cables that cost much less than most others... lots of happy customers! In all your cable purchases, make sure they say they're for "digital" use since they should have better construction and tighter tolerances, required for digital systems. I bought my digital-quality composite cables from Wal-Mart for ~$17, RCA DH9AV or DT9AV. These are great in my system for connection between my 3575 and my 47" HDTV and, if I didn't like them there, they also make excellent cables for dubbing/copying. I also bought an expensive ($32) Philips HDMI cable from Wal-Mart but wish I'd bought the std 28AWG HDMI cable from Monoprice (~$3-4 ea.) cuz everyone raves about them AND they have ferrite cores (the large cylinders just behind the end fittings) to reduce interference. Here's a 6-ft HDMI cable but they have other lengths. Someone else used a $0.99 cable with ferrite cores and said he got the best pic from it, even better than the same $32 Philips cable from Wal-Mart! I looked high and low locally for ANY HDMI cable with ferrite cores and couldn't find any. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Important Note on the "Digital Cliff" (Loss of Digital Tuning) ONE possible, and "surprising," cause of reception problems with DIGITAL channels is the "Digital Cliff" or "Cliff Effect"... a freeze frame or complete disappearance of the DIGITAL signal at the ends of its ideal signal strength. Too weak or too strong a signal can make DIGITAL channels just "fall off the cliff." Wiki info here... and good discussion here. The Cliff Effect is exactly the OPPOSITE of all our previous experience with ANALOG channels, where we were always trying to get the STRONGEST signal... if we saw "snow" with a properly pointed antenna, we'd just "beef up" the signal strength. Not any more, bubba! For DIGITAL TV, even your DVDR's signal-strength meter might not tell when the signal's too strong! DIGITAL tuners can be "over-driven" with signal strength and "splatter," so the possibility of a Cliff Effect is NOT indicated in the "meters" some of our equipment has... in fact, one expert says a very strong signal can register normally while it's splattering. To determine if your signal is too weak or too strong, first do a "Hang-by-a-Thread Test" to see if it's too strong (most likely) and, if that doesn't improve things, add a bidirectional Digital Signal Amplifier to see if it's too weak. Quote:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-03-10 at 09:08 PM.. |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:01 AM
|
#11 | Link | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Setting the Clock, or Not... The 11:57 Procedure... S-Video Input... TV Aspect... Progressive Scan... Auto-Chapter... Disc Audio... HDMI/DVI... HDMI/TV Control... FP Display Brightness
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. A Note on Potential Clock Setting Issues Setting Your Clock - Initial Setup THE 11:57 PROCEDURE One Reason to NOT Set Your Clock! Setting Video Input (S-Video or Composite) Setting TV Aspect Setting Progressive Scan Setting Auto-Chapter Interval Setting Disc Audio Special Settings for HDMI or DVI My HDMI Settings HDMI Control Feature on 2160A Only Setting Brightness of Front Panel Display Light A Note on Potential Clock Setting Issues Apparently, the digital transition has caused some clock issues that came into focus in the HDTV DTVPal DVR thread. That DVR has been having clock problems caused by its handling of TWO clock signal streams, one in the TVGOS system and one in the std PSIP data all digital channels are supposed to carry. The PSIP time is apparently controlled solely by each station and they've not been diligent in keeping them accurate, so there's been a "conflict" causing their clocks to go "wonky." They just got a new FW version that seems better and includes a manual time setting option that it didn't have before. There may be errors in my story but not terribly important for our purposes. Our DVDRs may be suffering from this problems also? The stations are trying to do better, but since the PSIP data is controlled by individual stations, it can more easily be off in accuracy. Not sure if our DVDRs look for digital PSIP data, but any of them could be "influenced" by it! They all have digital tuners, and a full channel search for a time signal... one not restricted by a "Manual" Auto Clock setting as described in The 11:57 Procedure below... could easily find some bad or rogue PSIP data that could set the clock, or even the year, incorrectly! Anyone NOT USING COAX, like a satellite-only subscriber, should STILL set set their clock to Auto Clock > MANUAL, choosing a good local NETWORK channel number, even tho they can't receive any time signal. That'll give their unit the advantage of longer power-backup time from an Auto Clock setting but restrict the normal time searches to a single, "good" channel... and since there's no coax connection, it can't find ANY signal, much less a "rogue" one. The default setting is for Auto Clock ON. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting Your Clock - Initial Setup The functioning and internal operations of a DVDR depend on a clock signal and timing for SO MANY things, it's rather mind-boggling... incl. "time-stamps" all over the place for recording, etc. Therefore, it's important to have a reliable time-set either by manual means or by the Auto Clock feature. For initial setup with any unit, I recommend you set the clock yourself using the 1st option in the Clock > Clock Setting menu, then do an Auto Channel Preset thru the Channel menu. This order is best cuz the default clock settings are for Auto Clock and DST ON, but with the transition to digital, station broadcasts are a mess and there might not be any reliable time signals in your area, even if on cable, and definitely not if on satellite. This DVDR will try to find a time signal from an ANALOG channel (or a DIGITAL channel 2160 only) at noon and midnight thru the coax connection, but only when it's off... it will "spin up" briefly at 11:59am and 11:59pm and search for a time signal (no change in display or power-on indication). The slight noise this DVDR makes during "spin-up" has annoyed some light-sleepers with it in their bedroom... if so, might have to turn Auto Clock OFF, check for time drift, and reset when necessary? The 3575/3576/2080 units search for ANY analog channel thru the coax (not just PBS as stated in the manual), but I found FOX analog is amazingly accurate and stable in my cable system (9 months dead-on). The 2160 can receive a time signal from an analog or a digital channel on the coax, so it's good for antenna-only users as well as cable-users. NOTE: People with a 3575/3576/2080 on antenna-only or satellite-only should set their Auto Clock to MANUAL and select any local network channel, even tho it might not have a good time signal, so they can benefit from the increased power-backup time that setting gives, as described in Step 6a below.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. The 11:57 Procedure This DVDR does NOT have a menu that tells you whether a good time signal has ACTUALLY been found or not... you won't know if it's failed to sense a good time signal until the clock drifts or goes completely "wonky" like advancing 3-hours ahead or to the year 2037! However, "The 11:57 Procedure" described below will let you FIND and CONFIRM any auto-clock time signals in your area, and it'll show whether that time signal is CURRENTLY accurate, but it won't guarantee that signal will REMAIN accurate... it's up to the station to do that.
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. One Reason to NOT Set Your Clock! If you want NO DATE OR TIME on titles from copied VHS home movies, where a current date/time might be "confusing," use this procedure (tested only on a 3575):
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting Video Input (S-Video or Composite) If you use S-Video (Separate-Video) as an input from a STB, VCR, DVD player or other device to E1/L1 on the back of this DVDR, make sure you set the SETUP > VIDEO > VIDEO INPUT to S-Video. Same if you use the front S-Video input on the H2160 (L2). You can connect both Composite and S-Video to E1/L1/L2 for two sources, like a DVD player and a VCR, and switch between the menu options in Setup > Video > Video Input. Use audio Y-cables (Wal-Mart) to connect the dual L/R audio outputs (2L+2R) from the components to the single L/R audio inputs of this DVDR. This is ideal for someone who doesn't want cables connected in front, but has a VCR for occasional copying of VHS tapes. Only drawback is remembering to change the setting. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting TV Aspect This DVDR's "TV Aspect" setting controls the format of the pic you'll see AND record on digital channels... it gives you a WYSIWYG view of the pic you'll be recording. The setting does not affect analog 4:3 channels but it can be used to play commercial widescreen movies on a 4:3 TV if the movie has the widescreen flag... they'll have a notation on the case such as "Enhanced for Widescreen" or "Anamorphic Widescreen." You should set this DVDR for 16:9 Wide in the Video > TV Aspect menu to make sure most of your recordings will play well on all TV types. I've noticed that sometimes a change in my DVDR Aspect setting doesn't "take"... the pic hangs on its last aspect and takes a 2nd or even 3rd try at toggling the checkmark to a new aspect setting. If working correctly, once you press the SETUP button to exit the aspect setting menu, the pic should "pop" into its new shape, i.e., you should see a change in aspect almost immediately, but again, only on a digital channel. See this post for more info on setting TV Aspect and recording widescreen programs. Note: Some HDTV's won't properly upscale a 16:9 WS pic sent to it by this DVDR using 480p or 720p. If you can't seem to see or record WS pics thru this DVDR using HDMI, change the format with the HDMI button to all the formats available and see if your HDTV needs one specific HDMI format to show a true WS pic.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting Progressive Scan Only the Component connection is affected by the Progressive Scan (PS) setting, no matter what type of TV you have. On the 3575/3576, if you use Composite or S-Video, they can only send 480i and will ignore the Progressive setting. Same for HDMI since it sends specific rez/scan formats under a separate control (HDMI button). On the 2080/2160, if PS is ON, no VIDEO is output from the Yellow Composite or S-Video connection. You'll know PS is ON if you get only AUDIO from the Yellow Composite or S-Video output on the 2160 since the White/Red AV OUT cables supply audio for all video outputs whether PS is ON or OFF, even HDMI if you turn HDMI Audio OFF). If you see a B&W double image with PS ON, your TV isn't compatible with PS so turn it off. The default setting for PS is OFF. If you use the Component connection to an OLDER, NON-PROGRESSIVE TV, leave the setting OFF. If you have one of the newer flat panels, which are *all* fixed-pixel and PS, AND you use the Component connection, go into the Video > Progressive Scan menu and set it ON. There will be two confirmation dialogs to answer before it lets you switch to ON, just to make sure your TV is compatible. This DVDR allows you to set PS from ON to OFF easily by playing something from HDD or DVD, then pressing and holding the SETUP button for more than 6 sec (ignore the "no-can-do" circle). However, you have to use the menu to set PS back to ON. Simultaneous Output. Be aware that, if you use HDMI and/or Component, the Composite and S-Video outputs will not be active at the same time (simultaneously). This is only important for people who want to output to multiple TVs at the same time using different DVDR outputs. You WILL be able to use all four outputs in a normal manner if connected to a single TV, i.e., by selecting the appropriate INPUT on that TV. (And, for the 2080.2160, you have to leave Progressive Scan OFF so there's a normal signal thru the composite and S-Video outputs.) Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting Auto-Chapter Interval This DVDR creates numbered chapters only... no separate index pic or other visual clue that you can use in a top menu, like in a Toshiba. The numbered chapter marks are visible and instantly addressable in the INFO menu, and the front-panel display counting playback time also shows the chapter numbers briefly as they are reached. They can be instantly moved to during playback with the NEXT/PREV buttons. Most OTHER units don't allow auto-chapter marking on the HDD, and ONLY custom-set (edited) chapter marks are transferred during high-speed dubbing. However, THIS DVDR is unlike those other DVDRs: (1) it can set auto-chapter marks on the HDD, as well as DVDs, and (2) both auto- and custom-set (edited) chapter marks transfer to DVDs when dubbed at high-speed. A real-time dub uses only the auto-chapter setting you make in the Recording menu, so it strips any auto- or custom-set chapter marks from the HDD original. This DVDR has six settings for Auto Chapter marking, from Off to 60-min. intervals. A chapter mark can also be set manually (Add Chapter), and one is automatically set at every Scene Delete. That can add up to a lot of chapter marks w/o you realizing it! For that reason, and cuz chapter marks can "collide" and cause problems if they get too close from deleting scenes (for example), I advise keeping auto-chapter marking on the HDD set at its default 10-min. interval, or longer... don't use 5-min. interval. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting Disc Audio Our SDTV DVDR tuners and line inputs are designed for home viewing or recording in DD2.0/stereo only, so recording thru the tuner or line input, or playback of home recordings will provide only stereo audio. The Digital Audio outputs (coax or optical) are for playback of commercial DVDs with DD5.1 audio or any audio beyond DD2.0/stereo. You can also use a "high-end" AV receiver with HDMI connections that CAN PASS DIGITAL AUDIO (not all do even if they have HDMI connections)... the HDMI on those receivers pass DD5.1 to your TV from live TV or DVDs that have DD5.1 audio... you won't need to use the separate digital audio connections with such a receiver (unless you don't want to turn the receiver on every time). If you use Digital Audio output to a"low-end" AV receiver with HDMI or an HDMI-less AV receiver, make sure your Playback > Disc Audio > Dolby Digital is set for the default "Stream"... this is the only audio source that the Disc Audio setting affects. While playing a commercial DVD, you can see the types of audio available by pressing the AUDIO button on the remote. Use arrow and OK keys to make a change to a diff. language or audio type, as desired. You can also use the 2nd icon (the speaker) in the INFO menu to view and change audio options. You might notice low audio on some programs on digital channels or recordings of them. Here's a note with more info on that "phenomenon." Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Special Settings for HDMI or DVI When you first use HDMI, you should press the HDMI button on the remote. This "activates" the HDMI output and sets it at 480p output mode. Sequential presses of that button switch output to 720p, 1080i and 1080p. You can press quickly, or even hold the button down, you don't have to wait till the pic appears for each output. Whatever output you leave the unit in when turning off, that's the output it'll start up on. The HDMI output mode is displayed briefly on the front panel of this DVDR, till the TV syncs up with that mode. Your TV should also display which mode it's receiving in one of its Display screens. You should go thru all four settings and see which one produces the best PQ in your system. If your TV doesn't support one of the outputs, the manual says this DVDR will skip it; however, my 720p LCD and the front panel of my 3575 both show me sending 1080i or 1080p, even tho the TV can't display anything above 720p!  Generally, your TV's scaler will do a better job at upconverting to its native res than ANY current DVDR, so I recommend trying 480p... it might actually be your best choice? HDMI cable carries both video and audio, even DD5.1. If you use an AV receiver that has HDMI connections, you don't need any other audio to get DD5.1 to your TV from live broadcasts or recordings. This DVDR has a default Setup option to use the HDMI cable for audio, but you can turn that off if you use a separate audio connection, like we do to our HDMI-less AV receiver... and you don't mind having to turn your receiver on for audio EVERY TIME you use the HDMI connection. If you leave HDMI audio on, you'll be getting sound from your AV system PLUS the TV, which might cause an "echo" effect. We use HDMI w/audio on cuz we seldom use our HDMI-less AV system, and then only for playing commercial DVDs w/DD5.1 via a digital coax or optical connection (no HDMI on our AV), so we just turn the TV sound to zero. If you have to convert your HDMI to DVI, use an adapter, but remember that DVI only carries video, no audio, so you'll have to add L/R audio cables. Look for a DVI setting in your TV and turn it ON. Some TVs don't have a specific DVI "setting" but instruct you to use a specific HDMI input for DVI (mine says use HDMI-2), so just use the HDMI-DVI input the manual specifies. If you've got a 1366x768 (720p) TV that shows a dark pic, it might also produce a brighter pic. In fact, even if you're using pure HDMI, try turning the TV's DVI setting ON or use the TV-manual-specified HDMI-DVI input just to see if PQ is improved. If using a DVI setting or HDMI-DVI input on your TV, set this DVDR's HDMI Format to RGB and NOT YCbCr, cuz RGB is DVI's native format. If your HDTV also has a setting for "Overscan," try setting it OFF to see if it increases your PQ. Your TV's Overscan function can also affect pic size for JPG/JPEG pics. When using HDMI or Component input on your TV, and you notice poor quality or clipping of JPG/JPEGs (5-10%) from all sides, it could be caused by your TV's Overscan function. You should look for "Overscan" in your TV menus and turn it OFF to see if it helps. In this post (and thread), edDV explains it this way: "What you are seeing with loss around the edges is overscan. Most analog component and HDMI inputs have overscan. Most "PC/Game" ports (usually VGA) don't overscan and some TV makers allow turning off overscan on the HDMI port (e.g. Samsung's "Just Scan" feature)." Odd Aspect on Pics - When I view MY jpg pics via Composite or HDMI connection to my Vizio 1080p LCD, my DVDR aspect setting reacts the OPPOSITE of what I expect, i.e., if I set my 3575 for 16:9 Wide, pics show up normal 4:3 (the camera format), but setting the 3575 to 4:3 LB displays a stretched 4:3 pic, full-screen and w/o LB bars... all with my LCD TV set for Wide!? You'll have to play with your DVDR AND TV settings to get the best combo for your system. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. My HDMI Settings I have my HDMI connection to my 47" 1080p and 37" 768p Vizio LCDs set with the following. HDMI Output = May depend on your TV! I use 480p cuz my Vizio LCD does a better job in upscaling than my 3575. However, cheaplikeafox has a HDTV that wouldn't show full widescreen 16:9 until he selected 1080p, and he also got a much better pic with that setting!? To find your best HDMI setting, press HDMI button on remote, format shows BRIEFLY in this DVDR's display (till channel tunes fully) and in the display of most TVs. The most common "expert" advice is, if you have to upscale, do it only ONCE cuz every upscale loses some quality. Since today's flat-panel displays are "fixed-pixel," they upscale/downscale EVERYTHING to their native (and "fixed") rez. And some of today's computer/video flat panels have "non-video" computer rez like 768p, so they'll ALWAYS have to upscale or downscale to fit that native rez. So, following their advice, don't upscale in this DVDR AND in your TV, just send it the "native" HDMI rez of this DVDR: 480p. My LCD TV definitely does a better job at upconverting to its native 1080p when I send 480p rather than one of the upscaled rez. If using Component for OTA and Sat, which are Component signals, make sure you set Progressive Scan to ON so you're sending 480p output and letting your HDTV's better scaler/filter circuitry create its native pixel map. Be aware that the 3575/3576 has active Composite and S-Video with Progressive Scan ON (they ignore that setting), BUT the 2080/2160's Composite and S-Video outputs are de-activated with Progressive Scan ON. Note: With Some HDTV's won't properly upscale a 16:9 WS pic on a digital channel using 480p, 720p, etc. If you can't seem to see or record WS pics thru this DVDR using HDMI, try all the format settings, 480p/720p/1080i/1080p, and see if your HDTV needs a specific HDMI format to show a true WS pic.Format = YCbCr* RGB Range = Normal (doesn't matter for YCbCr but greatly affects RGB setting) Try both RGB and YCbCr... VERY system-dependent. YCbCr is digital Component video and RGB is YPbPr analog Component video. RGB/Normal are the default settings. This DVDR reverts to the RGB Format setting if you set for YCbCr and your TV is NOT compatible with YCbCr. The Normal/Enhanced RGB Range setting does NOT revert, so check this if you have dark/light pic problems. *Here's a simple and direct explanation of YPbPr and YCbCr from Answers.com.If you're using DVI, this should be set to RGB, which is DVI's native format. These settings appear to be VERY important and can be greatly affected by the picture settings in your HDTV, with their most noticeable effect on live digital channels and recordings and on DVD playback. They can only be set properly for YOUR system if you take the time to test the settings with all sources, even commercial DVDs, which are produced with digital YCbCr video so they might look different than live TV. Obviously, the goal is to set this DVDR so it looks as close as possible to the pic your TV produces thru its tuner cuz you like that pic, right!? Record a dark scene, on a digital channel only, or play a dark scene in a DVD, then PLAY/PAUSE to see the result. Press STOP, change settings, press PLAY/PAUSE thru the same section of the rec. to see the difference. I've been back-and-forth on these settings with MY system but, after MANY tests, I've decided it looks best with YCbCr Format (where the RGB Range setting doesn't matter). My 47" Vizio 1080p LCD TV is YCbCr compliant, and I get a noticeably sharper (more contrasty) pic with YCbCr. With RGB Format, if I set RGB Range to Normal, it produces my overall brightest pic but with reduced sharpness. When I set RGB Range to Enhanced, I get a little sharper pic, but it also gets darker. (RGB/Enhanced might be good for someone who has a pic that's a little too bright, or someone who wants max. sharpness and doesn't see or care too much about a few dark scenes.) The effect of the RGB Range setting can be subtle on the menu pic but can make a BIG diff. when watching digital channels on the TV or DVDs with dark scenes! So, DON'T THINK THE RGB RANGE SETTING DOESN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE JUST CUZ THE MENU DOESN'T CHANGE MUCH! ANd make sure you're using the HDMI input on your TV when making Range setting changes. Make sure you watch some live digital channels and DVDs with the Range setting both ways. Here's a post on some tests I did that might provide a little more info on settings for dark pic. You can tell if your TV is YCbCr compatible by (1) selecting your TV's HDMI input (vital 1st step), (2) setting this DVDR for HDMI Format = YCbCr, then (3) changing the setting for RGB Range between Normal and Enhanced. If there is a subtle change in menu pic, your TV is NOT YCbCr compatible and this DVDR is auto-converting to RGB. This brings the RGB Range setting into play. When changing HDMI Format to YCbCr, there *might* be a visible change/blip in TV pic if the TV is YCbCR compatible, but there won't be ANY noticeable change in the darkness/contrast when you do step (3) above: change the RGB Range between Normal and Enhanced. (There ALSO won't be any change if you've selected any TV input other than HDMI!) If no change in menu pic darkness/contrast, and you're seeing the TV's HDMI connection, you're set for YCbCr, if that's what works best in your system. If your TV also has a setting for YCbCr, try setting that on and off for all sources (DVD, HDD, tuner) cuz leaving that off might get a better overall result... most, if not all, TVs should auto-convert to YCbCr when they receive a YCbCr signal from this DVDR. One Samsung user had a TV setting for YCbCr also but got a darker pic turning that on, in addition to his DVDR setting, so turned it off to get a brighter pic on a DVD with some dark scenes, on HDD recordings, and on live TV. HDMI Audio = ON The default setting and perfect for everyone, with and without an AV receiver. This allows you HDMI cable to carry audio to your TV or receiver that has HDMI connections and, if the receiver is capable, even DD5.1. Only reason I can think of to turn this off is if you want to use HDMI only for the video (maybe cuz your receiver can't handle DD5.1) and thenuse a digital audio output for the audio. We have two "odd" audio connections to our old HDMI-less AV receiver: a digital coax for DD3.1 from DVDs, and L/R audio cables from my LCD TV's L/R audio outputs for normal TV/HDD watching. We have our AV surround system with all 6 speakers up front and learned that the Surround speakers, normally behind you, should NOT be in front or the audio will sound "wrong" due to the nature of the surround speaker system. We also got an "echo" from our TV, so we'd have to turn TV audio off, but still the sound seemed "wrong." When we disconnected those Surround speakers, we got nice 3.1 audio w/o any echo from the TV speakers, so we could leave TV audio on. When we play DVDs w/DD5.1, we select the receiver's DVD input. For normal TV/HDD watching, we use our Composite connection, but when we want amplified audio, we switch to the receiver's TV input and control audio with one remote: the TV's. RGB Range = Normal For RGB output only, no effect if on YCbCr Format. The Enhanced option changes contrast (some say black level) and can make pic look better or worse than the Normal option, so you'll have to try both to be sure... but only if you use RGB Format. RGB and Enhanced made my pic on a digital channel a little sharper (added contrast) but made dark scenes a little darker, so best to try all combinations of these settings as described under "Format" above. HDMI Control Feature on 2160A Only The 2160A has an extra HDMI feature called "HDMI Control." Here is the info from the manual on that feature. HDMI control allows integrated system control over HDMI and is part of the HDMI standard. When “HDMI Control” setting is set to “ON”, functions listed below will be available. [Default is OFF.] One Touch Play When this unit is turned on, the TV also is turned on and the appropriate external input channel will be selected automatically. The appropriate external input channel can also be selected on your TV automatically, when you press [PLAY >], [>>|], [|<<], [DISC MENU], [TIMER], [DTV/TV], [SETUP], [CHANNEL +/-], [the Number buttons] or [D. DUBBING] when the unit’s power is on. Standby When you press and hold [STANDBY-ON] for 2 seconds, it turns off the power to the standby mode of the TV first and then turns the power off this unit also. Someone also suggested that a double-click of the Standby/On button does a sequential turn-off? System Information Get & Set Menu Language This unit recognizes the OSD language set for the TV and automatically sets the same language as the player menu language (OSD menu language) for this unit. Note Apparently, some TVs will work in reverse, i.e., turn on TV and 2160A turns on... not what you might want to happen every time you turn your TV on. The proper op sequence is: 2160A on turns TV on and sets input to HDMI connection, but TV on/off doesn't affect 2160A. So far, the TV's that work and don't work properly are:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Setting Brightness of Front Panel Display The front panel display light has three brightness settings in the Display > FL Dimmer menu: Auto, Bright and Dark. Auto adjusts for room light. The default setting is Bright. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-03-10 at 09:47 PM.. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:03 AM
|
#12 | Link | ||||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Scanning for Channels with Auto and Manual Channel Preset... ALL-OR-NOTHING (AON)... With Rotating Antenna... Combining OTA and Cable
Quote:
Quote:
Notes What Channels Can This DVDR Tune by Itself? IMPORTANT INFO for Understanding the Channel Scan Process Doing an Initial Auto Channel Preset (Scan) for Channels Recovering from a Frozen Digital Channel during a Cable (Analog/Digital) Scan Four Manual Channel Preset Procedures for Finding "Hidden" Digital Cable Channels • #1 - Comparing to a Digital-Tunered TV • #2 - Guided Search • #3 - Sydyen Procedure for Comparing to Channels a Cableco DTA Tunes • #4 - ALL-OR-NOTHING (AON) With Rotating Antenna Combining OTA and Cable Music Channels "Switched Digital Video" Being Rolled Out by Cablecos Notes
What Channels Can This DVDR Tune by Itself? This DVDR has two tuners: NTSC tuner for analog OTA and cable channels, and ATSC/QAM tuner for digital OTA channels and QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) digital channels from cable TV. Here's a good, short explanation of QAM as used in TVs and DVDRs. This DVDR can't tune satellite channels directly. Before purchasing this DVDR, there are two pretty sure ways over-the-air (OTA) and cable subscribers can find out what channels this DVDR can receive/tune by itself, without a set-top box (STB): (1) ask a neighbor who has a digital-tunered TV with no STB (direct connection to source), (2) if YOU already have a digital-tunered TV, this DVDR should receive the same digital channels the TV can when it's connected directly to the incoming coax (no box). Even if you subscribe to "basic" or "extended" cable, you might be surprised at how many digital channels you can receive with this DVDR's digital tuner. Cablecos normally have local digital channels and some others "in-the-clear" (not scrambled) in the channel range this DVDR can tune. They also have higher-numbered channels only their STB can tune but they may be "remapping" or "mirroring" some of those high-numbered channels to lower numbers this DVDR can receive. I get 13 superb digital/HD channels in my "basic cable" Tv subscription. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. IMPORTANT INFO for Understanding the Channel Scan Process Upon first setup, an Auto Channel Preset has two purposes:
You don't NEED the CH+/- button memory to tune channels or timer record... it's just a convenience for the user. This DVDR has a hybrid tuner system... analog and digital channels separately accessible via a DTV/TV button. HDTVs have a "combo" tuner that integrates analog and digital channels in numerical sequence, with no need for a manual switching method like our DVDRs. Also, HDTVs typically find and display digital channels with dashes, like 33-106, whereas this DVDR uses periods in place of dashes and might find/display that same channel as 33.1. Analog channels are always tuned on a major or "primary" channel number, like 33, while digital channels can have several "subchannels" in a primary channel group, like 33.1, 33.2, etc. An Auto Channel Preset > Cable (Analog/Digital) searches first for analog channels 1-125 and enters them in CH+/- button memory, then it searches for digital channels 1-135 and enters any it finds to button memory, but it can skip entire channel groups if there's a Scrambled channel in the primary channel position, like 33.1. Of course, the drawback to this is that an Auto Channel Preset can miss digital channels that ARE tunable in any deeper subchannel slot, like 33.2, 33.7, etc. However, there are at least two advantages to this:
Note: If on antenna or cable, any tunered components downstream on the coax passhtru, like a STB or TV, must also be scanned for channels since they'll be able to independently tune the incoming signal. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Doing an Initial Auto Channel Preset (Scan) for Channels To do an auto-preset, go to the Setup > General Setting > Channel > Auto Channel Preset menu and select either the Antenna, Cable (Analog) or Cable (Analog/Digital) option, depending on what signal you receive. For each option, you should see these channel numbers go by on screen: Antenna = 2-69 analog, 2-69 DTV. Cable (Analog) = 1-125 analog. Cable (Analog/Digital) = 1-125 analog, 1-135 DTV. Cable subscribers should select Analog/Digital even if they only subscribe to analog cable service... there are usually some digital (DTV) channels in the analog feed that this DVDR can tune, and many will be downrezzed SD versions of an HD channel (with brilliant PQ that might hurt your eyes... be careful!). Let it auto-preset for its analog channels (~2 min.) and any digital channels (~20 min.). Analog channels will tune quickly and you'll see them on the TV as they scan in, but digital channels can take up to 10 sec each to scan and they don't appear on the TV during the scan. After a successful auto-scan, you can Add or Delete channel GROUPS at will, i.e., you can't add or delete just one specific subchannel in a group without adding or deleting the entire group. You'll have to accept them all and just go thru them with channel up/dn or enter the tunable channels directly. However, one thing to know is that subsequent Auto Channel Presets can eliminate "Scrambled" channels, so there's some "intelligent learning" involved in our tuners... multiple auto-scans can be a good thing! Timer programs are not affected since they use a specific channel number. Some users have run into cableco-related problems during auto-scanning with this DVDR 1st on the coax, as recommended:
Recovering from a Frozen Digital Channel during a Cable (Analog/Digital) Scan Some DVDRs in a cable system might freeze during an Auto Channel Preset > Cable (Analog/Digital) on a digital channel which usually turns out to be a signal-analysis channel of some sort. My digital ch. 91 freezes my 3575's (but not my 2160). It has a chart with dBnU or dBnV on the left scale and an active oscilloscope trace running between -20 and -30 dBnU... sort of like a super-fast heart monitor trace. Other people who run into a frozen channel might have one of these in their cable lineup... not sure if OTA people would also have one of these channels? There are TWO different ways to recover from a frozen channel, depending on if the Auto Channel Preset is (1) your INITIAL (out-of-the-box) scan, or (2) a SUBSEQUENT scan after a successful INITIAL scan. During an INITIAL Scan You have to complete an INITIAL Auto Channel Preset successfully, all 125 analog channels and all 135 digital channel, without the process "freezing" or you stopping the scan. This is to allow subsequent Manual channel presets, which can become very important to many users, esp, Comcast cable subs, as described in the "Hidden" channel section below. If your INITIAL auto-scan freezes on a digital channel, remember the offending channel number. First try stopping the scan with the SETUP button; screen should eventually go blue or grey. Switch to analog tuner. If that doesn't stop the scan, pull the power cord. Replace the screw-on coax with a push-on type so you can remove it quickly during the next scan. Turn this DVDR on and do another Auto Channel Preset. Just before the scan reaches the bad digital channel, pull the coax and let it scan past the bad digital channel, reconnect quickly ASAP, and let the scan complete. I use one of those "push-on" coax cables for this procedure, then reconnect the normal screw-on coax after scan is completed. Turn this DVDR back on and, if you know or suspect that your auto-scan with coax on-off missed one or more digital channels, go to section below on "Hidden" Channels to manually tune those digital channels or search for channels "hidden" behind a Scrambled XX.1 channel. During a SUBSEQUENT Scan Once you complete an INITIAL auto-scan successfully, SUBSEQUENT auto-scans don't need to complete successfully to allow Manual presets and other scanning tricks. If a SUBSEQUENT auto-scan freezes on a digital channel, try the BACK/RETURN button AND/or the SETUP button. While frozen, you can also set a timer rec program of 10 sec or so starting in the next minute... that should unfreeze the scan. If none of these work for you, pull the power cord. When you power back up, see what digitals are missing... you DO have a list, right?... and ADD them with a Manual Channel Preset. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Four Manual Channel Preset Procedures for Finding "Hidden" Digital Cable Channels With some cable TV systems, an Auto Channel Preset with this DVDR might tune only SOME digital channel groups or NONE cuz the cableco:
AFTER AN AUTO-CHANNEL PRESET > CABLE (ANALOG/DIGITAL) HAS BEEN DONE, there are three manual procedures (#1, 2, 3) that should find any clear-QAM digital channels that your cableco maps to "deep" subchannels or that map to virtual numbers in the PSIP data, and one "sure-fire" way (#4):
Manual Preset Procedure #1 - Comparing to a Digital-Tunered TV If you have another digital-tunered component with an integrated digital tuner (tunes both analog and digital channels in sequence), here's the manual procedure for tuning those same cable-QAM channels in this DVDR:
Manual Preset Procedure #2 - Guided Search Without a digital-tunered TV or other reliable source for knowing or suspecting what digital cable-QAM channels might be tunable, check this AVS forum on local HDTV reception info for your city and see what others post on the channels they can tune... a little work but sure to find the exact channels people are actually seeing in your area. If you see an OTA or cable-QAM channel that you should be able to tune, you can enter that main channel number directly in the Manual Channel Preset menu. Arrow up and press OK to move the checkmark to "Add" (takes a few sec). Press the Back/Return button to activate your manual channel changes, then SETUP button to exit the menus. Then, surf thru the channels in that group and, if any channels are there, even deep subchannels, they'll eventually tune as you keep pressing CH+/-. For normal surfing, you may have to go thru some lower subchannels that show "Scrambled" to get to the actual tunable subchannel(s)... I have one channel group like that. TIP: I've found that Auto Channel Presets done after the intial one seem to have memory of what was found before, such as NOT making lower-numbered subchannels tunable in a group that has only higher-numbered subchannels. For example, I had 83.1 and 83.2 "Scrambled" but then 83.3 and 83.4 tuned in... I found that another Auto Channel Preset procedure later got rid of my Scrambled channels 83.1 and 83.2 but retained the channels I manually added... might work the same for you? Timer rec programs are set for a specific channel and subchannel, so having "Scrambled" channels in memory has no effect. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Manual Preset Procedure #3 - Sydyen Procedure for Comparing to Channels a Cableco DTA Tunes Thanks to Sydyen for this info and procedure on finding QAM channels in a Comcast cable feed, prob. one of the most problematic for this DVDR. This may apply to other cable providers who also claim that subscribers must have Digital Transport Adapters (DTA), or similar "free" box, to tune their digital channels so long as those boxes also provide discrete information about channel mapping. Comcast and other cableco technicians are not always up-to-speed on the intricacies of QAM channel tuning so, helpful as they may try to be, you have to do most of the work yourself. Digital transmissions have a Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) header which contains three addresses.
The Comcast DTA has to be connected like a VCR. The only In/Out it has is RF, and you can only receive on CH3 or 4 of your TV. Depending on your area of the country, there can be slight differences between how the same Pace DCX50 DTA presents the information (other cableco DTA's might also be similar). This is thought to be the most common procedure for identifying tunable Comcast channels:
Each page of the Virtual Channel Map lists the DTA channel numbers incrementally. The following headings apply to the three columns on the right.
Now, open the table of N.A. Cable TV Frequencies here. Look in the QAM Carrier column for numbers that bracket the ch. 39 CDSRef frequency. You'll find that the DTA's frequency of 693 MHz is between 691.31 for QAM 107 and 697.31 for QAM 108. So, 693,000 in the DTA table is a subchannel of QAM 107 based on the Wiki table, and the subchannel is 7 based on the Prog# in the Comcast DTA table. Thus, Comcast ch. 39 should be tunable on QAM channel 107.7 in this DVDR. You've cracked the code! As long as you've successfully completed an Auto Channel Preset scan in this DVDR, you can now enter 107.7 on live TV and Comcast's ch. 39 will appear... it's the same channel you can watch on a Comcast STB or DTA as ch. 39. However, an Auto Channel Preset > Cable (Analog/Digital) in this DVDR may pass by the entire 107 channel group if there's no TUNABLE 107.1, as described here in the "Hidden ... " channel discussion. If 107.1 is Scrambled or blank (blue/grey screen), you'll have to tune to 107.7by direct entry on live TV. If it tunes, as expected, open the Manual Channel Preset menu while on that channel and change the checkmark to "Add" (takes a few sec). While in that Manual menu, you can now enter any other primary channel numbers you've discovered and change them to "Add" as well. Press the Back/Return button to activate your manual channel changes, then SETUP button to exit the menus. There's no magic involved, just a tedious process of converting the frequencies to channel numbers. Comcast changes the lineup on a random basis so, if a QAM channel xxx.y no longer works, check with the DTA to find out where it is now. If the relocated channel is at a new QAM address, Add it with the Manual Channel Preset menu. Other cablecos use different DTA's, so if you have one of those, this info may be similar... or not. If you have a diff. DTA and maybe some info and even procedures for channel-finding, please post that info or send a PM to AVS member sydyen directly. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Manual Preset Procedure #4 - ALL-OR-NOTHING (AON) There's one "sure-fire" way to see if your cableco, esp. Comcrap, is "hiding" digital QAM channels from this DVDR's hybrid tuner: ENTER ALL DIGITAL CHANNELS IN CH+/- BUTTON MEMORY. With all channels in CH+/- memory, there can be NO hidden channels cuz now you'll be able to surf the entire channel range to find all "good" channels. Without an AON, you'd have to direct-enter each and every subchannel number, 99 for each major channel x 135 = 13,365, to see where the good channels reside. Essentially, any deep-subchannel mapping (XX.2 and higher), remapping, jumping or "doubling" can be found by surfing the "wide-open" tuner and provide you with a channel map of your own so you can determine the best tuner/timer rec options at that point in time. This procedure takes advantage of this DVDR's "all-or-nothing" channel memory for digital channels, i.e., if you Add Ch. XX.1, ALL digital subchannels in that group will be added, even if XX.1 is Scrambled. If NO signal at all, the screen will be blank (blue/grey) with no text or pic, but even those channels will be STILL be tunable w/CH+/-. In essence, your digital tuner will be "open for business" from any customer (frequency) that comes thru the front door (the ANT IN connection). Here's Stump69's experience using this procedure and a list of the 86 tunable digital QAM channels it found, 21 of which could NOT be found with an initial auto-scan. Notice how many channel groups DO NOT have an XX.1, and one key group, 100, that starts with 100.2. The verdict on that: GUILTY OF EVIL INTENT IN THE 1ST DEGREE! (Disclaimer: Not everyone's cable system reacts the same way with these DVDRs... there are exceptions!) This method is time-consuming cuz you need to move the checkmark on all MAIN digital QAM channel numbers, 1-135, from "Delete" to "Add" and those changes take about 25 min... first for the DVDR to analyze the signal and see if there's something tunable or not (even if "Scrambled"), then for you to move the arrow from Delete to Add 135 times.
Scanning for Channels in Different Directions with a Rotating OTA Antenna If you use a rotating OTA antenna, you can tune channels in several directions by first doing an Auto Channel Preset > Antenna in position 1, then one or more Manual Channel Presets in other antenna positions. You need the first auto-scan to allow subsequent manual additions. Here's a post on how one user, Arkyman, accomplished his multi-position channel scan. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Combining OTA and Cable Channels You can Add digital OTA channels 7 thru 13 (high-VHF) to a cable system with the Manual Channel Preset menu... doesn't work the opposite way (Cable channels added to Antenna system)*. The procedure is as follows:
Also, don't give up if you're using an indoor antenna and get a blank screen on 1st try... my old rabbit ears at first showed blank 13.1 and 13.2, so I moved antenna and got blocky pic, then I raised it up and got great pic. Just make sure the OTA channel(s) you select to enter manually are really tunable and reasonably stable in your system. *You can't do an Antenna auto-scan first cuz that deactivates the "Add" option in the Manual Channel Preset menu for ALL cable-QAM channels... the "Add" option will be greyed out. Starting with a Cable > Analog auto-scan also doesn't work.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Music Channels You'll probably also have some music channels (audio only w/still pics) that you might want to get rid of with the Manual Channel Preset menu. I get 51 of these and I don't care enough to have them in the channel memory cuz I don't want to CH+/- thru them! You can delete ANY subchannel in that music group and ALL the subchannels willl be deleted, another benefit of the all-or-nothing digital tuning of these DVDRs. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. "Switched Digital Video" Being Rolled Out by Cablecos In the 2nd half of 2007, Comcast Cable started rolling out Switched Digital Video (SDV) which delivers digital channels only ON DEMAND from a subscriber. You have to have a free cableco box to communicate with the "Optical Node" that delivers the channels in your neighborhood (500-2000 subscribers per node). Some recent good news: according to one user here, TW is using SDV ONLY for low-viewership channels which they deliver only when a subscriber tunes those channels, so it does NOT interfere with the "normal" QAM channels a cableco delivers "in the clear." So far, then, only "low-viewership" channels might be lost to users of this DVDR due to SDV... altho they can still get the SDV box, if desired, and record thru that! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; Yesterday at 11:54 PM.. |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:05 AM
|
#13 | Link | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Recording to HDD... Manual Recording... Timer Recording... Back-to-Back Programs... Copying from STB/DVR, VCR or Camera... Copying Commercial VHS Movies... The STOP Button
"The difference between recording a digital vs. analog channel is like the difference between life and death!" - wajo 9/13/09Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes Notes on Recording Advice from People with Other DVDRs The Philips CODEC (Coder-Decoder) for RECORDING Recording Basics Manually Recording a TV Channel Auto-Recording with a Timer Program Timer Recording BACK-TO-BACK Programs Recording a Show from a STB or Copying a Title from a STB/DVR (incl. PPV/VOD) Copying from a VCR, Camcorder, or Other External Device Using Std Analog Cables Copying from a DV Camera Using Firewire Cable Copying Commercial VHS Movies The STOP Button Notes
Notes on Recording Advice from People with Other DVDRs Be aware that, when people with OTHER DVDRs offer their opinion of recorded PQ and start making comparisons to this DVDR, they might not have digital tuners in their units, so their advice and comparisons are useless and misleading. More importantly, other DVDRs don't have the outstanding Philips encoder-decoder (CODEC) as your unit, which is THE most important part of an MPEG-2 home-recording system. One "popular" PQ mis-comparison is between ANY U.S./Canadian Pioneer with this DVDR at the same rec modes. First, since the Pio can ONLY record analog channels, the comparisons must be between analog channels, BUT the beauty of this DVDR is it can record from digital channels, to which there is NO POSSIBLE comparison to any analog DVDR... this DVDR is BETTER, IN SPADES! Second, I have a Pio 640 and, IMO after many tests, my recorded PQ is slightly softer on my Pio 640 compared to my 3575's on analog channels... and my Pio is connected to my 47" 1080p LCD via the supposedly better Component cables, whereas my 3575 is connected via those "terrible" digital Composite cables. I've recorded many dramas in 6-hr-SLP with my 3575's from digital HD channels in my basic (analog) cable feed and my recorded PQ, even at that extreme rec mode, BLOWS ANY ANALOG RECORDING AWAY! Even other recorders with digital tuners are at a disadvantage since they don't have the Philips CODEC, described below. So, don't fret even an instant over comparisons to other DVDRs, esp. claims about "best PQ because of full D1 resolution at 4-hr rec mode," which is a fallacy of the first order, as explained here! Just set your DVDR for 1-hr-HQ and blow them all away with a 12-hour HQ recording of your digital channels! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. The Philips CODEC (Coder-Decoder) for RECORDING When we watch live TV thru our DVDRs, the signal goes "directly" from front-end (FE) to back-end (BE) components, i.e., tuner to output. When the machine receives a REC command, either manual or timer-activated, the incoming signal is directed to the MPEG-2 encoder for recording to disc. When it receives a PLAY command, the recorded MPEG-2 User Data is directed to the decoder for display on our TV. In the PQ comparison game as practiced here, remember that other DVDRs certainly don't have Philips MPEG-2 encoders, which have advanced features like those mentioned in an article about who's doing what with DVD encoders: "The gap between them [Zoran/ESS and LSI/Philips] could widen further, as LSI Logic, whose MPEG encoding technology is already in its fifth generation, continues to hone its encoding skills, while Philips is adding to its new MPEG-2 codec (coder-decoder) optimized hardware blocks for running new picture improvement algorithms such as adaptive picture sharpness detection and de-blocking artifacts removal." Philips' continuing development of its own MPEG-2 codec might also explain why this DVDR doesn't show "macroblocking" or "stuttering" on fast moving objects or jagged lines on the field, AT ANY REC MODE, like some other DVDRs do. I haven't seen any of that in my 3575's after MANY tests on fast-moving sports programs, as described here. So, do your own tests and become familiar with YOUR unit's capabilities, and you might be surprised at how some advice and comparisons are, well, just wrong for this DVDR! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Recording Basics See Notes 5 & 6 above for info on rec. WS programs and using the STOP button while rec. For recording, this DVDR uses only the most useful rec modes (1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 6 hours)...no 13-hour mode like on my Pio 640, which is totally useless...and very ugly! This DVDR uses some "different" time lengths for it's longer rec. modes compared to some other DVDRs, so make sure your "conversations" with users of other brands are talking the same language. Many other DVDRs use the same names for LP/EP/SLP, but they are 4/6/8-hr modes compared to this DVDR's 3/4/6-hr modes. Because of this, I always include the full name with hours just to be clear for people with the same rec. mode names but different lengths. 1-hr-HQ is best for VIEWING if you have to have the very best PQ. With your 160GB HDD, you can record up to 33 hours at HQ, which would require 33 DVD discs in a single-disc recorder! HQ will also retain PQ much better for mode-conversion dubbing (going down in rec mode to next level) and for multi-generational dubbing, like offloading titles from the HDD to disc that you intend to put back on the HDD for editing and compiling later... amazingly well if the original recording is from a digital WS channel, as described here. HOWEVER, there are two potential drawbacks to using 1-hr-HQ:
2.5-hr-SPP, 3-hr-LP, 4-hr-EP and 6-hr-SLP modes are also good if your source is a digital/HD channel showing a drama or other non-sports event, but they're not so great for most typical analog/SD channels. Field-sports is a PITA, as described here. This DVDR's 160 GB HDD will hold up to 66 hours at the most-used 2-hr-SP rec. mode, and up to 198 hours at 6-hr-SLP mode. Things you rec to the HDD are auto-added to a Title list, accessible with the TITLE button. They appear in rec-date order (oldest to newest) with date/time/channel/mode/length and a full-motion video/audio index pic. This DVDR can also record on DVD±R and DVD±RW discs, as described in this help file. You select the default rec. mode for MANUAL (no timer) recording to the HDD with the REC MODE button on the remote. (See Note 3 above.) That mode will be used for all your MANUAL recordings unless you change it. Once you change it with that button, all future MANUAL recordings will use that new mode...make sure you change it back after a special recording with a different mode. TIMER AND DUBBING REC modes are set separately in their respective menus and only for that specific timer program or dub... they don't change the default MANUAL mode. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Manually Recording a TV Channel See Notes 5 & 6 above for info on rec. WS programs and using the STOP button while rec. Select HDD drive and set this DVDR's tuner on the channel you want to record, set the rec. mode (if other than your default), and press the REC button on the remote or front of the unit ("RECORD"). If you just let it record from there, it will continue recording until you stop it or the 12-hour continuous recording limit is reached. However, after you press REC, and at any time during a manual recording, you can press the REC button again, once or repeatedly, and the rec. time will increase in 30-min. increments from that point on, up to 6 hours total. This way, you can leave and this DVDR will stop recording after the set time has run out. This is called a "Manual Timed" recording. You can Pause a manual recording to edit out commercials, if desired. Rec Pause can be held for up to 10 minutes, at which point you'll prob. get an E10 error. Unique Feature: This DVDR is unique in that, during a manual recording, you can press PAUSE and CHANGE THE CHANNEL, then press PAUSE again and continue recording a different channel. This has been very useful in my many tests where I'm trying to determine PQ for diff. program content. CAUTION: When you start a manual recording, don't Stop that recording until the HDD Rec icon disappears from screen, about 6 sec. If you Stop a manual rec with the icon on screen, that title can "freeze" so it can't be deleted with the normal Title Delete menu. If that happens, offload to DVD the titles you want to keep and use the SETUP > HDD Menu > Delete All Titles menu.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Auto-Recording with a Timer Program See Notes 5 & 6 above for info on rec. WS programs and using the STOP button while rec. You can set 36 timer programs for recording either (1) a one time program on a specific date up to 1-month in the future, or (2) as many future programs as the HDD will hold if they're on a regular basis (M-F, Every Sun, weekly, etc.)... the latter are not time limited like a one-time program. Note: The 1-month "limit" is only a convenience for you to see how long in the future you can timer rec the current list of programs WITHOUT deleting any of those titles after they record. It's just a HDD-capacity reminder, and it won't cut off any timer recordings after a certain time, unless you let the HDD get totally full! You can set recurring programs into the far-distant future if you keep deleting shows you're thru watching or dubbing to DVD.This DVDR can be on or off when a timer program is scheduled to start. A timer rec program that's recording will be in red at the top of the Timer Programming list. If necessary, you can change a timer rec END time while it's recording. This DVDR shuts off when finished with a timer rec program (most times, rarely it won't). Be careful with the 3575/3576: you can also STOP a timer recording with one press of the STOP button. However, you can press STOP as many times as you want on the 2160's remote cuz it doesn't stop a timer recording, only the front-panel STOP button does that as well as holding the STOP button on the remote for 2 sec. The 2160A for 2009 added a Yes/No dialog to the STOP button asking if you really want to stop a recording. Set a Timer Rec Program To set up a timer program, press the TIMER button on the remote, then press OK on the highlighted "New Program." This brings up the timer rec menu shown below, with a chart showing how to set recurring events with the down arrow in the first date box.  Enter approp. info. in the 6 simple boxes: Date, Start, End, CH, REC To, and Mode. Arrow right/left to move between boxes. Arrow up/dn to change info in any box... can also enter clock times and channel directly with the number buttons (except on 3575/3576, arrow only for subchannels in DTV/digital channel box). You don't have to arrow thru every box... you can press OK at any time to exit and save this menu with all entries intact. Date box has current date. To get a one-time, future program in the Date box, arrow up to go to a specific date. To get a repeating program (daily/weekly) in the box, arrow down to select one of the options. Start box has current time. Set hour with arrow up/dn or enter numbers with keypad. Arrow right and set minutes same way. Arrow right and set AM/PM with arrow up/dn. End box has dashes (- - :- -). Set same way as Start time. CH box has 2 sections:
Mode box has whatever you last set as default via the REC MODE button on the remote while viewing TV, so you can leave it or change it with the arrow keys for that timer program. Changing the rec. mode here is just for that timer program and doesn't affect your default setting. NOTES:
Timer Recording BACK-TO-BACK Programs See Notes 5 & 6 above for info on rec. WS programs and using the STOP button while rec. Quote:
I did a test to show the typical transition times between analog and digital channels, using 1-min. back-to-back recordings from diff. channels. I used 1-min. cuz I was just testing the transition points... length of recording won't matter. My results are shown in the table below: 1-min. BTB Timer Rec Test, Different Tuners and Channels, Showing Loss (sec.) for Ea. Subsequent Title
For successive programs, the HDD has a read-write buffer that it has to write to disk (indicated by the chasing lines in the display) while this DVDR is switching to the other channel. (This buffer is what allows us to Chase Play a recording in progress.) Analog-to-analog transitions are quickest, but when a digital channel is involved, the transition times are a little longer since digitals take longer to tune. In any case, you'll end up with separate titles. This ALSO means you don't have to record two or more shows appearing on the SAME channel as one continuous program. This way you can have each show as an independent title and you WON'T HAVE TO DIVIDE the shows later for dubbing to DVD. If, however, you're a timeshifter and only record/watch/delete, no problem either way. So far, the king of BTB recording is FullOnShred with 34 HOURS of continuous BTB recording of 16 separate 2-hr and 2 separate 1-hr timer recordings. His project info is here... and a brief description of results is here. His only "problem" was the shows were played w/o commercial breaks at beginning and end so the normal 3-6 sec lost while changing channels and/or timer programs was actual show time... not a problem with "normal" commercial TV. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Recording a Show from a STB or Copying a Title from a STB/DVR (incl. PPV/VOD) Quote:
You can RECORD A CHANNEL from a set-top box (STB) or sat receiver via a line connection between the STB and this DVDR. When you want to record a cable-scrambled or satellite-encrypted channel while you're not there, you have to set a timer program in this DVDR to record from whichever external input your STB is connected to (E1/L1 on back?). As noted in the "TIPS" above, you don't have to have a DVR to RECORD from a bare STB (one w/o a DVR). Many or most STBs have a "RECORD" or 'RECORD SHOW" feature/menu where you can select a program to "record" (even w/o a DVR), then set a coordinated timer rec program in this DVDR for that time period and the line input your STB is connected to. You can slo check your STB's manual for "Timers" or "Reminders" that can turn your STB on and/or set it to a channel you specif time. Then, again, you only need to set a coordinated timer rec program in this DVDR to record unattended programs from your STB for that program's time period. If no such features on your STB, you'll have to leave it on the channel you want to record, and you can only do one program this way since there's no way to change channels unattended? If you're there, you can just tune the STB to the desired channel manually, select the source (E1/L1?) with the SOURCE button, set the rec mode (if diff. from your default), and press REC on this DVDR at the program start time. Pressing REC repeatedly increases REC time in 30-min. increments (up to 6 hours) if you want to set a specific rec time so you don't have to be there at the end of the program to stop recording. Recording from the STB will tie up both tuners so you'll only be able to watch the recording or something else from this DVDR's HDD or a DVD... remember, it's a multi-tasking wonder! You can also COPY TITLES recorded on a STB/DVR to this DVDR's HDD, then dub copies (as long as the titles are not copy-protected). PPV/VOD shows that you order separately might be copyable from the STB/DVR to a DVD or from your DVDR HDD to a DVD. However, one Lite-on user reports he regularly records live, extra-cost PPV shows directly to a DVD while the STB/DVR is also recording the show, i.e., a "direct-to-DVD-while-DVR-recording" trick. See TIP #1 above for how an HDMI connection from this DVDR to your TV can interfere with copying from a DVR, and a simple solution for that (use or connect a non-HDMI cable to the TV to setup and monitor each recording session from your DVR). One user ran into a problem with copying from a DirectTV Hughes TiVo-2 directly to a DVD in this DVDR, but found it worked OK when he copied to the HDD first, then dubbed a copy to DVD, as described in his post here. Another person copied PPV titles from his DirecTV DVR to his 3576 and his 2160 (lucky dog has both!) in the same way, as described here and following posts. Another person found his STB/DVR wouldn't allow him to copy shows from the DVR as long as he had an HDMI connection to his TV! He solved that problem by disconnecting the HDMI from the STB/DVR and using Component cables to his TV. Sounds like some/all STB/DVRs are "smart" enough to not allow or restrict output thru composite or S-Video while there's an HDMI connection, even tho it isn't to the DVDR? With DirecTV: If you get an E-25 error "This program is not allowed to be recorded" (copy protection) and the station is not HBO or similar channels that normally employ copy protection, then turn all off and unplug both this DVDR and the DirecTV receiver. Leave both unplugged about five minutes, then plug all back in and try again. Using the reset button will not correct the problem... you must unplug the receiver.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Copying from a VCR, Camcorder, or Other External Device Using Std "Analog" Cables See Notes 5 & 6 above for info on rec. WS programs and using the STOP button while rec. You can copy non-copy-protected stuff from virtually any external device that has std "analog" outputs... to be specific for the "purists" among us, Composite Y/W/R RCA or S-Video+L/R Audio. You connect those outputs to this DVDR's AV inputs (E1/L1 on back or E2/L2 on front). The device is usually a VCR but could also be an analog camcorder or a CD player for creating music DVDs, as described here. All copying will be in real-time... there is no high-speed copying from external components by common earthlings. The procedure for copying from a VCR or other tape device is:
See next section for special instructions for copying from a DV camera. See section below for copying commercial VHS movies to the HDD, etc. For a tape that shows too dark or too light thru this DVDR, one user with very bright tapes used a clever workaround to change brightness as he recorded to this DVDR's HDD: he set a Panny DMR-ES10, which has multiple darkness-control settings, in the path from his VCR to this DVDR's line input. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Copying from a DV Camera Using Firewire Cable See Notes 5 & 6 above for info on rec. WS programs and using the STOP button while rec. For making connections with any other type of cable except DV, the manual states that all units should not only be OFF but also DISCONNECTED from power! Only with DV does the manual specify that both the camera and this DVDR should be ON before making the DV/firewire cable connection! A DV camera has to establish communications with this DVDR in a "handshake" procedure, so follow these steps:
If your DV recording is in widescreen (WS) 16:9 mode, make sure your Video > TV Aspect is set to 16:9 Wide. Actually, you should leave this DVDR set for 16:9 Wide for virtually all your recordings even if you don't have a 16:9 TV now cuz you WILL have one someday and you don't want your WS recordings "forever" squished by letterbox bars... I guarantee you'll be pi**ed off if that happens! Note: All Panasonic digital Palmcorders have a "Cinema Mode" for shooting, which produces a WS pic. Other cameras prob. have a similar setting for WS. Make sure you've set the recording for the proper aspect, as well as this DVDR for proper aspect when copying. PQ in your copy on this DVDR's HDD can be significantly affected if you have mismatched aspec settings. All this depends on your current TV and, more importantly, your FUTURE TV, which by all odds will be 16:9 widescreen aspect.One user reported that a widescreen DV camera recording copied to this DVDR in correct 16:9 aspect thru the DV input (E3). Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Copying Commercial VHS Movies This DVDR's CGMS and APS copy protection systems are both set for 00/Copy Freely, so before you invest in expensive "filters" for copying commercial movies on VHS tape, try a few first. I successfully copied 9 of 14 commercial movies from VHS tape to my 3575 and 2160 HDD and dubbed them in High-speed to DVDs. I used the front and rear RCA connections (E1/L1 and E2/L2), and the copies turned out great all the way thru to DVDs... no video disruption or audio/video loss or blackout. Disney and ET were a no-go. For "hard-copyprotected" tapes, you'll need a video "filter" or "stabilizer" like this $35 one (which has a 30-day free trial). TIP: In doing this, I ran into a situation that could easily affect others who might try to copy old movies or anything from a VCR: if you left this DVDR on the DVD drive, like after playing a DVD or something, this DVDR doesn't auto-shift back to the HDD when you then want to copy/REC on the HDD, even if you turn it off then on again! If you don't switch manually to the HDD, pressing the REC button after starting the DVD playing on the VCR will yield no response at all, and you might think this DVDR won't let you record that movie. So, make sure you've selected the HDD BEFORE starting a copy from a VCR... or any external source, for that matter! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. The STOP Button The STOP button works differently depending on the DVDR model and the activity at the time. During PLAYBACK and MANUAL RECORDING During Playback and Manual Recording (pressing the rec button), one press of the STOP button on the remote for these DVDRs stops the playback drive and the recording drive when that drive is active or selected. When playing a DVD and simultaneously recording manually on the HDD, you can STOP each activity by selecting that drive and pressing STOP once. During DUBBING To STOP a dub on the 3575/3576, the STOP button on the remote does nothing... you have to press the STOP button on the 3575/3576 front panel. On the 2160, the reverse is true: you can stop a dub by pressing and holding the STOP button on the remote for 2 sec., but the STOP button on the front panel only stops playback, not a dub. During TIMER RECORDING The STOP button on the 3575/3576 will STOP a timer rec with one press, which is dangerous while simultaneously playing something from the HDD (but not from a DVD since that drive is the active drive). Pressing STOP once stops the HDD playback and pressing STOP a 2nd time will stop the HDD timer rec. On the 2160, you have to hold the STOP button down for at least 2 sec to stop a HDD timer rec., regardless of other play activity. When Resuming after a playback STOP, the video "rewinds" ~3 sec, so a short portion will be replayed, assuring that you won't miss even a syllable. One other "neat" way to stop playback on these DVDRs WITHOUT affecting a simultaneous recording is to use the HDD and DVD drive buttons. Switching between these while playing a title and simul-recording stops ONLY the playback, leaving it in Resume position... recording continues unless you then press STOP. This works the same for both drives and is safer than using the STOP button while recording, esp. on the 3575/3576, since the drive buttons are far removed from the pesky STOP button (less chance of an accident). Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-01-10 at 08:15 PM.. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:06 AM
|
#14 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Recording Fast-Action Sports
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes Fast Movement and This DVDR's MPEG-2 Encoder Three Methods for Recording and Archiving NFL Football with Good to Unbeatable PQ Effect of the Broadcast Network on Your Recording Result Notes
Fast Movement and This DVDR's MPEG-2 Encoder Car racing, basketball, baseball and even soccer are pretty easy for this DVDR to record with quality, but football can be a PITA! It's one of the biggest PQ tests for any DVDR recording that you want to end up on a DVD. Obviously, if you just want to record, watch and delete field sports, you can use 1-hr-HQ mode and get outstanding PQ, even on large LCD and plasma HDTV's. But, it's another story if you want to record at a longer mode, like 2-hr-SP or 3-hr-LP, so you can HS dub the entire game to a single DVD. The main problem with football is the long shot of the big field with little people moving very fast. That's cuz it's difficult to render adequately in a consumer-level SDTV recorder using an MPEG-2 encoder and compression algorithm. Our DVDRs work in a highly compressed, virtual, and predictive world... not like film where every frame is a complete picture. Our encoder creates video in multi-frame Groups of Pictures (GOP) typically consisting of 1 real compressed "key" frame followed by a varying number of virtual (2-10% of key) frames that are predicted in backward/forward-looking relation to key frames. That is, they're ALL "artificial" pics created with just a few digital bits and a motion vector that predicts movement. (Creating GOPs is one thing the encoder is doing during the 3-sec buffer/cache time between signal input and actual MPEG-2 write-to-disc.) The MPEG-2 encoder creates an entire pic frame based on an instantaneous "global" assessment of what's happening. If it sees a large green, stationary field that's NOT moving, it doesn't need many VBR bits for that. But then, those tiny little people running around on that big green field are also rendered with the same low bit rate and there's either a weak motion vector or a "confused" one that's used for 98% of the pic frame... the unmoving field. It doesn't say, "Hey, I need more bits and a more-accurate motion vector in this little moving spot and that one"... at least, I've never heard my encoder say that! So... you might notice some slightly "hairy" edges in the long shots with "little people" running around, esp. when recording at the longer rec modes like 4-hr-EP or 6-hr-SLP (on ESPN-HD or NBC-HD). While this DVDR might produce some "hairy" edges on small, fast-moving objects at very-long rec modes, other DVDRs can produce macroblocking, stuttering and jagged lines on the field, even at higher-quality rec modes. I haven't seen any of that in my 3575 or 2160 at ANY rec mode after MANY tests... possibly due to Philips work on the MPEG-2 codecs used in these DVDRs. From an article about who's doing what with encoders/decoders (codec): "The gap between them [Zoran/ESS and LSI/Philips] could widen further, as LSI Logic...continues to hone its encoding skills, while Philips is adding to its new MPEG-2 codec optimized hardware blocks for running new picture improvement algorithms such as adaptive picture sharpness detection and de-blocking artifacts removal." Other problems come from the length of the game vs DVD capacity, the varying quality of the camera equipment (SD/HD), and the broadcast method (analog/cable/HD). I've done lots of tests trying to understand the MPEG-2 encoder in this DVDR as we see it. I've used the bit-rate meter on my Pio 640 to review various sports action recorded with my 3575 or 2160 and watching for specific Mbps changes. In these tests, I found that movement, by itself, is NOT difficult for this DVDR's MPEG-2 encoder to capture with good resolution; where it has to work hard is in big scene changes (new key frames). Large spikes in bit rate occur consistently at drastic scene changes, like from the CU of a face to a car explosion. Just going from black (no video) to white (max. video) can spike from 2 to 10 Mbps. Note: This uptick in Mbps at scene changes only occurs in home-made discs, not in commercial movies, which are produced a different way... for example, professional encoders can create key frames wherever they want. Commercial movies move from scene to scene much more "seamlessly" than home-made discs.I recorded a NASCAR race in 2-hr-SP mode (normal bit rate: 5 Mbps), and the cars racing around the track kept the bit-rate meter almost constant around 2.5 Mbps on shots from all cameras (in-car and outside static and panning/tracking cameras)... even on long shots of cars moving fast around the track with out-of-focus background, with stands and people coming into view suddenly, as well as closeups of the cars racing by a stationary wall camera... doesn't get much faster than the zip-zip of BIG, CLOSEUP cars moving by. This is where I first realized that predictable movement by relatively large, fast-moving objects is no problem at all for this DVDR. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Three Methods for Recording and Archiving NFL Football with Good to Unbeatable PQ Below are three methods for recording an NFL Football Game with good to unbeatable PQ throughout the game. Choosing a method depends on how "important" the game is to you. (If you plan to just watch and delete later, use 1-hr-HQ and record for up to 12 hours, as necessary.) One thing I found in my tests of these methods was that, altho unedited game-time is unpredictable, the *typical* CORE game-time is just a little over 2 hours, so core game-time will fit on a std DVD using 2-hr-SP rec mode and HSD, the ultimate goal for football. That 2+ hours should be true for most ANY game, even tho some games, like the Super Bowl, will have more "fluff" packaged around their game-time. Note: These procedures should produce good to unbeatable PQ for a pro sports game (e.g., NFL) IF shot with HD cameras and broadcast on digital/HD channel. NBC and ESPN seem to be best networks for using HD stuff on pro sports. Based on the low quality of my analog cable feed, even tho on a digital channel, I'd have to assume a better source like OTA HD should produce even better results than I've seen in my tests!1. A So-So Game and You're Lazy - Deleting SOME Non-Game Stuff But Only If Necessary . . Use 3-hr-LP for OK PQ on Long Shots and Good PQ on Closer Shots
. . Use 2-hr-SP for EXCELLENT PQ on ENTIRE GAME-PLAY (All Shots)
. . Use 1-hr-HQ for UNBEATABLE PQ on the Whole Shebang
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Effect of the Broadcast Network on Your Recording Result Some Network sports broadcasts are very spotty... and that's being kind! Two very different examples:
Last edited by wajo; 01-11-10 at 04:00 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:07 AM
|
#15 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Recording Closed Captions (CC)
NOTES
The 3575/3576/2080/2160 will automatically record ANALOG CC (if present) on analog channels. The 3575/3576 can display but cannot record DIGITAL (DTV) CC on true* digital channels. (2080 ?) The 2160 is in a different ball-game from the others. It can display and record DTV CC on true* digital channels altho they then become a permanent part of the video, i.e., once recorded, DTV CC can't be turned off like analog CC can. Since the digital CC become part of the video, it can display via any type of connection, including HDMI. ANALOG CC As long as you're recording an analog channel, you'll be recording Analog CC by default. It's an integral part of the picture, emcoded in the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) between frames of an interlaced TV picture. To see recorded Analog CC on-screen requires you to turn CC on in your TV settings (CC1 = English). Summary notes on Analog CC:
NOTE: Many commercial DVDs have a selectable menu option for turning on "Subtitles," which can substitute for CC, regardless of your TV/DVDR settings or type of connection. If you want CC "for sure," select a language in the DVD's Subtitles menu; that forces dialog to show on screen.DIGITAL (DTV) CC The 3575 and 3576 can't record DTV CC thru the tuner, only DISPLAY them in a live TV program if turned on in the Setup menu (Service 1). This might be helpful for a person needing DTV CC but has only an analog-tunered TV. You can also display live CC using the CC controls if you have a digital-tunered TV. Only the Magnavox H2160 can record DTV CC but, if turned ON, those CC become a permanent part of the recorded video... the CC are embedded in the video pic so you can watch anywhere, with no special equipment or controls, with CC always on screen. By the same token, you also can't turn Digital CC off with a TV control like you can with analog CC. The 2160 can also display digital CC thru any connection type since the CC are part of the video. *See this on "digital" cable channels that may actually be analog. Summary notes on DTV CC:
Also, here's a FCC Fact Sheet.
Last edited by wajo; 11-25-09 at 09:34 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:07 AM
|
#16 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Channel Surfing... Upconverting... Chase Play... Pause Live TV
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Note Surfing Analog and Digital Channels Tips for Faster Digital Channel Changes Upconverting Chase Play Chase Playing Back-to-Back (BTB) Timer Recordings Pause Live TV - Philips 3575/3576 and Mag 2080 Pause Live TV - Mag 2160 Note Be careful with the STOP button on the 3575/3576 while a normal recording is in progress thru the REC button or a timer program. Click here for more info on using the STOP button. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Surfing Analog and Digital Channels You can move from channel to channel (surf) with direct entry (with the number buttons) or with the CH+/- buttons. This DVDR can surf ANALOG channels like any other DVDR or TV with no noticeable delay beyond "normal-normal." All DVDRs take slightly longer to surf thru their DIGITAL channels due to the extra "deblocking" time required to create the picture... digital channels are broadcast in macroblocks (small block of data) that have to be reassembled for viewing. Some other DVDRs are "painfully" slow (~3-5 sec each) so their users say they don't watch normal TV thru their DVDR for just that reason. Surfing DIGITAL channels in THIS DVDR is NOT "painfully" slow but it does take ~2 sec per channel on first tuning them, then ~1-1/2 sec on 2nd run thru. Since you CAN'T delete an individual digital subchannel in this DVDR w/o deleting the entire group, you'll sometimes have to surf THRU some channels you might not want to watch or even be in channel memory. There's NO alternate channel button on the 3575/3576 or 2080/2160 remotes. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Tips for Faster Digital Channel Changes
Upconverting - 3575/3576/2160 The 3575/3576/2160 can upconvert over HDMI... they don't upconvert over Component connection. HDMI has copy protection (CP) built in. Since they don't make DVDRs with either Component or HDMI imputs, CP stuff is watchable any time you want, but not copyable, just the way "they" want it. To upconvert to 1080p or other rez, you "activate" it for first use by pressing the HDMI button on the remote, which starts HDMI at 480p. Each press of the button then changes rez to 720p, 1080i and 1080p, and any rez your TV can't support is skipped. If you use any other connection type (composite, S-Video or Component), your TV should handle any upconversion in a normal manner, i.e., should not be a problem at all. In fact, in my system, HDMI at 480p provides a better pic than 1080p on my 47" 1080p LCD. I just read in another forum that some DVDRs don't upconvert normal TV channels for viewing, only when playing DVDs. The 3575/3576/2160 can upconvert both. On "Expectations": Don't expect upconversion to do anything "magical" with an analog channel received via cable TV... that's a bit-starved Composite signal (all video signals mixed together and compressed), and you can't make a silk purse out of that sow's ear! However, upconverting can make Component signals look better on a good TV, like HD channels from an OTA antenna and from commercial DVDs, which are produced with digital Component video (YCbCr). Even that assumes you've got a good TV and the appropriate DVDR settings for your system. I use 480p with my HDMI and let my good HDTV do the upconverting to its native 1080p rez cuz I don't see much improvement in my live pic or home recordings from my composite cable TV signal, but MANY others report they do see a noticeable PQ improvement when they upconvert... prob. depends on your source (OTA, digital cable, ?) and/or TV. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Chase Play Chase play allows you to watch a show from its beginning while it's still being recorded on the HDD. The recording needs a 3 sec. head start before you can chase-play it, and you can only chase PLAY to within 3 sec. of the live show. (DVDs can't be chase played... only DVD-RAM discs, which this DVDR can't use.) That 3-sec. is the "buffer" between the data read from the incoming signal and stored in the HDD's cache before it's written to the HDD. Essentially, it's what alllows us to play and record a show at the same time, i.e., the data read and written are at different points in time, but never closer than that 3-sec. buffer cuz that's not been written to the HDD yet. With a manual or timer recording to the HDD in progress, press PLAY and start watching from the beginning until you catch up to within 3-sec. of the live recording. You don't have to go to the title menu to play since the PLAY-button priority is 1-Whatever's recording, 2-Last title left in Resume position, 3-Last title recorded. This priority persists even after turning the unit off and back on again. Hint: To see where you are in chase play vs. the live show, press the INFO button (3575/3576) or DISPLAY button (2080/2160) and the counter will show your play position on left and the live recording position on right.While chasing, you can SKIP commercials, FF, etc except the ability for any fast-speed play/skip ends sooner, i.e., it only lets you PLAY when you get ~3-4 min. from the end. During PLAYBACK, if you have to answer the phone, get a snack or leave temporarily, press STOP once. The pic on the screen will change to the live show at that point in time, and your chase play will be left in a "Resume" position, so when you come back and press PLAY again, the playback picks up where you left off. The "Resume" position is remembered even when the recording stops and even if you turn the unit off, and it never "times out" like a "Pause Live TV" or similar pause-based function can. If your chase play catches up to the live show, it auto-stops the playback and switches to the live show... an info message appears on screen. You'll miss the 3-sec buffer between what you watched and what's being recorded. If you just CAN'T miss that 3-sec of buffer cuz it happens in a crucial part of the show, you can keep chase playing after you get the message by pressing PLAY again. Then, keep playing till the start of the next commercial and press STOP. Now, you'll be live IN A COMMERCIAL and you can watch live from there on!? When recording stops, you won't notice any difference. You can continure normal playback cuz the entire program is now on the HDD, available for watching again, dubbing to DVD, or deleting, and its previously watched Resume position will be remembered if you didn't watch it all the way thru already. See the Note above on using the STOP button. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Chase Playing Back-to-Back (BTB) Timer Recordings I tested a Chase Play of FOUR back-to-back (BTB) timer-recorded shows on different channels (could be on same channels), where the end time of program 1 is the same as the start time of program 2, etc. If you start Chase Play on Program 1 while it's still recording, it PLAYS THRU THE CHANNEL SWITCH AND START OF RECORDING ON PROGRAM 2... the only "blip" you'll see is the 3-sec buffer write to HDD. If Program 1 has finished recording and you're into Program 2, 3, etc. and you press PLAY, the show currently recording will start playing., and IT will play seamlessly into the next program IF it's still recording, and the next, etc. While any subsequent Program is still recording, you can go back to any other program anytime and play it by going to the normal Title menu or the INFO menu (T1, T2, etc.) and selecting it. (Programs must be over 3-4 minutes long or you can't get to the title menu... same thing that prevents FF, SKIP, etc. during last 3-4 minutes of a program being chased.) Titles that you've chased, even if just the first frame, will NOT show the normal "New" in the Title menu. Titles you haven't chased will be obvious cuz of the "New" indication on the index pic. If using the INFO menu, each title selected to play will play back from first frame, regardless of their Resume position. Hint: Since you only miss 3 sec. of the 2nd and subsequent shows in a back-to-back series of recordings, people who like ALL their shows to be in separate titles, even those on the same channel, can do this by setting back-to-back recordings rather than one "block" of recording, e.g., 7:00-8:00, 8:00-9:00, 9:00-10:00, tather than 7:00-10:00.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Pause Live TV - Philips 3575/3576 and Mag 2080 The 3575/3576 has a PAUSE LIVE TV (PLTV) and the Mag 2080 has a TIME SHIFT (TS) button, that starts making a temporary recording of a live show you're watching so you can come back, while it's still recording, and start playing from the point you paused it. You have two options for activating PLTV, depending on whether you want Live TV to continue playing or pause on screen while you're away/busy: 1. Press PLTV/TS button ONCE -- Live TV CONTINUES on screen while being recorded in the background. Press PLAY to continue watching from the point you pressed the button. 2. Press PLTV/TS button TWICE -- Live TV PAUSES on screen while being recorded in the background. Press PLAY to continue watching from the point you pressed the button. (Instructions for going to Live TV or stopping PLTV are displayed on screen, if needed at that point... not!) While playing the temp. recording with the INFO/DISPLAY screen up, an on-screen display, lower left, shows the play status (> for playing, ll for paused) plus PLTV time vs Live TV time counters in upper right. INFO/DISPLAY screens do not get recorded during PLTV... in fact, if you have the 1st screen up on a digital channel, that menu goes away immediately on pressing the PLTV button. Recording will stop when/if the disc runs out of space, the total time exceeds 12 hours (not 6 as in one national review), or 2-minutes before a timer recording is scheduled to start. If you plan to be away for awhile or not sure, instead of Pause Live TV or Time Shift, you can press REC several times, in 30-minute increments, until you've set the remaining time for the show you're watching. Using the REC button gives you two options: 1. If you're still there while it's recording, you can start Chase Playing immediately from where you pressed REC... just press PLAY... without worrying about time limits and the temporary nature of the Pause Live TV function. 2. If you can't make it back in time and the remaining show completes recording per the time you set, the portion you missed will have been recorded to the HDD so you can play it back whenever you do have time. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Pause Live TV - Mag 2160 The 2160 doesn't have Pause Live TV like the 3575/3576. It has Autostart Recording (AR) instead... greatest thing since sliced bread! Every time you turn on the 2160, it automatically records the channel(s) you tune. It does this in the background and in 2-hr-SP rec mode. It temporarily stores the recorded content to the HDD in a buffer of up to 6 hours. If you change channels, it keeps recording whatever channel you change it to. It keeps replacing the oldest portion so the buffer is always the LAST 6 hours. More detailed info and operating instructions on AR can be found here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-19-10 at 01:44 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:08 AM
|
#17 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
HDD EDIT MENU... Scene Delete (Front-, End- and Mid-Cuts)... Divide... Title Name... Index Pic... Chapter Marks
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes on DIVIDE and EDIT-POINT ACCURACY Editing Functions HDD EDIT MENU Changing Title Name (Customizing It) Changing Index Pic on Unfinalized DVD UNDOCUMENTED PROCEDURES FOR MAKING FRONT- AND END-CUTS SCENE DELETE, FRONT-CUT -- Deleting Frame 1 to New Beginning Frame SCENE DELETE, END-CUT - Deleting from New Last Frame to End of Title SCENE DELETE, MID-CUT - Deleting a Scene or Commercial in "Middle" of Title DIVIDE a Title (Do Scene Deletes First!) How To Avoid DIVIDE Altogether in Timer Recording! Editing Titles with Chapter Marks Reserving Space on the HDD for Complex Editing How to Watch, Edit and Make DVD Copy at Same Time! Notes on DIVIDE and EDIT-POINT ACCURACY
Editing Functions This DVDR has a very simple and intuitive editing interface for performing the most important editing tasks most normal people need: deleting, dividing and chaptering. No deeply embedded menus or bells-and-whistles for gearheads... sorry! I had a Pioneer DVR-531 before and a DVR-640 now, and since using the 3575 for everything, I've gotten used to its very simple interface and it suits my simple needs. In fact, since I learned how well this DVDR transitions between back-to-back timer recordings, I no longer even use the DIVIDE function! That is, for three shows on the same channel, for example, I set individual programs so each show has its own title and can be accessed in any order I want w/o searching thru a 3-hr title, and dub to DVD is already set up title-wise... even tho this DVDR has an excellent and "intelligent" Search menu, as described here! A list of all the editing functions is shown below.  Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. HDD EDIT MENU To EDIT an HDD title (DVD editing is similar), make sure the HDD drive is selected, then:
 Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Changing Title Name (Customizing It) You'll notice that this DVDR auto-titles shows AFTER RECORDING with a 2-line "generic" title. It has only a 1st line of text that has date/time/channel/rec mode, and a 2nd line that has date and rec length. The 1st line can be changed by you in the Edit menu to something more descriptive of the contents, but only after recording. If you don't change the generic 1st line, your HDD and DVD titles will include the ORIGINAL rec mode text ("HQ," "SP", etc.) since it's part of the auto-titling function. This might be confusing later if you dub real-time to a different rec mode... the original rec mode text persists thru all dubs unless you change titles in the Edit menu. You can also change the title on an unfinalized DVD, as described here, but it takes longer to write than on the HDD. The 2nd line of a title, with date and rec length, is permanent so it can't be changed... BUT one AVS member, kalish47, wanted NO DATE on his titles from copied VHS home movies, cuz it would confuse people seeing video from 1980 with a 2008 date in the title, so he pulled the plug on his 3576 for 5 minutes to get a clock that showed --/--/--. Now he has no record date and time on his copied videos, as described here! Obviously, he can't do timer recordings like that, but this is one way to avoid a permanent "recording/copying" date on DVDs with old video watched by easily confused relatives? To change a TITLE NAME on the HDD or an UNFINALIZED DVD:
Changing Index Pic on Unfinalized DVD See "Note on Edit-Point Accuracy."To change an INDEX PIC on an UNFINALIZED DVD (can't be done on HDD, use Front-Cut instead):
UNDOCUMENTED PROCEDURES FOR MAKING FRONT- AND END-CUTS After reading many comments, badmouth-posts and "design flaw" charges that editing with this DVDR was "difficult" and wondering why, when it seemed so simple, I recently found my answer: the manual's Scene Delete instructions cover ONLY a MID-CUT, like cutting a commercial... bada bing, bada boom, there's the answer! There's NO mention at all of the SPECIAL instructions reqd for making a Front-Cut or an End-Cut, which I've found almost EVERY title needs! THE SECRET: IN THE SCENE DELETE MENU, ONLY ONE BUTTON WILL START A CUT AT THE 1ST FRAME, REW, AND ONLY TWO BUTTONS WILL STOP A CUT AT THE LAST FRAME, PLAY AND FF. Any other button will NOT stop at the desired Start or End point... the title just keeps playing and confusing everyone who tries it, with some claiming "design flaw" and others "a bear for editing." Some have been trying to time their START or STOP command based on a visual cue while the title is playing! Too late for some, but for you, the undocumented procedures for easily making Front- and End-Cuts, as well as the documented Mid-Cuts, are described below. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. SCENE DELETE, FRONT-CUT -- Deleting Frame 1 to New Beginning Frame
*In normal PLAY mode: FF/REW for fast play... NEXT/PREV for Chapter move... SKIP/REPLAY for preset move... PAUSE for frame-stop.If you need to do a front-cut AFTER a mid- or end-cut, the easiest way to get to the beginning again is to press the BACK button (3575/3576) or RETURN button (2080/2160) all the way to the Title menu, let the index pic regenerate, then go back in and make the front-cut. You could also use the REPLAY and PREV buttons to get close to the beginning, but they won't auto-pause, so use REW for the last move. Since a DVD title is a static 1st frame, make sure anything you want to dub to DVD has a descriptive (and bright) 1st frame on the HDD so you can have a visual ref. for what's in the title, besides the custom title you created (right?)... something that portrays the title's contents, like a movie or program title. Pick brightest frame cuz static index pic on DVD shows darker than seen in Edit menu. If you forget, you can also make changes on an DVD after dubbing but before finalizing, e.g., Change Title Name and Change Index Pic, but it takes longer to write than on the HDD. Using Front-Cut to Delete Just a Short "Snippet" at Beginning
SCENE DELETE, END-CUT -- Deleting from New Last Frame to End of Title
*In normal PLAY mode: FF/REW for fast play... NEXT/PREV for Chapter move... SKIP/REPLAY for preset move... PAUSE for frame-stop.After FF or PLAY ends and the "Preview" and "Delete" options become active (black), you'll notice that the menu selection automatically goes to and starts a Preview. Don't panic, that's cuz it's the ONLY edit that they programmed for an AUTOMATIC Preview and the only place an auto-Preview ISN'T USEFUL OR NEEDED... go figure! Unfortunately, you'll see 5 sec of the new end and then the beginning of the title, with the frame counter moving. No one will ever view the title this way, so just ignore the Preview, arrow down to "Delete" and press OK. This End-Cut procedure is so accurate and repeatable, the only way to screw it up is to use any button besides FF or PLAY for your last move to the last frame. No need to hurry... lots of people write that they "panic" when they see the stupid auto-Preview! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. SCENE DELETE, MID-CUT -- Deleting a Scene or Commercial in "Middle" of Title
*In normal PLAY mode: FF/REW for fast play... NEXT/PREV for Chapter move... SKIP/REPLAY for preset move... PAUSE for frame-stop.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. DIVIDE a Title (Do Scene Deletes First!) See Note on edit-point accuracy.The 3575/3576 has a small, 2MB cache for storing edit instructions "on-the-fly" which can cause problems at times. The 2160 has a 8MB cache that seems better able to handle edit instructions and other memory-intensive tasks. On the 3575/3576, NEVER use Divide on a title BEFORE using Scene Delete, esp. if your HDD is nearly full... always make SCENE DELETES first! Doing it in reverse MAY cause HDD freezes or other problems. Once you Divide a title, immediately Change Title Name on the segment(s) that will remain on the HDD and Delete any segments no longer needed. This will establish "new" relationship(s) between the data and its title(s) and clear unneeded edit instruction from the small cache, i.e., get those instructions written to the HDD so they're no longer available to the OS for reference. Not sure if the 2160 could have the same problem but, so far, haven't heard of any from 2160 users. To do a Divide, press OK on a title's index pic and open the Edit menu, select "Title Dividing" and go to the point you want to Divide using the Play/Pause mode buttons. At that spot, press OK, then immediately add a -1 or make some other "simple" change to one of the split title's name. Make any further splits needed in the same way, incl. adding a simple title change to each segment of the divided title. This writes the edit instruction to the HDD and clears a complex, 2-segment, same-name edit instruction from the cache. You can, of course, change the title names fully right after Divide, or you can wait till later when all Divides are done. Either way, you'll want a better title name before dubbing so your disc has some recognizable indication of content. If you forget, you can change a title name on a disc as long as it remains unfinalized, just takes longer on a disc. You can Divide a title on virtually ANY length into segments also of virtually any length. I divided a 15-sec title into three segments on my 2160, one of which ended up as 1-sec in length! Just a suggestion: when all Divides are done, and esp. before dubbing, press BACK button (3575/3576) or RETURN button (2080/2160) to get back to the Title menu. Let all index pics regenerate to fully clear the small cache and "connect" the new titles to their portions of the User Data, which are still in the same place on the HDD, just identified now with new instructions for address and assembly. Continue working on the titles or dub them to DVD, as desired. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. How To Avoid DIVIDE Altogether in Timer Recording! Since this DVDR is so good at transitioning from one timer-set program to another, you really NEVER have to record two or more shows appearing on the SAME channel as one continuous program if you'd rather have them in separate titles. This means NO DIVIDING REQUIRED just to get separate titles! You can set timer programs back-to-back on the same channel OR on multiple different channels when recording to the HDD and lose only the first 3-sec. of 2nd and subsequent shows for analog-analog channel switches, and 5-7 sec. for analog-digital or digital-digital switches. The HDD has a 3-sec. buffer that it has to write to disk (indicated by the chasing lines in the display) and, while it writes that buffer, this DVDR is switching to the next timer program (same or other channel) and starts recording immediately. You'll end up with separate titles and 1 extra sec on the lead show, then 3-7 sec less at the beginning of the next show(s), depending on which tuners are used for the switch. If you're a timeshifter and only record/watch/delete, no problem either way. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Editing Titles with Chapter Marks See "Note on Edit-Point Accuracy."A problem can occur when you use auto-chapter marking on the HDD and then add more marks with Scene Deletes.... they can "collide" at times and cause freezing during edit and can cause playback oddities. This DVDR has a default auto-chapter setting of 10-min. That setting seems to be OK for most timeshifting and light to moderate editing. If you like auto-chapters on the HDD AND regularly do lots of editing, don't change the default to 5-min. interval cuz that is more likely to cause colliding chapter marks if you make lots of Scene Deletes after recording. One user trying to copy a camera tape ran into a freezing problem, which we suspect was caused by "colliding" chapter marks since he had auto-chapter set for 5-min. and he was adding lots of new chapter marks with Scene Deletes. He tried deleting the chapter marks but still had problems. He solved it by turning auto-chapter OFF before re-copying the tape to the HDD, leaving only his custom-set chapters from editing. If you run into a freeze or playback problem with a title, check the proximity of chapter marks and see if any appear too close. If some do, you can try deleting close marks at the auto-marked locations (easy to spot since they're on XX:XX:00 positions), leaving just your edited marks. This worked for me once, but like the tape story above, it may not ALWAYS work? You may even want to delete ALL chapter marks if they're not "vital" to you for that title. To delete ALL chapter marks on the HDD, start with the LAST one, then the next-to-last mark will ratchet back TO YOU... you won't have to chase each mark down manually, just keep ratching them back to you! (For DVDs, there is an easier "Delete All" command, but the ratchet-back method on the HDD is very fast!) Once you get thru with chapter edits, make sure you BACK out of the Edit menus to a TV pic, then go back in and LET ALL THE INDEX PICS REGENERATE before selecting a title for more work or playback. Since the index pic and title are like the "pointers" in our computers, this allows the CPU to reconnect with the User Data (video and audio) that a title points to. If something doesn't work right, shut this DVDR down for ~20 sec (to allow the HDD to spin down and park the heads), then turn back on for a "complete" memory wipe. If you have a problem trying to High-speed dub (HSD) a title with lots of chapter marks, be advised that a HSD MOVES edit points/chapter marks up to 14 frames (1/2-sec) cuz it applies MPEG2/DVD rules for location and spacing of chapter marks. This can cause problems in the DVD copy that you won't notice in the HDD original... the chapter mark movement only occurs during the HSD. Although a real-time dub (RTD) is "frame accurate" (preserves the cut point accuracy), it results in an odd still-black-still-frame edit point that's "disconcerting" to the eye. Technical note from DVD-Lab Instructional Manual: "As you are adding chapters or moving them you will discover you can't always add a chapter to an exact spot you would like. DVD specifications require that each chapter point be on an I-frame which occurs approximately every 15 frames. 15 frames is about 0.5 sec of playback. Therefore, Chapter Points can only be placed on these spots which occur approximately every half-second.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Reserving Space on the HDD for Complex Editing If you do LOTS of editing, DON'T let your HDD get beyond ~75% full or freeze-ups can occur due to file fragmentation and lack of space. The 3575/76's Seagate HDD has only a small (2MB) cache for temp. storage... the Mag H2160 has a more-generous 8MB cache. Our HDDs are like your computer HDD: they don't delete data, they just delete the "pointers" to the data and keep editing instructions in their cache and on the HDD. So, it's advisable to clean off the HDD on a regular basis by deleting watched titles ASAP and/or offloading to DVDs. If your HDD gets "seriously" full and/or you start having HDD editing problems, use the LIFO method of offloading titles (Last In First Out). This will clear space in a nicely ordered fashion that maximizes contiguous free space for new titles and editing instructions. See this post by a user who let his HDD get full, had persistent editing problems, cleaned up his HDD, and pledged allegiance to KYHCO, "Keep Your HDD Clean Org." More info here on why you shouldn't let your HDD get full, then do complex editing. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. How to Watch, Edit and Make DVD Copy at Same Time! You can watch a LIVE TV show thru this DVDR while recording to DVD, editing commercials as you watch. Pause this DVDR when you see a commercial and press Pause again to resume recording when the live show resumes. You can also watch an ALREADY RECORDED show while cutting commercials and making a DVD copy at the same time. Connect the output of this DVDR to another DVD recorder with a remote that doesn't clash with this DVDR's remote, like a 3575/3576 + 2080/2160 or a Toshiba/Panny/Pio (single-disc OK). While watching the show on this DVDR, start recording to DVD on the 2nd unit. Pause the 2nd unit when you see a commercial break, SKIP thru the commercial on this DVDR, unpause the 2nd unit when the show resumes and you continue watching. You'll end up with a DVD copy in just slightly more time than watching the show and skipping commercials... and your edit points will be absolutely pristine! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-03-10 at 06:40 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:10 AM
|
#18 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Recording to DVD... DVD Types... Multiple Sessions... Different DVDRs... Using the Disc Menu... Loading... Region
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes Recording to DVD Using DVD±R Discs Using DVD±RW Discs Multiple Rec Sessions in Different DVDRs Using the Disc Menu and Checking DVD Status DVD "Loading" and Power Calibration Tests Region Code Notes
Recording to DVD You can record to a DVD the same way as you can to the HDD. Select the DVD side before pressing REC or select DVD when setting up a timer program. Just remember the DVD time limits for each rec mode... something you don't have to worry about when rec to the HDD. If a TIMER REC goes over the available space on a DVD, this DVDR auto-switches the "overflow" to the HDD.,, doesn't do this for a manual rec. HOWEVER, I can't think of any good reason to record directly to DVD disc rather than the HDD, even if to save a dubbing step. Consider the real possibility of a bad DVD disc, which causes the recording to fail, or stutter on playback, or ...? Too late! You've got no recourse, no Plan B... you've lost any chance at seeing the show you wanted to record! Why have this DVDR... you coulda had a V8 or a single-disc recorder, except the V8 is reliable!? On the other hand, if you record to the much-more-reliable HDD you can not only watch the show but also dub to your heart's content until you get a good disc that'll play for 100 years... even in your new flux-capacitor-solidstate-neurotransgenerator! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Using DVD±R Discs DVD±R discs are write-once media ideal for long-term storage, assuming you use high-quality media. These disc types don't need Formatting before use. When you first insert a new, blank DVD±R disc and select the DVD drive, the TV display will show "Loading" for ~15-20 sec, then it'll show how much time that disc will hold at the currently selected default rec mode. It'll show this time also in the front planel display. Changing the Rec Mode changes both displays to the new time available. BEFORE you Finalize a DVD±R disc, you can:
Using DVD±RW Discs DVD±RW discs are "rewriteable," which means they can be burned and erased many times (up to 1000, according to experts) cuz they have a "phase-changing" burn layer which allows for burning, then changing back to their original crystalline stage. Initial Formatting is Automatic, Erase Disc is Same as Formatting For first use in this DVDR, new RW discs need Formatting to Philips +VR Standard, which occurs automatically right after the normal "Loading." It doesn't matter which drive is selected at time of this process but, if on the DVD drive, you should see a progress bar on the TV screen plus chasing lines in the display, and if on the HDD drive, only the progress bar on the screen (at least that's what happens with my DVD-RW discs in my 2160). Std DVD±R don't get formatted, so no special actions reqd before 1st use. To Format a new DVD±RW disc in a 2160A, which has a FW bug, you MUST have the unit on L3 BEFORE inserting the disc. You don't have to delete timer rec programs using this bug work-around. [/b]Erasing and Finalizing also require the 2160A Source to be set for L3 (DV) input, but this can be done after inserting the disc. Don't press any other buttons while on L3. Formatting or Erasing will not be allowed if a timer rec program is due to start in the next 15 minutes! Once Formatted, RW discs don't need formatting again for use in any +VR DVDR... they can be dubbed/recorded to, Finalized, Unfinalized, Erased and reused many times. In fact, Erasing a RW disc is the same as re-Formatting. Deleting Titles Deleting titles on a RW disc is easier on the disc than Erasing/Formatting and may make your RW's last longer, altho you can only Delete one title at a time, so its a little more time-consuming. You can Delete individual titles on RW discs and gain their time back if you (1) keep the disc in the same machine or brand, and (2) delete the last title first and work forward. If you delete an intermediate title, you'll have ANOTHER "Blank Title" in addition to the one always at the end, and no time will be gained back. However, if you then delete all title(s) between Empty Titles, all remaining time will be consolidated in a single Empty Title in its normal position, at the end. Using Same RW Disc in Different +VR DVDRs A DVD±RW disc can be passed back and forth between +VR DVDRs. If you use Disc Edit > Erase Disc, an RW disc will be formatted and the Disc Menu will be converted to that machine's system and all disc ops will be available, like with DVD±R discs. However, all previous titles are erased. To preserve existing titles on a RW disc, you can just dub or record new titles w/o a disc erase. Again, this changes the menu system to the new machine's and all disc ops should become available. HOWEVER, ONE TIME, after many iterations of dubbing/recording in my 3575 and 2160, I lost all Disc Edit ops for a -RW disc on both of my machines, requiring a 3rd machine to access the Disc Edit menu. This has only occurred once on a -RW disc and could not be duplicated in subsequent tests. DVD+RW Don't Need Finalizing DVD+RW discs don't need Finalizing and that option is not normally available for these discs. However, if you've done some editing (Chapters, Scene Deletes, etc.) on a title on the HDD or on the disc itself and you want other players/recorders to show the edit effects, you'll have to Make Edits Compatible in the Disc Edit menu. Universally Playable Unlike DVD-RAM, finalized DVD-RW and non-finalized +RW discs created in this DVDR are playable in virtually any other brand of DVDR. Note: Using DVD±RW discs in this DVDR and other DVDR types.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Multiple Rec Sessions in Different DVDRs DVDs can be recorded or dubbed in multiple sessions in this DVDR and the same brand of +VR DVDR (3575/3576 or 2080/2160) as long as the disc remains Unfinalized. You can remove a partially recorded/dubbed disc and reload it later in this DVDR or same-brand DVDR for more recording or dubbing. This DVDR knows where to start its next burn, so don't worry about accidentally overwriting. For recording/dubbing with different brands and models of DVDRs, there are TWO BASIC OPTIONS with very different results. OPTION 1: Multisession Recording/Dubbing Between DIFFERENT +VR DVDR Brands (e.g., 3575/3576 <> 2080/2160) - Different brands of +VR DVDRs can use each others' UNFINALIZED discs for one or more disc ops IF you have Setup > Recording > Make Recording Compatible (MRC) ON. Off is the default and prohibits additional recording on unfinalized discs from a diff. +VR DVDR. If you can think of how this might apply to you, keep MRC OFF. If your DVDR has a MRC option in the Recording or other menu, it may or may not be "activated in the FW" and available for use, e.g., some Sylvanias not. Each time you record or dub to an unfinalized DVD±R or DVD±RW disc in a different-brand +VR machine with MRC ON, the disc menu is changed to that machine's standard... dark blue background for 2080/2160 vs light blue for 3575/3576... and it becomes the "owner" of the disc, with all normal disc ops available. For clarity, here are the things you can do to an unfinalized disc created in a different-brand of +VR DVDR (see Notes also):
Notes:
OPTION 2: Multisession Recording/Dubbing Between +VR DVDRs and DVD-Video (DVD-V) DVDRs - If you try to mix rec/dub sessions on UNFINALIZED DVDs between this DVDR's +VR Standard and other DVD-V based DVDRs (I tested on a Pio 640 only), results are either "unsatisfactory" or impossible. Following are some potential options and outcomes:
Note on "VR-Mode": DVD-Video machines like Pioneer and Panasonic can Intitialize or Format DVD discs in "VR-Mode." That is NOT the same as the Philips +VR Standard. VR-Mode discs cannot be read or recorded to in this DVDR (and many others as well).Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Using the Disc Menu and Checking DVD Status New, blank DVD±R discs need something recorded or dubbed to them before a Disc Menu appears, and DVD±RW need Formatting. Those actions create the Disc Menu and the Empty Title. To see titles in the Disc Menu, select the DVD drive, then press the DISC MENU button. That brings up a screen showing all the titles on that disc, with static index pics. If there are more than three titles, they will continue on subsequent pages. You can move from title to title with the up/dn arrows or move page-to-page with the right/left arrows (except right arrow only on pg 1 cuz left arrow brings up disc status screen). From the Disc Menu, you can check the status of DVDs created in this DVDR (Disc Type, Total Titles, Disc Space Used, Disc Protect OFF/ON, and Finalize Status. There are two ways to see the DVD status screen in this DVDR (and other machines as noted in parentheses):
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. DVD "Loading" and Power Calibration Tests DVD "Loading" time varies: blank or home-recorded DVDs (30-35 sec), commercial movies (20-25 sec). With unit off:
Another thing that happens duiring Loading a blank DVD is power calibration. Blank discs have a Power Calibration Area (PCA) near the inner hub, in the lead-in area. Each time you insert an unfinalized disc, the DVDR's FW performs a 15-step test to determine the optimum power for writing to that specific DVD disc. It stores results of the power test in a Recording Management Area (RMA). This storage is cumulative. A DVD-R can hold up to 7,088 separate calibration tests, and a DVD+R can hold up to 32,768. If bored, you can read more on this subject in this thread. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Region Code This DVDR is coded for Region 1, which incl. Canada, United States, U.S. territories, and Bermuda. This Region setting is ONLY for PLAYBACK, so this DVDR can only PLAY discs with a Region 1 or "All-Region" coding. DVDs PRODUCED in this DVDR will be coded for All-Region playback with NTSC equipment. A computer app. like DVD Decrypter will show the Region code of discs YOU produce in this DVDR as "Region 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8". There have been many people wanting to find a "hack" to allow this DVDR to play DVDs coded for another SPECIFIC region, like Region 2, but region hacks for recorders are almost imposssible to find. MANY players can be hacked, but not recorders. Also, if you do try a region hack, that action could void your warranty since evidence of region change will be evident in the machine's FW which, of course, the factory or repair center would be able to read. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-11-10 at 03:57 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:11 AM
|
#19 | Link | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
High-Speed Dub (HSD) - How To Get More on a DVD with No Loss in Quality
Note: The procedure for dubbing is in a separate help file here. Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes Real-Time Dub (RTD) High-Speed Dub (HSD) Elapsed Time... How Long It Takes for HSD HSD Time... How Much Can Fit on a Disc with HSD Rec Mode Selection Menu Effect of Rec Mode on HSD Strategies for Ending Up with HSD Capability Laser Power Levels and Heat Notes
Real-Time Dub (RTD) Anything you record or copy to the HDD can be dubbed (copied) to a DVD±R or DVD±RW disc, if desired, including music. You can use real-time dub anytime and high-speed dub when the title(s) will fit the 4424 MB capacity of a std DVD. Pg 39 of the manual lists the absolute total program time at each rec mode that will fit on a std 12cm DVD if recorded or dubbed to DVD in real time. Those time/mode combinations are referred to here as "RTD Time." They'll create a file size that will always fit within the 4424 MB disc capacity when recording or dubbing in real-time. You have to manually set the rec mode for a RTD if diff. from your "normal" setting. All times are for one or more titles, added together, that would be included in a dub. For example, for 2-hr-SP, that can be in one 2-hr title, two 1-hr titles, four 30-min. titles, etc. RTD writes (encodes) titles (User Data) in real time, bit by bit, and adds "overhead" bits for header, error correction, and sync in each sector of the disc. It ignores any custom chapter marks; instead, it sets new chapter marks at the interval you selected in the Auto Chapter menu. RTD can reduce PQ slightly since it's a 2nd-gen rewrite of the original recording, but with this DVDR, I found that to be true only if starting with an analog recording or a low-quality rec mode. In fact, from my tests, I no longer worry about doing mode conversions from 1-hr-HQ to any other mode if the source is great, like a drama on a digital widescreen channel... altho they WILL be real-time dubs. This is OK for VIEWERS but NOT for frequent dubbers. See this post for some mode-conversion tests! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. High-Speed Dub (HSD) HSD is the #1 goal for all dubbing cuz it: 1-Makes a lossless, mirror image of the HDD title (similar to a computer except MUCH slower). 2-Fits more time on a disc than RTD (no "overhead" like error correction, etc.). 3-Transfers all auto- and custom-set chapter marks to a disc. 4-Allows you to watch TV while dubbing (RTD occupies screen). 5-Heats the laser for a shorter time and extends the life of the DVD burner, as explained here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Elapsed Time... How Long It Takes for HSD Elapsed time for HSD to create an unfinalized DVD depends on rec mode and disc speed. Some results reported so far are in table below.
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. HSD Time... How Much Can Fit on a Disc with HSD HSD is only available for dubbing from HDD to DVD and only if the total file size doesn't exceed a DVD's 4424 MB capacity. All titles are dubbed at the rec mode setting and aspect ratio in which they were originally recorded, and you can mix titles with diff. rec modes and aspect ratios in the dub list. So, for HSD, the only limiting factor is disc capacity, and HSD can fit MORE TIME on a std DVD than RTD for the same disc capacity (fewer or no "overhead" bits). Below is a table comparing RTD Time vs. HSD Time for title(s) with no internal editing (end-cuts only).
I verified the listed HSD times by actual HSD test on titles whittled down at their end to find the point they could use HSD. No. of titles and program type made no diff., even 16 SP titles with fast-action sports clips. However, long titles with MANY Mid-Cuts, like a long NFL football game with all "fluff" removed, have to be cut slightly shorter (like 2:08:00 or so for SP), apparently to account for some sort of "overhead" bits that an unedited or mildly edited title doesn't normally have? HSD differences apply to DVDs as well. Time Remaining listed in an "Empty Title" on a DVD IS FOR REAL-TIME RECORDING OR DUBBING, NOT HSD! You can add MORE time than the Empty Title shows if you HSD: ~8% at HQ/SP and ~11% at SPP/LP/EP... with Empty Title highlighted, change rec mode to see RTD time remaining for each mode, then add 8% or 11% for an estimated HSD time available. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Rec Mode Selection Menu The Rec-Mode Selection menu will add up the total MB of your title(s) and auto-select the highest rec mode possible for your dub. Rec-Mode Selection Menu  The rec-mode selection menu always shows the total file size in MB of your selected "Dubbing Titles" at the selected rec mode compared to the empty-disc capacity of 4424 MB (not the "3000 MB" shown above). Only if HIGH is highlighted will the total MB be for the original as-recorded title(s). If your original as-recorded MB are OVER 4424, the menu will auto-select (highlight) the next lower-quality RTD rec mode and show the NEW, MODE-CONVERTED MB at THAT rec mode. At that point, you could proceed with the RTD, or you could BACK out (3575/3576) or RETURN out (2160) and do some Front- and End-Cuts, then Mid-Cuts if any available (like commercials), as described here, to get original as-recorded file size down to 4424 MB or less so you can use HSD. Also, with multiple titles to dub to one DVD, deleting from the higher-quality rec modes (XP, SP) will make the greatest difference per minute deleted. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Effect of Rec Mode on HSD If your title(s) are all in the same rec mode, you just have to remember the HSD Time above for that rec mode to know in advance that you can use HSD. However, if your dub has MIXED rec modes, all bets are off. Combining diff. rec modes can't be estimated in advance by ratios alone, like 3X more room for a SLP title vs. a SP title. For ref., here's one user's problem in combining 4 LP titles and 1 SP title, with an example of the fairly simple math required to correlate one rec mode to another vs. time remaining on a disc. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Strategies for Ending Up with HSD Capability Rec. time/mode and the goal of always using HSD (for a lossless copy) is prob. the most "difficult" part of the DVDR experience. If you plan to dub several titles to DVD (say, a series), and you really want to use HSD, you have to plan ahead in picking a rec. mode that fits the HSD Time listed above. Also, you need to know if you're going to edit the recorded titles down or leave them at full length. If you're planning to edit, you need to subtract time spent on opening network promos, commercials, and ending network promos... things you can cut out. Many people have estimated typ. edited program run time between 42-44 min. per hour... actually, 43 min. per hour is probably a good starting point. Once you decide to edit down, you can use a better rec. mode than the total time of the original program. For example, if you edit a 3-hour title down to 2:09:00, or 129 min. (43 min/hr x 3 hrs = 129 min = 2:09:00), you can use 2-hr-SP mode for a higher-quality recording and a lossless HSD to DVD. If you plan to do NO editing and still want to use HSD, you have to use the rec. mode that covers the entire time of the programs you want on a single DVD. Examples: use 3-hr-LP for three 1-hour shows, 4-hr-EP for 4 1-hour shows, and 6-hr-SLP for FIVE 1-hour shows (cuz HSD has a max. limit of 4:59:59 of SLP time on one DVD). Besides the reasons given above for preferring HSD over RTD, there's one more: with RTD, scene deletes play back with an odd stillframe-blackframe-stillframe sequence, which is quite noticeable and distracting during playback. With HSD, those same edit points show as slight, but clean, pauses during playback (created by "disrupting" the inter-related frame transitions created by the original MPEG-2 encoding). However, chapter marks at the edit points can move up to 14 frames BACKWARDS during HSD cuz it applies DVD/MPEG rules for chapter mark location and spacing... best to make Scene Deletes in or just before a fade from/to black so they're hidden or less noticeable. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Laser Power Levels and Heat Heat is the laser diode's (LD's) enemy, so a good heat-sink design is the first reqmt for laser longevity. Once in your hands, keeping your unit cool is next: give it room to "breath" and away from hot components, and use HSD rather than RTD whenever you can. HSD and RTD use the laser at the same power level while writing to disc, but HSD uses it for a shorter time. Here's a power-level diagram from a Maxim IC web page that shows how recording uses the highest power and, therefore, heats the LD the most. "Bias" power is what we know as "Standby" which is a low level of power to keep the laser ready to write quicker than if it was powered down to "Zero." Bias is also the power level used for reading (playing) discs.  Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-19-10 at 06:45 PM.. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 12:11 AM
|
#20 | Link | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Recommended DVDs... Disc Speed and Effect on DVD/Burner Longevity... Types... Handling... Quality
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes Recommended DVDs Disc Speed and Effect on DVD and Burner Longevity Using DVD±R Discs Using DVD±RW Discs Which to Use: DVD-Minus or DVD+Plus DVD Quality in the Longevity Equation How Long Will DVDs Last? A Few Tips on Disc Handling Using This DVDR's Disc Utility to Check Media Quality Notes
Digitalfaq.com is a widely used ref. source for disc quality based on actual use. They have an opening section on their website entitled "What are the Best Blank DVDs?" which lists the best discs, but I've included links to sellers below so you can ignore similar links on digitalfaq.com cuz, unfortunately, it lists TY Value Line, which are rejects from TY's Premium Line standards. Value Line is not really recommended for quality and longevity. Here are the best discs and links to recommended sellers: 1. Verbatim DVD±R, DVD±RW or +R DL made in India, Singapore, Taiwan or the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 2X-4X (RW) and 8X (R) speed best for ANY DVDR (see "Disc Speed" below) ... Many B&M stores, incl. Sams Club, Costco?... at supermediastore.com ... at rima.com 2. Taiyo Yuden DVD±R, Premium Line, from auth. online dealer (TY doesn't make RWs). 8X speed best for ANY DVDR (see "Disc Speed" below) ... Sold only online... at supermediastore.com ... at rima.com Premium Line has a Mfgr Part # WITHOUT "VAL" in it... "VAL" is Value Line, TY rejects for Premium Line status but still better than most? Note: One writer says they should smell like peaches if they're genuine cuz they're made in Japan's peach growing region!? 3. Sony DVD±R or DVD±RW, made in Taiwan only. 2X-4X (RW) and 8X (R) speed best for ANY DVDR (see "Disc Speed" below) ... Many B&M stores, check for Made in Taiwan on wrapper. The three recommended discs are truly the best and one or more should always be preferred over others on the market. TDK no longer makes their own consumer DVDs... in the 3rd Qtr of 2007, Imation bought TDK Recording Media and Memcorp (Memorex). Imation farms out a lot of mfg to CMC Magnetics and Optodisc who often, but not always, make landfill material. Memorex are considered the worst by wide consensus among AVS members, altho some people have used them successfully for years (but maybe they haven't tried playing them in awhile ). Today, there's a high probability that TDK, Memorex and HP discs sold in the U.S. will all have the dreaded "CMC MAG. AM3" media ID.I use the "White Inkjet" kind cuz it provides a nice surface and barrier for writing disc titles with Sharpie pens w/o worrying about ANY possible damage to the top polycarbonate. However, since DVDs have that top/bottom poly layer protecting the burn layer, even expert sites show no damage to polycarbonate from alcohol, like in the alcohol-based Sharpies. Without that white inkjet layer, you can always play it really safe and get the Crayola or other brand of water-based marking pens? If you see "hub printable" that just means the white inkjet layer goes all the way to the center hole, over the hub area, which is really only useful if you plan to use an inkjet printer, like an Epson, to print fancy titles and pics on the disc. I did this for awhile but lost interest, now use only a fine-tip Sharpie.
Disc Speed and Effect on DVD and Burner Longevity DVDRs read and write at variable "data transfer rates" from 1X-16X, as described here, using a "laser diode" (LD). The LD is a small semiconductor embedded in a heat sink, and heat sink design is a primary focus of DVDR laser design since HEAT is the semiconductor's worst enemy. In light of the above, we want to keep heat down as much as possible if we want the LD to last a long time, and there's one surprisingly easy way to do this: use lower-speed discs and high-speed dub whenever possible. Some might ask, "Why not just use 16X discs for everything since they're almost all you can buy from B&M stores?" The answer is in a Taiyo Yuden (TY) spec sheet that provides definitive evidence that slower-rated discs are better in ANY DVDR: compared to 16X discs, recording power reqd is ~40% LESS with 8X discs and ~75% LESS with 2X discs. Also, dual-layer (DL) discs require more power at any disc speed. TY Specs on RECORDING Power Reqd at 8X Burner Speed Ref. TY Doc mdvd_e.pdf, 5th pg, pg# 569, "4. Recording Characteristics"
In addition, a Wiki entry on DVD-RAM says there's a 10-fold decrease in disc longevity between 3X and 5X discs: "Faster DVD-RAMs support fewer rewrites (3x speed: 100,000, 5x speed: 10,000)." Altho our DVDRs can't burn DVD-RAM discs, this is ANOTHER telling stat on the negative effect of using higher power to burn faster-rated discs, except this stat shows higher burn power ALSO creates more "stress" in the burn layer, which can reduce the longevity of the discs themselves! In summary, using lower-speed discs offers several key advantages:
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. DVD±R Discs DVD±R discs are write-once media ideal for long-term storage, assuming you use high-quality media. To play DVD±R discs in a player/recorder other than the same model, you need to Finalize them using the Disc Edit > Finalize menu, as described here. You can record to any disc type in one 2080/2160 machine and add other recordings or Finalize in a 3575/3576 (or vice versa) if you turn Recording > Make Recording Compatible ON, as described in Option 1 here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. DVD±RW Discs Note: To Format a new RW or Erase a used one with timer rec programs set in the 2160A (only), you must FIRST set the 2160A on Source L3 (DV) input with the Source button on the remote, THEN load the disc. Formatting is automatic on a new RW and starts immediately after the normal "Loading." To Erase a ±RW or Finalize a -RW, set machine on L3 then press the Setup button and select Disc Edit > Erase or Disc Edit > Finalize... don't press any other buttons while on L3. Also, there must be at least 60 minutes before the next timer rec program for Finalizing and 15 minutes for Format or Erase.DVD±RW discs are rewriteable... they can be burned and erased many times (up to 1000, according to experts) cuz they have a "phase-changing" burn layer which allows for burning, then changing back to their original crystalline state. These are ideal for temporary offloading, storage, testing or other temp. purposes... "temporary" only cuz the National Archivists Org. recommends that THEIR MEMBERS should NOT use DVD±RW discs for safekeeping national archival records cuz the discs might "change phase" during long-term storage. IMHO, an unproven theory only! The real-life odds of a phase-change in good storage conditions for our remaining lifetime are next to nil... FWIW YMMV! One excellent use for RW discs is dubbing programs or edited stuff you want to see again in the near future but not necessarily keep long-term. I use -RW discs to dub an edited compilation of our favorite dances from "So You Think You Can Dance" so we can watch them later... until the next season of even more amazing dancers! RW discs are also ideal as "transfer" or "offload" discs for titles you KNOW you might want to put back on the HDD for some purpose or other. You can HSD the original from the HDD to a ±RW disc, watch it or store it somewhere, then dub back to the HDD in all the rec modes available with the dubbing menu. That's cuz a -RW disc can be Finalized in this DVDR for watching or storage, then Unfinalized and dubbed to HDD thru the main Dubbing menu, and +RW discs don't need Finalizing at all. If you offloaded to DVD-R, you'd have to Finalize them to watch on different brands of machines, then the only dubbing option available back to the HDD is thru Direct Dubbing, which takes place one title at a time (not complete disc contents) and only in the same rec mode as on the disc. DVD+RW discs DON'T NEED FINALIZING so they're playable virtually anywhere else right after dubbing or recording to them. You can Erase RW discs or just Delete Titles, one at a time. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Which to Use: DVD-Minus or DVD+Plus DVD+R/RW may produce better burns due to the plus-format's inherently better design for tracking, speed control and addressing (location on the disc), esp. at higher burn speeds. For some unknown reason, this subject can be very contentious, so 'nuff said here. Here's a ref. article by a well-known and respected DVD guru for more info. See esp. "Pre-pits versus ADIP" discussion, but ignore the following section on "Defect Management" and DVD+MRW Mount Rainier... it's a hardware implementation and not used in consumer recorders. The section on "Multiple recording sessions and compatibility" farther down is also interesting. All other things being equal, better burns will assure a longer disc life than lower-quality burns. The closer you get to a "marginal" burn the more likely the disc is to "fade" into unreadability over time. However, other considerations come into play when trying to decide between the two archival formats. DVD-R was introduced in 1997 while DVD+R was introduced in mid-2002. Wikipedia says this on -R vs +R: "... because the DVD-R format has been in use since 1997, it has had a five-year lead on DVD+R. As such, older or cheaper DVD players (up to 2004 vintage) are more likely to favor the DVD-R standard exclusively[5], and when creating DVDs for distribution (where the playing unit is unknown or older) the DVD-R format would normally be preferable." So, if your ext. family has machines made before 2005, they might not be able to play +R discs? Also, one person reports that DVD+RW discs FF at a max. 16X speed in his Panasonic machine vs. 200X for other disc types.... all other types FF/REW normally as long as they're finalized. All disc types should FF/REW normally in other Funai/Philips DVDRs like Emerson, Sylvania, Durabrand and Toshiba (~50% of DVDRs in NA). Another advantage to +R: This DVDR and most others will auto-play finalized DVD+R discs if you place the disc in the tray and don't close it but, instead, SELECT DVD DRIVE, then press PLAY. This'll close the tray, load the disc, and play title 1 from start. Manually closing the disc tray will just display a +R's disc type/info then sit there with blank screen, waiting for a command. (Won't work if you don't select DVD drive before pressing PLAY!) As far as universal compatibility, in 2006, a German magazine did multiple-unit tests and found -R was 95% compatible and +R was 93% compatible (but 95% if it was bit-set to ROM). Bottom line: I think anyone wanting DVDs for personal archive purposes should get better burns and longer playable life from +R discs, while people wanting to distribute lots of DVDs to extended family and friends with old (pre-2005) players might be better off with -R discs? Oh, Oh, your first decision on using DVDs: do you care more about getting better burns for yourself or your Aunt Mabel's ability to play and FF/REW at all speeds with her old Panny or Pio player?Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. DVD Quality in the Longevity Equation One of the reasons you should care about disc quality is the incredible accuracy and consistency required for good DVD burning at home. You're using a laser beam to burn (mark) User Data (video and audio) in digital form into a thin layer of organic dye or metal alloy in concentric tracks only 0.74 micrometers (um) apart. The laser has to do its data marking precisely from hub to outside rim with the disc rotating at a very high speed. For some hair-raising info and stats on the miracle of recording to DVD discs at home, you can read this e-articles.info tutorial, which has this particularly interesting tidbit on disc reading (which also applies to writing since the *only* diff. is laser power used?): "Officially, the spiral track of a standard DVD starts with the lead-in zone and ends at the finish of the lead-out zone. This single spiral track is about 11.84 kilometers or 7.35 miles long. An interesting fact is that in a 20x CAV drive, when reading the outer part of the track, the data moves at an actual speed of 156 miles per hour (251km/h) past the laser. What is more amazing is that even when the data is traveling at that speed, the laser pickup can accurately read bits (pit/land transitions) spaced as little as only 0.4 microns or 15.75 millionths of an inch apart!" That "156 mph" is the actual rotational speed of the outer tracks, which move faster than the inner tracks in relative terms, i.e., if an inner track travels an inch, an outer track travels many more inches in the same time period, so the outer edge is moving faster when expressed in mph. Like a marching band making a turn where the inside guy hardly moves but the outside guy has to move fast to keep the line straight!To help visualize just the track-spacing element of this process, consider this: a female dust mite, which we can't see... even tho they're all over our eyelids, face, and ... (well, nevermind)... can cover more than 400 tracks on a DVD! (Females are plumper than males, so they're more "impressive" for this visualization )What's the message of the dust mite? KEEP DUST AWAY FROM YOUR DISC TRAY OPENING! ...ROFL...just a joke... sort of! However, dust DOES collect around the edges of the disc tray opening in the case (upper edge on mine), so clean the edge(s) off every once in awhile... I rub my finger along that edge before inserting a disc for playback or dubbing.Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. How Long Will DVDs Last? No matter what you've read about DVD longevity, if you start with cheap or fake media AND get a bad burn cuz of that, those DVDs might serve as "coasters" after you learn they're unplayable from the get-go. Even if your "burn-on-the-cheap" happens to be an initial success, the DVD may then be playable for only a few months or year at best. Here's a post by Sean Nelson showing an animated sequence of burn tests on a 2nd Class Ritek disc, which illustrates how even 2nd Class media can fade in quality just 3 and 6 months after burning! See list of 2nd Class media here, where Sean's Ritek disc is in the middle of the 2nd-Class pack, Media ID "RITEK F1." If you use the best blank DVDs you can afford (typically 30-35 cents each), they should last from 100-200 years, depending on type of disc and storage conditions. One online tech site says this about longevity: "Manufacturers... test discs by using accelerated aging methodologies with controlled extreme temperature and humidity influences over a relatively short period of time. However, it is not always clear how a manufacturer interprets its measurements for determining a disc’s end of life. Among the manufacturers that have done testing, there is consensus that, under recommended storage conditions, CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R discs should have a life expectancy of 100 to 200 years or more; CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM discs should have a life expectancy of 25 years or more." National Archivists, who are charged with digitizing and preserving the nation's most-precious digital records on DVDs for long-term archival, recommend against rewriteable DVD±RW discs for long-term storage since their burn layer is made from a phase-changing metal alloy film that's designed to accommodate rewriting (multiple changes between burned and erased states). DVD±R discs are better for long-term storage cuz they're made with an organic-dye burn layer that's designed to change only once... during their one-and-only burn cycle. Here's their publication on best practices for archiving on CDs and DVDs and some good info on disc types and longevity. If you really care about longevity, do at least steps 1 and 2 below; if you really, really care, do all four:
A Few Tips on Disc Handling
Using This DVDR's Disc Utility to Check Media Quality This subject has been moved to its own separate file here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-21-10 at 08:47 PM.. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 07:36 PM
|
#21 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
INFO/DISPLAY Menu for Search/Play... Audio... Subtitle... Angle... Repeat... Marker... NR... Zoom... Surround... Changing Rec Mode and Checking HDD Capacity... Practice/Learn Another Language
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. The INFO/DISPLAY Button The INFO/DISPLAY Menu and How to Use It Search/Play Audio Subtitle Angle Repeat Marker Noise Reduction (NR) Zoom Surround Procedure for Using the Marker Feature Some Special Uses for the Marker Function Changing Rec Mode and Checking HDD/DVD Capacities Using "Audio Language" and "Subtitles" To Learn a New Language The INFO/DISPLAY Button The INFO button on the 3575/3576 remote and the DISPLAY button on the 2160 remote bring up several screens in succession by repeated pressing of the button, and those screens are "context-sensitive," i.e., they change to suit the tuner selected and/or the media loaded or being played. For video on an analog channel, the first screen provides information on channel, video resolution, audio type, drive currently active, and HDD time remaining at selected rec modes. For video on a digital channel, the first screen shows TVG/show info, if available, AND THIS SCREEN WILL BE RECORDED: (1) if recording at that time, or (2) whenever the 2160 is on (as part of its background autorecording); and the 2nd screen on a digital channel shows the same info as on an analog channel. On either an analog or digital channel, and with an HDMI cable connected to the TV, the last screen always shows HDMI info regardless of whether the TV's HDMI input is selected or not. One of the screens has 9 playback control icons for viewing and setting the video playback options described next. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. The INFO/DISPLAY Menu and How to Use It This DVDR has a very useful video/audio DVD/CD playback feature under the INFO/DISPLAY button that really should be called Playback Central... maybe "Playground" Central cuz, once you know your way around, you'll be like a kid again, trying to find new ways to get into trouble! Most everything you might need or want to do with DVD/CD playback can be commanded and controlled in this on-screen display. Pressing the INFO/DISPLAY button while playing brings up the INFO/DISPLAY menu and control icons at the top of the TV screen. This is a graphic that shows what appears along the top of the playback pic after pressing the INFO/DISPLAY button:  There are 9 control icons in the 2nd row. From left to right, they are:  You can arrow right from the auto-selected Search (?) icon to select each of the other 8 controls. Just arrowing right activates a control within 1 sec, or you can press OK after arrowing right to activate the control immediately (indicated below by "Activate"). If no options pop up, there are no options under that icon/feature. Use arrow up/dn and OK to select an option. Exit anytime with the INFO/DISPLAY button. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Search/Play - This discussion is for video titles, but operations are the same for audio/CD tracks. This is an easy way to play video titles or chapters by number or from a certain point in time. It's especially good for people with large HDD upgrades or multiple external HDDs that can hold a gazillion titles. With a database or other ref. tool, all you need is the title number, like HDD #3, Title 79... no need to page thru multiple titles in the 6-title grid of index pics. The INFO/DISPLAY menu starts on the Search (?) icon (it's already highlighted). Click OK on this icon and it moves you up to the top row, where there are three sections: Title (T), Chapter (C), and Time (digital clock). For CDs, there will be Track (T) and Time; Track/Time will not work if you select Random Play from the CD Playback menu under Setup, but will if using Program Play or normal play (just pressing Play). Here's an annotated Search Menu showing three sections:  To play a specific Title, arrow up/dn on the 1st "T" number or enter numbers directly, then press OK to play that Title from its beginning (always starts at 0:00:00). To play a specific Chapter, arrow right to the C section, arrow up/dn on the 1st "C" number or enter numbers directly, then press OK to play that Chapter from its beginning (always starts play at 1st frame of Chapter). To play a currently playing title by specific time other than its beginning, arrow right to 1st set of hr:min:sec time digits, arrow up/dn or enter time directly, then press OK to go to that time immediately. Total time of that title is shown in a 2nd set of hr:min:sec numbers. For a title not yet playing, first select that title number (and chapter if desired), then arrow right to set a specific time in that title. You can also search CDs the same way with this function. "Intelligent" Search Feature: When searching for start of next title, each arrow-up on the 1st clock segment advances to the next whole hour exactly, even tho you might currently be at an odd time, e.g., if you're currently on 1:18:35, arrow up on 1st number segment to hour 2 and it goes to 2:00:00, not 2:18:35. It knows you want to start at the beginning of the hour  ! Just press OK to go there. Of course, you could also enter minutes in each clock segment, if desired.Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Audio - Activates the speaker control for selecting Audio options. It displays and checks/highlights the type of audio being played and gives you any other available options you can select with arrow up/dn and OK button (languages, DD types, etc.) You can also use this feature to turn subtitles on in your native language (English, French or Spanish), then change the "Audio Language" in the Playback menu to a different language as a way to learn or practice the selected Audio Language, as described below. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Subtitle - Activates the Subtitle control for selecting subtitle language(s), if available. For DVDs only. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Angle - Activates the Angle control for selecting camera angle(s), if available. For DVDs only. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Repeat - Activates the Repeat control for selecting a type of repeat play, if desired. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Marker - Activates the Marker control for selecting up to six "bookmarks" at playback points you might want to return to. Use this icon to go directly and instantly to one of your marked spots. Markers can be in one title or in multiple titles. See below for some special uses for this Marker function. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Noise Reduction (NR) - Activates the NR control for selecting three video noise-reduction levels: Off, Type 1 for SLP or other long rec mode with video noise, or Type 2 for even stronger NR. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Zoom - Activates the Zoom control for selecting four zoom levels: 1.0x, 1.2x, 1.5x, 2.0x. Right arrow to the +/- icon, wait 1 sec or press OK to bring up the zoom options. Arrow down to a zoom option and press OK. That displays an open box over the pic that defines approx. what area of the pic it will zoom to. You can move the box with the arrow keys, if desired. Press OK again and the pic zooms in. The 1.2X zoom box might display with a small portion of the top and bottom bars not deleted, but when you press OK to accept that zoom, the zoomed pic will not retain any of the bars. To go back to normal view, press the INFO/DISPLAY button again, which auto-selects 1.0X, so press OK again. Also, if you Stop playback and resume later, the pic will be back to normal view. One notable feature of the Zoom function is that it maintains embedded CC/subtitles in commercial DVDs in the same location on screen and in the same size text. Using my 16:9 LCD TV's zoom enlarges the text and sends some off-screen. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Surround - Activates the Surround control for selecting three surround options: Off, Type 1 (natural), Type 2 (emphasized). Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Procedure for Using the Marker Feature The Marker Menu  The procedure for setting markers is:
To set markers on 1st frames for a sequential-play of titles:
Markers PERSIST on the HDD until you delete them using the CLEAR button or delete the title, so you can turn the machine off and use them at a later time. You'd do another six titles by CLEARing the old Markers and placing new ones. Deleting or Dividing a title also deletes its marker(s). Markers can also be placed in home-made or commercial DVDs, and those markers persist only while the disc remains in the tray and the DVDR remains on... they disappear once the disc tray is opened or the DVDR is shut off. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Some Special Uses for the Marker Function Some uses for the Marker feature might be:
Changing Rec Mode and Checking HDD/DVD Capacities Since this DVDR's REC MODE button is set up to CHANGE rec mode on first press, it's easy to accidentally CHANGE rec mode when all you wanted to do is CHECK the current setting... nothing worse than finding out, after a recording, that you had the wrong rec mode by accident. Here's where the INFO/DISPLAY button comes in handy. While on a live TV channel (nothing playing), press that button once or multiple times until you see text in the bottom-right corner of the screen (item "3" in screen shot below) that shows the drive/rec-mode/time-remaining. Number of presses varies with the machine, channel (analog/digital), and drive selected. Once on that screen, press the Rec Mode button to change rec modes and, at the same time, change the time-remaining on the selected drive. You can change to either drive while on this screen... an icon in the upper-right corner (item "7") shows which drive you're currently viewing, either HDD or DVD (if an unfinalized DVD is loaded).  Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files. Using "Audio Language" and "Subtitles" To Learn a New Language These DVDRs can be a great asset to students or others trying to learn a "foreign" language... commercial movies can be played back with audio in the foreign language and subtitles turned on in English! Works great cuz you can hear the foreign language and see the English subtitles! Use the REPLAY button to repeat sections until you understand the linguistic connections. To see a concurrent English translation of a disc's foreign language, turn Subtitles on in the INFO/DISPLAY menu while playing the disc... 3rd icon from left. To hear the foreign language, set the "Audio Language" in the Playback menu to French, Spanish, or Other. For "Other," go to pg. 119 of the 3575/76 manual, or pg 117 of 2160 manual, for a list of 132 Language Codes you can enter after selecting the "Other" option. Enter the code that corresponds to the language actually on the disc, press OK, and when you play that disc, the audio language will be the one you hear (if on the disc) while the subtitles will be in English. If your disc doesn't have the "Other" language you selected, the audio defaults to that disc's "native" language. Go back to List ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 01-11-10 at 04:18 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
|
11-24-07, 10:43 PM
|
#23 | Link |
|
AVS Special Member
|
I was originally impressed with the build quality of my first unit, compared to other Philips' I've seen, and am still very happy with my three units...one for each network!
I think Philips put some extra effort into this unit to try and get things right, while keeping things "affordable" and simple enough for a wide user base. The jury is still out on longevity, as can be expected since they're only about 8 months old now. Not sure how much money they're making, tho, selling for less than US$300, which is worth many less Yen and Yuan lately... now on a par with the Canadian dollar... So far, it's been an excellent unit equal to or better than my Pio 640 in many respects. The digital tuner alone has opened my eyes to how good TV should look, even tho I'm on analog cable. For that alone, it's worth a try for anyone looking to "upgrade" to digital SDTV now. Be forewarned, however, when an analog-only person sees his/her first digital TV pic, they might develop an irresistable craving for a satellite or digital cable upgrade! Had to add an example... I just walked close by my 1080p LCD on an analog channel and could see every flaw and pixel in the pic (you can't get too close to a 1080p display...shows flaws you never knew were there! ).Changed to a digital TNT-HD channel and the pic was beautiful, even tho I was only 2 feet away... and that channel is one of those downrezzed-and-converted-digitals I get thru my analog-only cable feed! Last edited by wajo; 11-25-07 at 12:30 AM.. |
|
|
|
|
11-25-07, 03:32 PM
|
#24 | Link | |||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Known Problems and Operating Idiosyncracies
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Reported problems: P1. Possible digital channel loss of tuning in some 3575's in basic (analog) cable systems, esp. Comcast. 38% of 3575's, only a few early 3576's, NO 2160's. P2. Possible editing freeze on 3575/3576 if you use Divide before Delete under certain conditions (like too-full HDD). NO 2160's. P3. Possible dark pic with Computer-Based 768p TVs. NO 2160's. P4. New 2160A for 2009 USED TO HAVE a problem with Disc Edit ops... now solved! The "Digital Cliff" Effect: The "Digital Cliff" Effect and How It Can Affect Your Digital Channel Stability Operating Idiosyncracies: Op1. STOP button stops play AND record... big diff. between 3575/3576 and 2160! Op2. Heat and EMI can cause stuttering, freezing, false copy protection. Op3. Format/Finalize Locked Out Before Timer Rec Program: Format RW=15 min., Finalize=1-hour Op4. Shutdown procedure takes 15-20 sec, so don't cycle power too quickly... or too often. Op5. Power sag or brief loss might require unplugging/replugging to reset "standby" circuit. Op6. HDD Repair Utility might activate when needed. Op7. Title can freeze but can be deleted with Setup > HDD Menu. Op8. Disc menu of home-made DVDs will show an "Empty Title" but it can be deleted. Op9. Fan mounting design can cause "harmonic" noise in case. Op10. Some "odd" noises when DVDR starts up or searches for auto-clock time signal. Reported Problems There have been three reported problems affecting some early 3575 users and, only a very few 3576 users, no 2160 users, and one new problem with the 2160 "A" version release in Apr 2009, as described below. P1. Possible Digital Channel Loss of Tuning in 3575's but only in Some "Basic" (Analog) Cable Systems, esp. Comcast Note: See "Digital Cliff" description for one possible cause of digital channel loss. About 38% of 3575s and only a couple of 3576s being used by people who subscribe to basic/extended (ANALOG) cable TV have lost digital channel tuning... TV goes "blue-screen." According to a Philips CSR, the problem is caused by "analog interference" and it's a hdwe problem, not FW. Only one user subscribed to DIGITAL cable reported the same problem, but then one other thought HE had "digital" cable cuz he got some digital channels (it was basic analog cable), so who knows for sure that the other user really subscribed to his cableco's extra-cost digital package. No one using an OTA antenna has this problem with digital channels, and no one with any service has reported a loss of tuning with analog channels. I have two of the first units (April 2007) and one is rock solid in my basic analog cable system, but the other will lose digital channel tuning if I surf madly thru those channels trying to test its limits (50-60 round trips). Once it goes blue-screen, I can get the channels back by HOLDING the DTV/TV button for 2-sec or so till the tuner switches to analog and back again... the toggle action is all that's needed, don't have to actually wait for it to tune an analog channel. It works perfectly if I use it like a NORMAL person... it has always tuned digital channels fine on cold-startup and has never lost a timer rec. recording from its five M-F daytime programs and several primetime weekly shows. I'm still using both April 2007 units w/o any problems during NORMAL operations. Updates thru Apr 3, 2008 (Combined): Several analog-cable users have received Jan 2008 3575s and still have a digital tuning problem. Also, some analog-cable users have bought the "Factory Refreshed" units from Philips and seemed to have no problems, but lately two of those units had the tuning problem. One thing of note, however, is that MANY (not all) of the people having digital tuning problems subscribe to basic or ext. basic COMCAST analog cable. Comcast is aggressively "updating" their systems and switching channel assignments...just something to be aware of that might require regular channel scans to keep up with them. Update May 2, 2008: One person who has a 3575 that drops digital tuning in his analog cable feed got a new 3576, and it has the same problem. Like me, he can get digital tuning back by toggling the DTV/TV button. A couple of other analog cable users have new 3576's and report no loss of digital tuning, even tho they've tried my "stress test." Update Sep 9, 2008: There have been two new 3576 users who report digital channel tuning problems in their COMCAST basic or ext. basic (analog) cable systems. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. P2. Possible Editing Freeze on 3575/3576 If You Use Divide before Delete under Certain Conditions The 3575/3576 has a very small, 2MB cache for storing edit instructions on-the-fly, which can create a problem if you Divide a title before cutting sections with Scene Delete. If Divided first, a title can freeze up during Scene Deletes. (The 2160 has a larger, 8MB cache and no one has reported the same edit problem with it.) The easy solution is to always make Scene Deletes first, then Divide as described here. Also, renaming one of the Divided segments immediately seems to make a difference... keeps from having two titles with same name on HDD. Also, this DVDR is so good at transitioning from one back-to-back (BTB) timer rec to another on the same or different channels, you can set BTB programs and NEVER have to use Divide! I had only one freeze-up as I was testing for this but it was related to Chapter Marks. I Divided a title, then went in to make Scene Deletes and found that I had "colliding" chapter marks. The problem title had 5-min. auto-chapter marks, and every Scene Delete was adding more chapter marks. When I got one new mark too close to an auto-set one, my title froze up. I went out of the Edit menu, back in, and deleted ALL chapter marks. (The MPEG-2/DVD specs have specific rules for how close and where chapter marks can be.) I've since changed my auto-chapter setting to 10-min. intervals... I went for awhile with zero auto-chapter setting but found they were too handy during editing to eliminate altogether. Update Apr 3, 2008: Found out that a couple of users who had persistent freeze-ups from Dividing, then Deleting, were running with their HDD full or almost full. (See this post.) If you do lots of editing, DON'T let your HDD get beyond ~75-80% full or freeze-ups can occur due to file fragmentation and lack of space. The 3575's Seagate HDD has only a small (2MB) cache for temp. storage. It's like your computer HDD: it doesn't delete data, just the "pointers" to the data (the Title entries), and it keeps editing instructions in a small (2MB) cache and prob. on the HDD also. So, it's advisable to clean off the HDD on a regular basis by deleting watched titles ASAP and/or offloading to DVDs. More basic info here. Update Apr 27, 2008: Results of some testing of timer-rec of back-to-back programs shows this DVDR is EXCELLENT at minimizing loss of show while switching programs and/or channels... it loses only 3-sec at the beginning of succeeding shows on analog channels after the first one! This alone can reduce or even eliminate the need for DIVIDING since you can set back-to-back programs, even on the same channel, and end up with separate show titles requiring no Divide!? More details here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. P3. Possible Dark Pic, Primarily with Computer-Based 768p TVs Some people are reporting their TV pic is a little dark when viewing digital channels. Turns out MANY (not all) of these people have TVs 40" or smaller, which have a fixed resolution of 1366x768, even tho many are "advertised" as 720p. Their specs usually show "720p (768p)". 768p TVs are built for dual PC/computer and video applications, but their 768p resolution is not directly relateable to ANY TV/video resolution (480i/p, 720p or 1080i/p). Some of them also have a "protection circuit" that auto-darkens the pic if it senses a signal it thinks is from a PC, which might play a role in some way? BOTTOM LINE: If you get a dark pic thru HDMI on a 720p or 1080p HDTV, try both HDMI settings for Format and RGB Range as described in the links. If HDMI settings don't help, Component and S-Video output are one option for a brighter pic, as is returning the unit. If you get a dark pic with a 720p (768p) HDTV (check specs), don't send 720p over HDMI. Instead, try your HDMI at 480p. Also, see if you can also find a specific TV setting like any of these:
Old Update May 2, 2008: Only two people so far have reported a dark pic with a 1080p LCD TV, one of which is me, but mine was directly on my TV, not thru my 3575, and it's on an analog channel. I have always seen a beautiful, bright pic on my 47" 1080p Vizio GV47L LCD, but one day I saw the local NBC evening news program on my analog channel 13, which recently switched to broadcasting in HD, and it was DARK ON THE COAX SIGNAL DIRECTLY TO THE TV, NOT THRU THE 3575! I saw this same darkness a second time and did some tests with my 3575 to see if IT could actually IMPROVE THE LIVE PIC, and I found an HDMI setting that DID brighten up the raw pic from my cable, as reported here. The other report was from a 3575 user with a Samsung 52" 1080p LCD. He reported a dark pic with one particular dark scene in a commercial DVD (not his tuner). However, he found his HDMI Format was set on "RGB" and his "RGB Range" on "Enhanced" which tends to increase contrast for a sharper pic, but it also increases darkness in dark scenes. Changing his RGB Range back to the default "Standard" made his HDMI "brighter than Component!" But, better yet, when he changed his HDMI Format to YCbCr, his shows on the HDD and his DVDs look "great"! More details here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. P4. New 2160A for 2009 USED TO HAVE a problem with Disc Edit ops... now solved! The previously reported FW bug in the new 2160A for 2009 HAS BEEN KILLED! I found a very simple workaround, as described here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Important Note on the "Digital Cliff" (Loss of Digital Tuning) ONE possible, and "surprising," cause of reception problems with DIGITAL channels is the "Digital Cliff" or "Cliff Effect"... a freeze frame or complete disappearance of the DIGITAL signal at the ends of its ideal signal strength. Too weak or too strong a signal can make DIGITAL channels just "fall off the cliff." Wiki info here... and good discussion here. The Cliff Effect is exactly the OPPOSITE of all our previous experience with ANALOG channels, where we were always trying to get the STRONGEST signal... if we saw "snow" with a properly pointed antenna, we'd just "beef up" the signal strength. Not any more, bubba! For DIGITAL TV, even your DVDR's signal-strength meter might not tell when the signal's too strong! DIGITAL tuners can be "over-driven" with signal strength and "splatter," so the possibility of a Cliff Effect is NOT indicated in the "meters" some of our equipment has... in fact, one expert says a very strong signal can register normally while it's splattering. To determine if your signal is too weak or too strong, first do a "Hang-by-a-Thread Test" to see if it's too strong (most likely) and, if that doesn't improve things, add a bidirectional Digital Signal Amplifier to see if it's too weak. Quote:
In addition to the signal-strength problem, a couple of 3576 users and many users of other DVDRs are suddenly (starting in Sep 2008) seeing a CP flag in COMMERCIALS, which allows you to record to the HDD but not offload/dub to a DVD. More info here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Operating Idiosyncracies Op1. STOP Button Stops Play AND Record - Big Diff. between 3575/3576 and 2160 This DVDR doesn't have a separate "Stop Recording" button like the Pio 640 and maybe others, so the STOP button is used for stopping playback AS WELL AS RECORDING! 3575/3576 users have to be especially careful with the STOP button while a normal recording is in progress thru the REC button or a timer program. Pressing the STOP button once, by accident or on purpose, will stop the recording! That's fine for stopping a recording if that's what you want to do. However, where you could get into trouble is while watching something else from the HDD or a DVD during a recording. In this situation if you press the STOP button to stop playback, the playback will stop on Resume and the recording will continue. BUT, with all playback stopped, if you press the STOP button again at any time, the recording will also stop! Try to remember: pressing STOP twice in a row on the 3575/3576 serves no useful purpose... ever!!! HOWEVER, on the Mag 2160, you can press STOP on the remote as many times in a row as you want and it'll only stop playback. To stop recording, you have to HOLD the STOP button down for 2 seconds, or press the STOP button on the front panel of the 2160... an excellent feature compared to the 3575/3576! (Thanks to sydyen for that info!) And the even newer Mag 2160A now has a STOP button that asks if you want to stop recording Yes/No! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op2. Heat and EMI Can Cause Stuttering, Freezing, False Copy Protection Someone in Ireland bought a Philips EU 3595 and had problems with stuttering, freezing, etc. and replaced it with an EU 3575 and had similar problems. The frantic analysis of his problems on videohelp.com turned up some interesting potential reasons for his problems THAT COULD APPLY TO ANY DVDR. Machine #1 - EU 3595 - Reasonable explanation: Turns out he had it crammed into a bookcase shelf WITH NO AIR SPACE ON FRONT RIGHT SIDE, PLUS IT WAS JUST BELOW AN OLD, HUGE CRT TV, so machine was getting too hot (intake air vents are on front right side) and there was possible electromagnetic interference (EMI) altho not suspected yet (until Machine #2). Machine #2 - EU 3575 - Reasonable explanation: Turns out he had this one ALSO crammed into that bookcase shelf with no airspace and it was under same CRT TV. So, once I accused him of "DvdSlaughter" by suffocating his machines, he moved the 3575 to the top of his old, huge CRT TV, as shown here, and it started working OK for awhile, then back to stuttering, freezing, plus now failure to record as if programs were copy-protected (CP). Orsetto did a test on a friend's U.S. 3575, reported here, where he placed the 3575 on top of a 32" CRT TV, AND GOT THE SAME STUTTERING, LOCKUPS, AND FALSE CP SYMPTOMS. The user claimed he had an old HS2 recorder in his bookcase, BUT IT WAS 2 SHELVES AWAY, ON BOTTOM OF 3 SHELVES, BELOW THE OLD CRT... AND IT WAS UNDERNEATH HIS SKYBOX (STB) WHICH SHIELDED IT FURTHER FROM THE TV! Hey, CP works by "disrupting" the normal video signal, and EMI can do the same, so some people may be self-CPing and not know it!? Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op3. Format/Finalize Locked Out Before Timer Rec Program: Format RW=15 min., Finalize=1-hour You can't start a DVD±RW Format if there's a timer rec program that might start within the next 15-min., and you can't start a Finalize within 1-hour, exactly (not even at 59 minutes from timer start!). This DVDR allows those times cuz Formatting and Finalizing can't be interrupted or the disc can become unusable since our DVDR op system can't restart an interrupted process like a computer can. You have three options if Format or Finalize is not available: (1) wait till next timer rec program ends, or (2) temp. change next timer program's start time and reset it after Format or Finalize, or (3) buy multiple DVDRs and use one of the other machines like I do! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op4. Shutdown Procedure Takes 15-20 sec - Don't Cycle Power Too Quickly... or Too Often This DVDR takes about 15-20 sec to actually shut down completely and park the HDD heads, so don't turn it back on immediately after shutting it down, which might induce some "over-spin" in the HDD. My Vizio LCD's let me know when the heads have parked and the disk(s) have spun down completely cuz it turns blue-screen when there's no more video signal or "activity." On occasion, when I cycle power off then on too quickly, I can't turn my 3575 off with the remote's power button. If that happen, play something from the HDD title menu, then power can be turned off normally with the remote... no clue why? Drive mfgrs rate their longevity in "contact start/stop cycles" not spin or working time. A start/stop cycle is defined here as a power-on/power-off cycle... 50,000 for our drives. So, if you power this DVDR up/down three times a day, you might think you'd get 45 YEARS out of the HDD. But, in the REAL world, experts say 3-5 years is a good lifespan for a modern HDD, as described here. Those just happen to be the std warranty period for HDDs... as of Jan 1 2009, Seagate lowered their std warranty period from 5 years to 3 years for our 3575/3576 HDD, and the same as the Hitachi 2160 HDD. There's good info on HDD longevity in this post by SteelTownGuy. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op5. Power Sag or Brief Loss Might Require Unplugging/Replugging to Reset "Standby" Circuit Many electronically controlled devices, like TVs, DVDRs, new dehumidifiers, etc., might not return to FULL op. status after a power loss, e.g., dehumdifier fan might work but compressor not. They have a "standby" circuit that needs constant power to retain electronic settings, which might not auto-reset when power comes back on. If this DVDR loses power and then won't power up, unplug it for just 5 sec or less and replug... nothing will be lost. If that doesn't work, leave unplugged for ~10 min., then plug back in while simultanesouly holding the power button on the front of the unit. This wipes out settings, incl. timer rec programs, so you'll have to do some Setup again... titles on the HDD will not be affected. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op6. HDD Repair Utility Might Activate When Needed This DVDR has a user-invokable, user-controlled "Format" command for the HDD with the SKIP 079 code, described here. It also has an automatic Repair program that you might see under certain unusual conditions. The manual says this: "Repairing" appears on the TV screen. If there is a power failure or unplugging during recording, finalizing, formatting or editing (even after "Repairing" disappears), a repairing process will begin automatically just after turning the unit on again. It may take several minutes up to about several hours." Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op7. "Frozen" Title Can't Be Deleted If you (or the machine) start a manual recording then stop it immediately (or the machine stops it immediately for some problem), that title can "freeze" cuz the HDD Rec icon is still being displayed on screen (for ~6 sec), so the op system is "busy." Sometimes, a Divide can also freeze a title with an "0:00" time. Frozen titles don't seem to hurt anything so they can be left in place, and they sometimes can be deleted in the normal manner with the Title Delete menu (after a power cycle?). Several people have tried the combo of Protecting titles they wanted to save, using the Edit > Protect menu on each title, then using the Setup > HDD Menu > Delete All Unprotected Titles option, but they reported that it didn't work... on 11/14/09 however, Stump 69 did the Protect/Delete Unprotected trick and it worked!? Don't give up too soon trying to delete in the normal manner... I worked for a long time trying to delete a frozen title, gave up, then my wife turned machine on, told her about the frozen title, and she deleted it with no problem... called me a "putz" or "klutz" or something like that. Lucky for her I don't hear so good! Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op8. Disc Menu of Home-Made DVDs Will Show an "Empty Title" But It Can Be Deleted DVD discs you create in this DVDR will show an "Empty Title" which is a placeholder for all Philips/Magnavox +VR recorders (50% of all sold in N.A.). It serves a specific technical purpose but most people don't like it on their home-made discs. It can be deleted with the Overwrite procedure described here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op9. Fan Mounting Design Can Cause "Harmonic" Noise in Case A few people have complained that their unit is a little noisy when it's on and the fan is running. One of my three 3575's started out a little noisy (only my wife could hear it), but I found it was from a "harmonic" in the unit's case when the fan was running, and it's from the way the fan is mounted (couldn't hear my fan when SLIGHTLY removed from case... careful, thin wires connected to inside). You can test for the same "harmonic" by pressing your finger on the TOP CENTER of the case, and/or towards the back end near the fan and see if it doesn't quiet down. I found I could reduce the harmonic to where my eagle-ears-wife could barely hear it after listening awhile by placing some heavy knick-knack with silicone feet on top. Another video component with an added silicone foot right over the harmonic's "sweet-spot" did the trick too? I think the harmonic comes from the way the fan is mounted. There are two screws on one side, but the other side is held in place by tabs on the fan casing that fit into slots in the back panel of the unit. Screws instead of tabs-in-slots would have made for a quieter assembly and maybe no harmonic? Couldn't actually "remove" the fan cuz there are thin wires that connect to inside circuit so fan can't be pulled away from back panel very far at all... more like you can just "twist" it towards the screw side after working tabs out of back panel. I added some thin magnetic ref. mag strips between the fan and three edges of the case opening; helped some but removed them cuz I don't think it's "safe"... they could fall into the fan someday? Just a good screw tightening and wait a couple of weeks for the fan to settle into its "groove"? Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Op10. Some "odd" noises when DVDR starts up or searches for auto-clock time signal. When this DVDR starts up at power-on, it searches for a DVD in the tray (in case it's a startup DVD like FW) and starts the HDD spinning. This activity makes some "strange" noises to first-time users, like a calunk-calunk-whirrr-calunk. Not to worry, it's normal. This DVDR also has an Auto Clock feature which, if set to on (which is the default), searches for a time signal at 11:59 am and 11:59 pm. It doesn't power-up, just "spins up" to search each channel for a signal. It has a light noise for 1-1/2 to 2 sec or so, then spins down with no indication on front panel thru the entire process. Setting Auto Clock to a Manual channel reduces the search time... a procedure for confirming a good time signal with a Manual channel setting is given here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-03-10 at 09:13 PM.. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
11-26-07, 04:14 PM
|
#25 | Link |
|
Advanced Member
|
An amazingly thorough series of posts. A great primer for the newbies.
I have a Philips HDD unit on order and due to arrive soon. My two Panny HDD units have served me well for a couple years recording a couple hours every day, but I am worried they might drop dead. The Philips seems to be the only HDD option with digital tuning. My main use is to record material for editing and authoring on the PC so I use only + or - RW discs (RAM on the Panny units). My RCA HDD and the Magnavox non-HDD units can both write to -RW and +RW, but for some reason, I can only read on the PC +RW from the RCA and -RW from the Magnavox. My Samsung combo unit can write to plus or minus RW and both are readable on the PC. I will be interested to see and will report on my results from the Philips unit, particularly regarding compatibility with the PC. I should add, the RW discs, plus or minus, made on either the RCA or the Magnavox play fine on standard DVD players. Durability will be key. I have had many bad DVD recorders that stopped working properly not many months after going into service, including JVC, Pioneer, Go, Liteon and Panny. The two Panny HDD units are very exceptional as I had 3 Panny non-HDD units crap out.
__________________
I have seen enough to know I have seen too much. (A League of Their Own) Last edited by sunnycrest; 11-26-07 at 04:19 PM.. |
|
|
|
|
11-27-07, 11:39 AM
|
#26 | Link | |||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
The Dubbing Procedure... No Date/Time on DVDs... Deleting Empty Title... Finalizing/Unfinalizing
Click one of these links if you want to go directly to that subject without scrolling. At the end of each subject, click the link "Go back to List" if you want to come back here. Notes Making DVD Copies Without the Current Date or Time Dubbing a Single Title to DVD - NOT the Recommended Method Dubbing Single or Multiple Titles to DVD - Recommended Method Dubbing HDD>DVD with DIRECT DUBBING Button Dubbing DVD>HDD - Finalized and Unfinalized Discs Stopping a Dub Deleting the EMPTY TITLE on a DVD±R Finalizing/Unfinalizing on Same-Brand/Model of +VR DVDR Finalizing/Unfinalizing in Different-Brand/Model of +VR DVDR Dubbing on Different Brands/Models of +VR DVDR Notes
Quote:
Making DVD Copies Without the Current Date or Time If you want NO DATE OR TIME on titles from copied VHS home movies, where a current date/time might be "confusing," use this procedure (tested only on a 3575):
Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Dubbing a Single Title to DVD - NOT the Recommended Method
Dubbing Single or Multiple Titles to DVD - Recommended Method * * * * * * * * DUBBING PREP * * * * * * * *
DUBBING * * * * * * * *
Dubbing HDD>DVD with DIRECT DUBBING Button (One-touch Dubbing) You can use the DIRECT DUBBING button to copy HDD titles, one at a time, to a DVD. First, create custom title as described here. Load a DVD, start the HDD title playing, then press the DIRECT DUBBING button. The HDD title will be copied to DVD from the beginning of the title, no matter where you start the dub during playback. The dub will be made at High-speed if all normal conditions are met for a HS dub, and these may not be known in advance such as a SLP title must be just under 5 hours, like 4:59:59 or less... can't be 5:00:00 or above. IT'S BEST TO USE THE DUBBING MENU, which gives you visibility in advance so you know and can control what will happen before you start the dub. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Dubbing DVD>HDD - Finalized and Unfinalized Discs To dub a single title or multiple titles from a disc with this DVDR's internal drives only (no external player), there are two options depending on whether the disc is Finalized or Unfinalized. You can tell if a disc is Finalized or Unfinalized by selecting the DVD drive and arrowing up from 1st title or left from any title on the 1st page, which brings up a dsic status screen. FINALIZED - DUBS ONLY ONE TITLE AT A TIME 1. Load Finalized, non-copy-protected disc (takes ~20 sec). 2. Select DVD drive (if on HDD, nothing will happen). 3. Open Disc Menu (using DISC MENU button). 4. Select a single title you want to dub to HDD. 5. Press PLAY. 6. Anytime while playing, press red D.DUBBING button. 7. That title will dub to the HDD in real-time and same rec mode as the original. 8. Repeat for any other title(s) you want to copy to the HDD. UNFINALIZED - DUBS ONE OR MORE TITLES ADDED TO THE DUB MENU 1. Load Unfinalized disc (takes ~20 sec). If HDD drive is selected, go to Step 2. If DVD drive is selected or you've opened the Disc Menu to check status, press STOP to exit the Disc Menu. 2. Open Setup menu using SETUP button (doesn't matter what drive is selected). 3. Scroll up once or down to DUBBING option. 4. Select DVD>HDD option. 5. ADD first title you want to dub to HDD. 6. ADD any other titles you want to dub to HDD. 7. Scroll down to Dubbing Start option and click OK. 8. Select a REC MODE and click OK (HIGH is not an option for DVD>HDD). 9. Answer Yes to Start Dubbing? dialog to start dubbing. 10. All the selected/Added titles will dub to the HDD, together, in real-time. (You'll see a sequential Writing to Disc message for each title... wait for no more progress bar or messages.) Commercial movies/programs on DVD contain strong copy-protection (CP) and most likely will not copy in an internal DVD>HDD dub. You'll need an external player and a CP-stripping device like a Grex. On the other hand, copying commercial VHS movies can be successfully copied to HDD ~65% of the time from an external VCR. I was successsful on 9 of 14 1st-run comm. movies on VHS tape, as described here. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Stopping a Dub To STOP any dubbing session, press the STOP button on the front of the unit (3575/3576/2160) or hold the STOP button on the remote for 2 sec (2160 only). If you STOP a dub to a DVD±R disc, that disc may be unusable again. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Deleting the EMPTY TITLE on a DVD±R In DVDRs that use the Philips +VR standard, all DVDs will show an "Empty Title" in the Disc Menu. As long as the DVD is unfinalized, the Empty Title shows the amount of rec time remaining on the DVD at each rec mode (press REC MODE button while viewing the disc title screen). That's called a "Reserved Fragment" and serves a specific technical purpose which no one is interested in... only how to get rid of it! If you really don't like the "Empty Title" on your DVD±R discs, here's an automated (unattended) procedure for deleting it by OVERWRITING it before Finalizing:
Finalizing/Unfinalizing on Same-Brand/Model of +VR DVDR
At the end of dubbing or recording, during the final "Writing to disc" process, there'll be a message above the progress bar ADVISING you to Finalize for playing in other machines... many people mistake this for an auto-finalizing step... it's NOT. FINALIZING IS NOT AUTOMATIC unless you set one of the not-very-useful options in the Recording > Auto Finalize menu: Disc Full (never happens except when deleting the Empty Title) and End of Timer Program (who timer recs to a disc, Uncle Dufus?). These are off by default but I recommend doing Finalize manually anyway AFTER you're SURE the disc has everything just the way you want it (edited, good title and 1st frame for static thumbnail, etc.). To manually Finalize, insert a disc and let it load fully. While loading, open the Disc Edit menu and, when the Finalize option becomes active, you can select it. The Finalize/Unfinalize option is a "toggle" option, i.e., if the disc is unfinalized, only Finalize will be active, and if a disc is Finalized, only Unfinalize will be active. Unfinalizing is available only for rewriteable -RW discs, which is a big advantage for recording stuff temporarily so it can play in other machines, then be Unfinalized so existing titles can be edited or deleted, or the entire contents erased for reuse. Some other DVDRs don't allow this option... they require Erasing or Formatting, which deletes all contents whether that's what you want to do or not. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Finalizing/Unfinalizing in Different-Brand/Model of +VR DVDR If you want to Finalize a disc created in a different-brand of +VR DVDR:
WARNING: Don't wait too long to Finalize your discs! Many sad stories of people who didn't Finalize a bunch of discs and got stuck with a broken machine... one recently with an old, broken JVC, a repair cost of $200-300 just for labor, and 200 unfinalized discs RECORDED IN VR-MODE! Can you say triple-WTF: no working machine, repair costs more than a new machine IF IT WERE AVAILABLE (NOT!), and VR-mode discs only THAT machine can read!Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files. Dubbing on Different Brands/Models of +VR DVDR You can dub titles on unfinalized DVDs created in different brands of +VR DVDRs, like dubbing to a disc created in a Philips 3576 with a Mag 2160. To do so, you have to turn Recording > Make Recording Compatible (MRC) ON. See "Option 1" here for instructions. Go back to List. ...... Go to main list of help files.
Last edited by wajo; 02-06-10 at 09:57 AM.. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
11-27-07, 06:07 PM
|
#27 | Link | |
|
Advanced Member
|
Thanks!
Quote:
Appreciate the reply. I'm definitely going to have to look into these further. I know a happy camper when I see one! It sounds like a really nice unit. I'm not a big fan of Phillips and pretty much just dismissed it offhand. But based on your posts, I'm gonna re-think this one. I'm on analog cable, but they're doing everything possible to push us remaining die hards off. (Love my ReplayTV's though, so I'm hanging on.) Thanks again! |
|
|
|
|
|
11-27-07, 07:50 PM
|
#29 | Link | ||||||
|
AVS Special Member
|
Notes on Erroneous or Misleading National Reviews
I've seen some erroneous or misleading info lately written by national equipment reviewers. There are also MANY first-time user reviews that are horrendously inaccurate or dead-wrong! Here are just a few I've run across so far.
Last edited by wajo; 08-10-09 at 03:42 PM.. |
||||||
|
|
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
