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2 ?s Magnavox 515

post #1 of 14
3/6/12 at 2:58am
Thread Starter 
1.when I plugged in my 515 about a year ago I was able to use it's tuner channel up and down to change channels now when I press the channel down it just replays live TV.
I am reduced to enter a channel # just to change channels, is there a solution to this?

2.I recently dubbed a HDD 2 hour show in SP speed to a DVD-R
when I put the DVD in the tray and closed the door the display on front of the 515 read 2:00 so I assummed I could only copy 2 hours and zero minutes.

before I finialized the DVD I saw my 2 hour title and another :09:00 (9 minute) blank title, so I ask what is the actualle recording time on a DVD-R?
and is the 2 hour displayed on front of 515 inaccurate?
Thanks STB
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post #2 of 14
3/6/12 at 4:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

1.when I plugged in my 515 about a year ago I was able to use it's tuner channel up and down to change channels now when I press the channel down it just replays live TV.
I am reduced to enter a channel # just to change channels, is there a solution to this?

It appears that you're going into the buffer by mistake with that arrow key. First, try an Auto Channel Preset to see if you can get channel memory back. If not, try a Soft Reset as described here, followed by an Auto Channel Preset. Might have to then do a Hard Reset (same help file) if that doesn't work?

If no joy on anything, there might be a FW thing to check into.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

2.I recently dubbed a HDD 2 hour show in SP speed to a DVD-R
when I put the DVD in the tray and closed the door the display on front of the 515 read 2:00 so I assummed I could only copy 2 hours and zero minutes.

before I finialized the DVD I saw my 2 hour title and another :09:00 (9 minute) blank title, so I ask what is the actualle recording time on a DVD-R?
and is the 2 hour displayed on front of 515 inaccurate?

The amount of time you can get on a DVD varies by type of recording to it, RTD/HSD/RTR, as described here.
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post #3 of 14
3/6/12 at 4:52am
Thread Starter 
actualley I have preformed the channel reset (program to scan for channels) did'nt test the channel up or down untill after I deleted the undesireable channels
this is when I discovered the problem.

I haven't tested w/ the 515 remote either.

I'm using a Harmony700 remote control, can't remember if the 700 created this problem.

no I haven't done any type of update.

I'll have to read over the DVD time infor you provide is there a quick way to verify how long a recording can be or should I allways trust the 2:00 2 hour displayed on the front?
Thanks STB
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post #4 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

actualley I have preformed the channel reset (program to scan for channels) did'nt test the channel up or down untill after I deleted the undesireable channels
this is when I discovered the problem.

I haven't tested w/ the 515 remote either.

I'm using a Harmony700 remote control, can't remember if the 700 created this problem.

no I haven't done any type of update.

I'll have to read over the DVD time infor you provide is there a quick way to verify how long a recording can be or should I allways trust the 2:00 2 hour displayed on the front?

The 2:00 time for SP seen in menus, etc. is only for a real-time dub (RTD), as explained in that help file. It also explains how you can ignore the 2:00 seen in menus if you're going to record directly to DVD or do a high-speed dub (HSD).

See the Methods & Capacities chart in that help file.

Sounds as if you should try the 515 remote to make sure it isn't the Harmony?
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post #5 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:48am
Thread Starter 
Wajo my Harmony 700 remote is making me look like a A$$hole I'll hav to double check it's settings.

The channel up and down works fine w/ orginal remote.

?when I change channels (either up or down or directly to a #) why doe's the TV turn black before the change then channel appears then another longer black before I can view the channel?

Thanks STB
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post #6 of 14
3/6/12 at 5:55am
Just the normal nature of digital channels, which are broadcast in macroblocks and the Mag/TV have to deblock, and trhe hybrid (switched) tuner of the Mag, as opposed to the unswitched integrated tuners of HDTVs.

More info on tuning with our hybrid tuners is here.
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post #7 of 14
3/6/12 at 6:25am
Thread Starter 
OK cool so there's no malfunction for the 515 to blacken twice before actualley locking on the channel, I would prefer it not to blackout the second time sometimes I'll record w/ the OTR and I end up w/ the black spot.

when watching TV w/ TVs tuner I only get the black spot once.

I was thinking the Harmony may have created these black screens, and the timing and order that the Harmony turns stuff on needs adjusting?

Thanks STB
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post #8 of 14
3/6/12 at 6:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

OK cool so there's no malfunction for the 515 to blacken twice before actualley locking on the channel, I would prefer it not to blackout the second time sometimes I'll record w/ the OTR and I end up w/ the black spot.

when watching TV w/ TVs tuner I only get the black spot once.

I was thinking the Harmony may have created these black screens, and the timing and order that the Harmony turns stuff on needs adjusting?

Well, the blacking twice indicates, to me anyway, that the hybrid (switched) tuner in the 515 is remapping digital channels from the cableco's high-numbered channels to one within the Mag's 1-135 range... or the cableco is sending "stealth" channels 2-99 and you have some duplicates that take the Mag longer to resolve.

You could probably get rid of the double-black if you spent some time finding possible duplicates and deleting the lower-numbered ones, as described in the "Map Your Own" solution here?
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post #9 of 14
3/6/12 at 6:49am
Thread Starter 
Wajo I don't have cable only OTA free TV.

Thanks STB
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post #10 of 14
3/6/12 at 6:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

Wajo I don't have cable only OTA free TV.

Thanks STB

Same thing applies. OTA also can have co-channel problems (duplicated channels).
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post #11 of 14
3/6/12 at 7:07am
Thread Starter 
I have observed these duplicate channels associated w/ cable TV some where DTV and others where I think analog it took forever for the channel scan.

However I haven't observed any duplicate free OTA channels.

another ? on a % how much clearer is HD recorded w/ a computer and played back compared to SD upconverted to HD playback. I've read there is a differnce, just curious to know by how much.

OK Thanks Wajo I'll look over the infor you provide.
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post #12 of 14
3/6/12 at 7:21am
Grossly speaking, HD 720p has 50% more pixels in each video frame than SD 480i, and 1080i/p has 125% more.

Visually speaking, the diff. is noticeable but the extent of visual diff. depends on many factors such as original production quality, quality of your source, display type and size, encoder quality (for recorded stuff), etc., as described here.
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post #13 of 14
3/6/12 at 8:13am
Thread Starter 
Wajo I recently dubbed 2:00 hour show.HDD to DVD

?1.in the future can I just plan on the DVD actualley having 2:08 instead of 2:00?

?2.when I played back this SP speed DVD on my Sony BD player it appeared kindof good the Mbps fluckuated from 6.5-3.5 what is this Mbps # representing (I'm thinking ? bits per second)
or is the Mbps a BD rating?

?3. I've never played a BD disc. curious what the Mbps is on a BD? I'm thinking the higher the # the better the PQ.

Thanks
STB
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post #14 of 14
3/6/12 at 8:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

Wajo I recently dubbed 2:00 hour show.HDD to DVD.

?1.in the future can I just plan on the DVD actualley having 2:08 instead of 2:00?

A DVD can have up to 2:10:00 or a little more, depending on how you record to it, as listed in the chart here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

?2.when I played back this SP speed DVD on my Sony BD player it appeared kindof good the Mbps fluckuated from 6.5-3.5 what is this Mbps # representing (I'm thinking ? bits per second) or is the Mbps a BD rating?

It's a variable rate averaged around the rec mode you set, as described in the "Bit Rates and Resolution" subject here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

?3. I've never played a BD disc. curious what the Mbps is on a BD? I'm thinking the higher the # the better the PQ.

According to this Wiki, BD bit rates can go up to 40 (video) to 53.95 (raw) Mbps.
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