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Magnavox ZV450MW8 ATSC DVDR/VCR

post #1 of 113
4/8/07 at 10:35am
Thread Starter 
I thought I would start a model-specific thread for this unit and its siblings. If I have missed a preexisting one I apologize and please let me know.

I picked up the new Magnavox ZV450MW8, DVDR / VCR w/ ATSC and digital cable tuner.

After making far too many rounds, I was surprised to now suddenly have 5 DVDR w/ ATSC choices at WalMart, with empty shelf spaces for two more coming soon.

No HDMI
the VCR does not output to S Video or component.

In the manual's words it "records 16:9 as 4:3". I have only tested for one night, but it clearly correctly records the entire signal to the entire 720x480 frame. It does not waste resolution by recording any bars into the picture. So, if you have a 16:9 TV and set the 450 as such, the recording will fit correctly.

The unit is a little loud and vibrates noticably, much more so than the LG 797 I tried first and just returned. This makes me nervous about longevity.

It tunes digital TV slooooowly, so anyone needing it as their STB can forget it. I could live with it solely for recording.

It always records +/-RW in +VR mode. My analog Samsung gave the choice of video mode. I only have -RW on hand as that was all the Samsung took.

I dubbed a tape to disc. Then I added chapters on the unit, something I had always saved for the PC. I figured since it was going to use VR mode anyway, I might as well give it a try. The chapters appeared correctly.

Finalizing took forever. I wonder if it would have gone more quickly without the chapters. When imported to the PC I noticed all the chapter break points had the highest cell IDs scattered throughout the otherwise sequentially numbered cells of the title. I figure it spent a ton of time chewing and re-writing to split, create, and re-position the new cells. This is something I can do in a heartbeat on the PC.

Dub quality seems ok. It was a pretty poor tape I used last night. I may redo one of the two much nicer tapes I did on the LG to get a more fair apples to apples comparison.

Mike
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post #2 of 113
4/8/07 at 11:07am
Picked one up on Thursday. Seems to fit the bill for what I want, which is simple time-shifting of programming from digital OTA stations in the correct aspect ratio on my 16:9 set.

As for noise and vibration, I've noticed nothing at all like this on my unit. Dead quiet except for "normal" noises associated with a VCR. In fact, I'd have to say it's the quietest DVD recorder I've run across so far.

The +RW disks I've tried so far have even ended up being able to play back in my XBox, which is a real bonus so far as I'm concerned.
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post #3 of 113
4/8/07 at 8:18pm
I also picked up one for my grandparents and will be learning / testing it for a few weeks before passing it on to them.

Some initial observations (only have hooked up to a 4:3 TV so far since that is what my grandparents have).

1) Digital channel changing is slower with cable DTV channels than OTA DTV channels. OTA DTV channel changing isn't much worse than my Sony DHG-HDD250 HD DVR. Like that unit, you must let the channel tune before you can channel up / down to the next channel.

2) Recorded image for a 4:3 TV will match what you actually see on the TV. For example, when I recorded a program with the unit set to 4:3 P&S, it zoomed / cropped the DTV image to show only a full screen. When I set the image to 4:3 letterbox, it recorded the program with the bars for a DTV program (just like it looked on the screen -- I.e. SD programs (Amazing Race) appeared window boxed on a 4:3 TV

3) I found the DTV tuner to be about as good as my other 4 ATSC tuners and the analog tuner to be weaker than the analog tuner in my $75 20" Celera (yeah I know...off brand) TV that is about 3 years old.

Over the next week, I plan to hook it up to my plasma and my attic antenna to see how it behaves that way. So far, it looks simple enough to use the basic functions that my grandparents would require. Timer recording, playback, etc.
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post #4 of 113
4/9/07 at 6:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sivartk View Post

...you must let the [current] channel tune before you can channel up / down to the next channel.

...and this is the deal breaker. I will be returning this unit to Wal-Mart and may try out the Panasonic. Using this unit as a Set top box (to view TV all the time), this "feature" is not acceptable and make the unit nearly unusable.
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post #5 of 113
4/9/07 at 11:25am
Interesting perspective on speed of tuning, etc. I guess I don't think about it much, since I had a DVR in the mix for quite a few years. I never watched live TV, and trying to channel surf was un-doable since it took several seconds to buffer the video feed before it would display it or allow you to change channels again.
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post #6 of 113
4/9/07 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
My dad has Dish, and I always have to remember that surfing is not an option.
You go to the guide and decide what to check out.
With a decent set and DTV OTA, surfing is just like it used to be - fast. Remember then?
And if you want to jump two channels up, you just hit the button twice and it happens.
Any DVDR tuner should in theory be able to do this if two different TVs I've had can.

Mike
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post #7 of 113
4/10/07 at 7:47am
I saw this one in WalMart last night, and at least compared to the Panasonic DMR-Z37K, I thought that the Magnavox has such a cheap "look and feel" that I couldn't even consider it.
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post #8 of 113
4/10/07 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, I'm afraid this one is going back as soon as my third option presents itself.
I hope someone gets a solid unit together soon.
Right now it's "choose your flaws."
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post #9 of 113
5/4/07 at 8:46am
$185 at Wal-Mart, last night (4 APR 07) here in STL.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5622734

Bought for VCR to DVD dubbing, works well at that. The NTSC tuner works OK. The ATSC tuner is SDTV only. Sensitivity seems OK for local work, so far.

The lack of recording modes for OTA above 480 does not overly disturb me, so this is a pretty decent low cost solution to combine an SDTV tuner, VCR, DVD recorder/dubber into one unit. This Magnavox replaced an Samsung ATSC tuner (SIR-T451) and VCR/DVD combo. Using the same antenna, the Magnavox locked KETC (PBS) and KNLC (religious), where the Samsung was unable to maintain lock. Propogation was pretty flat that night as well. All other locals were recieved on ATSC. Note: my zip is 63119, and most of the majors are within five miles.

An interesting feature is that ATSC channels can be manually entered, with sub-channels, and retained. Auto scanning is of course supported.

The only bitch for me is that the remote is a small affair, with smaller keys and labeling. Getting older is a bitch. Menuing is OK. Manual is OK. (with one errata page added in)

There is no RF output on Ch 3/4 (the unit does pass through RF, single F in for both tuners, single F out); all outputs must be on composite, S-Video, or component. An s-Video in is provided, as is a composite in (RCA). Progressive playback mode for DVD's is supported with a menu switch (default is "off"), and outputs through component.

Hope that helps.
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post #10 of 113
5/4/07 at 9:17am
Updates after one month:

Analog/NTSC tuner performance is definitely inferior. ATSC tuning is slow, but sensitivity is acceptable for an urban environment with strong signals.

Has lost clock data at least once. Fortunately, nothing was scheduled. Also, the remote has gone wonky, refused to operate at least once. Restart of main unit cleared this. Channel data has been lost at least once; a rescan fixed this.

Menuing is simple, and easily mastered. Remote is still too small for easy use by us old folks. VCR>DVD dubbing works well. I've copied 50+ tapes with no problems on recording (other than broadcast flag equivalent on commercial tapes), and the discs played fine in other units after finalization.
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post #11 of 113
5/4/07 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PinkSplice View Post

Has lost clock data at least once. Fortunately, nothing was scheduled. Also, the remote has gone wonky, refused to operate at least once. Restart of main unit cleared this. Channel data has been lost at least once; a rescan fixed this.

Mine seemed to do a total re-set, lost timer & channels. The first time I thought I may have suffered a brief power outage while at work. The second time, I began to wonder... The third time, I was out of town for the weekend, but didn't see any other evidence of a power failure.

I suspect that something may be going wonky with the automatic clock set, so I turned that off in hopes that it wouldn't happen again. It's only been a week since then, but so far, so good.
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post #12 of 113
5/4/07 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimSH View Post

Mine seemed to do a total re-set, lost timer & channels. The first time I thought I may have suffered a brief power outage while at work. The second time, I began to wonder... The third time, I was out of town for the weekend, but didn't see any other evidence of a power failure.

I suspect that something may be going wonky with the automatic clock set, so I turned that off in hopes that it wouldn't happen again. It's only been a week since then, but so far, so good.

Firmware/chipset/CMOS. We're early adopters...at least this unit is comparatively cheap for a VCR/DVD/SDTV combo.

There's always E-Bay.
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post #13 of 113
5/4/07 at 7:50pm
It is cheap.

On the plus side, one more day has passed without any re-set glitches. I'm beginning to suspect more strongly that it was just freaking out on the automatic time set. If this is the case, I can live with it. There doesn't seem to be any appreciable clock drift. The tuner is good enough and it allows me to do what I want, which is time shift 16:9 programming. I still have roughly 2 months before the Wal-Mart 90 day return window runs out. If something comes out in that time with a hard drive built in, I may give it a try. Otherwise, this will do nicely.
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post #14 of 113
5/22/07 at 9:36am
Is there a EPG guides with this unit?

-DonB2
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post #15 of 113
5/22/07 at 10:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DonB2 View Post

Is there a EPG guides with this unit?

-DonB2

No. No EPG. I had to revert to checking the schedule on-line or in the newspaper on a weekly basis to plan my viewing. But since you only get 8 recording slots, it doesn't add that much to the hassle for me. It's just routine now.
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post #16 of 113
5/23/07 at 10:41am
TimSh,

Thanks!

So many plus minus's with these ATSC DVD recorders

-DonB2
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post #17 of 113
6/23/07 at 12:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimSH View Post

Mine seemed to do a total re-set, lost timer & channels. The first time I thought I may have suffered a brief power outage while at work. The second time, I began to wonder... The third time, I was out of town for the weekend, but didn't see any other evidence of a power failure.

I suspect that something may be going wonky with the automatic clock set, so I turned that off in hopes that it wouldn't happen again. It's only been a week since then, but so far, so good.



I also had this problem after buying the unit from Wal-mart,after exchanging it for the same model I still had the same problem..............I called customer support & they had me try several solutions none of which worked.I see they are not aware of this problem as of yet.Does anyone have a solution?? Anuy help would be appreciated,thanks
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post #18 of 113
6/23/07 at 5:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Othelum View Post

I also had this problem after buying the unit from Wal-mart,after exchanging it for the same model I still had the same problem..............I called customer support & they had me try several solutions none of which worked.I see they are not aware of this problem as of yet.Does anyone have a solution?? Anuy help would be appreciated,thanks

Try setting your clock manually and turning DST OFF. More info here.
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post #19 of 113
6/29/07 at 11:47pm
Does turning off the DST make a permanent fix for the re-set issue with this unit??
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post #20 of 113
6/30/07 at 6:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Othelum View Post

Does turning off the DST make a permanent fix for the re-set issue with this unit??

Does that mean you tried it and it worked?

If it did, it's only a workaround for a machine that has the old DST rules in its FW. A permanent fix can only come from revised FW with the new timing (Mar-Nov)...or a switch back to the old DST times (Apr-Oct).

The Philips DVDR3575H has options for both the old and new DST times when setting DST on.

P.S. You may be able to use Auto-Clock, but not DST.
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post #21 of 113
6/30/07 at 2:34pm
No, but I was wondering if TimSH's issues had been resolved after turning off the automatic clock set,since this is what triggered the total re-set..........
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post #22 of 113
7/18/07 at 12:52pm
I see a Magnavox with digital tuner and Hard drive and DVD at Wallmart.

Anyone own one?

-DonB2
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post #23 of 113
9/24/07 at 12:48pm
I am using my Magnavox ZV450MW8 unit as a signal source for my 1965 vintage Zenith color tv. It is fine except for one problem. When I push the power button either on the unit or remote, the power LED lights and the unit immediately shuts down. It had done this occasionally but after two or three tries it would eventually come on. Now I can't bring it back even by unplugging the unit for extended periods.

Is there a way to reset it? I don't mind opening it up if need be. Could this be related to the auto clock set problem? I recently enabled that feature. Before then, it had not acted up for the longest time. I suspect a correlation between the two but I can't get the unit back on to disable it.

Any help or advice would be appreciated as I really like this unit and do not want to replace it.
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post #24 of 113
9/24/07 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by compucat View Post

I am using my Magnavox ZV450MW8 unit as a signal source for my 1965 vintage Zenith color tv. It is fine except for one problem. When I push the power button either on the unit or remote, the power LED lights and the unit immediately shuts down. It had done this occasionally but after two or three tries it would eventually come on. Now I can't bring it back even by unplugging the unit for extended periods.

Is there a way to reset it? I don't mind opening it up if need be. Could this be related to the auto clock set problem? I recently enabled that feature. Before then, it had not acted up for the longest time. I suspect a correlation between the two but I can't get the unit back on to disable it.

Any help or advice would be appreciated as I really like this unit and do not want to replace it.

If it's the "DST Bug," you should disconnect any inputs to the Maganvox and see if this returns control to you. If it does, you can turn DST OFF, then reconnect inputs.

Auto-clock is not the problem, but just in case, I'd set clock manually while setting DST OFF (most important thing).

If no joy, keep inputs disconnected and RESET the Magnavox (check manual, or just unplug for an extended period). Turn DST OFF after you get it back on after reset. Don't connect any inputs till you get DST OFF.
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post #25 of 113
9/24/07 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wabjxo View Post

If it's the "DST Bug," you should disconnect any inputs to the Maganvox and see if this returns control to you. If it does, you can turn DST OFF, then reconnect inputs.

If no joy, keep inputs disconnected and RESET the Magnavox (check manual, or just unplug for an extended period). Turn DST OFF after you get it back on after reset. Don't connect any inputs till you get DST OFF.

I read the manual. I saw no reset procedure in the limited troubleshooting steps. The input signal is just an amplified antenna. I do not have cable but I believe the clock sets itself using one of the over the air stations, probably PBS.

I looked all over the unit and saw no reset button or pinhole. Is there a key sequence? I even tried holding the power button down. Maybe I'll disconnect the antenna for a while.
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post #26 of 113
9/24/07 at 1:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by compucat View Post

I read the manual. I saw no reset procedure in the limited troubleshooting steps. The input signal is just an amplified antenna. I do not have cable but I believe the clock sets itself using one of the over the air stations, probably PBS.

I looked all over the unit and saw no reset button or pinhole. Is there a key sequence? I even tried holding the power button down. Maybe I'll disconnect the antenna for a while.

On other units, the reset keys... on the unit itself, not the remote, and with power on... are Channel up/down (Panasonic) and Standby/On + Stop (Pioneer). You can try those but prob. won/t work. Unplugging from power for at least an hour might do the job...try one hour, but overnight might be better?
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post #27 of 113
9/25/07 at 4:54am
I opened the unit up last night and found the tuner board has a smaller module attached to it that looks like it contains the processor and other digital circuits. One of the chips on this board was getting extremely hot. I'm trying to find a replacement for that circuit board. The rest of the machine is fine. I would rather try to fix it.
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post #28 of 113
11/5/07 at 7:32pm
Anyone figure out how to tape one program while watching another on the TV with this unit? This is without a cable set top box and the ZV450MW8 is set to use the analog tuner. For the life of me I can't find a normal "VCR/TV" button on the remote to let the signal pass through so I can use the TV's own tuner to watch something while taping.
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post #29 of 113
11/11/07 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by egk View Post

Anyone figure out how to tape one program while watching another on the TV with this unit? This is without a cable set top box and the ZV450MW8 is set to use the analog tuner. For the life of me I can't find a normal "VCR/TV" button on the remote to let the signal pass through so I can use the TV's own tuner to watch something while taping.

I don't know if this will help because I have a different Mag DVD Recorder.

I use the VCR/TV button on my TV remote. That lets me watch TV while the DVD Recorder is recording another channel.
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post #30 of 113
11/11/07 at 7:54am
ZV450MW8 vs ZC350MS8

Does anybody know if the ZC350MS8 at Sam's Club ($116.72)

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/nav...749&pCatg=5847

is the same or similar to the ZV450MW8 from Walmart?
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