Panasonic DMR-EZ47V: DVD/VCR recorder with ATSC (digitl), QAM(digitl) & Analog Tuners - Page 14

Last night I played my first DVD movie ("Lost in Translation" from the library) on my new DMR-EZ47V. I've NEVER owned a DVD player before, so I wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Or if there is a setting I'm missing on the DVDR or TV. Or if the DVD movie's jewel case should tell me something.

The picture was very good, but everybody looked 20-30 pounds overweight! The default aspect setting was FULL and the picture filled my entire widescreen (16:9).

I thought perhaps that I should change the aspect setting to 4:3 (old standard screen) so the bodies would not be stretched wider. It made no difference; i.e., no weight loss.

No matter what I did, people's bodies looked wider. I think they looked shorter, too.

I'm using the DVDR with a Panasonic TH-42PZ700U (plasma HDTV), also new. The DVDR is connected to the TV via an HDMI cable.

Any help out there? I'd like to see a slimmer Scarlett Johanson, please.

Make sure that both your display and the recorder are set to display at "16:9 mode".

With the Panny plasma, that should just be the "Full" mode. With the recorder, it will give you the choice (somewhere in the setup menu) of "16:9" or "4:3".

Wayne, have you tried pressing the status button twice? On the second press, my EZ47 shows the date/time box but also includes "Remain hh:mm" along with the mode you have the DVD set to program at. I'm using EP on DVD-RAM. The remaining time also appears for DVD+RW disks I've used and I would assume others as well. I also see the remaining time on the EZ47 front panel display when the DVD is the drive selected. It alternates with the current tuner channel selected.

Dennis

Dennis, I believe you are talking about "remaining recording time" on a recordable media. Yes the Panny's have this remaining time, but I think?? what WayneE was looking for was remaining time on a recorded disc. I personally do not have the EZ w/VHS, so it could have remaining time on a recorded disc, but I wouldn't think so. Could you confirm which remaining time your EZ47 has?

Jeff, my unit shows available time for additional recording on both DVD-RAM and DVD+RW disks. Maybe a clearer term would be "space available". Again it shows on the status message as well as the front display. I use EP mode (6 hrs)usually and say I record 2 hours. The display says 4:01 EP remaining.

I don't have any purchased or rented disks to check those. I use my EZ47 just like a VCR, primarily for time shift viewing and fast forward thru commercials.

Thanks for clarifying. Yes I guess the term "space available" is clearer, and all my Panny's have space available display. It's only after the disc has been finalized, or with a commercial disc that "remaining time" is not available. One reason I like remaining time is it tells me exactly when the program will be over. Note if I am only watching a 1 hr recorded TV program it is quite obvious, but with commercial movies they vary in length so often, I would personally rather know when the program will conclude, not how long it has been playing. I'm the same with CD's, I prefer the remaining time to elapsed time. Maybe it says something about me, glass half full, glass half empty etc. I'm not sure, but for me anyway it's the preferred display, and is lacking on all DVDR's I've used.

DMR-EZ47V Digital Tuner Capabilities with Cable

Hi -

I'm a relative newbie here and am interested in this unit - primarily to record TV programs/movies and to transfer VCR tapes to disc. I subscribe to Comcast standard digital cable (with HD and without premium channels). However, upon perusing the DMR-EZ47V manual, I came across the following on page 6:


I'm somewhat confused. What exactly is "free" cable television? My questions are:

1. Will the tuner in this unit pick up standard digital cable channels that I am paying for (I mean those channels above 100 .. such as Turner Classic Movies, etc.)?

2. If so, does this unit permit recording of these digital channels on DVD? VCR? I appreciate the fact that any recording will be in SD, not HD .. that is no problem.

Any help on these two issues will be very much appreciated.

Thank you -

ColoGuy

ColoGuy,

The term "paid services" is a disclaimer that the Panasonic will not unscramble services that require a cable or satellite box to view. Some of these services would be HBO or Showtime. "Paid services" may also use copyright encoding to thwart or limit DVD recording of copyrighted material delivered through a converter box. DVRs from service providers may allow recording to internal hard drives but are designed to prevent subsequent recording to DVDs.

If your Turner Classic Movies is located below channel 135 on either the analog or digital portion of your Comcast channels and is not scrambled you should be able to record it with a "cable-ready" connection to cable (without a cable box). If you require a cable box to receive TCM, or if TCM is above channel 135 you will need to enslave the DMR-EZ47V to the cable box. My Comcast digital cable box is always set to TCM (local Comcast channel 501) with two enslaved Panasonic DVD recorders so that I may record from TCM. When TCM programs my favorites (early talkies through the film noir era) in lengthy program blocks, I may set these two Panasonics to record in tandem. One of these Panasonics receives its signal through the RF input (coaxial cable) and the other receives its signal through the composite inputs (yellow, white, red) from the Motorola DTC700 cable box.

On a current model Panasonic combo recorder the front panel control for copying videotapes seems user-friendly. In reality the process is annoyingly cumbersome as the videotape plays until a videotape index mark or real or imagined program break is encountered. The videotape stops and the DVD recording stops at that point. The videotape rewinds briefly. Then the videotape starts playing and the DVD recording restarts as a new “title.”

There are workarounds, two of which require connecting an external VCR to an INPUT. These are discussed in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=983222

During my project dubbing around 5,200 home-recorded videotaped titles to DVD I used Panasonic models DMR-ES30V and DMR-ES35V (2005 and 2006 models, respectively) that offered FUNCTIONS menu-initiated dubbing/copying where Time Limited dubbing/copying and Flexible dubbing/copy may be selected. These essential features provided seamless recordings and allowed the Panasonics to do their work with very little supervision. These FUNCTIONS menu dubbing/copying methods are not available on Panasonic's current model combo recorders.

ColoGuy,

As mentioned, the Panny will tune in non-scrambled channels below 135. I have Comcast expanded basic and TCM is not available. I did get it when I had their digital package which also included their digital STB. This was needed in order to un-scramble TCM. I'm presuming TCM was sent on a channel lower than 135 since most (or maybe all) cable systems do not go above 135.

Therefore currently I cannot receive TCM, SciFi and some others. While they are not premium movie channels, they are encrypted and require an extra charge STB in order to watch. So these would not be considered "free".

However I can receive & record all the local network HD channels such as CBS, NBC, etc. These are "free" with expanded basic service. These are recorded in 16:9 and with very good quality. I can also record analog channels like USA & History Channel. I have the EZ17 which is a DVD recorder only version of the EZ47, so I cannot answer how the VCR works.

Mike,

Your local digital/HD broadcast station subchannels are subject to the "must carry" provisions where these signals are passed through by your local Comcast service. The channels are present even for those that have the lowest tier of analog service (currently priced around $12 per month in my area).

I spoke with a local Comcast tech concerning what local digital/HD broadcast channels might be received by a clear QAM tuner equipped Panasonic with this lowest tier of analog service. He said that most of the digital/HD subchannels would be received but unless the Panasonic has a clear QAM tuner there might be a problem with two of the four subchannels from the local PBS station.

Of course, Comcast doesn't "officially" have to provide support services for digital reception matters for subscribers to their "analog" level of service.

Our local Comcast service assigns channels up to the 950 range (analog up through 71 plus 98 and 99, and generally digital above 71, premium channels in the 500 channel range, HD in the 700 channel range, music channels in the 900 channel range). As I understand it their digital converter boxes (we have three in our household) find all those channels based on our tier of service. (We also have one Comcast Motorola HD converter box.) But, in reality, all those channels are actually transmitted, scrambled or unscrambled, only up through channel 134.7. That means that a Panasonic clear QAM tuner that receives up to the 135 channel range actually receives all the channels that a cable system may provide, even though most digital channels can not be watched without the proprietary cable box that unscrambles the channels and reassigns them ("maps" them) to their "channel" location in the Comcast system.

Edited by DigaDo - 6/30/12 at 10:31pm

DigaDo & Mike99 -

Thank you both for your prompt responses. You've cleared up my confusion considerably.

ColoGuy

Gentlemen -

One further question if I may. Does the DMR-EZ47V have a QAM tuner? I can't find any info about this on Panasonic's page.

Thanks again -

ColoGuy

Yes it does, not sure why Panasonic seems to be quiet on it's website about this. Maybe they think people will but it trying to get all the digital channels, and when it cannot(same as any QAM tuner, other than the cable co's) they would return the unit. That's all I can think as to why they are reluctant to mention it on there website.

Have been using the unit about 3 weeks now and really like it. Pictures are great - even stuff from the tv. One thing I have noticed when watching pre-recorded dvds. At random a little pop-up shows up in the upper right corner of the screen. It says DVD video, play, english. It only shows for a few seconds. Is this from a setting I may have missed when I set up the unit.


Thanks in advance
dbd

I believe that this is just characteristic of the Panasonic models. Mine have the same window that comes on from time to time, even while watching from cable. I just ignore it.

Since Panasonic DVD recorders are primarily designed for recording DVDs they lack a number of features that DVD players may have.

Yes I would call this another bug to add to the list of oddities of these EZ units. I also get the occasional status window in my EZ-17 also. You can go into the setup and disable "status messages". This will cure the pop ups, but will also disable most onscreen status messages. But it is a option and does stop the messages if they really get to you.

Thanks for the reply - I have just been ignoring them also.


Later
dbd

Well, I can stop staring at my remote...trying to figure out which button I pushed accidentally.

The problem with that status pop up is that it gets recorded along with your program. So if you are recording something for keeps, you may want to disable this "feature", at least temporarily.

I've never had that happen. The only way I would think that could happen is if maybe you were copying from the DVD to the VHS, or maybe using the EZ-47 as a player, feeding another DVDR. Otherwise I would think the status would only be on screen, and not recorded? I could be wrong, but again I've never seen a status message on any of my recordings, even though I probably see them once every couple hours when I occasionally use the EZ for playback.

I time shifted a HD program last night & a status message popped up at one point when I was playing back. I've only had this happen 2 or 3 times. Of course as I'm typing this it makes me wonder if the status message was indeed in the recording or just popped up during playback. I've already erased the disc so I can't go back & check. I do have a DVD-R I saw this on and will have to get it out & check it out again.

Well I watched part of the DVD-R where I previously saw a popup when I played back, but I did not get the popup now. Since this was the first time I noticed a status popup when playing, I presumed it must have got recorded along with the program material. I guess I presumed incorrectly.

FYI: I updated my firmware with a disc from Panasonic and my "freezes" or lockups stopped, but it was taking 30 seconds for the unit to do ANYTHING after power on. I finally enabled Quick Start and it comes on and accesses the disc or at least responds immediately.
I also turned off the status window that would pop up for "no reason"? And if anyone is interested, I tried the remote to my DMR-E50 and it WILL open the disc drawer, something that I wish the RZ-475's remote would do. That's more important with my Toshiba as the disc dismount takes a bit longer.
I am still just using my EZ-475 for OTA HD recording -- mainly to back up my Comcast DVR's. It IS my main DVD player and does that quite well using an HDMI cable through my Sony receiver.
wyntrout

Does anyone have their EZ47 hooked up with a Dish 311 receiver? I would love to know what code could be entered to allow the Dish Event Timer to blast start/stop recording onto a DVD (found 614 will work with VCR). I went through the Dish procedure with the remote and found a 3-digit device code that worked with the remote to control the DVD drive but the receiver would not accept that same code in "System Setup > VCR Setup" - said that the code was not in the database.

I get nowhere with Dish support. Every time I call or email, they just tell me to go through the device code search procedure. When I ask for a list of codes that will work in the receiver, they don't have one. The codes that will work in the receiver is a subset of the ones that will work in the remote.

A "VCR Timer" code feature in satellite tuners generally is only meant to work with VCR's. I could never find a code for my Dish tuner that would control any of the 3 HDD/DVD recorders I have, and when I called Dish and asked them about it, they told me flat out that it will only control VCR's.

Has anybody here gotten their EZ-47 to work with a Dish tuner using a setup method through their guide where it will sense the start and stop times from the receiver, and even pick up the titles from the recordings (as it did with the EH55 and EH75, but was set up through the TVGOS)?

If so, please explain in detail the procedure to get it to work. Thanks.

I have been trying, without success, to find a DMR-EZ47 at Circuit City (only because I got a CC gift card for Christmas) for several weeks. Today I called Panasonic, and was told they were discontinuing the model and coming out with new models in the very near future. Has anyone heard anything (facts, rumors, whatever) about the new models?

Here's a chart on the new Panny models.

I have a question that I am hoping someone can advise me on. I recieve Cox cable and have purchased a Shary Aquos hooked up to my EZ47. Currently the cable comes from the wall to the Panny and then out to the Sharp. I am upgrading to Digital HDTV and require a Cable box. This is the problem: I have a choice of either RF output or a HDMI output. If I get the HDMI output I will have to hook up the Panny with the component outs on the Cablebox and lose the ability to watch one channel while recording another and recording different channels in the "scheduled recording mode". If I get the RF box, everything stays the same but I lose the improved picture the HDMI provides. I could split the signal before running it into the Cable box but then I dont get the additional channels the box provides or the slightly improved digital picture.
I know I am not the only one who has had this dilemma so I am looking for some good advice.
Thanks

Thanks!

I don't think you need to split the signal. You could connect the box on the coax between the Panny and the TV, as described in this post (same setup even tho the post relates to the Philips 3575).