Panasonic DMR-EZ47V: DVD/VCR recorder with ATSC (digitl), QAM(digitl) & Analog Tuners - Page 17

I have an EZ-27 which I was using on an upstairs tv for several months. I recently moved it downstairs and hooked it up to an older tv set which has only rf (coax) input connector. I couldn't get any video output from the dvr on the tv set. I checked with a service facility (since its still under warranty) and was told that this unit is designed that way. It can provide pass-through from its rf input to its rf output but does produce any video output to its rf output connector (so you have to hook up one of its other outputs, eg composite, hdmi or component to get its video output, ie to watch a dvd, record, or even view settings, etc). This seems somewhat lame. Are all of the newer models built this way?

Yes, pretty much every DVDR does not have a RF modulator. They only use the RF for it's tuner and then pass it on. You will need a RF modulator(~$20) at WM/RS or most any other store than sells electronics.
Most all DVDR/VCR combos have the RF modulator built in.

thanks, that would explain why I didn't run into this problem with my EZ-47 combo unit.

Not on my machine, $*$&^!!!

I'm on my THIRD EZ45V (from Costco)
- Actually, the first of 'the three' was this model's predecessor.

The previous 2 completely DIED on me: they 'ate' my dvd-rw discs & completely froze up (Lots of zeroes - "Hello" - then completely non-responsive). Each unit had an irretrievable disc in it when I returned to Costco for a replacement.
- Evidence suggests that perhaps these units overheat the motherboard. I recall reading about a tech-minded store owner added Heat Sinks onto the motherboard to prevent this crap: a open-the-box procedure I'm not technically savvy enough to try.)

Now my THIRD unit is screwing up on me...
The machine has always worked fine using my Maxell, TDK & Sony discs, dvd-r & dvd-rw alike.
Now, all of a sudden, it Can't Read any of my TDK discs - finalized, unfinalized or Even BLANK (New).

Worst of all (& this is why I'm replying to this particular post [Pana supports dvd-ram])...
- 2 months ago i bought a spindle of PANASONIC dvd-rams. After having used 2 discs (which the unit can no longer Read), I get a "Can't Read disc" error message from my Blank PANNY dvd-ram discs!

I don't have a dvr, & have used these units to burn RW discs to catch tv shows I'd otherwise miss. Alas - no longer, it would seem...

Am pulling my hair out here: the current unit - like the last one before it - worked fine for about 3-4 months before it started crapping out on me.
Don't know what i'm going to do...

End note: machine started coughing back ("Can't Read [blank] disc") my TDK dvd-r discs last night, just as ready to record Battlestar Galactica, I found an older Sony blank, which the machine read just fine - so didn't miss last night's episode...

Why do these machines die on me so consistently, I wonder.
- Sure... perhaps I'll get a response that TDK discs are inferior - but that doesn't explain why they've always worked Just Fine until now.

Moreover - it was a couple of Months ago that it suddenly couldn't even handle Panny's Own DVD-RAm discs (!!!)

Suggestions, anyone (please)?
- Perhaps I need buy a spindle of new Sony or Verbatim discs (dvd-r & dvd-rw) to hold me over until June - when panny releases the newer upgrade units - & take this source-of-frustration back to Costco for a replacement?

In sum: 3 units -
1st lasted just over 6 mo.s
The subsequent replacements (both DMR EZ475Vs) each worked OK for 3-4 months.
- Why does performance deteriorate so precipitously after just a couple of months?

(I'm just waiting for this machine to completely Freeze-Up like the others, refusing to disgorge whatever disc I have in it at the time....)

Sorry for the rant.
Thnx in advance for any wisdom from any of you folks (!).

PS - re. my dvd-rw discs - all Sony:

I have about 20 or so which I've left 'unfinalized' so i can catch up with shows recorded over last couple of months...
- Last night, it took the unit about TEN minutes to read some of them...
- Eventually, it allowed me to access the programs recorded on it, but can anyone tell me why all-of-a-sudden it takes SO Long for the unit to read the discs?

Weird!
(Am confident that before very long, the unit will regard these discs as Coasters!)

Dndata,

I'm not quite sure what model Panasonic you have. The 2006 Costco/Sam's Club model is DMR-ES46V. The 2007 Costco/Sam's Club model is DMR-EZ475. The DMR-ES46V DVD drive controller circuit board already has a heat sink; I have not examined a DMR-EZ475. The DMR-ES46V DVD drive controller circuit board has the main CPU (with the heat sink), the RAM, and several other chips. The DMR-EZ475 may combine these chips on a floating circuit board similar to those on my DMR-EZ17 models. On late model Panasonic combo recorders the right chassis motherboard has the power supply section near the fan. There is good airflow for these models as long as they are not closed up inside a cabinet. This is true for most DVD recorders and especially critical for combo recorders where the VHS mechanisms and motor generate more heat during operation. Operational or environmental heat is destructive to electronic components.

Handling discs through the center hole, a dusty environment, or smoking in the same room with a DVD recorder quickly leaves a residue of grime on the rubber and plastic parts of the DVD drive hub/spindle area. Such residue is the cause for many DVD reading/writing/finalizing failures.

Here is advice concerning DVD drives that seem to be failing but just need a spindle/hub cleaning:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=210507

Following these detailed instructions clean the lens, rubber and plastic spindle parts and hub area, and the circular guide in the DVD drive lid.

Panasonic 2006 and newer DVD drives are easy to service. Remove the case top cover to get access to the DVD drive. Remove the four small Phillips screws and lift the DVD drive top lid. When viewing the DVD drive from the front (where the tray rolls out) notice the roller assembly at the rear of the DVD tray. This mechanism must be positioned to the left corner before reassembly so these parts will be correctly aligned to the guide rail on the underside of the drive lid. With the 2006 and newer models opening of the Panasonic case, removing the DVD drive lid, cleaning the drive, closing the drive lid, and closing the case takes around fifteen minutes.

With 2005 or older models the case cover and the front panel assembly may need to be removed in order to give clearance for the DVD drive lid to be lifted somewhat at the front, slid forward, allowing the rear to disengage, following which the lid may be lifted off. Allow around 35 minutes for opening the case, removal of the front panel after loosening the snap clips at the top, sides and bottom; removing the DVD drive lid; cleaning and reassembly.

Note: On a combo recorder be sure to hold the VHS door open as the front panel is fitted back into place. This will correctly align the VHS door opening mechanism.

Dndata,

Here is some additional information:

Examine your discs for "scrubbing marks" around the clear hub area. This indicates that the discs are slipping against the DVD drive's rubber hub/spindle. Sometimes when a disc slips there will be clunking or grinding noises.

Jjeff has suggested a quick test for a dirty DVD drive hub/spindle area. With your finger put a bit of saliva around the clear hub area on both sides of a "no read" disc. Then see if your recorder will read the disc. If the recorder reads the disc then you certainly need to open your machine for a proper cleaning as suggested in the link in my earlier post. (Keep in mind that SaintBaz uses UK terminology.)

Whenever you open a late model Panasonic examine the largest electrolytic capacitor in the power supply section. If you observe leakage around that capacitor's base replacement is indicated. This work should be undertaken by someone experienced in electronic service as it requires certain precautions to prevent shock (or electrocution), extensive disassembly and a precise soldering procedure.

The most prompt, efficient, and inexpensive Panasonic service may be found at the corporate Panasonic Service Center in Elk Grove Village IL:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8#post13787608

Avoid local "Panasonic Authorized Service" unless you don't mind waiting a long time for very expensive service.

Panasonic's 2007 models reintroduced some bugs/design flaws found on one 2005 model, the DMR-ES40V:

1-failure to record daily and weekly scheduled events, the workaround--use actual dates for all scheduled programs;

2-early a.m. scheduling failure, the workaround--schedule a brief recording from 11:59 p.m. to 12:01 a.m. ahead of any early a.m. recordings.

Panasonic introduces new DVD recorders and combo recorders in the April/May period.

I have had the unit for the past 3/4 months and used to get both HD and SD channels from my cable (without any cable box, just basic cable and free HD channels) fine on my TV. Just noticed for the past few days, all the SD channels come up as black-white on the HDMI output, whereas all the HD channels have color on the same HDMI output. When I connect the Composite Video output to my TV, I get color on SD channels.

I tried a SD TV and they get color fine, so it looks to me that it is not the cable signal issue. Could this be due to the HDMI cable or some problem with the unit that could not send color information for SD channels.

dndata-Digado's suggestions are good. IMO disc slippage is the #1 cause of failed burns in Pannys. That said after a total of 6 Panasonic EZ-x7 series DVDR's I can say with little reservation that they are #%&@, or a nicer way to put it, a accident waiting to happen.
In all of my dead units they ended up eating my -RW discs. They died with u99 on the display and refused to eject my disc. The one I purchased at Best Buy they wanted $20 to get my disc out, I said keep it and took my money. The other 5 were purchased at Ultimate Electronics where the mgr. was nice enough to disassemble the unit to get my discs out. By the 5th machine I also got my money back! Trust me, I have no love loss for the EZ-x7(2007) machines. My freezups were with different discs and brands. Mostly Maxell and yes "Verbatim" too. I also had weird things happen with Panny RAMs but I wasn't really using them much for recording back then and I never got u99 with them. That said I really don't believe disc type or mfg. have a lot to do with disc failure on these machines. I just think they are buggy as heck and personally wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole.
If you can believe it I gave Panasonic another chance with this years EZ-28 and so far, it's been more than 2 months and all is well. Well their are still a few quirks with the EZ-28 and twice it has locked up on me but luckly just holding down the power button for 10 seconds(soft reset, forced shutdown) has cleared the problems.
In your case I wouldn't be too quick to blame discs but again Digado is correct. If you see the least bit of scuffing on the clear inner part of the hub, you have disc slippage which defiantly could be causing some of your problems. Heres the post talking about disc slippage.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hen+finalizing
Good luck, I think you're gonna need it

gsshiva-I'm not sure what's happening with your machine. I guess I'd try by making sure your HDMI cable is secure(try wiggling each end). If you have a spare one you could also try replacing it, otherwise maybe try a channel rescan to see if that clears things. Last resort you could do a hard reset, which will put your machine close to out of box state. Note this reset will wipe out your settings as well as channel scans, so you might want to write down your preferences, unless you remember them. Anyway the hard reset on Pannys is, while the machine is on, hold down both the CH up and CH down buttons on the unit for a minimum of 10 seconds. The unit should change to blinking 12:00 or ----. After that just reprogram the unit like a new one. Hopefully your problem will be resolved.

Haven't been able to respond: have been 'on the road.'

Isn't it amazing that - in order to simply use a product for the purposes it was built & for the reasons you purchased it - one need go through the multitudinous posts in forums like this one to find out how to 'try' to fix the things simply so they will work "as advertised"?
- Methinx I'll take some time this week-end to see if OTHER manufacturers' dvd recorders give THEIR owners these kinds of headaches.

Anyway - I surely don't mean to 'bitch' about the this fantastic online community: I'd just like to 'slap Panasonic upside the head' for producing products w/the kinds of technical deficiencies these threads are full of all in the name of saving a few buck$...

This week-end I'm going to follow the suggestions proffered by you caring & informed contributors w/an engineer friend of mine who's been having similar probs with his standalone SONY dvd recorder. (HIS didn't pass the 'saliva test,' so I fear that our efforts together may not work so well for him as I PRAY they might for me: nevertheless, he loves to tinker w/these kinds of toys, so I'll play 'grasshopper' to his 'master' role in cleaning the heck out of these units' internal transport systems.)

I'll jump in again to report on results, whether good or useless.

The only ace in the hole I have is that I bought these from costco, which - altho' they changed their replacement policies for TVs, iPods & other electronics - still haven't included dvd-recorders on their list of "You can't Replace" (so far as I know, anyhow)...

You know - what concerns me about having to possibly return my THIRD Panny dvd-recorder is the possibility that costco itself might regard me as someone who's Abusing their return policy (even tho' I Just Want A Unit That WORKS, dammit): I've heard of their having purged 'abusers' from their membership...
- (And it's not as if I'm trying to replace a decent but used/abused product I'd purchased there a DECADE ago!)

Anyone have any idea how one could uncover info (from either Panasonic or Costco itself) on the return - or even REPAIR - volume of units like those we're discussing?
- It'd surely be easier to defend oneself from an accusation of being a 'policy abuser' if you could just show them a data sheet that validates that "these products lines" are just really badly designed & constructed!

In sum
- I'll work on it this week-end & let you fine folks know if it works out or was to no avail.

Many, MANY THNX to all of you who are so helpful & informative to relatively Luddite product owners like myself who are 'guilty' simply of having laid down some Big Buck$ so they might enjoy the benefits of today's technology!!!

Oh yeah - FIRST I'm going to expend (who-knows-how-much) saliva & try to Finalize all my dvd-Rs & RWs first (!) so they'll play on whatever replacement unit I purchase in the hope that it lasts (even) longer than Half A Year.
- (Suggestions, anyone?)

I own as 50' Panny plasma, a Panny AV receiver - & have always very much like this recorder's FR mode to take advantage of every iota of dvd disc space...
- But if these cleanup efforts are to No Avail, I'm through with dealing w/Panny's slovenly dvd recorder products.
- I hate criticizing Panasonic: I'm more accustomed to Bragging about them...

Thnx again,

- a somewhat 'Teed Off' dndata....

(Gracias, Amigos!!)

(Absolutely LAST mini-rant):

- WHY don't the 2 dvd-burners in my PC screwup after just a couple of months? They've worked wonderfully well For YEARS: and they have a lot more 'usage mileage' than my standalone entertainment center hardware!

(Should I be looking into 'blowing' Big Buck$ on some kind of 'Media-savvy' PC system to perform these basic dvd-from-tv tasks?
[And coming from me - who can't even afford a good DVR in these rough economic times!]
- Yeah... That goes against "Occam's razor" in that I'd probably end up w/a zillion New/Other headaches!

Ain't Life a Beach?

I have thirteen functional Panasonic DVD recorders and combo recorders from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 model years; some purchased new, some refurbished, some used.

I have so many because I had an extensive selective dubbing project (of my twenty years of time-shifting) that was completed within a ten month period where, during the final months of the project, I had from four to seven Panasonics running up to eighteen hours a day. During the dubbing project I continued to time-shift my favorite early talkies through the film noir era from TCM.

My Panasonic dubbing workhorses were two DMR-ES30V combo recorders (from 2005) and four DMR-ES35V combo recorders (from 2006). One DMR-ES30V has more than 4,200 recording hours. The other DMR-ES30V and three of the DMR-ES35V models average more than 3,000 recording hours per machine. I also have four DMR-ES15 DVD recorders (from 2006); one of which has more than 3,000 recording hours. All of these "high mileage" 2005 and 2006 Panasonics are still fully functional today.

One DMR-ES30V, purchased new in September 2005, had a mechanical DVD drive failure (with loud clunking and grinding) after eleven months use. The Panasonic Service Center in Illinois replaced the DVD drive under warranty and they paid for shipping both ways. I am in Oregon. My DMR-ES30V was back in service within two weeks!

As some of my Panasonic warranties expired (and, of course, the models purchased "used" had no warranties) I purchased two DMR-ES35V parts machines. While electronics is not my field, I have become experienced in basic servicing, adjustments, swapping parts, minor repairs with simple soldering, and replacement of electrolytic capacitors in 2006 model power supply sections, a repair that requires a great deal of disassembly, removal of chassis motherboards and a precise soldering procedure.

Several DMR-ES15 and DMR-ES35V models continue to be in regular and (often) heavy use. (Sometimes my TCM time-shifting utilizes a tandem recording procedure between one Philips and three Panasonic recorders.)

While I appreciate the analog/digital tuners in my two 2007 DMR-EZ17 models, their bugs/design flaws and basic reliability issues have relegated them to very limited use, perhaps no more than five or six hours per week, per machine.

I don't anticipate the purchase of new Panasonic "EZ" series recorders in the near future.

A Philips DVDR3575H/37B Hard Drive DVD recorder model is my most recent recorder purchase.

That is the question for the ages. My oldest PC DVD-burner is a $50 Lite-On which is coming up on 4 yrs old and gets used all the time for burning or reading disks. It still works perfectly, I handle all my disks by the center hole, an I've never had to spit on any of them to get it to work.

This points out the importance of washing one's hands (or index finger) before handling DVDs.

dndata-If you want to give Panasonic one more chance I would suggest returning your last EZ-47. Since they no longer carry that model hopefully you will receive a EZ-48.
While I've personally never had a EZ-48 I do have the EZ-28 w/o VHS and can say so far this machine has proven to be much more reliable than the EZ-47. Unless you're getting grinding when writing to discs I don't think cleaning the spindle or the spit trick is going to do you any good. I personally think the EZ-x7 line was a bad year for Panasonic. When they worked they made very good recordings but the key is "when they work".

As far as why the spindle on Pannys are so problematic I don't know the reason. I have had to clean the spindle on all my Pannys(except the 2 month old EZ-28) but have never had to take apart any of my DVD players, even though some are much older than my Panny recorders. I don't have a DVD burner in my PC but do have a CD writer which has been used quite a bit, and has never required attention.

Thnx, all!

As to your eminently logical suggestion, JJeff - it all depends on what Costco is selling these days (I'll have to go to the store & take a look: the online store dropped all the Panny dvd hw a long time ago).

The last couple of years have been lousy $-wise for me, & I'm really hesitant to purchase yet another dvd recorder/vcr somewhere that won't 'do me right' if the darn thing screws up again (!)

When I get home, I'll try the saliva-spindle trick to see if that points me in the DYI solution DigaDo graciously proffered. If that's to no avail & Costco doesn't have any useful replacements on hand, well...

Frankly, I don't know WTH I'm going to do.

Tomorrow I'm off to Jury Duty, so I guess I'll have to wait until the week-end...

This situation 'blows' ("Arghhhh!") - but you folks are ACES...

PS...
DigaDo - it's always a pleasure 'talking with' another TCM fan!
I'd planned to jump over to Verizon's FIOS tv service, but they DON'T offer TCM in my area.
- NO WAY am I giving up my favorite station, pay-tv or otherwise!

Best regards, All...

Here is my "Occam's razor" speculation:

Most computer CD and DVD drives are self contained and sealed-up units with metal cases. The only dust, smoke or other residue to make its way into these drives enters through the open disc tray or is carried in on the disc itself.

Panasonic DVD combo recorder and DVD recorder drives in 2006 and newer models are somewhat similar in design to computer optical drives in that these DVD drives have metal cases; but they also have a small open area on the underside of the drive. These open areas may admit dust and smoke to the internal parts of the DVD drive with the normal or fan-forced airflow through the machine. The 2005 and earlier model DVD drives have larger plastic cases that are largely open on the underside, admitting even more dust and smoke with the fan-forced airflow than in the newer models. A few low-end Panasonic DVD recorders do not have cooling fans.

Kelson--I had several LiteOn DVD burners (models 1633S and 1673S) that failed with very little use after perhaps a year's time. I replaced all the LiteOn models in our service (and a Philips 8801 that became problematic) with NEC series 3500 DVD burners (models 3520 and 3550 in the two Dell computers in this room). These are among the last genuine NEC models before Sony took over NEC manufacture under the OptArc name. These NEC 3500 series DVD burners have performed well, sometimes with heavy use, for at least two years now.

My LiteOn is an SOHW-812S. Aside from running strong, it's the only burner of my 3 that can do an error scan on burned DVD's with Nero CD-DVD Speed.

I remember reading many very positive customer reviews of the 812S. I decided to purchase at least two of these but they were nowhere to be found by that time.

"... If you want to give Panasonic one more chance I would suggest returning your last EZ-47..."

DONE.
- Thank-you, Costco.

Okay... step 1: Finalize those dvd-rw discs before this one 'implodes'...
(I'm joking: kind of...)

Whoooo Boy - I sure hope THIS unit 'hangs in there.'
(Needless to say, I've bookmarked this thread in case I need to clean the spindle at some point.)

Trust me, amigos...
- If this sucka fails on me w/in the 1st 6 months or so (make that YEAR or so) I assure you I'll colorfully get the word out

Now...
- Onto the "Official Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK thread"...

Bought a refurbed 47 this week, and it arrived yesterday. Yeah, I know, I've read the thread since it was started, but with the EZ48 still a little too pricy, when I saw the 47 at a great price-$48 at ubid, I decided that, despite what I've read, it was worth getting one. I did purchase a 12 month extended warranty, so, if the worst happens, I'm covered-at least for a year after the Panny 3 month warranty ends.

Early comments-I love the picture quality of the Panasonic tuners. It makes the analog cable chanels from Comcast look so much better than the tv's tuner does.
Being Saturday, there wasn't much in the way of tv programming to try out a recording of the 12 clear QAM stations.
Gripe 1-the ch scan lists a bunch a digital chs that were labeled 'added' under the Channel Settings menu, but there's nothing on them. Imagine the disappointment at paging thru those, only to find a blank screen.
Tried a few overnight timer recordings, after hearing about the many problems that were reported. The first, set for midnight didn't record, but that's probably due to my not getting it turned off in time. I thought that it would start even after I turned it off, but now I know. No last minute timer settings just before the show is about to begin. The other 2 were back to back recordings, 1am & 2am, on different digital QAM channels. Both recorded just fine. A bit miffed that the local station doesn't broadcast Stargate SG-1 in actual hi-def. The letterboxed show appeared in the 4:8 square frame, ie, normal black bars at the top and bottom, with the letterboxed show inside that....resulting in smaller picture area than on normal SD channel. The second show, not in widescreen, filled out the 4:8 frame with bars only on the sides.

Day 1 with the EZ47, and no horror stories...yet. Da-da-dummmmm...
Stay tuned.

dndata-good luck with your EZ-48. My EZ-28 has locked up a few times but has always cleared by holding in the power button for 10 seconds. I sure like this option verses the luck I had with the EZ-17s where they would lock up never to work again.
Westly-With my EZ-17/27/28 DVDRs I was able to schedule a recording seconds before a event was to start and the instant I turned the machine off it would start. Not sure why yours didn't work that way. I'd try some more last minute schedule programming for some tests. As far as trying to guarantee the best success for timer recordings I personally would try and stay away from using weekly or daily events and if possible try and power up the machine at least once sometime before a scheduled event, the day of the event.
Use those tips and just pray you don't get a U99 Sure sounds like a great deal you got, for that price I would have been tempted myself for using it just for the digital tuner. I don't think a person can buy a digital QAM tuner for less that $100 so looking at it that way you couldn't go wrong

What a deal!

The "midnight bug" has been discussed before. One way to avoid this is to schedule a midnight recording to begin at 11:59 p.m.

If the Panasonic is on and you're already into the set time for a scheduled recording that recording should start upon powering the machine off. Recently with one of my DMR-EZ17 models a scheduled recording didn't start at the time I thought I had set. I powered the machine on and visited the Schedule menu only to find I had set times for a.m. instead of p.m. I quickly changed the scheduled times to p.m. and powered the machine off. The EZ17 powered on and began recording at once.

Just to see what happens, I'm going to set it again for midnight tonight, and then we'll know what to expect from here on out..

And I was a bit premature about the clear QAM channels. My first comments were based on thumbing thru digi channels placed after the analog ch 62..the tuner goes from analog 62, directly to digi 62-1, and so on. There are about 10 sub channels there with nothing on, so I assumed they were all like that. A while ago, I decided to start at analog ch 3, and go backwards thru the tuner. I found about 20 channels, a handful of ppv or VOD preview chs, PBS' Spout , there were 2 different TNTs, both showing different programming than the analog version-same story with A&E, a couple of MTVs and a VH1 (YAWN), some movie chs, one running I Am Legend, the other a Bruce Willis flick. And finally the pot of gold, TCM.
Now here comes the rub, switched digital. Yeppers, after writing down the ch locations from all that scanning, I go back a couple of hours later, and most are gone, or in different ch slots. It wasn't a shock as I was expecting that from reading many accounts here. As long as I can pick up TCM, I'll be satisfied.

Yikes! Where are you located and what service do you have.

^^I'm on Comcast analog only. And I may have jumped the gun on this. Some of those movie channels were most likely VOD from In Demand. I was lucky to land on one near it's ending. After the credits finished, up came a lady from E! in 2 small thumbnails on a dark background, one a rectangle, the other a square, mentioning that this was Comcast In Demand and showing movie clips and previews. I can only guess that some of their In Demand channels turn on at the start of a movie, then go to those recorded feature segments when the movie ends...TCM has remained in it's ch position thankfully, as have the 3 MTV chs. Another ch was showing older films, but I couldn't tell if it was the West Coast feed of TCM, or a separate service-no corner logo. The TNT and A&E programs (which had their logos in the corner) must also have been VOD, and not alternative digital channels.

Sorry for the possible mis-information. It's just that I have to go slower that I'm used to when moving from digital ch to channel, when things disappeared from where I jotted down which chs had programming visible, I leap to the switched digital conclusion.

I really wish there was a way to automate the deleting of empty chs, after a preliminary scan. For instance, after the primary ch scan, having an option to further scan within the 1st scan results would really be kewl. That way, if anything did pop up on a previously empty sub channels, you could find if alot quicker.

TCM announced plans to implement a second feed on May 1, 2006. This would have been a "west coast feed" designed to have prime-time viewing start at 8:00 p.m. on the west coast. This feed was never implemented.

The many "blank" subchannels you're finding are the scrambled digital channels that require the Comcast digital STB to unscramble and map to a variety of channel assignments for subscribers to the various tiers of Comcast's digital service. Our local Comcast service has these channels mapped out to about channel 950 through their digital STB. On one Panasonic DMR-EZ17 (that's connected to the Comcast coax without a STB) these scrambled signals are actually found in the hundreds of subchannels in the 72 to 135 channel range.

In addition to On Demand programming (locally found in the 100 range of subchannels) I found a variety of cable networks that switch to a different subchannel once I've moved to another subchannel. When I sampled this system I was seldom able to find the same cable networks again. With this system one may waste a great amount of time "surfing" only to find nothing interesting to watch. I gave up on this folly after an hour or so and haven't been back to try it again.

You are fortunate to have the TCM windfall. Our local Comcast service locates TCM on digital channel 501. My digital STB is always tuned to TCM. I have three Panasonics DVD recorders (two DMR-ES15 and one DMR-EZ17) and one Philips (DVDR3575H/37B) set up to record from TCM.

Quite true, a huge waste of time. I didn't actually get to watch anything yesterday afternoon, cuz I was so curious as to what I might find.

Hi,
I just purchased a refurbised DMR-EZ47v and am wondering if it will work with a Panasonic DVD RAM disc 2~3x speed (4.7GB) ?
Also, does my DMR-EZ47v have to be turned on to take advantage of its tuners? I presently have Comcast cable plugged into my Panasonic Plasma TH42px6u 42" TV. (I'm asking because I don't see a difference in quality with the DMR-EZ47v turned on or off. Maybe I am missing a step.) I have both HDMI and Red-Yellow-White cables hooked up.
Thanks in advance.