Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 57

Having two units, one a 3576 and the other a 2160, would be my ideal setup. You can connect OTA to one and cable to the other, and their remotes wouldn't clash.

Since each DVDR would show its menus, tuned channels, recorded HDD titles and DVDs, thru a line output/input, you've got two options on getting antenna AND cable signal thru to the TV w/o turning either unit on:

1. You could connect ONE DVDR to the RF input (no switch)... the one that would be the one you'd most likely want to watch on the TV w/o having to turn either DVDR on.

2. Install a SWITCH and connect both DVDRs, THEN you copuld use it to switch to the DVDR signal, antenna or cable, you want to tune on the TV w/o either being on!

Other than copy protection, which your home videos shouldn't have, the only thing that HAS happened that resembles your problem (besides a defective unit) is EMI/RF that mimics CP by disrupting the video signal.

Check out this help file and see if anything might be causing EMI as described there: Plasma/CRT TV too close, heat buildup, etc.?

If it WERE CP, it would throw up a big menu with red text reading something like, "QUIT TRYING TO RIP US OFF, YOU DIRTY THIEF" but it shouldn't "freeze" completely.

I'm still trying to think of ANYTHING else it could be, but so far, I can't think of any settings that might be wrong and cause your effect.

The diff. between the 3575/3576 and the Mag H2160 are listed and shown here.

And you've played the tape directly to the same TV (with same cables if poss.)?

DVDs created are playable in other machines if the discs are Finalized in the Disc Edit menu. Procedure in this help file.

The dark pic is primarily seen with HDMI on 768p TVs, which are usually 40" or smaller... they're designed for video and COMPUTER use... 768p is not a video format. These TVs are advertised as 720p and usually have in their specs "720p (768p).

You can try HDMI set for YCbCr Format, as described at the bottom of this help file, which also has some info on the dark pic.

What kind of antenna are you using and is the TV getting its signal thru the 3576's amplified coax passthru, i.e., coax from antenna to 3576 and on to the TV? or what?

Really need more details on your setup cuz mentioning "gold tipped antenna wires" sounds mighty "suspicious"!

Go to Clock menu and set clock yourself for first use (1st option in the Clock menu), then the Auto Clock setting should keep it set if you've got a U.S. PBS channel in your lineup. If not, I'd set Auto Clock Off cuz it wakes the machine up briefly at noon and midnight to search for the PBS signal, and no use if there is none where you live.


Lots of people have searched and I even tried one and all have failed. Not worth it cuz it could affect warranty (anything they could see internally that they didn't authorize). Just in case you didn't know, all DVDs created by you in the 3576 will be "all region" playable (with NTSC equipment) and show Region 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 in a computer program that reads the disc, like DVD Decrypter. The Region Code is only for playback of OTHER peoples discs or comm. discs produced for other NTSC countries/areas.


Did you scan for Antenna channels, or if you have cable, did you scan for Cable (Analog/Digital). Even if you only subscribe to basic cable (analog), you might be able to tune some digital QAM channels, so you should scan for both analog and digital.

TV tuners are generally better than DVDR tuners, but the one thing I'm thinking is the 3575's AMPLIFIED coax connection and what diff. it might make if those two channels are DIGITAL, not analog.

Apparently, digital TV signals can be TOO STRONG for some tuners! If they are, they can disappear (go blue-screen), tile, macroblock, etc. One thing you can do if you have a 2-way splitter is to connect the incoming cable to the splitter, then just one output to the 3575 (leave other output open, it's just a test)... this might "attenuate" the signal -3.7dB to see if the signal really is too strong for the AMPLIFIED 3575 input. (Your Panny doesn't have an amp'd input.)

If you have a 4- or 6-way splitter, connect just one leg and that should reduce signal by -7.4dB or so. I have no idea if this will work, but it WILL be interesting cuz I've wondered about this signal strength thing for awhile since I read about it all over the internet, where people are even advising people to insert an "Attenuator" in the line to reduce signal strength (like these, I think?).

This might become a bigger problem with the new digital age and people being used to trying to BEFF UP their signals... this might require a reversal of thinking, or at least some awareness of the issue?

EDIT: I just found this on another search of "digital signal too strong" and it's something really easy to try:

"Just to update, I had a email back off Compro and they advised that the signal could actualy be too strong to allow the digital TV receiver to generate a stable picture. I was advised to loosen the RF connector to the digital input (so it wasn't pushed right in). The signal is actually a lot better now, although I still can't get all freeview channels. So it does appear the signal was too strong for the tuner to cope."

According to several users, the 3575/3576 play DivX (plus Xvid reported by one user), but you might want a separate player for another reason? According to manual, the Mag 2160 doesn't play either.