Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 574

Until today the answer is NO. The Full HD HDD recorder with Component/HDMI inputs and Blue-ray burner will never be sold on the US.

Also I remember reading on this forum something like there won't be more 515/513 after April 2012. Please correct me if I wrong.

In the past I have complained about my refurbed V2160a's inability to HS dub from HDD to DVD+R regardless of the quality of the media (excellent Verbatim to Staples). The result would be error messages suggesting problems with the media. On the other hand I've had no problems HS dubbing from HDD tp DVD+RW regardless of media quality. In this case I would just copy the DVD+RW to DVD+R on my PC, a royal pain.

I now have a refurbed V515 and am able to HS dub from HDD to DVD+R even with the crummiest of media (Staples, Imation). So it seems that there is an issue with the V2160a's burner. Any ideas what I might try on the V2160a?

Jim

Walmart raised the price of the Magnavox 515 to $248.00.

Have you tried running a laser lens cleaning disc?

Maybe Skip 987 would help.

I have the opposite problem with my V513. It sometimes fails on DVD+RWs but can burn DVD+Rs without any issues. I considered trying Skip 987 but I want to try some different +RWs first.

I thought you were encouraging IndyGirl to post pictures.

Wish ours worked that way.

I'd love to be able to set one permanent daily timer and specify the start and stop times, rather than depend on their timing on things...and have to set up a separate "reminder" for each and every broadcast.

Do you know what the reason is? Is it because of bad sales? Or is there some sort of licensing issue because of the ability to digitally record shows onto a hard drive?

Also, do you know of any other manufacturers that make a similar device?

It maker the $180 price for a refurb even more outstanding (and no sales tax)!

• Quote:

  Originally Posted by cajk
  
  ...For whatever reason, my wife (who does all the recording/editing) sometimes wants to combine two separate titles into one new title...
  
  IIRC, *MY* old DVD players (~8+ years) play *ALL* my (2160A / EZ-17) recorded titles sequentially [i.e. in Aug 2010, I was recording TCM's "Summer of the Stars" daily (usually @ SP) with Robert Osborne's Intro and Trailer (often re-encoded @ EP or SLP for space restrictions; I've even re-encoded the ending credits, and a few times the opening credits too , in order to get everything to fit on one DVD ) ]. And since I always had to set up her TV to the proper input and start the movie, the fact that she never called me back in leads me to believe everything just played in order.
  
  I watch the majority of the movies I record directly off the HDD since, from my YEARS of TiVo / ReplayTV viewing, I'm ALWAYS 'Rewinding' to re-watch something that was either interesting (i.e. special effects ) or that I missed the first time (what'd s/he say? Thank goodness for CC! ) and FWD/REV navigation on the HDD is *SO* much faster / more responsive. Then, I make DVD copies for my wife and store then in the nice, INEXPENSIVE (purchased "On Sale" ) SuperMediaStore binders for when she's ready / "in-the-mood" to watch TV.
  .
• Quote:

  Originally Posted by wajo
  
  Only way is to put title sections on a RW DVD, then play them back to the 515's HDD, pausing the recording at the end of the 1st section, then restarting REC at 1st sign of 2nd section. That will put both section together in a single title, albeit with slightly lower PQ...
  
  Kelson,
  
  As my 'Favorite / Preferred' PC DVD Wizard, is it possible / relatively uncomplicated to take the two separate titles off a RW DVD, then combine them and author / burn another DVD with a PC?

cajk,

Out of curiosity, what is your wife's reason for combining titles?

Of course we all wish the Magnavox had this one key missing edit function: its one of the very few omissions that keep it from being a full substitute for the highly-prized older recorders. But its been said many times by many people here: we have to bear in mind how ridiculously affordable the Magnavox is compared to recorders that did have the "join" feature. The first H2160 was at least $100 cheaper than any other DVD/HDD recorder before it, and the price has continued to drop while capabilities improved. The 515 is 40% less expensive than any previous "deluxe" DVD/HDD recorder sold in the US, while the 513 at $179 is less than half the cost of the late, lamented Pioneers, Panasonics and Toshibas. If the "join" function had to be sacrificed to achieve these prices, so be it. In return we get the ATSC/QAM 16:9 tuner, which those older machines lacked: its probably much more important day-to-day than a joining function.

I have a few of the Pioneer models with the joining feature, and while it comes in handy, I really only need it to prepare occasional "problem" recordings for transfer to DVD. I don't particularly need the "join" feature for playback off the HDD at all. You can effectively "join" segments with the Magnavox during transfer to DVD: just arrange the pieces in the dubbing screen in the order they need to play on the finalized DVD. After burning, the DVD will play straight thru all the separate segments as if they were a single title anyway: the slight hesitation between segments is not appreciably worse than the same hesitation you'd see at join points during HDD playback from recorders that do allow HDD joining.

The only real difference in the Magnavox DVD is that each segment of the complete "joined title" will have its own menu thumbnail, which can make title selection confusing (properly joined titles on other recorders would show up as a single menu item in finalized DVDs). This is essentially a cosmetic quirk when you get right down to it: functionally, all the titles on the disc will smoothly play one right after another. If the funky DVD menu of "joined" Magnavox titles really bugs you, follow wajo's suggestion to dub the segments to DVD-RW, then back to the HDD to create a new single title, then back to the final DVD. Personally I don't think its worth the extra time and (arguable) loss of video quality. I only do this when making DVDs for friends/family who are totally clueless and need an "accurate" menu to use the DVD.

I wonder if the 2012 cutoff might also have something to do with the stupid "analog sunset" laws our govt has forced down everyone's throat? The new laws forbid analog line inputs on everything sold starting 2013 (or so we've been led to believe). If that is the case, a new Magnavox without line inputs would be utterly useless to most cable and satellite subscribers in USA: the only possible input would be RF, which gets more restrictive every day. I suppose they'd still be fine for off-air recording, but that market is very very small here.

No, its not.

Yes, I ordered a 513 last week from Target with $7.00 off additionally (Target promo) and 10% off for using Discover Card. I haven't opened it as yet since I just received the $180 refurb 515 from J&R and I'm not sure I'll keep the 513.

So in other words, it's the OEM that decides to remove a feature to increase their profits? S-Video is almost gone now. We live in a changing world. Not all change is good. Strange, but in the last two years every product from Funai has increased something in some way, whereas every new product from Sony or Yamaha has removed something. Two out of three ain't good.

Thanks for the clarification and links to the source, wajo. There has been a lot of confusion about the precise details of "analog sunset" on some of the other AVS forums, plus last time I looked outside AVS for confirmation I couldn't find any reference that didn't vaguely imply the rule applied to every video product. So I guess its not as bad as some of us thought, but then again like Joe Kustra noted mfrs will probably use it as an excuse to get rid of the connections in new TVs anyway, and dump DVD recorders altogether.



You can until they get stuck in the back of your head , the fact remains mfrs can't make the numbers work for these recorders based solely on off-air viewers. The size of a market doesn't mean jack to mfrs if none of those people buy their product (or aren't willing to pay a realistic price).

There's nothing wrong with being an off-air viewer, its just that cable and satellite are huge factors in North America, and those services are pretty much responsible for the death of advanced "independent" recorders here. No recorder succeeds anymore if it doesn't integrate brainlessly with cable/sat, like the subscription PVRs or TiVO. Our Magnavoxes are great machines at firesale prices, but realize to mfr POV they're a flapping fish in a dried-up riverbed. If Funai was really making a killing selling the 515, its a certainty Panasonic and Sony would have jumped back in at some point over the last four years. Since they haven't, and Funai isn't promising anything after first quarter 2012, its game over (no matter how many "off-air-only" consumers there are).

I so wish I had OTA ability. There is one TV outdoor antenna on a 50' tower, and one FM antenna (mine) in my borough with a population of 4400. There are a lot of dishes. The dish has great marketing and the cable companies here are very small.

There are two Supercenters within 20 miles, neither carries the 515H. The closest BB is 30 miles each way. It's cable or dish, and the rates for dish jump after the first year. It does have portability.

Yesterday my sister bought a Wii at Walmart. Obviously I should know how to hook it up even though I have never played any game since DOS. I was amazed that the TV connection was RWY only. It was not so simple since her DVD and WEBTV already used both composite inputs. HDMI? Only with the BR I gave her last year and the SAT box. No, she never knew the BR would play a regular DVD. If analog input gets dropped a lot of people will be unhappy. My cable gets me 26 analog and 143 clear QAM today. That could change at anytime.

I love the flapping fish analogy.

I have a Sylvania (Funai) Blu-ray player bought about a year ago that has NO COMPONENT outputs, just HDMI and composite. It was my understanding (probably flawed) that the analog outputs that were to be removed from BD players are only the component outputs.

While the Wii only comes with a composite cable I purchased one of these or maybe this one for a little more. While not HD they do give a better picture with better detail and for <$5 IMO they are a no brainer if your TV has component inputs.
DOS 1.1 guy here

Thanks! If she hasn't given up on it I will get her one. She has a spare component input.
CP/M OEM guy here.

I haven't heard of/played with CP/M since my tech school days (early to mid 80's)

I watch (stream) Netflix using the Wii with those very same component cables to an upscaling AVR then HDMI to a 50" plasma. While certainly not HD, it's DVD+ quality. Even if you have a available composite input you should get the component cable. Don't forget to turn on progressive scan on the Wii.

Cable has already received an exception. They can turn off analog outputs for any movie that is pending release to DVD for up to 90 days