Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 12

completed first dub, but the finalize option is not highlighted so I can't select it. What am I missing?

it's a +R, maybe I didn't have the arrow above the top title

I think maybe it was highlighted

tried again to finalize the disk after reading comments here. I maneuvered to the finalize window, but the finalize option is not highlighted and not selectable.

Here's where I am: I recorded to the HDD a 2 hr. show from pbs in the HQ setting, edited out the scenes I didn't want, got it down to 1:53, then dubbed to show to disk. Of course 2 hrs in HQ won't fit on a disk so I thought I dubbed it down to SP, the whole show is on there. The disk shows about 7 min left. When I look at the title of the unfinaized disk looks like it's showing HQ over on the right, and also for the unused portion. I don't know why, would have thought it should say SP.

At any rate, can't get it to finalize. Can you finalize HQ format, is that the reason this one won't? Disk info shows not finalized.

Yes you can finalize a HQ mode disc, if it's not over
capacity (finalizing requires writing data to the disc).
If it's not over limit, try ejecting the disc, then reloading
it, being sure it's had time to completely load before
bringing up the menu.

I think someone made this suggestion. I put the disk back in the get the info requested and now the finalize option is active. I've finalized it and it has worked fine.

Taking the disk in and out seems to have put me in business.

thanks.

I will be using my Philips for recording many things from my DirecTV HD DVR HR-21 box. Now I know when recording anything that’s in widescreen HD I have my Philips recorder set to 16.9. But do I have my DirecTV aspect ratio for TV viewing set to 16.9 as well or to 4.3?? I’d be watching it on a widescreen TV of course but I want it to look the same even if I was to watch it on a 4.3 sized TV.

Here is my other question. When I’m recording things that are not HD but are 4.3 ratios from the DIRECTV box Do I change my Philips recorder to 4.3 or should I keep it in the 16.9 aspect ratio on the Philips recorder?

I know that when recording 4.3 Sized TV shows I need to set my DirecTV aspect ratio to output 4.3 instead of 16.9. Otherwise it will have huge black bars on the sides of the DVD that’s recorded. I mean on a 4.3 TV you will see huge black bars on the side.

Here is a sample of what happened when I had my DirecTV Aspect Settings to 16.9. Then played the recorded DVD on a 4.3 Sized TV of a 4.3 Sized TV Show


That’s how it looks on a normal 4.3 Sized TV. Huge black bars on the sides.


That’s why I ask when recording a from an HD feed that’s 16.9 in size should I keep my DIRECTV box set to 16.9 or change it to 4.3 so that it will look the same on both a normal 4.3 sized TV and a 16.9 Sized TV or Does it not matter what the DIRECTV is set to when I’m recording a 16.9 recordings? I know the Philips has to be set to 16.9 when recording anything that’s native res is 16.9. But my only concern is the DirecTV Settings.

konfusion, you are misunderstanding how the recorder deals with aspect ratios. The 3575 just records what it gets on the video input, and all its recordings are flagged "4:3 aspect ratio" by default. The "16:9 TV aspect ratio" setting affects only output from the video recorder to a TV on playback (although apparently it also affects the output of the built-in ATSC tuner - which wouldn't have anything to do with input from your DirectTV box). If you want to get the best recording quality, you need to set your DirectTV box to produce anamorphic output of wide-screen programs.

well because my tv is 16.9 i had the output settings on my directtv box set to 16.9 and then when i recorded that onto a dvd and went to watch it on a normal sized tv and it had those black bars.
thanks for the info. im going to mess with it a bit to see what i like best.

What that probably means is that the black bars are in the output from your DirectTV box, so the recorder is recording the frame including the black bars on the side. Do this:

1. Make sure the TV type on your Philips 3575 is set to 16:9.
2. Set your TV to display the output from the 3575, and make sure that the TV is set to Full Screen or equivalent (no stretching or cropping). Play some wide screen content (e.g., from a DVD, or a true 16:9 broadcast signal) to make sure that it displays correctly.
3. Set the Source on the 3575 to live input from your DirectTV box (e.g., E1 or whatever you have it connected to).
4. Find a channel that's currently showing a true 16:9 wide-screen HD program (i.e., not with black bars on the side of a 4:3 picture). Check by switching the TV to direct input from your DirectTV box for a moment if necessary.
5. While watching the 3575 output on your TV, play around with all the video settings on your DirectTV box and check how the TV picture is affected. Especially play with the settings like TV type and resolution (480i/480p...1080p)

What you're looking for is a setting that makes the picture from the 3575 look exactly like the correct undistorted 16:9 direct feed from the DirectTV box, except for being a bit fuzzier due to the downscaling from HD to SD.

If you have trouble finding it this way, try reconnecting the output from your DirectTV box that currently goes to the 3575 directly to your TV instead, set the TV to show that input, and set the TV to show a 4:3 picture (<--- Very important). Play with the settings on the DirectTV box as above. When you hit the right one, you should see an "anamorphic" picture, i.e., the full 16:9 picture squeezed horizontally into a 4:3 frame so that it looks horizontally squished. That's the ideal picture for the 3575 to record.

Then the challenge with many systems is to find a setting where the STB can simultaneously output true HD to the TV on component or HDMI, while at the same time outputting this squished anamorphic 480i picture to the recorder on the S-Video output. If it can't do that, then you'll have to switch settings back and forth depending on whether you're watching or recording.

I have a Cablevision HD box connected to the dvdr3575 then both are connected to the TV (Panasonic 42" plasma) when I scanned it didn't get any channels. I was able to record the SB in widescreen. If I connect the cable to the dvdr first like you suggested then tune in the channels, will I be able to record one channel to HDD and watch another show on a different channel through the cable box. I knew how to do this with a vcr but, I only had basic cable(no box). Will I need some type of an A/B switch? Thanks for all the useful info.

You can record without turning the dvdr on? Does that mean it would have to be a preset timer recording? Thanks for all the help wajo.

I switch the cable and scanned using analog/digital. Connected to the TV with HDMI cable. I have CH 2-83 analog. Then I went through the DTV and got some more like 7.1,7.2,7.3. The picture is bad compared to the cable box, even the analog channels. Tried switching from 1080p to all the others but, they all seem the same. What is weird is my parents TV gets 4.1,4.2,4.3, but I don't. They are on the same cable company without a box, one town away. Their TV is a fairly new JVC CRT with a digital tuner. I read most of the your earlier post, am I missing something.

Got the philips 3575h to replace a polaroid I got off woot and am much happier with it except for a couple of things.
1. The remote on the 3575h interferes with the remote on my philips 3455h, ideally I would like to use both units.
2. Have the 3575h hooked up to my widescreen with an HDMI Cable the analog channels are stretched to fill the screen the digital channels are OK.
Set the video to 16*9 as suggested in manual for widescreen TV.

I have a panasonic th42px75u. After switching I only used hdmi, I know you wrote about digital composite but, I didn't have any. When I say bad I guess I mean "soft", that seems to be the catch phrase here on analog. I only had about 10 DTV channels and only 2 looked real good. Sadly I return the unit today. I might go with the cable companies DVR for awhile and buy a cheaper dvdr to burn the things I want to keep. As soon as verzion Fios is available in my area I'll switch or the cable company will match the rate. If I do get another one I'll buy a refurbished one from naptronics.com and save $100 maybe when every thing goes digital next year. Thanks for all your help.

My camcorder which had a ieee 1394 output just kicked the bucket that I used to record home videos to the 3575. I am now in the market for a new camcorder to record to dvd via my 3575. I seems that newest HD camcorder's don't have a IEEE 1394/firewire output (ie, the upcoming sony's SR11 or sr12, and only have usb jacks).

Are there converters that I can plug into the 3575 firewire port in front and/or the camcorder that will convert the usb out from the camcorder to the IEEE 1394 input on the 3575? Any links to the exact product/coverter would be appreciated if there are any. I would like to continue to have the option to record certain SD material via the 3575's firewire port, and don't know if that will be an option much longer as it seems most new camcorders are phasing out that firewire output - at least from what I have seen??

I have been away from the tread for a bit since I got my 3575 - nice to see all the current info/interest and support still provided. thanks Wajo

Hello, I have had my unit for a few months and everything has worked fine up till recently. I seem to remember someone here mentioning a problem a little while ago, where after a title has been dubbed onto DVD the sound cuts out at chapter marks or edit points, and only comes back when you push FF and then play.

Since I read that I have been on the lookout in case that happened to me, and unfortunately it finally has.

I cannot find the original mention of this problem, and I do not remember if there was a solution or a cause mentioned.

Specifics:

Two titles recorded at SP, all commercials edited out. Burned these two, finalized, played on separate player, sound problem gets worse the further into the title I get. Oddly enough only the first title has this problem, not the second one.

First disc I burned is a Verb +R. Tried making a second disc to see if that would help, but this time I used a Sony +RW , so I wouldn't waste a disc. Problem is identical.

Is there any hope of making this title playable? I still have it on the HDD just in case. And maybe more importantly: What can I do to prevent this from happening to other titles?

Does the title play OK from the HDD?