AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › DVD Recorders (Standard Def) › Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575
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Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 136

post #4051 of 23760
3/16/09 at 12:57pm
I have read a "fair" amount of this thread. I knew I should have bought one of these recorders a few months ago, but of course I did not

Anyway, it seems the only things available are either the magnavox for sale are target ( 80 gig $249 ) or a 3576 ( new for ~$450 ). I HATE the idea of paying that much for a 3576. It also seems that all the refurb 3576 machines are unavailable these days.

As I do not really care about the additional inputs ( usb, and dv ) I guess the 80 gig will work. My question is: wrt to hd upgrade, as there is no firmware disc for the 80 gig mag, any ideas how you might do it?
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #4052 of 23760
3/16/09 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailn View Post

As I do not really care about the additional inputs ( usb, and dv ) I guess the 80 gig will work. My question is: wrt to hd upgrade, as there is no firmware disc for the 80 gig mag, any ideas how you might do it?

No FW disc needed... use SKIP 079 code for HDD/DVD Self Check and Initialization, same as other units as described here.

Vmalhotra confirmed it worked on 2080.
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post #4053 of 23760
3/16/09 at 1:09pm
Well I hung onto a Maxtor 120 gig back when I thought they were making OK drives. By the time I used it the warranty was dead, only a year, then 6 months after I put it in it crashed the heads and died
Luckily it wasn't my main boot drive so I didn't loose a ton of stuff.
I think the newer Maxtors and most of the others are much better quality units then the crappy later Maxtors they were making just before Seagate took over so I doubt most of you will have a similar issue if you store a drive, but it can happen.
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post #4054 of 23760
3/16/09 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dartman View Post

Well I hung onto a Maxtor 120 gig back when I thought they were making OK drives. By the time I used it the warranty was dead, only a year, then 6 months after I put it in it crashed the heads and died
Luckily it wasn't my main boot drive so I didn't loose a ton of stuff.
I think the newer Maxtors and most of the others are much better quality units then the crappy later Maxtors they were making just before Seagate took over so I doubt most of you will have a similar issue if you store a drive, but it can happen.

I guess I've been lucky. I've been using computers since 1995 and (knock wood) have never had a HDD fail.
Memory chips, optical drives and printers, but never a HDD.
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post #4055 of 23760
3/16/09 at 1:33pm
Oh I've had many drives fail over the years. Thing is I think most of us now upgrade to bigger drives before any of them get old enough to die. I think the oldest drive I have that still works is over 10 years old, not in this box, but generally they start failing after about 5 years I've found.
Luckily most of the time the dying drive was already replaced and was a secondary storage unit when it went. I generally cycle my old boot drive to second in line and leave it as is so with luck I can boot to my older OS install if something does go.
I'm testing out Win 7 now with a 400 gig so I left XP on the 320 and it actually did boot up fine when I needed some programs that weren't installed on the new drive. It did complain about a few drivers as it was a totally new board and everything but after sorting that out it worked long enough to do what I needed.
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post #4056 of 23760
3/16/09 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

I guess I've been lucky. I've been using computers since 1995 and (knock wood) have never had a HDD fail.
Memory chips, optical drives and printers, but never a HDD.

You have been just a bit lucky. I have been in the computer industry for 30+ years and have witnessed a fair number of disk crashes. But in truth, in recent years these have been relatively rare. Internal drives on laptops were, in my opinion, more fragile than what you'd find in desktops/servers. But now I would guess the chances of having a disk crash in the lifetime of a PC is less than 5%. And I haven't really seen much correlation between the age of the machine and when the crash occurs. It seems fairly new machines get bitten as often as older ones (> 5 years). In a HDD DVDR wouldn't the HDD be the most reliable component?

One annoying thing about failed disks is that you often don't get any warning. With PCs there might be the rogue "blue screen" but I would expect with these DVDRs there would be no clues prior to it completely failing. But on the plus side a HDD failure should not cause any other problems ... that is, it should be a self-contained event.

I am not running out to get a backup HDD. But I may consider getting a larger HDD after the warranty runs out on my 3576. Or possibly save the 160 GB HDD from my Dell Dimension and keep it as a backup HDD for my 3576.


_Lazza
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post #4057 of 23760
3/16/09 at 1:57pm
I suppose disk crashes in MUCH older PCs (say, 8-10 years) is something I never see because my employers would NEVER have such a machine. All of them get chucked in under 5 years, with laptops getting sold off after only 3 years. And most home PCs are replaced within 5 years for a variety of reasons. I had one PC from 1997-2005. No technical faults but I got rid of it because I could no longer deal with the antiquated operating system (Windows 98) and it would have been ridiculous to upgrade the operating system on such an old system (not enough RAM, CPU slow, etc).


_Lazza
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post #4058 of 23760
3/16/09 at 2:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

No FW disc needed... use SKIP 079 code for HDD/DVD Self Check and Initialization, same as other units as described here.

Vmalhotra confirmed it worked on 2080.

Thats great to know...thanks. I think I will rig up an external hard drive, after the unit is out of warranty, with an external power supply. This is what I have been doing with all my PCs recently. Keeps the heat out of the case and reduces load on the power supply. I will have to look at the inside of the case, but it should not be that hard to put a connector in there.

BTW, anyone know the disk format that these things use? Has anyone pulled files off them?
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post #4059 of 23760
3/16/09 at 3:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailn View Post

BTW, anyone know the disk format that these things use? Has anyone pulled files off them?

Could be UDF1.02 with an ISO 9660 bridge based on info here.

Even tho Wiki mentions Philips and UDF1.02 in relation to DVD discs, it also says UDF is being used on hard disks... no confirmation that I've seen yet.
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post #4060 of 23760
3/16/09 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

Could be UDF1.02 with an ISO 9660 bridge based on info here.

Even tho Wiki mentions Philips and UDF1.02 in relation to DVD discs, it also says UDF is being used on hard disks... no confirmation that I've seen yet.

wajo...you rock!
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post #4061 of 23760
3/16/09 at 7:09pm
FYI:Most all HDD drives in DVR's are Linux formatted, seems to be the standard. All though formatted in Linux the files themselves maybe encoded examples are recorded files on the DirecTV HR22 DVR's. They cannot be simply copied and then played, need the decoding algorithm.
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post #4062 of 23760
3/16/09 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JLJ_ View Post

For those purchasing extra drives to store away for future repairs -- what, if anything, are you doing to check the drive before storing it?

Install and use it in your PC or external case. When ready connect to the DVR and reformat using 079
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post #4063 of 23760
3/16/09 at 8:08pm
FYI:For more info on linux formatting search Google with
linux hard drive formatting
More info on linux
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/install...sb-hard-drive/
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post #4064 of 23760
3/17/09 at 2:35am
FYI:H2080MW8 for $169.20

http://www.chuseit.net/w0343.html


1 Magnavox 80GB DVD Recorder w/ Digital Tuner $169.20
Subtotal: $169.20
Shipping: $4.95*
Tax: $11.84
Total: $185.99
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post #4065 of 23760
3/17/09 at 6:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by auskck View Post

FYI:H2080MW8 for $169.20

http://www.chuseit.net/w0343.html


1 Magnavox 80GB DVD Recorder w/ Digital Tuner $169.20
Subtotal: $169.20
Shipping: $4.95*
Tax: $11.84
Total: $185.99

Of course I just ordered one from Target. Good thing the freight was free and you can return it to any target store...
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post #4066 of 23760
3/17/09 at 6:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailn View Post

Of course I just ordered one from Target. Good thing the freight was free and you can return it to any target store...

It's a shame Target is charging $60 more than the normal retail price for this item.
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post #4067 of 23760
3/17/09 at 7:06am
I know...but it was easy and until you posted your link it was the only place arround. It is not as bad as the guy selling a 3576 for $799 on Amazon
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post #4068 of 23760
3/17/09 at 7:18am
Thread Starter 
Now that the cat's out of the bag, here's some info on Chuseit.com.

Their link was posted some time ago, then mistakenly posted again but deleted cuz we don't know anything about the company. After the recent 2nd go-round, I've been trying to find some info on the company just to verify its "authenticity" etc... thinking and hoping they had been forgotten for now.

I called once before I started emailing, and got a guy's voice recording with a "nondescript" message... can't remember exact words but brief and non-helpful.

Calling today, the operator says, "Sorry, this mailbox is full."

I finally started sending an email, multiple times, with some specific questions:

"On your Magnavox 80GB DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner, I created a web help site for people buying and operating Philips and Magnavox recorders in the same series as this one (here);

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940657

Many people would like to buy DVD recorders like the Mag but I need to tell them something about your Return policy... I don't see anything about returning within 14 days... restocking fee? How about AFTER 14 days... restocking fee?

Also, how many do you have in inventory or can get ahold of?

Are these new-in-box, refurbs. open box, ???

These are some questions I know people will ask as soon as I post your address."

Anyway, I've sent that same email 5 times now, dated 3/5, 7, 9, 13 17, and have received the same automated response:

"Thank you for your interest in our website. We are currently experiencing
technical difficulties and hope to be operational by 03/05/2009."

I never went thru to the end of their ordering process so don't know what happens if you actually enter your CC info etc.

Just a "heads-up"... you won't be able to contact Chuseit.com or get a return authorization (for example) after you enter your CC info, etc.
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post #4069 of 23760
3/17/09 at 7:29am
Thanks...good to know.

This is by far one of the best communities on AVS
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post #4070 of 23760
3/17/09 at 9:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

Now that the cat's out of the bag, here's some info on Chuseit.com.

Their link was posted some time ago, then mistakenly posted again but deleted cuz we don't know anything about the company. After the recent 2nd go-round, I've been trying to find some info on the company just to verify its "authenticity" etc... thinking and hoping they had been forgotten for now.

I called once before I started emailing, and got a guy's voice recording with a "nondescript" message... can't remember exact words but brief and non-helpful.

Calling today, the operator says, "Sorry, this mailbox is full."

I finally started sending an email, multiple times, with some specific questions:

"On your Magnavox 80GB DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner, I created a web help site for people buying and operating Philips and Magnavox recorders in the same series as this one (here);

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940657

Many people would like to buy DVD recorders like the Mag but I need to tell them something about your Return policy... I don't see anything about returning within 14 days... restocking fee? How about AFTER 14 days... restocking fee?

Also, how many do you have in inventory or can get ahold of?

Are these new-in-box, refurbs. open box, ???

These are some questions I know people will ask as soon as I post your address."

Anyway, I've sent that same email 5 times now, dated 3/5, 7, 9, 13 17, and have received the same automated response:

"Thank you for your interest in our website. We are currently experiencing
technical difficulties and hope to be operational by 03/05/2009."

I never went thru to the end of their ordering process so don't know what happens if you actually enter your CC info etc.

Just a "heads-up"... you won't be able to contact Chuseit.com or get a return authorization (for example) after you enter your CC info, etc.

Cannot get as far a CC information gets error trying to connect to Pay Pal
Could be a beware site or new vendor trying to get his site up and running.
Anyway like wajo said HEADS UP on this one
ZIP Code equates to just North of Phoenix, Az a newer area.
See
http://beatthat.com/merchants/show/chuseit-net
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post #4071 of 23760
3/17/09 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

Calling today, the operator says, "Sorry, this mailbox is full."

I hear a robot saying DANGER Will Robinson.
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post #4072 of 23760
3/17/09 at 9:08pm
The Sylvania 3-in-1 was mentioned on this forum earlier so I ordered one and can now report - for the record - that the remote does indeed control the Magnavox H2160MW9, but NOT the Philips DVDR3575H, just in case anyone else is curious. I didn't even unpack the unit, just the remote to check it. It will not play nice with the Maggie.

I may still set it up for my wife to make her time-shifting more convenient by using the HDD in the Sylvania, and move the Maggie to the bedroom. There's no cable in there but I'm using an antenna to pick up the digital channels on that machine anyway.
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post #4073 of 23760
3/18/09 at 8:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stump69 View Post

The Sylvania 3-in-1 was mentioned on this forum earlier so I ordered one and can now report - for the record - that the remote does indeed control the Magnavox H2160MW9, but NOT the Philips DVDR3575H, just in case anyone else is curious. I didn't even unpack the unit, just the remote to check it. It will not play nice with the Maggie.

That would confirm to me that IF the Sylvania H2160SL9 ever appears it would use the same remote code as the Maggie.
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post #4074 of 23760
3/18/09 at 8:45am
Is there any solid indication that Walmart will restock the Magnavox H2160MW9 or should we give up totally on this model?
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post #4075 of 23760
3/18/09 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by alins View Post

Is there any solid indication that Walmart will restock the Magnavox H2160MW9 or should we give up totally on this model?

Altho the WM page continues to show "Out of Stock Online," one online CSR replied to my email with "Permanently out of stock." I think that's the best we know now?
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post #4076 of 23760
3/18/09 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

Just be aware, that's a SATA drive (AS suffix).

Sorry wajo I'll remove the post
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post #4077 of 23760
3/18/09 at 6:08pm
Concerning the OEM hard drive for the 2160, this appears on the directron.com website:

Hitachi DeskStar P7K500 3.5in 160GB IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, Model: 0A35389. OEM

Sorry! This item is currently out of stock. However, other suitable replacements may be available in the manufacturer section or by searching our site.

ETA: This item has been discontinued and will no longer be available.
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post #4078 of 23760
3/18/09 at 6:29pm
The Hitachi P7K500 160GB is no longer on the Hitachi page either, the 250GB is the smallest listed.

I got my Hitachi Deskstar 250GB delivered today. It has a Feb 2009 manufacture date so they are still being made.
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post #4079 of 23760
3/19/09 at 8:24pm
Millennium 3000 in Toronto has the Maggy 2080 refurbished for $99. I am not bothered about the lack of HDMI or optical as I want it for recording OTA to disc (for playback on my Panny EZ28) or for fast set up of episodes that I may otherwise miss. The Panny tuner is a crock - doesn't pick up digital channels that I can get easily on my Olevia and Samsung HDTVs - hence the need for another option. Is the ATSC tuner on this any good (ie sensitive)?

In short, is this a good buy at this late stage? I understand that this was a Walmart special. So does it really measure up to the Philips models (same CODEC etc.)? Sorry to come late to this party, but only discovered this thread as part of researching this potential purchase. Wow, this site is amazing!!!
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post #4080 of 23760
3/19/09 at 9:16pm
Thread Starter 
I'm sure some 2080 users will comment, but until then, check this post and this one by one of the more technically competent members among us.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › DVD Recorders (Standard Def) › Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575