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Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 221

post #6601 of 23784
9/20/09 at 10:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CO-Zman View Post

An update to the setting retention while being unplugged.

My Mar09 2160A was unplugged for about 2 weeks. After connecting cables in a new room, and giving 'er the juice, all channel and custom settings remained, and the manually tuned clock captured the signal from FOX in less than a minute.

Now if my living room repaint/remodel was that easy

Flash memory?? Hmmm....


Z

Yup. I've reported the same a while ago with my 2160A (already returned to WM). It's either the settings were saved to flash memory, or to hard disk. Even the timer scheduled programs were saved, so I could only guess that the clock was somehow set right away (it was Auto clock), before the timer programs were wiped out.

Timer programs would be lost if the clock is not set by a manual channel (or an Auto channel) in a certain period. When I tried to repeat this experiment on my J&R 2160 to figure out how long this period was, I could not find a manual channel to lock into during reboot, so my timer programs were lost too. But I'd bet this is an undocumented feature. It would be great if you can to repeat this a few times, to confirm.

I've verified that the 2160 saves ALL settings, except the clock (I've rebooted 3 times, each down time was more than 1 hour)

Wajo, any thought?
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post #6602 of 23784
9/21/09 at 3:40pm
does anyone have any problems with the clock drifting a few minutes? My clock is set to the 11:57 clock trick and I thought that the clock is updated at midnight every day...is it because of my channel I'm using to set the clock?

thanks
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post #6603 of 23784
9/21/09 at 3:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheaplikeafox View Post

does anyone have any problems with the clock drifting a few minutes? My clock is set to the 11:57 clock trick and I thought that the clock is updated at midnight every day...is it because of my channel I'm using to set the clock?

Funny you should ask!

I've had my clocks set on Auto Clock > MANUAL, FOX 6 analog channel, and they've all been dead-on for the past 10 MONTHS!

All of a sudden, my clocks are moving hours ahead or minutes behind, etc., even tho all are connected to the same cable feed!

Sumpin goin on here! Had to set them with Auto Clock OFF for awhile until that sumpin clears up or gets straightened out. Right now, I'm attributing it to some changes at that FOX station....

On your clock, if you've had similar exp. with accurate MANUAL clock for awhile, you might have to go to Auto Clock OFF for awhile too? Either that or try to find another MANUAL channel with a time signal and try it for awhile... CBS digital if you've got a 2160, or you can try the always unreliable PBS?
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post #6604 of 23784
9/21/09 at 7:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bodhi78 View Post

Yup. I've reported the same a while ago with my 2160A (already returned to WM). It's either the settings were saved to flash memory, or to hard disk. Even the timer scheduled programs were saved, so I could only guess that the clock was somehow set right away (it was Auto clock), before the timer programs were wiped out.

Timer programs would be lost if the clock is not set by a manual channel (or an Auto channel) in a certain period. When I tried to repeat this experiment on my J&R 2160 to figure out how long this period was, I could not find a manual channel to lock into during reboot, so my timer programs were lost too. But I'd bet this is an undocumented feature. It would be great if you can to repeat this a few times, to confirm.

I've verified that the 2160 saves ALL settings, except the clock (I've rebooted 3 times, each down time was more than 1 hour)

Wajo, any thought?

I'm remiss in answering your question but it's cuz I incorporated your post with CO-zman's quote in the help file that discusses power backup, then didn't come back to your post. See this section for info.

In that linked section, I describe my own experience with a total power outage for 12 hours, with all my units retaining EVERYTHING!

The Auto Clock On or Manual setting is known to increase power backup time, but the times we're experiencing are surprising, to say the least!
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post #6605 of 23784
9/21/09 at 9:39pm
bad bad news. We had a storm here.....we were watching a movie on the 2160. The power flashed off then right back on....now my 2160 is dead as a door nail. Its plugged into a surge protector....everything else including my philips HDD/DVD720p that is plugged into the surge protector came back on and works fine. I was hoping maybe a fuse was blown but I cant see a place to change out a fuse externally...maybe internally? But that would mean I'd have to break the seal on the box and void the warranty. I've had this thing close to a year, so I'm not sure if I can get it replaced anyway. Unfortunately I may have to buy a new one. Was wanting to record the Arkansas vs Alabama football game on CBS saturday afternoon. Could record it on the older philips but the PQ isnt quite as good. Philips can only do 480p while the 2160 can upscale thru the HDMI cable......shucks...this is down right crappy!
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post #6606 of 23784
9/21/09 at 10:17pm
Hey everyone. I have a DVDR3576h and with the new fall season was getting ready to start recording some shows. I am in Houston with Comcast.
Problem is, I have NO channels on my dvdr anymore, they are all blank saying scrambled(I think, I tried searching again, and now just get a blue 80.1). Is my problem with Comcast? Any way to make this work?
I can view basic stuff analog channels 3 to like 62, but none of my previous digital stuff?

please help, i have tried searching, but I am not sure what to search for?

tony
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post #6607 of 23784
9/21/09 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TBlatnica View Post

Hey everyone. I have a DVDR3576h and with the new fall season was getting ready to start recording some shows. I am in Houston with Comcast.
Problem is, I have NO channels on my dvdr anymore, they are all blank saying scrambled(I think, I tried searching again, and now just get a blue 80.1). Is my problem with Comcast? Any way to make this work?
I can view basic stuff analog channels 3 to like 62, but none of my previous digital stuff?

please help, i have tried searching, but I am not sure what to search for?

tony

If they actually say "scrambled"...I'd think the problem is with your cable co and not the unit itself....especially if you have been getting them in the past.......did you pay your bill? What about a cable box....does your comapny require one? If so, you'd have to make some type of connection from the cable box to the HDD/DVD recorder. The RF tuner is ATSC/NTSC only meaning Off Air or antenna...not CATV which is cable. IF you can make a connection from the cable box to the unit such as these, you can make it work. I really dont have any experience with these units and digital cable...I have Directv and OTA hooked to mine. Good luck

Composite
S-Video
Component
HDMI
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post #6608 of 23784
9/21/09 at 10:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

I'm remiss in answering your question but it's cuz I incorporated your post with CO-zman's quote in the help file that discusses power backup, then didn't come back to your post. See this section for info.

In that linked section, I describe my own experience with a total power outage for 12 hours, with all my units retaining EVERYTHING!

The Auto Clock On or Manual setting is known to increase power backup time, but the times we're experiencing are surprising, to say the least!


I haven't given up yet on trying to figure out this mysterious feature! I'll try again when I can find a Manual channel, because I think this is repeatable only when you have a stable Manual channel for time source. Auto channel is too flaky because of rogue signals.
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post #6609 of 23784
9/22/09 at 5:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkyman View Post

bad bad news. We had a storm here.....we were watching a movie on the 2160. The power flashed off then right back on....now my 2160 is dead as a door nail. Its plugged into a surge protector....everything else including my philips HDD/DVD720p that is plugged into the surge protector came back on and works fine. I was hoping maybe a fuse was blown but I cant see a place to change out a fuse externally...maybe internally? But that would mean I'd have to break the seal on the box and void the warranty. I've had this thing close to a year, so I'm not sure if I can get it replaced anyway. Unfortunately I may have to buy a new one. Was wanting to record the Arkansas vs Alabama football game on CBS saturday afternoon. Could record it on the older philips but the PQ isnt quite as good. Philips can only do 480p while the 2160 can upscale thru the HDMI cable......shucks...this is down right crappy!

I would try leaving it unplugged for several hours, like over night. It can't hurt, and might help.
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post #6610 of 23784
9/22/09 at 5:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TBlatnica View Post

Hey everyone. I have a DVDR3576h and with the new fall season was getting ready to start recording some shows. I am in Houston with Comcast.
Problem is, I have NO channels on my dvdr anymore, they are all blank saying scrambled(I think, I tried searching again, and now just get a blue 80.1). Is my problem with Comcast? Any way to make this work?
I can view basic stuff analog channels 3 to like 62, but none of my previous digital stuff?

please help, i have tried searching, but I am not sure what to search for?

There's one sure-fire way to see if Comcrap scrambled ALL your digitals... the "All-or-Nothing" Procedure described here.
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post #6611 of 23784
9/22/09 at 5:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkyman View Post

bad bad news. We had a storm here.....we were watching a movie on the 2160. The power flashed off then right back on....now my 2160 is dead as a door nail.

As Chuck44 said, unplugging will tell if maybe just the Standby circuit was affected. That only takes 10 minutes or so.

Then, plug unit into different outlet (wall?) and try holding the power button in on the front of the unit WHILE plugging it in... hold power button for a min. or so. This is a hard reset for a unit that has power, but simple and worth a try.

Then, I guess a longer unplugged period, as Chuck advised.

Then, it's prob. delve into the inside and check the fuse?
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post #6612 of 23784
9/22/09 at 6:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkyman View Post

The RF tuner is ATSC/NTSC only meaning Off Air or antenna...not CATV which is cable. IF you can make a connection from the cable box to the unit such as these, you can make it work. I really dont have any experience with these units and digital cable...I have Directv and OTA hooked to mine.

These PhilMag DVDRs have NTSC/ATSC/cable-QAM tuners.
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post #6613 of 23784
9/22/09 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkyman View Post

bad bad news. We had a storm here.....we were watching a movie on the 2160. The power flashed off then right back on....now my 2160 is dead as a door nail. Its plugged into a surge protector....everything else including my philips HDD/DVD720p that is plugged into the surge protector came back on and works fine. I was hoping maybe a fuse was blown but I cant see a place to change out a fuse externally...maybe internally? But that would mean I'd have to break the seal on the box and void the warranty. I've had this thing close to a year, so I'm not sure if I can get it replaced anyway. Unfortunately I may have to buy a new one. Was wanting to record the Arkansas vs Alabama football game on CBS saturday afternoon. Could record it on the older philips but the PQ isnt quite as good. Philips can only do 480p while the 2160 can upscale thru the HDMI cable......shucks...this is down right crappy!


I had the same thing happen to mine. I unplugged it for about an hour, plugged it back in and it came back to life. No guarantees but it's worth a try.
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post #6614 of 23784
9/22/09 at 9:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

These PhilMag DVDRs have NTSC/ATSC/cable-QAM tuners.

oops...your right
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post #6615 of 23784
9/22/09 at 9:19am
Good Advice guys. Plugged it back in this morning and it works fine. Guess I jumped the gun on ordering a new 2160...oh well, I need another one for our bedroom anyway. This same thing actually happened to my philips 720phdrw a year or so ago. It was dead as could be. I left it unplugged for a day or so, plugged it in and nothing. I then bought the 3576 and 2160 as replacements. Finally brought the old 720 back in and hooked it up after about 3 months had passed in hopes of retrieving about 10 recordings I had on the hard drive. It fired up and has worked like a charm ever since. I need to learn patience I guess
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post #6616 of 23784
9/22/09 at 9:30am
Thread Starter 
Arkyman, if you don't cancel the 2160A order, you might like some of the added features compared to the original 2160:

1. STOP button now has a Yes/No dialog so virtually impossible to stop a recording accidentally by normal humans.

2. HDMI Control option in the HDMI menu, for controlling some TVs, as described here.

3. A more-readily available SATA HDD in case you ever need a replacement, which is a simple process, or an upgrade to a larger HDD.

Might be more I forgot?
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post #6617 of 23784
9/22/09 at 9:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

Arkyman, if you don't cancel the 2160A order, you might like some of the added features compared to the original 2160:

1. STOP button now has a Yes/No dialog so virtually impossible to stop a recording accidentally by normal humans.

2. HDMI Control option in the HDMI menu, for controlling some TVs, as described here.

3. A more-readily available SAT HDD in case you ever need a replacement, which is a simple process, or an upgrade to a larger HDD.

Might be more I forgot?

Yeah, that sounds great wajo. Thanks for the info. Sounds like I'll have to move my old one to the bedroom and put the new one here in the living room We've really been needing one in our bedroom for a while anyway. Sometimes if the football games are on Antenna, I'll go to the bedroom and watch them so my wife can watch Directv in the living room. This will allow me to record some of my football and basketball games on the machine in the bedroom as well
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post #6618 of 23784
9/22/09 at 11:18am
Plus, if you dont set too many timer recordings on the second one, it'd be handy for formatting and finalizing!
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post #6619 of 23784
9/22/09 at 5:19pm
Update on my 2160a with the bad DVD drive. I called the shop I took it into to repair and they said they just ordered the drive. They said the parts would be covered but the labor would be ~$100 When I told them it was new(well OK a new referb) they put me on hold and came back a minute later and said it should all be covered. I said it better be because otherwise I'd just return it to JR for free.
FYI for anyone else who gets a bad unit, I'd just send it back unless you want to be without a unit for quite some time. Who knows how long it will take Funai to send them the drive, and then they've got to install it, and hope it works
I'm guessing the whole thing may well take over a month
In the mean time my father is a little PO'd, he wanted it to record conflicting TV programs this fall, he's having me record one of them on my DVDR until the Maggy gets fixed.
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post #6620 of 23784
9/22/09 at 6:50pm
Hello, I have dubbed from the HDD to a DVD+R using "SP" as the speed of the dub. The resulting DVD did not look quite as good as the HDD. I tried it again using "HQ" as the speed and it was much better maybe the same as the HDD.

The videos I am putting on the HDD are from a miniDV camcorder which was hooked up to the 2160 via firewire. I recorded them to the HDD using "SP" as the speed. Should I use "HQ"? And also use "HQ" to dub?

Thanks for any input.
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post #6621 of 23784
9/22/09 at 7:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 33.3 View Post

Hello, I have dubbed from the HDD to a DVD+R using "SP" as the speed of the dub. The resulting DVD did not look quite as good as the HDD. I tried it again using "HQ" as the speed and it was much better maybe the same as the HDD.

The videos I am putting on the HDD are from a miniDV camcorder which was hooked up to the 2160 via firewire. I recorded them to the HDD using "SP" as the speed. Should I use "HQ"? And also use "HQ" to dub?

Thanks for any input.

If the title(s) you're trying to dub are in SP, and they're not over 2:10:00 total, they should dub at HIGH, which creates a mirror-image of the HDD title, with no loss of quality.

Here's the procedure for dubbing and selecting HIGH as the dub mode...

and here's some info on high-speed dub (HSD).
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post #6622 of 23784
9/22/09 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 


Hey, adding OTA channels to a cable system works!

I have a 3575 on cable with digital channels starting at 75.1.

I disconnected the cable and attached a 25-yr-old rabbit ears and got TWO good channels in my quick-and-dirty setup, OTA ch. 13.1 and 13.2. I found their numbers in Titan TV for my area and direct-entered 13.

I went to Manual Channel Preset and entered that channel number (13) and they were entered in the CH+/- button memory so I could surf thru them to my first cable channel 75.1, after I re-connected the cable coax, of course.

IF I had a 2-1 switch, I wouldn't have had to disconnect and reconnect cables!

As long as an OTA channel isn't on the same frequency as a cable channel, you should be able to "combine" OTA and cable channels thru a switch... altho I don't have a switch so no proof-of-concept there!!

Another unproven concept is an OTA and cable channel feeding the same channel slot, like my cable 75.1, as an example. No reason an OTA channel on that same frequency wouldn't tune when the switch was in the OTA position... nothing has to be done for that, not even a Manual entry, it's already entered. It's just the SOURCE that's being changed!?

DON'T rely on OTA channels your TV tunes. Look for tunable OTA ("Broadcast") channels in Titan TV for your area and enter one or more that aren't already auto-scanned for cable.

Also, don't give up if you get a blank screen on 1st try... my old rabbit ears at first showed blank 13.1 then moved antenna and got blocky pic, then raised it up and got great pic. Just make sure the OTA channel(s) you select to enter manually are really tunable and reasonably stable in your system.

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post #6623 of 23784
9/22/09 at 8:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dangerdoc1 View Post

Are you talking about the 3575 or 2160/2160a?...

Don't forget the 3576, while you're at it.
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post #6624 of 23784
9/22/09 at 10:16pm
Edited:
Wajo, it KIND OF works. You can tune ATSC channels while configured for cable/QAM, but ONLY high VHF channels.

It's a lot like the old cable-ready TV deal. If your TV was VHF/UHF you could only tune the first 13 channels of cable (on VHF), but cable-ready TVs count consecutively from the VHF channels on up to 100+.

I guess QAM is some how related to the old VHF frequencies in the same way. While set for QAM you can tune VHF based DTV channels.

Check AntennaWeb.org to see if you have anything on high VHF in your area, they should work.
I get ABC, Fox and a distant CBS by high VHF. Not quite worth the effort, but an interesting find.
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post #6625 of 23784
9/23/09 at 7:50am
I recently bought a H2160A and want to buy another HDDR.

Does anyone know if either H2080 or H2160 has different remote control code from H2160A? If all three have the same remote control code, I will buy the newer H2160A. Otherwise, I will buy a refurbished older model just for the convenience of controlling two HDDRs in the same room.
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post #6626 of 23784
9/23/09 at 7:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by blust2 View Post

I recently bought a H2160A and want to buy another HDDR.

Does anyone know if either H2080 or H2160 has different remote control code from H2160A? If all three have the same remote control code, I will buy the newer H2160A. Otherwise, I will buy a refurbished older model just for the convenience of controlling two HDDRs in the same room.

A refurb'd Philips 3575 or 3576 would operate the same way, same menus, etc. but the remotes wouldn't clash.
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post #6627 of 23784
9/23/09 at 7:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo View Post

A refurb'd Philips 3575 or 3576 would operate the same way, same menus, etc. but the remotes wouldn't clash.

Thanks for the quick reply. But I have returned two 3576's because my Comcast Basic Cable don't like 3576.
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post #6628 of 23784
9/23/09 at 10:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blust2 View Post

Thanks for the quick reply. But I have returned two 3576's because my Comcast Basic Cable don't like 3576.

j

I have Comcast extended basic as well, and it's Comcast's fault and not the DVDR's. Just yesterday I went through the extensive All-Or-Nothing procedure to recover all the channels on my 3575 (pre-cursor to the 3576) and now it works fine, so a refurb 3575 or 3576 would suit your needs as long as you did this:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...count=12#Scan9
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post #6629 of 23784
9/23/09 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stump69 View Post

I have Comcast extended basic as well, and it's Comcast's fault and not the DVDR's. Just yesterday I went through the extensive All-Or-Nothing procedure to recover all the channels on my 3575 (pre-cursor to the 3576) and now it works fine...

Since it's only been a day, let us know if the cure sticks for good without ever having to repeat it again, and if all timer recordings are successful and never give you the infamous "blank screen".
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post #6630 of 23784
9/23/09 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammitinski View Post

Since it's only been a day, let us know if the cure sticks for good without ever having to repeat it again, and if all timer recordings are successful and never give you the infamous "blank screen".

Will do. I'm just happy to have TCM and AMC back.
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AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › DVD Recorders (Standard Def) › Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575