Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 229

"(unless FOX goes "rogue," but Sarah isn't running it... yet)"

LOL! See what I mean about wajo's sense of humor, folks? I can barely see to type this. Hilarious!

Yep, it seems to be HDMI-ing in both directions. I like it when it auto switches the TV input selection to Magnavox (HDMI3) when I turn on the 2160, but it's a little unnerving when I turn ON the tv (if it's pre-set to magnavox input) and the 2160 fires itself up unexpectedly. I think you're right - I'll shut HDMI control off and see if I remember to flip the input as needed. (I may try component, anyway, as soon as I get some extra audio y adapters, which would also alleviate the 'problem')

As for longevity, I dont want to feel like I have to ration it to 'save' it. But it is a little unnerving to like a consumer product this much and know from the start that you wont be able to replace it. I'll get over it

For me HDMI control works as I'd hope it would. That is on the 2160a if I push PLAY(or anything that brings up a OSD) the TV will turn ON and go to the correct input.
If I turn the 2160a OFF the TV will revert back to the input it was on before the 2160a and not turn TV off.
If the 2160a is ON but not recording it will turn OFF when I turn the TV off.
The TV will NOT automatically turn on during a scheduled event(good).
Other TVs with HDMI control may act differently. I've have a '08 Sony W4100 LCD TV.

Just checked the other tv and same situation on both
panasonic LCDs ... the X1 (2009) and the LX85 (I got it this year, but I'm pretty sure it's last year's model since I got it in Feb and it was discontinued by the time I wanted to order another one)

Definitely going to turn it off - when I left the mag on to fill the buffer (so I could back up and watch the game) but turned off the tv, the mag turned off too. That's even worse than automatically turning on when not needed, it's turning off when it is. Tried it again, but started RECORDING *(vs filling the buffer) and it did NOT turn off when I shut off the tv. So it's smart enough to know that much -- I guess it assumes if you want it -- you'll record it.

It happened to my H2160A twice. The cure is to unplug it for about one hour then when I hooked it up to power and cable again, everything turns normal. The cause is that my Comcast reshuffled the channel lineup or add channels. Don't know why it has the drastic effect on Magnavox/Philips machines. But someone suggested it and it cures the problem.

Tell your wife and be safe in Iraq.

Yup, did the SKIP 013 thing too after the SKIP 079. Took about 1hr, 20 minutes if memory serves me. So, as I stated before, "It's still good...but it somehow seems like HDD space is being wasted...". Oh well.

artwire wrote:

> ...if you turned it on about 3 times a day on average,
> the drive might last for approx three years.

I don't know whether it was the source or your math, but you are off by a factor of over 10... 3 times a day for 3 years is only 3,285 cycles and manufacturers rate 3.5" drives for 50,000 start/stop cycles. That doesn't mean an HDD won't fail before then as explained by the reference at http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Hard:disk.htm

"The sliders (the part of the head that is closest to the disk and contains the pickup coil itself) are designed to reliably survive a number of landings and takeoffs from the disk surface, though wear and tear on these microscopic components eventually takes its toll. Most manufacturers design the sliders to survive 50,000 contact cycles before the chance of damage on startup rises above 50%. However, the decay rate is not linear - when a drive is younger and has fewer start/stop cycles, it has a better chance of surviving the next startup than an older, higher-mileage drive (literally, as the head drags along the drive surface until the air bearing is established). For the Maxtor DiamondMax series of drives, for instance, the drive typically has a 0.02% chance of failing after 4,500 cycles, a 0.05% chance after 7,500 cycles, with the chance of failure rising geometrically to 50% after 50,000 cycles, and increasing ever after."

According to this, your 2160 will still have a 99.99% chance of working after turning it on/off 3 times/day for 3 years.

Most of us would be happy with those odds, but if you are still seriously worried then replace your 3.5" with a 2.5" PATA 160GB or 320GB drive because the 2.5" are designed for notebooks which are constantly cycling up/down and have a higher landing/takeoff specification.

You do need to avoid doing things that maximize the likelihood of failure e.g. putting your DVR in an unventilated cabinet so that it operates at high ambient temperatures or powering off, changing your mind, and powering on again. The worst period of head instability is during takeoff and landing, and interrupting the landing by powering back on could cause a head crash: wait at least 15 seconds, preferably 30.

Most drive failures are not related to takeoff/landing issues, and since the typical warranty period on drives is 3 years then you can interpret that to mean "at least three years", because that's the period a manufacturers expects no returns related to age (most warranty claims occur in the first 90 days). Some drives are still warranted for five years see http://support.wdc.com/warranty/poli...pe=res&lang=en

Good info, thanks! This on/off quickly thing is exactly what I was concerned about - every time I turned it off, then did something on the tv right after it would come back on again, or vice versa. Turning off HDMI control helped a lot. It's only a minor inconvenience to turn on the maggy when needed instead of letting it fire up automatically, and presumably it does save wear and tear.

By the time these units poop out , hopefully we will have other options. Article in the washington post today about how far behind the cable companies are and how they're *forcing* people to use obsolete equipment (cable boxes) and technical models that are not targeted for consumer needs and that limit choices -- they're far behind the times and enjoying the profits accordingly.

I bought this unit 15 months ago. I have not used it much. When I turned it on after not using it for about two moths everything on screen was tinted blue. I have changed cables, changed inputs and unplugged and replugged the unit but nothing seemed to help. And of course it is not out of warranty. This unit was connected to both antenna and sat. After this blue tint showed up one of the things I did was disconnect the sat. I tried the channel rescan and a factory reset. And reset all video settings. None of these have fixed the problem. Anybody have any suggestions what the problem may be and it it worth getting fixed or should I trash it and buy something new?

This isn't the ZV450MW8A thread. Would really be best if you kept things in the thread aimed at whatever unit you're discussing. If there isn't one for that model, you can start one.

Hey all-
I bought a philips 3576h about 6 months ago at Sam's club. This weekend we had a power outage, where there was some power bleeding through (some things were beeping around the house). I turned off the power strip going to the entertainment center after I figured out there was power bleed...
After this event, the 3576 won't power up and is passing a very crappy RF signal through to my old panny dvdr. I removed the unit from the entertainment loop last night, and it's awaiting it's fate on the dining table.

Any ideas to try before I see what Sam's club extended warranty will do for me?
Should I try to push for a magnavox H2160 replacement, since that's all that walmart carries for a similar dvdr?

Any advise would be appreciated. TIA!

Serge

Thanks Wajo! I'll see if it powers up tonight.

I am newbie here. I recently bought 3576h from Overstock refurb - its still avaiable, seach for philips 160 GB on overstock.com. I am loving the unit. with Comcase basic, i can get many digital channels with Sure-Fire method.

I am having an issue with high frequency channels like 120.x to 121.x, these channels unclude FX, FOX NEWS, MSNBC, CNBC etc.

Problem is these channels are keep breaking - picture and audio breaks for every few seconds (sorry, dont know the technical term for this, but moving picture breaks some parts of the screen and audio breaks at the sametime.). it there any workaroung for this, do i need to boost the incoming signal to DVDR. Before DVDR, between the wall there is splitter for comcast internet.

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

gastrof I am sorry if my posted question doesn't belong on this thread. I was directed here by Digado to ask this question after it was posted in the magnavox thread. Maybe you should tell him not to send anyone here with magnavox questions.

You guys are rather protective of your leader around here. My sense is no need, he seems to take a few jabs without bleeding and with humor.

A few questions:

1) I have a 2160A with the E19 problem. I don't wish to format disks after erasing the timer recordings -- isn't going to happen! I also bought a 3576h for a ridiculous amount of money ($400, when I thought the Philips was the only option and had gone off the market, before I discovered this forum.) I haven't taken it out of the box. Can one format disks on the 3576h and then use them on the 2160A, saving having to re-enter all the timer info?

2) OK, no one has been able to see video files from a hard drive from the machine on a computer, so I'm going to assume it can't be done. What, then, does one see when you hook up a hard drive from one of these to a computer? Are the files there? Recognizable?

3) I appreciate the suggestions given on transferring files -- but any solution which involves transferring to DVD and then back to computer isn't going to happen, there's not enough time in my life for that. I need a direct HDD to computer solution. Removing the HDD and plugging into a computer is fine, but not a multi-step process involving DVDs. I take it the practical answer is "no".

4) I have started recording to the HDD 160GB, but wish to upgrade to a 500GB SATA. If I do this, is there a way to transfer the recorded data to another disk, then back to the 500GB (given I have the connections, will the data with file structure duplicate properly). So if not, my only option is burn what is on the 160 to DVD and then dub it back to the 500GB?

Thanks in advance,

relentlesscactus

Good tip, n00b!

These things are harder to find than snow in Texas! Both the 3575 and 3756 are in stock with free shipping and no tax. Not as good as the recent J&R sales, but a good price if you want a unit you can use next to a Maggie. Low stock on the 3576.


http://www.overstock.com/Electronics...3/product.html


http://www.overstock.com/Electronics...8/product.html

Someone on eBay is selling the 3575/3576 burner in a BIN. Wasn't someone around here looking for these recently?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Philips-DVDR3575...#ht_845wt_1167

No idea if this would be useful to you, but I'm thinking of going out from the HDD to an EyeTVPlus to capture-- or should I say RE-record -- the content onto my mac rather than burning to DVD first. It would require real time playback, though , so it actually might end up being faster to make a highspeed dub to DVD from the internal drive, then dupe the DVD as disk image for computer storage (and playback when mounted). It would at least eliminate the second burn time.

Neither is the kind of solution we're really looking for , but ... figured I'd throw it out there in case it got folks thinking in a different direction. Might be good way to store important video -- too time consuming for ALL your videos ...

I'm still holding out for an external drive solution ... i think it's gonna be a long wait.

There have been a number of recent discussions of tuner-related difficulties in this and/or the other Philips/Magnavox HDD/DVD thread. Since your difficulties are tuner-related (and my advice in the ZV450MW8 thread did not seem to resolve the problem) I directed you to the present thread so you might find discussions addressing your situation.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post17297752

With these or similar words I often encourage folks to visit Wajo's sticky thread:

"Wajo's sticky thread, while mainly devoted to Philips and Magnavox HDD/DVD models, is a wealth of information of interest to owners of other Funai-built recorders."

Some months ago another poster inquired about the Magnavox ZV450MW8 in one of the Philips or Magnavox HDD/DVD threads. I, too, suggested taking the inquiry to the ZV450 thread. At that time I wasn't aware that there was very little participation/activity in the ZV450 thread. (That thread had been inactive longer than three months until your 10/3/09 post.) Not long after the earlier poster's inquiry I purchased a Magnavox ZV450 of my own. My ZV450 works well so I don't have many questions about it. If I were to have problems with my ZV450 would I find advice in the ZV450 thread? Probably not. For that reason I would hope that knowledgeable folks in this thread might provide answers that have not been forthcoming in the ZV450 thread.

Nobody has found any of the burners available anywhere as far as I know so that may be a good deal for some of us adventureres tweaking types or those just wanting spares in case it blows up. I wonder if those are new drives or pulls from dead units?

Sorry it wont let me quote with urls..

I might be way off - but would you need both pieces of the DVD burner that this seller is offering? If so it would add up to right about $100 - again I could be wrong.. just curious on others thoughts..

artwire,

If your goal is JUST to archive the important videos, how about daisy chain your 2 DVDRs, record to HDD and DVD at the same time? When you're done, you'll have the DVD copy and the HDD copy.

Only because AFAIK, no one has actually TRIED this.
We are under the assumption that the file system is Linux based.

If you have a Windows based system and aren't set up for it, you will be asked if you want to format the drive.

On the other hand if you install a Linux file system driver for Windows, you should be able to view and copy the files. I just don't know what format the files themselves are saved in. My guess some sort of transport stream (.TS).

It looks like one auction is just the internal laser pickup and drawer assembly, the other has the full drive package with the metal shields and everything just like you can pull out of the machine as a unit.
I think if you buy the cheaper one you'd have to reuse the shields and outer drives plastic casing from your old one.
I bought a projector lamp assembly for my moms Sony projection LCD set and there was a option for just the lamp itself or the whole lamp and housing assembly. Usually buying just the lamp part is cheaper but then you have to tear down the old housing and install the new lamp, them slide that back into place.

The unit worked when I plugger her back in. I guess it needed to sit for more than a couple o' minutes for the capacitor(s) to clear. Thanks again Wajo!