[suplex]

In the same way that many people in here have achieved success upgrading the HDD of their DVD Recorders to larger sizes, I wonder why you couldn't take a Digital Tuner out of a DVD Recorder and install it into another recorder.


Here is an example:


The Panasonic DMR-EZ17 has no HDD, but it does have a Digital Tuner.

The Panasonic DMR-EH55 has a HDD, but it has an Analog Tuner.


Could the tuner from the EZ17 be taken out and replace the one that's in the EH55?


I know that (A) It's an expensive proposition where you would have had to have already owned the EH55, and then go out and buy the EZ17 to test it, and (B) Most people who have the EH55 may not be willing to tamper with it due to running the risk of damaging it where it may not even work correctly if you put the original tuner back in it. But I am just wondering if in theory it could work.


I imagine it could also be tested taking the tuner out of the Toshiba DR-550 and putting it into either the XS35 or XS55.


I was just thinking about it the other night and I wanted to post it in here to see what others think about the idea.

 

[Bill R (# 2)]

While it might be possible to put the chip set in another recorder, software would be a big problem. ALL the digital tuners require software that allow you to scan, save, and tune the digital channels. As much as many of us would like to upgrade our recorders I'm afraid that it is next to impossible to do it.

 

[suplex]

Thanks for the info Bill R (#2), I thought it would be as easy as the HDD swap. I didn't realize about the software that would have to be installed.

 

[equivocal]

If you're going to try things like this I'd take the other approach: put a HDD into a DVDR which doesn't haven one but closely resembles another model in the with which does have one.

 

[Sean Nelson]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill R (# 2) /forum/post/0


...software would be a big problem.

IMHO, the hardware would be the much bigger problem. The chips are all soldered in place, and they're the kind of chips that have extemely dense connections. And that's even assuming that the circuit boards themselves are compatible, which seems unlikely.

 

[Sean Nelson]



Quote:
Originally Posted by equivocal /forum/post/0


put a HDD into a DVDR which doesn't haven one but closely resembles another model in the with which does have one.

That seems unlikely to be possible either. For example, and again making the very big assumption that the circuit boards are compatible, the HDD-less model is very likely to be missing some chips (such as the hard drive's IDE interface) or components (such as a larger power supply) that aren't required in the DVD-only model.

 

[suplex]

It would probably be easier to get one of the new Pioneer models (that are supposedly not being released in America) and change them to All-Region so they would work. That, of course, is assuming they are NTSC instead of PAL as I don't know if that could be changed.


But you know what, if Digital DVD Recorders with HDD's are being released elsewhere I can't imagine it would be that hard to obtain one in America, and who knows...maybe they will release them in the States, it might just be a matter of time.

 

[rgazzara]

The problem with getting a European digital recorder with HDD is that the tuner would probably not be compatible with ATSC.


Does anyone know what the specs are for European digital tuners?

 

[biker19]

DBV-T of Europe won't work in the ATSC world of the US - same as the NTSC - PAL incompatibility. The underlying video stream might be MPEG2 for both but the transmission is totally different.

 

[Church AV Guy]

So would a European DVD recorder work if you limited yourself to composite, S-Video, and/or component inputs. You could always get some STB with these outputs, if the inputs for these interconnects are compatible. The PAL thing is another story, of course. One step at a time.