[FullOnShred]

gmacted and SteelTownGuy, Thank You Both very much for your speedy replies.

I am moving this DVR to my Parent's house for a day to get 12 hours of(continuous) programming not available to me in my current TV package.


Again - Thank You Both.


'shred

 

[gastrof]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo /forum/post/17147506


That FAQ on CRT interference was based on actual user experiences and a test by CitiBear to confirm, and the only remedy based on those is distance from the CRT....

Only problem with this theory is that if we're to attribute the false "no dub" signal problem to this (as some did in the past), the argument falls apart.


My clunky 76 that was showing the DVD icon with a slash thru it? My 2160 is in the same cabinet now that that one was in, and is actually CLOSER to the CRT than the 76 was. No false "no dub" signals.


What other problems did we think the CRT might be causing?

 

[timtofly]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo /forum/post/17138287

Something for the future?... Timtofly reports success in connecting an external DVD drive to his Philips 3455 here.

Thank You wajo. However I do have to point out the 3455 is pre-funai and is still on the IDE bus, unlike the ribbons now found. It may be possible to replace the laser "sled", but some re-alignment may be required. Over in Europe, you can buy just the laser as an assembly, apart from the motor that spins the disk, and any internal or external "pc" board.


I am currently using an HP 20 speed PC internal. It is about 2 minutes faster on a 5 1/2 hour SLP recorded disk than the original drives, but it is slower at finallizing the disk. The HP burner is hooked up to an external power source and has that jet sound to it when recording.

 

[durutti231]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo /forum/post/17147506


That FAQ on CRT interference was based on actual user experiences and a test by CitiBear to confirm, and the only remedy based on those is distance from the CRT.


Not sure of any other remedies, like shielding?


I think the consensus was that the back of the CRT tube was the root source, so that might help in deciding what distance and direction helps most... just a SWAG.

Wajo,

As always, very quick response. Thanks. I might be able to lower it about 8 more inches if I swap it with my Yamaha receiver. But it happens so infrequently, I might wait. Thanks again.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by durutti231 /forum/post/17149667


Wajo,

As always, very quick response. Thanks. I might be able to lower it about 8 more inches if I swap it with my Yamaha receiver. But it happens so infrequently, I might wait. Thanks again.

Heat is equally bad for HDD ops... the problems reported in that help file you read started with the user's EU Philips like ours stuttering during HDD ops, caused by overheating (blocked intake air vents) and proceeded to CRT interference when the user moved his DVDR to the top of his CRT. The CRT portion is what CitiBear tested on a U.S. unit here.


So, heat could be one of your problems since it sounds as if it's on top of or above an AV receiver, which get very hot? My receiver is just warm on bottom, but top gets hot enough to fry an egg!

 

[slipped disc]

Sorry, I meant to reply earlier but was away. Thanks to everyone for your answers to my question both here and on the other Magnavox/Phillips board about the ways to get the best quality recordings. All the info was very helpful.

 

[dangerdoc1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo /forum/post/17147506


That FAQ on CRT interference was based on actual user experiences and a test by CitiBear to confirm, and the only remedy based on those is distance from the CRT.


Not sure of any other remedies, like shielding?


I think the consensus was that the back of the CRT tube was the root source, so that might help in deciding what distance and direction helps most... just a SWAG.

Odd, my Phillips 720RW sat about 1 inch above a 36" Hitachi Ultrascan CRT for years. My Magnavox 2160 lives there now. I've had no problems, I wonder if the problem is CRT or brand specific.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dangerdoc1 /forum/post/17150827


Odd, my Phillips 720RW sat about 1 inch above a 36" Hitachi Ultrascan CRT for years. My Magnavox 2160 lives there now. I've had no problems, I wonder if the problem is CRT or brand specific.

All we know is that it was described as an "old CRT" as pictured here.

CitiBear's test confirming the interference effects is here.

 

[FullOnShred]

Starting at 7am tomorrow I will be recording a large number of 2 hour sessions back to back to back. 34 hours total. I decided to use this approach rather than two or three loooong sessions.


What I need to know is this - Is this unit up to the task of recording almost continually for 34 straight hours without overheating or HDD corruption? I would be setting up for 15+ 2 hour sessions and several one hour sessions, but all back to back to back. Can this unit handle it?


I have adequate airflow both above and below the 3576, it is on an open shelf and raised up off the shelf with 4 small drinking glasses, one at each corner, so there is airflow above and below, behind, and on all sides. The ambient temperature will be around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Any experience/solid info is welcome. Should I perhaps aim a room fan at the 3576 and leave it on for the duration? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by FullOnShred /forum/post/17151214


Starting at 7am tomorrow I will be recording a large number of 2 hour sessions back to back to back. 36 hours total. I decided to use this approach rather than two or three loooong sessions.


What I need to know is this - Is this unit up to the task of recording almost continually for 36 straight hours without overheating or HDD corruption? I would be setting up for 15+ 2 hour sessions and several one hour sessions, but all back to back to back. Can this unit handle it?


I have adequate airflow both above and below the 3576, it is on an open shelf and raised up off the shelf with 4 small drinking glasses, one at each corner, so there is airflow above and below and on all sides. The ambient temperature will be around 75 degrees fahrenheit. Any experience/solid info is welcome. Should I perhaps aim a Fan at the 3576 and leave it on for the duration? Thanks in advance for any help.

I've tested my 3575's with several 6- and 8-hour continuous sessions, back to back, analog to digital, etc. with no overheating or ill effects.


These machines don't seem to get hot as long as room-temp. air can enter on right front side and exit out back. Fan can't hurt but don't think it's necesary.


I've not even put any feet underneath cuz I never noticed any heat buildup with the 6-12" of open space I have around the back and sides.


Only thing I'm not sure I understand is the 36 hours... I'm not sure if the machine will cut off at 12 hours cuz it'll be recording continuously back-to-back. I've not tested that, but the 12-hour restriction might only apply to ONE continuous rec session (since the timer won't let you go over 12 hours for one title). It may, but not sure, allow multiple timer recs adding up to 36 hours as long as programs are rec as diff. titles? An interesting test... I'm jealous!


Actually, based on HDD articles, they do better when operating w/o parking the heads, so 36 hours might just be "a piece of cake"?

YMMV of course.

 

[FullOnShred]

Thanks Wajo, for your response, and for ALL you do for us here at AVS Forum! Youda man!!

I actually will (hopefully) have 16 separate 2 hour Timer Scheduled recordings and 2 separate one hour Timer Scheduled Recordings. You said this unit can start a back to back recording very quickly, so I am going to trust the station to begin and end their programming "On Time" and create 18 individual Titles instead of 3 very long titles that would be more difficult to edit.


Wish me luck!

 

[teamqsr11]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo /forum/post/17142262

A couple of 2160A users have posted on a feature that the original 2160 doesn't have. It's called HDMI CONTROL and it's found in the Setup > HDMI menu.


I've posted some info on it in the Setting help file here.

Does this work if your unit is going through an AV receiver?

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by teamqsr11 /forum/post/17152021


Does this work if your unit is going through an AV receiver?

Not sure. One of the 2160A users who runs HDMI thru a receiver and uses HDMI Control will have to answer that.


I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't work cuz, once the HDMI out was "active," the TV would be receiving the control signals from the 2160A?

 

[SteelTownGuy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wajo /forum/post/17151324


...36 hours might just be "a piece of cake"?

This is what I predict will happen. I don't see any reason why these DVDR's wouldn't handle a very long recording session broken down into several pieces.


This sounds like a pretty important archive project, Shred. If you don't have it plugged in to an uninterrupted power supply, you better cross your fingers. Make sure you choose a record speed that matches the quality that you want on your finalized DVD's. You do not want to have to real time dub this later unless you want to take a 4.5 hour job and turn it into a 36 hour job.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FullOnShred /forum/post/17151490


...You said this unit can start a back to back recording very quickly, so I am going to trust the station to begin and end their programming "On Time" and create 18 individual Titles instead of 3 very long titles that would be more difficult to edit.

It certainly will start back-to-back recordings very quickly. Especially since it sounds like they are all from the same channel. The only real delay occurs when switching from the analog tuner to the DTV channels and back.


My 2160's gain 3 seconds / day, but we've discussed this topic a lot and it seems to be the fault of my power company (all 3 DVDR's I've had in my house behaved the same). If you experience similar time drifts, plan accordingly for a 36 hour recording marathon.


I'm sure you'll let us know how things turn out. Good luck.

 

[Kelson]



Quote:
Originally Posted by teamqsr11 /forum/post/17152021


Does this work if your unit is going through an AV receiver?

Again, it depends. If your receiver is capable of HDMI control using the standard codes then yes. Onkyo receivers are. Panasonic home theater systems are. My Onkyo receiver will sense the active component, turn itself on and the TV on and set the TV to the proper HDMI input. If the component remote has a volume control it will control the receiver volume. The more recent the vintage of your equipment the more likely they will support HDMI control.

 

[FullOnShred]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelTownGuy /forum/post/17153094


This is what I predict will happen. I don't see any reason why these DVDR's wouldn't handle a very long recording session broken down into several pieces.


This sounds like a pretty important archive project, Shred. If you don't have it plugged in to an uninterrupted power supply, you better cross your fingers. Make sure you choose a record speed that matches the quality that you want on your finalized DVD's. You do not want to have to real time dub this later unless you want to take a 4.5 hour job and turn it into a 36 hour job.




It certainly will start back-to-back recordings very quickly. Especially since it sounds like they are all from the same channel. The only real delay occurs when switching from the analog tuner to the DTV channels and back.


My 2160's gain 3 seconds / day, but we've discussed this topic a lot and it seems to be the fault of my power company (all 3 DVDR's I've had in my house behaved the same). If you experience similar time drifts, plan accordingly for a 36 hour recording marathon.


I'm sure you'll let us know how things turn out. Good luck.

Thanks for the comments and good wishes SteelTownGuy. I did not use an uninterrupted power supply because I do not own one. You are correct, all recordings are on the same channel. I did set for SP Quality because after I remove commercials this lets me dub to DVD at good quality at high speed. I did make sure to synchronize the clock on the 3576 with the one on the digital cable tuner box. Hopefully 5-10 seconds variation will not kill me as there are often commercials between programs. I went by to check up on things around 3pm today and all was progressing well. I will check it again sometime tonight. The 3576 was cool to the touch and the fan was barely running at the 8hr. mark.

 

[Dartman]

If your just backing up your dvd machines and vcr's or whatever a small UPS will do fine. I use a 750 VA I got at one of the Office stores on sale a few years ago for like 30 bucks. It will run the TV and most of my recorder units for about 20 minutes if the TV is on, and it's a 34" wide CRT, longer if the TV is off of course.

Check the deal sites like Slick deals and Fat Wallet as they are always posting deals on everything including UPS units.

I also got a APC 1500 va for my PC for about 78 out the door, 30 after rebate that was the same type of deal. They are always closing out older or non big selling units cheap.

 

[ti-triodes]



Quote:
Originally Posted by FullOnShred /forum/post/17156025


Thanks for the comments and good wishes SteelTownGuy. I did not use an uninterrupted power supply because I do not own one. You are correct, all recordings are on the same channel. I did set for SP Quality because after I remove commercials this lets me dub to DVD at good quality at high speed. I did make sure to synchronize the clock on the 3576 with the one on the digital cable tuner box. Hopefully 5-10 seconds variation will not kill me as there are often commercials between programs. I went by to check up on things around 3pm today and all was progressing well. I will check it again sometime tonight. The 3576 was cool to the touch and the fan was barely running at the 8hr. mark.

I did a continuous 24 hr TCM session on a 3575 a year ago with no problems so you should be good to go.


Let us know how it works out. Info like that is always welcome around here!

 

[FullOnShred]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ti-triodes /forum/post/17156912


I did a continuous 24 hr TCM session on a 3575 a year ago with no problems so you should be good to go.


Let us know how it works out. Info like that is always welcome around here!

Thanks for your report ti-triodes. At the 13 hour mark all was well, and the unit was still quite cool. I will check at some point later today (Friday). My recordings are scheduled to finish up at 5p.m., with 34 hours total non-stop recording if all goes well.

 

[teamqsr11]

My 2160A came in today and I have it hooked up to cable. From reading most of these threads it mentioned the "A" model has a known digital tuner problem. Didn't realize how bad it was until I tried it myself.


I have California Comcast and the unit is getting a direct cable from the main house splitter. I had Comcast measure out every outlet and they were all within spec.


My first hook up:

Coax into 2160A ant in. HDMI out to A/V receiver. Coax pass through to Samsung LN52A750 LCD.

Results:

The TV picks up over 400 digital, 90 analog, and about 30 over the air channels. This is more channels then what I get when using the HD Cable box I'm using for ON DEMAND. The 2160A, not a single digital channel. I read up a bit more and figured that I might have a "Digital Cliff" effect because I do have a signal amplifier installed by Comcast. This leads to a change in hook up.


Second hook up:

Coax into a DB-6 splitter. Coax to 2160A with -6db. Coax to TV from splitter pass through. HDMI out to A/V receiver.

Results:

I get digital signals this time on the 2160A!!! Well at least a fraction of what I should get. I'm happy I got the digital channels to my 2160A but it really is about a tiny fraction. This is an insane difference between the LCD tuner vs the 2160A tuner. Also the TV looks much better with its own signal. I do understand that the 2160A has to convert to HDMI out, but its a huge difference between viewing digital channels from the TV versus the 2160A. Is there any hook up or setting to improve the 2160A digital tuner picture quality?


Will dropping the db a bit more help? Also on my TV, the analog and digital channels are on one tuner. So when flipping through channels I get 2, 2.1,2.2 with the .x being digital but on the 2160A I have to use the DTV/TV button to access my digital channels. If its in TV mode I only get standard, and in DTV mode I only get digital. This is kind of a pain in the arse to switch. Is there a method to combine them like my TV?


Wajo: What would you recommend for video settings on my 2160A with the components I'm using? I have listed my full A/V hook up below.


A/V hook up:

Coax from main splitter to Motorola DCH3200 Digital Cable Box

HDMI out from DCH3200 to Samsung LCD LN52A750

Optic out from DCH3200 to Yamaha AVR RX-V663


PS3 HDMI out to AVR. This is my main source for movies and network streaming.


Coax from main splitter to DB-6 splitter. Coax -6db to 2160A. Coax pass through to LCD. HDMI out to AVR.


Logitech Harmony 880

6.1 Speaker Set.


I'm looking into upgrading the HDD on the 2160A but I want to make sure this is the unit to keep. If there isn't much more I can do about the tuner issue then I'll proceed to the upgrade and pray Funai comes out with a FW fix. If it is a unit issue tuner problems then I might swap for another from Walmart and pray I get one with a better digital tuner. I'm getting about 50-70 digital channels right now and mostly the useless ones.


Still working on reading the rest of this thread