[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Abula /forum/post/18762323

thx for the opinion... now i was reading the amazon reviews, and some have complaints about the coax cable and channels not displaying after passing thru the unit... So there is a risk that if i go for the battery my cable channels wont be recorded... lol, this is probably not for all, but still. Now im not sure what to do, i might just buy a cheap ups, like APC Back-UPS ES 450VA , and just place it after the panamax... decisions.....

, this hdd recorder is hurting my wallet... but i love buying stuff, just dislike when it doesnt work.

People running their coax thru a surge suppressor of any kind sometimes have problems with the picture, but losing channels could also just mean that the suppressor or UPS circuit is losing signal strength just enough for digital channels to drop off the "digital cliff," which is described here.


It doesn't take much to drop a digital signal that's already on the low side of power.


I'm thinking an amp just before the UPS might alleviate this problem, if it occurs at all in your system.

 

[JimLely]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Abula /forum/post/18761634


Thanks for sharing your 513 impressions.


By what what you posted, im assuming a simple cut of power will lose all the clock and scheduled recording

.

Wajo,


Is this true??

 

[Abula]

Thanks wajo, ill consider that, and im sorry for waisting your time some.... i didnt read that this version dont have a battery.... i was with so many open pages that i didnt see its APC 12-Outlet J-Type Power Conditioner with Battery Backup and thats really out of my budget, so the cheap ups will have to work. But im wondering so many owners here of 2160/513, what do you guys use to keep your time/schedules from erasing on power outages / small surges.

 

[7558037]

I've "institutionalized" the use of Auto Clock to increase power-backup time with a new section in the Settings help file.

Here's that new section.

 

[Bob_Collins]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Abula /forum/post/18762441


But im wondering so many owners here of 2160/513, what do you guys use to keep your time/schedules from erasing on power outages / small surges.

An inexpensive UPS should be more than adequate for this purpose (I use one myself without any issues).


Almost all companies who produce "Home Theater" UPS devices include at least one which uses the square wave or simulated sine wave instead of a true sine wave output. While I don't deny that a true sine wave is best, if the simulated waveform were harmful or destructive to our equipment, I doubt that they would produce such a unit and label it for "Home Theater" use as that would leave them open to all kinds of "legal issues" or litigation.


Having said that, the true purpose of a UPS device is to get you over those short power events, or to permit you time to do an orderly shutdown of your equipment (such as allowing you to turn off your projector and have power for the cooling fan to run to keep it from frying the bulb). A UPS is not meant to allow you to sit down and watch the full Star Wars saga (all 6 episodes), while running on battery. (Too many people seem to that this is what the battery backup is for!)


If you have other devices plugged into the UPS and they are shutdown (powered off), or if the dvr is the only device plugged into the UPS then there should be adequate capacity (with most UPS units) to allow the 2160/513 to remain powered and thus keep your scheduled recordings intact throughout some even more "extended" outages.

 

[JoeKustra]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob_Collins /forum/post/18763545


An inexpensive UPS should be more than adequate for this purpose (I use one myself without any issues).


Almost all companies who produce "Home Theater" UPS devices include at least one which uses the square wave or simulated sine wave instead of a true sine wave output. While I don't deny that a true sine wave is best, if the simulated waveform were harmful or destructive to our equipment, I doubt that they would produce such a unit and label it for "Home Theater" use as that would leave them open to all kinds of "legal issues" or litigation.


Having said that, the true purpose of a UPS device is to get you over those short power events, or to permit you time to do an orderly shutdown of your equipment (such as allowing you to turn off your projector and have power for the cooling fan to run to keep it from frying the bulb). A UPS is not meant to allow you to sit down and watch the full Star Wars saga (all 6 episodes), while running on battery. (Too many people seem to that this is what the battery backup is for!)


If you have other devices plugged into the UPS and they are shutdown (powered off), or if the dvr is the only device plugged into the UPS then there should be adequate capacity (with most UPS units) to allow the 2160/513 to remain powered and thus keep your scheduled recordings intact throughout some even more "extended" outages.

So let's talk power. One other gift of a UPS is to isolate your equipment from power fluxuations. All my power, phone and cable lines are above ground. Isn't that scary? I have one 'Shack' UPS for my computer and one older APC Smart-UPS for my bedroom TV & DVR. For my primary entertainment system I have a 1600VA APC BackUPS with extra battery battery pack. Living out in the sticks I get a lot of failures and my electric company has said that it will keep power off for 3 to 6 minutes just to be sure the lines are good. So, for a power draw of about 400 watts just to watch TV I get 90 minutes of backup. With everything turned off it could last a long, long time. I sort of converted my house into an RV a few years ago. My latest outage was 12 hours and I had zero ill effects. My 2160 performed a 60 minute recording during that outage. I also have a 1500w inverter for my heat and fridge. The battery for that inverter weighs 70 pounds. After living through the California blackouts I got just a little nutty about power. Ok, maybe a lot nutty. I have solar powered motion sensor outside lighting too.

 

[JoeKustra]

I put a bid in for the MDR513H that started at .01 dollars. Ebay now tells me the item is withdrawn. This is displayed for the last bid:

Cancelled: US $200.00

Explanation: The seller ended the listing early and cancelled all bids. Bid: Jun-11-10 05:00:25 PDT

Cancelled: Jun-11-10 10:34:52 PDT


Somebody got scared? Interesting. I wonder which border the seller is headed to?

 

[Bob_Collins]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeKustra /forum/post/18763973


So let's talk power. One other gift of a UPS is to isolate your equipment from power fluxuations.

Yes, this can be an added benefit of a UPS but it is not the primary purpose of a UPS as I mentioned above. The UPS is meant to get you through those brownout or complete blackout conditions (and some other major fluctuations), and can also protect you against some over-voltage conditions, but it is primarily meant to provide power when no input power is present. Also, MOST UPS designs out there do not provide true isolation as you are actually running on utility power until the UPS detects an event which triggers it to switch to battery power.


In a situation like yours where everything is above ground, a good whole house surge suppression filter/system, backed up with a power conditioner to be sure your power feed to the equipment is clean/safe and/or a UPS for battery powered runtime during the above mentioned types of events would be best (although possibly a bit pricey).


Just my $0.02!

 

[gastrof]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Georgesl /forum/post/18760653


...I'd like to say that I've given the 513H a thorough workout but I really haven't. I plugged it in, scanned the channels (all analog cable here)...

Where do you live and who's the cable company?


I want to move there.

 

[Kansas_Tom]



Quote:
Originally Posted by gastrof /forum/post/18765057


Where do you live and who's the cable company?


I want to move there.

You can move to an area served by Cox Cable and have analog service until at least 2012.


From the Cox digital transition FAQ.
Cox FAQ

"Cox subscribers will not need to take any action to receive digital programming. For at least three years after this deadline, Cox will continue to offer analog broadcast signals to customers who do not receive Cox's digital services."

 

[JoeKustra]



Quote:
Originally Posted by gastrof /forum/post/18765057


Where do you live and who's the cable company?


I want to move there.

I asked first. I wonder if you scan for only analog, will the 2160/513 also add digital channels if it finds them?


You really want to move someplace without 1080i? And I thought I was in the middle of nowhere.

 

[artwire]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeKustra /forum/post/18765764


I asked first. I wonder if you scan for only analog, will the 2160/513 also add digital channels if it finds them?


You really want to move someplace without 1080i? And I thought I was in the middle of nowhere.

I was wondering if the new machine still has the dual (analog/digital) switch for tuning each separately, or was it replaced with a combo tuner?

 

[7558037]



Finally got a 2nd Review of the 513 from GManIV on Walmart.com.

 

[waldwolf]

Another brand new Magnavox MDR513H is being offered on eBay HERE .

Current bid: $0.99
Time left: 2 days, 11 hours
Bid History: 1 bid so far

____________


UPDATE: Bidding closed. Winner paid almost full list-price.

 

[JimLely]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob_Collins /forum/post/18763545


An inexpensive UPS should be more than adequate for this purpose (I use one myself without any issues).


Almost all companies who produce "Home Theater" UPS devices include at least one which uses the square wave or simulated sine wave instead of a true sine wave output. While I don't deny that a true sine wave is best, if the simulated waveform were harmful or destructive to our equipment, I doubt that they would produce such a unit and label it for "Home Theater" use as that would leave them open to all kinds of "legal issues" or litigation.


Having said that, the true purpose of a UPS device is to get you over those short power events, or to permit you time to do an orderly shutdown of your equipment (such as allowing you to turn off your projector and have power for the cooling fan to run to keep it from frying the bulb). A UPS is not meant to allow you to sit down and watch the full Star Wars saga (all 6 episodes), while running on battery. (Too many people seem to that this is what the battery backup is for!)


If you have other devices plugged into the UPS and they are shutdown (powered off), or if the dvr is the only device plugged into the UPS then there should be adequate capacity (with most UPS units) to allow the 2160/513 to remain powered and thus keep your scheduled recordings intact throughout some even more "extended" outages.

How many years can you get from a UPS until the internal battery needs replacement? Where do you obtain replacements?


Jim

 

[Kansas_Tom]



Quote:
Originally Posted by waldwolf /forum/post/18766419


Another brand new Magnavox MDR513H is being offered on eBay.

I wonder if it will stay listed this time. This is the same one that was pulled earlier.

 

[waldwolf]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JimLely /forum/post/18766422


How many years can you get from a UPS until the internal battery needs replacement? Where do you obtain replacements?


Jim

Most "Home/Small Office" type UPS units utilize a sealed lead-acid battery. Typical battery life in these units is around 3 - 5 years. Actual life is effected by many factors including overall battery age, number of charges/discharges, enviroment, etc.


Replacements are available directly from the UPS manufacturer as well as many aftermarket suppliers. Keep in mind the batteries used in these units are very heavy, so shipping costs are usually quite high.

 

[JER01]

Hi all,


Well I have managed to fill up 2160 #2 already - 175 titles in EP - mostly half hour, some one hour program reruns that I like. This unit is in my bedroom - where I use it late night. I set it up with programs that I could watch when there is nothing good on the TV . I have not yet watched the vast majority of these titles. 2160 #1 is not far behind -- only 11 hours left.


When I started looking through my titles to see how I could free up some space, it was not long before frustration began to set in. Most of them have at least a 30 sec lead in before I could ID the actual program. When I tried to use the ff button to skip thru the lead in, I found it does not work in the Title mode. I can see this is going to be a very LONG & tedious process.


Isn't there enough info broadcast with the program for the 2160 to at least ID the basic program name -- such as "Becker" or "The King of Queens". That would help a lot. I don't want to delete any of the titles of these programs - I would like to collect as many episodes of these programs as I can find.


I guess I am going to have to Dub these programs to DVD - and then copy them to my computer. And then come back & delete most of the titles. Too bad there is not a usb port on these units. That would allow me to hook up a usb ext HD - where I could move files around at will. Much faster and more efficient. Have any of you Techno - Geeks out there looked into what it would take to add a usb port to the 2160? Probably not feasible.


A 500 Gig HDD probably would not be enough for what I want to do - although it would help. I really do not want to take that route right now.


I am sure many of you have gone thru this situation yourselves. I am open to suggestions you may have on the best way to attack this problem.


Jer

 

[DigaDo]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JER01 /forum/post/18766857


When I started looking through my titles to see how I could free up some space, it was not long before frustration began to set in. Most of them have at least a 30 sec lead in before I could ID the actual program. When I tried to use the ff button to skip thru the lead in, I found it does not work in the Title mode. I can see this is going to be a very LONG & tedious process.

Just do a quick front cut edit to the point where there is a screen that will identify the recording for you. Start reading here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...count=17#Edit6

 

[Bob_Collins]



Quote:
Originally Posted by waldwolf /forum/post/18766652


Most "Home/Small Office" type UPS units utilize a sealed lead-acid battery. Typical battery life in these units is around 3 - 5 years. Actual life is effected by many factors including overall battery age, number of charges/discharges, enviroment, etc.

3 - 5 years is quite optimistic in my experience with multiple units. 2 - 3 years is more realistic to what I've seen, and sometimes I've been lucky to get 1 year out of the battery/UPS (All were name brand units (same brand in fact), most were the "SmartUPS" variety which is more expensive and supposed to be better quality).


As to cost, the bigger the unit, the longer the runtime you get, but also the more expensive the battery (sometimes there will be multiple batteries in one UPS), and the heavier the batteries. Sometimes the replacement cost of the batteries is quite close to the cost of a completely new unit, so be cognizant of that when deciding what to do.