[Charles_I]

I finally picked up my new DVDR3576H on Friday (manuf. date April 2008!) and spent an afternoon experimenting with setting it up. Please note I'm in Canada so some of these differences to what's been posted in the States may be due to different cable company tactics and even different Federal regulations than in the U.S.


I have a Sony Trinitron CRT TV (with S-Video input), a STB with basic cable plus a "Package" that includes things like CNN, A&E etc. I don't subscribe to any digital or movie channels. However all of the Package channels are scrambled so they can only be accessed with the STB.


As per the wajo instructions I first connected the Philips directly to my cable and did a channel scan. Only basic cable channels came up - no surprise extras as reported by some people. I also didn't see any difference in pic quality between the STB and the Philips - definitely better sound from the Philips but not pic. Also, no auto-clock setup. After at least half an hour I set the clock manually.


I connected the Philips first in line - then the STB as per wajo's instructions but something weird happened. After about 20 minutes the STB stopped displaying any picture or sound - only the menu options worked. I experimented with the STB outputs (switching S-Video with Composite) and finally "recycled" it (unplug for a minute and plug in again) and it worked.


Then I put in a commercial DVD and watched an hour of a movie. After I stopped the DVD - I saw the same thing - no picture, no sound. When I read the STB manual's troubleshooting it said that one of the causes of no pic/sound is a "splitter" placed before the STB. So, I figured that the STB might think the Philips is acting like a splitter, and since there was no noticeable difference in pic quality and only basic cable on the Philips I switched them and put the STB back to first in line.


Then I tried to do a test record on the HDD. Problem was that when I pressed REC-MODE nothing happened on screen. No visible menu came up. I didn't notice till today that I have to select HDD or DVD first. So I tried to set the timer. It allowed me to select HDD. When I came back later I saw that the clock had jumped ahead by about 4 hours at some point - so the timer record never reached the start time.


I am going to be transferring old VHS tapes to the Philips but the problem with the video inputs on the Philips and my TV is that there is only ONE line-in on the back, line-in 2 is on the front which is fine for a camera but if you're going to leave these units permanently connected in your living room you might not want Composite cables hanging all over the place permanently. So I devised a splitter system using two separate 4-way video switcher boxes that goes like this:


Box 1 controls TV input with STB, Philips, stand-alone DVD player, old Pio Laser Disc player.


Box 2 controls Philips input from STB and 3 VCRs.


A fairly complicated wiring setup, especially the audio splitting (to stereo amp as well) but it all works. I can post a diagram if anyone is interested.


Charles

 

[7558037]

Great report!


Two things of note:


1. You can set your clock for Auto Clock, but you have to manually set it first. Auto Clock doesn't seek a signal from PBS (if you've get one in Canada) until noon and midnight, so it just maintains the clock setting. If you don't receive a PBS channel, your clock may get "confused" and feel neglected and abandoned.

Not sure about DST in Canada, but you might be able to use it... if not, might be best to turn that Off? Wonder why your clock went 4 hours off unless DST did something... strange?


2. I've heard some others who said placing their units in front of their STB got a worse pic. These people were in the same area of California with TWC, but what you're describing means some STBs don't want you to split the signal before the STB, and the 3575/76 coax passthru is a splitter. So, I guess I've got to add a note to the Setup info to be more specific.. right now it just mentions the California experience, but no "cause."


I think a diagram of your setup will help someone down the line. In fact, If you do post it, I'll put a link to it on the Sticky thread Setup page. (I wish this info had been posted in the Sticky to keep all the good stuff in one place to look.)

 

[Charles_I]

Thanks wajo.


1) Yes PBS (Buffalo) is in my "Package" - I will try your suggestion. What's DST again? Sorry, I can't keep up with these acronyms


2) Clarification: I didn't say placing the unit in front of the STB got a "worse" picture - I just said there was no difference in picture.


Diagram to come. I will do it up nicely (like yours) on computer and post it when I'm done.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14206019


Thanks wajo.


1) Yes PBS (Buffalo) is in my "Package" - I will try your suggestion. What's DST again? Sorry, I can't keep up with these acronyms


2) Clarification: I didn't say placing the unit in front of the STB got a "worse" picture - I just said there was no difference in picture.


Diagram to come. I will do it up nicely (like yours) on computer and post it when I'm done.

Yea, it was those other people who got a "worse" picture.


DST = Daylight Saving Time... it's the 3rd option in the Clock menu and the default is "ON (Mar-Nov).


Would be nice if you posted your diagram in the Sticky thread?

 

[Charles_I]

I thought DST was another Philips term. I already enabled DST since we are part of it here - Eastern Standard Time.


How do I post in the Sticky thread? And should I make it new post or add the diagram to one of yours?

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14206126


I thought DST was another Philips term. I already enabled DST since we are part of it here - Eastern Standard Time.


How do I post in the Sticky thread? And should I make it new post or add the diagram to one of yours?

You post there the same way as here... use the "Post Reply" at bottom of last (or any) page.


On DST, do you observe the NEW rules like the U.S.... Mar-Nov rather than the old Apr-Oct? If so, you're OK with the default option. If you're on the old rules, use the 2nd option in the DST menu, Apr-Oct.

 

[Charles_I]

OK pic is ready to go. That was tough getting it down to just over 300 px width and keep it legible. Post Reply replies to a post already there. How do I start a new one in Sticky Thread?


Yes we are on the NEW DST (due to lots of trade with U.S. the biz world would have had a melt-down of their own otherwise). If you ask me they should just get rid of standard time now - too much trouble for only 4 months.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14208444


OK pic is ready to go. That was tough getting it down to just over 300 px width and keep it legible. Post Reply replies to a post already there. How do I start a new one in Sticky Thread?

The Post Reply is at the bottom of each FULL PAGE (like right after the last post in a thread). It opens a "generic" post window that places it after the last post in that thread. It doesn't matter which PAGE you're on when you click that bottom "Post Reply"... it'll place your post right after the LAST post in that thread.

 

[Charles_I]

I know. I think we are misunderstanding each other. I was asking how to post a NEW thread in Sticky Threads (unless you want me to put the diagram on as a Reply to your Sticky.) I'm putting it here for now.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14213216


I know. I think we are misunderstanding each other. I was asking how to post a NEW thread in Sticky Threads (unless you want me to put the diagram on as a Reply to your Sticky.) I'm putting it here for now.

I placed the image in the existing Sticky thread here.

 

[Charles_I]

I did some recording tests over the weekend. Thanks WAJO for your EXCELLENT notes. Especially the delete to end of title warning. The fact that the segment loops around and starts playing at the beginning is definitely weird and would have thrown me off if I didn't read your instructions to ignore it. A couple of things I noticed:


I currently have only one title recorded. When I go to HDD Edit the title automatically starts playing. Is there no way to stop it? Stop doesn't work. A bit annoying. What happens if you have 6 titles in there? Do they all start playing at once?


I used pause and back and forward to find the first Start frame. I was worried about Play running too quickly so I tried the back and forward arrows while on Pause. Even though they show the 3 increments of speed they don't change speeds - the frames move at an extremely slow rate in either direction. It takes a long time to move one second. Can I move forward and back at something like one press for each second? It'll take a long time to do accurate edits at that rate otherwise.


LOVE this machine. Fantastic quality of dubbing to the HDD and very accurate edits once they are done.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14235294


I did some recording tests over the weekend. Thanks WAJO for your EXCELLENT notes. Especially the delete to end of title warning. The fact that the segment loops around and starts playing at the beginning is definitely weird and would have thrown me off if I didn't read your instructions to ignore it. A couple of things I noticed:


I currently have only one title recorded. When I go to HDD Edit the title automatically starts playing. Is there no way to stop it? Stop doesn't work. A bit annoying. What happens if you have 6 titles in there? Do they all start playing at once?


I used pause and back and forward to find the first Start frame. I was worried about Play running too quickly so I tried the back and forward arrows while on Pause. Even though they show the 3 increments of speed they don't change speeds - the frames move at an extremely slow rate in either direction. It takes a long time to move one second. Can I move forward and back at something like one press for each second? It'll take a long time to do accurate edits at that rate otherwise.


LOVE this machine. Fantastic quality of dubbing to the HDD and very accurate edits once they are done.

The index pics in the Title menu only start playing when you select a specific title. It doesn't really PLAY the actual title so it doesn't matter how long it plays.If you press OK, you see the options to Play from beginning, etc. for selection. If you press the Play button on a title that shows "New" on top left, it starts playing the actual title from the beginning of the title. If it doesn't have a "New", that means you've watched some of it and left it in a Resume position, so pressing Play starts the actual title from where you left off. You can let index pics keep playing with no effect on the actual title.


On the Edit, once you press Pause, the FF/REW and NEXT/PREV buttons operate in slow motion... FF/REW do a slow play, while NEXT/PREV do a frame advance (one frame at a time). To get out of slow mode, press PLAY once to get it playing again, then the FF/REW and NEXT/PREV buttons work normally.


When trying to cut front frames, only REW will stop on first frame, all other will just loop back into a normal play. Here's the complete Front-Cut instruction (from the Title Edit post here) :

SCENE DELETE, FRONT-CUT -- Deleting Frame 1 to New Beginning Frame

1. SELECT EDIT > SCENE DELETE... menu has "Start" highlighted and title begins playing.
2. PRESS REW... use REW only, any speed, title auto-pauses on 1st frame.
3. PRESS OK... sets Start point and switches menu to "End."
4. PRESS PLAY... move to and pause on new/desired 1st frame using PLAY/PAUSE-mode buttons.*
5. ARROW DOWN TO "DELETE."
6. PRESS OK... and answer Yes to confirmation questions

*In PLAY mode: FF/REW for fast play...NEXT/PREV for Chapter move...SKIP/REPLAY for preset move...PAUSE for frame-stop.

In PAUSE mode: FF/REW for slow play...NEXT/PREV for single-frame move...PLAY to get out of PAUSE mode.
If you need to do a front-cut AFTER a mid- or end-cut, the easiest way to get to the beginning again is to press the BACK button all the way to the Title menu, let the index pic regenerate, then go back in and make the front-cut. You could also use the REPLAY and PREV buttons to get close to the beginning, but they won't auto-pause, so use REW for the last move.


P.S. Your edit points will be accurate on the original title on the HDD. However, be aware that they will move up to 14 frames if you do a high-speed dub (HSD). Since Scene Deletes set a Chapter Mark, those marks have to be in specific locations and spacing per DVD/MPEG rules, so a HSD will "move" those marks at edit locations to a "proper" place per the rules. Best to make Scene Deletes in black space/fades where any movement won't be noticeable. More info on HSD here.

 

[tac7]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14205741


I finally picked up my new DVDR3576H on Friday (manuf. date April 2008!) and spent an afternoon experimenting with setting it up. Please note I'm in Canada...

Hi Charles_I -- could you tell me where you bought the DVDR3576H and for how much? I'm close to Toronto also, but haven't been able to locate a single store that sells these Philips DVD recorders. BestBuy had them listed on their Web site for a short time but never had any in stock, and now they are gone from their Web site again. I also phoned the Philips US online outlet, but they won't ship to Canada.

Quote:
As per the wajo instructions I first connected the Philips directly to my cable and did a channel scan. Only basic cable channels came up - no surprise extras as reported by some people.

I was hoping you'd be able to pick up some digital channels, including the digital music channels with the 3576. When I did an auto channel scan on a digital TV, it picked up over 200 channels (many of the digital) in the clear. Wonder why the Philps does not pick up any, unless your cable company has literally everything scrambled, which would be unusual.


BTW, on the Pioneer DVD recorders, once you specify a PBS channel, it sets the time in less than a minute, and automatically switches DST as well. Strange that the Philips looks for the PBS signal only twice a day...

 

[Charles_I]

Sorry just got back to this now. I bought the 3576H from TechDepot Canada after an exhaustive search for a Canadian seller. As TechDepot told me Best Buy had the 3575H at a sale price to clear out stock because it's the older model. But wajo will tell you you're better off with the 3576H even though it costs more. Seems it's only been out since April. It took 2 or 3 weeks for them to get it but I had no problem - even picked it up myself at their office.

Quote:
The index pics in the Title menu only start playing when you select a specific title. It doesn't really PLAY the actual title so it doesn't matter how long it plays.If you press OK, you see the options to Play from beginning, etc. for selection. If you press the Play button on a title that shows "New" on top left, it starts playing the actual title from the beginning of the title. If it doesn't have a "New", that means you've watched some of it and left it in a Resume position, so pressing Play starts the actual title from where you left off. You can let index pics keep playing with no effect on the actual title.

Yes, but as far as I can't tell you can't STOP it from playing the title you are on. Still find this annoying - especially when I want to just edit or add a title and haven't even watched the show yet! There it is playing away, unstoppable. Trying to concentrate on the remote and the sound is blaring away at me - have to turn sound off so I can think

Don't know what the reason for this "feature" is. You should be able to Play and Stop just like everywhere else.


Also, I'm having a bit of trouble with editing Titles. I don't see much notation on this in the great wajo notes or in the manual. They just say to use the alpha keys. When I see the 3 tiered menu ABC, symbols, etc. I choose one (press Okay I presume) then use the alpha keys, I guess, but I couldn't get it to work properly. And how do you delete a character (like backspace) if you've put a wrong one in?


Thanks

Charles

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14292872


Also, I'm having a bit of trouble with editing Titles. I don't see much notation on this in the great wajo notes or in the manual. They just say to use the alpha keys. When I see the 3 tiered menu ABC, symbols, etc. I choose one (press Okay I presume) then use the alpha keys, I guess, but I couldn't get it to work properly. And how do you delete a character (like backspace) if you've put a wrong one in?

I noticed I don't have any instructions for titling except for some basic info in a DVD subject, so I've added some simple instructions to the EDIT subject. Here's what I added. Let me know if clear enough?

Changing Title Name


You'll notice that the 3575/76 auto-titles shows on the HDD with a 1st line of text that has date/time/channel/rec mode, and a 2nd line that has date and rec length. The 2nd line is permanent but the 1st line can be changed by you to something more descriptive of the contents.


If you don't change the 1st line, your HDD and DVD titles will include the ORIGINAL rec mode text ("HQ," "SP", etc.) since it's part of the auto-titling function. This might be confusing later if you dub real-time to a different rec mode... the original rec mode text persists thru all dubs unless you change titles with the Edit menu.


To change a title name on the HDD (can also be done on unfinalized disc):

1. Open Title menu and select title with left/right arrow keys, press OK on title > Edit > Edit Title Name. Cursor is over 1st letter in auto-title line at bottom and capital letters are checked. You can have only 30 characters of any type in a title.
2. To delete an existing title entirely, press Erase key and hold. To erase a letter or space midstream, press Erase key once over a letter or space, or hold down and erase all letters one at a time as the erase cursor moves backwards.
3. Start new title by pressing a letter key (like cell-phone texting) and keep adding letters at right. Cursor auto-moves right as long as there's an open space there.
4. At end of 1st word, right arrow twice to start a new word.
5. Press zero (0) to add a space under the cursor and split the text at that point, leaving a blank space or a new letter/number/symbol you enter there.
6. To enter 29 diff. symbols, press the 1 key while still in title line. That automatically selects the symbol option and places the first symbol at cursor position. When done with symbols, press any other number, 2-9 to auto-revert to the previous letter option you were using.
7. Press up arrow to move up to and select a diff. letter/number option.
8. Press OK on a letter/number option, which auto-returns you to the title line. Numbers will add at any cursor position and move text for another number.
9. Press OK when done, with cursor in title line, and answer confirmation questions.

 

[Charles_I]

Looks very clear. Thanks wajo! I'll try it out and let you know if I have any problems.

Charles

 

[ch256]

tac7

I got a Philips DVDR3576H last month from Circuit City online.

Great service..got it in 3 days!

 

[tac7]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14292872


Sorry just got back to this now. I bought the 3576H from TechDepot Canada after an exhaustive search for a Canadian seller. As TechDepot told me Best Buy had the 3575H at a sale price to clear out stock because it's the older model. But wajo will tell you you're better off with the 3576H even though it costs more. Seems it's only been out since April. It took 2 or 3 weeks for them to get it but I had no problem - even picked it up myself at their office.

Thanks Charles_I for getting back to me. These 3576s are again - or still back-ordered, but I was able to talk to a rep there who gave me all the info/shipping/pickup details on those units.

Can you tell me if you're still not able to get any digital channels in the clear - even the ones (channel 91-98?) that are generally part of the basic, non-movie package, including the digital music channels?

I was just curious if there was something about that Philips tuner that it wasn't able to pick up any QAM channels in the clear, or whether all TVs with QAM tuners had the same problem -- that your cable system scrambles literally everything.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ch256 /forum/post/14301082


tac7 I got a Philips DVDR3576H last month from Circuit City online. Great service..got it in 3 days!

Thanks ch256... I was trying to get a 3576 in Canada (you likely got it from Circuit City in the US), but I did inquire at Circuit City Canada. Unfortunately, they don't sell any Philips DVD recorders at all.

 

[Charles_I]

Hey tac7 - I noticed after I posted the link to TechDepot that it said 'On Backorder' which it didn't say when I ordered mine. They probably had so much trouble getting mine that they changed the website description. I don't imagine these are flying out the door. Mine was probably the only order they had since they came out in April

(See wajo's news flash that Philips will no longer be making them after 2009). The rep there was great and very helpful when I talked to him too.


As for the digital channel issue, I'm not sure if we're referring to the same channels. Initially I setup my Philips the way wajo's diagram and instructions explain it, with the Philips FIRST in the chain, before my STB. When I did that and scanned for channels I got NO scrambled channels that have to be unscrambled by the STB as was reported by some U.S. cable subscribers. So, since that's kind of mandatory, I switched them so that the STB is first. I can't specifically remember if I picked up channels 91-98, but if they are unscrambled as part of the cable feed the answer is probably yes.


Hope that helps.

 

[7558037]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles_I /forum/post/14317205


As for the digital channel issue, I'm not sure if we're referring to the same channels. Initially I setup my Philips the way wajo's diagram and instructions explain it, with the Philips FIRST in the chain, before my STB. When I did that and scanned for channels I got NO scrambled channels that have to be unscrambled by the STB as was reported by some U.S. cable subscribers.

I hope you meant "I got no UN-scrambled channels" above?


No one has reported tuning scrambled channels with a 3575 or 3576 since it's "impossible" for any DVDR to see or record scrambled channels w/o a STB, and then only via line input, not thru the tuner.