On Tue, 5 Jul 2011 11:02:35 -0700, "Gene E. Bloch"
Post by Gene E. BlochPost by PeterPost by mickyPost by PeterI can't comment on that model, but I'm very satisfied with the Magnavox
H2160MW9 A HDD/DVD Recorder with digital tuner I've been using since 10/09.
The later model you name i dl'd the manual and it talks about
recording starting every time one turns the machine on. Does your
model do that and is it easy to override. There is a page that
discusses override info, but I didnt' understand it.
Thanks.
On the H2160MW9 A, that features is called "autostart recording". The
machine starts to record whenever the machine is turned from standby to
on; it won't automatically save the recording for later viewing,
although you can manually do that with great ease if you desire. There
is no setup option to disable this feature but it has never bothered me.
If it doesnt' bother you, that's very important to me. It still
might bother me, but I can live iwth it. (In fact, on balance, it
still pleases me that I noticed this in advance.)
Post by Gene E. BlochPost by PeterI don't use the DVR's tuner to watch broadcasts real-time, so the only
I do that a lot, because it's in the central place, connected to the
attic antenna. I have a settop box there too (with an A-B switch, so
I can record one station and still watch another live) and I have a
set-top box in another room on the second floor. On the first floor I
think reception will be worse. .
Post by Gene E. BlochPost by Petertime my machine is on is when I am programming the timed recorder,
recording a program, or watching something that I have previously
recorded. The amount of wear and tear on the hard drive, and extra
electricity consumed by the unit when it is autostart recording while I
am programming timed recordings is negligible compared with the use I
give it recording programs and watching them.
Okay. I've taken more and more to watching the recorded version,
even if I'm only 5 seconds behind live. For one thing., I can stop
and read text that is embedded in movies, like signs and postal
letters that are part of the plot, or crime scenes. Or see things I
missed when I was not paying attention or getting something from the
stove.
For another, one of my tvs seems to have bad sound -- only notice it
rarely -- and my ear seems to be giving me a problem too, so I rewind
15 seconds and play it again. Only rarely does that help, but making
the sound louder often lets me hear more detail. Going upstairs to a
better tv helps a lot more. (I'll replace the tv in the kitchen but
the one in the basement just failed entirely, about 6 years after I
found it on the curb, and I have to replace that first.)
It has to do with digital I'm sure. I'm sure that whole syllables
are missing, even when I play it three times and loudly. I still have
some videotape movies I bought at the library for a dollar, and once I
connect my mult-room remote to the VCR too, I'm going to run tests on
the sound quality of videotape. Pretty sure it will be higher and
without humanly audible flaws.
And my digital sound is recorded over the air, which I'm told has no
compression and is the best kind of digital sound (and picture) when
the reception is not below par.
Back to the paragraph I'm replying to, Sort of as Gene points out,
thhe auotrcording is I think an example of ether dvdr design moving
closer to cable dvdr design, or actual DVDR production starting with a
cable dvdr.
I don't have cable but I think this somehow has to with not having to
syncrhonize two timers. Do cable boxes have timers that switch
channels, and do they have a way to turn on the tunerless DVDR?. If
the recording starts automatically when the dvdr box is turned on,
that's one thing the cable box doesn't have to do.
Post by Gene E. BlochPost by PeterAccording to my manual, "by using this function, you can pause or go
back for the TV program you are currently watching [I assume they mean
if you are watching via the DVR's built-in tuner], and you can also
start recording the whole program even at the middle of the TV program
[I think what they mean is that if in the middle of the program you
decide that wish you had recorded it from the beginning, the machine has
already done that for you]. The temporary recording can be made up to 6
hours of time range."
One other thing, this unit is incredibly quiet and distraction-free.
When it is on, the only way to tell (if there is any ambient noise or
sound at all) is to observe the digital display on the front. If you
listen very carefully, you will hear an occasional soft whir or click,
but almost nothing. The unit must generate very little heat because
there does not seem to be a cooling fan and both the top plate and back
seem sealed (except for the connector penetrations on the back). All
the better to keep out dust.
Quiet is good. I don't hear my Philips fan, but my Philips and the
515 magnavox do show a little fan, only 2 inches x 2, on the back
The two bumps on the top left and bottom left of it were big clues to
me that they were made by the same company.
Post by Gene E. BlochPost by PeterI know that occasionally lemons come off even the best production lines,
and you can find highly negative comments from some users on some blogs,
but I'm very pleased and wouldn't hesitate to buy another Magnavox DVR
(I think that they are made by Funai). P.S. Neither I nor any member of
my family have any personal or business relationships with the companies
involved.
So you say, but I have in my hand a list of Board members and your
sister-in-law's name is on it.
Post by Gene E. BlochThis is the way most Cable and Satellite set-top boxes do it.
Actually, all of them, AFAICT.
Thanks to both of you.