Anyone with DVD Recorders with HDD

[Achilles Tang]

Anyone having those with 80GB or 160GB harddisks?

What brands and models are you having and what's the feedback?

Thinking of getting one soon.

[shoelevy]

i use phillips one

some features i like include direct recording from camcorder to dvd.

hard disk if i'm not mistaken is 80GB and is capable of up to 120hrs of recording...but i haven't verified that...no time to go and test.

the moment you on the recorder, the hdd records what ever channel you are viewing...so that means if u pick up a call and miss like 5mins, u can actually rewind 5mins to view wat you missed and continue watching while the recording is 5mins ahead of where you are

but this feature only max of 30mins....meaning you can't rewind for more than 30mins unless u set the machine to start recording

you can even choose to press the pause button to pause the show to pick up the call...the image will freeze while the hdd starts recording the rest of the show...then when you press play again, it plays from where you stopped while continuing recording....but again...the memory set for this function is only 30mins

so yes, the hdd has 2 areas of memory...one for the 30mins real time recording and the other 120hrs

since its digital, you can even edit a show you've recorded to exclude all advertisements then burn into dvd so when that when you rewatch...its non interrupted

the only disadvantage i dun like is if you're using scv, and if you set timer to record, the timer has to be set for the scv cable box as well.

meaning the recorder will simply record whatever channel is displayed on the scv cable box...so you have to make sure the scv cable box is set to the right channel

i bought mine at $999/-

[Achilles Tang]

Thanks Shoelevy! Good info!

I got a question... can you watch one channel and record another at the same time?

[damien]

Why not try to upgrade the HDD to 200GB?

http://forums.hardwarezone.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

[bwilly]

neber ask me..?

I got two. Both are panasonic.

It can record on dvd-ram and dvd-r.

One has no hd, the other with 400G.

I got the w/o hd for about $500+, the 400G one for $1999.

depends on your requirement.

To answer your qns, cannot.

Most if not all with harddisk recorder allows u to view while the recording is still on.

Unfortunately, you cannot switch channel. The video signal is connected to your harddisk recorder.

Unless you got two cable box or like me, connect direct one to free channels and one to cable box.

ie, I can (only one way) - view free channels (TCS channels) and record SCV. I also can view my old recordings on my hd, while it was still recording new programs.

If you can, go for the higher capacity recorder. Won't regret.

For fast action sports recording, long play recording gives you crappy pic. bare minimum is short play, which gives you about 2hr of recording on a DVD-R.

[yiling]

yeap...Bwilly is corret.

Im using the sharp one with 80g.

its really frustrating when u wanan record and watch diff channels

[XPeriment 626]

yeap...Bwilly is corret.

Im using the sharp one with 80g.

its really frustrating when u wanan record and watch diff channels

Agreed. But the fault for this lies not with the DVD-R but with the cable decoder box which only allows one channel signal at a time. Nothing you can do about that. Even with a normal VCR, if you are recording from SCV you also cannot watch one channel and record another.

BTW I'm using a Panasonic and it's otherwise fine.

[shoelevy]

Thanks Shoelevy! Good info!

I got a question... can you watch one channel and record another at the same time?

this is a little tricky.

In my case, my recorder can be set to search for the signals from the basic tv channels(ch5, 8 etc etc) and that from the scv box.

Let's call the signal from the scv cable box signal X and those from the basic tv channel signal Y. (pls note that signal Y is the direct signal from the input cable from the tv station and NOT the ch5 or 8 that comes from the scv cable box.)

the recorder can be set to record signal X OR Y.

so if you want record 1 channel and view another, it can be done by either:

setting the recorder to record X while surfing Y BY CHANGING TV CHANNEL

OR

setting the recorder to record Y while surfing by changing the scv channel.

i hope i'm not being confusing here. what i'm saying is essentially similar to what bwilly and experiment626 have said. i think you'll better understand what i'm saying after you start using it.

[Achilles Tang]

Shoelevy, how do I get the signal to split... is there a splitter cable involved?

Guys... do I connect the DVD Recorder to the TV set or the cable box?

[shoelevy]

Shoelevy, how do I get the signal to split... is there a splitter cable involved?

Guys... do I connect the DVD Recorder to the TV set or the cable box?

there's only one cable that leads to your house and into the cable box.

the cable connection is:

scv box ->dvd recorder -> tv

the cable carries both signal X and Y.

however, signal X requires a decoder found in the scv cable box to decode and display properly on the tv screen. without the decoder, the signal is simply scrambled and hence, the tv inbuilt tuner cannot tune to it. that's why the cable must go into the cable box first, followed by the recorder then to the tv.

how to watch tv with recorder recording another channel?

simple, use the inbuilt tuner in the tv so search for signals Y and program the channels available into the tv memory...ch5,8,central,suria,tv1,2 and the decoded signal from the scv cable box.

let's say you set the tv ch1 for the decoded signal from scv, and 2 for channel U.

usually what you do is tv is just on channel 1 and you use the scv cable remote to channel surf right?

now lets say you wanna record "poison ivy - the new seduction" on HBO but you wanna watch jie dui superstar on channel U.

what you then do is set the scv cable to channel 60 and set the recorder to record, and you switch the TV CHANNEL to channel 2.

if you've understood what i've said up to this pt, youl'l realise you cAN"T record 2 different scrambled scv channels...meaning cannot record star movies and hbo at the same time.

i regard signal X & Y not because they come from different sources, in fact they coem from the same source, but because one is scrambled while the other is not.

[XPeriment 626]

there's only one cable that leads to your house and into the cable box.

the cable connection is:

scv box ->dvd recorder -> tv

the cable carries both signal X and Y.

however, signal X requires a decoder found in the scv cable box to decode and display properly on the tv screen. without the decoder, the signal is simply scrambled and hence, the tv inbuilt tuner cannot tune to it. that's why the cable must go into the cable box first, followed by the recorder then to the tv.

how to watch tv with recorder recording another channel?

simple, use the inbuilt tuner in the tv so search for signals Y and program the channels available into the tv memory...ch5,8,central,suria,tv1,2 and the decoded signal from the scv cable box.

let's say you set the tv ch1 for the decoded signal from scv, and 2 for channel U.

usually what you do is tv is just on channel 1 and you use the scv cable remote to channel surf right?

now lets say you wanna record "poison ivy - the new seduction" on HBO but you wanna watch jie dui superstar on channel U.

what you then do is set the scv cable to channel 60 and set the recorder to record, and you switch the TV CHANNEL to channel 2.

if you've understood what i've said up to this pt, youl'l realise you cAN"T record 2 different scrambled scv channels...meaning cannot record star movies and hbo at the same time.

i regard signal X & Y not because they come from different sources, in fact they coem from the same source, but because one is scrambled while the other is not.

ok i get what shoelevy is saying. basically your "Free-to-air" channels are the unscrambled part of the signal and always available to your TV, although it comes through your SCV cable and decoder box. Thus, you can TUNE your tv to receive those channels on a different channel number from the "normal" viewing that you use for SCV programs. Thus, you can watch say Ch 5 even though the number on your SCV box is, say 60, for HBO. You do this by turning your TV to whichever channel number you set for that free-to-air channel, and not using the normal SCV channel (should be 1 on most TVs). Since the SCV signal is still going into your DVD recorder, theoretically you can record an SCV program at this point even though you are watching channel 5. Haven't tried this, but sounds logical.

You definitely cannot record and watch two SCV-only channels though. And I'm not sure how you can record a free-to-air channel while watching SCV channel on your TV. Probably have to fool around with the set and see.

[shoelevy]

You definitely cannot record and watch two SCV-only channels though. And I'm not sure how you can record a free-to-air channel while watching SCV channel on your TV. Probably have to fool around with the set and see.

yup! u understand me!

in my case, to record free to view channel, you simply set the recorder to searching for ch5 from signal Y.

for my phillips recorder, is pretty much like the tv...it has an inbuilt tuner...and can set "channels" pretty much like the tv as well, i'm not too sure if this function is on other brands

so if i wana record ch5, simply switch to the channel in which ch5 was preset on the recorder, then continue viewing scv from your tv which is receiving signal X.

phew...think i've said enough of this topic...signing off now!

[Achilles Tang]

Hey check this out!!! Got this off Cnet Singapore.

Upgrade to digital cable TV

If you don't want to be restricted to recording only the channel you are watching, you will need to upgrade your StarHub cable to a digital service. The digital set-top box comes with a built-in function to switch channels, allowing users to set the recorder to tape programs from different channels automatically.

Update:

Alternatively, according to Starhub, households with connection A and B options on their cable TV wall socket can upgrade to connection B which will allow them to record on one channel while watching another. A technician will be sent down to change the set-top box. Installation charges may apply.

[XPeriment 626]

Hey check this out!!! Got this off Cnet Singapore.

Upgrade to digital cable TV

If you don't want to be restricted to recording only the channel you are watching, you will need to upgrade your StarHub cable to a digital service. The digital set-top box comes with a built-in function to switch channels, allowing users to set the recorder to tape programs from different channels automatically.

Update:

Alternatively, according to Starhub, households with connection A and B options on their cable TV wall socket can upgrade to connection B which will allow them to record on one channel while watching another. A technician will be sent down to change the set-top box. Installation charges may apply.

yeah but what is the difference in cost for the digital service? it might not be worth it if you only occasionally tape one channel and watch another...

[Achilles Tang]

neber ask me..?

I got two. Both are panasonic.

It can record on dvd-ram and dvd-r.

One has no hd, the other with 400G.

I got the w/o hd for about $500+, the 400G one for $1999.

depends on your requirement.

To answer your qns, cannot.

Most if not all with harddisk recorder allows u to view while the recording is still on.

Unfortunately, you cannot switch channel. The video signal is connected to your harddisk recorder.

Unless you got two cable box or like me, connect direct one to free channels and one to cable box.

ie, I can (only one way) - view free channels (TCS channels) and record SCV. I also can view my old recordings on my hd, while it was still recording new programs.

If you can, go for the higher capacity recorder. Won't regret.

For fast action sports recording, long play recording gives you crappy pic. bare minimum is short play, which gives you about 2hr of recording on a DVD-R.

If I get a splitter, to split into two cable boxes (I have two boxes, one for hall, one for room).... can I watch an SCV channel while recording another SCV channel without affecting the recording?

[yus75]

If I get a splitter, to split into two cable boxes (I have two boxes, one for hall, one for room).... can I watch an SCV channel while recording another SCV channel without affecting the recording?

if u mean to record in ur living room n watch other ch in ur room(individual set top) i dun tink its a prob.....my mom place somemore i split to maxonline in my previous room hehehe

[yus75]

Hey check this out!!! Got this off Cnet Singapore.

Upgrade to digital cable TV

If you don't want to be restricted to recording only the channel you are watching, you will need to upgrade your StarHub cable to a digital service. The digital set-top box comes with a built-in function to switch channels, allowing users to set the recorder to tape programs from different channels automatically.

Update:

Alternatively, according to Starhub, households with connection A and B options on their cable TV wall socket can upgrade to connection B which will allow them to record on one channel while watching another. A technician will be sent down to change the set-top box. Installation charges may apply.

hmmm...u mean can record ch24 n view ch60 simultaneously??mine setop is digital type but nvr subscribe digital tier.....

btw for me i dun fancy the hdd type...mine is jus the normal recordable w/o the hdd.....but been using those RW disc la....dun like the movie jus erase....

cause i got the tinkin hdd will somehow make the player slower in yrs to come wen we keep on recordin n deleting movies....aiya u knoe wat im talkin la...same theory like our pc....need to do some defrag here n there etc

i mayb wrong so dun bombared me la hehehe.....jus my quart penny....