Guest PhilC Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 Hi All, I have a 'DGTEC 2000A Plus' STB & an LG DR4812W DVD Recorder. When I try and record onto DVD the picture is perfect but goes black and white for a few seconds every 3-5 minutes. It is connected through the analogue in/outputsand I have set the output from the STB to Video mode. It also does the same on the TV when viewing through the AV input on the DVD recorder. I have already swapped it (the DVD Recorder) with another of the same model and it is still doing it. I went to take it back again to upgrade it to one that would work but the salesman at The Good Guys tells me you can't record from a STB because it is digital and it has Macrovision on it. He also said that Australian Standards won't allow for digital to be recorded. I don't beleive any of this but can someone let me know if he is right or not. When I plug the STB from the analogue output into the TV or video recorder it is prefect-no problems so it's not the STB. It's just into the DVD recorder. I have spoken to LG (before the good guys) and the said they have never heard of the problem. Thanks...PhilC
JasonBB Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 When you hook it directly to the TV are you using the same connections? it sounds a bit odd, some of the recorders are coming with macro vision now but it will not let you record anything so that shouldn't be your problem.
Guest PhilC Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 When you hook it directly to the TV are you using the same connections? it sounds a bit odd, some of the recorders are coming with macro vision now but it will not let you record anything so that shouldn't be your problem. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes I am just unplugging the yellow video cable from the DVD and plugging into the TV or Video and it is okay. Apparantly this LG model does come with Macrovision but I wouldn't of thought the TV stations would be transmitting in Macrovision? PhilC
JasonBB Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 Its a bit of a grey area, I know you cant record HD but SD should be no problem, try using a different connection.
delbz Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 This sounds wierd. I record from my STB and Foxtel STU to the Panasonic DVD recorder. You mentioned a VCR?? That may cause a problem if its between the TV and DVD recorder.
Guest PhilC Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 This sounds wierd. I record from my STB and Foxtel STU to the Panasonic DVD recorder. You mentioned a VCR?? That may cause a problem if its between the TV and DVD recorder. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It is plugged directly into the DVD recorder. Only tested it on the VCR. I have tried video and S8. also swapped all cables. What model Panasonic do you have and does it have Macrovision?
andrew1503559519 Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 It's most likely to be the difference of the colour crystal in the DGTEC vs that in the DVD recorder. The frequencies are just far enough out that the DVD decoder has to resynch every few minutes. An analogue broadcast signal is locked to a very high accuracy reference at the TV station but this frequency does not exist in the digital signal. Try recording analogue received on a VCR to confirm whether it's the DGTEC or DVD that's out. Sadly, despite proving it, it will be very hard to convince either manufacturer it's their problem!
Guest PhilC Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 It's most likely to be the difference of the colour crystal in the DGTEC vs that in the DVD recorder. The frequencies are just far enough out that the DVD decoder has to resynch every few minutes. An analogue broadcast signal is locked to a very high accuracy reference at the TV station but this frequency does not exist in the digital signal. Try recording analogue received on a VCR to confirm whether it's the DGTEC or DVD that's out. Sadly, despite proving it, it will be very hard to convince either manufacturer it's their problem! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually I have recorded analogue from a video onto a DVD with it not going to B&W. I was copying video clips and making each one a different title on the DVD and after about 12 titles it decided to erase it all so (all were protected) all I had left was the titles with no video clip but just a blue box. When I tried to play it, it said 'cannot play error code 28'. I have swapped DVD recorders at the Good Guys since then but haven't tried to record the video clips yet. It'll probably do the same thing.
andrew1503559519 Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 Try it again using the VCR just as a tuner (without recording and playing from tape). This should just pass through the signal from the TV station which contains accurate "colour burst". Then you will prove whether the DVD works with a reasonable quality signal. One solution is to buy a timebase corrector (TBC) but I would have hoped that most DVD recorders include one preciesly for this reason. In any case I'm interested to hear what happens. Actually I tried some 2 years ago to dub VHS to DVD without success - they were breaking up every 10 seconds or so :-( Off air signals worked fine.
delbz Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 PhilC - being stuck like this is not acceptable. Take it back and demand a refund (it's not fit for the intended purpose)or swap to a different model DVD recorder. I can vouch for the Pansonic E85H (but that may be out of your price range - $1200).
Guest PhilC Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 PhilC - being stuck like this is not acceptable.Take it back and demand a refund (it's not fit for the intended purpose)or swap to a different model DVD recorder. I can vouch for the Pansonic E85H (but that may be out of your price range - $1200). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks...What I would like to know is - does anyone have any problems recording from their STB to their DVD recorder. That way I can rule out Macrovision and give me some ammunition when I return it.
Guest PhilC Posted October 2, 2004 Posted October 2, 2004 Try it again using the VCR just as a tuner (without recording and playing from tape). This should just pass through the signal from the TV station which contains accurate "colour burst". Then you will prove whether the DVD works with a reasonable quality signal. One solution is to buy a timebase corrector (TBC) but I would have hoped that most DVD recorders include one preciesly for this reason. In any case I'm interested to hear what happens. Actually I tried some 2 years ago to dub VHS to DVD without success - they were breaking up every 10 seconds or so :-( Off air signals worked fine. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I tried the above and it works fine. It is only the signal from the STB. I can record Foxtel okay though. I have also tried both the AV inputs with the same result.
Guest PhilC Posted October 3, 2004 Posted October 3, 2004 Try it again using the VCR just as a tuner (without recording and playing from tape). This should just pass through the signal from the TV station which contains accurate "colour burst". Then you will prove whether the DVD works with a reasonable quality signal. One solution is to buy a timebase corrector (TBC) but I would have hoped that most DVD recorders include one preciesly for this reason. In any case I'm interested to hear what happens. Actually I tried some 2 years ago to dub VHS to DVD without success - they were breaking up every 10 seconds or so :-( Off air signals worked fine. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I tried the above and it works fine. It is only the signal from the STB. I can record Foxtel okay though. I have also tried both the AV inputs with the same result. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Okay Crisis is over...I tried to record the video clips again and after about 12 titles it deleted half of them and then wouldn't allow me to eject the disk even unplugging it and restarting it. The Good Guys had no choice but to refund it. Thanks to all who helped - PhilC
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