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Posted (edited)
  Ham-Dog said:
I recently bought one of these.

Firstly, does anyone know how I can make dvd watching region-free? I'm just over from the UK and have 100s of dvds it currently won't play. :(

Secondly, feedback asked for from an earlier poster:

- I used to have Sky+; equivalent to Foxtel+ over here (if that's what you call it); Foxtel with a hard drive and twin-tuners. Hated paying for it, but had no choice initially and got sucked into the sport and movies. Without realising it at the time, it was also a fabulous piece of kit

- fast-forward to my LG and honestly, I HATE it.

1. It's so slow and clunky in comparison. Not just the Blu-Ray - I've heard Blu-Ray boxes are usually slow - but the menus and doing just, well, anything.

2. The problem with the LG jumping to something you're about to record when you're watching either a recorded programme or live tv - yeah, that happens. Why?

3. You can't turn it off when it's recording something - why not, the Sky+ box can record in standby mode?

4. There's also no facility to automatically buffer every recording - Sky+ allowed me to set a pre and post recording buffer of up to 10minutes. I have to do this manually on the LG - for every recording I make!

5. It does allow me to record a programme on a daily or weekly basis, there's no "series link" functionality, which Sky+ had, allowing there to be gap weeks between recordings, or more than one recording per week, as per whatever the schedules dictated.

Honestly, I could kick myself. I did a load of research on TVs and got a good one (Samsung series 6 LED - beautiful). And for some insane reason just bought the LG at the same time. I didn't want to pay for Foxtel, or get sucked into it loving it like I ended up loving Sky. But in hindsight, I wish I had (or bought something equivalent in functionality).

Any tips on the region-free gratefully received.

Sorry can't help.

I also saw this in JB and Bing Lee while looking to replace my old SD Supernet PVR.

I didn't notice that it has a Blu-Ray reader but it would be nice if it had.

I'm mostly interested in the twin-recording. I can view USB stuff directly on the Samsung TV or my non-blu-ray DVD if I have to, and move the stuff to the PC for recording through the external drive if I have to.

Ham-Dog - are you sure you are talking about exactly the same model?

Also - I read the forum's FAQ's last night (they seem to be a bit outdated) and the FAQ's and responses to them say to watch for functional menus and remote control - any deal-breakers there?

What's the easiest way it (or any comparable twin-HD recording PVR) allows to skip ads?

Thanks.

Edited by Penedo

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Posted
  Ham-Dog said:
3. You can't turn it off when it's recording something - why not, the Sky+ box can record in standby mode?
You'll probably find that the Sky Box never actually went into a proper standby mode, as this would not allow Sky to communicate with your box. Like the TiVo unit, standby probably consumes just as much power as when the unit is being used, the only difference is it turns off the output to the TV. The LG and other PVRs do a proper standby once recording is complete
  Ham-Dog said:
5. It does allow me to record a programme on a daily or weekly basis, there's no "series link" functionality, which Sky+ had, allowing there to be gap weeks between recordings, or more than one recording per week, as per whatever the schedules dictated.
That's because the LG unit uses FTA EPG data and that is at the control of the networks. They are not really very helpful in their EPG data, so your alternatives here are to get a PVR that uses IceTV EPG or has it's own EPG data eg TiVo or Foxtel. Beyonwiz, Dvico, Topfield and a few other brands use IceTV. It's a pretty good service and they often have 1/2 price specials
  Ham-Dog said:
Honestly, I could kick myself. I did a load of research on TVs and got a good one (Samsung series 6 LED - beautiful). And for some insane reason just bought the LG at the same time.

Foxtel IQ and TiVo are probably better boxes, or maybe a Beyonwiz with an IceTV subscription

Posted
  Trevor Gensch said:
Forgive me if I have this wrong - do you mean markers? this unit allows you to set 9 markers in a file so you can jump to various bits.

This Unit only records what it gets - it doesn't allow you to change the compression quality to save space. But it has 250 gig, and another 250 gig via redemption, so for me personally this won't be a problem :)

I have used it quite a bit streaming .avi files from my computer (something my original xbox does flawlessly). It has the occasional network error pop up - 2 times so far over the course of perhaps 20-30 different .avi files from my main computer. They look a lot better though via the LG than my xbox.

Trev.

Yep markers are what I was referring to. How about deleting the marked sections to recover disk space? My (now old) panasonic does a nice job of this and I find this a need-to-have feature.

The pana also lets me set any of 4 compression qualities, something I use quite a bit, but does only have a 160gb disk.

Thanks for the response!

Posted
  gawaterman said:
So has anyone bought one of these and could they comment on its con's and pro's ?

For example would be interested to know if it had the same problems as the MS408D/MS409D when a recording starts and how well the recording/playing, from/to an external HDD works.

Pro's: Does most things pretty well, fairly easy to setup, haven't really had any playback or recording issues thus far. Recording and watching another channel or something over WiFi at the same time is handy.

Con's: Slow in loading, FF/RWing over WiFi is jerky with a delay between when you FF (or rewind) and when it starts doing so (although no problem with the tracking), no simplink, has its own filing system so networked files can take a bit of navigating to.

Overall I like it. We haven't gotten rid of our old unit (LG RH277H) and probably won't till it dies.

Although has anyone managed to find or use a hack to get rid of region coding? First DVD we put in it was from Amazon and wouldn't play. I've tried a few with no luck.

Posted

I saw these in JB HiFi today by chance, at one point I was looking at the PVR Ms408d or Ms409d but couldn't afford them, these look better with BluRay included and still the option of an external HDD for extra storage.

What is the deal with dubbing to USB, can you then put that in your PC/Mac and watch, rip or edit the clips?

I currently have a couple of old LG PVRs with DVD but they only have SD tuners, and I know one day, I'll have to step up to something newer. I just need something I can use to get recordings off the PVR and rip them to AVI/MP4.

Posted

Unfortunately the manuals for the HR599D aren't yet published online.

(I too was looking at MS409 which I think has same functionality except BluRay player)

Does anyone know if it can copy files TO your PC?

Or can it share out the internal drive so you can use your PC to copy the files off it?

If it's something I want to keep, I want to be able to easily move it to my PC, edit out adds (videoredo is great) and then burn.

Any other comments or alternatives that people would suggest?

Posted
  dave.wph said:
Any other comments or alternatives that people would suggest?

Beyonwiz DP-Lite and DP-P2 also allow this, as well as the Topfield TRF2400 and TRF2460.

Posted
  dave.wph said:
Unfortunately the manuals for the HR599D aren't yet published online.

(I too was looking at MS409 which I think has same functionality except BluRay player)

Does anyone know if it can copy files TO your PC?

Or can it share out the internal drive so you can use your PC to copy the files off it?

If it's something I want to keep, I want to be able to easily move it to my PC, edit out adds (videoredo is great) and then burn.

Any other comments or alternatives that people would suggest?

The HR599D (and HR598D) does not share its internal drive via the network, but does allow you to either record programs directly to an external USB drive or copy a program from the internal drive to an external USB drive. The programs are recorded as a transport stream including the subtitles.

Posted
  fifty_hertz said:
The HR599D (and HR598D) does not share its internal drive via the network, but does allow you to either record programs directly to an external USB drive or copy a program from the internal drive to an external USB drive. The programs are recorded as a transport stream including the subtitles.

What's 'transport stream'?

With my current LG I can edit the ad breaks and do other things, then burn to DVD to keep or rip to other formats using a PC, what I basically need to know is can I do similar via USB or over a network?

Posted
  lancer1993 said:
What's 'transport stream'?

With my current LG I can edit the ad breaks and do other things, then burn to DVD to keep or rip to other formats using a PC, what I basically need to know is can I do similar via USB or over a network?

Transport stream is the format used for transmitting digital TV over the air.

Most PVRs record programs directly to a file in this format to avoid any extra processing.

The HR598/HR599 has no program editing functions. The program files have to be transferred to a computer, via a USB drive, for editing.

Posted

I've got the MS408D and was considering upgrading to the HR598D to get the bonus drive and the blu-ray feature. Frankly I have no use for the caddy really. I put a 1TB drive in then took it out and put it in a case. Found it more useful on my Mac than in the LG. I have 2 notebooks and the WiFi plug in a Belkin hub on the back and that suits me fine for all my needs. But after reading about it on the net it appears there is no USB socket on the back of this unit.

So i wouldn't be able to plug my hub in. I could plug it in the front that would mean the cover flap would be down all the time and USB cable sticking out. Very messy.

So A: Can someone who has one of these verify that that is the case and B: is the functions any better than on the MS408D. Specifically FF and RW. I rarely use them and find the 30 second skip much better or even GOTO.

Posted
  PCKid said:
I've got the MS408D and was considering upgrading to the HR598D to get the bonus drive and the blu-ray feature. Frankly I have no use for the caddy really. I put a 1TB drive in then took it out and put it in a case. Found it more useful on my Mac than in the LG. I have 2 notebooks and the WiFi plug in a Belkin hub on the back and that suits me fine for all my needs. But after reading about it on the net it appears there is no USB socket on the back of this unit.

So i wouldn't be able to plug my hub in. I could plug it in the front that would mean the cover flap would be down all the time and USB cable sticking out. Very messy.

So A: Can someone who has one of these verify that that is the case and B: is the functions any better than on the MS408D. Specifically FF and RW. I rarely use them and find the 30 second skip much better or even GOTO.

New to this forum, first post. Yes, I bought the LG HR599D (500GB HDD) last week. Overall synopsis: Extremely dissappointed.

Why?

I have had a Pioneer 630H (160GB HDD analogue single tuner) for 4 and a half years and it has served me exceptionally well. Seriously, one fantastic product, almost nothing was missed in creating this gem. For some reason mine was even a region free DVR, which amazed me because friends with the exact same model could never unlock theirs. Anyhoo, with the World Cup Soccer coming up, and the standard of current digital signals meaning I was getting a tad tired of recording the poorer quality analogue stuff on my Pioneer, I lashed out last week and bought the LG HR599D. I usually research my stuff quite well, but on this occasion I have disgraced myself (though in terms of BRD player/recorders with twin HD tuners and internal HDD there aint a lot out there - by my reckoning it's only the Panasonics and the LGs - wasn't fussed about burning BRDs so I went the LG). Let me quickly romp through pros/cons and an overall synopsis on the LG HR599D (BTW, got it for $879 at Southland Westfield Harvey Norman, Melbourne):

Pros: Twin tuners provide superb picture quality, possibly better than my Pioneer TV HD tuner, which I never thought could be the case.

Comes with a 500GB HDD via redemption (but see cons below).

Ability to record two pre-programmed shows at once (but there are limitations, beware con below).

Disk tray is quick to load and eject (possibly 2-3 seconds, a huge advantage over the Panasonics from what I hear).

The DVD player functionality will play Region 2 as well as Region 4 (I have many Region 2, UK disks and was able to test and it played perfectly - don't have any other region disks to test, but looks promising for those I imagine).

Menu systems are very user friendly, was thoroughly across everything in about 1 hour. Well done LG on this! Have heard Panasonic horror stories.

Cons:

Store guy told me the Blu-Ray functionality is Region 4 only. Haven't been able to test otherwise yet.

Yep, one USB port and it's on the front, under the big long main flap, extremely annoying if you want to permanently connect your USB drive (which I will do when it arrives, sigh). At least my Pioneer had a smaller flap that covered only a few connections, DVI, USB and an analogue in). This one requires the entire flap down to support the USB cable. Looks uuuugly.

500GB redemption offer requires you to pledge your firstborn on the online submission. Crikey, not only did I have to quote the receipt number and all the details on it (name of seller etc, though that one was optional) but once I was done with all that detail hard entered it then demanded I scan the receipt in and upload it!!. Seriously! At the end of that trail of annoyance it then tells me my HDD will arrive in......10 weeks!!!!!!!! Not happy Jan!

You can pre program two shows to record, and it will do it, but don't think of pre-programming one and then touch recording one - the touch recorded program will cease as soon as the pre-porgrammed show kicks into record mode. Boy, this is annoying. Means if you want to touch record a show you happen to find whilst browsing, if there is another show that will overlap it (pre-programmed) then you need to pre-program the show you wanted to touch record (meaning you're going to lose 1-2 minutes whilst you set that all up). Annoying!!!!!

Less the title, YOU CAN'T EDIT ANY RECORDINGS VIA THE UNIT!!!!!!!!! This has dissappointed me more than anything. Any post editing, even just to remove pesky ads and front/back end of shows, must be done externally via your PC using some other program - the files form TV come out as an extension .ts - anyone suggest any good editing suites to edit this file format?? My Pioneer was sensational at editing. This thing just doesn't do it. Poor form LG, very poor form! Seriously, you've skimped here for the price you demand!

There is an absolute absence of any interfaces. You get your normal outs, component, analogue and an HDMI, as well as the ethernet and the USB, coaxial digital audio out (no optical) but there is no DV in, and absolutely no other ins!!!!! My Pioneer had one DV in and 3 analogue ins. Great for connecting other systems (used to connect my old VHS player up to one of the Pioneer DVR ins and record all my VHS disks.

Yes, you can't downscale the file format. You are stuck with massive files that can't be reduced in quality via the unit. Again, appalling form, though I'll admit, I new this before I bought it.

Synopsis:

Don't buy it. Get an ASTOne or something (friends have been raving to me about these things). By my reckoning we are being fleeced on these products right now, as indicated by the fact that there are really only the two products competing with each other here in Australia (talking in this exact category, ie BRD player/twin HD tuners/internal HDD etc.) Both appear less than optimised and aimed at getting some easy money whilst there's nothing out there to seriously compete.

Bide your time. A better product will come.

They are my personal thoughts anyway. Hope they are of use.

(Maybe I have been a bit spoilt by Pioneer in the past and therefore 'jaded' - no, I don't work for them, just respect them).

Posted (edited)

Thanks for the disappointing but extensive report on the LG.

I have the older LG with DVD/HDD/SDTV and apart from BluRay and HD tuners mine sounds like a better machine. I record a number of shows and edit them before copying to DVD and making AVI files for archiving. Now thanks to your report I know with the right software I could edit them on the PC (Wonder if a Mac can be used?) but it seems like a backward step, especially if you don't have a suitable PC. Also without the ability to record to DVD it really limits the achieving abilities.

Also no inputs? I connect my Austar (not MyStar) to my LG to record shows, so with this one that option is gone.

I know newer PVRs don't have DV anymore as video cameras have moved on to using USB in the main, you would think having the ability copy and edit from a video camera would be a given but I guess not.

I will think twice about buying the LG now, until some questions can be answered, maybe the Panasonic would be a better option with BR recorder?

Edited by lancer1993
Posted
  Gunnar68 said:
(Maybe I have been a bit spoilt by Pioneer in the past and therefore 'jaded' - no, I don't work for them, just respect them).

For all the issues you raised, there are a few alternatives. A little bit of pre-purchase research would have served you well and steered you towards a better match to your needs.

From all that you describe above, the Panasonic BW750/850 would have been a good match and are in runout right now so can be had for some very reasonable prices.

True PVRs by their nature are only designed to record the FTA signal as is - no ability to recorde on the fly to compress the file size. DVDRs on the other hand have this ability as they can be used to archive footage to DVD-R/BD-R and can therefore compress a HD signal to an SD one. They also have plenty of inputs for capturing external inputs such as Foxtel, video cameras, memory cards etc.

Posted
  diesel said:
For all the issues you raised, there are a few alternatives. A little bit of pre-purchase research would have served you well and steered you towards a better match to your needs.

From all that you describe above, the Panasonic BW750/850 would have been a good match and are in runout right now so can be had for some very reasonable prices.

True PVRs by their nature are only designed to record the FTA signal as is - no ability to recorde on the fly to compress the file size. DVDRs on the other hand have this ability as they can be used to archive footage to DVD-R/BD-R and can therefore compress a HD signal to an SD one. They also have plenty of inputs for capturing external inputs such as Foxtel, video cameras, memory cards etc.

Dead right Diesel, good points. I really stuffed this one up. Should have gone the Panasonic. Despite 40 second tray response, no DivX spt (apparently) and clunky instructions, I may well have been able to live with those htings, particularly over the ability of the Panasonic to edit whilst the LG can't. That would have swung me perhaps. You live, you learn...

Posted
  Gunnar68 said:
no DivX spt (apparently)

The older models (XW300, BW500) did not support DivX, but the current generation do (XW350/450, BW750/850).

  Gunnar68 said:
You live, you learn...
I'm sure you could return to place of purchase and explain the short comings of the LG and that the Panasonic may be a better choice, they may be able to do a swap/exchange.
Posted
  Gunnar68 said:
Dead right Diesel, good points. I really stuffed this one up. Should have gone the Panasonic. Despite 40 second tray response, no DivX spt (apparently) and clunky instructions, I may well have been able to live with those htings, particularly over the ability of the Panasonic to edit whilst the LG can't. That would have swung me perhaps. You live, you learn...

Can I ask, does the LG come with the PC software for editing?

Posted

Thanks diesel, so no Mac software, wonder if iMovie would work?

I'll have to check back here when I have the cash to upgrade, or the older SD tuner LG I have dies.

Posted

I presume it's just a .TS (mpeg2 transport stream) file, so anything that can edit it should work - maybe Handbrake

Posted

Well Handbrake is good for converting to AVI/MP4 it's not for editing, I think the latest iMovie can do .TS files but haven't had a chance to check it, plus it depends on how new the computer is PC or Mac. I just think its a backward step to have no editing on the newer LGs, relying on customers to have the right computer to use it like they can the older SD models.

Posted
  Gunnar68 said:
New to this forum, first post. Yes, I bought the LG HR599D (500GB HDD) last week. Overall synopsis: Extremely dissappointed.

Why?

I have had a Pioneer 630H (160GB HDD analogue single tuner) for 4 and a half years and it has served me exceptionally well. Seriously, one fantastic product, almost nothing was missed in creating this gem. For some reason mine was even a region free DVR, which amazed me because friends with the exact same model could never unlock theirs. Anyhoo, with the World Cup Soccer coming up, and the standard of current digital signals meaning I was getting a tad tired of recording the poorer quality analogue stuff on my Pioneer, I lashed out last week and bought the LG HR599D. I usually research my stuff quite well, but on this occasion I have disgraced myself (though in terms of BRD player/recorders with twin HD tuners and internal HDD there aint a lot out there - by my reckoning it's only the Panasonics and the LGs - wasn't fussed about burning BRDs so I went the LG). Let me quickly romp through pros/cons and an overall synopsis on the LG HR599D (BTW, got it for $879 at Southland Westfield Harvey Norman, Melbourne):

Pros: Twin tuners provide superb picture quality, possibly better than my Pioneer TV HD tuner, which I never thought could be the case.

Comes with a 500GB HDD via redemption (but see cons below).

Ability to record two pre-programmed shows at once (but there are limitations, beware con below).

Disk tray is quick to load and eject (possibly 2-3 seconds, a huge advantage over the Panasonics from what I hear).

The DVD player functionality will play Region 2 as well as Region 4 (I have many Region 2, UK disks and was able to test and it played perfectly - don't have any other region disks to test, but looks promising for those I imagine).

Menu systems are very user friendly, was thoroughly across everything in about 1 hour. Well done LG on this! Have heard Panasonic horror stories.

Cons:

Store guy told me the Blu-Ray functionality is Region 4 only. Haven't been able to test otherwise yet.

Yep, one USB port and it's on the front, under the big long main flap, extremely annoying if you want to permanently connect your USB drive (which I will do when it arrives, sigh). At least my Pioneer had a smaller flap that covered only a few connections, DVI, USB and an analogue in). This one requires the entire flap down to support the USB cable. Looks uuuugly.

500GB redemption offer requires you to pledge your firstborn on the online submission. Crikey, not only did I have to quote the receipt number and all the details on it (name of seller etc, though that one was optional) but once I was done with all that detail hard entered it then demanded I scan the receipt in and upload it!!. Seriously! At the end of that trail of annoyance it then tells me my HDD will arrive in......10 weeks!!!!!!!! Not happy Jan!

You can pre program two shows to record, and it will do it, but don't think of pre-programming one and then touch recording one - the touch recorded program will cease as soon as the pre-porgrammed show kicks into record mode. Boy, this is annoying. Means if you want to touch record a show you happen to find whilst browsing, if there is another show that will overlap it (pre-programmed) then you need to pre-program the show you wanted to touch record (meaning you're going to lose 1-2 minutes whilst you set that all up). Annoying!!!!!

Less the title, YOU CAN'T EDIT ANY RECORDINGS VIA THE UNIT!!!!!!!!! This has dissappointed me more than anything. Any post editing, even just to remove pesky ads and front/back end of shows, must be done externally via your PC using some other program - the files form TV come out as an extension .ts - anyone suggest any good editing suites to edit this file format?? My Pioneer was sensational at editing. This thing just doesn't do it. Poor form LG, very poor form! Seriously, you've skimped here for the price you demand!

There is an absolute absence of any interfaces. You get your normal outs, component, analogue and an HDMI, as well as the ethernet and the USB, coaxial digital audio out (no optical) but there is no DV in, and absolutely no other ins!!!!! My Pioneer had one DV in and 3 analogue ins. Great for connecting other systems (used to connect my old VHS player up to one of the Pioneer DVR ins and record all my VHS disks.

Yes, you can't downscale the file format. You are stuck with massive files that can't be reduced in quality via the unit. Again, appalling form, though I'll admit, I new this before I bought it.

Synopsis:

Don't buy it. Get an ASTOne or something (friends have been raving to me about these things). By my reckoning we are being fleeced on these products right now, as indicated by the fact that there are really only the two products competing with each other here in Australia (talking in this exact category, ie BRD player/twin HD tuners/internal HDD etc.) Both appear less than optimised and aimed at getting some easy money whilst there's nothing out there to seriously compete.

Bide your time. A better product will come.

They are my personal thoughts anyway. Hope they are of use.

(Maybe I have been a bit spoilt by Pioneer in the past and therefore 'jaded' - no, I don't work for them, just respect them).

The claim proceedure is annoying but mine are in the mail and its only been a few weeks, not 10.

The editing on the unit is neither here nor there. I've tried doing that on my other recorder before and it is a pain in the ass.

I think you have gotten caught up on minor stuff. The biggest flaw of this unit, as with any brand new line, is that it is all new. As a result things are slow to load and everything needs thinking time. Still a good unit though.

The region coding is my bug bear. It is only region 4 and I can't seem to change it. I can bring up the system menu with this:

  Quote
Click the home button on the remote, goto the Setup page, highlight the 16X9 aspect ratio, or alternatively the lock (seems to work with either) and enter in this coded sequence: 1 3 9 7 1 3 9 then hit enter.

This takes you to the System Menu page. Now I've tried hitting enter and scrolling but no luck editing. Has anyone else got any ideas on this?

Posted
  Gunnar68 said:
the files form TV come out as an extension .ts - anyone suggest any good editing suites to edit this file format??

For PCs I suggest using Smart Cutter from FameRing, but its interface may be a bit daunting at first.

This package edits the TS file without changing format, so it's quick at removing ads.

Posted
  fifty_hertz said:
For PCs I suggest using Smart Cutter from FameRing, but its interface may be a bit daunting at first.

This package edits the TS file without changing format, so it's quick at removing ads.

Thanks but I was looking at a Panasonic unit today, 250Gb, twin HD tuner and the same price, the big difference is it has a DVD recorder and not a BluRay, so for editing it makes more sense, just get a separate BR player for about $250.

Posted

Or put the extra $250 into buying the Panasonic Bluray recorder with twin HD tuners. The BW-750 and BW850 are in runout at the moment and can be had for some pretty good prices, or get the newer models which are slightly cheaper.

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