yeah Posted September 6, 2010 Author Posted September 6, 2010 kjp great find of yours with the 1888h remote unlocking hidden features on the 397 i tried it myself and it works the LG tech was very surprised thanks again for your help on that all the best
dml-ee Posted October 12, 2010 Posted October 12, 2010 Hello. Thanks for the mention of the hidden remote functions for the RH397D. - Note that all control functions are implemented within the PVR, the remote only spits out code numbers to access these functions. Lazy manufacturers may not include all supported functions on the supplied remote. Personally, I find the lack of "Thumbnail" annoying - now I just need to get a remote with that button on it! I am a new forum member. - We had an LG RH7823W (Analog PVR+DVDR) for nearly 3 years, and enjoyed the step up from a VCR, though it had many glitches, some of which were eventually fixed by a firmware upgrade (which LG made it hard to find out about.) Eventually the optical drive died - just before expiry of the 3-year warranty - and LG were kind enough to replace it with the new RH397D (with SD tuner). - We have neen very happy with the RH397 for 2 years now, finding it quite stable and reliable. - I have just been browsing the forum because we are looking to upgrade to a 2-HD tuner product, due to the expansion of DTV programming. To those looking for new recorders, LG have several interesting new models: MS408D/MS409D = 2xHD PVR 250GB/500GB + spare HDD slot + LAN/Wifi networking HR598D/HR599D = 2xHD PVR 250GB/500GB + BD/DVD player + LAN/Wifi networking HR558D/HR559D = 1xHD PVR 250GB/500GB + BD/DVD player + LAN networking + 3D capable (Finally some products with Blu-Ray players, though none with BD or even DVD recorders!) I am presently considering the MS408D ($499 from Radio Rentals) or the HR598D ($596 from JB). The wife will complain that none of them allow edit/split of recordings, which she is used to on our RH397D. Unfortunately, none other in the current crop of DTV recorder products seem to support editing either. I hope to obviate the lack of DVD recording and editing by networking with our PC for editing and DVD recording. I look forward to further informative discussions on the forum. Best regards.
Guest PKtrams Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 Hello I have recently purchased one of these 397D recorders. My question is, can I record one channel on HDD and view another live?
diesel Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 PKtrams said: I have recently purchased one of these 397D recorders. My question is, can I record one channel on HDD and view another live?How many SD tuners does it have...1?If so then the answer is No. You could however; record one show and possibly watch one prerecorded show, or record one show on the DVDR and watch the other using your TV's internal tuner
dml-ee Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 PKtrams said: HelloI have recently purchased one of these 397D recorders. My question is, can I record one channel on HDD and view another live? Hello PKtrams. RH397D has one tuner (capable of both Analog and SD reception), so if you are recording DTV you can't change channels to watch another. That is the reason we bought an extra set-top-box to connect on the AV input of our older Analog PVR. The RH397D will let you watch one recording while recording a live channel.
Guest PKtrams Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 dml-ee said: Hello PKtrams.RH397D has one tuner (capable of both Analog and SD reception), so if you are recording DTV you can't change channels to watch another. That is the reason we bought an extra set-top-box to connect on the AV input of our older Analog PVR. The RH397D will let you watch one recording while recording a live channel. Thank you for that. I have another STB. So where do I connect it. Do I need a splitter from the aerial socket?
diesel Posted October 19, 2010 Posted October 19, 2010 PKtrams said: Thank you for that. I have another STB. So where do I connect it. Do I need a splitter from the aerial socket? Put a splitter on the aerial and connect the AV output from the STRB to another AV input on the TV. Then just swap between AV inputs to switch between devices. A universal remote like a Logitech Harmony 515/525/600 etc is a very good cheap way to bring it all together and simplify it. Just stay away from the Harmony 300 remote - it's useless.
yeah Posted May 27, 2013 Author Posted May 27, 2013 (edited) Hi diesel and kjp, you were very helpful to me with info on the Lg Rh397d Dvd Recorder in 2010 in this thread, helping me greatly make a good purchase i have enjoyed using it has been going fine until now...recently in the last few days for the first time ever a few recordings have failed, and the system freezing up during recording a show...its happened 3 times in the last few days...two recordings after several hours of recording time, and one after only a few minutes there has been no other problems, and all dvd discs burnt have been ok i got an extended 2 year warranty on top of the initial 12 months so the total warranty is 3 years from JB HiFi and it was purchased late August 2010, so its good under warranty for another 3 months...so should i take it to LG for possible repair, or should i wipe all recordings first on the HDD and defrag/format system or change back to factory settings to see if that helps? if so is it dangerous to do this and can it solve the recording failing issue? do you first have to wipe all recordings from hdd first or does it not matter? in the manual it says if unit not operating normally there is an option to reset the unit...by pressing and holding the power button for 5 seconds and unplugging power cord for 5 seconds then reconnecting...could doing this solve the failed recordings problem? will this reset wipe all recordings from hdd? also what is a good amount of free space to have on the hd? is it good to get rid of recordings off the HD after they have been burned to dvd or is it ok to leave them there a while? if i did have to get a different dvd recorder do you know of any equivalent dvd recorders with at least all the same features, inputs, and things like the 15 second skip function, and editing of clips in the hd the 397 has at a similar price and quality? any help with any of my questions would be greatly apprecated, it would be great to hear from diesel or kjp, or anyone else who could give some advice...im also going to speak to LG tech support and JB Hi Fi warranty tech support for any possible fixes before making the JB HI Fi extended warranty claim thanks edit - i just made a successful 3 hour recording on the HDD so I will monitor it...im not sure if failed recordings on a dvd recorder HDD are common, or if its a sign of an HDD in the early stages of becoming problematic on a more regular basis...i will see how it goes upcoming, and the good thing is i still have 3 months left under warranty edit 2 - i spoke to lg tech support who recommended software update via usb, then possibly a HDD format or going back to factory settings...i will see if updating software (the 2011 update from lg site) solves the issue Edited May 28, 2013 by yeah
pgdownload Posted May 28, 2013 Posted May 28, 2013 Hi, lots of questions there. I'll throw out some thoughts: 1) Are you having any issues with playback? Try setting an 8 hour recording during the day or overnight (or perhaps 10 ones hour ones all back to back). See if you can get the unit to crash again. Is it only one channel? 2) Could be a heat issue, could be getting old, could be the harddrive is giving out or could just be bad luck and won't happen again. 3) Defragging doesn't apply to PVRs, only to PCs (which is why there's no defrag option in the menu). FYI defragging is needed as 1000's of tiny files are created and deleted across a harddrive. A PC then goes to the gaps created and fills them in with more data so you end up with a single file being saved all over the harddrive (a bit here a bit there). Defragging sorts them all back into single long files. A PVR generally only has 50 files (your recordings and they are 1000Mb+ in size. So deleting one doesn't leave any little gaps 4) Doing a reset (either the way you mentioned or using a Factory Reset option in the menu) will not erase your hardrive (although I'd suggest using the menu option rather than the button method). You will need to rescan channels and re-enter timers etc. There will be a dedicated FORMAT HARDDRIVE option in the menu to erase your files. 5) Free space on a PVR is just wasted space. Of course leave enough space free for new recordings (50 Gb?) but how you use the rest of the space (full or empty) doesn't impact performance at all. 6) You might find returning the unit a bit involved (if you decide to do that). JB might just take it and give you a credit / refund, but as an extended warranty you might have to send it to a third party repairer. They'll assess it and if the fault isn't easily repeatable then they'll send it back as working. That said, if the issue continues much more then I'd look to get it returned sooner rather than later. Regards Peter Gillespie
yeah Posted May 28, 2013 Author Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) thanks for your help Peter i edited my above post to change defrag to 'defrag/format' to make it clearer...thanks for the info i keep the dvd recorder on alot and hardly ever turn it off as i watch foxtel via the line input - perhaps turning it off more regularly will help? also i often manual record overnight and leave it to record for the maximum time allowed for a single recording which is 12 hours, at which point the recording stops automatically no problem with playback or any other problem in nearly 3 years i have owned it until these 3 recent failed recordings...but again the most recent recording i made for 3 hours was ok so as i just made a successful 3 hour recording on the HDD I will monitor it closely and will make plenty of recordings to see how it performs...im not sure if failed recordings on a DvdRecorder HDD are common, or if its a sign of an HDD in the early stages of becoming problematic on a more regular basis...i will see how it goes upcoming, and the good thing is i still have 3 months left under warranty i spoke to Lg tech support who recommended software update via usb, then if needed possibly a HDD format or going back to factory settings...i will see if updating software (the 2011 update from Lg site) solves the issue...i hope so, but without the 2011 software update it has worked fine, so i am not sure how much smoother the software update will make the dvd recorder...if there are any more issues it sounds like the format option would be the most effective option Edited May 28, 2013 by yeah
pgdownload Posted May 28, 2013 Posted May 28, 2013 Formatting the drive is unlikely to change much IMO. Its likely a 'quick format' which basically leaves the drive almost untouched and just changes a few pointers to say the all the space is available again. The one off odd failed digital recording isn't all that uncommon but once its happened a few times in a few days then it indicates somethings probably wrong. I agree the software update is also unlikely to be a fix given its been fine to date. But you never know. A format and a FW update and a factory reset and it could clean out some gremlin. Out of interest is burning shows to a DVD highly important? There are good non DVD options as a possible replacement (Does your unit record two channels at once?) Regards Peter Gillespie
diesel Posted May 28, 2013 Posted May 28, 2013 Hi Yeah. Peter has provided some good advice. Not much I can add, but I would ask, have you had any other intermittent issues, like the unit freezing or not being as responsive? The HDD could be failing, or one of the caps bulging or maybe the power supply unit is bugging out. If it's under warranty, intermittent faults are hard to diagnose and often maybe pre-cursors to other faults coming... If you have to replace it, probably a Panasonic XW390 (or equivalent new model) or maybe see what LG has on offer. Unfortunately DVDRs seem to be on the way out, or at the very least there's a lot less models on offer and features removed. Make sure you check all functions before committing a new model
pgdownload Posted May 28, 2013 Posted May 28, 2013 Quote Unfortunately DVDRs seem to be on the way out, or at the very least there's a lot less models on offer and features removed.Hey diesel. Have been wondering a bit later about the whole DVDR/PVR market. There seems to be less and less on offer these days.Regards Peter Gillespie
yeah Posted May 29, 2013 Author Posted May 29, 2013 (edited) Peter I suppose I just prefer recording to DVDs for shows/sporting events I want to keep, and it only records one channel/input at once, but I can watch a previously recorded HDD recording whilst recording something else Diesel, no problem other than 3 failed recordings - 2 long ones and 1 short one in the space of a few days, which resulted in the system freezing/locking up, so I had to power off then back on and it was ok - but since then all my recordings, short, 3 hours and even 8 hours have all been fine...I did delete about 5 movies off the HDD to free up space, and no issues since then I am going to keep doing recordings on a regular basis, and power off the unit more regularly, and as much free space as i can...if there are any more issues i have 3 months warranty, but if no more problems it may have just been a temporary thing...if it does happen again i will try the format. factory reset, firmware update, but if not i probably wont...but i wonder if i should utilise the warranty regardless of what happens before it expires in august, just in case, and take it in for them to look at I will research that Panasonic you mentioned and any other possible brands which sell a similar priced model with similar functions if i need something new thanks to both of you for your response and help Edited May 29, 2013 by yeah
yeah Posted May 31, 2013 Author Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) On 28/05/2013 at 9:39 AM, diesel said: Hi Yeah. Peter has provided some good advice. Not much I can add, but I would ask, have you had any other intermittent issues, like the unit freezing or not being as responsive? The HDD could be failing, or one of the caps bulging or maybe the power supply unit is bugging out. If it's under warranty, intermittent faults are hard to diagnose and often maybe pre-cursors to other faults coming... If you have to replace it, probably a Panasonic XW390 (or equivalent new model) or maybe see what LG has on offer. Unfortunately DVDRs seem to be on the way out, or at the very least there's a lot less models on offer and features removed. Make sure you check all functions before committing a new model i agree about dvd recorders and basic functions now being very limited the Panasonic you mentioned i think has editing functions, but no ability to combine clips together which i think is bizarre to not include that function the current LG dvd recorders and BD recorders have no editing functions at all within the hdd which is just simply hard to believe but apparantly that is the case and the front AV inputs are no longer on virtually all current models why such basic, much needed, important functions are removed is beyond me Samsung, Sony, Pioneer etc dont make a DVD recorder at the moment im pretty sure - so will all the major companies be moving to BD recorders(which will also allow DVD recording), with full hdd editing, or will it just head towards pvr hdd recording only with no ability to burn to BD or DVD? so it appears the LG RH397D is perhaps one of the last decent quality dvd recorders to feature hdd recording, dvd disc recording, all basic hdd editing features, and featuring front panel AV inputs so I am going to keep this dvd recorder and just get it repaired as needed as long as parts remain available, as i have no need for $400 - $800 recorders that feature too many things i dont need, and missing several basic things i do need if anyone knows of any current decent quality hdd of any size/dvd recorder with all basic hdd editing features included, and both front and back analogue AV inputs, plus the 15 sec or 30 sec or 60 sec skip function, please let me know thanks Edited May 31, 2013 by yeah
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