Panasonic DMR-EH57

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ushare

483 posts

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#63433 26-Jun-2010 17:20

Hi.

You may have seen my previous thread, saying I was buying a DMR-EH58. I Have changed my mind and I would like to ask a few questions about it.

Questions..

Can I plug in my Analogue arial Cable into input and Get HD Output?

What can the TV Tuner do?

Can I change channels with my TV Remote, If I am plugging an alogue Arial input and HDMI Output?

I own a Panasonic Viera HD Ready.

Thanks.

JimmyH

2886 posts

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#345588 26-Jun-2010 19:30

As far as I am aware:

1. No, neither the EH57 or EH58 have terrestrial freeview tuners - so you won't get HD. There is a Panny that will do HD (the XW350 from memory), which I have seen reviewed elsewhere, but haven't tried. Beware - in records and plays HD off in HD off the internal hard drive only, if you copy it to disc it downscales it to SD.

2. If you mean the tuner on the TV, assuming you connect the aerial pass-through the TV tuner can do what it normally does. If you mean the tuner on the recorder, it will do what it should - tune ANALOG TV signals.

3. It depends on your TV brand. My upstairs recorder is a Panny and so is the TV, and the recorder remote will work the tuner and volume on the TV as well (seperate buttons). The TV remote will change channels on both the TV and the recorder just fine. My downstairs recorder is a Panny and the TV is a Samsung, and the TV remote won't work the recorder. Based on my experience, Panny TVs and recorders (and remotes) interoperate very very well.

ushare

483 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#345603 26-Jun-2010 20:20

No. I want to use my TV Remote to change Channels TV 1, 2 , 3 etc. When I plug my arial in to the Rercorder, The recorder is plugged on to the TV through HDMI. How will I change the channel if no analoge cable is plugged into the TV. The the TV use the HDMI Cable as the default TV Cable?

timestyles

424 posts

Ultimate Geek

#345630 26-Jun-2010 23:01

Geekzone lost my long-winded reply.

I have the 320GB version. The answer is 'maybe'. Maybe the Panasonic TV remote can control the recorder, and maybe the recorder remote can control the TV. After all, they are both from the same company. There is a volume control on both remotes.

Worst case scenario is you will need to buy both an aerial signal cable between the recorder to the TV, as well as an HDMI cable. This is my setup.

Note that the recorder is not digital, so you won't get such things as TVNZ6/7, nor HD TV. I don't know what "HD ready" means, I assume it means it's got the pixels but not the digital tuner. In which case you just won't get the other channels.

ushare

483 posts

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#345680 27-Jun-2010 09:27

I can still upscale Normal Free to Air Channels right? Cause it can upscale?

timestyles

424 posts

Ultimate Geek

#345685 27-Jun-2010 09:50

I'm not sure about upscaling. My 1920x1080 TV handles what it's sent fine, it all fills the whole of the screen, that's about all I know, sorry.

ushare

483 posts

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#345688 27-Jun-2010 10:10

I just want to use the recorderas an upscaler, and want to be able to change the Free to Air Channels with my Panny Remote.

sbiddle

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#345694 27-Jun-2010 10:34

ushare: I can still upscale Normal Free to Air Channels right? Cause it can upscale?

There is no point at all in upscaling analogue FTA broadcasts. You will simply end up with an even poorer quality image. You also only get a 4:3 signal so it won't fill a 16:9 screen.

You really need to be looking at a Freeview|HD unit of some sort.

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sbiddle

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#345695 27-Jun-2010 10:36

timestyles: I'm not sure about upscaling. My 1920x1080 TV handles what it's sent fine, it all fills the whole of the screen, that's about all I know, sorry.

Analogue broadcasts are only 4:3 - if you are watching analogue TV on a 16:9 TV and it fills the whole screen you're watching it in "fatovision" mode where everything is stretched horizontally to fill the whole screen.

JimmyH

2886 posts

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#346197 28-Jun-2010 23:08

I think I answered all your questions, use an aerial pass-thru as well as HDMI, then both the recorders tuner and the TV tuner will work. That is my set up. Among other things, it's handy when you want to record one channel and watch another. Or, to watch something in Freeview HD using the TV tuner.

Sbiddle is absolutely correct, there is no point whatsoever in using the unit as an upscaler. The TV will think it is getting a 1080p signal but, in reality, the quality will likely be no better than feeding the TV the SD signal and letting it display this. Fundamentally, if the signal is in SD then no upscaler can work "magic" and create a proper HD feed from it if it doesn't contain the information to start with, and unless you have a really crappy TV the TVs determination of how the signal should be displayed won't be any worse then the recorders upscaling efforts.

If you want a Panny recorder that can do HD signals properly then either get the XW350 instead of the EH57 (for a DVD recorder) or, if you are feeling extravagant, get the BW850 Blu-ray recorder. Even then, you need an HD source (ie one of the Freeview channels) to start with.

ushare

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#346226 29-Jun-2010 07:51

So The TV Tuner wont do much in the EH57.

1 More QUESTION. What does GCODE LET ME DO? I want to record an AV Channel that would be plugged into the recorder, at a specific time and stop at a specific time each day. Can It do that? Can I record An AV Channel and a TV Channel at once with the EH57?

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

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#346626 30-Jun-2010 13:07

ushare: So The TV Tuner wont do much in the EH57.

1 More QUESTION. What does GCODE LET ME DO? I want to record an AV Channel that would be plugged into the recorder, at a specific time and stop at a specific time each day. Can It do that? Can I record An AV Channel and a TV Channel at once with the EH57?

Your TV Tuner can't do anything with the EH57. It's in the TV not the EH57.

GCODE only allows you to set record times for advertised programs which also give publish appropriate code for setup. It just saves you inputting the times manually and as programs generally run overtime (up to several minutes) I've never used it.

You can only record one input at a time on the EH57 i.e. either one of the AV inputs or the Tuner.
If you have a card slot in your TV (I have an olderr Panasonc HD Ready) you can record TV on an SD Card in the slot and record something else on the EH57 at the same time via its tuner or Av input.

Try downloading the user manuals from the net and read them. They are usually available at the manufacturers website in .pdf form. I find this very handy when investigating new purchases.

JimmyH

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#347399 2-Jul-2010 19:36

Good suggestion on downloading user manuals - I do this as a matter of course before I make a major purchase. Then you know what it does, whether it has the right connectors, and what cables etc you will need. Also worth searching "ModelXXX review" in Google, as some reviews from good sites can be very illuminating as to whether the model works well, has problems etc.

In that regard, I am getting irritated with JB HIFI as, unlike most other retailers, they havce some interesting ads but they don't list the model number. Hence, without a phonecall or trek to the store, I can't hop onto the net to check whether it is value for money or not. This has cost them a couple of sales.