Need advice about how to record tv now we've gone digital

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YvonneW

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#136630 3-Dec-2013 21:09

We now have a UHF aerial going into our new LG Smart TV. At the same time we bought a blu ray player, thinking it would record as well. Thankfully we have not opened this and the shop said they will take it back. Stupidly again we didn't realise our old dvd player/recorder (Panasonic DMR-EH58) would no longer work. We then bought a Seagate HDD to record onto only to discover that we can not watch one programme and record another. Do we now need to buy a new dvd player/recorder? Please help, we obviously haven't thought this through and do not have heaps of money to keep buying stuff!
Would we have been better off getting a satellite dish?!
The HDD drive has now been initialised for the LG TV and the tv user guide says it will no longer work on a PC, more money wasted. Kind of mad at the man in the shop where we bought everything, he must have seen us coming!

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Biddle Corp

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#944982 3-Dec-2013 21:14

The TV operates no differently to any other device such as your existing VCR - you can't record one channel and watch another at the same time.

If you want this functionality you need to buy a My|Freeview recorder or a Blu Ray or HDD recorder which has multiple tuners. My pick would be a Tivo, you can regularly pick them up for well under $100 on Trademe.

If you wanted to use your HDD on a PC you would simply need to reformat it on a PC.

B1GGLZ

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#944985 3-Dec-2013 21:34

You can still use your DVD recorder for recording. All you need to do is buy a cheap FreeviewHD Set Top Box to connect to the A/V inputs on the DVD Recorder. The only thing it won't do is record in HD. This is what I did with my Panasonic DMR-EH58 before I got a Freeview TV and Freeview Recorder.

freitasm

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#945045 3-Dec-2013 23:23

Get a Freeview|HD DVR and you're sorted.

TinyTim

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#945090 4-Dec-2013 08:14

YvonneW:
The HDD drive has now been initialised for the LG TV and the tv user guide says it will no longer work on a PC, more money wasted.

You'll need to reformat it for the PC. Easily done.

E3xtc

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#945326 4-Dec-2013 13:16

We have a DishTV T1020 (which are cheap enough) and plugged an external HDD into it; we can watch one channel and watch another (as long as the other channel is on the same frequency; eg record TV1 and watch any other TVNZ channel).
We can't put the HDD into any other TV/PC/etc and watch - the HDD will only playback from the same device that recorded the program - but this isn't really that much of a drama (at least for us).

robjg63

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#945334 4-Dec-2013 13:30

I would second the comment about buying a freeview HD set top box that supports record to USB (hard drive or memory stick).
A satellite dish wouldnt have made things easier and you would have had a poor quality picture as well.

Noeleeming show 2 possible (cheap) $89 solutions:

DishTV:
http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/tvs-dvds/freeview-decoders/dishtv-t1000-freeview-hd-uhf-high-definition-1080p-receiver/prod121270.html
Igloo:
http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/tvs-dvds/freeview-decoders/igloo-dt840inz-set-top-box/prod117083.html

Regarding the HDD - Just reformat the HDD on a PC - that should sort it out:
This very old post should point you in the right direction:
http://www.avforums.com/threads/how-do-i-format-a-usb-hard-drive.376645/

I dont think you really blame the person in the shop - the TV probably lets you record so recording to HDD probably sounded like an ok solution to the person in the shop.
There have been a couple of LG tvs that had dual tuners - that would mean you could watch one channel and record another at the same time.
What model is yours - I assume it doesnt have dual tuners?

If you regard the freeview STB with attached USB stick or HDD as the equivalent of a DVD/VHS recorder then it can do its own thing independently of what you are watching on the TV.

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trig42

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#945405 4-Dec-2013 14:58

Depending how technical you want to get, a 'MyFreeview' device may be the best bet:

http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/tv-lcd-led-plasma/media-players/dish-tv/500gb-freeview-digital-television-recorder-sku-24182/
or I'd recommend this:
http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/tv-lcd-led-plasma/media-players/panasonic/500gb-dvd-recorder-sku-27145/

There are Bluray versions of the above available too.

The Panasonic will be very similar to what you have now (easy learning curve), has two Freeview Tuners and a decent sized Hard drive. It will save a lot of remote shuffling, as you can just leave your TV on the HDMI input and use the tuners in the MyFreeview. If you wanted to then record 2 channels and watch a third, you could just switch back to the TVs tuner.

These options are a bit more expensive, but in the long run, a lot easier to use.

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TwoSeven

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#945489 4-Dec-2013 16:33

I just have a Panasonic Hard Drive recorder plugged into my tv, it records all the freeview stuff just fine and plays Blue-ray discs as well. Got the one with the largest hard drive in it (this was a year or so ago).

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ilovemusic

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#947286 7-Dec-2013 21:32

B1GGLZ: You can still use your DVD recorder for recording. All you need to do is buy a cheap FreeviewHD Set Top Box to connect to the A/V inputs on the DVD Recorder. The only thing it won't do is record in HD. This is what I did with my Panasonic DMR-EH58 before I got a Freeview TV and Freeview Recorder.

depending on how old it is it won't record widescreen either.

:(

kingchobo

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#947301 7-Dec-2013 22:29

something like panasonic DMR-PWT530GZ would be a great solution. dual tuner (record one channel whilst watching another etc) + blu-ray player + 500gb hdd.

all in one solution

JimmyH

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#947310 7-Dec-2013 22:47

ilovemusic:
B1GGLZ: You can still use your DVD recorder for recording. All you need to do is buy a cheap FreeviewHD Set Top Box to connect to the A/V inputs on the DVD Recorder. The only thing it won't do is record in HD. This is what I did with my Panasonic DMR-EH58 before I got a Freeview TV and Freeview Recorder.

depending on how old it is it won't record widescreen either.

:(

The EH58, which the OP has should. I had the EH68 (which I think was the same but with a bigger hard drive) and it did widescreen just fine. In fact, I think (can't recall for certain) that even my venerable E85H would record widescreen.

To the OP - as other have said, just buy a Freeview recorder and you should be just fine. They range from basic single tuner models that can record to USB devices (which you appear to already have) from circa $79 in sales, right through to high-end devices for around $7-800 with twin tuners, networkable DNLA servers and the ability to burn to blu ray disks etc.

If you told us a bit more about your setup, what you want to do (eg do you still need to be able to burn DVDs like your old recorder could), and your target/maximum budget, we could help with some more targeted advice about equipment and options.

B1GGLZ

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#947371 8-Dec-2013 08:47

ilovemusic:

depending on how old it is it won't record widescreen either.

:(

I think you'll find that DVD recorders have always been able to record widescreen. They have selectable widescreen or 4:3 output. 1st one I bought (Sony) back in Jan 2006 could except there was very little widescreen transmission then as I recall. It was more often letterbox format in 4:3 mode. Now VCRs on the other hand were only 4:3.

Spyware

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#947398 8-Dec-2013 11:17

ilovemusic:
B1GGLZ: You can still use your DVD recorder for recording. All you need to do is buy a cheap FreeviewHD Set Top Box to connect to the A/V inputs on the DVD Recorder. The only thing it won't do is record in HD. This is what I did with my Panasonic DMR-EH58 before I got a Freeview TV and Freeview Recorder.

depending on how old it is it won't record widescreen either.

:(

Both analog 4:3 and 16:9 signals have identical timing, i.e., they are no different, so why not??

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YvonneW

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#948415 10-Dec-2013 07:30

Thank you all for your help. We now have a Samsung Blu ray recorder connected to the tv in the sitting room

I have another question though. We have an older flat screen Toshiba tv in the bedroom, which is working fine with a Dish Freeview box. Can I use my Panasonic DMR-EH58 to record? How do I connect the Freeview box to it and the tv? I tried yesterday using an HDMI cable to the recorder and an HDMI cable to the tv, didn't work. Then treid with some composite cables (red, yellow and white), but still no luck. I must be doing something wrong because I understood that I could still use the recorder if I had a Freeview box. Help again please.

B1GGLZ

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#948429 10-Dec-2013 07:36

YvonneW: Thank you all for your help. We now have a Samsung Blu ray recorder connected to the tv in the sitting room
I have another question though. We have an older flat screen Toshiba tv in the bedroom, which is working fine with a Dish Freeview box. Can I use my Panasonic DMR-EH58 to record? How do I connect the Freeview box to it and the tv? I tried yesterday using an HDMI cable to the recorder and an HDMI cable to the tv, didn't work. Then treid with some composite cables (red, yellow and white), but still no luck. I must be doing something wrong because I understood that I could still use the recorder if I had a Freeview box. Help again please.

The HDMI on the Recorder is only an output so that won't work for recording. Just use the red white yellow cables from the Freeview box to the recorder and HDMI out from recorder to TV. Keep the HDMI from the Freeview box to TV and then you can select on TV either HDMI in for Freeview or AV in for recorder.

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