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  1. Member lacywest's Avatar
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    Hey guys ... I've got two Panasonic E50 DVD Recorders and one Pioneer DVD Recorder [without going to the closet and dig it out ... same model everybody was getting back in 2006].

    The Panasonic E50s ... worked just fine and I would like to use one of them again.

    So ... now that some time has gone by since the day the TV signals did actually change from analog to Digital ... I am thinking about getting a DTV Tuner Digital Converter Box ... aka ... a DTV Box ... to keep the name short.

    Seems like all the first ones that came out where not very good.

    I dont even want to mess with one that only has composite video out.

    I see the APEX one has S-VHS video out. But it seems to have a design flaw of only working for 6 months or maybe more.

    Anybody know what is the problem with it ?? ... faulty resistor or something else. Can it be tweaked ?? ... like for instance ... add a small CPU fan to keep it cool.

    Reason why I'm looking ... I'm really working the Panasonic EZ28 to a possible quick death.

    I'm using DVD-RAM disks and I'm putting a lot of faith in the mechanism ... I had a problem Monday night with the EZ28 ... I'd been using the same DVD-RAM disk over and over again. And I dug out another DVD-RAM disk ... it didn't want to format correctly. I got another one and it formated correctly and then I did a schedule with it.

    I had a long day on Monday May 23 and went to sleep very early in the evening.

    My wife had High School Band Pot Luck thing to go to and I stayed home and went to sleep. While my wife's show was scheduled to record ... something went wrong ... I have no idea what happened ... I was sleeping. I asked her ... well was it recording ... she said ... well I thought it was.

    So I've got it scheduled to record something in 30 minutes ... I shall see if all goes well.

    In the meantime ... I've got the above machines mentioned and I do have 2 ... actually I think I have 3 ... Panasonic EH50 machines. Plus a Panasonic E85H machine.

    So maybe going back to the older Panasonic machines would be a good idea ... they seemed to be built better or figure out what is wrong with the Panasonic EH50 DVD Recorder I was using in the bedroom ... the DVD Tray was not popping out. I do have another Panasonic EH50 that the Tray does come out but the video signal is all screwed up ... does this whether its watching a DVD movie or TV signal ... so I'm thinking I could swap DVD Burner carriages and get my bedroom EH50 machine working again.

    So ... what ... DTV converters are working decently that have S-VHS outputs for recording to my older DVD Recorders ??
    Last edited by lacywest; 26th May 2011 at 07:52.
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    You're not making sense. What is an S-VHS video output? Do you mean S-VIDEO?

    Anyway, most of the converter boxes were crap - mine lasted 5 months, then dead. I've heard of some good ones being built, but I never looked into them. I believe that the Smurf did a review on these a while back.

    Are you using OTA programming (re- TV antenna)? If so, you just might want to upgrade to a Magnavox 513 DVD/HD recorder (last time I looked, ~$200 at Walmart and Amazon). It has a ATSC tuner that will receive US broadcasts and the output quality is very good.
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  3. Member lacywest's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by SLK001 View Post
    You're not making sense. What is an S-VHS video output? Do you mean S-VIDEO?
    S-VHS means ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-VHS

    Perhaps you like typing S-Video .... I prefer to type ... S-VHS

    I believe my cat got into the garage and jumped up on my top shelf ... above my keyboard and then jumped back down on lower table top and landed on my keyboard and now my space bar is not working correctly ... have to hit it hard to get the cursor to go forward.

    Buy another DVD Recorder ... Hmmm ? ... I have 5 DVD Recorders ... I dont need another one.

    My Directv is turned off ... lack of payment ..... Phone / DSL turned off for 3 days ... my wife pawned her jewelry to turn the phone back on ... our water is going to be turned off June 1st .... uh no .... I dont have 200 bucks to buy another DVD Recorder at Walmart.

    TV antenna ?? ... my antenna is mounted on the chimney ... I pick all the major networks that are broadcasted in the area.
    Last edited by lacywest; 26th May 2011 at 07:55. Reason: added on text
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  4. Member lacywest's Avatar
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    Thanks man ... looks good ... need to check the reviews and see if it keeps working and doesn't behave like the APEX design.
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  5. Member lacywest's Avatar
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    Okay ... whatever happened on Monday Night ... what show was it ?? ... OH GEEZ ... what else could it be ... "Dancing with the Stars" ... it is not a show I follow ... but my wife likes it.

    The show I recorded Wednesday night ... and yes it did record correctly ... was ... Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior ... it was the Season Finale episode ........ so whatever went wrong on Monday ... I dont know.

    But I still would like to know what ... DTV Box ... is known to have a good reputation of not failing in 6 months and has S-VHS for video output ... I only plan to ... and need it to record a single channel ... changing channels at different times of the night is nice but not a big deciding factor ... I just want it to have a decent video signal to send to my DVD Recorder.
    Last edited by lacywest; 8th Oct 2012 at 05:43. Reason: typo
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    Originally Posted by lacywest View Post

    Buy another DVD Recorder ... Hmmm ? ... I have 5 DVD Recorders ... I dont need another one.
    I do! I have 11 recorders now with the addition of the Sony RDR-GX330 a week ago. All used for different stuff (VHS/Beta recording, timeshifting, OTA/cable, satellite, signal clean up/passthrough[Panasonic ES-15]...some are better than others). The Magnavox will make a great addition once I get across the border to buy one...
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    Originally Posted by lacywest View Post

    I dont have 200 bucks to buy another DVD Recorder at Walmart.
    I buy a lot of stuff from pawn shops and estate sales. Picked up my Sony RDR-GX330 for $15 last week. Works great. No ATSC tuner but that's not what I need it for. I did pick up a digital convertor box for ATSC for $20 from a flea market. It was unused since they haven't switched over in my area (yet...September). Might check the same places in your area if you have time. You might be able to make a cheap coat hanger digital antenna if you have seen the videos on Youtube. Looks ugly but works. Since being put on a fixed income a year ago, I have been really trying to make things go further at lower prices. As that quote from the pawn shop says "Pawn Shopping is Fun!"
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    You do not have much choice. I am only aware of two converter boxes that were made with S-Video out. The Apexes and the Channel Master CM-7000. Channel Master must be clearing their stock, because they used to sell for $70. You can check Wikipedia's CECB comparison chart for others, but I can't guarantee you will be able to buy them in the US now.

    There is a thread on the CM-7000 at avsforum.com. The buttons on the front go bad and the capacitors inside are cheap crap. I use the remote 99% of the time, so the buttons on mine still work. I have been using my CM-7000 since January 2009, but I can't guarantee that if you buy one it won't fail in six months.

    As was already mentioned, none of the CECBs were built to last. They were built to be an inexpensive stop gap until people could replace their analog TVs.
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    Originally Posted by lacywest View Post
    My Directv is turned off ... lack of payment ..... Phone / DSL turned off for 3 days ... my wife pawned her jewelry to turn the phone back on ... our water is going to be turned off June 1st .... uh no .... I dont have 200 bucks to buy another DVD Recorder at Walmart.

    Perhaps your problems run deeper than "recording that TV show..."

    And I do know what S-VHS was - it was a souped up version of a VHS video recorder. If you would look at the DTV boxes, you will see that they only have S-VIDEO out - just like I said. An S-VHS recorder hasn't been made in years.

    But I do like typing S-VIDEO... it flows so smoothly off my keyboard. S-VIDEO S-VIDEO S-VIDEO S-VIDEO S-VIDEO S-VIDEO S-VIDEO S-VIDEO. See? So much fun!
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  10. I've had the Apex unit for almost two years now, no issues.

    Also a Samsung with HDMI, component, and optical audio, which I got at around the same time.
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  11. Member lacywest's Avatar
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    Alright now ... lets not make a big deal out of S-Video and S-VHS ... you all know what I'm talking about now. And ... YES ... I do have a Mitsubishi S-VHS machine ... sits about 3.5 feet from me ... I use it ... when I need to. I bought it around 2004. Still works very well.

    So ... the Channel Master CM-7000 ... also is made cheap and possibly goes bad.

    Well guys ... I was hoping some of you might have heard what parts were going bad and what kind of fix could be done with it. You know ... open it up and change a part or add a tiny little CPU fan somewhere to keep it running cool.

    Well ... yesterday ... I decided to attach all my speakers back up in my living room. As my specs say ... I use a Pioneer VSX 1015 in my living room. I ran the MCACC and I had the microphone positioned at the spot where I sit at in the living room.

    For the DVD Recorder ... I did have a Panasonic EZ17 hooked up but I took it off the shelf and I put there instead a Pioneer DVR-220 DVD Recorder ... I had it for awhile on the shelf there and took it off to make room for something else. But it is back again ... I enjoy hearing my system again watching movies in the living room ... it is set up as a 7.1 sound system.

    I'm going to set up the Panasonic EZ17 to record TV shows out here in the garage.

    As I have mentioned ... I do have an antenna on my chimney and I pick up all the TV stations that broadcast Digital signals. I use two Motorola outdoor antennas amplifiers to boost the signal. One is outside and one is in the attic crawlspace.
    Last edited by lacywest; 8th Oct 2012 at 05:38. Reason: typo
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    What about your Direct TV receiver? Does it have an antenna input for your local channels? You may be able to use it as a tuner for ATSC channels and feed your Panasonic DVD-Recorder(s) input jacks.

    A few years ago, I bought a couple of older Hughes Direct TV HD Receivers (eBay) to use for Over The Air tuners. I don't recall the model number. I never had Direct TV service, but you could hook up an antenna and receive the local ATSC channels. Worked great! I'd receive local HD stations and feed my DVD-Recorders' input via S-Video or Composite. You get the best source to record from, though all DVD-Recorders only record to analog.

    Also have an older Sony Direct TV HD Receiver that works the same. Again, just using it for the ATSC tuner.

    Now, the newer Direct TV HD receivers presented a problem. You cannot set up the box (i.e. program to scan for local channels) unless receiving Direct TV service. It requires you to program the Direct TV before you can get to the menu and set up the OTA local channels.

    I also have a couple of LG LST-3510 Hi-Def tuner with built in DVD player. These are neat "combos" that had a DVD player and HD receiver all in one. ATSC tuner receives OTA HD stations, then I feed the input of my Panasonic recorder.

    The CM-7000 was desired because of the S-Video output. I did purchase 2 of them for that reason. Used my government $40 coupons at the time, cost me like $10 each! Can't give a review on them as they are still brand new in the box.

    I have nearly a dozen Panasonic DVD-Recorders, from my first DMR-E30 to my latest EZ47V. The older ones are still the best. The newer ones can be quirky. Not really satisfied with the "built-in" digital tuners in todays models. I get much better quality recording from an HD tuner to the Panny's input jacks via Composite or S-Video.

    I have a Mitsubishi S-VHS too.
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    Bad capacitors are the usual suspects for dead coupon-eligible DTA converters as with many electronics that go belly up. Heat is also going to be an issue, as you suspected. The enclosures used are small and nearly always poorly ventilated. Since you have some dead Apex boxes to experiment with, try opening one of them up and have a look.
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  14. Member lacywest's Avatar
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    We are having a money issue here ... my wife has not been getting any of her normal monthly checks ... Social Security and her State Retirement check ... Directv turned off our service.

    Directv has been my source of HDTV TV Shows and yes I do connect my antenna to my Directv box. But because the service is turned off ... the hard drive inside our Directv devices ... HR10-250 ... wont record the shows anymore.

    But the buffer in the Directv ... lasts about 30 minutes or so ... is still working.

    So we select what two channels from the antenna to watch that night ... with the two Tuners inside the Directv box and as long as we skip the commercials ... we can pretty much see everything that comes on during the evening.

    The Panasonic EZ28 still works just fine ... On Monday night ... May 30 2011 ... we had no problem watching the shows that come on Monday nights.

    As for having any dead Apex boxes ... no ... I not yet bought any DTV boxes of any kind.
    Last edited by lacywest; 8th Oct 2012 at 05:40. Reason: typo
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