Is There A Way To Disable Autostart Recording In The Magnavox H2160MW9 ?

wtsinnc · Member Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Hello;

Well, after talking about doing it for almost a year, I finally got around to buying a new DVD recorder, a Magnavox H2160MW9.
It had come down to the decision to buy this unit or to (again) send away my Panasonic DMR-E80H for repair.
Based on all of the variables, I made the move for the new machine and am now in the process of learning it's idiosyncrasies.

My question is;
does anyone know if there is a way to disable or override the Autostart Recording feature ?
I absolutely hate that the unit automatically begins recording of the currently tuned channel at startup. In my opinion, this feature is not only undesirable, but also totally unnecessary.
Any ideas on how to permanently deactivate the Autostart Recording function ?

Many thanks in advance for your response.
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wtsinnc · Member Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Location: United States

24+ hours;
35 "views" to-date;
no replies;
no big deal.

I returned the recorder today.
After playing around with it for a number of hours, I became certain that it wasn't up to the task.

In addition to the issue of Autostart Recording, I discovered that the H2160MW9 had a substandard digital tuner in terms of picture quality, speed of channel access, and channel switching versus my two outboard converters.

I also discovered that the H2160MW9 produced decidedly inferior quality DVD copies as opposed to those made on my Panasonic DMR-E80H, a borrowed Panasonic DMR-EA28K, and a Sony RDR-GX360.
In addition to it's inability to produce a good quality DVD, it also took an inordinate amount of time to read pressed and burned DVDs for playback, recognize and prepare a DVD for recording, and to finalize a disc.

Build quality also, in my opinion, left a lot to be desired, so the decision to return the unit was an easy one and would have happened even if there had been a way to disable the Autostart Recording feature.

In my opinion, the H2160MW9 leaves a lot to be desired.

Now the search is on for a new old stock Panny or Pioneer.
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jjeff · Posted: Jul 05, 2009 08:43

I don't believe you'll be able to disable the auto record feature. It's the way basically all DVRs act (always recording a live buffer, no way to turn it OFF like on your Panny). I admit I wouldn't really like that either and like the ability to actually turn my Pannys off. I think it's such a waste of power and wear and tear on things to always have it recording, others may prefer it because it always gives you that live buffer.
AFA a replacement for your E80H, if you didn't need the tuner(digital or analog) you could go with one of these http://www.world-import.com/Panasonic_dmr-eh68_320GB_HDD_DVD_Recorder.htm international units. At $400+ they aren't cheap but they are known for good quality recordings and built quality. The EH-67 is a little cheaper and has a smaller hdd and is a slightly older design.

wtsinnc · Member Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Location: United States

jjeff;

Thank you very much for the link.
I have already visited the website and am considering the options.
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samijubal · Member Joined: 25 Jul 2004

I have 2 Toshiba HDD recorders for sale. If you're interested in them PM me.

I've used Panasonic recorders, the Toshibas are far better. PQ on the Toshibas is amazing, the best there ever was.

videobruce · Member Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Location: Buffalo NY

wtsinnc · Member Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Hi videobruce.

My personal feelings regarding the Magnavox H2160MW9 are just that, personal, and based entirely on my personal experience with it.
I was truly hoping the H2160MW9 would be the answer to my need for a new DVD recorder, but knowing what I know about it now (the substandard performance in several key areas as well as Autostart Recording), I wouldn't take one at half the going price unless I could immediately sell it at a profit.

jjeff provided a link to www.world-import.com and I'm giving serious thought to doing business with them.
They carry several Panasonic and Pioneer models that interest me and while I don't need the PAL capability, they look to be the most viable option at this point.

-And-
If folks at the "other" forum disagree with my assessment of that particular unit, so be it.
Who really cares ?
We all seek our level.

Thanks for posting.
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videobruce · Member Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Location: Buffalo NY

You don't have to defend yourself with me. I bought one of these (used) on the basis of one members review. According to him, it's the cats meow. It has many pluses, but when I saw the analog tuners proformance, or lack of, it would of been a deal breaker if I knew about that in advance.
It never fails to amaze me 90% of these 'reviews' never test the tuner. Analog or digital, all they seem to care about is BluRay. Sorry to break this news, but everyone doesn't have Bluray and everybody doesn't use a STB. The analog PQ was so bad, I immediately saw it, even durning the initial channel scan! While we are talking about the tuner, you think the digital tuner that is downconverted to SD (I assume you know this) is really that bad??

Now this video AGC issue. Just another case of PFD (poor f*cking design).
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wtsinnc · Member Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Location: United States

As previously stated, I was unable to find anything redeeming about the H2160MW9, and I test everything when I audition a new purchase.

In my home, the H2169MW9 failed pretty much every test I put it through, from tuner, to DVD record quality, to other DVD related functions, to the dreaded Autostart Recording fiasco.
And no, I am NOT overstating the issue about AS Rec;
It is ridiculous that given menu after menu of user options, none exists to allow for something as basic as the ability to turn off the hard drive at user discretion.
As far as I know, every computer operating system allows for this;
why not for all DVRs, PVRs, and DVD recorders ?
Why not reduce the power consumption and overall wear and tear ?
This is just very bad design philosophy !

The tuner was unable to deliver acceptable picture quality of the access speed of my two outboard converter boxes for the very same channels using the exact same antenna in the exact same physical location within the same hour of the same day and feeding the signal into the exact same TV with no noticeable change in weather conditions. The following morning, I repeated the tests and the results were the same.

By now, this amounts to beating a dead horse.

I absolutely do not care about how something performs in the store, at someone else's home, or in a test lab
I only care about how it performs in my home.

In my home, the Magnavox H2160MW9 failed in every important area.

Case closed !
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vatkat234 · Member Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Location: United States

What is "Autostart Recording feature"?

vatkat234 · Member Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Location: United States