Pioneer DVR-520HS auto record feature

[moviewatcher666]

Just purchased this unit on Saturday and trying to become familiar with all the features.

This unit has the abitlity to hook up a satellite receiver to the RCA jack inputs at the back. The jacks on the back of the recorder are made to work in conjunction with the timer on the satellite receiver. It is my understanding that when the recorder is placed in this special recording mode, as soon as it detects a signal coming from the satellite receiver as it turns on the recorder will start to record.

Now, when I have my StarChoice satellite receiver hooked up to this input, the recorder starts to record whether the receiver is on or not. When I disconnect the receiver from the input, place the recorder in the auto sensing recording mode & manually hook up the receiver to the inputs a couple of minutes later, the recorder will start to record.

It is like that the StarChoice receiver has signal coming from the outputs even when the receiver is turned off.

I am sure this feature works well with other satellite receivers & cable boxes. But I seem to have a problem with the Pioneer & StarChoice combination.

Has anyone else run into this problem with this recorder and receiver (or other combinations)? Any suggestions for workaround?

Any feedback greatly appreciated!

[Sieg]

I have the same problem with the 520-H, but with Bell Expressvu. I tried 2 different receivers (4700 and 5900) with same result.
I wrote to Pioneer and here is their answer:
"You've guessed it right!!! BOTH StarChoice AND ExpressVu satellite receivers ACTUALLY have a FULL output a "black" video signal when they are turned "off", which the DVD recorder "sees" and of course, turns on right away (like it should).
Apparently, MOST cable TV boxes with programming features have the same issues.
Unfortunately, the only "quick fix" is to use the "Easy Timer Recording" feature on the DVD recorder in conjunction with the "auto timer" on the Satellite receiver. Not the most convenient way, but definitely not the LEAST convenient work around either (*that's what I do with my ExpressVu system at home and in the office). "
Hope this help

[Sieg]

However I succeeded to start my 520 with the satellite receiver by entering the Pioneer VCR code in the VCR feature of the receiver. It works, but my recoredr has to stay on all the time.

[Capmaster]

Is there a timer mode for the Pioneer so you don't have to rely on the auto-sense? I hope they included a timer with it.

That seems like a poor design. Otherwise, you set it to start recording when the satellite receiver goes on, and later you walk into the room, forgetting about the recording, and pop on the receiver to get the scores, and bang! You have a coaster. That is assuming it works properly. It sounds like your receiver makes this feature useless.

We have a Panasonic with only a timer and while it's a pain to set two timers, it never comes on until it's supposed to.

[Frobozz]

Is there a timer mode for the Pioneer so you don't have to rely on the auto-sense? I hope they included a timer with it.

That seems like a poor design.

Naturally the Pioneer has timer modes. The Auto-Start Recording feature is a nice idea because it would prevent the need to set timers on both the satellite/cable box and the DVR. Just hold in the Function button for 3 seconds and the DVR's recording on and off is controlled by the presence and termination of a line input signal. Unfortunately, my Motorola HD cable box also sends a continuous signal so the Pioneer can't tell when the cable box turns on and off. So we live with setting both timers instead. By the way, should it work, it only does so when recording to the hard drive so there is no chance of making coasters.

[wwaag]

I have a Pioneer DVR 210S with the same auto-record feature. Using a Sony DirectTV receiver, it works great. Go the guide, click on the programs you want to record, verify/change your start-stop times, and then turn off the receiver. Set the DVR to autorecord, come back, and your programs are recorded. Atlhough I don't have cable, it also supports VCR+. To prevent any "accidents", I always use an RW disc. Not as good as my wife's TIVO (recording 2 programs at once), but it works quite well and couldn't get much simpler.

wwaag

[siratfus]

Is the only thing different from 520 and 510 the speed? Everything else the same?

[Frobozz]

Is the only thing different from 520 and 510 the speed? Everything else the same?

I have the 510. Here is how Pioneer describes the differences:

The DVR-520HS has the following improvements:
- Sleeker cabinet design (59mm).
- Improved recording mechanism, providing almost twice the recording speed and improved recording quality.
- A-B section erase, for easy editing.
- Improved Commercial Skip, goes forward and backwards in 30-second jumps to 10-minute leap (the 510 does 30-second skip forward up to 4-minute leap).

There are some other small improvements as well. What's missing on the 520 is the jog shuttle that's on the face of the 510.

Also, Pioneer lowered the list price on the 520 by a good margin.

[siratfus]

Is the only thing different from 520 and 510 the speed? Everything else the same?

I have the 510. Here is how Pioneer describes the differences:

The DVR-520HS has the following improvements:
- Sleeker cabinet design (59mm).
- Improved recording mechanism, providing almost twice the recording speed and improved recording quality.
- A-B section erase, for easy editing.
- Improved Commercial Skip, goes forward and backwards in 30-second jumps to 10-minute leap (the 510 does 30-second skip forward up to 4-minute leap).

There are some other small improvements as well. What's missing on the 520 is the jog shuttle that's on the face of the 510.

Also, Pioneer lowered the list price on the 520 by a good margin.

Thanks, I've narrowed down my choices to the 520 or 420, then I saw the 510 on ebay for $395 which looks like a good price. Hmm...

[Frobozz]

You may be taking some risk buying a Pioneer product on eBay. Pioneer's warranty only applies when you buy from an authorized Pioneer reseller. If you buy from someone else, be sure they offer their own warranty. My first DVR-510 failed with a crashed hard drive in one week. I bought from an authorized reseller for $499 minus a $100 rebate for a total $399 and was able to swap for a replacement unit that's worked fine since July.

[siratfus]

FROBOZZ,

Where did you get your 510 for $399?

[Frobozz]

FROBOZZ,

Where did you get your 510 for $399?

The Good Guys chain was closing them out in July for $499 and offered their own $100 mail-in rebate (which I received in just a few weeks).

[siratfus]

FROBOZZ,

Where did you get your 510 for $399?

The Good Guys chain was closing them out in July for $499 and offered their own $100 mail-in rebate (which I received in just a few weeks).

Cool.

Hey, since you've played with one of these maybe you can answer my question. I record basketball games which don't end in 2hrs, so what I like about the pioneers are the manual bitrate setting feature. Sometimes a game ends in 2hrs, sometimes 2:20, sometimes 2:30... you never know if the refs are going to slow down the games with lots of fouls, or if overtime will occur. So even with the manual bitrate, to be on the safe side, I set it to 2 hrs and 40 minutes... and many times I over compensate because there are no overtimes.

So my idea is to get a hard drive version and record the whole game in the finest quality, the best quality mode there is. Then when the game is finish, figure out how long it actually was and then transfer to dvd setting the bitrate accordingly.

Is that possible?

I read a post that seems to indicate that that is not possible with the panasonic. If you set up the harddrive to record in finest mode such as SP, then you will have to transfer to DVD at SP setting, there is no re-setting of the bitrate from harddrive to dvd.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to communicate. Please advise, and thanx in advance.

[seb]

So my idea is to get a hard drive version and record the whole game in the finest quality, the best quality mode there is. Then when the game is finish, figure out how long it actually was and then transfer to dvd setting the bitrate accordingly.

Is that possible?

Yes it is possible - I do it with my 420 (same as 520 without DV). Be aware you can't do a high-speed transfer from HDD to DVD because its re-encoding the video. By the way - I never bother using the FINE/MN32 mode. Because MN32 has PCM audio, the video bitrate is actually lower than MN31, which has AC3. So I always use MN31 for my highest quality recordings, edit out commercials then transfer to DVD at a lower bitrate to fit. You can set transfer bitrate automatically or manually.

[Frobozz]

I'm just seconding what seb wrote. The Pioneer allows burning to the DVD at any of the 32 bit rate settings that will fit. There's also an "optimized" option in which the Pioneer figures the maximum bit rate that will fit on the DVD when copying from the hard drive.

Once you get the hang of it you'll be surprised how fast you can edit out commercials. Just enter chapter markers then delete the chapters you don't want. And it's a snap to split your basketball recordings into different titles on your DVD's Title Menu, such as by quarter or half.

[siratfus]

Thanks guys! I've been playing with the Pioneer 225 and I'm in love with this thing. I had a Toshiba DR-1 and the the thing was so media picky, and the response time was slow, especially loading. I bought it because of the manual bitrate feature, then I found out Pioneer has it too and Pioneer records on practically any dvd-r you toss at it.

I love the Pioneer, and for sure I want to upgrade now since you guys have advised me that it is possible to do what I want to do.

Thanx again!

[spiderman2k1]

"siratfus" you can change the bitrate on Panasonic they call it FR mode. You just set the time on how log you want to record. One thing recoding is not worth it. Pick a recording speed you like and burn the MPEG 2 files from that hard drive.