JVC DR-M10S comments, questions & assorted rantings

[piano632]

Well, you can add me to the list of satisfied users of the JVC DR-M10S. The picture quality is really fantastic, certainly better than my previous Sharp DV-RW2U which has now been relegated to expensive DVD PLAYER. It's amazing how much noise this unit removes from analog cable TV signals.

I do have some questions for seasoned users of this machine:

1. What is the significance/reasoning behind the glowing blue light in the drawer? I've heard of green light affecting CD playback, just wondered if blue light might do the same for DVD playblack???

2. Is there any benefit to using DVD-RAM instead of -RW besides "live memory" (JVC's term for TimeSlip)?

3. Has anyone noticed that when the JVC is in timer mode it will periodically do an auto channel set even though it's already done this previously? I've seen it do this 3 times already, even though the channels are already set. Should I change the channel set to manual?

4. Does the JVC have selectable DNR level on playback? My Sharp has this feature, but I don't see it on the JVC.

BTW, I bought my unit thru www.ecost.com when it was on sale for $260 last week and it says "made in Japan". The price has now gone up to $268.

[broadway]

2. Is there any benefit to using DVD-RAM instead of -RW besides "live memory" (JVC's term for TimeSlip)?

There have been posts which say that the video quality is better using the -RW than the -RAM.

[piano632]

OK, now this thing is starting to annoy me. I'm starting to notice little glitches in the picture occassionally. Nothing major but still noticeable. These recordings were made thru the tuner on different brands of discs (TDK and Fuji) DVD-RW. I believe the tuner is at fault here - has anyone else experienced this with the DR-M10S ?

[samijubal]

Finally someone else sees this too, not that I'm happy you're seeing problems, just that I seem to be the only one seeing the flaws in this machine. I get glitches in almost every recording I make on this machine, and no it's not the tuner, I have never used it. No the noise reduction can't be turned off and on or level set, another flaw. The noise reduction is great for poor quality input sources, but all it does for high quality sources is add more compression look to the recording. The blue light is just an annoying thing JVC puts there for some reason, on my new player it can be turned off, haven't tried on the recorder since all I use it for is to record. If that auto channel set you're talking about is loading, you're in trouble and the machine is probably going to need fixed somewhere down the line. I don't use the tuner, so I don't know what you mean by auto channel setting, but loading is a bad sign of problems to come it seems like.

[pluche]

I've seen a few glitches when recording with the JVC DR M10 on DVD-RW, mainly Maxell - but I playback on a seperate player (not the JVC)
then I switched to the Pioneer DVD-RW, no glitches at all - again playing back on a seperate player (Thomson)
then I copied (on the computer) both the Maxell DVD-RW and the Pioneer DVD-RW to DVD-R (Maxell) and played again on the Thomson: no glitches at all
So in my case the conclusion is: the Thomson player has "problems" with certain DVD-RW

[piano632]

I believe the glitches I saw might have been caused by interference from my cable modem which shares the same line as my cable TV. At least I hope this is the case, since that is correctable with a frequency filter. I will have to investigate further and see if the glitches persist. I do know for sure now that it's not a media problem as I've now seen a few glitches "live" thru the tuner while not recording anything.

The auto channel set is not a loading problem, it is scanning for all the channels it can receive thru the tuner. It hasn't caused any problems yet, since it is doing this while the machine is idle and timer is set. The only question is, why does it need to rescan all the channels it can tune in every day? And I have found no way to turn this off, so hopefully it doesn't cause a problem.

Anyway, I hope everything works out as this machine has great picture quality and it would be a shame if it had some serious flaws.

[Neuron]

OK, now this thing is starting to annoy me. I'm starting to notice little glitches in the picture occassionally. Nothing major but still noticeable. ....

What kind of "little glitches"? Can you be more specific and describe what do you see?

I believe the glitches I saw might have been caused by interference from my cable modem which shares the same line as my cable TV. At least I hope this is the case, since that is correctable with a frequency filter. ......

I also have cable TV and cable modem which shares the same line. No problems whatsoever. Using JVC since April and have never esperience any glitches.

[piano632]

What kind of "little glitches"? Can you be more specific and describe what do you see?

It's sort of like a transparent band across the screen for a split second. ("Transparent" as in like the channel logos you see in the corner of the screen.)
I'm going to see if the filter I installed will fix this. It should have been there in the first place, but I took it out awhile ago for some reason. Funny it never affected my other recorder like this.

Now, I'm getting weird problems with the clock displaying 0:36 PM when it should be showing 12:36 PM.

[samijubal]

That's the way the clock is for some reason, it's not a problem.

[piano632]

Well, the filter did not help with this glitch problem. It happens about once every 5 min. (more or less) but only on certain channels. Other channels are glitch-free and I haven't seen any glitches thru the composite or s-video inputs yet. I can't figure this out, but needless to say I am not happy with the tuner on this thing.

The auto channel set goes scanning away every hour on the dot while in timer mode. Somehow I get the feeling this is tied in with the clock being set to auto. This has not caused any problems, but it does make me wonder why it has to search for channels every hour like clockwork.

I can live with the clock displaying "0" during the 12 o'clock hour, but it's still a design flaw and it's amazing they didn't catch this.

I don't suppose JVC has a firmware update coming... ??? I guess that would be asking too much.

[samijubal]

I'm fed up with the machine myself and am going to try to sell the thing. The disadvantages outweigh any advantages to me.

[piano632]

Now this is hilarious:

Someone reviewing the Sony RDR-GX300 on cnet says it also has the clock display problem showing "0" instead of "12". Wow, I didn't know that digital clock displays were such cutting edge technology that neither JVC nor Sony could get it right!

Anyone try the JVC DR-HM30 yet? Just wondered if they fixed all the bugs or have they invented new ones?

[samijubal]

It isn't out in the US yet.

[piano632]

Actually the U.S. version of the DR-MH30 is in stock already at selected places:

http://www.ggvideo.com/jvc_drmh30.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002V240G/103-9681720-0712616?v=glance
http://www.goodguys.com/adtemplate.asp?invky=627846&catky=

The upcoming Sony RDR-HX900 might be one to consider too with it's 2-pass encoding.

[samijubal]

I like my new JVC DVD player, but I definitely wouldn't buy another JVC recorder.

[Neuron]

I like my new JVC DVD player, but I definitely wouldn't buy another JVC recorder.

I've got an apposite consideration. I would definitely buy another JVC DVD recorder (because I'm happy owner and my JVC DR-M10 is trouble-free machine) but I would not buy any other JVC DVD players. I purchased recently JVC XV-NP10S thought this one will replace my relatively old RJTech RJ4000 player and I regret it. My RJ4000 has much superior quality of DVD and MPEG-4 video playback. JVC XV-NP10S suffers from producing low picture quality (noticeable block-noise) when playing DVDs and too dark and color hyper-saturated image when playing MPEG-4/DivX formats video files.

[piano632]

Just an update on my situation:

The auto channel set that keeps scanning every hour on the hour is actually "normal" for this machine when the clock is set to "auto". It is mentioned in the manual on the bottom of page 21.

I unplugged my unit for 22 hours and when I plugged it back in amazingly all the timer settings were still there. I haven't noticed any glitches in the tuner since re-plugging it in either. Hope this continues...holding my breath

[ejai]

. JVC XV-NP10S suffers from producing low picture quality (noticeable block-noise) when playing DVDs and too dark and color hyper-saturated image when playing MPEG-4/DivX formats video files.

I also own a JVC dvd player and it also suffers from block noise. I had to switch it for a Panasonic player that has no problems playing any disks I put in it. For a while I thought the batch of disks I own were bad but now I know it was the player. 8)

[samijubal]

I have never seen any blocks on my XV-N410B, except on shrunk discs that are debatable quality to start with.

[ejai]

The disks I was having trouble with were TDK and Ritek. Once I got another dvd player they all played well. The JVC I owned was a XV-S300.

[samijubal]

I haven't used mine a whole lot, but I like the picture myself. It has 8 picture adjustments, so I can tweak it to right where I like it. My 5 1/2 year old Panasonic, which still works, has no picture adjustments. I like the JVC myself.

[piano632]

Is the DR-M10S supposed to have a controller for a cable box included in the box? I see the controller mentioned in the manual, but I don't think I got one in the box. Would be nice to have the JVC switch on the cable box and change channels, but I have a Motorola cable box and that brand isn't mentioned on JVC's list in the manual, so I don't know if it will work anyway.

[samijubal]

It's not included.

[Offroad]

Is the DR-M10S supposed to have a controller for a cable box included in the box?

Mine had a card in the box that you could send in for a free controller.
It works fine but the JVC only supports channels up to three digits. Unfortunately my Dish Network uses four digit channel numbers for all the HD channels.

[piano632]

Mine had a card in the box that you could send in for a free controller.

Thanks, I hadn't noticed.

[LakotaRose]

Hello All,

I'm a technophobic newby with a M10S. I'm having difficulty with watching one channel while recording another. For example, if I'm recording channel 13, all the other channels are recognizable, but the reception is fuzzy. Unless I change to channel 4, then the machine clearly shows what I'm recording on 13.

I'm quite clumsy with new devices, so I'm sure the problem must be with the nut holding the remote control.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[lordsmurf]

I didn't even know that feature was possible. Not that I'd use it.

[piano632]

I would suppose if you pressed the TV/Video button at the top of the remote it should correct your other fuzzy channels.

[LakotaRose]

Thanks for your help. I'll fiddle with the beast or call JVC and hope I can get someone who speaks English.

Now the machine only knows one word....Loading.

[samijubal]

That means defective, get a replacement.