HDTV DVR hookup

[mandy79]

Hi,

We just got an HD box from the cable company and I'm having some issues hooking up all the components.

It's a Motorola DCT5100 it has cable output, Component output, s-video output, RCA output, and HDMI output.

We also have a Panasonic DVR it has RCA input, S-video input, and DV input. Further, it has RCA output, S-video output, Component Output, and HDMI output.

Then we have a HDTV with RCA inputs, Component inputs, S-video inputs, and DVI inputs.

Before the HD cable box we had the old cable box connected to the DVR with RCA cables and the DVR connected to the TV with Component Cables.

With the HD box it doesn't seem transfer the HD signal with the RCA or S video plugs...but I still want to be able to record all channel content.

What it's doing is giving me a HD picture in the middle of the screen (another words it's putting black bars around all sides of the picture in the Local broadcast channels... and on the top and bottom of the screen on the cable channels that are broadcast in HD) Everything else is remaining full screen.

When I try to use just the component cables from the box straight to the tv and not connect the DVR it gives me Full screen HD on the cable channels and Black bars on the right and left sides on the local channels.

Is there anyway to hook it up that I can record all content and have full screen images?!?!?

Thanks for any input.====Mandy

[AntnyMD]

This answers just a piece of your post .. I hope others will chime in.

To record high definition signals onto a VCR, you need a D-VHS recorder. I bought a refurbed on off ecost.com a couple of years ago. It only records high definition via Firewire. There are no consumer-based solutions that allows analog recording of high definition television.

The output from the cable box over the composite connection (the yellow-plugged cable) is and always will be standard definition (480i).

You may be able to record high definition content onto your computer via Firewire, but you may run into digital copy protection issues (5c encryption). Most cable channels are encrypted with the "copy once" flag. Over-the-air broadcast television that is sent to you via cable should always have the "copy freely" flag, but I notice from time to time when the NFL is broadcast over the networks, it comes over with the "copy once" flag, despite that channel being required to broadcast everything "copy freely."

[edDV]

HDMI to DVI-D may be possible. Normally the cable company supplies the cable to the TV as part of the deal. If that doesn't work use analog component.

While you have the HDMI to DVI cable try that on the Panasonic DVR as well. One device is going to need to use the TV DVI input and the other the analog component input.

For DVR recording you will feed S-Video and audio to the DVD Recorder. It will be SD. The IEEE-1394 output from the tuner will not work with your Panasonic DVR.

[TooLFooL]

i tried using an HDMI to DVI adapter with my xbox 360 and it WOULD NOT WORK for video because DVI lacks the HDCP protection present in HDMI components.

[edDV]

i tried using an HDMI to DVI adapter with my xbox 360 and it WOULD NOT WORK for video because DVI lacks the HDCP protection present in HDMI components.

True, My Comcast box requires the TV to be HDCP compliant but the cable may work for the DVR to TV.