ILO DVDRO4, $150 may be good deal.

[DavidEC]

I just got the DVDHDR04 at Walmart ..... there is NO 3-minute skip for commercials. Why would the HD version not include such a handy feature?? Fast forwarding through them at 2x to 16x is annoying. .....

My DVDR04 has a commercial skip button and I know that some place in the set-up menu there is a way to make the amount of time that this button skips change from the factory setting of 3 seconds....

In the Set-Up it is listed as "SLIDE TIME" and I have mine set to 15 seconds..

David

[lordsmurf]

While the Manuel does not seem to list it customer service emailed

This unit comes with it's own Mexican?? :P

[Herbyg]

I noticed the "time shift" records one step down. If you have the default set on SP then it "time shift" records in LP. If you have it set on HQ then it "time shift" records in SP. If you have it in SP then it "time shift records" in LP and so on. Mine does have LP mode .
The only issue I have with the "time shift" is you cannot save your time shift recording. Once you exit out of the timeshift mode you loose the recording. Therefore, not being able to record and playback at the same time as was stated earlier in the thread.

When doing a copy, if the video from the HD is larger than what the DVD can hold. It gives you a message telling you to split the video and try again.

The "commercial skip" is only available on the base model, not the HD model.

EDIT: They added two new questions to the faqs on the website.

EDIT: Did you guys read the last comment on the review page. Here is the link: https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=725&Search=Search&list=#comments
I don't have the recorder in front of me now, at work .
I do not know if the writer means pause the Ilo and do a copy or pause a stand alone DVD player connected to one of the inputs. Does this work?

[Alan69]

VCRs have ALWAYS been like this, timed recording must be "off". Different agreements force MV protection on VCRs/recorders.

We've always done it that way so why change?
Maybe we should go back to living in caves.

Just for contrast I have one VCR that requires being on to do timed records and will miss it if you turn it off. And junked my Hitachi from ~1985 last year, and it would do what they all should do, which is turn on and record, or change channels and record if already on. Exactly what they all should do. Off to record is very common, but it's simply "copy what the other guys do" and poor decisions in interface design.

Alan

[Tersanyus]

EDIT: Did you guys read the last comment on the review page. Here is the link: https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=725&Search=Search&list=#comments
I don't have the recorder in front of me now, at work .
I do not know if the writer means pause the Ilo and do a copy or pause a stand alone DVD player connected to one of the inputs. Does this work?

I tried to do this when I saw it the other day. DOesn't work for me. Even if the the source (in my case a TiVo with a DVD Player) is paused the iLO still says "Protected Content" when you try to record. I tried several ways and couldn't get it to work. If no macrovision is present the iLO will record but if macrovision is detected the iLO stops with "Protected Content" on the screen.

If this would work it sure would be cool.

[NightWing]

When doing a copy, if the video from the HD is larger than what the DVD can hold. It gives you a message telling you to split the video and try again.

Split???? Intersting

[Herbyg]

[/quote]

Split???? Intersting[/quote]

In the Edit menu it gives you an option to "split" the video into two different videos at any point within that video. This allows, even though tediuos, to edit out commercials and such.

EDIT: Forgot to mention you can "merge" videos too.

Now if you can splice that would be awesome. Another feature for firmware upgrade. Set two points to cut and you would end up with three videos and just get rid of the middle video if it is a commercial.

[snowpeck]

I recently bought this unit and I am quite happy with it, although I have some concerns. This is my first DVD recorder, so they may be general concerns with all recorders. I have some very old multi-generation (copy of a copy of a copy etc) that I'd like to get on DVD, but the macrovision kicks in sometimes, and even if it doesnt, the pictiure is kinda pixelated and wobbly. Any way to fix this? Tried a video stabilizer, but it just made the white balance terrible.


Greg

[bobcat56458]

Snowpeck: You may try running the VCR through a digital camcorder that is able to do analog to digital conversion (digital pass thru). Then run the firewire output of the camcorder into the ilo's firewire input. I find this gives me a more stable picture than going from the VCR directly into the ilo's analog inputs. Of course you have to have a DV camcorder to try this. If the video tape you are trying to copy truly has macrovision the ilo will show "Copy Protected" or something to that effect, and the ilo will not let you enter the record mode, the camcorder will not defeat the macrovision copy guard.

[furdog]

Audio Hum - anyone else?

I get a low level hum in the audio, when watching a cable channel. It occurs on different channels. It occurs on playback of disks both on the ILO and when play back a finalized disk on my PC.

I do not get the hum from amy ReplayTV unit which is fed from the same cable signal, and played back through the same video/adio channel using a switchbox. The ILO is on top of the Replay, and there is other equipment around, but is occurs even with everything else off (I will experiment by pulling the power on the replay, since that is always running).

I have not tried the A/V inputs yet either.

Other than that, I have been fairly favorably impressed with the unit in a little testing. I am having trouble with a finalized Memorex DVD_RW being recognized in standalone DVD players, but that has been noted as a problem with the Memorex brand.

The audio hum is a show-stopper, as I want to record shows for keeping. I could try a different unit (This had an August 2004 Mfg Date on it).

[NightWing]

Going to sound stuped but is everthing pluged into the same outlet?

Also do you see any lines on the screen?

Have you used the fine tune adj of the TV tunner?

You may want to record with no audio in.

Its looking like they save a few buck with a pretty low end TV tunner.

[furdog]

Same Outlet - yes (via surge supressor powerstrip).

The picture is fine - no line, and it is nice and clear.

No I did not try the fine adjust - good idea.

If the A/V input record comes in clear - then it must be the tuner. The Replay has a fan constantly running and a powersupply, either of those could be bleeding in to the tuner if it is not shielded properly. Or the tuner has the hum in it or from it's own circuitry.

The cable signal is going through a 4-way splitter/amplifier, but again - I don't get the hum (sounds like 60 Hz line noise) on the other devices.

I will try a few things to see if I can isolate the cause. It is not a major noise, I did not notice it at first, until I happened to be listening to a quiet channel and picked it up in the background.

ALSO - another note - I ran a finalized SP-mode VOB through the Womble GOP Fix and it found a lot of Audio Presentation Time Stamp (PTS) errors, many more than in the Replay recordings. GOP Time code & GOP size were fine in the sample I did. I had found the Replay PTS errors caused audio sync problems when making DVDs, especially if the file was edited in anything other than Womble (which fixes the errors).

I don't see this as a problem, since Womble has fixed the issue with Replay files. I was going to rip & edit from DVD+RWs to compile finished DVDs and/or VCDs.

[NightWing]

Usualy the power strip is it.

Try the A/V inpute. That would be the next item. Would unplug the audio for one of the test.

Would not be supprised. I have noted that the video does go blockey when it should not be.

Been doing dual records between the 04 and the Pioneer 220. Like the more vibrant colors of the 220.

[snowpeck]

[quote="bobcat56458"]Snowpeck: You may try running the VCR through a digital camcorder that is able to do analog to digital conversion (digital pass thru).

My digital camcorder doesn't have a video input. Any other ideas?


Greg

[JasonK]

To add to my review of the HARD DRIVE version of this DVD Recorder,

MONO TUNER:
The Tuner definitely is NOT stereo, neither when watching live, time shift, or playing back from a program recorded with the unit from its own tuner.

TUNER - GOOD VIDEO QUALITYI have a high definition TV. I am impressed with the quality of the tuner for video. I've done split screens on my 47" HDTV with the HD tuner on one side (regular clear cable channel) and the iLo tuner feeding the video for the right side. And aside from slight difference in color tone, they look identical. (Note - this is using the live feed, NOT the recorded signal. The recorded signal looks lower quality in SP mode, but HQ mode is excellent.)

The tuner audio quality is good, other than being mono. In the concert I recorded, the cymbols came through more prominently than they did with the HDTV, which seemed muffled by comparison. I have them feeding the same set of stereo speakers, which are in the HDTV. It's also a higher volume at the same setting compared to the HDTV, so hums or buzzes may seem louder. I will have to check that out (as someone else commented on it.)

30SEC AUDIO PLAYBACK GLITCHES & 30SEC REVERSE GLITCH I recorded an hour long concert the other day onto the HD using HQ mode. On playback, every 30 seconds, there is an audio glitch, where it cuts the audio out for a fraction of a second. It isn't noticable until several minutes into the playback, and it gets progressively worse toward the end. If you fast forward to the end or start near the end, it's still pretty bad at that point. It happens right as the time counter gets to the :30 and :00 time. So at 59:30, it's pretty bad! It's really annoying with a concert. Apparently related, I've also noticed that when fast reversing from the end, the recorder pauses for a few seconds at these same marks, but as it nears the beginnng of the program, the pauses become less and less. There's definitely a relationship between the audio cutouts and the pauses I get at these same locations while doing a fast reverse.

Someone mentioned that audio glitches could be related to the chapter points. But my chapter points are set to 5 minutes, and this is happening at every 30 second exactly. However, to absolutely verify, I need to do another recording with the chapter points disabled and see if it still happens.

TIME SHIFT LOCKUP:
Someone else had mentioned their system locking up a few times. Well, I actually had a need to do a time shift a couple days ago for a movie. I ended up being gone longer than expected. It continued time shifting 3 hours later, but didnt lose any of the 2 hour movie. So I set down and started watching from the beginning. At times I would pause or reverse and such. Then, about 75% of the way through the movie, after reversing, the whole thing froze. I could not get it to respond to any button on the remote or unit. I had to unplug it and plug it back in. It reported that it had not been shut down properly and ran some sort of check on the hard drive, probably like a scandisk. Needless to say, I didnt see the end of the movie. My warning is : AVOID TIMESHIFT. For one, it uses SP mode on my system regardless of which setting you have configured in setup for the record mode. For another, it might lockup as it has for me and others. But if you must, try to avoid using the reverse, pause, and such... and just let the timeshift play. Beyond that, I wouldnt hit too many buttons one after another. That will probably just confuse it and increase the odds of it locking up.

[haub]

Glad you posted...as I was just getting ready to reveal the same thing....

I also have the audio problem every 30 seconds on a hard drive recording. I have tried every combination of options on the setup menu and get no changes. I have only tested this on the HQ timeframe however. What I found consistently was the following:

1-30 minutes=audio stutter at :30 and :60
30-39 minutes=normal audio
40-60 minutes=audio stutter at :30 and :60

it pretty much repeats this same cycle over the life of the recording. Something interesting that I've found that if I copy the stuttered audio hard drive file to DVD on the Ilo....the audio problem is gone. So if it's not the source file, and not the tuner output (since I've played the dvd on the same player) what the hell is it?

There are so many things that I like about this player...starting with price...but the audio problem is brutal and gets worse as the recording goes along.

[haub]

oh yeh, FYI I tested the audio glitch with the chapter points disabled, at 5, 10, 15 and it made no difference. Still had the audio glitch.

[Adios]

I have the same audio issue. I am on my second unit. It is going back to a different store. Hopefully their inventory is not plagued with this problem. I know of others that have perfectly fine HD units without the audio glitch so there are good ones out there. I have seen one other post with the same audio glitch on another board.

I have tried different cables, power sources, TVs, rooms, all to no avail. I have tried chapters on, chapters off. Every video quality setting. It occurs via cable TV and via s-video. I even recorded for 17 hours solid to see what would happen. It was there most of the time. This has to be a software glitch.

The glitch does not occur when recorded to the dvd.

I am going to try a 3rd unit. If it screws up, I will most likely give up. I am certain that the store will get tired of me returning these. Other than the audio glitch the unit is a keeper.

[JasonK]

Yup, I was going to follow up to my earlier post to say that disabling the chapter points made absolutely no difference. Looks like this is a very common problem with the HD unit. And it's something that's not even remotely acceptable. I am gonig to take it back. I think I will just ask for a refund unless they offer me to try another one. I don't have much confidence in them now.

I listened closely to the audio on mine. On a clean station, I didnt notice any noise/hum being introduced by the unit during silent periods in the broadcast.

There must be some software differences among models. The FAQ at the website says (HQ=17 hours; SP=34 hours; LP=51 hours; EP=68 hours; and SLP=96 hours), but mine definitely does not have LP mode, and it doesn't list LP in my manual either. Herbyg mentioned a little earlier in this thread that he had LP mode, but no mention of the audio glitch. I wonder if the ones with the LP modes are the same ones which don't have the audio glitch.

[haub]

I just recorded the Red Sox game (brutal) on the 4 hour mode to the Hard Drive and it did not have the audio glitch. I'm in the process of testing out the SP mode. If SP is fine, I might keep the machine and hope for a firmware upgrade to fix the issue since the other recording formats won't have it. I can definitely live with SP quality on the hard drive until this is fixed. I'll report back when I've had a chance to check the SP for the glitch.

[haub]

I sent Ilo a rundown of the audio problem so hopefully they get back to us. I told them that returns are going back in droves. Hopefully that will grab their attention for a firmware update

[JasonK]

I was planning on doing the same, and letting them know I dont have the LP mode that is shown in their FAQ for the HD model. Maybe the absence of that speed will indicate to them mine is outdated and needs a different firmware. Surely they will be aware of this audio glitch problem - it's got to be pretty common. Maybe some people will live with it - I can't.

[haub]

JasonK, go ahead and shoot them an email letting them know about the LP mode.

I really like the player and don't want to fork out twice as much to get another brand that essentially does the same thing.

I figure I've got 90 days to return it to Walmart...so they've got about that much time to get a firmware update out...or maybe I'll exchange it then and I'll get a different version of the hardware/firmware. I can't imagine being without a HD unit now. Definitely will cost me some coin if I have to go to another brand.

[lordsmurf]

I'm starting to doubt this is a LiteOn clone.

[telemike]

The region free code is the same as Liteon and the menu interface looks the same.....

[Herbyg]

DVDRHD04
I am having the same problem. I noticed a few days a go after I made the earlier post. Mine is a little different it happens every minute. Right when it is counting up from :59 to :00 the sound stops for a sec. Every single time. Sometimes it is worse than others. I did not notice it until I heard a glitch in the sound, and dind't think nothing of it until it happened again. Then I noticed it happened every minute. I thought this is crazy. First, I thought it was because of the chapters so I turned off the chapters. Nothing happened.

I know someone stated earlier about the unit defaulting to TV when it is turned on. My unit did this at the begining. Now it defaults to the AV-2(rear). I don't know how I did this but I am gonna find out, because I would like to make it default to the TV, figures.

I owe you guys an apology I don't have the LP mode in my unit. I read my earlier thread and it was a total ass-u-me-ption . I had read the owners manual and the faq's which stated incorrect info.. I do have 5 modes though. I have a mode called "Just Fit" which works pretty well I might add. I recorded Friday's Pres. Debate on to a DVD-RW using this feature. The debate is 1:30 and using the "Just Fit" feature it filled up the DVD nicely, with 10 min left over. There was no noticable changes in quality through out the playback.

Another feature which I don't know if you guys have noticed is if you are recording a program, while watching the program, you can press the "Edit" button on the remote to insert a chapter mark. This comes in handy when editing out commercials. When the commercials start press "Edit" to insert a chapter mark and when the commercials end press "Edit" again to insert another chapter mark. Before playing back your recording go to the "Edit Menu" and "Hide" each chapter containing commercials. No more commercials. To bad we can't delete chapters.

In addition, I was able to back-up a DVD movie perfectly (no title menus of course) by connecting my PS2 to the AV-2 input and recording, while playing the movie on my PS2. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen.
I will update you guys on the model number of my PS2, as this might have something to do with it. I have not tested my unit using other DVD players because these are the only two players I have. I will borrow one and update you guys.

EDIT: I probably should have bought this http://www.cobyusa.com/product/item.php?item=DVDR1100&pcat=dvd&pscat=dvd_recorder

and I would have paid this much for it.
http://www.brandsmartusa.com/ads/p4.htm
You will find the Coby DVDR half way down the page.
I don't care I still like my iLO.

[JasonK]

Interesting. I haven't seen a "just fit" mode on mine either.

I did notice the edit inserted a chapter point. I usually only record something if I'm not watching it though.

Everyone with this unit should fire some emails at Ilo about the audio glitch, and even the missing LP mode for that matter, and now this "just fit."

[haub]

I think the just fit is only on timer record. Would be nice if it was on the copy feature. I tested SP mode and it has the audio glitch also.

[furdog]

Audio Hum - Update on some quick tests.

Hum only seems to be on the Tuner, not if switch to any of the other inputs (no signal). Implies tuner the source.

Fine tuning inconclusive, need more time to try adjusting it.

Also will need to take the unit to another location in the house and hook it up and see what happens.

[haub]

I heard back from Ilo. They haven't seen the audio glitch on their testing. I sent them a reply with step-by-step instructions. If they can't locate it on their end, we definitely won't be getting a firmware to fix the problem