DVD Recorder: Polaroid DRM-2001G tests

[The_Knife]

So got some questions do ya there Steve ... Let's see if I can help.

1) re: being discontinued - Don't know and I haven't heard any rumors.
2) re: channel labels - I didn't bother trying. If I do I'll report back.
3) re: LED replacement - Yes the halves separate pretty easily with any sharp tool and snap back together no problem. The terminals/pads are labeled but I'd just eyeball the LEDs and line them up so the internals match (you'll know what I mean when you look at the RS LED). Then put a 90 deg bend in the replacement's leads before removing the original (which also has such bent leads). Now it's hard to install it wrong. Clean the pads, wick, remove and then resolder. Went pretty easily for me. It did makes things better but it wasn't miraculous. Still have to point it at the unit but now commands only take 1 button push to make it happen. I'd advise you to spend your $$s on any other remote than a true Polaroid replacement.
4) re: timer - Timer icon is annoying and I've not seen any hack to make it go away. Also while the book says you're limited to 8 recordings, I heard it's just like it's upscale Philips cousin and can do 20. I can confirm 9 via my own experience so I think this is true.
5) re: DVD playback - I haven't had any stuttering problems on DVD playback but the article did say this was with scratched DVDs. Perhaps mine haven't been as bad as those.
6) re: FF - Yeah, I've got this too. Recorded stuff at SP+ and burnt to a DVD. Played back on a couple of non-descript players. Fast forward at 2X seems fine, 4X is iffy and anything higher plays back at 1 bazillionX !
7) re: auto chapter - Yup, you need to set this up before recording.
8 ) re: drop dead date - Who knows if the cable companies will even keep any analog channels up to the 2/2009 date. They'd really like to switch to digital because it saves so much bandwidth and thus allows them more channels. Nonetheless I suspect I'll have switched to something more HD and fully digital by then. The upside is that the unit will still record from a STB and if not, well it was only $200. Think how bad you'd feel if you had spent 3X that amount.

[slr_65]

Hi,

Yes, I DO have a few questions!

*) The remote modification sounds pretty straight forward, I gotta work a double tomorrow so I'll have to give it a shot on Thursday. THANKS for the tips on how to do it!

*) That's good news on the timers, though it'll probably necessitate the need for a bigger hard drive!

*) Also good news on the DVD playback. I was pretty curious about that as it has no problem playing off the hard drive and the DVD burner in it is reportedly a pc burner and pc burners are usually pretty good readers too.

*) The fast forward thing is annoying. Mine appears to do the 2x OK, but it's really moving much faster. Hitting anything higher than 2x just moves it to warp speed. It's really annoying as it makes commercial skipping hard. I've done a little digging . . . I think it's related to the screwed up DVD_VR format these set top recorders are using. I imagine the answer is to re-author the disc so now I'm playing with learning a couple authoring tools . . . good thing they have free trials!

*) Drop dead date. Yeah, I'm not too worried about it. I got it cheap enough that if it does drop dead I'll have more than my use out of it. They will probably make a convertor to convert from digital back to analog anyway, so I imagine a crutch for this old equipment will be available. If not, oh well . . . an excuse to buy a new toy!

Thanks for the tips!

Take Care,

Steve

[camlachie]

Got my machine last week,,,,
Definetly is one of the more difficult machines to operate,

couple of questions,
1, how do you record a dvd to the hdd?
2. Tv guardian, can it work the hdd or do you have to burn to a dvd to get it to work?

[The_Knife]

couple of questions,
1, how do you record a dvd to the hdd?
2. Tv guardian, can it work the hdd or do you have to burn to a dvd to get it to work?

1'st - You can't record digitally from the internal DVD to the HDD like you could on a PC. The only way I know of is to connect some analog output(s) to one set of analog input(s) and record just like you would from any other external source. The normal Macrovision "protections" apply so maybe this will work and maybe it won't, depends on the DVD you're trying to copy.

2'nd - Sorry can't help you w/ TV Guardian as this is a feature I don't use. My GUESS is that TVG works in what ever playback stream is in use. It's not normally recorded "onto" either the DVD or HDD when activated. It works by looking at the closed captioning, detecting and "bad" language there and muting the audio output of the Polaroid. Any source that has closed captioning that's played through the Polaroid will feed through the TVG filter. If I'm correct then a potential way to record a filtered video is to do what I said above. Select a source (ie - tuner, DVD, HDD), connect the analog audio outputs (the red & white jacks) along with whatever video outputs you choose back to the appropriate input(s) and command the Polaroid to record from that input. TVG should mute the audio outputs when the "bad" language occurs and you'll record this momentary muting onto the DVD or HDD, whichever you've choosen. Maybe someone who uses this feature will give it a try or correct any misperception I have of how TVG works.

[slr_65]

I think I found another quirk . . .

Last night I programmed in four timers. I got curious so I just started loading in random program timers to see how many it has . . . I got up to 12 before I got a phone call and got interrupted. Once I got back I had other things to do so I went to clear out the unneeded timers . . . er, uh, hmmmm . . . how DOES one do that? Cancel works during the intitial input, but not once it's entered and you're editing it! I never did figure out how to cancel a previously entered timer! I turned it over to my son and he couldn't figure it out either so he just edited it to an hour later and to record for a minute each so the timers did their thing an hour later and cleared themselves. Then he just erased the unneeded titles off the hdd.

Not a big issue, but still a quirk.

All in all, I'm happy but I'd really like to get the fast forward thing figured out.

TTYL,

Steve

[next]

I think I found another quirk . . .

Last night I programmed in four timers. I got curious so I just started loading in random program timers to see how many it has . . . I got up to 12 before I got a phone call and got interrupted. Once I got back I had other things to do so I went to clear out the unneeded timers . . . er, uh, hmmmm . . . how DOES one do that? Cancel works during the intitial input, but not once it's entered and you're editing it! I never did figure out how to cancel a previously entered timer! I turned it over to my son and he couldn't figure it out either so he just edited it to an hour later and to record for a minute each so the timers did their thing an hour later and cleared themselves. Then he just erased the unneeded titles off the hdd.

Not a big issue, but still a quirk.

All in all, I'm happy but I'd really like to get the fast forward thing figured out.

TTYL,

Steve

Try the add/clear button on the remote.

[next]

All in all, I'm happy but I'd really like to get the fast forward thing figured out.

TTYL,

Steve

If you want to fast forward in a more orderly manner try using the right arrow button next to the OK button. This will advance in 30 second intervals. You can also go back in 30 second intervals by using the left arrow. This will only work when using the HDD. But that's where the "warp FF" seems to happen. On a disc the FF seems to perform fine.

[slr_65]

All in all, I'm happy but I'd really like to get the fast forward thing figured out.

TTYL,

Steve

If you want to fast forward in a more orderly manner try using the right arrow button next to the OK button. This will advance in 30 second intervals. You can also go back in 30 second intervals by using the left arrow.

The fast forward problem is when playing a DVD burnt in the Polaroid on another stand alone DVD player. Everything works fine except for fast forward -> the fast forward is MUCH too fast! By the time I hit it and try to hit play it's went wwaayy too far! This makes it a pain when watching a program that has commercials in it as you can't just hop past them.

So far I've tried it on a GE 1101PA, GE 1101PB, and an Apex 1500 and they all show the same behavior. Another poster here had the same behavior on a couple different players also.

I think it's due to the odd ball DVD_VR format used on the discs. I've tried VOBFix and a couple other programs but haven't got the problem solved. I'm thinking re-authoring with something like TMPG or ULead DVD Movie Factory may fix the problem, but I haven't had time to try that out yet.

Thanks!

Steve

[next]

All in all, I'm happy but I'd really like to get the fast forward thing figured out.

TTYL,

Steve

If you want to fast forward in a more orderly manner try using the right arrow button next to the OK button. This will advance in 30 second intervals. You can also go back in 30 second intervals by using the left arrow.

The fast forward problem is when playing a DVD burnt in the Polaroid on another stand alone DVD player. Everything works fine except for fast forward -> the fast forward is MUCH too fast! By the time I hit it and try to hit play it's went wwaayy too far! This makes it a pain when watching a program that has commercials in it as you can't just hop past them.

So far I've tried it on a GE 1101PA, GE 1101PB, and an Apex 1500 and they all show the same behavior. Another poster here had the same behavior on a couple different players also.

I think it's due to the odd ball DVD_VR format used on the discs. I've tried VOBFix and a couple other programs but haven't got the problem solved. I'm thinking re-authoring with something like TMPG or ULead DVD Movie Factory may fix the problem, but I haven't had time to try that out yet.

Thanks!

Steve

Okay I get it now. I'm going to check it out. Thanks. I just edited my previous post. The arrow thing only works on the HDD but it makes it more manageable.

[slr_65]

OK, We've been playing with our new toy for a few days now . . .

*) Unfortunately another bug has reared it's ugly head . . . occasionally now our fan is getting very loud and distracting. We bought it from Wally World and I have all the receipts and stuff, but I hate to take it back as per my earlier message it was the only one they had and they couldn't find another one in a neighboring store or their warehouse. Walmart.com does show them but the whole return / reordering process would probably take a while and we're now addicted to the thing! I'm to the point of just not worrying about the 90 day warranty . . . the thing needs a bigger hard drive anyway! Has anyone who has opened theirs taken note of what the fan is and if an off the shelf replacement would be possible?

*) The remote range did suck but the LED upgrade works like a charm! Installing the LED was a bit of a pain - the remote is a little hard to pry apart. I found that if you pinch the sides up front by the LED it'll open up a bit and allow you to get a thin blade in, then just work it around the sides. You will make a few pry marks on the side of the remote but that's not a big deal. The result was a much more usable remote - before it was hit or miss from the couch if you would get it to work or not. Now it works everytime! You do have to point it at the unit, if you point it off to the sides by any great distance it doesn't work, but if you point it directly at the unit it does work. Interesting enough if you point it directly away from it (in my case towards the back wall of the living room) it still works too, which is a change as that didn't work before the LED upgrade. You again do have to be directly in line with the unit though, move it to the sides and it doesn't work. It must have a very narrow receiving angle on the sensor. The high output LED takes care of the range though - I moved the unit inline with the hallway and got it to work from 25' away! This is a very worthwhile upgrade if you are having remote range problems!

*) We're just loving the 40+ hour recording time and timer functions! It's great to program in all your favorite shows and then not have to worry about shuffling tapes or missing your favorite programs!

*) The DVD burning has worked fine with TY 8x injet printable media.

*) I still haven't had time to see if re-authoring the DVDs will get rid of the fast forward bug I've mentioned earlier . . . has anyone else?

*) The 30 second interval fast forward and 10 sec interval rewind when watching from the hard drive is excellent! Makes commercial skipping much easier!

All in all we're happy, but we've GOT to fix the noisy fan issue!

/Steve

[The_Knife]

I hear you on the fan. My"B" unit was noticable though not that loud when I got it. Not sure if it's been getting louder or that with the new A/V setup I'm noticing it but mine is crossing over the border into being objectionable. Somewhere I read about removing the metal that blocks the exit flow on models like mine. Supposedly made a big reduction in noise. When I get a chance this week, I'll break out the Dremel and have at it. Let you know how it goes. As for other models, it's been reported that fooling with the fan mounts helps.

[slr_65]

I look forward to hearing how the dremel helps with the fan noise!

BTW, our serial # starts with a "D" so that makes it manufactured in April?

Also, interestingly enough our unit doesn't have the fan holes or mounting bolts back by the power cord! The back panel is just solid metal there. Wonder exactly where the fan is at in there and what it looks like?

Curiosity is overcoming me, I may have to tear into this thing before the warranty is up!

[jonlowe]

I got a DRM-2001G yesterday. It has a serial number starting with "K".

I've been trying the region free hack on VideoHelp without success. I've done this sort of thing before with other players without an issue. I have several Region 2 DVDs that I'd like to be able to play. Anyone had success with a "K" serial numbered unit? I followed the directions explicitly several times, and also tried some variations without success.

Also, my unit would not recognize any disc. DVD, CD, etc. when I first got it. Found that the ribbon cable was pinched by the shield over the DVD transport, and had cut partially thru the ribbon. Re-routed the ribbon, and it works fine now.

Jon

[jonlowe]

One other thing. The mainboard in my unit has a populated connector labled USB. There are several other unused areas with missing components on the board, but this one is fully populated. Anyone tried to connect anything to this?

Jon

[slr_65]

Hi Jon,

Welcome aboard!

It's a nice unit, but we're having trouble with our fan. If you open yours again could you snap a picture of the fan and post it?

Thanks!

Steve

[next]

Hi Jon,

Welcome aboard!

It's a nice unit, but we're having trouble with our fan. If you open yours again could you snap a picture of the fan and post it?

Thanks!

Steve

"B" model pics are already posted. Look at the second sticky in this forum - " DVD Recorder models - Picture Quality and Features Analysis".

Notice how the "B" fan differs from the newer models.

Here's a pic of the fan in a later model. I think it's an "F". It has the hard drive removed and the longer IDE cable installed so the hard drive can be external.

[next]

I look forward to hearing how the dremel helps with the fan noise!

BTW, our serial # starts with a "D" so that makes it manufactured in April?

Also, interestingly enough our unit doesn't have the fan holes or mounting bolts back by the power cord! The back panel is just solid metal there. Wonder exactly where the fan is at in there and what it looks like?

Curiosity is overcoming me, I may have to tear into this thing before the warranty is up!

What's the big deal about taking the cover off? I don't think the clerk at the returns counter at Walmart is going to "bust" you.

edit - by the way the warranty should never apply to one of these. The warranty is 90 days parts and labor which is identical to the return policy.

So hack away!

[slr_65]

What's the big deal about taking the cover off? I don't think the clerk at the returns counter at Walmart is going to "bust" you.

Well actually I didn't know that! I don't buy much from Walmart and I don't diddle with consumer electronics at all, so I had no idea if there was a warranty seal or something on the thing. The cables on ours were -just- long enough to fit so pulling it out of the entertainment center isn't an easy task and I'm working lots of overtime lately (fortunately I have internet at work! ) so I just haven't had any real time to unhook the thing and pull it out to give it a good going over.

Later tonight I think I'll do just that though . . . time to see what's up with that blanking fan!

The removable hard drive . . . what's the purpose of that? Is the hard drive in a format that a PC can read?

[next]

What's the big deal about taking the cover off? I don't think the clerk at the returns counter at Walmart is going to "bust" you.

Well actually I didn't know that! I don't buy much from Walmart and I don't diddle with consumer electronics at all, so I had no idea if there was a warranty seal or something on the thing. The cables on ours were -just- long enough to fit so pulling it out of the entertainment center isn't an easy task and I'm working lots of overtime lately (fortunately I have internet at work! ) so I just haven't had any real time to unhook the thing and pull it out to give it a good going over.

Later tonight I think I'll do just that though . . . time to see what's up with that blanking fan!

The removable hard drive . . . what's the purpose of that? Is the hard drive in a format that a PC can read?

Yup the hardest part for me is the darn "hooking it up" part. I use a removable hard drive enclosure. It provides unlimited storage. Here's a pic. It's the black box on the right side of the pic.

[next]

slr_65 - here's a couple of threads over at AVS you might find interesting:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=675487

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=736151

The first thread is long - almost 1,000 posts.

[drstew]

Is the 3 hour mode 1/2 D1?

[next]

3 hour is full. 4 hour is 1/2. I believe this is correct. I checked a couple of months ago.

[jonlowe]

Hi Jon,

Welcome aboard!

It's a nice unit, but we're having trouble with our fan. If you open yours again could you snap a picture of the fan and post it?

Thanks!

Steve

Mine looks like the one that was just posted, sitting at an angle, no vents in the back, just on the bottom.

BTW, there are no warranty seals. I was glad there weren't because I could open mine up and fix the DVD cable issue I had. None of the Walmarts around here had one of these, but I took a trip yesterday, and bought the only one a Walmart that I went past had.

Jon

[jonlowe]

I posted a region free hack that worked on my "K" prefix serial numbered unit in the DVD player hacks section. I successfully played a couple of Region 2 DVDs. I tried a BUNCH of different ones before this one worked. Apparently, Polaroid changed something in the latest players that makes the older hacks not work.

Now, if someone would do something about the stupid icon in the lower right corner when a timer recording is set up...

Jon

[slr_65]

slr_65 - here's a couple of threads over at AVS you might find interesting:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=675487

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=736151

The first thread is long - almost 1,000 posts.

Wow! 33 pages! I'm cross eye now!

THANKS!

[medtech]

Hi all,
I just bought one of these a few days ago and have just love it. The VHS recording quality is excellent.
I'm hoping someone knows the answer to a problem I've run into.

I recorded a home move from VHS to the HDD IN HQ. Did all my editing and it comes out to about a little under an hour and half. Now I want to burn it to a DVD. HQ is an hour on DVD, so I changed the DVD setting to SP.

But when I select the title, I'm told that it exceeds the disk space. I've changed all the setting I can find to SP. Can I only record to a disk from HDD in the speed that it was recorded?

Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

[The_Knife]

Hi all,
I just bought one of these a few days ago and have just love it. The VHS recording quality is excellent. I'm hoping someone knows the answer to a problem I've run into.
{snip}
Can I only record to a disk from HDD in the speed that it was recorded?
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

In a word, yup. You can only copy to disc in the speed you used to record to the HDD. You'll need to split it into 2 pieces and use 2 discs.

[jonlowe]

next,
I see what appears to be an 8300HD DVR in your stack of stuff. Do you use the component out from that to feed the DRM-2001G, or s-video? I'm interested in creating 16:9 anamorphic DVDs from HD content in the 8300. I know I can only record 480i and all of that. If you do this, would you mind doing a step by step on how?

I have a couple of OTS HD receivers for some local HD programming my cable carrier doesn't carry, but they won't do 480i over component, only 480p, so I'm stuck with s-video on those.

Thanks.

Jon

[next]

next,
I see what appears to be an 8300HD DVR in your stack of stuff. Do you use the component out from that to feed the DRM-2001G, or s-video? I'm interested in creating 16:9 anamorphic DVDs from HD content in the 8300. I know I can only record 480i and all of that. If you do this, would you mind doing a step by step on how?

I have a couple of OTS HD receivers for some local HD programming my cable carrier doesn't carry, but they won't do 480i over component, only 480p, so I'm stuck with s-video on those.

Thanks.

Jon

Yes component from the SA8300HD to the Polaroid (SA8300HD set at 480i). This will allow you to record wide screen. It will not be anamorphic on a 4x3 display though. The Polaroid does not set the wide screen flag. On a 4x3 display the picture is stretched - no letterbox. But on a 16x9 display you will get full widescreen recordings. There will be no artificial letterboxing that you see when using the s-video connection on the SA8300HD.

In order to get true anamorpic there are two options. One is to take your Polaroid recording via disc and edit on a PC using IFOedit. IFOedit will allow you to insert the wide screen flag. You can then reburn the result. This option to me is too much of a hastle.

The second is to use the Polaroid as a component to s-video converter and record with a recorder that sets the wide screen flag. In my case I use a Toshiba RD-KX50. Other recorders do this as well. Under this scenario I go component out of the SA8300HD into the Polaroid and then out of the Polaroid via s-video to the Toshiba RD-KX50. The stack I posted above has changed. I have replaced the two DVD players shown with the Toshiba. This process is fast and easy and produces anamorphic recordings that play correctly on both 16x9 and 4x3 screens.

Some have said that by using the Polaroid as a component to s-video converter I will experience a generational loss and the PQ will suffer. Actual results show that a loss of PQ is not the case. The PQ is excellent. I think the LSI Domino chipset in the Polaroid may be the reason.

If you are not concerned about how the result will play on a 4x3 screen then true anamorphic is not necessary. Using just the Polaroid will produce full wide screen recordings on a 16x9 display.

I am far from an expert so I may be using terms incorrectly but I think you get the idea.

Here's a pic of the new stack that shows the Toshiba as well as an external DVD burner that is being driven by the Polaroid.

edit - I should be clear that under the second scenario I am using the Polaroid to just convert and pass the signal. I'm not recording to the Polaroid first and then re-recording it later with the Toshiba. It is a real time pass through process.

edit # 2 - There is also a third option which is a device placed between the SA8300HD and the Polaroid. This will send the wide screen flag to the Polaroid and thus you will have true anamorphic recording results. It runs about $150. Search "logic design" over at the AVS DVD Recorder forum for info.

[jonlowe]

Thanks, just what I needed!

Jon