DVD Recorder: Polaroid DRM-2001G tests

[InXess]

Only recorders with "chase play" or timeshifting can do that trick as well as PVR's. I think Pioneer, Toshiba, LG, Philips...

[flez]

yes, provided the timeshift mode is active, if not, no. (tested on ehr2080)

[Brent G.]

Is it possible to rewind a program that is currently recording? For example lets say a timed program starts rec at 7pm and I am not home at the time. Lets say I get home at 7:15pm and would like to start watching what I had programed to rec and not wait til its done rec. I try to rewind while its rec but nothing happens.

Can you not rew while recording?

It's called "Chase Playback" and works if you are recording to the hard drive of your recorder. When it is still recording, just go to the Disc Navigator and select the program that is recording (or any other program), and play it. That's the way it works on my Pioneer 540H. If you don't have a hard drive recorder, then my old Pioneer 220-s could do a Chase Playback if I was recording on a DVD-RW in VR-Mode.

Brent

[Fused0ne]

I meant on this model, the Poloroid 2001G. It has timeshift but it still wont let me rew.

[flez]

is the timeshift 'on' it has to be on my variant.

My remote has a timeshift button, press for on, press for off, it must be on _before_ recording begins, you cant enable it halfway through.

[Lightsluvr]

OK - here is a simple question. I have some video recorded on the Hard Drive. I want to transfer it to a DVD. The owner's manual says that the 2001G supports DVD-R/RW as well as DVD+R/RW. When I put a DVD-R in the tray, and slect Add/Clear to make the recording, I get a message which reads: "There is no recordable disc"
Will the 2001G not record to DVD-R???

Thanks for clearing this up.

LL

[flez]

ehr2080 is + only, same hardware on poloroid afaik

[jonlowe]

OK - here is a simple question. I have some video recorded on the Hard Drive. I want to transfer it to a DVD. The owner's manual says that the 2001G supports DVD-R/RW as well as DVD+R/RW. When I put a DVD-R in the tray, and slect Add/Clear to make the recording, I get a message which reads: "There is no recordable disc"
Will the 2001G not record to DVD-R???

Thanks for clearing this up.

LL

I've recorded from my Polaroid to DVD-R. You have to ensure that the quality setting is the same on both the HD and the DVD. That is, if it is HQ on the HD, then it must be HQ on the DVD, and the length must be less than one hour.

Jon

[Lightsluvr]

OK - here is a simple question. I have some video recorded on the Hard Drive. I want to transfer it to a DVD. The owner's manual says that the 2001G supports DVD-R/RW as well as DVD+R/RW. When I put a DVD-R in the tray, and slect Add/Clear to make the recording, I get a message which reads: "There is no recordable disc"
Will the 2001G not record to DVD-R???

Thanks for clearing this up.

LL

I've recorded from my Polaroid to DVD-R. You have to ensure that the quality setting is the same on both the HD and the DVD. That is, if it is HQ on the HD, then it must be HQ on the DVD, and the length must be less than one hour.

Jon

Thanks Jon - I think you solved my dilema. I recorded the HD material at HQ, which makes it too large to record to a single DVD. I'll go back and record the HD material at SP so it will fit on the DVD. Appreciate the info.

LL

LL

[flez]

Ok so thats something you can do on the newer poloroid, I'm stuck with just 'copy to disk', you cant change the bitrate that its already in on the hd during the copy.

Also you cant copy items of differing bitrate to a disk, which is annoying as when I recorded a series, I accidently did one in SLP...

[Lightsluvr]

The hard drive is a Western Digital Caviar, WD800 enhanced IDE drive. If you look inside, you can probably see if CS ( cable select ) is set.

I've installed two drives now. The first was a 200 gig seagate which worked fine. The second is a WD 250 gig that also works fine. It is truely plug and play. I removed the drives from their packaging and put them in the Polaroid. There was no PC required. The Polaroid formats the drive to the capasity of the installed drive. I've filled the 250 gig drive with no problems. I plan on installing a drive in the 500 gig range soon which I'm sure will also work fine.

Is this an exact replacement for the 80gb? It will fit internally in the same mount as the 80gb drive? That is exactly what I am looking for - do you have a model number and source for purchase?
Thanks.

LL

[jonlowe]

Another option is to split your existing HQ HD file into two parts, and record it to two DVDs.

Jon

OK - here is a simple question. I have some video recorded on the Hard Drive. I want to transfer it to a DVD. The owner's manual says that the 2001G supports DVD-R/RW as well as DVD+R/RW. When I put a DVD-R in the tray, and slect Add/Clear to make the recording, I get a message which reads: "There is no recordable disc"
Will the 2001G not record to DVD-R???

Thanks for clearing this up.

LL

I've recorded from my Polaroid to DVD-R. You have to ensure that the quality setting is the same on both the HD and the DVD. That is, if it is HQ on the HD, then it must be HQ on the DVD, and the length must be less than one hour.

Jon

Thanks Jon - I think you solved my dilema. I recorded the HD material at HQ, which makes it too large to record to a single DVD. I'll go back and record the HD material at SP so it will fit on the DVD. Appreciate the info.

LL

LL

[lordsmurf]

Split.

[Bastet]

I, too, had fan problems. Mine started about 30 days after buying it. It began making such a noise, I could not bear to hear it. It also vibrated the machine badly. So I popped the case, looked at what kind of fan it was, and bought a replacement on eBay. Hooked it up and now it's back to being quiet again. It didn't take more than a few moments to do it.

Love the machine, though. Got mine at Wal-Mart, also.

[lacywest]

A new replacement remote is available on the Polaroid website. My cost about $13 delivered. It works quite well.

LL

You are using this remote control for the DRM-2001G unit ??

The remote I saw at the Polaroid Site was for portable DVD Players.

[Lightsluvr]

A new replacement remote is available on the Polaroid website. My cost about $13 delivered. It works quite well.

LL

You are using this remote control for the DRM-2001G unit ??

The remote I saw at the Polaroid Site was for portable DVD Players.

Yes - you specifically order the replacement remote for the 2001G. I looked at the website yesterday, and the price has gone up to $14.99 plus shipping. It really is specifically for the 2001G. It controls all of the functions, including record, setup, menus, etc.

LL

[lacywest]

A new replacement remote is available on the Polaroid website. My cost about $13 delivered. It works quite well.

LL

Okay I found it at the Polaroid website ... You have to use the ... shop Accessory section ... it takes a few clicks to get to it. But I did find ... but no details about the replacement remote.

Question for Lightsluvr ... first off my remote is working fine ... no need to replace it. But I'm wondering about the ability to back up slowly in slow motion.

I can go forward in slow motion but I would like to go backward in slow motion to edit out commercials.

So ... does the this replacement remote ... have a feature for going in slow motion for editing out commercials in the reverse direction ... or does it only work for going forward.
I really like the Panasonic EH50 with its 100 GB hard drive ... editing commercials is very simple and not difficult ... time consuming but very decently ... precise.

I can enter the editing function [shorten title] and use pause at the spot where the TV show ends and the commercial begins and hit the ... start button. I then go to where the commercial ends and the TV show begins and hit the ... end button ... it then automatically goes to the next button to delete that section ... if I choose. If I change my mind ... no biggy ... just repeat the process. Nothing is deleted until I hit the DELETE button. And it does ask you ... Are YOU sure ?? ... in so many words

[tonydoty]

I have been deep into all of the threads on this recorder. I would like to know has anyone taken a drive from the unit and put in your computer to look at how the files are saved. I wish to use the DVR as a video jukebox. I don't want to play and record the video in real time to the hard drive. Is there any high speed method to do this.

[lordsmurf]

I think NEXT did this, and saw nothing on his computer. I saw discussion of this at AVSFORUM, and it was unsuccessful.

[tonydoty]

Thank you for the information Lordsmurf. I have tried the RCA and The liteon and also a Poloriod. I can't find one that meets my needs yet. Do you have any experience with the Pioneer 640. If not what do you recommend in a TV capture card and software. I might need to build my own in a small computer.

[FulciLives]

Thank you for the information Lordsmurf. I have tried the RCA and The liteon and also a Poloriod. I can't find one that meets my needs yet. Do you have any experience with the Pioneer 640. If not what do you recommend in a TV capture card and software. I might need to build my own in a small computer.

I have the Pioneer DVR-531H-s which is an earlier although nearly identical unit to the Pioneer DVR-640H-s and I absolutely love it.

If I needed another DVD recorder I would definately buy the Pioneer DVR-640H-s although I should point out that the Toshiba RD-XS35 is also a very good choice from what I've heard and what little I've seen (screen caps) about it. The one thing that scares me away from the Toshiba a bit is that it appears to be more "sensitive" to the cable/satellite TV form of copy protection.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[samijubal]

I've had no problems recording from c-band, 4DTV, Dish Network satellites with Toshiba recorders.

[FulciLives]

I've had no problems recording from c-band, 4DTV, Dish Network satellites with Toshiba recorders.

Many other people have commented on having issues with the Toshiba when it comes to 5c protection (aka the broadcast flag).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[samijubal]

I can't speak for other people. I've been using satellites for 13+ years and DVD recorders for 5+ years, I've never once had a problem recording stuff.

[FulciLives]

I can't speak for other people. I've been using satellites for 13+ years and DVD recorders for 5+ years, I've never once had a problem recording stuff.

That's great but you are on this board a lot and surely you have seen the complaints other people have had about Toshiba DVD recorders and 5c/broadcast flag copy protection.

I mean don't make out like you aren't aware of ALL the comments made. You read enough of this board to have seen them.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[next]

I think NEXT did this, and saw nothing on his computer. I saw discussion of this at AVSFORUM, and it was unsuccessful.

Yes you are correct. I have not been able to see any files on a PC from a Polaroid HDD. Occasionaly I give it another try when I think of another way. But the Polaroid HDD can't be read on a PC like the HDD from a LiteOn 5045 - so far at least.

[Seeker47]

Only Wal-Mart stores have the DRM-2001G model. I can't
vouch for the spin-off or look-alike's.

Admittedly its now got tv guardian

What is this feature ? Is it something to be avoided ? If one happened to find one of these 2001G units still being sold at a Walmart, would it necessarily have this feature . . . or is that dependent on the manufacture date ?

[vhelp]

Sorry, I've been away from the boards.. am on sabaticle.

In answering LordRichar's post in another topic, elsewheres..

Regarding HDTV and Components, I'll try and repeat this again, here.

I have TWO HDTV receivers on hand. But I only use one, for reason's that will
be made clear, below. I don't use the DRM-2001g for anything else other than
HD. On occasion, I have used it for High Bitrate Analog Cable, but very rarely
do I use it. Anyway, the TWO units are:

** Pro Brand, Digital Stream HD3150Plus DTV receiver (now clearnst @ $69)
** Hisense, USDigital USDTV DB-2010 (last clearnst @ $99)

I'll start with the Probrand receiver..

The HD3150Plus has a THREE-position switch on the back of the unit, and
it is marked, [480p 720p 1080i] as options. No matter what setting I switch
this to, the components will not output an appropriate signal for the DMR-2001g
unit. In fact, at the very least, the 480p setting will output TWO half-views of
the 480p signal over component. I can view this when I connect the units together
via component and use the composite (or s-video) output leads from the DRM-2001g
unit.

Now, had the HD3150Plus included an [480i 480p 720p 1080i] option, it
would have worked over component leads, and I would have two HDTV receiver options
to work (and experiment) with.

And now for the Hisense receiver..

The DB-2010 has no position swithes. Any resolution settings has to be
made via software (on screen menus) which is no problem. In my honest opinion,
this model unit is a bare-bones.

On the menu, its first TWO options are:
** Composite/S-Video
** 480i

When I choose to utilize the components of the DRM-2001g recorder, I select the
480i setting. This will set the components to receive a proper 480i video
signal across the leads. Then, the DRM-2001g output via composite/s-video a
clear signal. Even for HD, I mainly use it for it's Anamorphic features, where
I can capture (MPEG Encode) it to HDD or Opitical disc for further processing
on the computer side. And, for this aspect, I use the following routine for
turning out an D2V project for TMPGenc re-encode projects:

Connection specs:
** Y:G Pb:B Pr:R <-- HDTV Receiver [component output]
** Y:G Cb:B Cr:R <-- Polaroid [component input]

Capture OTA for recording
** Antenna -> Hisense, USDigital USDTV DB-2010 -> Polaroid DRM-2001G
** [(G)(B)(R)] - [STEREO]

Bringing HDTV recorded by DRM-2001g as MPEG-2 to computer
** using +RW disc, I DRM-2001g[hdd]->RW disc->computer
** DGIndex[TV Scale]->D2V project->VFAPI->VirtualDUB-MPEG2->TMPGenc

Audio-- the sound is definately, Stereo. So if anyone has any quirms about this
area, don't worry.. its perfectly fine

IVTC; [3-2] pattern; Film-- One thing I hate, but which I thought would not be an
issue, on-going with HD, was with the sources Telecine (when its origin is Film)
it has been proving me wrong, in that the [3-2] patterns are not consistant (in some
content) as I thought would be in this new standard, for clean IVTC processes. (I'm
currently producing a master list for this) You see, I had thought that because of
this new standard, that they would re-do most of their video sources in a new
and clean format, for HD. I guess I was wrong.

Components-- let me get back to this, on the DRM-2001g unit. There seems to be a
slight issue with the color range when using component connections and recording
to an MPEG (via HDD or Optical disc) and bringing it over to your computer.

Its hard to describe, but for the most part, the video is too rich in color. Its
like it's 0-255 RGB range. And, I think that the -current- conversion process's are
not setup for this type of format, and as a result, the color space is not accurate.
I've been having trouble trying to match to a truer output, but mainly because I do
not have a reference to gauge the DRM-2001g -> Computer, setup during processing.

The closest I was able to get to (assumed) results were with using DGIndex v1.4.3
and selecting TV Scale and processing. The routie I use for this method
are like this: (see above)

Theory-- The problem could be on account of my Hisense DB-2010 hdtv receiver's
output specifications vs. my Polaroid DRM-2001g 's specificiation over component
video.

-vhelp 4217

[mdspiro]

I've had my Polaroid DRM-2001G since December 2006, and am generally very happy with it. I got it to mostly to transfer my huge library of video camera tapes to DVD -- so far I've burned about 100 DVDs worth of home videos, the sources being VHS, 8mm, and Hi8 Digital tapes. I'm using DVD+R discs, and am burning at the SP speed (2 hrs per disc). I'm using the YesDVD feature to create the intelligent menus with thumbnails, and to print covers. I actually like that feature! I've also started to burn some discs from shows recorded on the HD for my kids to play in the car DVD player, with great success.

All of a sudden, I'm seeing a problem. When I put a completed DVD into the unit (both commercial DVDs and ones I've burned myself) it is now often not "seeing" the disc at all. It says "Loading", but then nothing happens. No blank screen, no disc menu, nothing. It acts as if I never put a disc in at all. It doesn't happen on every disc -- just certain ones. This sometimes even happens at the end of trying to burn a new disc -- it won't allow me to finalize the disc because it won't even read that there is a disc in there! The same finished discs that won't play on the Polaroid play fine on my other DVD player (a Panasonic unit in another room). Can anyone suggest a remedy? Is there something inside that I should clean or service on the Polariod? HELP!

[InXess]

This is a burner issue - unable to lock on on a lead-in track, either service or replace it yourself. This is related to either bad laser pickup or unstable mechanism. Cleaning may help (I doubt it) and postpone the failure but it seems imminent.