set up dvd recorder

[twinsinpa]

hey all
i am having trouble setting up my panasonic dvd recorder dmr-ez28. i was recording just fine last spring but now go to record some fall shows and can't seem to. not sure if kids pressed a button on remote or i did something wrong.

i can play a regular dvd fine but cannot record - when i first turn it on it says "no signal". but it lets me set it up like it will record. but what comes out of my recording is white snow. i only have basic cable and would like to watch a show while recording another.

i also have a comcast digital transport adaptor. have tried many hookup variations. not sure if it is my hookup or the settings to recorder. you have to be an engineer in order to understand the manual instructions! plz help in layman terms.
i have done alot of searching and worked on it for 2 hrs last nite to no avail.
thank you in advance

[orsetto]

Once ComCast moves your neighborhood onto the accursed DTA boxes, nothing ever works the same again. The signal coming off the plain wire is now scrambled so that the Panasonic tuner can no longer receive most of the channels, leading to blank recordings or static. This complicates the hookup significantly for those who are not particularly technical or can't be bothered, which includes many of us.

Recording one channel while watching another becomes almost impossible unless you have two of the stupid DTA boxes (one for the TV and one for the recorder). With only one DTA box, you're limited to watching and recording the same channel (unless you're extremely lucky, and the handful of channels that bypass the DTA box are channels you're interested in).

You would hook things up as follows for a single DTA box:

Find where the cable wire comes into your home. Attach an antenna cable/RG59 splitter to that original wire, creating two connections on the end of the incoming wire.

Get another couple of cables. Attach one going from splitter connection 1 to the antenna input on your TV, and attach the second cable from splitter 2 connection to the ComCast DTA box.

Connect the line outputs (yellow video, red right audio, white left audio) to the Panasonic line inputs on the back of the recorder.

Now, the Panasonic will record any channel tuned on the DTA box and also pass it thru to the TV when the TV is set to whatever connection you have the recorder hooked up to (HDMI? Red White Yellow line inputs?).

While the Panasonic is recording from the DTA box, you may be able to use the TV tuner to pick up whatever unscrambled channels are still coming thru the cable wire (these are likely limited to the major broadcast networks and a couple shopping and news channels).

Getting independent access to the complete channel range on both TV and recorder would require a separate DTA box for both. You would hook each splitter cable into each DTA box, then connect the line outputs of one DTA box to the TV and the second DTA box to the recorder. Both the recorder and TV would need to be set to the input you plugged the DTA box into, not their own tuners. You also lose the ability to program different timers on different channels into the Panasonic, since it cannot change the channels on the DTA box.

Of course the easiest way out of this mess is to upgrade your ComCast package to one that includes their PVR built into their cable box. This will allow recording simultaneously from two different channels while watching a third- ANY channel. When you want to make a DVD, you connect the output of the ComCast recorder/cable box to the inputs of the Panasonic, load a DVD, and play the recording into the Panasonic. This costs more money, which is the entire point of ComCast forcing you onto the crummy DTA box and killing the signal thru your bare cable wire: they want all their unprofitable "basic nothing cable" subscribers to upgrade to more profitable, more expensive "standard" service.

[twinsinpa]

thankyou so much. i will get a splitter and give it a try. i do have two of those little boxes - i could try it. however, those dta boxes don't have the line outputs (red,yellow, wht) like you were talking about. just a single input and output. my tv and dvdr has all tho.
you are right hto - this is a big pain. i am trying to downgrade so i will not let them force me into buying their stuff. as i said - i have since downgraded to basic cable so i may get lucky like you said with the channels. i can't believe people are actually putting up with this. i will find a workaround if it kills me! wish me luck and i will let you know how i made out.

by the way - do you know why it says "no signal" when i first turn it on - the dvdr that is? cause i have it hooked up wrong?

[orsetto]

Sorry if I confused you, it seems some neighborhoods get DTAs with the triple-wire line outputs while other neighborhoods get DTAs with only RF connections. Since yours only have RF connections, change my hookup instructions to:

Split the incoming cable and feed the two DTAs from the splitter. Connect the output of one DTA to the "antenna input" on the recorder and the output of the second DTA to the "antenna input" of the TV. Both the TV and the recorder would then always be set to channel 3 or 4, whichever the DTA sends out in your area. You select the actual channels to watch or record on each DTA.

This hookup gives you access to all of the channels independently on the TV and recorder (watch one while recording another). When you want to see what the recorder is recording, or watch a DVD, you would switch the TV to show whatever input you connected the recorder to.

Again, you lose the Panasonic's multi-event timer flexibility, since it cannot change the channel on the DTA box (it will record whatever channel you set on the box, so you need to remember to set the right channel each time you leave the house). Note also you should probably cover the remote receiver window in the recorder's DTA, to avoid it changing channels whenever you use the remote to change channels on the TV's DTA.

[jman98]

i can't believe people are actually putting up with this. i will find a workaround if it kills me! wish me luck and i will let you know how i made out.

by the way - do you know why it says "no signal" when i first turn it on - the dvdr that is? cause i have it hooked up wrong?

In reverse order... "no signal" means it's not hooked up right, yes.

Why do people put up with this? Obviouslly YOU, big city dweller, forget that a significant number of Americans don't live in large metropolitan areas. Where my dad lives there is ONE cable TV provider. That's it. He could theoretically turn to satellite I guess but it won't be cheaper and it's debatable whether it's better or not. My dad's internet provider is the cable company too. It's even worse - there is no alternative there.

You, my friend, are an American anomaly. The vast majority of US consumers have ZERO interest recording TV shows to DVDs because almost nobody wants to keep anything. Watch once, delete. That's why TIVOs and other DVRs rule the day. Comcast and the other providers want you to buy DVRs from them. To be fair, that's what the market wants. If there was any demand for DVD recorders the marketplace would be full of them, but the reality is that people like you and me (I don't have a TIVO either) are out of step from almost everybody else.

[usually_quiet]

Comcast usually provides a few analog channels and a few unencrypted digital channels via the cable connection from the wall for basic cable subscribers. These are your local over-the-air stations and a few others, such as The Weather Channel and QVC. Your Panasonic can record analog channels and unecrypted digital channels using its tuner, if the signal is strong enough. Comcast is not using switched digital video in many places, nor have I found that they regularly change the channel assignments for their analog and unencrypted digital channels where I live.

If you want to see what you can get using the Panasonic's tuner...
1. Hook up the Panasonic's antenna in/cable in coax connection in to the coax cable from the wall.
2. Connect the Panasonic's TV out coax connection to the DTA's cable in connection.
3. Hook the Panasonic's RCA A/V output to the TV.
4. Hook the DTA's coax out to the TV's antenna in.
5. Set up the Panasonic to scan for available channels.

[twinsinpa]

wow - you guys are the best!! thank you so much i was driving myself crazy for about a wk trying to figure this out! my kids don't even know who i am anymore!

turns out jman was correct - with just basic cable i didn't even need the darn dta box! i guess they gave it to me back when i had more channels but now going just to basic i don't need it with the recorder i use and my tv. so i got a splitter like orsetto said and hooked them both up separately. it is just terrific.

i sure hope comcast doesn't throw me for a loop and make my few channels go erratic where i need to break out the little box again.........then i will be back for more help! haha

yes - i think a dvr would be the way to go in the future but right now i don't mind dvds.

my next plan is to stream directly from my computer to get some movies etc. since i do have comcast internet too and need to keep it for kids for school. i am currently trying to figure out how to go about that. any ideas?

thanks so much everyone!

[usually_quiet]

wow - you guys are the best!! thank you so much i was driving myself crazy for about a wk trying to figure this out! my kids don't even know who i am anymore!

turns out jman was correct - with just basic cable i didn't even need the darn dta box! i guess they gave it to me back when i had more channels but now going just to basic i don't need it with the recorder i use and my tv. so i got a splitter like orsetto said and hooked them both up separately. it is just terrific.

i sure hope comcast doesn't throw me for a loop and make my few channels go erratic where i need to break out the little box again.........then i will be back for more help! haha

yes - i think a dvr would be the way to go in the future but right now i don't mind dvds.

my next plan is to stream directly from my computer to get some movies etc. since i do have comcast internet too and need to keep it for kids for school. i am currently trying to figure out how to go about that. any ideas?

thanks so much everyone!

You do not need the splitter if the TV can tune all the channels you want to watch without any DTA boxes. If you want a direct cable connection for both the TV and the Panasonic recorder, simply connect the cable from the wall to your Panasonic's cable in port, and connect both the Panasonic's coax out and its AV outputs to the TV. You will still be able to watch one channel on the TV and record a different one. Your Panasonic recorder divides the cable signal internally and passes it on intact through its coax out. The only reason why the Panasonic has an outgoing coax connection is to pass the intact signal from an antenna or cable outlet to other devices. It is not used for anything else.

You can use the splitter if you really want to, but fewer splits mean a stronger signal for your Panasonic DVD recorder and fewer cables behind the TV will enhance the Wife Approval Factor for your AV setup, if she is the one who goes back there to clean.