DS Forums

 
 

I bought a DVD recorder without a Digital Tuner....


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 18-03-2011, 23:07
pixel_pixel
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,684

however, my tv has a Freeview tuner built in. Does this mean I have to switch the tv on before I record? Is their a way I can just use the outputs on the tv? I am new to all this sort of stuff!

thanks
pixel_pixel is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 18-03-2011, 23:12
tomfoolery1
Inactive Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 643
DVD recorder will record from Freeview while you use your tv to watch other Freeview channels.

The tuners are totally separate.
Just do as you did before.

Aerial into the dvdr , then out again and up to the tv .
That way the Freeview signals go to both devices.

You can record from say , BBC4 on the dvdr while watching any other channel on the tv
tomfoolery1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-03-2011, 23:17
chrisjr
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Reading
Posts: 27,928
Oh dear.

Without a digital tuner of it's own the only digital telly you can record is whatever the TV is tuned to at the time. And only then if the TV can feed the output of it's tuner back down the SCART lead. That is fairly common on modern sets so should not be an issue.

More of an issue is what and when you can record. With the TV on and in use to watch a digital channel the only thing you can record is what you are watching. When not in use it depends on the capabilities of the TV.

If you are very lucky it might be able to just wake up the tuner section from standby without needing the screen turned on to make an unattended recording. And again if you are lucky it might be possible to set a schedule of different programmes and channels to record.

Otherwise you would have to switch on the TV and leave it tuned to whatever channel you what to record. But might not be able to switch to a programme on a different channel.

A lot of hassle frankly. To be honest it might be easier to try returning the recorder if it is a new purchase and see if you can exchange it for a model with built in Freeview. Though have to say I can't recall seeing too man analogue only DVDs recently, apart from second hand units.
chrisjr is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 18-03-2011, 23:48
gem123
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 54

Hi there,
if you cant exchange your dvd recorder just buy a cheapo freeview box just to use with dvd recorder......just loop ariel cable throught and you can watch what you want on tv and record from freeview box.......bit more messy but cheap

Best o luck
geoff
gem123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-03-2011, 01:17
bobcar
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 14,718
Hi there,
if you cant exchange your dvd recorder just buy a cheapo freeview box just to use with dvd recorder......just loop ariel cable throught and you can watch what you want on tv and record from freeview box.......bit more messy but cheap

Best o luck
geoff
Or even better buy a Freeview PVR which will be much more convenient to use than any DVD recorder.

The DVDR is there to archive material that is required long term so would be an addition to that.
bobcar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-03-2011, 10:42
niall campbell
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Aberfeldy
Posts: 7,035
it could be an early model with a seperate digital tuner that you had to put the RF cable into the digital tuner first, then loop into the analogue tuner

make and model is paramount in this section
niall campbell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-03-2011, 14:42
captainkremmen
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: DAVEVILLE, Daveshire DA1 1VE
Posts: 33,621
DVD recorder will record from Freeview while you use your tv to watch other Freeview channels.

The tuners are totally separate.
Just do as you did before.

Aerial into the dvdr , then out again and up to the tv .
That way the Freeview signals go to both devices.

You can record from say , BBC4 on the dvdr while watching any other channel on the tv
The DVD recorder has no Freeview tuner of it's own, so just how can it record Freeview while he watches another Freeview channel on TV?.

OP the DVD recorder will probably have an analogue tuner, so you can record one of the analogue channels while watching a Freeview one on your TV, if your area still broadcasts the analogue signal. However, if you want to record a Freeview channel then you will have to check your TV's manual, some TVs (but by no means all) can output what you are watching via scart, so you could use the scart input on your recorder to record from the TV's Freeview channel. If your TV does not output via scart then you will have to buy and connect a Freeview box to the second scart socket on the DVD recorder.

Depending on the model of recorder and Freeview box this may be quite simple, or a bit of a pain.

If the recorder and Freeview box both support Smartlink (or Q-Link and other names), then you set a record reminder on the Freeview box, and it triggers the DVD recorder to start and stop automatically. However this relies on both supporting it, and is usually only available on one of the inputs on the recorder, and one of the scart outputs on the box.

If one of them does not support Smartlink, or both do not, then you will have to set a manual timer on the recorder, telling it to record from the relevant scart input and set a reminder on the Freeview box to change the channel as required. You may also have to leave the Freeview box switched on, but again, check the manuals.

Having said all that, check the manual, you may find the recorder has one analogue and one digital tuner, which was common until a year or so ago in DVD recorders.
captainkremmen is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 17:20.