Good afternoon one and all

I'm afraid that i have some thicko questions!

Background
I have Sky in the bedroom and Virgin/Telewest Cable in the lounge.
I want to buy a DVDR and place in either of the rooms so I can record the odd prog (I'm not interested in Sky+ or V+ HDD PVRs).

Questions
Q1. Can I get a DVDR which connects in to the STB by Scart? I asked in Currys and they said I had to connect using an RF cable! This really through me as I thought SCARTs ruled, but maybe not when it comes to DVDR?

Q2. Can I get a DVDR which connects in to the STB by some other digital means? Is HDMI an example or is that just for TVs? I guess I want something high quality rather than an RF cable.

Q3. If I *have* to use an RF cable will the picture suffer and like some dodgy VHS? I love the crystal clear picture that I get at the moment and wouldn't want to give that up. Or am I totally misunderstanding the role of the RF cable?

Q4. Can I get a disc which allow me to wipe it when full and then reuse it again. I'll only be recording stuff like Match of the Day to watch later and don't need to archive.

Q5. Please can you advise a low/mid price DVDR. I'm not interested in Bush et al. Prefer Philips and of course names like Sony (as if!), Panasonic etc. No need for fancy features. Just Video+!

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Q1: Total bolox - which negates questions 2 and 3. That'll teach you to go to Currys.

Q4: Yes, they are called rewritables.

Q5: Avoid Philips. Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Toshiba and (IMO) LG are all respected names. With no hard disc, and no digital tuner, you will get one for less than £120.

Many thanks.

Re: Q5, Do I need a digital tuner in the DVDR if I am piping in Sky/Virgin?

Ta

You should try and get one with a Hard Disk, you will soon get fed up with swapping disks and a 2 -3 hr max record time.

Asking a Currys sales muppet for advice on domestic electrical gear is a bit like asking one of the chavs hanging round the town centre about Quantum Physics You may strike lucky and find someone who actually knows what they are talking about. More often they just make it up as they go along.....

I have yet to see a DVD recorder fitted with SCARTs that does not have at least one socket wired for recording, frequently every SCART is so wired.

Not seen one with HDMI inputs though. Some do have HDMI outputs but obviously these are no good for recording from!

Look for RW disks, these are erasable so can be used several times.

I have an early model Panasonic (no longer made of course) that works very well. Only thing against it is that at the highest quality setting you only get 1hr per disk. At the 2hr "Standard" setting there is some slight degradation of quality, nowhere near as much as VHS though.

Mind you you can also get DVD recorders with hard drives built in. No problems about recording times in that case. And saves faffing round with disks (just use a disk to archive anything you do want to keep - technically illegal but I won't tell if you don't )

Tuner is irrelevant when recording from SCART. It matters not whether it is analogue, digital or non-existent! It doesn't get used.

The tuner is only relevant if you plumb an aerial into it. in which case go for a digital one. At least that way it gives you a chance that you can record a third programme if the Sky and Cable boxes are both in use and what you want to record isn't being watched on either.

It's actually the digital tuner bit that prompted Currys to tell you a load of crap. If you get one with a digital tuner then you will obviously have to have a lead from the aerial into the RF in, and then another lead from the RF out to your TV (or whatever else you have in the loop), to make use of the digital tuner. As you will only be recording from two digiboxes (Sky and Virgin) you definitely don't need a digital tuner, so absolutely no need for any RF connections at all.

It's just a pity that the Currys salesmen can't see past the end of their own product lines, and refuse to listen to what a potential customer is asking them. They heard you mention recording digital TV, immediatley assumed that meant you needed a DVDR with a digital tuner, and from that point immediately assumed all recording would be done via the digital tuner so RF cables were required.

As other contributors have mentioned, if you buy a DVDR with a hard drive, you won't ever actually have to buy any blank DVDs at all. Just record the stuff to hard drive, watch it and delete it. But it'll cost more than one without a hard drive.

Thanks guys. I will therefore get a DVDR HDD!

Also:

Q6. Say I want to record Match of the day and then something afterwards on another channel. However I won't be there to manually change the channels. Will my Sky/Virgin box be able to switch the channels automatically via a programme timer? Would I do this on the DVDR HDD or the other box?

CHeers

Just for reference I've got a Sony with HDD + Disc recording. (Not sure which model but it has 80GB memory and i think there is a 160GB one available)
It's great for recording direct to the hard disc where you can then edit out any adverts or overlap before burning to disc. Or record direct to Disc
There are different quality settings and i think if you choose the lowest one you can record something like 6 hours on a Disc or 160 hours on the Hard drive. Don't know the exact times without referring to the manual.
Got it from DABS

You're never going to change channel on the DVDR. It will always be recording from AV1. End of story.

How you change channels on your Virgin box and Sky box is down to what boxes you have. I think the standard Sky box allows you to select things to be watched in the planner, then autoselects them a minute before the programme starts (don't know, its years since I had a standard Sky box). No idea how (or if) Virgin lets you do the same.

Thanks broadz

I'll dip out the manuals tonight!

I must just put in a good word for DVD recorders with built-in hard disk and Guide+...

Trust me, you will not regret getting a model with hard disk. you'll wonder how you ever managed without it.

Guide+ is an EPG that a lot of models have. You can schedule recordings from that without going into the connected box's timer facility (which can sometimes be hit and miss) and it can also control the external box and change channels on it via an infra-red dongle that you stick on the front of the Sky box. I don't know if it knows about Virgin boxes, but it knows about Sky boxes and Freeview boxes and many other types of external receiver.

I have a Pioneer DVR-630HS and can totally recommend it, although the actual model is obsolete now.

Why do you have both Sky and Virgin? Surely it would be cheaper to have just Sky with multiroom, you could have 2 Sky+s which would mean you wouldn't need a DVDR anyway. For timeshifting Sky+ (or any PVR) is 1000 times better than a DVDR.

At last some sanity in this thread from Bob!

Any sky subscriber wanting to timeshift (and definitely doesnt want to archive) need not waste their time trying to purchase and connect up a DVDR via some complex wiring diagram when there is only one answer - Sky+.

For a relatively small outlay you can have all the recording simplicity you need - 2 channels at once, timeslip, series links, all the 'digital' tuners you need etc...........

Just do it!

Rgds,
Scorp

What's complex about plugging in a SCART lead? The O.P. has stated that he doesn't want Sky+, V+ or HD. To record from a standard TW/VM box onto DVD is simple connect the two via SCART set DVD to AV2 and record not at at all complex.

The best way to connect up is to use the TV scart to plug into the DVDs AV scart input, and use the other SCART of the DVD to plug into the TV. This ensures that the RGB output of the Sky or Cable box is recorded and viewed. Panasonic do a nice range of DVD and HD/DVD recorders. I'd advise you to get the one with Freeview for future use even if you dont plan to use it at present.

Using a DVDR to timeshift from Sky/Virgin is a real pain and not something you would do unless forced to, a PVR (Sky+ or other) is far easier. This is especially true for someone who is not very savvy about this sort of thing.

The OP did state that he wasn't interested in Sky+, however that doesn't make sense considering he also said he was interested in time shifting not archiving.

There is no doubt given the details he did that Sky+ or possibly V+ would not only be by far the best technical solution but also the cheapest as well.

Perhaps the OP could come back on and say why he wasn't interested in Sky+? He described himself as "a thicko", I'm sure that's not the case but it does indicate that he's not technically minded as far as video equipment is concerned and maybe doesn't realise the superiority of PVRs over DVDRs as far as timeshifting is concerned.

Thanks for the replies! Here's some info:

1. I bought a Sony DVDR with HDD over the w/e. Not arrived yet.

2. I have VirginMedia in the lounge and Sky in the bedroom. Originally had freeview in the bedroom but very poor picture even with extra £££ spent on a special antenna. Didn't want an unsightly cable running up the stairs. Tried 3 different video senders and all rubbish. Had Sky installed via Dixons offer, £75 all in, FTA channels. Amazing picture, even better than the cable picture downstairs!

3. I am not going for Sky+ of V+ due to saving money, thats all. All I need to do is record a few programs per week, Match of the Day, Question time and Working Lunch on a Friday!

Cheers for your help, I'll let you know how I get on wiring it all up

Cant see how buying a DVDR (especially a Sony) and is going to be cheaper that upgrading either Sky to Sky+ or Virgin to V+?
If you cant get Freeview decently then you cant use the EPG in your DVDR, this means your relying on setting up some sort of timed recording in the Sony (has to be a manual record as Video+ will record you a program in analog!) and use Autoview (or today's equivalent) on either the Virgin box or the Sky box - absolute pain in the bum!

This will drive you bonkers - I'm not a Sky or Virgin salesman but, please, seriously think about putting the Sony money towards one of the above suggestions as these tools are exactly what you need.

I really am trying to help - you will thank me in the end

Rgds,
Scorp

ps - trying to link and set-up 'autoview' with a manual timed event' on the DVDR will inevitably result in failed recordings, rows, divorce and penury - save money, you know it makes sense! (only kidding)

hi there and cheers for info

currently sky costs me £0 as i'm FTA. to upgrade i guess i would have to buy a sky+ box and then sub £10 pm. am i correct in thinking it would only be £10?

with virgin i'm currently on 3 for £30 but will this w/e sign up for another 12months on 2 for £20 which is telephone, 2MB b/b and their 'M' TV package. to get V+ i think the box is free but there is an install charge (£50?) then its £15 pm for 12months for the box. however i think i might have to upgrade the TV package to 'L'. not sure. if so that would be an extra fiver on top of the £15.

the DVDR HDD cost me £80 on ebay!

the recording timer is a bit of a worry and i'm not looking forward to checking it out....
however all i wanna do it record the odd program. not interested in recording series or pause live tv.
virgin have this programme reminder which auto switches the channel for you. their EPG seems to be several weeks if not months! so i would only have to get the DVDR to switch on. should not be too hard as i know what time MOTD, question time etc starts! however i'm sure you're right in that it won't be that easy!!!

i'll let u know how i get on

OK, I understand - it just seems like an awful lot of kit to do the simple thing that you require - for someone in a decent Freeview area the easiest solution is a twin tuner PVR.

As this is not an option (and you already have pay TV) the immediate thought is your provider's PVR (hence Sky+ or V+).

However, I (obviously) respect what you are trying to achieve and feel a bit sorry that you cant do it with a Thomson/Humax/Topfield etc.

Good luck!

Rgds,
Scorp

cheers buddy. i would just lurrrve a FV PVR but FV reception is awful here!

cya

why dont you get sky+ ???

put it down stairs

then get the sky guy to run a cable OUTSIDE the house up to your bedroom

then get a magic eye and another remote. Sit in your bed and watch a programme recorded on the sky+ box

the sky box will send your tv aerial signal upstairs as well

the money you will save cancelling virgin it will soon pay it off


the picture quality upstairs will be just as good as your getting just now

the wife/ kids will all find it easier too

martymoo is correct just as bobcar and scorpio

its a personal choice