Info and forum posts by 'Flip MArtian'

RE: NTSC video through a Panny DMR E85=distorts pic?

Not really an option for me in the immediate future... :-)

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RE: NTSC video through a Panny DMR E85=distorts pic?

Thanks Phelings. I have a KTVision lead - I used it when trying out recording it (and getting the same picture distortion as on playback). My VCR is just a cheap Sanyo hire shop model I`ve had for about 3 years so I guess its outputting PAL 60 as you say.

As long as the video works when straight to TV I suppose that`s something. Would have been nice to have a DVD backup for convenience though...!

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RE: Canon Powershot A95 5mp £199.99 inc VAT ex delivery

Where is it on at that price? I`ve got an A80 which I`m happy with but the spec on this looks even better...

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NTSC video through a Panny DMR E85=distorts pic?

I have bought a pre-recorded NTSC format VHS tape from the States (not available over here). At the moment as I`m dubbing all my old VHS to DVDs, the VCR (which can handle NTSC ok) is plumbed into the Panny E85 and then onto the TV (which can also display NTSC ok.

Problem is playing the tape in this way results in a black bar near the bottom of the screen output with what looks like the very top of the screen output being repeated just under the black bar! The tape and the VCR themselves are fine - I unplugged the E85 and the VCR plays the tape perfectly well on the TV. So it must be the E85 then. I messed around in the E85`s settings and switched it to NTSC, played the tape through it...and got a full screen image ok (no black bar) but it was in black and white with odd vertical colour bars! So that`s not the answer!

I recorded both versions for posterity and they record exactly as described

Any ideas? Is the Panny E85 just not capable of handling an NTSC tape signal?

Any help from those more knowledgeable gratefully accepted (please!)!

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This item was edited on Thursday, 9th December 2004, 18:47

RE: Panasonic DMRE55...problem

I never bother with PDC or videoplus (maybe I`m a bit of a luddite about some things). I just start early and finish late, then trim off either side.

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RE: KT Vision Lead Query

Thanks for that, I will do. :)

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KT Vision Lead Query

A mate has asked me to copy his copy of a video with to DVD with my DMR E85. I tried, only to find his copy has copy protection on it. After reading recommendations on here, we invested in a KT Vision lead - I plug it in and have lots of black bars and interference on screen when trying to record it. I`ve connected a power supply to it which has made no difference at all.

Does this lead just NOT copy some recordings or does it sound faulty to anyone? After plugging in the power supply, the bars were running across the screen permanently, even just on playback.

If anyone can provide a few pointers I`d be grateful.

Thanks
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RE: problems transferring vhs to dvd

A mate has asked me to copy HIS copy of a video to DVD with my DMR E85. I tried, only to find his copy has copy protection on it. We invested in a KT Vision lead - I plug it in and have lots of black bars and interference on screen when trying to record it.

Does this mean I need to attach an external power supply? What factors cause someone needing a power supply for the lead? The instructions just say "occasionally you may need one", but not WHY?!!

Can anyone help please?


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RE: My DMR E85 is Faulty...does anyone know what`s wrong?

Yes, unfortunately. Had hopes that that would solve it but apparently not. Been totally reliable and worked perfectly up until last night too... :(

I had disconnected the power completely to reboot with no luck. Switching back on goes through self check - I can hear the HDD spin up - but then rather than come alive it goes into this "nothing" mode as above where all I can do is switch off again. No error messages, nothing...

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This item was edited on Friday, 6th August 2004, 18:55

My DMR E85 is Faulty...does anyone know what`s wrong?

So there I was merrily transferring VHS onto HDD - then I went to split a recording to chop off the unwanted bit at the start...and it froze while doing so - wouldn`t respond to commands at all. I eventually switched it off and waited.

Now all I get when I switch on is the self check routine running - and then it seems to do nothing - the only thing on the display is a little "HDD" - it won`t respond to any remote commands or any button presses on the unit itself - all I can get it to respond to is the main power switch on the front panel when switching off again.

Has anyone had anything similar who might know the cause? Although I`ve been copying stuff onto DVD-Rs the last few weeks I had built up about 30 hours worth on the HDD - most of which will be lost forever if I can`t rescue this somehow (ie I`ve binned the VHS tapes).

Help! Please? :(

Meant to add as well - as well as the above, the VHS is still plugged into 1 of the SCARTs but the Panny won`t let the signal through to the TV now either...

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This item was edited on Thursday, 5th August 2004, 22:34

RE: VHS To DVD Recorder Hard Drive?

Totally possible. The advantage of using a hard drive based recorder is the extra flexibility it gives you with editing all the ads out etc and compiling several programmes onto 1 DVD-R (related stuff, for example).

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RE: Buy HDD or DVD recorder?

I have an E85 with 80 gig HD and DVR RAM and DVD-R - I`m archiving my old VHS on it at the mo`. A total doddle to edit out all the ads and rubbish at the beginning and end of your recordings - and THEN put it on a DVD-R to keep. If you have the dosh, go for one with a HD...! :D

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This item was edited on Monday, 31st May 2004, 22:59

RE: confused newbie

Sounds to me like you need to finalise the disk - until then it will only be readable on the recorder you "made" the disk on. Once you`ve finalised it (which only takes a couple of minutes) you can play it on other players/PCs etc. In your manual you should see summat about finalising disks.

Hope that helps.

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RE: Panasonic DMR-E85 Editing Question

I used DP when I got my 85 last week. Ordered online Weds evening, delivered Friday morning with the price (at the time, £459) incl of delivery. Now they`ve dropped the price a bit more, its even more a bargain. So my experience of `em is very good, but then it worked perfectly out of the box. :)

Maybe the real test of a retailer is if it arrives faulty... I`d use them again though.

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RE: ipod questions from someone who has no clue about them,help appreciated

I don`t have one, but I can answer some of your Qs...

1. Yes.
2. There`s an app that comes with it called iTunes which goes on your PC. CDs into your DVD/CD drive on the PC, iTunes does all the "recording" of your CDs. To transfer to the iPod, you can either use the USB port or, if your PC has a Firewire port, that`s the quickest method. It is, apparently, fairly straight forward.
3. Battery life is crap apparently. The rechargeable battery is non removable by the user (ie you). No idea when the battery needs replacing or how much it costs, but the fact the battery life is as low as 5 hours (according to friends who have them) is 1 of the things that put me off.
4. Dunno to be honest - Apple gear is rarely discounted.

Creative Labs do a thing called Nomad which does the same job, has better battery life and is a bit cheaper...mind you, it doesn`t look and feel QUITE as stylish as an iPod... ;)
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This item was edited on Sunday, 9th May 2004, 20:45

RE: Panasonic DMR-E85 Editing Question

On the E-85, on the standard SP setting (which is perfectly good enough for me), you can get 36 hours of stuff onto the HD. Plenty! :) If you`re keeping anything, dub it onto DVD - easy!

The editing is fine - if you want to get into frame specific editing, just pause the playback and shuffle along til you hit the right points where you want to edit. Fade out would be nice, that`s all I can think of that would be useful. That would be griping a bit though... :D

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This item was edited on Sunday, 9th May 2004, 14:47

RE: Panasonic DMR-E85 : Photo CD compatible??!

`fraid not! Photo CD is in the manual`s helpful list of formats it CAN`T read...

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RE: Panasonic DMR-E85 wins "What Hi Fi" magazine`s DVD recorder comparison Test

I`ve had my E85 since the weekend. My first DVD recorder so I have nothing to compare it to, but I`m really really REALLY pleased with it so far. :D I`ve been sifting through old VHS "tapes off the telly" from years ago and archiving them on DVD-R (the space I`m going to free up!). Wonderfully straight forward. :)

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RE: Which Freeview Set Top Box?

The postcode checker isn`t definitive - I have Freeview even though the checker said beforehand "definitely not" for my postcode. Its a good guide, but not definite - if it says no, ring a local aerial installer for advice.

Don`t know much about cheap boxes - my Thomson was 80 odd quid last year from Argos and has been fine.

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RE: Panasonic E55 - A couple of quick questions

I`ve just bought an E-85 and find LP quite horrible on some parts. I recorded a very old VHS to the HD in each mode - SP was excellent, LP introduced artifacts around objects in certain light conditions - sound was fine and most of the video was no worse than the VHS but some of it definitely was.

I`ve stuck to SP since. If the source material is really poor I might go for LP, otherwise I`ll stick with SP.

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This item was edited on Monday, 3rd May 2004, 18:16

RE: Panasonic DMRHS2 recorder - any opinions?

All views I`ve read have been very positive on the whole. Bear in mind that its "older" technology in some respects - its been superceded by the E85, which, if you shop around can be picked up for much less than £500 (which is what the HS2 is still going for in some places). Still a good machine though.

If by swap you mean at no cost to yourself, I`d go for it. If you`re shelling out, I`d pay the slight difference and go for the newer E-85 which has hi speed dubbing to disk (HS2 doesn`t) and twice the HD size (for more info on the E-85, see the other thread on here).

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RE: Mini Disc Query

Not sure about that. I use software to rip the soundtrack of DVDs to MP3s or WAV and then transfer them to my Minidisc. The url for the s/w is:-

http://www.imtoo.com/dvd-audio-ripper.html

if you`re interested. It costs a little, but its very quick and easy to use.

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RE: Panasonic DMRE85 Anyone?

...And now its arrived.

Full marks to the supplier (Digital Point) - ordered Weds night, delivered Friday morning by Initial City Link.

Everything works as it should from what I can see so far. Very happy. :D

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This item was edited on Saturday, 1st May 2004, 18:06

RE: Panasonic DMRE85 Anyone?

I`m old enough to know better, but I couldn`t put it off any longer - just ordered one from DP anyway... :D Ooh boy, I can`t wait. I have boxes of videos to go through - the amount of space I`m going to free up... :D

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RE: Panasonic DMRE85 Anyone?

Disintegration - thanks for all that...very useful info. :) If the playback facilities are more limited, would you have it alongside your existing DVD player then, rather than replacing it? Just that I was thinking of replacing my Eclipse player and just having the Panny to do both jobs...

Cheers!

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Panasonic DMRE85 Anyone?

I`ve decided its time to dip my toe in and buy a DVD recorder finally...

I think this one will fit the bill - has anyone got one yet? Knowing its brand new, I didn`t want to fork out if early ones were buggy or whatever. Can anyone report back on theirs?

Has anyone ever bought anything from a web trader called Digital Point? They have it M/R and RCE compatible for an unbelievable £459 incl del...! :o :D



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RE: strange happenings with my dvd players...

Tried fiddling with the set up options on the players? Mine has something to set the widescreen ratio I think.

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RE: Newbie to DVDR`s - Don`t want to waste VHS

Some really useful stuff on here, ta. I think as some of the stuff I want to transfer is quite old and will no doubt be a bit snowy/dropping out here or there, it really has to be a Panasonic for me. The new HD recorder model for around £500 looks just the ticket - as long as I can be patient (well, I`ve waited this long, a bit longer won`t hurt).

Many thanks once again for all the advice, everyone.

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This item was edited on Wednesday, 14th April 2004, 22:31

RE: Newbie to DVDR`s - Don`t want to waste VHS

I`ll cut and paste this for when I get my own machine in a month or so - I think those pointers will be useful to me too, so thanks! :)

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RE: Newbie to DVDR`s - Don`t want to waste VHS

With all respect, we`re straying off topic a bit - Siouxsie has already made her mind up that she wants to transfer VHS stuff to DVD. Maybe what she perhaps really needs is someone on here who`s done it already to share their experience of doing that - how successful it was, whether there was any quality degradation etc? Anyone?

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