Info and forum posts by 'harveyvan'

This user hasn't used our main site yet, so has no main account at present.

Joined on: Thursday, 30th December 2004, 15:32, Last used: Saturday, 19th March 2005, 21:28

Access Level: Mostly Harmless

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This user has posted a total of 18 messages. On average, since joining, this user has posted 0 messages a day, or 0.02 messages a week. In the last 30 days, this user has posted 0 messages, which is on average 0 messages a day.

Recent Messages Posted:

RE: PROBLEMS WITH MATSUI DVDR100.

I wouldn`t dismiss it entirely; horses and courses.

I bought the Matsui before Christmas as well, and will agree that I got what I paid for: a basic machine, for not a lot of dosh, that does exactly what it claims to do. (It records and plays back just fine -- it`s used almost exclusively for time-shifting, then erasing, on DVD+RW. I reset the clock once in a while, but then I have to do that on my fairly-expensive computer as well, as that alsao runs a bit fast.)

If you want a classy machine, the Matsui`s the wrong choice, but not everybody wants/needs to spend the extra 50 or 100 quid for the next level. If you want a basic machine for minimal cost -- for basic recording and playback -- the Matsui seems to be fine.

RE: AT LAST!!!!!!!!! Hack found for Matsui DVDR100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you tried this yet? Does it work?

(I`m asking for future reference, actually, as I don`t need to hack my machine at the moment.)

RE: Matsui DVDR 100 FLICKER ???

I know this won`t help, but I haven`t noticed it at all on ours -- in fact, we were mentioning this evening how superior the recording was compared to what we were used to on VHS.

System-depdendent rather than machine-dependent, maybe? (Dunno....)

RE: Matsui DVD Recorder £119 Currys

I *think* -- but could be wrong -- that the £129.99 price includes a 10-pack of DVD-RWs (at a "half price" of £9.99). (We purchased those -- at that price, but not bundled with the machine -- when we bought the recorder at £119.99.).

RE: Matsui DVDR 100 Recorder timer problem?

I`ve just checked mine for the first time time since setting it up shortly before Christmas (using a radio-controlled clock). It appears to have gained three-and-a-half minutes during that period -- around 20 days -- which is a lot less than you`re seeing.

FWIW, I`m surprised that all boxes don`t automatically set their own time: even my cheap VHS synched itself daily with a signal from (I think) the BBC.

RE: Region Hack for Matsui DVDR100

That`s a pity -- guess we need to keep looking......:(

RE: Region Hack for Matsui DVDR100

The poster "DJPARTYBOY" posted the following on 4 January in another thread in here -- but he`d obviously not tried it himself. (It`s the Matsui 225 hack, I think.)

Quote:

The hack is

Turn unit on.
Open the Disc Tray.
On the remote control type 349734.
Press the number of the Region you require, 0 to 6. (0 = All Regions)

Please let me know if this works as I have now ordered mine from currys and should receive this soon.



If you try it, let us know how you get on.

RE: Matsui DVDR 100 Recorder

OK: first give your hubby a kick for throwing out the instruction book...some poor sod wrote that thing *precisely* so your "throw-away-the-book" fella would feel stupid... :))

RTFM, as they say........from my copy, it says this:

For DVD+R: in "stop" mode -- with +R you can only do this once.

1. Press Setup
2. Select Record/Disc; press the central green button
3. Select "Finalise"; press the central green button
4. Select "Confirm" to finalise

(Press Setup again to exit.)


For DVD+R: in "stop" mode" -- this makes it compatible

1. Press Setup
2. Select Record/Disc; press the central green button
3. Select "Make Compatible"; press the central green button
4. Select "Confirm" to make it compatible.

Don`t forget to hold an "I TOLD YOU SO" over your hubby`s head, for use at your discretion.....

RE: Matsui DVDR 100 Recorder

I really can`t compare them, as we bought the Matsui as a first, cheap foray into DVD of any kind -- we were looking at getting a player, but then decided to ditch the VCR and go for a recorder. To be frank, I bought it purely on price without doing much in the way of product comparison, on a suck-it-and-see basis. (We use it mainly for time-shifting, using DVD+RW discs.)

There have been some glitches -- some people (me included) found that the SCART connection didn`t allow our TVs too switch away from the DVD machine even when it`s gone on standby (probably a TV problem, not the DVD`s fault). There are ways around it, though -- I use a SCART switch block to turn the SCART link on and off; or you can clip out pin 8 on the SCART lead and manually switch the TV to AV/not AV.

Alll said, though, I`m pleased as punch with it -- does everything I want; the quality for what we record seems to be fine. SWMBO seems pleased with it, which makes me happy! ;)

As for the Philips machine, I can`t personally say, but generally their machines seem to be disliked by a lot of people in the forums I`ve read, so I think on balance my own reaction would be to look at something else.

RE: Matsui DVDR 100 Recorder

Yes, it will: all you do is to ensure that the disc you burn has a folder called "Pictures", in which you place the individual .jpeg images (of any size or resolution). I tried this on the DVDR100 a couple of days ago, and it worked fine -- it idenfied it as a "Kodak" disc.

(As I understand it -- and in spite of the name -- that`s all a "Kodak Picture CD" is: a disc with .jpegs filed within a "Pictures" folder)

RE: Matsui DVDR100

I`m fairly certain someone mentioned disabling Pin 8 for that -- but as I`ve gone for a "scart switch" solution, I`ve not tried it, so you may be right about the number.

RE: Matsui DVDR100

First reaction: I`m amazed your cable box has no scart out -- I`m with ntl as well (4-year-old Pace box), and that has a scart. Frankly, I`d phone ntll and complain, as it makes a lot of current kit unusable.

I can`t help with the "TV turns off when the DVD is put on standby" -- not had that problem; hope someone else can help.

The problem of being "locked in" to the DVD when watching telly is one that a lot of us have -- I suspect it`s more to do with our televisions than with the DVD recorder. The solution I came up with (explained further up the thread) was to use a scart switching block (15 quid from Argos), to switch the DVD-to-TV scart lead on and off. Another solution that`s been posted is to rip out pin No. 8 from the scart lead: you`ll have to switch the telly manually to AV when you want to watch the DVD, but it stops the DVD from "claiming" the output.

As for your initial question, once you`ve "switched off" the DVD-to-TV link -- either by a switch or by pulling the scart lead out of the telly -- the DVD will happily record whatever you`ve set it to do. You only need the DVD/TV to be linked up when you want (a) to view a DVD, or (b) to use the on-screen display to set up the DVD`s timer.

RE: Matsui DVDR100

Thanks; that`s good to know.

The only commercial videos I want to transfer are some years old; I`m pretty sure they pre-date Macrovision. The main copying is of some unwatched time-shifting tapes that were made before we switched over to DVD. (Yeah, I know: I should`a tot o` dat *before* I moved da machines around da house....)

RE: Matsui DVDR100

I`ve not tried recording from an external source yet, but I`m hoping to transfer some videos over by hooking up the VCR that I shifted to the upstairs telly. (Laziness has so far stopped me from getting to it....)

I`m planning to try it by plugging the scart from the VCR into the socket that (at the moment) feeds the Matsui from my ntl cable box. Don`t know if that`ll work, but unless someone posts to say "IT WON`T WORK, IDIOT!!", I`ll give it a go and let you know if it works out.

RE: Matsui DVDR100

foxbat wrote:

The only downside is the really annoying naff ultra-bright blue LED that remains on even on standby. It seems someone somewhere in the far east decided these look cool as they`re appearing everywhere. I don`t want my DVD to look like a `customised` F-reg Vauxhall Nova so I`ll be unwiring that when the guarantee expires!




Same reaction here: very intrusive. (The red standby light is also pretty bright.)

But apart from that I`m entirely happy with the machine -- so far so good!

RE: Matsui DVDR100

Yes -- the switch works fine, but what I found is that you need one with manual switches for each socket. (I tried a cheapie two-way switch from the market guy who sells scart leads -- two sockets, one switch -- but that didn`t work.)

The one I went for (and which works fine) was the £15 Hitachi switch from Argos; if the following URL doesn`t work, the Argos product number is 534/3748:

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=2501&productId=103441&clickfrom=name

(It`s dead simple to set up: the scart cable from the switch goes to the TV; the scart from the DVD goes into one of the three available sockets -- that`s it. This one also has the advantage of looking OK -- so SWMBO is happy having it sitting there in full view -- and it comes with those sucker cups on the bottom, which means it doesn`t move around when you hit the switches.)

HTH

RE: Matsui DVDR100

I`ve not tried Jimbo`s suggestion upthread about snipping pin 8 in the scart lead -- what I did instead is to buy a scart switcher at Argos and connect the TV through that, and it operates as an on/off switch for the scart lead.

Bit of a pain, but otherewise I`m happy with the recorder.