Advice on my new Panny E55 please!

[InsertNameHere]

Hi people

I’ve just bought a Panasonic E55 dvd recorder and after fiddling about with the connections, I’m getting more and more confused (and frustrated).

I’ll try and make this easy to digest (and follow)


The equipment:

- 1 Sony TV [1 scart]
- 1 Sony VCR [2 scarts – Line 1 (Euro AV); Line 2]
- 1 Sony Digital Box [2 Scarts – TV; VCR]
- 1 Panasonic DVD Recorder [2 Scarts – AV1 (TV); AV2 (Decoder/EXT)]


My current Setup:

Scart leads

Digital box (TV) -> (AV2) DVDR (AV1) -> TV
Digital box (VCR) -> (Line 1) VCR

Coaxial leads

Arial -> Digital Box -> DVDR -> TV


The Problem:

Now I’m not too concerned about being unable to record on the VCR but I do want to play tapes from it. The main headache at the moment is I can’t seem to record one program and watch another at the SAME time. Could anyone suggest a way of solving this? Does it require a different setup arrangement or is there another way (switching between modes on the DVDR for example)?

I’d really appreciate your help. I’ve spent hours playing about with the thing now…

I want to unleash the full glory of this machine!

Thanks in advance.

Alex


Edit: Just a note - before introducing the DVDR, I was able to record one program on my VCR whilst watching another on my digital box.

[bobcar]

You have the optimal setup for best quality recording. As you've noticed you can record off Sky whilst watching analogue (from TV) but you can't record off analogue whilst watching Sky. You could do this via the RF signal but obviously the qaulity would be reduced.

You could do exactly what you want in the best quality by using a scart splitter (out of Sky TV scart to DVDR and splitter) and a scart switch from DVDR output and second splitter output. Whether its worth the hassle is another matter. If you can get freeview I'd get a cheap freeview box and use this as a good quality alternative to when you are watching/recording Sky.

[InsertNameHere]

Thanks for the reply mate.

Just a note first - when I say digital box, I mean a freeview one. Sorry about that...

Now, before purchasing my DVD recorder, I could quite happily record analogue on my VCR whilst watching digital. The setup went:

Digital box (TV) -> TV
Digital box (VCR) -> (Line 1) VCR

Arial -> Digital Box -> VCR -> TV

However, when introducing the DVD recorder, I can’t record one program whilst watching another. (I can still do this with my VCR though - it's still running from the 'VCR' scart on the digital box.) This is my current setup (which has been slightly modified since my previous post):

Digital box (TV) -> (AV2) DVDR (AV1) -> TV
Digital box (VCR) -> (Line 1) VCR

Arial -> Digital Box -> VCR -> DVDR -> TV

The thing is, when I turn the DVD recorder on, my TV switches to AV. So, that will rule out any signal from my digital box. That being said, you'd have thought it was possible to switch to an analog station in the meantime. However, the result is a darkened, scrolling picture moving across my screen. Is there something I'm doing wrong here? It seems silly not being able to multi-task in this way. What happens if I'm recording a film and I come in and want to watch the news or something? - As it stands I can't. I'll have to do that on another TV and that quite frankly is ridiculous.

Does anyone have any suggestions on this?

Alex

[bobcar]

Originally Posted by InsertNameHere

Thanks for the reply mate.

Just a note first - when I say digital box, I mean a freeview one. Sorry about that...

Now, before purchasing my DVD recorder, I could quite happily record analogue on my VCR whilst watching digital. The setup went:

Digital box (TV) -> TV
Digital box (VCR) -> (Line 1) VCR

Arial -> Digital Box -> VCR -> TV

However, when introducing the DVD recorder, I can’t record one program whilst watching another. (I can still do this with my VCR though - it's still running from the 'VCR' scart on the digital box.) This is my current setup (which has been slightly modified since my previous post):

Digital box (TV) -> (AV2) DVDR (AV1) -> TV
Digital box (VCR) -> (Line 1) VCR

Arial -> Digital Box -> VCR -> DVDR -> TV

The thing is, when I turn the DVD recorder on, my TV switches to AV. So, that will rule out any signal from my digital box. That being said, you'd have thought it was possible to switch to an analog station in the meantime. However, the result is a darkened, scrolling picture moving across my screen. Is there something I'm doing wrong here? It seems silly not being able to multi-task in this way. What happens if I'm recording a film and I come in and want to watch the news or something? - As it stands I can't. I'll have to do that on another TV and that quite frankly is ridiculous.

Does anyone have any suggestions on this?

Alex

It sounds like your RF channel from the DVDR is interfering with the freeview box. To confirm this on the E55 press and hold the function key down for 5 seconds or longer this will then let you change the RF channel, you may have to experiment to find one thats ok.