Help!! How do I get my new DVD Recorder to pick up my Virgin Box?

[RNZALR]

Hi there,

So yesterday my new Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80BA Plasma, my Onkyo TX-SR606 Receiver, Panansonic DMR-EX88EB-K and my Mordaunt Short Alumni Speakers turned up

We have a Virgin Cable Box (not a V+ box) and I've just finished hooking everything up but I have an issue I think I turn the TV on and the Receiver and DVD Recorder and it goes through the usual set up on the screen and it finds no TV channels on the on screen TV menu. When that finishes, it then plays whatever channel the cable box is set to at the time and I can get the on screen virgin menu from the cable box to work but not the Panasonic Menu that's meant to come through the DVD Recorder. I also can't pause a channel and because there are no channel listings on the screen then I can't record anything! What am I doing wrong/what am I missing?

I don't have an external aerial as it all goes through the cable box, surely this isn't the reason though is it?

My connections are as follows:

Cable Box to Receiver with a scart connection in the cable box and the usual AV red, white, black pins into the AV

Cable Box to DVD Recorder with Scart

Receiver to TV with HDMI

Oh and of course the Cable Box has the cable from the road plugged in to the back correctly

Pleeeease help!

[mike7]

I think the key might be 'I don't have an external aerial'. Not familiar with your TV, but Virgin channels don't usually come up via TV EPGs. Your Tv is designed to tune in to analogue and digital tv from an aerial. That's why it goes through the tuning process and comes up with nothing. It switches to AV by default.


I guess somebody else will know a bit more about the HDD/DVD recorder although it does appear to need an aerial source as well to operate its internal Freeview. Once again it will not set itself to recognise the Virgin channels, only Freeview from an aerial. Not sure if it will pause/etc for external stuff (like a Virgin box). I'm guessing it should record from the SCART output of the V box. Your connects don't seem to mention a connection 'out' from your HDD/DVD. If you have no connection here (SCART or HDMI to the TV) then that explains why you are not getting the Panasonic Menu, or anything else from it.

I'm a bit worried that you are expecting a bit more out of this set-up than it can deliver. Hopefully not.

[ows90]

As above, forget about finding TV channels on the TV screen menu (and the DVD recorder as well for that matter) it won't find any without an external aerial.

Secondly, connecting the cable box to the receiver like you have gives a poor picture (particularly for such a big TV), and since the receiver doesn't have an RGB SCART input, you should bypass it completely (the sound will get there another way anyway).

The connections should be as follows:
Cable box SCART (socket marked "TV") to DVD recorder SCART IN (marked "AV2").
DVD recorder HDMI out to receiver HDMI 1 IN; also connect DVD recorder SCART OUT ("AV1") to TV AV1.
Receiver HDMI OUT to TV HDMI 1.
Stereo phono audio leads from TV AUDIO OUT to receiver audio in (marked "TV").

Find the picture settings/setup menu on the cable box and set video output to "RGB" and picture format/aspect to "16x9".

To just watch cable TV:
With the cable box on and DVD off, the picture should come through on the TV AV1 SCART. Then switch the receiver on and select its TV input and the sound should come through.

To record cable TV:
Switch the DVD recorder on and set the receiver to its HDMI 1 input, the DVD picture should come through on the TV HDMI 1 (if not, use the input button on the TV remote). Then, for the cable box to come through to be recorded, the DVD recorder must be set to the correct input using the "input select" button on its remote; press it until it says "A2". Make sure the cable box is on the right channel, then press record.

As mentioned by mike7, there are limitations with this setup -- to watch another channel while it's recording, you'll have to look into getting a rooftop aerial, or a V+ box.

[RNZALR]

Thanks for the replies. A couple of follow up questions/clarifications:

I don't think I'm expecting too much from the system. I just want to be able to watch TV and record whatever channel - regardless of whether it's Freeview or not. Am I incorrect for thinking for example I get the Discovery Channel via my Virgin box therefore I should be able to record it? And if I chose to record a series that was on a particular channel, I should be able to do that as well? My concern was that because they weren't coming up on the TV's TV Prog menu that I'd not be able to record them. How can I set it to record a programme in advance if it's not on the Panasonic Menu, just the Virgin box menu? Is this the same for pausing etc as well?

OWS90. I've set it up as you requested, but unless I'm missing something it's not working. How can the picture get to the TV if the DVD is off? The only connection from the cable box to anything else in your setup is via the scart into the DVD and if this is off how does it get to the TV? In fact it's not getting to the TV when it's on either. I've had to switch back to the original set up to get a picture etc.

Mike7 apologies, yes I had an HDMI from DVD to the Receiver and was getting the menu, it was the TV Prog's I wasn't getting. But it sounds as if that will be the prob until there is an external aerial source.

We're moving in about 4 months and I'm keen to axe Virgin and go to Sky, am I likely to see my problems diminish given Sky uses satelites/aerials?

This is all incredibly frustrating, I'm not wanting to go down the route of a professional install but I'm starting to think I may have to

Any ideas/thoughts welcome. It's so demoralising to spend all this money, get excited about it and then not have it do what you want!!

[RNZALR]

I decided to try the old aerial socket in the wall and what do you know it works! So I re-scanned and picked up a whole lot of channels which is great. Now for a really stupid question:

Why can't I pick up and see all the channels I get with Virgin and what if i want to record them in advance or a series on one of those channels that I haven't picked up via the aerial? Is there no way of doing this without a V+ Box?

Thanks in advance!

[ows90]

Originally Posted by RNZALR

How can I set it to record a programme in advance if it's not on the Panasonic Menu, just the Virgin box menu? Is this the same for pausing etc as well?

When you enter the timer setup menu on the DVD recorder, instead of selecting channel 1 or 3, you select channel "A2". Then, the cable box needs to be left switched on, and tuned into the channel you wish to record. That's it.

Originally Posted by RNZALR

OWS90. I've set it up as you requested, but unless I'm missing something it's not working. How can the picture get to the TV if the DVD is off? The only connection from the cable box to anything else in your setup is via the scart into the DVD and if this is off how does it get to the TV? In fact it's not getting to the TV when it's on either. I've had to switch back to the original set up to get a picture etc.

Through the DVD recorder. When it's off, the input SCART and output SCART are, in effect, coupled together. Make sure it's "TV" SCART on cable to AV2 SCART on DVD recorder. Then AV1 SCART on DVD recorder to TV AV1.

When the DVD recorder is on, the HDMI output becomes active. Once again, you must make sure you press "input select" on it's remote to get "A2" to see and record the cable box. (In fact, bypass the receiver for now and connect HDMI (+SCART) from the DVD recorder to the TV until you get it working.)

Originally Posted by RNZALR

We're moving in about 4 months and I'm keen to axe Virgin and go to Sky, am I likely to see my problems diminish given Sky uses satelites/aerials?

No aerials with Sky -- it will be exactly the same as now if you get a normal Sky box.

Originally Posted by RNZALR

Why can't I pick up and see all the channels I get with Virgin and what if i want to record them in advance or a series on one of those channels that I haven't picked up via the aerial? Is there no way of doing this without a V+ Box?

Because the TV doesn't have a cable tuner inside it. Series record is a facility available only with PVRs (Sky+, V+ etc).

[RNZALR]

Thanks OWS90. I'm pretty sure I had it set up as you said and it didn't work. Nevertheless I think I've had enough for the night so will sit back and enjoy a movie or something and play again tomorrow.

I think at the end of the day I'm going to end up using the DVD Recorder to hold movies and music rather than record programmes as I've always planned to get a Sky+ box when we move. Might even go the professional install route. Not sure yet, it's probably too early to give up just yet though! Any idea what they'd cost? There's not sticking it on the wall or drilling required.

Fancy making some money on the side and coming round and doing it!? haha

Thanks again

[ows90]

Originally Posted by RNZALR

I'm pretty sure I had it set up as you said and it didn't work.

OK. Let's start again.

Disconnect everything from the TV (but have the aerial from the wall connected to the DVD recorder RF IN; and the RF lead that came in the box connected from the DVD recorder RF OUT to the TV).

1. Connect the cable box from its *TV* SCART socket to the TV's AV1 SCART socket. Switch the cable box on. Does the TV switch inputs, and cable picture appear?

2. Connect an HDMI lead from the DVD recorder to the TV HDMI 1.
Switch the DVD recorder on from standby. Does the DVD picture appear?

3. Go into the DVD recorder menu and switch off power save mode:
FUNCTION MENU > To Others > Setup > Others > Power Save: OFF

4. Now, put the DVD recorder in standby. Pull out the SCART lead connected to the TV (coming from the cable box), and plug it into the DVD AV2 SCART. Then connect a second SCART lead from DVD AV1 SCART to the AV1 socket on the TV you were just using. You should see the cable box picture.

5. Switch the DVD recorder on from standby (the TV should switch to HDMI1 -- the "AV" button at the top of the TV remote is the manual way one can do this). Press INPUT SELECT on the DVD recorder remote a couple of times, and "A2" should appear on its display -- along with the cable picture coming through. You can now press record, or setup a timer recording (with AV2 as the channel to be recorded).

[Boostrail]

Originally Posted by RNZALR

I think at the end of the day I'm going to end up using the DVD Recorder to hold movies and music rather than record programmes as I've always planned to get a Sky+ box when we move. Might even go the professional install route. Not sure yet, it's probably too early to give up just yet though! Any idea what they'd cost?

Apart from the EPG SKy+ is not a patch on the V+ which if you move then I recommend you get if cable is available. Record 2 (sky 1) whilst you watch one. meanwhile transfer another recording to your DVD Recorder (AFAIK not available on normal Sky+). Has all the series record rewind TV, pause TV etc. facilities etc. In particular VOD inc i-player, C4OD and large library, no real equivalent on Sky.