DMR-EX75 questions..

mgillespie

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Hi, just got one of these, and had a couple of problems setting it up.

1/ I have connected my Sky Digibox into the AV2 input, and set it to RGB input in the Panasnonics settings, however I only get sound, no picture. If I connect the TV output from the Sky box, it works OK. Does this mean my SKY box is not outputting RGB on the VCR output? I'm sure it used to.. (it's a Pace DS430N). At the moment, it's connected to the TV output to get the RGB, as the composite singal looks crap on my 42PX60.

2/ I can't work out how to "Pause Live TV", which is a advertised feature. I can record and playback whilst recording, but that's not the same as pausing live TV. How on earth do you do it???
 
mgillespie said:
Does this mean my SKY box is not outputting RGB on the VCR output? I'm sure it used to.. (it's a Pace DS430N). At the moment, it's connected to the TV output to get the RGB, as the composite singal looks crap on my 42PX60.

All Sky digiboxes only output RGB from the TV Scart socket...as you've found out the VCR Scart only outputs composite.
 
So does that mean everyone has their DVD recorders connected to the TV socket?.

The other annoyance I have already found, is that when I switch my TV off, the EX75 also switches off. Quite handy, except when I switch the TV back on, it does not come back on with it :-(

Is there anyway making it work correctly, or not at all?
 
mgillespie said:
So does that mean everyone has their DVD recorders connected to the TV socket?

If they want the best recorded picture quality and know about/understand these things...yes.

mgillespie said:
The other annoyance I have already found, is that when I switch my TV off, the EX75 also switches

Do you mean when using your Panasonic TV remote to switch the TV off it also switches the DVDR to standby?...or do you mean the DVDR justs loses its input signal?
 
Switching off the TV, actually swithes off the DVDR unit. It may be a feature of the HDMI connection perhaps...

I have a Vierra 42PX60 connected to the DMR-EX75.

Annoying as hell, as I always want to DVDR unit on, incase I want to pause TV.
 
mgillespie said:
It may be a feature of the HDMI connection perhaps...

I've no idea...maybe someone else with a similar setup could comment.
 
JayCee said:
I've no idea...maybe someone else with a similar setup could comment.
isnt this the new hdmi service that panasonic have! it allows controls to run over the hdmi as well as the usual picture/sound. They have been braggin about it!
remember seeing them demo it on QVC :rolleyes: turns off the tv, and the dvdr turned off too
 
You can only "pause live TV" if you have pressed the record button at the start of the program.

Hope this helps
 
Pdman said:
You can only "pause live TV" if you have pressed the record button at the start of the program.

Hope this helps

Can you expand on this, I am still not quite sure what you mean. How do I get the paused picture? I can playback whilst recording, but that is different from pausing live TV.
 
There is no real "pause live TV" with this machine. The best you can do is view while recording and pause this.

Hope this makes sense.
 
Yep, thanks, I thought I was going mad. The unit is advertised as being able to pause live TV, which is untrue.

You can pause playback, and play whist recording, but it's a cludge. To pause live TV, it's a 3 button press.

REC, Play, Pause

You still then have to concern yourself with deleting the recording you just made.

rather than a single "Timeshift" button that many units have.
 
Another quickie, I wanted to do a Instant Record thingy, where you want to set a quick recording for 1 hour.

On virtually everything made in the last 10 years, press Rec once and it records idefinatly, press twice for 30mins, three times for 1hr etc etc etc..

The panasonic does not do this.

There really is some horrendous useability issues with the DMR-EX75 it seems. Very unfriendly. How do you get ITR?
 
mgillespie said:
Another quickie, I wanted to do a Instant Record thingy, where you want to set a quick recording for 1 hour.

On virtually everything made in the last 10 years, press Rec once and it records idefinatly, press twice for 30mins, three times for 1hr etc etc etc..

The panasonic does not do this.

There really is some horrendous useability issues with the DMR-EX75 it seems. Very unfriendly. How do you get ITR?

I think it does have this feature but it cannot be set from the remote control. You have to press the record button on the unit. Thats my understanding anyway.
 
treefrog said:
I think it does have this feature but it cannot be set from the remote control. You have to press the record button on the unit. Thats my understanding anyway.

That's just p1ss poor then.. I'm starting to regret the purchase of this already. This is NOT a cheap machine (A LiteOn 160GB model is £150 cheaper), and seems to be more user friendly, abeit lower quality.
 
mgillespie said:
That's just p1ss poor then.. I'm starting to regret the purchase of this already. This is NOT a cheap machine (A LiteOn 160GB model is £150 cheaper), and seems to be more user friendly, abeit lower quality.

Oh dearie me! Reading through your thread you are starting to put me off the EX75 after I'd decided to buy one!

There do seem to be a few issues with this machine and as Sony have just released another model (with a 160 gig version imminent) I might well hang on for that. Is there anything good you can say about the EX75? Which machines did you check out beforehand? Another machine on my shortlist is the Toshiba RD85DT.

I was thinking of the Panasonic for my mother too because one of the chief selling points is its ease of use, especially when setting recordings! You might disagree however.
 
I don't think such a thing as a perfect machine exists yet :D There will always be something that annoys someone on any recorder you look at to be honest.
 
treefrog said:
I think it does have this feature but it cannot be set from the remote control. You have to press the record button on the unit. Thats my understanding anyway.

Can someone who has a EX75 or 85 confirm or refute this behaviour please.

It is what I would have expected but there is nothing at all in the manual about it.
 
Just tried it now, One Touch Record, with the 30min increments, works on the Rec on the frontpanel, NOT on the remote. Totally bizzare behaviour...

Anyone considering this unit, in a house of technophobes, is advised to steer well clear. I consider myself pretty good at this sorta stuff, and rarely have to read an instruction manual, but the DMR-EX75 had me stumpted. Like the "Timeslip" button on the remote, which does something totally different to what you expect...

It's the unit's defense, it's quiet, and good quality, and exceptional picture, but the faults outway the good points so far...
 
Same as on the generation before it - well my EH60D anyway. Surprised if it's not mentioned in the manual.
As mentioned earlier, there's no perfect machine. I bet you like the way you can simply record from the EPG though and simply, at the same time, add time before and after the recording..?? Can't (well, couldn't on previous generation..) do that on the Sony's...
Like the "Timeslip" button on the remote, which does something totally different to what you expect...
Caused a few 'debates' here, that has. It used to do 'proper' timeslip but now, apparent;y, only seems to jump forward/backward on playback. Even goes against Panasonic's definition of Timeslip..:nono:
 
sjw said:
As mentioned earlier, there's no perfect machine. I bet you like the way you can simply record from the EPG though and simply, at the same time, add time before and after the recording..?? Can't (well, couldn't on previous generation..) do that on the Sony's...

Considering I can't get freeview here for another 2 years, that's all useless :censored: , getting a decent recorder without a freeview tuner is easier said than done...

So far, I have been very underwhelmed by the Panasonic. I expected great things after the purchase of my fantastic TH-42PX60 Plasma, which is great.

Anyone know if they do firmware updates for the recorders? Are any of the faults going to be fixed?

[Mod comment - please do not try to avoid the swear filter it is against forum rules]
 
Tony212 said:
Another machine on my shortlist is the Toshiba RD85DT.

Bear in mind the RD-85DT only has Composite or S-Video input...no RGB.
 
mgillespie said:
Anyone considering this unit, in a house of technophobes, is advised to steer well clear.

Don't know about that. I thought the whole process of the out of box setting it up, and recording, was a fairly painless one, with not too many button presses. I would recommend it for the exact referred to 'technophobe'. The manual could be a little more easier to read and better laid out, but apart from that the EX75 is very user friendly. :)
 
Dazzle said:
Don't know about that. I thought the whole process of the out of box setting it up, and recording, was a fairly painless one, with not too many button presses. I would recommend it for the exact referred to 'technophobe'. The manual could be a little more easier to read and better laid out, but apart from that the EX75 is very user friendly. :)


I tend to agree. Ive had my ex75 for a week now and apart from the misnomer of the word timeslip I think the build quality and ease of use is good . My only beef is a slight fluctuating re focussing on playback
Anyone else had this problem?
 
Dazzle said:
Don't know about that. I thought the whole process of the out of box setting it up, and recording, was a fairly painless one, with not too many button presses. I would recommend it for the exact referred to 'technophobe'. The manual could be a little more easier to read and better laid out, but apart from that the EX75 is very user friendly. :)


Personally, the OOB experience is pretty meaningless, as you only do it the once. Day to Day user friendlyness is FAR more important, something this one seems to lack. I'm sure as I use it for a while, I will get used to it, but I also know that when anyone else in the hosuehold wants to use it, I will be endlessly showing them how to do things :-(
 
mgillespie said:
The other annoyance I have already found, is that when I switch my TV off, the EX75 also switches off. Quite handy, except when I switch the TV back on, it does not come back on with it :-(

Is there anyway making it work correctly, or not at all?

This is "HDAVI Control" It is a Panasonic feature and only works between some Panny units and Viera TVs. Check out the following link to the 2006 Product PDF on the Australian Panasonic site. I know it isnt the same product range exactly and the numbers are all different but it is by far the best blurb on this Ive seen and it is all the same stuff. The DMR-EH65 is similar in spec to the EX85 and the EH55 to the EX75.

http://panasonic.com.au/content/library/files/F001764.pdf

You will note further down too they refer to Chasing Playback, Simultaneous Record and Playback features and Timeslip. Down this end of the world they do not try and sell the units as Pausing Live TV - because quite simply they dont. None of them do. The best you can get is be recording a programme and then press play right off and the same recording will start playing from the beginning. Then you can use Fast Forward, pause etc or use the Timeslip feature to navigate around the recorded portion so far right up to the actual live point. Pressing Stop then takes you directly from anywhere to current picture. But you cant press pause and freeze the image on the screen and come back and directly resume it while the signal had been recording while you were away. Pressing pause will do just that pause the recording. Mind you Pioneers offering has its own issues so it isnt exactly a walk in the park to find this function in perfect form. Pdmans comment makes absolutely no rsense sorry - if you press record - you record. End of story.

The timer record function works exactly as you describe when pressing the record button on the unit and holding it then cycling the values. It is not on the remote. It has not been on the remote of many top endf units even VCR's for many many years, presumably to stop accidental activation I'm not sure - but I have found many boxes that only operate the OTR function on the unit itself - so it isnt totally fair to point at the Panny - it's the industry standard now.
 

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