EX75 Series record

R

Reffolds

Guest
I have just bought an EX75 and am struggling with recording.
1. I keep losing the beginning & / ending of programmes. This never seemed to be a problem with my vhs & videoplus. I don't want to add on extra padding time since then I lose a program following on at the end of a recording.
2. I can't get series record to work. For example, I select Dr Who and set it to record every Saturday. BBC in its wisdom changes the start / end time. When I check the guide it doesn't indicate that the new timing will be recorded. If I edit the timer details, it then shows it will record. It seems to me that timer record only takes note of the start end times, not the title. Is there anyway to get it to follow the title instead & adjust times? Another example is that there was no Gardeners World on Friday because of Snooker coverage. But I had a recording labelled Gardeners World. The wife wasn't too pleased when she tried to watch it and all it had was snooker.
I can't believe Panasonic mean it to work like this so am I doing something wrong?
 
I have just bought an EX75 and am struggling with recording.
1. I keep losing the beginning & / ending of programmes. This never seemed to be a problem with my vhs & videoplus. I don't want to add on extra padding time since then I lose a program following on at the end of a recording.
Hi Reffolds. Welcome to the forum.

Your old system was obviously using the old analogue PDC [ Programme Delivery Control ] system. Unfortunately, at present, Freeview [ amazingly] has no such equivalent system, so adding padding is your only choice.

To be fair, even the old PDC system would not cope with consecutive programmes on different channels. You would probably get the end of the first, but could not guarantee to get the start of the second if there was an overlap.
2. I can't get series record to work. For example, I select Dr Who and set it to record every Saturday. BBC in its wisdom changes the start / end time. When I check the guide it doesn't indicate that the new timing will be recorded. If I edit the timer details, it then shows it will record. It seems to me that timer record only takes note of the start end times, not the title. Is there anyway to get it to follow the title instead & adjust times? Another example is that there was no Gardeners World on Friday because of Snooker coverage. But I had a recording labelled Gardeners World. The wife wasn't too pleased when she tried to watch it and all it had was snooker.
I can't believe Panasonic mean it to work like this so am I doing something wrong?

No .. I don't think you are doing anything wrong .. except expecting intelligence from this system which as yet it does not have.
It is not a limitation of the machine so much as a limitation of Freeview.

Series record relies purely on times - There is no feedback in the system.

Fortunately, timer programming is quick and easy to do using the guide ... and so is adding padding if necessary...which at present is your only option unfortunately.
 
Hi

I can't believe Panasonic mean it to work like this so am I doing something wrong?

Series link is nothing more than a repeating timer entry in the Panasonic's case. The recorder also starts and stops based on the exact time rather than tracking when the actual program will be on. This is because Freeview hasn't had the necessary data to do otherwise, up until now of course, which is being called "Freeview Playback".

Freeview Playback will only work with hardware that supports it and Panasonic to my knowledge have not announced any support yet but it is still very new and approved hardware that supports it is only just due to arrive. It is possible Panasonic may offer a software update, and just as possible they will not :( If you hear of others using series link in the way you expect it to work on the Panasonic it will be because their hardware supports Freeview Playback, so not all "series link" will mean the same thing.

Regards

Phil
 
Thank you Gavtech & Phil. Very disappointing. I am sure I read somewhere in the forum that the Sony 860 would track series & I assumed the panasonic would do likewise. So I stayed with the Panasonic for compatibility reasons & because it had an analogue tuner & I wasn't sure about digital reception in my area. One of the big benefits to the hdd recorder is to be able to record series & let it get on with it so I hope there will be a software upgrade sometime.

I take it that if a programme slips significantly then again it will not be recorded properly even if I add padding?

A minor question. Is there someway to select the analogue channels on the hdd recorder? If I use the guide the machine thinks I want to record the programme. So I have to select channel 901 etc. On the tv (panasonic) there is a button to switch between analogue & digital.
 
I take it that if a programme slips significantly then again it will not be recorded properly even if I add padding?
Correct. There is no smartness in this system. It is entirely controlled by the times set in the timer ... and nothing else.
A minor question. Is there someway to select the analogue channels on the hdd recorder? If I use the guide the machine thinks I want to record the programme. So I have to select channel 901 etc. On the tv (panasonic) there is a button to switch between analogue & digital.
The EPG guide is purely for the digital channels... However the timer page that you are taken to after you select a programme is entirely independent of that system ... so you can change any of the parameters in that page to your own satisfaction... and in the case of the channel it s simply a case of taking the focus over to the channel box using the navigation buttons and changing the channel there.... using the up/ down facility.

Alternatively you could input timer information using videoplus which is principally for the analogue channels.

OOPs - I've just re-read your question... I see you don't mean that you wish to record the analogue channels , but simply select for viewing.

The easiest way to reach them is using the Up / down channel selection buttons on the remote... and go backwards through the channels... 4,3,2,1 etc. ... and keep on going backwards. You will first cycle through the AV 'channels' A4, A3, A2, A1 , DV... and then you will reach the 900 series analogue channels.
 
Thank you Gavtech & Phil. Very disappointing. I am sure I read somewhere in the forum that the Sony 860 would track series & I assumed the panasonic would do likewise. So I stayed with the Panasonic for compatibility reasons & because it had an analogue tuner & I wasn't sure about digital reception in my area. One of the big benefits to the hdd recorder is to be able to record series & let it get on with it so I hope there will be a software upgrade sometime.

I take it that if a programme slips significantly then again it will not be recorded properly even if I add padding?

A minor question. Is there someway to select the analogue channels on the hdd recorder? If I use the guide the machine thinks I want to record the programme. So I have to select channel 901 etc. On the tv (panasonic) there is a button to switch between analogue & digital.

The Sony 860 has it (series link functionality based on Freeview playback data), the panasonics don't.

When it works it's great e.g. my 860 recorded some family guy episodes for me this weekend - it's set to series link and they put them on at random times random nights (it seems) but the 860 spotted them and recorded them. Great!

But, on the flip side, a simple recording of "peep show" failed as the 860 was wating for the start signal from freeview now-next data and never got it. They really need to sort this data out. :mad:
 
But, on the flip side, a simple recording of "peep show" failed as the 860 was wating for the start signal from freeview now-next data and never got it. They really need to sort this data out.
... same problem as PDC then, if the data is missing you lose the whole recording. I stopped using PDC because of this.

Can you turn it on and off? And does the timer display indicate that it is a series recording once it's been programmed?

There is a limit to what can be done if the recorder is in standby and not decoding the data, and the DTG functional spec refers to this (should cope with up to 10 minutes change at least 5 minutes before the new start time).
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom