How to record TV program on external USB drive?

rsbrux

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I would like to make use of the advertised recording capabilities of my 46pfl9706k. Unfortunately, this seems not to be possible, despite my having fulfilled all the requirements described in the user manual, 46pfl9706k_02_dfu_eng.pdf.
  1. I have attached a 500GB hard drive to the USB port on the TV (I have tried both of them).
  2. I have pressed the “Pause” key and allowed the TV to format the drive.
  3. I have successfully tested the “Pause" capability.
  4. I have successfully configured the TV to retrieve program information via my WLAN.
  5. The green button is labeled “Recordings” in the Guide view, and clicking it brings up a screen showing 98 or 99% capacity.
Nonetheless, the TV will neither record programs instantly nor does the Options menu contain a Record option when invoked from the Guide as described in section 3.4 of the manual on p. 37.

I have taken photos of the screen, showing the above as well as the installed firmware version, which you can see in this Dropbox shared folder:

Unable to record on Philips 46pfl9706k

What might be preventing the record function from working?
 
As far as i know you have to be watching the program you're recording, if the tv is off or on another channel it won't do it, that's the case with the two Philips I've had anyway, not a great feature.
 
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Thanks, but it didn't even work to record the channel I was watching. Furthermore, I couldn't even schedule a later recording, which the user manual claims will be made if the TV is left on standby, (as opposed to being turned off completely). IAC, not having been able to schedule it, I had no opportunity to test whether it would work with or without having the TV turned on and tuned to the right channel. ;-(
 
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Hi all, first post on AV.

rsbrux, you can pick up a youview PVR box on ebay for around £30 which will do what you need and keep your hard drive for computer back up or playing back video you transfer to it.
 
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Thanks for the tip, but I live in Switzerland, and ebay sellers don't deliver here because of the customs complications. Even if I found one who would, the handling charges would more than double the price of the youview. Furthermore, youwiew appears to be intended for a British audience. I want to record programs which I can already receive on my Philips thanks to the built-in DVB-C receiver and the CI/CAM module from my local cable provider. Recording such programs on an external drive is clearly described in the Philips manual, but I can't get it to work. Why should I have to resort to a third-party solution for a function which is advertised for my TV?
I expect the TV to work as advertised and don't want to invest time in setting up an alternative/workaround solution. Unfortunately, Philips appears to have deactivated the contact channels (e.g. e-mail addresses) which I have previously used. I posted a support request on the Philips website 3 weeks ago and got a boilerplate acknowledging e-mail promising to contact me within 24-48 hours.
Meanwhile I have added a "comment" to the open case on the Philips site asking for a response. I have also tried again with a different USB drive, with the same results as before. I am hoping that the problem could be resolved by a firmware upgrade (or downgrade) The TV reports no upgrades available, but this is unsurprising in view of its age.
I never tried this function before because the TV was previously used as a monitor for a full HTPC. However, I am now having problems with my HTPC and would like to take advantage of this advertised feature of the TV.
 
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IIRC Phillips drives need a FAT32 or NTFS format so try formatting them on a computer and does your external drive have a PSU? The USB on the TV may not offer up enough power on its own to start the drive.
 
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Thanks for the quick response. Did you read my original post?
In both cases I allowed the TV to format the drive and it reported each drive as being healthy and usable (speed check).
The USB drive has no PSU, nor does it have a way to connect one, but it draws less than 500mA.
Furthermore, it works for pause/play, just not for recording.
 
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Yep, read your OP but I had a similar issue with a Vestal made TV and formatting on a PC sorted it out. Is the TV firmware up to date?
 
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Thanks for the quick response. Did you read my original post?
In both cases I allowed the TV to format the drive and it reported each drive as being healthy and usable (speed check).
The USB drive has no PSU, nor does it have a way to connect one, but it draws less than 500mA.
Furthermore, it works for pause/play, just not for recording.
What USB drive are you using?
 
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He's using a 500GB external hard drive not a stick drive
 
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Yep, read your OP but I had a similar issue with a Vestal made TV and formatting on a PC sorted it out. Is the TV firmware up to date?
The firmware version is Q5551-0.14.105.0. The TV has an Internet connection and, if I ask it to update, it doesn't find one. Does that mean it is up to date?
It doesn't matter how the disk was formatted before. The TV always insists on reformatting it ext3 (a Linux drive format). If there were a formatting problem, why would the drive work for pause and instant replay?
 
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According to the Phillips site the drive must be formatted to "FAT32 or NTFS"

So format the drive on a computer, sorry I can't be more helpful.
 
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According to the Phillips site the drive must be formatted to "FAT32 or NTFS"

So format the drive on a computer, sorry I can't be more helpful.
The link you provided is for a different model. My statement was not theoretical: I have preformatted the drive with NTFS, exFAT and FAT32. In each case, the TV insisted on reformatting it to ext3. In each case, the drive worked for pause and instant replay, but not for scheduled recording, even though the "Recordings" view showed 99% available.
 
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HI,

this TV model is from 2011. TV recordings are only possible via IP-EPG (EPG over Internet). Timeshift should always work (just press Pause when using internal TV tuner and the format wizard will open).

TV recordings (time programmed) "should" work within the IP-EPG - however, this functionality seems to be gone (at least some people are complaining).

Toengel@Alex
 
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What I had to do with a Sharp TV was convert to MBR (master boot record) drive. Prior to that the set would 'see' the drive but not content.


Thats me lot, hope it works for you.
 
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HI,

what you can try... go to the left (on the channel logo) and press OPTION Button - maybe a "Manual REcording" option is available.

Toengel@Alex
Thanks, but the Options menu looks the same, whether I call it up from a program listing or from the channel symbol in the TV Guide (online EPG). If Philips has discontinued this feature, I would at lest expect them to respond to my trouble ticket with a statement to that effect.
If Philips removed this feature in the firmware, could I recover it with a firmware downgrade?
In your blog you mention that this is possible, and I have the following older versions saved:
Q5551_0.14.88.0_prod.zip
Q5551-000_014_093_000.zip
Q5551-000_014_096_000.zip
Q5551-000_014_104_000.zip
Q5551-000_014_105_000.zip
StandbySW_Q5551_92.0.0.0_prod.zip
TV550R3_Q5551-0.14.38.6_bld6a.zip
TV550R3_Q5551-0.14.98.0_bld19a.zip
TV550R3_Q5551-0.14.99.0_bld78a.zip
Would it be worth tryxing one of these, or is there another version you would recommend?
 
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