Panasonic DMRE500 controlling STB

Hi
I'm adjacent to buying the panny DMRE500 - Richer Sounds are selling it for under £500. I have a Sky stb and wondered how the recorder would control the stb. The US manual says it comes with a G-Link device (which is an IR emitter to zap the Sky box . . turning it on and onto the right channel) - does anyone own the DMRE500 - UK version and know how they've arranged this? I understand the other way round is to programme the Sky box via its EPG and setup the recorder to "auto-on" when the SCART output becomes active . . does the 500 do this?

I'd also be interested to know a brief account of any user's stories of owning this beastie . . should I wait for a more HD ready box to come out? For example.

Cheers

Zarkov

 

hello ProfZarkov

I have the Panasonic DMRE100, when I program a recording in Digital+ (similar to sky stb) the DMRE100 auto rec it, if i press before the AK LINK

sorry my english

 

Gracias amigo
No te preocupas tu ingles - mejor como mi espangol
ZArkov

 

I have a UK spec E500 (Also bought from RS ) and I can confirm the UK spec does NOT include the IR blaster as per the US spec. I have a PACE digi box with NTL cable and I'm afraid that I have to set the PACE to change channel with the EPG and also separately set the E500 using Timer Record to record the SCART output. *EDIT* I should add that I never switch my ntl box off (far too much hassle) so it's on all the time and therefore the SCART output is always active.

I've been a very happy E500 user since I got mine back in May 05.

S.

 

Bought the box today - off the shelf - so got 10% off - making it 449!

It seems to go thru a self test every time I switch it on -is this normal? No mention in the manual?? Takes 20 secs or so to get ready . . can I get round this?

I've bought a Phantom PVR gadget from Maplin (30 quid) which goes inline with the Scart outlet and has an IR blaster which you have to train to zap the recorder - will try this tomorrow.

Thanks for your replies.

Any further tips on using the DRME500 would be appreciated.

Zarkov

 

Don't worry, the self diagnostic is perfectly normal and should last as you say approx 20 seconds or so. There's no way round it. The latest batch of Panny recorders (ES10, ES20, EH50, EH60, EH80 etc.) are billed with instant start whereas the older models (E60, E85, E95, E100, E500 etc.) take approx 20 to 30s to boot.

Good luck with your new purchase

tips? erm I tend to use SP for most of my recordings, XP is a waste of MB's Even though you have 400GB to play with! Will you be using Networking functionality or MPEG4 recordings? If you use component output don't assume that progressive scan will automatically give a better picture than interlaced...depends upon your TV too. Oh and if you use the SD Card to view jpegs remember the images and directory structure have to conform to digital camera standards. You can also download the PDF manual from the Panny UK Website.

Enjoy!

S.

 

Hi

Thanks for that reply and the info.

I hope to use the network function as I already have a wireless network/router - although not quite sure what I can do with it yet. I suppose download stuff and push it to the HDD?

I've ben trying the external link option to try and get the box to record from my Sky box - is there a way to make this work?

What's the diff between setting my AV2 (ie Sky) to RGB or video?

If the external link doesn't work, I'll give the Maplin gadget (Phantom PVR) a go - not quite sure what buttons I need to press on the new remote to get the box on - switch to AV2 - start recording - stop - switch off! It's only the second day!

The timeslip works a treat - which is a wierd time-travel sort of thing! The LP setting seemed to be OK and better than the old VHS - ideal for progs we'll watch and dsicard.

Thanks again for your help.

I may have more probs - are you happy to help (email direct?)

Zarkov

 

good luck whit your new recorder

I´m very interested in ethernet link to transfer recordings to my Mac and edit it, but i'm waiting for a replacement of E500 with DVB and dvd-rw like the new panasonic series

 

The network functionality is very limited unfortunately. You can use it to stream MPEG4 titles on the HDD (Note: not MPEG2, if you had 2x E500's then you could stream MPEG2 from one machine to the other). You can remotely title recordings stored on the HDD and view jpegs stored on the HDD or memory cards. That's about it unfortunately. Theoretically, you can also leave the E500 linked to the internet so that it can auto-update the networking firmware but I got the feeling that this feature is very experimental and still kinda in beta.

I use the MPEG4 video streaming regularly to wirelessly view recordings on my laptop PC and it works really well, just a shame it can't do the same with MPEG2.

Panasonic DMR-EX300

S.

 

Glad you like the 500-I am happy with mine and am considering getting another one from Richers-they advertise it as multi region, have you checked this out?

Does anyone have a MR fix for the 500? I have been unable to find one so far.

Any help much appreciated.

JJ

 

Yep, I got my E500 from Richer Sounds and mine can play all my R1 discs including those with RCE. The only way you can hack an existing E500 for MR is to use a special remote. They are for one off use only and cost approx £20 to £25 quid. See this thread about the E100 but the same applies.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252355

S.

 

Many thanks for the advice, have checked it out.

JJ