DVD/VCR Combo issues

audiobliss

I'm trying to set-up a unit, but it's not playing nice with me. It's a Panasonic DMR-EZ485V, and it's anything but 'EZ'. All the setup menus and functions seem straight-forward enough, and they would be...if they'd work.

We're not running a cable box, we just get standard cable, so I have a coax running from the wall, to the unit's RF in, then RF out to the TV's RF in.

With the unit off, you can view TV just fine. With the unit on, but with the unit set to TV instead of VCR, you can view TV just fine. However, when you have the unit on and have the VCR selected (as in, using the unit's built-in RF tuner), the view on the TV is black & white and very speckled (like white noise), though you can fairly easily see the image of the TV show through all the distraction. When in the last scenario I change the channel on the unit (since I'm using the unit's RF tuner and have the TV set to 3), the channels do not change. The show that's playing through all the white noise is the same. And, when I turn off the unit and just use the TV's tuner to try and find that show (saw something that looked interesting that way earlier), I canNOT find it!

What in the world is going on here? I also checked it by using a video cable from the unit to the TV instead of a coax cable (no audio connected that way, just checking video), selected the right input on the TV, and got the exact same result.

Any ideas as to what's going on? What I did wrong? What's wrong with the unit?

ANY input would be greatly appreciated!!

Marty913

Absolutely just a guess (or starting point) but I wonder whether the cable feed is digital versus analog. I realize the cable companies did not have to do anything related to the June cut-over to digital but most have been switching anyway just to get the bandwidth. A cable box solves the problem but straight from the wall into a pure analog VCR may be the problem. Just a guess.

audiobliss

Thanks for the input. I wonder if this has that issue covered: During setup it will automatically check and save channels, so it'll go through 135 channels, displaying analog, then go through all 135 again, displaying digital. So I'm assuming it's checking its entire range for analog and digital channels. Is that an invalid assumption?

Marty913

audiobliss wrote: »

Thanks for the input. I wonder if this has that issue covered: During setup it will automatically check and save channels, so it'll go through 135 channels, displaying analog, then go through all 135 again, displaying digital. So I'm assuming it's checking its entire range for analog and digital channels. Is that an invalid assumption?

No, that's a valid assumption (I think). I assume the cable connected directly to the TV with channels scanned by the TV picks up everything. Cable connected directly to the VCR and scanned by the VCR doesn't seem to pick up anything. Connected via RCA composite to a spare TV input should eliminate any "channel 3/4" issues so the TV should be seeing exactly what the VCR is seeing (nothing or ghosts). I keep coming back to the VCR tuner / Cable Feed as the issue but have no real solution. Sorry.

audiobliss

At least we're both coming back to the same point. It helps to see someone else is coming to the same conclusion. Thanks for your input!

tcrossma

I haven't used a VCR in ages, but doesn't the TV have to be on Channel 3 (or 2) or something like that when used in that configuration? This probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but it's all I can think of.

Serendipity

You have an ATSC tuner in the Panasonic. That will NOT work with QAM.

That's your problem.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Thanks for the input. I wonder if this has that issue covered: During setup it will automatically check and save channels, so it'll go through 135 channels, displaying analog, then go through all 135 again, displaying digital. So I'm assuming it's checking its entire range for analog and digital channels. Is that an invalid assumption?

Those analog and digital tuners are for NTSC and ATSC channels, respectively.

I set up one of these for my uncle and it does NOT work with cable service (coax) plugged directly into the unit.

audiobliss

appadv - I really don't want to come across as too dense here, but could you give me a brief run down on NTSC, ATSC, and QAM? Sounds like you've solidly hit upon why it's not working for me, but I'm not understanding the compatibility here, or rather the lack thereof.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

appadv - I really don't want to come across as too dense here, but could you give me a brief run down on NTSC, ATSC, and QAM? Sounds like you've solidly hit upon why it's not working for me, but I'm not understanding the compatibility here, or rather the lack thereof.

NTSC is the tuner built into, to a large extent, almost every TV ever manufactured. It's for analog (over the air) TV reception.

ATSC is a digital tuner similar to the one in those digital converter boxes you have seen going for $40-60 which allows you to tune in digital OTA signals. Its purpose is to receive OVER THE AIR broadcasts from local channels via an Antenna, not cable.

QAM is what your cable provider uses to encrypt the signal - my TV has a QAM tuner and with the cable plugged DIRECTLY into the TV (no cable box), I can get regular digital channels.

However, on a DVR with an NTSC/ATSC tuner, you get nothing when you plug the cable (coax) directly into the unit. Basically, you need a cable box.

edbert

It sounds like you could just hook the cable straight into the TV since that works and the TV will control what they watch on TV. Then just connect the VCR/DVD combo into the TV like you would a DVD player, purely for movie playback only. If you haven't tried a video tape or DVD, give it a shot to make sure that works fine and then move on. I think appadv is correct about the tuner issues running through the VCR, but you can always bypass that and send the signal to the VCR after it is processed by the TV's built-in tuner and you should get a clean signal that you can record if that is the desired end result.

Good luck and let us know how it works!

audiobliss

Thanks for the input, guys. I really appreciate it.

I just checked the specifications in the back of the manual, and here's what I found:

Television system:
     TV system:  Ntsc system, 525 lines, 60 fields
     Antenna reception input:
           Analog TV Channel:      2 ch to 69 ch
           Analog CATV Channel:  1 ch to 135 ch
           Digital TV Channel:       2 ch to 69 ch
           Digital CATV Channel:   1 ch to 135 ch
     RF converter output:
           Provide 3 ch or 4 ch

So does that basically support everything you're saying? That the tuner can't decipher the information coming in on the coax cable?

As I type this, excited that at least we seem to have discovered the reason for the issues, I think of a counter-point. All our TV's are at least 6 years old, some of them over 10 years old, and they can handle the input over the coax cables just fine. So that's leading me to believe we're not getting QAM, but still getting NTSC, which would mean there has to be a problem with the DVD/VCR's built-in tuner. No?

Thanks again so much!

edbert

Are these the specifications to the VCR? I am assuming so since that has been the focus of this thread, I just saw the TV system and thought I would clarify.

If so, yes, it sounds like the cable signal and the signal the VCR can decode don't talk to each other, therefore you are getting static.

You may check out THIS!!! It looks to be the same that you already have, but with the added digital TV tuner that you need without needing the cable box. At this point I would check with your cable provider to make sure that this would work.

audiobliss

edbert wrote: »

Are these the specifications to the VCR? I am assuming so since that has been the focus of this thread, I just saw the TV system and thought I would clarify.

If so, yes, it sounds like the cable signal and the signal the VCR can decode don't talk to each other, therefore you are getting static.

You may check out THIS!!! It looks to be the same that you already have, but with the added digital TV tuner that you need without needing the cable box. At this point I would check with your cable provider to make sure that this would work.

Thanks for the link, edbert. And yes, you're right, those are the specs for the tuner portion of the DVD/VCR unit.

I just checked out our cable bill and looked our service up online, and we have basic, analog cable. So there's nothing digital going on here. There's no reason why the DVD/VCR's tuner wouldn't be able to decode it then, right? I think there's just something messed up with the unit's tuner. A loose connection or just flat out bad tuner. This unit was a display model, too.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Thanks for the link, edbert. And yes, you're right, those are the specs for the tuner portion of the DVD/VCR unit.

I just checked out our cable bill and looked our service up online, and we have basic, analog cable. So there's nothing digital going on here. There's no reason why the DVD/VCR's tuner wouldn't be able to decode it then, right? I think there's just something messed up with the unit's tuner. A loose connection or just flat out bad tuner. This unit was a display model, too.

If you're getting just analog cable, that is NOT, and I repeat, not QAM.

Analog cable should work with any NTSC tuner.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Thanks for the input, guys. I really appreciate it.

I just checked the specifications in the back of the manual, and here's what I found:

Television system:
     TV system:  Ntsc system, 525 lines, 60 fields
     Antenna reception input:
           Analog TV Channel:      2 ch to 69 ch
           Analog CATV Channel:  1 ch to 135 ch
           Digital TV Channel:       2 ch to 69 ch
           Digital CATV Channel:   1 ch to 135 ch
     RF converter output:
           Provide 3 ch or 4 ch

So does that basically support everything you're saying? That the tuner can't decipher the information coming in on the coax cable?

As I type this, excited that at least we seem to have discovered the reason for the issues, I think of a counter-point. All our TV's are at least 6 years old, some of them over 10 years old, and they can handle the input over the coax cables just fine. So that's leading me to believe we're not getting QAM, but still getting NTSC, which would mean there has to be a problem with the DVD/VCR's built-in tuner. No?

Thanks again so much!

Yes, you are getting NTSC cable.

audiobliss

Then the only conclusion I'm left to make is that the built-in tuner in the DVD/VCR unit is faulty, and the unit needs to be returned if possible.

Thanks to all for your input and help with brainstorming! I really appreciate it!

Marty913

audiobliss,

We've pretty much beat this to death but I thought I'd ask one more question. There are two types of analog cable transmission referred to as HRC and IRC. HRC is harmonically related carriers and IRC is incrementally related carriers. These are ways the cable company can modulate the video signal to improve the quality of their analog transmission. I've owned TV's and VCR's that required you to pick one of these before scanning your channels. Any chance you have such a selection in your setup menu ?

Serendipity

Marty913 wrote: »

audiobliss,

We've pretty much beat this to death but I thought I'd ask one more question. There are two types of analog cable transmission referred to as HRC and IRC. HRC is harmonically related carriers and IRC is incrementally related carriers. These are ways the cable company can modulate the video signal to improve the quality of their analog transmission. I've owned TV's and VCR's that required you to pick one of these before scanning your channels. Any chance you have such a selection in your setup menu ?

On my JVC HR-S7000U (ultra high end deck from the 80's) there was a switch for HRC and IRC cable. However, I am not sure if there is such a selection in audiobliss' unit.

audiobliss

During the setup it will ask me to select if the input is from cable or antenna. That's the only option related to the channel scanning.

Thanks again so much to everyone who contributed! It was of great help; I really appreciate it!

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

During the setup it will ask me to select if the input is from cable or antenna. That's the only option related to the channel scanning.

Select "Cable". What happens?

audiobliss

It will scan through all the channels, first in analog and then in digital, and then after forever report "No channels found".

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

It will scan through all the channels, first in analog and then in digital, and then after forever report "No channels found".

What happens with an OTA antenna?

audiobliss

appadv wrote: »

What happens with an OTA antenna?

Never connected an antenna to any TV's, nor this unit. I've selected the Antenna option while using the coax cable, but with the same result.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Never connected an antenna to any TV's, nor this unit. I've selected the Antenna option while using the coax cable, but with the same result.

Sorry then, I'm not sure what else you could try.