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Panasonic DMR-E85H error U99
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VideoBob
Member
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11. January 2006 @ 21:28 |
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Barkerb,
I see you have come around to the right technique the long way, but you found it. If you read through the last 40 pages or so, you will see one consistent theme running through this thread: There are many causes for problems and several solutions for various symptoms, but the ONE single procedure that is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY for full completion of ANY reset is the removal of AC power from the unit for at least 30 seconds.
Until power is removed long enough to allow the power supply capacitors to bleed down, unstable circuit conditions may remain latched into the logic circuits. Removing AC power appears to fix this--until the next crash.
Also, any failure with DVDs or any mass-deletion of files should also be accompanied with AC removal. A soft reset (holding power switch down until Stand-by light goes out) before doing so will allow you to maintain your volatile settings (Personal information, listings, and schedule). Leaving the DVD empty except when you are using it minimizes crashes. Do *NOT* leave a DVD in when you are about to do any reset or other maintenance--that is asking for trouble.
The AC-removal appears to defrag the Drive TABLE OF CONTENTS, which appears to get all messed up when the drive gets full and/or when a lot of files are deleted. I know that after dubbing off a couple of dozen programs and then deleting them, if I power-cycle, all is well. If I don't, both my E85 and E95 crash within a day or two ("An error has occurred").
Barkerb, your unit is almost certain to have the original "Green-Screen Crash" version of firmware, well known for causing U99 errors and losing the TV Guide screen. Firmware update is essential for those units. How to do this and where to find the resources have been mentioned in this thread several times before, so I won't repeat it here--but probably should look into creating a "Sticky" about them.
I completely filled my HDD at least once, and I usually have 120-150 titles on the HDD before I declare a "Dubbing Day" and fill another couple of dozen DVDs. I cut the commercials out of about 25% of what I save, and crop the front/back off of most of the others. I edit virtually every file name to include Episode Number for TV shows or to shorten movie titles. I also change the thumbnails on most shows before dubbing. I use most of the editing tools, including editing chapters and Dividing titles (I record a four-hour block of "24" for instance, use the chapter editor to crop the front/back commercials and set chapter marks between shows, and then use those chapter marks as bookmarks for quickly dividing the title into four separate shows). As long as I follow my "Anti-crash Protocol" (detailed much earlier in the thread) I have no problems with any of this--unless the TVGOS download gets flaky on me.
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1. Has anyone seen this symptom with TVGOS, where the TVGUIDE button functions to not trigger and no error messages or other oddities are observed?
Yep. That's a known bug with old firmware. Upgrading should fix it.
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2. Should I upgrade the Firmware or would this be for some other issue? If so, could someone point me to the correct upgrade process?
It is the single most important thing to do for your unit. Search this thread for "Firmware" for details, but you might start by reading and printing out this page from our member, Roger Amidon (K2SMN):
http://www.dxcc.com/dmr-e85h.htm
It's for the E85, but except for the actual upgrade file, everything else is the same for the E95. Make sure you get a copy of the full Panasonic instructions.
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3. Is the commercial removal title shortening a problem process?
No.
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4. Are there any HDD defrag functions that should be performed on any regular basis as titles are added and removed?
Yes. Soft reset and unplug for 30 seconds after deleting over 20 files (cumulative) or a dozen or so at once. The self-test process of booting back up seems to reset the HDD table of contents, providing what I think of as a "logical defrag."
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5. Is there a recommended HDD utilization threshold that should not be surpassed?
Yes. Quit when the disk is full. ;)
Seriously, Panny engineers have told customers never to use more than half of their disk. This is just plain crazy. It came from before the firmware upgrade when problems showed up more on fuller disks. Remember, to edit you need *two* edit buffers, each at least the size of the file you are editing. When you finish, one is trashed along with the original copy and the other is renamed as your file. If you are editing a 2500 MB file, you will use another 5000+ MB of disk space as scratch pad for your editing. That's also the probable reason why editing the title of a full DVD_R can cause crashes--no buffer space left.
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6. The TVGuide listing for my cable feed has never been reflective of our real lineup... is there any hope or mechanism that can be followed to request the correct listing to be added (while we're getting greedy and looking for our purchased products to function as expected).
Absolutely! I have just gone through that with my local cable provider by locating the responsible engineer for liaison with Gemstar, and then walking him through the mistakes in their listings. Are you aware that if you go to http://tvguide.com and create you own local listing that what they list there *IS* what you are being downloaded in most cases?
Anyway, the hard part is finding the right local guy to work with. After three days, mine expressed intense frustration with Gemstar not returning *HIS* calls--and he was using the "Priority" Commercial vendor line. What hope do most of *US* poor consumers have in getting a call returned? ;P
He finally did get through and they gave him an e-mail address for changes. He just cc:'d me his letter to them, updating them on the correct listings today. Lets see how long it will take them to respond and implement the changes. Meanwhile, you might try what I did: I found a neighboring zip code that had most of my line-up and edited the few changes needed--deleting the several dozen premium channels that my system doesn't have.
Bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. January 2006 @ 21:37
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VideoBob
Member
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11. January 2006 @ 21:50 |
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Keri,
After three days of no new listings, I started getting updates again witout any further effort on my part. I attribute this to TVGOS changing the data stream again and then "fixing" it a couple of days later.
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I see that I have lost all the promos that had been downloaded (not that I missed 'em!). So, whatever this is (a 'silent' U99?), the downloads stopping seems to be a side-effect of that. This morning (before my round of news recording started), I did a soft reset. I'll leave it on standby the rest of the morning and see how things progress.
Hopefully, you emembered to unplug during the reset.
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BTW, I saw that in your latest set of notes you suggest a reset after failure of a recording to start. I had that Sun. AM (week ago) failure and, in hindsight, should have done a reset right after that. My first failed DL could have been related to that event. (But the second one had no visible event to link it to.)
The visible link would be the same. The flakiness is locked in until you power-cycle-and-wait-30-seconds.
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I don't know if it's related but, after a reset, my system seems to want to use the CBS channel (here, channel 7) as the Host. It pokes around with that for a bit and then figures out that it's PBS (channel 10 (or "A" in hex)). In Seattle, where I have two PSB choices, my E95 does not get confused. But here in Hawaii, the E85 (with fewer competing choices) has a harder time figuring things out.
You can save some time by moving the Host channel to the top of your lisings. The set starts there and moves down looking for data streams. With multiple possibilities, it gets confused and distracted if the wrong ones precede the correct one. Simply repositioning your host system to the top of the lineup seems to fix that.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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VideoBob
Member
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11. January 2006 @ 21:57 |
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Quote:
Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, my tvguide wasn't working after this all happened, though I finally had a functioning unit. I was told by a Panasonic lady in Elgin to do the following: While the unit is ON, push both the Channel Up and Channel Down buttons, and wait for the unit to power off. Wait 30 seconds and turn it on again and set up TVguide again. This actually worked for me as I now am getting my TVguide listings again.
That's what I refer to as a "Hard Reset." It forces a setup, and loses all of your user-specific data. You can usually accomplish the same thing by doing a soft reset *IF* you include the power-off part, and then go through setup from scratch.
However there are times you need the Hard Reset--and even times that you need the "Factory Reset"--but beware! Personal preferences (such as enabling "High-Speed Dubbing" will go away, and a Factory Reset also blows out any firmware updates--so keep that Update CD handy! You'll need it after a Factory Reset.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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VideoBob
Member
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11. January 2006 @ 22:04 |
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Tim,
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My DMR E95HS comes up in standby after power off. It doesn't seem to even have an "off" state; it's either ON or in STANDBY. Holding the power button down for a few seconds doesn't do anything. As soon as the button is touched it toggles either to ON or STANDBY.
I'm not doubting you--but I must say that this is quite bizzare! Are you sure that you are using the power button on the unit itself and NOT the remote? It doesn't work with the remote.
Also make sure that you hold it down long enough for the timer light to go out. This could be as long as ten seconds. There is no such thing as holding it too long, so when in doubt, wait it out.
Finally, what I was referring to was after a power failure or a timer cutting power, so once it is off, unplug it for 30 seconds and then plug it back in. Does the timer come back on automatically?
And, although it *should* go without saying--I'll say it...All of this stuff should be done during a time that a timer recording *isn't* scheduled for that moment. ;) If you crash when a recording is scheduled, as soon as you power up, it will record.
Oh, and after a power reset, it takes SEVERAL SECONDS for the full screen to populate and the recordin to start--sometimes 15-30 seconds. Be patient.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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VideoBob
Member
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11. January 2006 @ 22:09 |
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Quote:
Interesting thing happened a couple of days ago. I went on vacation, and when I came back, my guide completely went away. I mean, nothing happens when I pressed the guide button. I had to unplugged the unit and reprogram the E95.
This is almost always a firmware-revision problem. Even if you've updated, if you (or the machine itself) have done a factory reset (i.e. had to start all over from the welcome screen), then you've lost your update and need to install it again. If you use high-speed dubbing, it has to be turned on again, too.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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dmr85h
Newbie
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12. January 2006 @ 02:50 |
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rtjoby is a geneious., the trick with the hard drive power remove works great!!! i have a dmr-85h and i wanted to see if i could put in a bigger hard drive, thinking just remove the old one and install the new one and i still have my stuff on the old hd., then everything should be right, they when i read in this forum you lose all your data if you remove the hd cause its index system is stored in the ram and not the hd, i kicked my self, but then i said hey, why don't i try this way that rtjoby did, and yes i tryed it and i recovered my old hard drive, and i want to say everything is stored on the hd, and not in the ram on board. files and index is in the hd, also my ver is the last version made in dec 04, so if it worked on my dmr, then im sure it will work for the others, p.s. the first time i tryed it didnt work, but i said give it another shot incase i did it in the wrong order, and yep, it worked and i got all my old files back from 6mth ago on my old hd. so me is happy :D thank you rtjoby, also the best way to remove the power plug is not from the hd but from the main board, as its a easy plug to remove while on,... its a pitty that no one knows of a way to let these things support more storage. i tryed to download the higher model firmware and tryed to install. but no hope. it just rejected it. ah well :) i got my old files back!!!! YEY
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RX7Fan
Member
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12. January 2006 @ 02:58 |
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Just a quick note, (Got a calss starting in a few minutes, got a call from Cheryl (can't remember yesterday or day before), she says they are rolling out a test in OKC again,.... I'll try to give ya'll updates as I see or hear them. this may be the update from back in sept/oct time frame, with a fix for the problems us Panny users saw.
RX7 Fan
Rotary Power, ... it just makes sense!
The greatest car ever built!!! IMHO
hey, ... is this thing on? ..... anybody out there?
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keriah
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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12. January 2006 @ 07:06 |
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Bob, Thanks for the detailed reply. One comment...
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You can save some time by moving the Host channel to the top of your lisings. The set starts there and moves down looking for data streams. With multiple possibilities, it gets confused and distracted if the wrong ones precede the correct one. Simply repositioning your host system to the top of the lineup seems to fix that.
My host system (PBS - Channel 10 (hex A) *is* at the top of my list. That's the first thing I set during a set-up. (well, ALMOST the first thing). That's why this behavior after a 'soft reset' is puzzling. I watch the 'page 1' host-id value go from its initial (null) setting, to thinking it is Channel 7 (staying there over a couple of downloads), and finally settling on Channel 10. I had thought that, by putting PBS/10 at the top of the list, I was giving the download a nudge in the right direction. <sigh>
So, this week, thinking that it would help (and that perhaps Channel 7 *is* some kind of 'host' in this market -- its listings do seem to populate before the other network channels), I have just now moved Channel 7 up so that it immediately FOLLOWS the entry for PBS/Channel 10 in my channel setup.
None of this appears to be any particular problem (per se) -- just a curiosity I'm observing while I try to read the mind of my Panny.
~ Keri
PS - Yes, I *always, always* unplug for 30-60 seconds after a reset.
~ Keri
zip 98110 (Bainbridge Island, WA ~ Seattle area)
DMR-E95HS / Comcast cable / no cable box
zip 96815 (Honolulu, HI)
CMR-E85 / Oceanic cable / no cable box
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K2SMN
Junior Member
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12. January 2006 @ 07:35 |
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VideoBob:
Your doing a great job here, with your detailed replies. Thanks. I've often wanted to comment on some of the issues here, but I have been pretty busy lately. I just wanted to correct you on one thing. If you have done a "Firmware Upgrade", nothing should cause that to go away, even a "Factory Reset". I have never observed that happening here, and it doesn't even make sense. In fact, during one of my discussions with Panasonic, they had given a firmware upgrade CD to their warehouse people, and had them perform the upgrade on all the machines in the warehouse. In order for the firmware upgrade to be "lost", it would mean they would have to have double the flashrom in order to hold the "original" version of the firmware along with the new version. Trust me, they don't. On another point, I also believe that there is no "File Directory" maintained in flashrom. It is maintained in RAM, but will be lost during a complete powerdown. It is rebuilt from the hard drive on the next power-up. It is kept in RAM for quicker access. There IS a "Hard Drive Serial Number" kept in flashrom, and that's what has been causing some issues with changing hard drives - although it appears that it can be "fooled" with the method outlined by rtjoby. I did try that here, and couldn't get it to work - but maybe I should try again (the next time I have an empty hard drive!) Oh, one more observation - I have filled my hard drive on many occasions, and then divided and burned to DVD-R to recover some space, and nothing bad has ever happened. Also, I have put titles on a full DVD-R with out any trouble - although one time it did act up - but it was an el-cheapo DVD-R (Office Max I think) - I've had 6 bad DVD-R's out of a stack of 50 from them. I don't use them anymore! I use Sony's DVD-R's and have had one fail after about 300. So, quality of the blank DVD-R's is important. And again, as you well know, but in case someone missed it: ALWAYS use a UPS with these machines!
Keep up the good work Bob!
Roger.
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keriah
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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12. January 2006 @ 08:02 |
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barkerb,
Quote:
...trying to dub some titles over to a DVD-R ...where the dub failed twice. ... later found that the issue appeared to be related to one particular title ... several additional dubs which excluded the problem title, ...
If you still have that title that won't dub (and are curious about the possible cause), you can try this. Create a dubbing list where it is the only item and then watch to see the point where the dubbing fails. For simplicity, let's say it is a 60 minute title and the failure occurs at 25%. Play/watch the title (in your regular viewing mode) around that failure point (in this example, around 15 minutes into the 60 minute item). Watch carefully to see if you spot a place where, for a very brief time (couple of seconds), you see a segment from some other recorded title. If you find this, you can cut out ('shorten') the bad piece, although it will require going a bit before and after the 'bad' spot. After that, you should be able to dub the flawed title.
The only cases of dubbing failure that I have had have all been due to this. And they have all been corrected by this 'surgery' around the bad spot in the recorded source.
~ Keri
~ Keri
zip 98110 (Bainbridge Island, WA ~ Seattle area)
DMR-E95HS / Comcast cable / no cable box
zip 96815 (Honolulu, HI)
CMR-E85 / Oceanic cable / no cable box
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VideoBob
Member
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12. January 2006 @ 08:15 |
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K2SMN said:
Quote:
VideoBob:
Your doing a great job here, with your detailed replies. Thanks. I've often wanted to comment on some of the issues here, but I have been pretty busy lately.
Thanks, Roger. I always try to put back into a system at least as much as I take out of it. Your DMR-E85 page was the first major breakthrough I got on my E85 problems, and I feel that I owe the community my own input for the next few souls with problems. I want to thank you for that great "Starter" page.
I, too, get busy--hense the long silences between long, sequential posts. ;) Thankfully, there are others like you who have also gon through the grueling hassles of finding the optimum parameters for tweaking these tempermental beasts.
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I just wanted to correct you on one thing. If you have done a "Firmware Upgrade", nothing should cause that to go away, even a "Factory Reset". I have never observed that happening here, and it doesn't even make sense. In fact, during one of my discussions with Panasonic, they had given a firmware upgrade CD to their warehouse people, and had them perform the upgrade on all the machines in the warehouse. In order for the firmware upgrade to be "lost", it would mean they would have to have double the flashrom in order to hold the "original" version of the firmware along with the new version. Trust me, they don't.
Put that way, it makes sense. I forget where I originally heard this--it was long ago. Perhaps they were wrong. Its easy to be deceived by the term "Factory."
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On another point, I also believe that there is no "File Directory" maintained in flashrom. It is maintained in RAM, but will be lost during a complete powerdown. It is rebuilt from the hard drive on the next power-up. It is kept in RAM for quicker access.
I agree, but I believe there is a copy in volitile RAM (probably CMOS) that stays there in Stand-by (and maybe even in OFF), but goes away with the removal of AC power. That would also explain why unplugging clears out so much. I think itis replaced only when the bars are going back and forth, like in the "Self Test" mode.
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Oh, one more observation - I have filled my hard drive on many occasions, and then divided and burned to DVD-R to recover some space, and nothing bad has ever happened.
I accept that. However, I have had too many "Phantom Record" and "An Error Occurred" instances right after deleting massive numbers of files (sometimes over a hundred at a time), that I have added the power-cycle as a preventative measure and it does work for me. I ususually purge the drive before a long trip and so the failures always occured the first day I was gone, losing up to 2 weeks of recordings. :(
I also noticed that my E95 is much more sensitive to this, so that may be why your E85 isn't hiccoughing.
I won't claim it's necessary, but for me it's a cheap insurance policy.
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Also, I have put titles on a full DVD-R with out any trouble - although one time it did act up - but it was an el-cheapo DVD-R (Office Max I think) - I've had 6 bad DVD-R's out of a stack of 50 from them. I don't use them anymore! I use Sony's DVD-R's and have had one fail after about 300. So, quality of the blank DVD-R's is important.
I agree that DVD blank quality is paramount to proper operation. My own failures were on less-that-top-of-the-line media, a long time ago. They didn't fail a lot, like the earlier GC media did, but still failed on writing the Disk Name--which was a pain in the ass, because O was arciving movies on Genre-based DVDs and by the time added the title, the original files for the first few movies were gone.
BTW, I am recording in 6-hour EP mode and using High-Speed dubbing to create my DVDs. I've noticed that the amount of recording time left in the status display is often considerably less that the playback time of the last dubbed recording. I also noticed that If I have, say 40 minutes left and dub a 30-minute show, it may show 0:00 left afterwards, but the dubbing menu may still show a couple of hundred
mb left. That leads me to believe that 1) the "estimates" are not very accurate, and 2) the two available-space reporting systems are not completely in synch.
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And again, as you well know, but in case someone missed it: ALWAYS use a UPS with these machines!
AMEN!!!
Thanks for your great feedback, Roger!
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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VideoBob
Member
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12. January 2006 @ 08:21 |
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Keri,
Your fix for undubbable titles is spot-on! I discovered this myself last summer, and "Fixed" several bad titles this way--only losing a fes seconds of each. On one, the Chapter Editor wouldn't get close enough, so I used Divided it at the break and used "Shorten" to crop the damaged frames. Shorten will delete a single frame. I then patched the pieces back together using a dubbing list.
When doing this, the bad section is often easier to see in reverse, as the playback feature seems to be programmed to buffer out minor glitches.
BTW, it's ceaper to do these experiments on DVD-Ram. ;)
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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keriah
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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12. January 2006 @ 08:51 |
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Bob,
Quote:
Your fix for undubbable titles is spot-on! I discovered this myself last summer, and "Fixed" several bad titles this way--only losing a fes seconds of each.
Thanks. It's good to get confirmation that I'm not the only one having this kind of 'bad spot' problem. Any ideas on what causes it? Or, better yet, how to prevent it?
Quote:
On one, the Chapter Editor wouldn't get close enough, so I used Divided it at the break and used "Shorten" to crop the damaged frames. Shorten will delete a single frame. I then patched the pieces back together using a dubbing list.
Interesting. I did have one pesky title that was hard to get the Editor to crop out. It didn't occur to me to Divide (& Conquer!).
Quote:
When doing this, the bad section is often easier to see in reverse, as the playback feature seems to be programmed to buffer out minor glitches.
I'm a bit puzzled by this (depending on what you mean by "easier to see"). My experience with these 'bad spots' is that playing in reverse does NOT show anything of the segment that a forward playing jumps to. I only see the content of the title. In fact, I was going to add that 'clue' into my original set of tips. Are you saying that you also "see" the jumped-to segment when you play in reverse?
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BTW, it's ceaper to do these experiments on DVD-Ram. ;)
Hmmm... I have never had this dubbing error harm the DVD-R that I'm burning onto. In fact (iknock on DVD), I have never had a DVD-R burn go bad (on either machine). Maybe it's because I only use the CHEAPEST media (<g> in this case, the one place where I don't follow your advice). Right now, I'm working my way through a 100-pack from Office Depot ($14.99 for 100). Of course, now that I've written this I have probably jinxed my next burn!
~ Keri
~ Keri
zip 98110 (Bainbridge Island, WA ~ Seattle area)
DMR-E95HS / Comcast cable / no cable box
zip 96815 (Honolulu, HI)
CMR-E85 / Oceanic cable / no cable box
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toconnor
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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13. January 2006 @ 05:32 |
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Quote:
VideoBob wrote:
I'm not doubting you--but I must say that this is quite bizzare! Are you sure that you are using the power button on the unit itself and NOT the remote? It doesn't work with the remote.
Also make sure that you hold it down long enough for the timer light to go out. This could be as long as ten seconds. There is no such thing as holding it too long, so when in doubt, wait it out.
Finally, what I was referring to was after a power failure or a timer cutting power, so once it is off, unplug it for 30 seconds and then plug it back in. Does the timer come back on automatically?
You're right, Bob - I tried it again late last night - I wasn't holding the power button down long enough for it go "OFF". It first acts as if it is coming "ON" (the disk starts to wind up) before it turns "OFF". Odd behavior. And it comes back to OFF state when power is restored. One thing I may try tonight: After a power interruption, will it come back to STANDBY state when it was in STANDBY when the power was cut? This would be the desired behavior in case of a power outage while on vacation - you would want it power up in standby so it could continue to record programs.
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cal401
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 17:07 |
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Hello,
New member here. First, thanks for all the great information here and all the time the some of you have put in here, very informative!
I have read the first few pages of the thread and about the last two months worth of messages. I have a DMR-E85H that I bought open box from Circuit City a few months ago. TVGO is working pretty well and I find it very handy. The only real problems that I am having are:
1) the DMR sometimes sleeps through shows, if I power it up it starts recording (as others have recorded). I will try a power down and unplug for 30sec and hope that fixes things.
2) Shows get dropped from the schedule without me doing anything. I have this problem most often with "Lost" and note that one or two other have mentioned "Lost" by name with similar problems. It's not just that "Lost" does not get recorded, the "Record Regularly" status gets deleted and it no longer appears on the schedule. I've seen this happen within a few hours of verifying that it is there. Perhaps a power down and upplug will fix that as well? I see reference to the problem, but noone indicating that the problem was resolved.
A couple of things that I was not able to find as I read through the posts:
1) How do I determine my firmware level?
2) If I'm not having a U99 problem, should I worry about updating firmware?
3) How do I find the host channel for TVGO?
4) I saw reference to the TVGO download time(s) showing up in the messages panel, but I can't find it. All I have in messages is a single message with my ID number; that's all I've ever seen there.
I'm using Cox cable, no cable box.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Cal 8571x
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keriah
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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14. January 2006 @ 19:15 |
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Cal, a couple of points, where I can contribute.
Quote:
Shows get dropped from the schedule without me doing anything
I have had that a couple of times -- thought I was 'not paying attention'. But it seems to be happening more (or, I am paying closer attention). I haven't observed this enough to draw conclusions -- e.g., is it happening only to the 'manual' patterns I set up, or does it happen to the schedule-set items? I have a mix of both. As I recall it has only occurred for the "Weekly" (not the Daily/Regular) items. But (thank goodness) I have never had it happen on Lost -- maybe because I have Lost set (a) manually and (b) to start 5 minutes before the hour, just to be sure.
In the last two days, though, I have observed a possibly-related phenom.: I check my schedule and see that I do NOT have a show appear there (but it used to be 'memorized'). Then I go to the TVGOS (which happens to be populated now) and go to set it to 'record' the show. However, the option there only has 'cancel record'. I go back and check my schedule -- there is NOTHING for that timeslot on the schedule -- for ANY channel, anywhere NEAR that timeslot. I go back to the TVGOS listing -- it still only offers "cancel record". So I go ahead and "cancel" and then say to "record". Checking the schedule it now appears. And the show does record just fine.
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How do I find the host channel for TVGO? ... TVGO download time(s) showing up in the messages panel
In 42 pages of messages, this 'how-to' is easily lost. But it is now my favorite hobby -- checking the 'secret stuff' that only the Panny knows. You can find this information (and many many more items of information that some long-ago messages discusssed in detail, back when folks were photographing screens to send to Cheryl). So if you want more detail that the thumbnail I'll give here, you can find it back ... somewhere.
Go to your 'Guide' screen and across to the 'Messages' (in the top bar). When you are there, press ENTER. You will then see ID: <bunch o' numbers>. With this ID data displayed, using your remote key in:
7 5 3 1 5 9 8 5 2. (This may seem like a random string of numbers but if you observe the pattern on the keypad you'll find it's actually quite easy to remember.)
That brings up "page 1", which shows your Host ID, Host Channel, Next DL, and a whole array of other tidbits. It is there that I have been observing my "host ID" hunt around until it settles on PBS (channel 10 - or "A" in hex). Oh, yes - and your firmware info. is also lurking up at the top of this screen (I believe).
This is also where I now take my clue that it is time to do a 'soft reset' -- i.e., when my machine has 'lost its mind' and the Host ID reads OxO and the Next DL reads N/A, I do Bob's soft reset procedure BEFORE I lose stable operation.
~ Keri
~ Keri
zip 98110 (Bainbridge Island, WA ~ Seattle area)
DMR-E95HS / Comcast cable / no cable box
zip 96815 (Honolulu, HI)
CMR-E85 / Oceanic cable / no cable box
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Bonus2
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15. January 2006 @ 03:42 |
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Bob
I was confused with "I just downloaded and unzipped the upgrades for the e85h and the e95h. The site says: DMR-E85HP DVD Recorder Firmware Update [DMR-E85.EXE], 1095kb Version DL-103
Description Updates RAM / DVD drive and improves compatibility with the most recent 8X and 16X DVD media. Last Updated 4/12/2005 "
Is the latest firmware for DMR-EH85 still 0970DL ?
Thanks
Bonus2
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Bonus2
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15. January 2006 @ 06:34 |
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DMR-E85H Firmware
I just answered my own question by downloading the Ver DL-103 4-12-2005 update. I burned to CD and it did upgrade, so there is something different about this firmware for the DMR-E85H. However going into service mode I fould the firmware to be the same 9070DL.
It may however now support 16X and 8X DVDs. However before this firmware upgrade I was already using Maxell 8X DVD R- to record to without issuse. Has anyone tried 16X DVDs? Also I am sure that even though it may recognize 8X and 16X DVDs it will probably still only burn at 4X (anyone have experience with burn speeds on DMR-E85H?)
So after the upgrade I now in service mode have
Region 1 Main= 9070DL TimeRO 110DC Drive= J132 and Rom=000
Thanks
Bonus2
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cal401
Junior Member
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15. January 2006 @ 07:34 |
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Hi Keri,
Thanks for the help. I did a "power down and un-plug for 30" last night and was pleasantly surprised that my TVGO list wase still there. (I did something similar when I first got the unit and lost everything.) One odd thing, when the unit powered back up the little quote marks started running across the bottom of the display (like it does when you come out of standby) only it went on and on. After about 30 minutes I decided it had had enough time and pressed the power buttom on the front. The unit powered right up and works fine. Any idea what's going on?
Quote:
In the last two days, though, I have observed a possibly-related phenom.: I check my schedule and see that I do NOT have a show appear there (but it used to be 'memorized'). Then I go to the TVGOS (which happens to be populated now) and go to set it to 'record' the show. However, the option there only has 'cancel record'. I go back and check my schedule -- there is NOTHING for that timeslot on the schedule -- for ANY channel, anywhere NEAR that timeslot. I go back to the TVGOS listing -- it still only offers "cancel record". So I go ahead and "cancel" and then say to "record". Checking the schedule it now appears. And the show does record just fine.
When "Lost" gets lost, I don't have the same symptom you report. It's just like someone went in and canceled the record from the listing screen. I can put it right back (for all the good it usually does me).
Up till now I have been using the TVGO "Record Regularly" feature for all my weekly and daily shows. "Lost" is the only one I have real problems with. I'm trying scheduling it manually now and will report back.
The only other TVGO issue is it not always recognizing shows that have been off for a week or so when they come back. Perhaps the description or whatever TVGO uses to recognize a "Regular" show has changed enough that there is no match?
Oh, and there is the problem of it snoozing through a scheduled record. As reported by others, powering up during the period causes it to start recording immediately. This seems to happen a lot during "ER", also "Scrubs".
Interesting...
"ER" and "Scrubs" are both on NBC; I'll have to pay more attention to which networks have what problem. So far most problems seem to be confined to ABC, NBC and PBS shows. I've never had a problem on WB, for example.
Is it safe to upgrade firmware with content on the hard drive. That is, am I likely to loose everything on the drive?
I don't find an obvious way to search just within this thread or any way to specify this thread in the search dialog. Am I missing something?
Thanks!
Cal 8571x
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keriah
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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15. January 2006 @ 19:26 |
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Cal,
Quote:
...when the unit powered back up the little quote marks started running across the bottom of the display (like it does when you come out of standby) only it went on and on. After about 30 minutes I decided it had had enough time and pressed the power buttom on the front. The unit powered right up and works fine. Any idea what's going on?
I had something similar happen once. No, that is not typical. Perhaps Bob (or one of the other Experts) can help on this one. You are much more patient that I am -- I wouldn't have waited for 30 minutes!
Quote:
The only other TVGO issue is it not always recognizing shows that have been off for a week or so when they come back. Perhaps the description or whatever TVGO uses to recognize a "Regular" show has changed enough that there is no match?
My 'regular' and 'weekly' shows were extremely IRREGULAR during the weeks around the New Year. In the lineup, some were skipped; some ran longer or had varying start/stop times. So, yes, that could have added to the mix of variables. I'll be watching more closely now that scheduling is back to a more stable pattern.
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Is it safe to upgrade firmware with content on the hard drive.
I haven't tried to do anything with my firmware. (For me this falls in the "it ain't broke" category.) Eventually, though, I will need to, which leads in to your next question...
Quote:
I don't find an obvious way to search just within this thread or any way to specify this thread in the search dialog.
Sorry. Again I can't help here. But I would like to hear the reply. Since this is my main/only resource for my two units, the size of this thread (and the ability of my brain to hold all the history in my 'local' memory) is reaching upper bounds!
~ Keri
~ Keri
zip 98110 (Bainbridge Island, WA ~ Seattle area)
DMR-E95HS / Comcast cable / no cable box
zip 96815 (Honolulu, HI)
CMR-E85 / Oceanic cable / no cable box
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beckmen
Newbie
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16. January 2006 @ 16:17 |
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Even though the U99 has gone away, sometimes stuff still doesn't record. I have stuff set manually incase the TVGOS doesn't update, but still...24 didn't record tonight, I woke up with a premonition and started recording it about half an hour in. Why isn't it working? Is there a way to fix this problem?
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toconnor
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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17. January 2006 @ 05:09 |
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Quote:
Even though the U99 has gone away, sometimes stuff still doesn't record. I have stuff set manually incase the TVGOS doesn't update, but still...24 didn't record tonight, I woke up with a premonition and started recording it about half an hour in. Why isn't it working? Is there a way to fix this problem?
Someone stated a hypothesis a while back that even though the obvious U99s are (mostly) gone, the downloading of the TVGOS can still cause havoc in insidious ways. It was proposed that the machine can get somehow "stuck" during a download, and will then fail to record anything after that unless you manually turn the machine on, which apparently causes the faulty download to abort. I have made it a habit (at least when I'm not on vacation) to turn the machine on everyday (either in the morning or when I get home from work) if I know I will be recording something later that day. So far that has seemed to work. The only other work around that has been mentioned on this board is to disable the TV Guide altogether (by entering 00000 as a ZIP code, for example).
Tim O'Connor
DMR-E95HS
Columbus, OH
no cable
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keriah
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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17. January 2006 @ 06:02 |
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Last night I had one program (a 'weekly' manual scheduled item) set to record. Just before its start time, I checked the 'messages pg. 1' and noted that the Next DL was to be 11pm (our time). The recording was to end at 9pm. I put the machine in standby and watched to ensure the recording started & progressed. (It did.)
However, this morning the machine appeared to be 'stuck' on the channel that had last recorded (Ch. 9). The display showed the channel number but no clock. I held down the power button (for a soft reset). The machine acted like it was wanting to power on (start of 'little dancing lines'), but I continued to hold, to complete the soft-reset (then unplug for 30 sec).
Unfortunately, I had not checked to see the machine's state after last night's program recording ended. I am guessing that it would have shown the "Ch 9 - no clock' state, meaning it never made it to the 11pm DL. But I suppose (alternative scenario) it could have had the failure occur during the DL and that 'Ch 9' was simply displaying the last/current channel. Something more to watch for.
~ Keri
~ Keri
zip 98110 (Bainbridge Island, WA ~ Seattle area)
DMR-E95HS / Comcast cable / no cable box
zip 96815 (Honolulu, HI)
CMR-E85 / Oceanic cable / no cable box
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VideoBob
Member
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17. January 2006 @ 09:57 |
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Keri,
Quote:
It's good to get confirmation that I'm not the only one having this kind of 'bad spot' problem. Any ideas on what causes it? Or, better yet, how to prevent it?
I think it's from recordings that crash (my money's on power failures--I haven't had one since I stated using a UPS), leaving the drive Table of Contents corrupt so that the segmented files contain one or more pointers to undefined areas of the drive. A Reset/Power-Off cycle seems to clean up the confusion--but any shows recorded during the confused state may still retain corrupt data. What causes the crashes in dubbing isn't the extraneous video segments, but the "rough edges" where the binary code isn't clean.
Quote:
Quote:
When doing this, the bad section is often easier to see in reverse, as the playback feature seems to be programmed to buffer out minor glitches.
I'm a bit puzzled by this (depending on what you mean by "easier to see"). My experience with these 'bad spots' is that playing in reverse does NOT show anything of the segment that a forward playing jumps to. I only see the content of the title. In fact, I was going to add that 'clue' into my original set of tips. Are you saying that you also "see" the jumped-to segment when you play in reverse?
I wish I could give you more details, but it's been months since I've had this problem. I do remember that what was a momentary flash going forward could be expanded by a combination of forward/reverse and slow-mo/frame advance. I don't remember whether just going in reverse around them worked or not right now.
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I have never had this dubbing error harm the DVD-R that I'm burning onto.
When this error occurred, it didn't *seem* to harm the DVD-R, but it *did* eat up the usable space by the amount used before the "glitch." Repeated tries just continued to reduce the DVD space availability. However, I no longer trust these disks with my permanent archives, so I scrap them and use another. DVD-RAM on the other hand can be formatted to recover lost space.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. January 2006 @ 09:58
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VideoBob
Member
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17. January 2006 @ 10:26 |
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Re Phantom and Skipped Recordings...
I have the advantage of having an E85, an E95, and an RCA 7000N which uses the old 3-Day TVGOS system. I'm on discussion groups for both brands, and so it's pretty easy for me to parse Panasonic problems from TVGOS problems--if it happens on both the Pannys and the RCA, it's pretty much a universal (TVGOS) problem. Also, when it happens on only one machine, it is usually related to what has been happening on *that* machine and not TVGOS or my local cable provider. When it happens on all three, the problem is just as certainly an upstream problem.
The RCA responds to the 30-second unplug fix, just like the Pannys, so I'm pretty sure that its the TVGOS registers that need to be cleared.
There was a long thread a while ago about the "Back-to-back recording" failures in both manufacturers' machines--a problem that was related to TVGOS data and that the latest Panny update was supposed to have helped.
Lately, my REGULAR recordings were failing when the unit was in stand-by and they immediately followed another recording on a different channel. Sometimes these involved shows that were "overridden" by a one-time recording--but I don't know what the actual percentage may be as I wasn't paying that much attention. I do know that changing from one "REGULAR" to multiple "WEEKLY" recordings seems to have fixed this problem.
I also noticed that stepping through my schedule and hittnig SELECT twice (i.e. make a "0 minute" adjustment in start/stop time seems to refresh scheduled recordings that weren't actually recording.
Even so, some shows still fail and I still get the <CANCEL RECODING> indicator on a listing that doesn't show in the schedule (but used to). I tink these are related to the ones that show, but don't record (as if the two halves got separated).
All in all it's very puzzling.
As for searching threads, apparently AfterDawn doesn't facilitate that, but you can search this forum (DVD recorders), and then pick this thread before clicking on the returned hits. It's an extra step--but it has the same result.
bob
Bob, Laguna Woods, CA 92637; Leisure World Analog Cable; No box
Panasonic DMR-E85HS (1 Year) and DMR-E95HS (6 Months) [TVGOS]
RCA DRS-7000N [3-day TVGOS]
ReplayTV 5504 (Monthly$ 14-Day ReplayTV)
Panny ShowStopper 1000 (ReplayTV 2000) [7-Day Free ReplayTV]
2 x Sony 1000 (Not currently hooked up) [Free TiVo]
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