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Thread ID: 78633	2007-04-23 03:33:00	Questions about Panasonic DMR EH55 DVD/HDD recorder	Lizard (2409)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
543407	2007-04-23 03:33:00	Hi everyone, Bought the 160Gb Panasonic DVD/HDD recorder a few weeks ago, and having great fun recording stuff, dubbing old tapes to the HDD, and burning them off to DVD. However, there are two things that have stumped me, and no amount of googling has resolved. 1. I can finally take advantage of the component inputs and 100hz progressive scan on the Phillips TV I bought 3 years ago - it comes up on the display as 576p. But I've noticed that the display is stretched horizontally, most noticeably when there is text at the edge of the screen. Prior to activating the progressive scan, I was able to switch between various modes on the TV - widescreen, 14:9, 4:3, Auto, etc - but those options are not available when in progressive mode, it seems. Does anyone know why the screen would be over-stretched and (more importantly), how to fix it? 2. I've recorded most things on the HDD in SP mode, for the quality. But if I record a movie that's over two hours, and I go to burn the files to a DVD it only seems to burn in SP mode - there's no option to downscale the quality to fit more than 2 hours on to a DVD - does anyone know how to do this? Cheers Lizard	Lizard (2409)
543408	2007-04-23 07:53:00	I have a EH65 recorder and I may be able to help a wee bit. The EH55 could be similar??? 2+hrs should go on to a DVD using the "Flexible recording mode" but it does it in real time and compresses as it goes. You should also set machine to "High Speed Record" and always record at a record time longer than the show. e.g. 90 min program, record in SP (2 Hr setting) Component work in all modes on my TV but it is an LCD HDMI connection only works in Widescreen or Auto (fairly new TV) The handbook say if the TV is a CRT, turn off progressive as it can cause problems. Hope this has helped Ken PS I have shifted my EH65 to the family room and hooked it up to an older LCD TV. The picture is OK using TV cable but using component leads is unbelievably contrasty so have connected to the HD VGA input using my unused camcorder cable (VGA to component) Great picture but only wide or fullscreen aspects available.	kenj (9738)
543409	2007-04-23 22:04:00	I have a EH65 recorder and I may be able to help a wee bit. The EH55 could be similar??? 2+hrs should go on to a DVD using the "Flexible recording mode" but it does it in real time and compresses as it goes. You should also set machine to "High Speed Record" and always record at a record time longer than the show. e.g. 90 min program, record in SP (2 Hr setting) Component work in all modes on my TV but it is an LCD HDMI connection only works in Widescreen or Auto (fairly new TV) The handbook say if the TV is a CRT, turn off progressive as it can cause problems. Hope this has helped Ken PS I have shifted my EH65 to the family room and hooked it up to an older LCD TV. The picture is OK using TV cable but using component leads is unbelievably contrasty so have connected to the HD VGA input using my unused camcorder cable (VGA to component) Great picture but only wide or fullscreen aspects available. Thanks Kenj. Re: the 2hrs+ stuff - not quite what I was after. I had another look through the manual, and it says that it is possible in advanced copy to change the recording mode when burning to DVD from the HDD, but nowhere does it say how to do this. I tried copying some stuff recorded in FR mode, but all that seems to do is choose the best available recording mode, and because that is usually SP mode, it is still limited to 2hrs+ on the disc. I'm not sure why progressive scan on a CRT should cause problems. Why put the feature on CRT TVs if it won't work properly? In every other respect it's great - clean signal, bright picture, no flicker - but it's just the 3cms or so on either side of the screen that gets cut off. I never notice it until some text gets flashed up and part of it gets cut off. I've seen HD specs refer to 1080, and that its double the resolution of standard TV. Could it have something to do with the display being 576p as opposed to 540 (half of 1080)? The extra 36 pixels would probably add up to the lost real estate on either side of the display...	Lizard (2409)
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