Panasonic DMR-EX97EB-K DVD Recorder with Freeview HD Black
Lopez, I'd appreciate any more info you can provide - I like to understand how things work as that helps me understand how to connect things. And yeah, I know the quality is going to be crappy, but for my purposes right now, it is fine (it will be at least as good as the VCRs I've been using). I am too tired to re-hook-up everything tonight, but Lopez, it sounds like you think this should work, using the VCR as the "external tuner"? I am wondering if I should only connect the white audio cable from the DVR to the TV, since that's all I could connect from the VCR to the DVR.
I may have to use another set of RCA cables from the DVR to the TV, since the component cables didn't work at all, and I don't know why an HDMI cable would work better (the "original" signals are being carried via RCA cables since that's all the VCR has, so I don't think a "better" connection from the DVR to the TV will matter, if that makes sense). My next move is to re-connect the VCR to the Vizio TV and the DVR now that I have a remote that works with the VCR, I can re-scan for channels, then re-try all the connections. So the VCR definitely works, at least with a "regular" tube TV. I was able to access the menu (doesn't always work with universal remotes, so I was concerned!) and I got all the channels I'm supposed to have. I will be returning it.ĪNYWAY, I just hooked up the VCR to a different TV after programming a universal remote to "pair" with it. I gave up and bought what is SUPPOSED to be a tuner you could use with cable from the wall (no cable box) - but I tried hooking that up today and got ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - it found no channels at all when it did the scan (which is bizarre, since my TVs hooked up from the wall, DVRs with tuners hooked up from the wall, and VCRs hooked up from the wall all get all the channels I'm supposed to get). I also got no sound at all from the VCR (I got a picture but no sound when I played a tape). Unfortunately I didn't have its remote so I couldn't re-scan for channels, but I figured I would still check to see if the DVR could get anything using the connections detailed above - but alas, it couldn't (in other words, I could not even get the 2 channels that came in on the VCR). When I checked the VCR, it got just two channels (aaggggh). component cables (green, blue, red) "out" from DVR and "in" to TV
RCA cable yellow and white from VCR audio & video "out" to the DVR's audio & video "in" (NOTE, the VCR does not have the red "out" - only yellow and white ), plus cable from wall into VCR's "ant in," then another coax cable from the VCR's "ant out" to the TV (just like we connected VCRs to old tube-style TVs), plus The VCR is an external tuner, what kind of problem did you have? (But since the external tuner is connected via RCA cables, it doesn't seem like anything "downstream" from there could "improve" the RCA cable's ability. So it seems like the original page with the "external tuner" connections should have just had the RCA cables out to the DVR and then you use the best connection possible from the DVR to the TV, not necessarily another set of RCA cables. Yes, it has an HDMI connection, but the instructions say to connect it to an external tuner this way: cable from wall into external tuner's "ant in," then another coax cable from the external tuner's "ant out" to the TV (like the way we used to connect VCRs) ALSO connect RCA cables (red, white, yellow) out from the external tuner, in to the DVR, then out to the TV - but on another page, it says to use whatever best "connector" you have from the DVR to the TV, and says that HDMI is best (of course). What is the model of the DVR? Does it have HDMI? I had used a VCR years ago to hook up a DVD player to a TV that didn't have the RCA connections, and it worked fine, so I thought the same logic might apply.) (I actually tried, out of desperation, to use an old VCR as the "external tuner," and it kinda-sorta worked but not well. But I can't even do THAT until I buy an external tuner. WHAT do I buy to make it work with my Vizio HDTV? NOTE, I know I will only be able to record in standard def, and for my purposes (educational videotaping for my classes/research), that is fine. (I have a couple of Magnavox DVR/VCR combo units, but they have their own tuners, and that's what I thought the Toshiba had too.)
I just went to set it up and realized it was NOT what I wanted. Had I realized that, I would not have bought it. I stupidly bought a Toshiba DVR that DOES NOT have its own tuner (no "ant in" and "ant out" on the back ).
No cable box - just the coaxial cable from the wall. I have cable TV (Time Warner Cable) through coaxial cables through the wall, attached directly to my TVs. Sorry, guys, this is I know a really basic question, but the more products I look at, the more confused I get.