Shoofin

Excuse the way I'm going to explain my situation below. A lot of you are much more knowledgable about this stuff than me, nor do you plan on coming to my house to troubleshoot it, so i'm going to be as clear as possible to explain my predicament.

I have my Samsung LCD TV that I recently purchased (Love it, btw). I have connected to the TV via HDMI the FIOS DVR, and a combination DVD-R/VCR (w/ 1080i upconversion)that is also wired to the TV via HDMI. I also have my Wii connected to it, but that's not an input in question to what my problem is.

I have the FIOS DVR connected via HDMI input #1 in the back of the TV
I have the DVD-R/VCR connected via HDMI input #2 in the back of the TV

To watch something on the FIOS DVR, I need to change the video input to HDMI input #1
To watch something on the DVD-R/VCR, I need to change the video input to HDMI input #2. I can not watch something on live TV when the video input is selected to HDMI #2, only watch whatever i'm watching on DVD or VCR.

My old setup before I got the LCD was a standard TV wired to a DirectTV box connected to the DVD-R/VCR. I was able to watch TV with the video input selected for the DVD-R/VCR, as well as record shows as I would need to. But none of these were connected via HDMI, only via S-Video or RCA input.

Now with the DVR I no longer have to record shows I want to see with the DVD-R/VCR. BUT I recorded something that I have saved in my DVR and I want to burn onto a DVD through my DVD-R that I want to save for future viewing. With it only connected to the LCD via HDMI it's not picking up live TV, only letting me watch whatever I pop into the DVD or VCR. What do I have to do to get the DVD-R to record whatever I'm watching on the screen?

Lastly, I have the program recorded on my DVR in HD. My DVD-R has 1080i upconversion, so does that mean it will be able to record the HD show? Also, if the answer to that questions is yes, will I be able to put the recorded DVD into a standard DVD player connected to a TV that might not have HD and still be able to watch it?

Pardon my ignorance, but this is one of my biggest weaknesses...I'm a dummy when it comes to this stuff....

Sarlacc

Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

But I do not believe you can record from your DVR to a DVD-r. You CAN get specific software for your computer (i dont know which) and record the show off the DVR to your Computer (and then you could do whatever you want with it)

If you COULD copy from your DVR to your DVD-R and the show was in HD, the show would be down converted to standard definition somewhere in the recording process.

Not a ton of help, but maybe a little explaination

Billiam

If I'm not mistaken, the HDCP (High Definition Content Protection) that is built into HDMI connections is designed to explicitly prevent you from doing just what you're trying to accomplish.

Shoofin

So if I disconnect the HDMI connection and use the S-Video and/or RCA inputs from the DVD-R to the TV than I can record it?

bz268

This is easy. You just run an extra SVideo cable ,and the red and white audio cable from the DVR to the DVD Recorder.

So,

1) the DVR outputs to both the TV (HDMI cable) and DVD (3 cables).
2) the DVD outputs one cable to the TV (HDMI).

This may not work with your DVD if your DVD doesn't have any video pass-throu. My Toshiba has the pass-throu. Any input I use, the Toshiba converts the signal and outputs to the HDMI cable.

Type Sun

I don't know too much about recording, but I do know that you can't record HD content on a blank dvd disk. HD material takes up a lot more space than standard def, so HD data won't fit on a dvd. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD disks have a much larger capacity than dvds, so they can fit HD content and higher bitrate audio tracks on the disk.

Shoofin

I'm going to try this when I get home tonight....I'll let you know how it goes..

Also FYI, the DVD-R/VCR that I have is also a Toshiba, I forgot the model number, I think it's the
D-VR610 (http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvr/prod...?model=d-vr610) or
D-VR660 (http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvr/prod...?model=d-vr660).

I'll also check that tonight (i'm at work now).

Thanks!

Shoofin

I didn't think about that...what exactly is "Video Upconversion via HDMI 720p/1080i/1080p" anyway?

Shoofin

So....I did what you told me to do...Plugged in the Red and White RCA's into the DVD-R/VCR's input, and into the DVR's output, and i'm getting sound.
I plugged the SVideo into the DVD-R/VCR's Input and the DVR's output and i'm not getting the video. I plugged a yellow cable into the DVD-R/VCR input and into the DVR Output and i'm getting video now (But I didn't disconnect the SVideo cable, even if I do I still see video because of the yellow RCA's). I am now able to see and hear live TV through the LCD's HDMI Input of the DVD-R/VCR. I don't know why the SVideo isn't working...

Did I do it right?

Oh, and also I have the Toshiba D-VR600 (Click for specs), not the others I posted above.

I am able to record live TV, I just recorded a few seconds of the show my wife is watching. I then started playing what I had recorded on the DVR and it also recorded that. Now all I have to do is play the whole show of what I recorded in HD, make sure it fits on the DVR-RW disc, finalize it and play it on another regular DVD player on a TV that doesn't have HD to see if it will work.

bz268

Yes, this is correct. The S-Video pass-thru only works when the Toshiba is on. The yellow RCA cable will go through the Toshiba to the TV whether or not the Toshiba is on or off.

I think you need to go to setup and tell the Toshiba whether to use the yellow RCA or the S-Video to tape the TV.

Type Sun

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/fea...fallacies.html

Billiam

9 times out of 10 this is true. But when you start talking nuts and bolts though you can't arbitrarily say that HD content doesn't fit on a standard DVD. It all depends on the codec and bitrate used to encode the video. For example, I can fit a decent amount of 1080p video from my camcorder on a standard DVD. I still need my Blu-Ray player to play it back in HD though.

Type Sun

Interesting. I learn something new everyday. So, how many minutes of 1080p video can you record on a dvd with your camcorder?

Billiam

My camcorder doesn't actually record onto DVD. It's a flash-based AVCHD camcorder. All I have to do is take the file/directory structure off of the SDHC card and burn it on a regular DVD. I can stick that in my Blu-Ray player and away I go. I can get about an hour or so on a regular single layer DVD. The overall point here is that the video is just files and data like anything else. Certain things just need media with different minimum capacities to hold them.