Recording on standard UPC Mediabox

skinthegoat

I have a standard UPC Mediabox, connected as follows: UPC outlet to RF-In on Mediabox; Mediabox SCART to DVD recorder; DVD recorder SCART to TV. Everything works fine, and I can record programs by selecting the required station on the UPC box and pressing the 'Record' button on the DVD recorder. My question is, can I use a timer to pre-set a recording session? Myself, I can't see any way of doing it, since the DVD recorder has no obvious way of selecting a station: that is, its only input is what it gets from the UPC box over the SCART connection. I could, of course, upgrade to a UPC + box with recording facility, but am not in a position to support the expense. Any ideas out there?

Tech_Man

skinthegoat wrote: »

I have a standard UPC Mediabox, connected as follows: UPC outlet to RF-In on Mediabox; Mediabox SCART to DVD recorder; DVD recorder SCART to TV. Everything works fine, and I can record programs by selecting the required station on the UPC box and pressing the 'Record' button on the DVD recorder. My question is, can I use a timer to pre-set a recording session? Myself, I can't see any way of doing it, since the DVD recorder has no obvious way of selecting a station: that is, its only input is what it gets from the UPC box over the SCART connection. I could, of course, upgrade to a UPC + box with recording facility, but am not in a position to support the expense. Any ideas out there?

It is only €3.75 a month for the plus decoder, and it is really worth it

icdg

skinthegoat wrote: »

I have a standard UPC Mediabox, connected as follows: UPC outlet to RF-In on Mediabox; Mediabox SCART to DVD recorder; DVD recorder SCART to TV. Everything works fine, and I can record programs by selecting the required station on the UPC box and pressing the 'Record' button on the DVD recorder. My question is, can I use a timer to pre-set a recording session? Myself, I can't see any way of doing it, since the DVD recorder has no obvious way of selecting a station: that is, its only input is what it gets from the UPC box over the SCART connection.

Yes, you can, and you're half way there already. You already know what channel on the DVD-R the SCART connection is coming in on, nine times out of ten its EXT1 or AV.

What you need when setting a timer is:
(1) On your DVD-R, set the timer up. You need to set the channel to be recorded as the channel which your UPC STB is recieved on, as I noted above, this is usually EXT1 or AV.
(2) On your UPC STB, using the EPG (either the full guide or mini-guide) highlight the programme you want to record and press OK. You'll see a little clock appear beside the programme name, that means you've set a reminder.
(3) Put your DVD-R into standby if required (you usually need to). Make sure your UPC box is not in standby. To be extra safe make sure you're tuned to the channel you want to record - althought the reminder you've set should automatically tune the box to the correct channel anyway.

Its not as quick and easy a method as the PVR, but it works. But yeah, if you can afford the PVR, that's a better idea.

Jimmy444

icdg wrote: »

(3) Put your DVD-R into standby if required (you usually need to). Make sure your UPC box is not in standby. To be extra safe make sure you're tuned to the channel you want to record - althought the reminder you've set should automatically tune the box to the correct channel anyway.

You may also need to check that the timeout on the UPC box is disabled. They changed it a while back to switch off after 3.5 hours. (Settings/Power Settings).

skinthegoat

Spot on, icdg! After a bit of head-scratching over STBs and PVRs, all now working OK. I've tried leaving the UPC box on a different channel, and it changes to the desired one at the time set. I tried leaving it in stby, but it doesn't switch itself on. So then, problem solved, and many thanks, my friend.

Jimmy444, thanks for your input. I'll check that when her indoors gives it back to me. She'd hit the evening run of soaps before I saw your message.

Thanks also to Techman. I appreciate your point and hope you weather the economic storms ahead. As an OAP, 3.75 a month translates to 45 a year, which I prefer to squander on food and suchlike frivolities - but I also wanted to be able to keep some recorded films on DVD.

Once again, one up for boards.ie, and my sincere thanks to you all.