Dash Rendar Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 My house doesn't come equipped with a TV aerial, and the big trees outside prevent me having a Sky dish. So I'm current stuck with cable TV, courtesy of Virgin. I'm getting a V+ box in the next couple of weeks (it's like a Sky+ box), but I was thinking of also buying a DVD/HD recorder with built-in Freeview. I don't know much about Freeview, but is it possible to get Freeview from a cable input? Doesn't it normally require an aerial? I was thinking about buying something like the Panasonic DMR-EX78EB-K. Would you just plug a scart cable from the V+ box straight into the DVD recorder? Sorry for the stupid questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I've had some success using the coax lead as an aerial, but since you get all the channels on virgin there isn't much of a point, I'm not sure if it is just luck, but the v+ box is a rather good box. I've got mine plugged into the telly via HDMI, and then the scart analouge goes to the TVtuner card on my media centre, obviously I don't get the same quality but it does work. Ask away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Rendar Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 Happy New Year! Yes, you're right. There wouldn't be much point in me using Freeview, as the V+ will do it all. So I have some more questions!! I currently have a Panasonic SA HT840 DVD player. It's a few years old, but I think it was a great buy. It came with a 5.1 speaker system that I'm very happy with. The new unit I'm looking at is the Panasonic DMR-EX78EB-K, which has HD and DVD recording. The main reason I want to upgrade is to record stuff I watch on cable onto DVD (rather than just archiving indefinitely on the HD on the V+ box). But the new unit doesn't come with 5.1 speakers. I want to know if my existing Panasonic 5.1 speaker system will plug into the new unit. (I like them, and I don't want to have to splash out on new speakers just because the connectivity is wrong!) The existing Panasonic sub (where all the speakers plug in) connects to the DVD unit through a weird flatish 21 pin (I think) connector that I'm unfamiliar with. Does anyone know if this is a 'standard' connector, or something proprietary to my existing Panasonic unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Not sure on the Pana unit, but 21 pin plug sounds very much like SCART... The V+ box has an optical output and an HDMI for 5.1 audio, if you use the analouge output you won't get the 5.1 sound sadly. Not an ideal option I know, but if there is something I want I usually end up downloading it because the v+ box (and sky+ for that matter) are locked down and we can't extract the proper quality without resorting to some very exotic measures. This is scart and the pin outs (Just in case) http://tech.petegraham.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/scart.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Last night, bang on Midnight, Sky telly went tits-up and we lost all signals and had to revert to the RF signal from the loft aerial. What happens when terrestial TV is switched off totally and this sort of thing happens? No telly = panic and riots on the streets. Does this mean I'll need a freeview box downstairs as well as the Sky box to account for the times when sky disappears, like when its windy, or raining or snowing (which happens a lot in the UK) or the staff have a new years party and someone treads on the cable and shuts down the signal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Last night, bang on Midnight, Sky telly went tits-up and we lost all signals and had to revert to the RF signal from the loft aerial. What happens when terrestial TV is switched off totally and this sort of thing happens? No telly = panic and riots on the streets. Does this mean I'll need a freeview box downstairs as well as the Sky box to account for the times when sky disappears, like when its windy, or raining or snowing (which happens a lot in the UK) or the staff have a new years party and someone treads on the cable and shuts down the signal? You haven't heard of the digital switchover??? All terrestrial will be DVB-T ie freeview, so yup it all goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Rendar Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 No Gav, it's not a Scart. Here's a picture of it. Sorry, it didn't come out very well, but you see it's much smaller than a Scart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 No Gav, it's not a Scart. Here's a picture of it. Sorry, it didn't come out very well, but you see it's much smaller than a Scart. Hmmm, sounds like it could be proprietary... joys of sadly... Even with all my HTPC stuff, the vbox is pretty much left alone and just connected to the telly on its own HDMI. Not the answer you wanted I don't think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Pop down to the local Panasonic dealer and they should be able to give you some pointers, or a converter for it. I wouldnt bother with the freeview box, as thats dated now with freesat coming out, and your cable box will do all the freeview one will, ie record and will have all freeview channels to view anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 The connector is proprietary, some sony kit is the same. You could probably lop the connector off and fit some standard ones though. I wouldnt bother with the freeview box, as thats dated now with freesat coming out, and your cable box will do all the freeview one will, ie record and will have all freeview channels to view anyway. Problem is that while Freesat has more channels (and more importantly HD ones), it's still missing some that Freeview has. Dave and Sky3 spring to mind, but I know there's a couple more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Rendar Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 Pop down to the local Panasonic dealer and they should be able to give you some pointers, or a converter for it. That's a good idea. On the other hand, I've just realised that the sub is fed power through this cable too. I might be forced to upgrade the 5.1 speakers afterall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I'm sure your speakers will be able to plug into another system unless every speaker has the same connector as the one you've mentioned. You could just get a decent amp (like an Onkyo) and sort it all out. Fair point about the freesat... it if were me I'd just stick with Cable, the parents have a freeview box with a HD recorder and it's just gathering dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Rendar Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 The problem is that all the speakers plug into the sub box, and the sub takes a feed from the DVD unit through the proprietary cable. So, I could use the other 5 speakers, but I'd still have to replace the sub itself. Normally, I guess, everything would plug into the DVD unit, which would also be the amp, but things seem a little bit weird on this bit of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Yeah that's right, thats how it is on mine (using the DVD unit). Maybe you can get a cheap sub.. I dunno Hopefully Panasonic might have something like I said earlier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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