DVD recorder setup

Where do I start?

For best DVD recorder setup, if your recorder has an HDMI output and your TV has an HDMI input, these are what you should use to connect the two. You'll get a top quality TV picture.

It's simply the case that HDMI gives the most sharp and noise free image quality available. Your recorder is quite likely to have video upscaling which means that the picture's resolution is enhanced to very near High Definition quality. The same upscaling process is applied when playing recordings made on standard DVD.

However, if it doesn't have HDMI, you'll need to use either a component video output or a Scart output. The former has progressive scan output, whilst the latter provides high-quality RGB signals. If it's the case that you're using component video, you'll also need to connect up the recorder's analogue or digital audio output to the relevant inputs on your TV or your AV receiver so that sound can be carried.

It's best not to use the composite video connection because its limited quality it will negatively affect the appearance of recordings. In order to use the recorder's built-in analogue or digital tuner, you'll need to plug an aerial lead into its RF input. Following that, you should connect a coaxial cable from the recorder's RF output to the TV's RF input. Digital and analogue TV signals are put through the recorder, which means that the TV (or anything else with a tuner) can receive channels.

Can I have a DVD recorder setup to record from other sources?

You might wish to make recordings directly from an external source such as a Freeview, Sky or cable digital TV receiver, or copy recordings to keep which were originally recorded on a PVR. To begin, you'll have to connect up the DVD recorder to the receiver. The digibox should have two Scart outputs at the rear,normally marked 'TV Scart' and 'VCR Scart'. The second of these is intended to be connected to the recorder's Scart input. It's worth noting that not many digital TV receivers have an RGB output from a 'VCR Scart' whereas most DVD recorders have an RGB Scart input. You may get S-video, but if that's not good enough, you'll need to manually connect up the digibox's RGB-enabled 'TV Scart' output to your recorder each and every time you wish to record.

A few of the Philips recorders have a digital audio input used for recording 5.1-channel bitstreams. The first source which comes to mind for this socket is Sky+, but there's also the digibox's optical output. With the digibox, though, you'll have to use an adapter because it's not directly compatible with the recorder's electrical input.

If you own a DV camcorder, you can go straight to the DV input which is normally positioned on the recorder's front panel. If it doesn't have this input you can use its S-video or composite/stereo audio inputs, although the picture you get will not be as good. Just about all peripheral devices can be connected by using these AV inputs in a DVD recorder setup.

What about sound connections?

A DVD recorder (just like a DVD player) sends a Dolby Digital or DTS multi-channel bitstream from its own digital audio output. If you've got a home cinema system, then your DVD recorder setup will allow you to connect from the recorder's optical or electrical digital audio output to the relevant input on the AV receiver. This connection also allows Stereo or Dolby Surround encoded audio to be sent to a receiver. The same holds true for connecting analogue stereo audio.

Some DVD recorders (for instance - Philips and JVC) are built to make recordings from external digiboxes by using a timer setting and an infrared transmitter to activate. Just connect the transmitter to the back of the recorder and place it so that its infrared light beam can reach the front of the digibox where the sensor is.

Do I have to tune in all of the TV channels?

It's normally done automatically for you during the initial installation or by selecting the auto tuning mode in the recorder's own setup menu. When it comes to recorders which are analogue-only, you might find that you'll have to manually tune in the individual channels or sort and rearrange them into proper order. As for digital tuner recorders - they should automatically locate all of the channels (providing a list of channels found as each channel is locked onto) and then list them in the EPG. If you want, you can then reduce them into your own list of favourites.

If you have a Guide Plus+ recorder, it'll take a bit more to set up. You'll need to enter your post code, select the recorder's host channel (the one specified in the manual) and then leave it in standby overnight to allow it to fully download the programme information and save.

You'll need to go into the recorder's setup menu and alter some of its settings.

To begin, check the input and output settings for the Scart sockets. Just be sure that the Scart input (normally called AV2) is set to accept RGB signals (if you're using an S-video feed, select S-video).

If it's the case that your source is set to output RGB but the picture you get is low quality on the recorder and has noisy or frizzy edges, then your recorder's input is most likely set to composite (sometimes labelled as Video or PAL) or maybe it isn't actually made to accept RGB. After you've connected the recorder to your TV by means of the Scart output, check to see that the output is set to RGB and that the TV's Scart is RGB enabled.

In order to gain the enhancement of a progressive scan picture from the component video output, you will need to enable it from the setup menu.

The key points here are:- (1) check the Scart's output; (2) select the image ratio and (3) choose RGB in for the best quality.

What about recording modes and formats?

Yes. There are some things to check first before you get to pressing that record button.

Let's start with the recording mode. The very top mode gives superior picture quality but uses up a lot of space on the DVD disc. The lower modes don't look quite so good but do allow for longer recording times. Sometimes, it's simply a question of a trade-off between picture quality and recording capacity. The default on most DVD recorders' Dolby Digital or PCM audio recording is set to make chapter insert marks automatically and at regular intervals. These are normally put in at each five minutes. You are able to alter these intervals by going into the setup menu if, say, you want to have longer chapters.

The audio recording mode is a further setting to check. As standard, all recorders are set up to encode sound using two-channel Dolby Digital, but there are some that give you the option of using uncompressed linear PCM, which provides a noticeably superior quality. However, it does use up more memory.

OK, that's the DVD recorder setup, but remember that you can't simply insert just any format of disc you like in a DVD recorder. It's very important that you make certain that the disc you use is of the correct format for your particular machine. Maybe it's a point you've heard many times before, but with seven different formats currently available, it's not so obvious and it can be easy to make a mistake.

DVD recorder setup

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DVD recorder setup