can it be done?

[GettingLost]

New here so hope I ask this in the correct way. I have a Denon AVR 4800,Mitsubishi WS-55413 TV, Panasonic DMR-ES35V, newly bought and a Motorola DCT 6412. I think everthing is hooked up right, but how do I connect my Panasonic to the Motorola so I can record movies or tv shows to disc or tape? Any help would be much appreciated as the cable company is no help.

 

[MDS]

The cable box has multiple audio and video outputs and most of the time they are all active at the same time. You would use those outputs to connect to the recorder OR you could connect the inputs and outputs of the recorder to the receiver and use the receiver to do the recording (which should be detailed in the receiver manual).

 

[GettingLost]

Thank u MDS--I connected the cable box to the recorder by a s video cable as I connected the cable box drect to tv with componet cables(red,blue,green), then recorder to tv also by componet cables. When I try to set up recorder's tuner, I'm told no TV channels are available.

 

[MDS]

So this recorder has it's own tuner? The reason it can't find any channels is because it is not connected to the cable system. The RF cable from the wall is going to the cable box and the cable box is outputting whatever channel its tuner is receiving over the s-video output to the recorder. With that hookup you can record only what you are watching, but you have the additional problem that the recorder output is connected to the TV via component cables and it is doubtful that it will transcode s-video to component. If you connect the recorder output to the TV via s-video then you'd probably be able to see what it has recorded.

The fact that you want the recorder to find channels tells me that you are after something a little different (and more complicated). Do you want to be able to record one channel while watching another? If so you need two tuners (one in the cable box and one in the recorder), but here is the complication:

- You need the cable box to unscramble the digital channels and premium channels. To get those to the recorder, you'd need to run an RF cable from the cable box output to the RF input on the recorder. But then you are back to only being able to record the channel currently being received by the cable box.

- If you split the RF cable from the wall and run one leg to the cable box and one leg to the recorder then you can record/watch two different channels but only the basic cable channels will be available to the recorder because the cable to the recorder doesn't go through the cable box.

 

[GettingLost]

and that brings me to my problem, all the info I can find on hooking all this up says to run RF cable to cable box then to recorder then to tv. This cable box that I got from the cable company only has a RF in but not a RF out. If I understand u right, the recorder will record what ever channel I have the box tuned to, by having the s vidio cable connected? So if there is a movie on HBO I wish to copy I just tune my cable box to it and the recorder should record it?

 

[MDS]

Yes, that should allow you to record whatever channel the cable box is receiving.

 

[GettingLost]

Thank u MDS have a great day!!