118 replies to this topic

[L T]

errdenyer, on Dec 6 2009, 08:39 AM, said:

I am also interested to know what jaycar stabiliser this is...is this it?  http://www.jaycar.co...w.asp?ID=AR1822

Any advice is very much appreciated.  I have done a bit of research on this and this particular jaycar unit looks to be rebadged as other brands as well.  I seem to remember something that looked similar and the seller of these was firm that it didn't work with the mystar, but if your's does work then I'm up for one.

Thanks

I have what looks like this unit branded as a Digitech AR-1822 and can confirm that this does NOT allow recording from the Mystar HD.  (At least to my Sony DVD recorder - haven't tried with any other devices).

[errdenyer]

L T, on Dec 6 2009, 10:40 AM, said:

I have what looks like this unit branded as a Digitech AR-1822 and can confirm that this does NOT allow recording from the Mystar HD.  (At least to my Sony DVD recorder - haven't tried with any other devices).

Thank you very much for that.  It may be as I suspected.  If the original poster who says he has jaycar that works would just let us know it'd be great.

[Swagman51]

L T, on Dec 6 2009, 10:40 AM, said:

..... Digitech AR-1822 and can confirm that this does NOT allow recording from the Mystar HD.  (At least to my Sony DVD recorder - haven't tried with any other devices).

Interesting indeed.  I have this same Jaycar unit (AR-1822) and in my case it DOES work to allow recording from the MystarHD (S-video output).  Input is into an Aldi cheapie DVD recorder - Conia MR910D. I've tested it recording SD live and SD off the disk, and HD live and HD off the disk.  Recordings in all cases seem fine (and at S-video standard).

Mind you, it MAY be the Conia that is doing the ignoring of the Macrovision signals....when I get some time I'll try some transfers without the AR-1822 stabiliser in line.

Edit: DVD recorder model is MR910D (not M910D as originally posted).

Edited by Swagman51, 06 December 2009 - 12:21 PM.

[errdenyer]

Swagman51, on Dec 6 2009, 01:18 PM, said:

Interesting indeed.  I have this same Jaycar unit (AR-1822) and in my case it DOES work to allow recording from the MystarHD (S-video output).  Input is into an Aldi cheapie DVD recorder - Conia MR910D. I've tested it recording SD live and SD off the disk, and HD live and HD off the disk.  Recordings in all cases seem fine (and at S-video standard).

Mind you, it MAY be the Conia that is doing the ignoring of the Macrovision signals....when I get some time I'll try some transfers without the AR-1822 stabiliser in line.

Edit: DVD recorder model is MR910D (not M910D as originally posted).

Thank you for that.  Yes it may be the recorder.  I for one would really appreciate it if you could take the stabiliser out of the chain and see if it is the recorder.  I may well buy one if they are still available.  Its funny how sometimes the cheaper models seem to play just about everything that you throw at them rather than the more expensive ones, and now this.  It wouldn't surprise me if it is the dvd recorder ignoring the macrovision.


Thanks for the reply.  I appreciate it.

[davmel]

L T, on Dec 6 2009, 10:40 AM, said:

I have what looks like this unit branded as a Digitech AR-1822 and can confirm that this does NOT allow recording from the Mystar HD.  (At least to my Sony DVD recorder - haven't tried with any other devices).

I guess it's just a case of your DVD recorder picking up the extra data protection signals which the stabiliser doesn't remove. The stabiliser does its job perfectly in correcting the AGC signalling to make a stable perfect picture so it should work fine with recorders where that is the only problem. However, for recorders that also go the extra step of detecting the Macrovision data signalling then it will refuse to record even though the stabiliser has corrected the AGC levels.
It all comes down to your recorder type and whether it searches for the Macrovision protection rather than just gets affected by the basic AGC modification trick to screw up the video.

[L T]

Swagman51, on Dec 6 2009, 12:48 PM, said:

Interesting indeed.  I have this same Jaycar unit (AR-1822) and in my case it DOES work to allow recording from the MystarHD (S-video output).  Input is into an Aldi cheapie DVD recorder - Conia MR910D. I've tested it recording SD live and SD off the disk, and HD live and HD off the disk.  Recordings in all cases seem fine (and at S-video standard).

Mind you, it MAY be the Conia that is doing the ignoring of the Macrovision signals....when I get some time I'll try some transfers without the AR-1822 stabiliser in line.

Edit: DVD recorder model is MR910D (not M910D as originally posted).

Very interesting.  It seems that the recording device is very important in this equation.  The Sony DVD recorder that I have (RDR-HXD870) had no problems recording live signals from the Mystar SD, but required the stabiliser in order to record from the hard disk.  On the HD Mystar it won't record either live or from disk.  Based on some of the earlier responses it sounds like a PC capture card might be the go now.

[errdenyer]

L T, on Dec 6 2009, 10:16 PM, said:

Very interesting.  It seems that the recording device is very important in this equation.  The Sony DVD recorder that I have (RDR-HXD870) had no problems recording live signals from the Mystar SD, but required the stabiliser in order to record from the hard disk.  On the HD Mystar it won't record either live or from disk.  Based on some of the earlier responses it sounds like a PC capture card might be the go now.

Just to share my research with you all.  I emailed the makers of the Grex stabiliser (http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html) and they have confirmed that their stabiliser DOES work with the Mystar HD....I haven't bought one yet and they are expensive, but I will do so today.   To make it go over here will probaby need a 240v power supply I suppose.

[gadgarra]

errdenyer, on Dec 7 2009, 05:00 AM, said:

Just to share my research with you all.  I emailed the makers of the Grex stabiliser (http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html) and they have confirmed that their stabiliser DOES work with the Mystar HD....I haven't bought one yet and they are expensive, but I will do so today.   To make it go over here will probaby need a 240v power supply I suppose.

Presumably Dimax, the makers,  are in the USA although I could not find their location anywhere on their website.  I'm always a bit concerned when the only way of contacting a supplier is via email.   Did you get a quote for shipping to Australia?  When you click on "buy" it takes you to the Paypal site and shows shipping at 8.95 USD.  This would surely not apply to international shipments.

[errdenyer]

gadgarra, on Dec 7 2009, 08:44 AM, said:

Presumably Dimax, the makers,  are in the USA although I could not find their location anywhere on their website.  I'm always a bit concerned when the only way of contacting a supplier is via email.   Did you get a quote for shipping to Australia?  When you click on "buy" it takes you to the Paypal site and shows shipping at 8.95 USD.  This would surely not apply to international shipments.

I ordered both the stabiliser and the power supply from them.  $16.50AUD for the power supply inc shipping.  $110AUD inc shipping for the unit.  I agree about the not being able to contact although I have read good reports about the Grex units on numerous sites. They did respond very promptly to emails and were very helpful.  I feel better paying via paypal rather than giving my cc details.  Nothing is without risk however.  This unit is on the expensive side....but to put it into perspective the jaycar unit was $119 without shipping so its not too bad with that comparison.  For me its worth it if it does the job. They assure me it will and I tend to take people at their word, and it is their business after all.

Now I wait, and I will of course let people know what transpires.

[L T]

errdenyer, on Dec 7 2009, 08:24 AM, said:

I ordered both the stabiliser and the power supply from them.  $16.50AUD for the power supply inc shipping.  $110AUD inc shipping for the unit...

That seems a reasonable price compared to the Jaycar price.  Please let us know if it works or not.

Reading the details on the web site it mentions that as well as removing Macrovision it also: "... will fully remove Digital Broadcast Protection Flags and will let you record any protected TV channels."  I assume this is what would then allow the recording device to do its job.

[gadgarra]

errdenyer, on Dec 7 2009, 07:54 AM, said:

I ordered both the stabiliser and the power supply from them.  $16.50AUD for the power supply inc shipping.  $110AUD inc shipping for the unit.  I agree about the not being able to contact although I have read good reports about the Grex units on numerous sites. They did respond very promptly to emails and were very helpful.  I feel better paying via paypal rather than giving my cc details.  Nothing is without risk however.  This unit is on the expensive side....but to put it into perspective the jaycar unit was $119 without shipping so its not too bad with that comparison.  For me its worth it if it does the job. They assure me it will and I tend to take people at their word, and it is their business after all.

Now I wait, and I will of course let people know what transpires.

Thanks for the most helpful feedback.  Could you just clarify what you ordered, please.  The website quotes the unit including power supply for 89 USD.  Is this a 120V only power supply, and that's why you needed to buy a separate 240V supply?  If so, I would not need the extra PSU since I already have some 120V audio equipment with a step-down transformer. What did they quote in USD for shipping the basic unit?

Edited by gadgarra, 07 December 2009 - 09:29 AM.

[errdenyer]

gadgarra, on Dec 7 2009, 10:16 AM, said:

Thanks for the most helpful feedback.  Could you just clarify what you ordered, please.  The website quotes the unit including power supply for 89 USD.  Is this a 120V only power supply, and that's why you needed to buy a separate 240V supply?  If so, I would not need the extra PSU since I already have some 120V audio equipment with a step-down transformer. What did they quote in USD for shipping the basic unit?

Yes I bought a separate power supply from them (http://www.xdimax.co...ly.html#pstypes).  This is the unit (http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html) that I got.  Seems to support all permutations except hdmi which doesn't worry me.  The unit shipped was $110AUD which included $9.85US for shipping.

I hope that clears it up.  I just hope it does the job.  Thy were quite firm however that were well aware of the HD and the macrovision that it uses.

Cheers

[gadgarra]

L T, on Dec 6 2009, 09:16 PM, said:

Very interesting.  It seems that the recording device is very important in this equation.  The Sony DVD recorder that I have (RDR-HXD870) had no problems recording live signals from the Mystar SD, but required the stabiliser in order to record from the hard disk.  On the HD Mystar it won't record either live or from disk.  Based on some of the earlier responses it sounds like a PC capture card might be the go now.

I fully agree that it all seems to depend on the recorder you are using.  Based on the rather discouraging reports from others who have tried the Jaycar/Digitech AR1822 unit, I was fully expecting that the one I had ordered would not work.  That’s why I was showing interest in the Grex unit.

However, I have now received the Jaycar unit and am pleased to report that it works fine on both live and recorded Mystar HD output when fed into both my DVD/HDD recorders.  In case anyone is interested these are:

Panasonic DMR-ES30V and
LG RH4810W.

Both these recorders had given the "copy protected signals detected" message when I tried to record to them without using the video stabilizer.

Edited by gadgarra, 07 December 2009 - 04:39 PM.

[errdenyer]

gadgarra, on Dec 7 2009, 05:37 PM, said:

I fully agree that it all seems to depend on the recorder you are using.  Based on the rather discouraging reports from others who have tried the Jaycar/Digitech AR1822 unit, I was fully expecting that the one I had ordered would not work.  That’s why I was showing interest in the Grex unit.

However, I have now received the Jaycar unit and am pleased to report that it works fine on both live and recorded Mystar HD output when fed into both my DVD/HDD recorders.  In case anyone is interested these are:

Panasonic DMR-ES30V and
LG RH4810W.

Both these recorders had given the "copy protected signals detected" message when I tried to record to them without using the video stabilizer.

Its all a bit of a mystery isn't it?  I'm glad that your unit works.  The Grex has been shipped already so I will be able to report back on that in a week or so.

[Swagman51]

errdenyer, on Dec 6 2009, 01:46 PM, said:

I for one would really appreciate it if you could take the stabiliser out of the chain and see if it is the recorder.

Got some time to test things again this morning and I can confirm that the DVD burner I am using seems to be completely happy even if the stabiliser isn't in the chain. I can record SD and HD signals (both live and off the disk) fine from the MystarHD box straight to the Conia MR910D recorder.

Was about to post that I now have an unneeded AR-1822 stabiliser for sale (cheap).  But then I noted gadgarra's last post, so I'll hang on to it in case I upgrade the recorder at some stage.

Cheers.

[errdenyer]

Swagman51, on Dec 8 2009, 10:59 AM, said:

Got some time to test things again this morning and I can confirm that the DVD burner I am using seems to be completely happy even if the stabiliser isn't in the chain. I can record SD and HD signals (both live and off the disk) fine from the MystarHD box straight to the Conia MR910D recorder.

Was about to post that I now have an unneeded AR-1822 stabiliser for sale (cheap).  But then I noted gadgarra's last post, so I'll hang on to it in case I upgrade the recorder at some stage.

Cheers.

Thanks very much for taking the time to confirm this.  This has been a very worthwhile thread.  As I said I will provide my experience with the Grex as soon as I can for those interested.

[falco]

I would like to know how you get High Def out of s-video (grex unit)

[speedfreek]

s-video doesn't do HD

[vk3zrf]

falco, on Dec 9 2009, 10:27 PM, said:

I would like to know how you get High Def out of s-video (grex unit)

Apparently the Grex can be used with component video according to its connection diagrams at the following link  Grex Connection Diagram
This will only be useful though, if you have a HD recorder.

[oz_wide]

there are hdmi switches available from hills, that when a macrovision signal is sent through, it disables it and passes the hdmi info through. wortha look see. (they are roughly 200 to purchase) found this out purely by accident.

[Skar]

We have only ever had the old analogue Austar and a couple days ago decided to fork out the extra money to hook up MyStar HD.  We were absolutely devastated to then discover that we could not record live Austar programs.  
Mostly we were devastated because we bought a 250GB Blu Ray DVD Recorder a few weeks back and now with Austar blocking our ability to use the recorder what we actually have is a $1400 Blu Ray player.  Austar have rendered our technology useless.  
We didn't replace our old Video recorder with this expensive baby just to record Free to Air.  If we had known that My Star HD wouldn't let us record we would never have bought the blu ray recorder OR we would never have got My Star HD hooke up.

I rang Austar at the start of the year (before My Star HD was released and pre dvd recorder when we only had vhs)  to ask if the Standard digital My Star let's you record live tv to the video recorder and I was told that "yes, I could still record my programs to a video tape, but I could not record from the hard drive to a tape).

I assumed My Star HD would be the same.

Was this true what Austar told me?  If we had standard My Star digital we could record live tv or is it copy protected too?  
From my searches on the net today, I have come to the conclusion that standard My Star is also copy protected, which means Austar were full of 'you-know-what'.

After reading this thread, and after reading about forum member gadgarra's success with the AR 1822 on a Panasonic, we have decided maybe we should give this a go, even though digital megahouse states on it's website that the box doesn't work on My Star HD.  

Quote

(ALERT! 19/11/2009 free for media release)

Dear Customers and Prospective Customers,

We receiving few inquiries about 'AUSTAR/HD' TM or 'MyStar HD' TM devices over the last 2 days and people who have recently purchased these sort of devices to overcome existing main stream problems we advise the following;

My advice is that you should NOT purchase this for the SAID inquiry as referred to as 'AUSTAR/HD' TM devices or 'MyStar HD' TM devices.

It seems that the HD technology jamming technology retailed by 'AUSTAR/HD' TM or 'MyStar HD' TM has just by surprise created another deception medium that undermines the SD compatibility technology in their wake.

*We been advised that users of HD SET TOP BOX HDD Technology by 'AUSTAR/HD' TM or 'MyStar HD' TM should NOW;

return the HD devices to the manufacturer for a full refund OR demand a fix to the encompassed limitation which far exceeds market rights of fair use in AUSTRALIA.

*e&oe, Check rights per state.

for more information please see AUSTAR Television - HD ™ MyStar ™.html

Price: $99.95

  Luckily Jaycar have their 7 days return policy so if it doesn't work we can take it back.

Edited by Skar, 14 December 2009 - 01:58 PM.

[gadgarra]

Skar, on Dec 14 2009, 01:57 PM, said:

I rang Austar at the start of the year (before My Star HD was released and pre dvd recorder when we only had vhs)  to ask if the Standard digital My Star let's you record live tv to the video recorder and I was told that "yes, I could still record my programs to a video tape, but I could not record from the hard drive to a tape).

I assumed My Star HD would be the same.

Was this true what Austar told me?  If we had standard My Star digital we could record live tv or is it copy protected too?

My experience with Mystar SD was exactly as Austar told you - you could record from live TV to a DVD recorder without any copy protection, but you could not transfer items previously recorded on to the Mystar hard drive.

Good luck with the Jaycar unit.  If that does not work, you could consider the US made Grex unit.  One or two posters to this thread have bought this item. The makers have a very extensive DVD recorder compatibility list on their website here:

http://www.xdimax.com/grex/grex.html

[Skar]

Thanks gadgarra,
The good news is that the AR1822 has worked.  I was pretty disappointed with the picture, but at least we can record now.....(and our blu ray recorder is no longer redundant).

I had a look at the models the Grex unit has been tested on and the Panasonic Blu Ray Recorder wasn't listed.  Which put me off a bit. I thought about waiting for feedback on this forum once the forum members had recieved their grex units, but talked myself out of it.  

As for the picture. We didn't have a spare s video, only had rca's.  So, the other half has raced to the shops in seacrh of another s video cable and, fingers crossed, the picture will improve once it is connected via sv instead of rca..

gadgarra, does your Jaycar unit transmit small faint lines down the screen?
I am wondering if this is the norm, or whether we got a dodgey unit from jaycar.

[gadgarra]

Skar, on Dec 14 2009, 06:27 PM, said:

As for the picture. We didn't have a spare s video, only had rca's.  So, the other half has raced to the shops in seacrh of another s video cable and, fingers crossed, the picture will improve once it is connected via sv instead of rca..

gadgarra, does your Jaycar unit transmit small faint lines down the screen?
I am wondering if this is the norm, or whether we got a dodgey unit from jaycar.

No, my picture is free from any lines.  As far as connection goes, I tried both composite and S-video and could not really detect any difference.

[midnightlad]

errdenyer, on Dec 7 2009, 08:24 AM, said:

I ordered both the stabiliser and the power supply from them.  $16.50AUD for the power supply inc shipping.  $110AUD inc shipping for the unit.  I agree about the not being able to contact although I have read good reports about the Grex units on numerous sites. They did respond very promptly to emails and were very helpful.  I feel better paying via paypal rather than giving my cc details.  Nothing is without risk however.  This unit is on the expensive side....but to put it into perspective the jaycar unit was $119 without shipping so its not too bad with that comparison.  For me its worth it if it does the job. They assure me it will and I tend to take people at their word, and it is their business after all.

Now I wait, and I will of course let people know what transpires.

done a bit of reserch on ebay australia   saw this  wouldn;t this item do the same job  an hell of a lot cheaper
http://cgi.ebay.com....=item20ae8637fe

thinking of geting it my self