1477 replies to this topic

[Tassie Devil]

MAGIC no 2  behaved flawlessly last night so looks like a change to 5.08 + factory reset did the trickl.

So, anyone having odd problems is advised to do the above.  A PIA to rescan and reset all timers but ultimately worthwhile.

John

[rogers]

hibatchi, on 14 May 2012 - 06:36 PM, said:

As I mentioned I changed HDMI colour space from from RGB to YCbCr and it's had minimal to no difference. I can live with it, not worth changing colour settings on my TV over, just a little annoying.

I agree with mwd, it really is worth changing the settings on your TV. As you have a Panasonic plasma the settings are assigned to each HDMI input and should not affect the other inputs. Generally it requires only the colour to be set up. I usually back the "colour" setting back untill the picture is black and white and then turn the colour control up until the skin tones are what I consider to be realistic.

Good luck with the settings!

[msbc]

Hi,

Long time TiVo owner looking to upgrade to a newer PVR. The Magic has grabbed my attention but before buying I need to confirm if it has a couple of Tivo-like features that my wife can't live without:
1. Change tuners from the remote - keep each tuner on a different channel and switch between them with one button.
2. TimeShift on both tuners independently from each other - TiVo has 30min buffer on each tuner.

Thanks,
Mark

[mwd]

Hey Mark The Magic will not do what you want it to. 1) sounds like you are describing Picture in Picture where you can move to and from prog to prog. The Magic only has a last channel recall where the back button will switch to the previous channel.

The Magic can record two channels at the same time using timers but the Timeshift buffer only works on the active channel you are watching.

I have not seen a Tivo in action but can recommend the Magic over something like the Topfields. The Magic is really user friendly and stable and is extremely well priced for its performance. The PQ  leaves most TVs internal tuners for dead.

[DrP]

Don't forget the TiVo's 'season ticket' feature.

[msbc]

mwd, on 16 May 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

Hey Mark The Magic will not do what you want it to. 1) sounds like you are describing Picture in Picture where you can move to and from prog to prog. The Magic only has a last channel recall where the back button will switch to the previous channel.

The Magic can record two channels at the same time using timers but the Timeshift buffer only works on the active channel you are watching.

I have not seen a Tivo in action but can recommend the Magic over something like the Topfields. The Magic is really user friendly and stable and is extremely well priced for its performance. The PQ  leaves most TVs internal tuners for dead.

mwd,

Wasn't referring to PiP. TiVo has a button that toggles between the two tuners. So, if you set a different channel (you can also set the same on both) on each tuner you can switch back and forth between the two with one button.

Not having TimeShift on both tuners is a deal-breaker for the little lady. It's great to come home from work, switch on the TV and be able to rewind the last 30mins of two seperate channels to see the news on CH9 amd CH7.

Thanks for the post.
Mark

[msbc]

DrP, on 16 May 2012 - 04:44 PM, said:

Don't forget the TiVo's 'season ticket' feature.

DrP,

I thought the Magic had an equiv to TiVo's Season Pass?

Mark

[DrP]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong here, but it only has that feature in its freeview guise and the results you'll get using that side of it vary greatly depending on where you are.  WIN seems to have pulled the pin (last time I checked) so the feature definitely didn't work at all for WIN.

[mwd]

Dr.P is correct the Magic does not do series record on the non freeview Firmware.

Mark the Magic is a very capable twin tuner PVR but is not as sophisticated as the Tivo with its internet connectivity.

[temporary1]

Quote

Not having TimeShift on both tuners is a deal-breaker for the little lady. It's great to come home from work, switch on the TV and be able to rewind the last 30mins of two seperate channels to see the news on CH9 amd CH7.

Perhaps a usage paradigm, but with a nice PVR like these, what you should be doing is forgetting about the live TV concept. Have somewhat managed to do with with the folks and they have really embraced it!
With a huge harddisk like on the magic and its "magic" features, you can just set it to record everything of interest, even just potentially, and watch it at your leisure. So in your case, you could set it to record the news on 7 and 9 everyday, and set the recording to be automatically deleted every day/few-days/weeks, and go back and view whatever/whenever you want. If there are two things of interest on, then record both and watch them skipping ads and just get through it all without the fluff (and even listening at chipmunk 2x speed for those really s l o w shows) . Flipping channels is an old idea that if you forget about opens up other possibilities.

Now some of the regular magic users may correct me on these, but i do believe it does have a previous channel button that will allow you to flip flop if you really wanted (without dual time shift), however if you haven't changed the channel the magic's buffer can be set to something ridiculous like up to 12-24 hrs.

Quote

other posts i'm too lazy to find re pic quality

Also on the picture being off colour, i seem to recall some setting like enhance blacks on hdmi. This could definitely also be a source of some of the weirdness if both the TV and magic were trying to outfilter each other in that domain.

[bobster05]

temporary1, on 16 May 2012 - 05:31 PM, said:

Perhaps a usage paradigm, but with a nice PVR like these, what you should be doing is forgetting about the live TV concept. Have somewhat managed to do with with the folks and they have really embraced it!
With a huge harddisk like on the magic and its "magic" features, you can just set it to record everything of interest, even just potentially, and watch it at your leisure. So in your case, you could set it to record the news on 7 and 9 everyday, and set the recording to be automatically deleted every day/few-days/weeks, and go back and view whatever/whenever you want. If there are two things of interest on, then record both and watch them skipping ads and just get through it all without the fluff (and even listening at chipmunk 2x speed for those really s l o w shows) . Flipping channels is an old idea that if you forget about opens up other possibilities.

Now some of the regular magic users may correct me on these, but i do believe it does have a previous channel button that will allow you to flip flop if you really wanted (without dual time shift), however if you haven't changed the channel the magic's buffer can be set to something ridiculous like up to 12-24 hrs.

I was thinking the same thing. I haven't watched live tv for years.

[Tassie Devil]

temporary1, on 16 May 2012 - 05:31 PM, said:

Perhaps a usage paradigm, but with a nice PVR like these, what you should be doing is forgetting about the live TV concept. Have somewhat managed to do with with the folks and they have really embraced it!
With a huge harddisk like on the magic and its "magic" features, you can just set it to record everything of interest, even just potentially, and watch it at your leisure. So in your case, you could set it to record the news on 7 and 9 everyday, and set the recording to be automatically deleted every day/few-days/weeks, and go back and view whatever/whenever you want. If there are two things of interest on, then record both and watch them skipping ads and just get through it all without the fluff (and even listening at chipmunk 2x speed for those really s l o w shows) . Flipping channels is an old idea that if you forget about opens up other possibilities.

Now some of the regular magic users may correct me on these, but i do believe it does have a previous channel button that will allow you to flip flop if you really wanted (without dual time shift), however if you haven't changed the channel the magic's buffer can be set to something ridiculous like up to 12-24 hrs.


Also on the picture being off colour, i seem to recall some setting like enhance blacks on hdmi. This could definitely also be a source of some of the weirdness if both the TV and magic were trying to outfilter each other in that domain.

+1 here also.  We even record the SBS news so we can skip the bits of less interest.  But we do look at the commercial station news while eating the evening meal although it is tempting to put in a PVR in the kitchen so we can avoid ads on that program also!!

John

[q6supvr]

Hi,
My Magic has arrived theis morning and is up and running just wonderfully. I've been going throught the instruction manual trying to find how to edit the channel list so as to have the channels in, what seems to me, a more logical order, so far without any success. Have I missed something or is this not possible?
Thanks in anticipation

[mwd]

Congratulations join the club. No you cannot sort out the channel list to a more logical order that is a minor annoyance.

There is a workaround though go Settings>Channel Setup>Interactive Channel>On>One Touch Channel Select
You can assign a channel to the numeric keys on the remote ie. One to 1 Seven to 7 Win/Nine to 9 you get the idea.
Not really a big problem or just hit O.K. then choose a channel.

If you have not upgraded to firmware 5.08 I recommend doing so ASAP. I have not found any problems whatsoever I am loving the way the Magic works it is so simple.

[wklie]

mwd, on 17 May 2012 - 04:56 PM, said:

There is a workaround though go Settings>Channel Setup>Interactive Channel>On>One Touch Channel Select

That's a really good suggestion.  However, I think you mean One-Touch Channel menu instead of Interactive Channel.  Personally I use Hybrid setting instead of On.

[countryslicker]

I’ve had my Magic TV a month now, so I thought I’d report back on my experiences. To refresh memories I am located in country Vic, 160 km east of Melbourne. My transmissions come from Mt. Tassie that services most of Gippsland, and in particular the Latrobe Valley where I live. My Magic TV scan found 48 channels. As posted a month ago, I purchased my Magic TV MT3700TD on 19th April (at my local Harvey Norman for $249), and then updated the firmware to V4.47.

(1) Based on the channels I mostly watch and record, I set up the remote for One-Touch Channel Select, making sure that all that I chose have the FreeView EPG available. A real time saver. Other channels are usually just a few button presses away.

(2) The first week or so I used the Magic EPG. Some programmes didn’t record, but I would suspect that this was quite probably operator error (lots of flipping through the Owners Guide). I liked the EPG layout, but I soon discovered there’s no Series Record.

(3) After a week or so I decided to try the Freeview EPG. First I deleted all recordings and schedules so I could start from fresh. Then in Settings (global) I set all my future recordings to an extended start time and extended stop time of 10 minutes each and keep recordings 2 weeks (despite defaults).

(4) I’ve stayed with the Freeview EPG, as I use Series Record a lot on different channels at different times (Frasier, Nurse Jackie, Miss Fisher, Big Bang Theory, At The Movies, Modern Family to name just a few). All instances have been recorded correctly, but previous episodes already recorded by the PVR are re-recorded again. The Freeview blurb states “It only applies to certain programs on particular channels. It is so smart it only records new programs”. Oh well….nothing’s perfect. (I record the nightly news using Timer Recording>daily record).

(5) I really appreciate the onscreen recording notifications (stops and starts).

(6) I no longer totally trust any newspaper TV Guide. If I had believed the Melbourne Age Green Guide, I would have missed half of the ‘Titanic’ finale. This is where any accurate EPG comes in handy (the Freeview has been spot on so far) with programme changes.

(7) I realize I’m probably one of the few Magic TV owners using the Freeview EPG, and quite aware I have no Ad Skip or usable Back button, but Series Record for me is much more useful with my particular viewing habits and requirements . At the moment I see no real reason to go back to using the Magic EPG.

(8) Recordings via S-video to my DVD recorder have been successful.

(9) At first my setup meant I suffered the quirk with HDMI handshaking (as mentioned previously if the receiving item it not switched on first, there will be no audio unless it is kicked into life through the menu). I’ve solved this now – no further worries.

I’m still extremely happy with this PVR, especially the price I paid for it, and would highly recommend it whichever model or EPG one chooses. It is certainly extremely sophisticated – it seems to be much more intelligent than its owner.

As I mentioned previously I’m very thankful I stumbled across this thread and am grateful to Tassie Devil for starting it all off a year ago. All the additional posts since then have been extremely beneficial to me and I imagine all others who already own or are interested in the Magic TV. It's nice to be in the Club.

[mwd]

Good to see you are enjoying your Magic and you got it at a great price well done.
I am not sure I could live with the Freeview restrictions though I don't need series record and think the time skip is one of the most useful features.
I pad all my recordings at the end by 15 minutes as the non freeview EPG is not that accurate I have not needed to pad the beginnings as so far I have never recorded a programme that started early 99% start later than advertised. So far I have not had any missed timers and I find the user interface to be extremely good and intuative. There are a few settings in the menus that are not listed in the manual which means a try it and see what it does approach. The manual is one of the better ones that I have seen.

I have had a couple of software gremlins usually after doing a firmware update but with the aid of members and a factory reset everything is running hunky dory. The latest (non freeview) 5.08 software seems to be rock solid I am not sure what else needs fixing.

It is nice to have a PVR that just does what it is supposed to do and also does not act as a room heater.

[Tassie Devil]

countryslicker, on 19 May 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

I’m still extremely happy with this PVR, especially the price I paid for it, and would highly recommend it whichever model or EPG one chooses. It is certainly extremely sophisticated – it seems to be much more intelligent than its owner.

As I mentioned previously I’m very thankful I stumbled across this thread and am grateful to Tassie Devil for starting it all off a year ago. All the additional posts since then have been extremely beneficial to me and I imagine all others who already own or are interested in the Magic TV. It's nice to be in the Club.

Also pleased you like this PVR and that the posts here were helpful.  After the hassles with other PVRs over the years it is nice to end up with something so user friendly.  Also nice to have that s-video output for file transferring over to a DVDR.  A lot of PVRs are omitting this output now.

John

[FynrDzynr]

countryslicker, on 19 May 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

It is certainly extremely sophisticated – it seems to be much more intelligent than its owner.

ditto here!

countryslicker, on 19 May 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

As I mentioned previously I’m very thankful I stumbled across this thread and am grateful to Tassie Devil for starting it all off a year ago. All the additional posts since then have been extremely beneficial to me and I imagine all others who already own or are interested in the Magic TV. It's nice to be in the Club.

+1
Just wondering if a future firmware upgrade could make the PVR networkable? I'd love to be able to transfer recordings without having to plug/unplug a USB drive. Or is that beyond the scope of firmware?

[wklie]

countryslicker, on 19 May 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

(9) At first my setup meant I suffered the quirk with HDMI handshaking (as mentioned previously if the receiving item it not switched on first, there will be no audio unless it is kicked into life through the menu). I’ve solved this now – no further worries.

Please try setting the "HDMI Start Up mode" to Normal (instead of Fast).  This may or may not help with your problem though.

Thanks for the detailed report.  I'm pleased to learn that Freeview EPG works well enough for some people.

[wklie]

FynrDzynr, on 19 May 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

Just wondering if a future firmware upgrade could make the PVR networkable? I'd love to be able to transfer recordings without having to plug/unplug a USB drive. Or is that beyond the scope of firmware?

Some time ago I asked people what they think of being able to play back recorded programmes from (multiple) networked units of Magic TV.  If I remember correctly, the responses were not too enthusiastic, perhaps there are not that many users having multiple units of Magic TV yet.

[FynrDzynr]

wklie, on 20 May 2012 - 12:59 AM, said:

Some time ago I asked people what they think of being able to play back recorded programmes from (multiple) networked units of Magic TV.  If I remember correctly, the responses were not too enthusiastic, perhaps there are not that many users having multiple units of Magic TV yet.

I'm more interested in archiving documentaries so I can show my parents and grandsons on my lappy.
And as a Building Designer it helps to be able to return to a specific programme to jog the memory (needs more & more jogging these days) or use as an illustration for clients who have trouble visualizing a building just from 2D sketches/drawings. Some I just scribble down the time when a particular issue is addressed, others I've just edited out the bulk and saved 5-10mins.

Edited by FynrDzynr, 20 May 2012 - 09:58 PM.

[bobster05]

countryslicker, on 19 May 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

As I mentioned previously I’m very thankful I stumbled across this thread and am grateful to Tassie Devil for starting it all off a year ago. All the additional posts since then have been extremely beneficial to me and I imagine all others who already own or are interested in the Magic TV. It's nice to be in the Club.

+1 I would never have considered one of these great pvrs if it wasn't for this thread.
I really do need to do a factory reset on mine though to see if it gets rid of this random hi pitched sound problem, just the idea of having to redo the timers is a little off putting.

[Tassie Devil]

Question to those favouring the FREEVIEW firmware:

I understand one feature which makes this appealing is the ability to set a series because that freeview firmware allows for variations in broadcast time.  What I cannot follow is why the alternative is unacceptable.  That alternative is to use the 4000 firmware and to set the recording to repeat weekly (or whatever) and then pad it out an extra 30 minutes (or more) finish time.  To me that is the big plus of a 1TB HDD as you are unlikely to run out of recording space by doing that.  As we record mainly ABC & SBS the extra 10 minutes automatically applied suits fine but I play safe with the commercial recordings by adding 30 minutes or more and so far, have never missed the ending.

My train of though is that I would never want to lose the brilliant flexibility of the 3, 4 & 5 minute skips.  We look at "Dancing with the Stars" weekly, set it to record but only start chase play after it has been going for 40 minutes or more.  Catching up is not hard to do as 4 or even 5 minute skips to miss the ads, meaning in the 2 hours 15 minutes there is 40 minutes of junk we avoid.

Please do not interpret that as a criticism - just as an alternative approach.

And thanks for the responses applauding this thread.  I must admit to surprise how big it is evolving to but that is a reflection on how good the MAGIC is.  I still hate the name but I guess we have to live with that. .  As a straightforward PVR it is hard to see what could be improved.  That said I can see some people demand more in the way of networking etc so it will not suit everyone.  Anything I wish to archive I feed into a DVDR via s-video but I'm doing less and less of that these days.  The reason is that I have hundreds of such archived DVDs and few are being looked at because there is enough new material being broadcast to satisfy our hunger for entertainment. For the same reason I'm no longer buying much in the way of commercial DVDs or Blu Rays.  But the collecting bug is still there so could break out again!

John

[bobster05]

Finally pulled my finger out and did the factory reset didn't take that long to redo the timers via the guide. Like TD I could never do without the skip function IMHO that is the main appeal of a pvr. I don't need a series record as I just set it to record daily/once a week or whatever it may be then pad the end time as mentioned above.