Any opinions on the Sharp DV-HR300?

I had a similar problem a while ago caused by the same thing - deleting the actual recording before the playlist - and the only way out I could find was by clearing out the hard drive by dubbing everything onto DVDRW, going the "HDD Initialize" route and redubbing back onto the hard drive. Luckily, I didn't have TOO many items to bother about! Many someone has an easier fix, but this one certainly works.

 

petomane, thats exactly what happened got loads to put on disk and some stuff will not fit on 1 disk so can i span the bigger files over multiple disks
kenny

 

I am tempted, very tempted. I want one I know, the Sharp looks a nice unit as well, as I say it seems to do everyting that I want it to do, apart from a EPG/Guide system (as others dont have either mind)

Dunno whether to wait a bit to see if they come down (Philips is too expensive for me at mo)

WHat is it like to timer record now, do you use videoplus, or the old fashioned step by step timer start, timer finish, channel etc etc?

like to know how asy it is.

Also do you think the extra 40Gb on the 350H is gonna be worth paying £60 for, how much extra hours at a good quality would I get?

Another question, I want to be able to switch cable channels over (I live in UK and have Telewest cable TV). I know I will need a red-eye converter for the TW cable box, but does the Sharp include a cable for the switching? if so does it work well on both cable boxes and Sky TV boxes.

cheers
Andyloc

 

Andyloc
You can use either videoplus or manually set timer. It's your choice. Either is as easy as setting atimer on a VCR, The 350H wasn't available when I got my 300H. If you read earlier posts some folk would like even more than the 120Gbytes HDD that the 350 has onboard. Personally I haven't had a problem with having only 80 Gb. Don't forget you can also record from TV to DVD-R and RW media! Don't understand your question vis a vis Cable TV. I am with NTL cable and if I wish to record from a Cable program I use channel 6 on the Sharp remembering to set the set top box to the appropriate channel number that I want to record from. N.B.I don't have NTL digital, I am still with their analogue service. Normal terrestial channels 1 - 5 will be tuned into the Sharp automatically when you set it up for the first time. Again as suggested on this thread earlier if you want to know everything about the recorder, read the Sharp 300/350 manual you can download on your PC by clicking http://www.sharp.co.uk/customersupport/manual/showmanuals.asp?Model=DV-HR350H&SAPModel=DVHR350H

 

This isn't related to the most ercent conversations, but I have noticed a problem w/my 300 & was wandering if anyone else was having the same problem and/or what a solution might be. The last high-speed dubs (from HDD > DVD) I've made have an intermittnent (sp?)
"stutter", almost looks like slo-mo. No rhyme or reason. The problem is sporadic and it doesn't seem to matter at what setting the original or dub ( i.e. Fine-SP, etc.) or what type of video (indoors, fast action or stationary). I'm about to do a big run for my church & certaihnnly don't want that kind of (actually lack of) quality being associated with me or my church. Any ideas? FYI-I have most recently been using Maxell DVD-R's. Thanks in advance. VMG

 

VMG, Hi Don, I seem to recall you were/are still using the 300H for more than just domestic use. quote " I'm about to do a large run for my church ". Could be the 300 is just protesting with the overload of work! Seriously though I haven't any idea about the stutter on dvd recordings you are getting. It seems to me that rather than using the Sharp for mass duplication you would be much better doing a single dvd from your camcorder via the hard drive using the Sharp and then doing your large amount of copies using a 16x DVD writer (external or internal) in your PC such as the Pioneer 108 or 109. These can be purchased for GBP 50 or less and you can turn out dups far faster than the Sharp ever will Cheers.

 

I can't say that I have encountered anything like that either "VMG" Don. Sorry couldn't provide you with more. Silver may have the right idea about mass producing. A PC burner is better suited for the rigors of mass duplication. Of course it also depends on how many and how close those burnings are. If youre burning for more than 6 to 8 hrs, let's say, without giving it a rest. That could be a bit much. Are you seeing the problem after many hours of operation or on the very first copies? Are the surroundings where your deck is set up, a cool area, providing plenty of ventilation? Might be able to at least see a pattern..
regards, Manny

 

Anybody thinking about buying a Sharp or any other HDD recorder, I'd say go right ahead. Although the menu system on the Sharp could be WAY easier (separate screen to delete a film I just watched, anyone?) and I'd like to be able to split recordings, the editing is pretty good and it looks much better than those Pannys/Pioneers, which look like the original top-loading VHS recorders from the 70s.

On the other hand, if you're thinking of upgrading I wouldnt bother right now because it would be a small-beer incremental upgrade compared to what's coming. I just spoke to a bloke from Sony who are expecting their laptops to be incorporating BluRay by year-end. That, combined with (probable) 5-600gig hard drives by xmas means that the next 9 months should see home HDD machines capable of saving HiDef TV at full resolution. If you're in the UK that might not mean much right now but for Oz & the US (I think UK by 2007), any machine having this capability shouldn't be supersceded for quite a few years. These things are already available in Japan, for a price.

I think HiDef BluRay recorders will be the VHS recorders of the new millenium - they'll have a long lifespan and any immediate improvments will just be "tinkering".

Just my 5 cents, and completely off-topic.
Norisk

 

Hi Norisk, I quite agree with all you've said. Technology never sleeps and the old saying that your PC is obsolete when you open the box it comes in is not so far from the truth. It's when I look back at my first PC and my first VCR that I appreciate the advantages and technological advances I enjoy today. The Sharp 300H is my first DVD recorder with HDD (apart from my PC) and I think it's great. I'm quite sure that there may be other "better" machines out there but anyone buying a Sharp300 or 350 just now, I'm sure will be delighted. Especially if they are migrating from VHS to DVD! regards
Silver

 

what I mean by switching the channels is some recorders come with a IR blaster thing, to be able to switch over the cable channel automatically, ie you wnat to record 2 different stations on cable in 1 night.

 

Andyloc.
Simle answer is NO! Suggest you forget the Sharp and look at a Skyplus box!

 

No there is units that do ,do this. just done a bit of a search and the JVC MH20 does it, its supposed to come with a cable inside the box to do just this. ie switch over a Sky box, although tto switch over cable boxes (NTL/Telewest) they dont use the same verion IRDA, so you need a device called a redeye, inbetween to convert.

What do you do if you want to change channels on Sky/Cable then? if you wanted to record to different channels if you werre out for the evening?

Andyloc

 

Andyloc, Personally I don't know how to switch cable channels on timer using the Sharp. It may well be possible but I've never had the need to do so. It certainly does NOT come with any connecting lead that does this. Cannot comment on the JVC you mention. As already stated on this forum it's for Sharp 300/350 users. Why don't you go ahead, buy the JVC and start up a new thread for it. Cheers

 

I'm not sure if Im stating the bloomin' obvious here but: There's a function with the basic Sky boxes (and thus I guess also the Sky+) where you can add the programs you want to watch/record that evening as a "reminder". Not sure what this function is called, but usually it just pops up a "hint" screen when a program is due to start. If you then go to the "reminder" list and press the correct (red?) button on your remote, it will mark these "A" and instead of reminding you, will actually (turn the box on if it is off, and) change channels automatically. I used this a lot when I was living in Europe. It was a pain to set two boxes (the Skx box AND the timer on the Sharp), but it works fine.

 

ah your right norisk, on Sky it does, on my Cable box Telewest it doesnt allow to change only give you a hint, this would be a great feature tho if it did

 

Silver & Manny: The problem has been on first run DVD's and also into a quantity run. The 300 gets plenty of ventilation & I let it "rest" after a few hours of work. I am seriously looking at a 6-bay 16x dubber. However, I just tried to hi-speed dub from HDD to DVD a 2hr 7min program & it won't let me; even after I've gonge in & changed the record time to MN & set to 2hr 10min record time on the DVD. I get a message of not enough space on DVD. I thought if you changed the DVD record time it made the program fit onto the DVD at that record speed? When I recorded the program to HDD, I made sure it was set for HS dubbing. I've checked & re-checked the settings, but I can only dub at real-time speed - I making several copies & don't have time to do them one at a time at over 2hrs each. Any ideas on this[/] problem?

 

Hi Don (VMG), I've had this problem with Hi-Speed Dubbing myself. In fact nowadays I just take the easy way out and select "Exact Dubbing". I appreciate it takes longer to dub but at my age I'm not in a hurry. I also have two other PC DVD writers that burn at 8x & 16x so it's not a problem. Hopefully Manny will be able to help. I sympathise with you having to do multiple copies but as I've said before I don't think the 300 is the most suitable piece of equipment for what you want to do. Best of luck, Silver

 

Don, have you used this same protocol before? I mean the exact procedure, and have you had success in the past?
Something doesn't sound quite right. By the way, I went out and bought the PC I mentioned in an earlier post, actually in part for this same thing. High speed multiple copy burnings. The 300 maybe very gifted but when it comes to high speed dubbing...from A to Z I don't know. In any case let me know concerning the above.

 

Hi Manny, That's an awesome PC for $600. Only thing lacking is a decent graphics card but that's only important if you are a gamer. Best of luck with it. BTW what are you guys in the States paying for double layer media. Also what's the price of 16x 4.7 blanks?
I'm off next week to sunny Sydney in Oz so I may be off line for several weeks. Keep the threads goin'
Cheers, Silver

 

To all of those who have bought the Sharp DV-HR300. IsIs everyone still happy with their machine and have any major glitches been uncovered? Would this recorder be considered okay for a total greenhorn in the world of DVD recorders? Feedback would be much appreciated.