Well, my engineering friend came through. He replaced all four capacitors on my DMR E85 and reports that the machine is now working perfectly. For the record, only 3 of the 4 caps needed replacing-- but he decided to replace cap #4 because he figured that it was probably "living on borrowed time". He wanted me to post this important fact to the forum, "It is not necessary to remove the DVD transport (black box in the center) to gain access to the capacitors. It will save other repairmen some work." Thanks to everyone who contributed to this repair and saved this high dollar machine from the scrap heap!
I have a Panasonic DVR (DMR-E95H). Has anyone tried to get an E95H or E85H to work with a DTV converter (hopefully one eligible for the government coupon)? I would like to keep using my DVR for Over-the-Air broadcasts after the switch to HD next February. Does anyone have any recommendations for a particular DTV converter?
DMR hard drive data retrieval: For all of you needing to get the programs off of a Panasonic DMR hard drive from a frozen system, I finally figured out a way to do this. All you need is a decent hex editor program ( I use HxD ) and a way to connect the the HD to your PC ( An IDE to USB adapter cable is what I use ). It doesn't matter if Windows can't see the drive, a hex editor can retrieve the binary data from any storage device connected to your PC! By studying the hex codes of DVD vob files, and doing some web research, I found out the start codes for all of your recorded entries on the HD. Also it is possible to locate every part of a fragmented program and reassemble them into one file. I've already retrieved two complete 30 min. shows from just the first 20 GB of the drive. ( Both were in 3 fragments each ). The data is NOT encrypted in any way (just standard DVD vob file format), It's just recorded to the HD sequentially until the drive reaches the end, then goes back to the beginning and starts recording over the places where you 'erased' entries or parts of shows (which are not really erased, just recorded over). This is what causes the fragmentation. It does take a considerable amount of time and patience, since you have to do a lot of string searching, copying and pasting data blocks, and looking at the count patterns ( and have a reasonable knowledge of the hexadecimal number system ). If you are interested, I can create a detailed instruction document explaining exactly how to do it. The beginning of the drive does not contain video files, but may have info on where to find the fragments. After I finish the whole drive ( it may be several weeks ) I'll investigate this further. Wade
By all means post! This subject is of great interest to many--including myself. I am a Hex junkie anyway. It's been awhile since I cracked out a disk file structure.
Wade, Please post your how-to guide. This is very valuable information and would be a great service to the "community" Cal
DMR hard drive data retrieval - instructions: OK here it is. I've been composing this a couple of hours. There is probably an easier way of doing this, since I just started a week or two ago. If you come up with any short cuts, please reply. You can email me at worley45 -at- aol.com ( replace the -at- with symbol ). Part 1 - preliminaries: If you can't install an IDE drive into your PC, you will need an IDE to USB adapter cable with power supply and ac cord ( available on eBay or websites ). Go to these websites and download & install the following two programs: http://mh-nexus.de/hxd/ HxD 1.7.1.0 beta (Hex editor) http://www.freebyte.com/hjsplit/ HJSplit 2.3 (file joiner/splitter) Before you begin, you need at least as much free space on your PC as the capacity of your DMR drive ( plus another 50% or so to work with ). You may have to add a second drive. Don't use a USB connected drive for this, it will slow things down considerably. The hex editor itself does not need much free space to display the data ( it only retrieves what is visible in the window ) but to search for programs and move data around, you will want it all on your PC's HD. Carefully unplug the ribbon cable and power plug and remove the hard drive from the unit. Move the jumper from J48 to J50 ( CS to Master ) and remove the horizontal jumper connecting J44 to J42 ( Maxtor HDs have a diagram on top ). Place jumper and screws in a small zip-loc bag or container where they won't get lost! Romove the two screws near the connecters holding the drive to the metal frame, loosen slightly ( but do not remove ) the two rear screws. Lift the front of the drive just enough so the screw holes are above the frame, then put those screws back in just enough so the screws will rest on top of the frame and hold the drive up at a slight angle ( so you can get the connectors in ). Plug in the power and data connectors, then plug in the power cord. When the drive spins up, plug the USB cable into your PC. Don't let your OS try to format the drive in case it asks for this. Create a folder in one of your top directories to keep all your work. Open up notepad and save an empty dummy file there, calling it something like "zero" or"0000". Open up HxD, under file tab, open this file and be sure it is empty. If not, type "ctl A", hit delete key, and under file, "save as" (same filename). You will need this for pasting data into from your HD. To access the drive, click the "Extras" tab, then "open disk...". Under logical disks, you should see only C: ( and any drives or partitions you added ). Under physical disks, it will say "Hard Disk 1", "Hard Disk 2", etc. You will see one more disk here than what is listed under logical. This will be the DMR drive. Click that one (the second or last one). You will then see the data displayed in hex code. To see if this is the right drive, move the slider down to the end of the file and note the hex offset address of the last line. For a 100 GB drive, it will show a 10 digit number starting with "17" or close. A 200 GB drive will show something like "2E" or "2F". Note that a 100 GB drive is really around 94 GB. Also if you are using the adapter cable, an orange light will flash on the connector each time you access the drive. Part 2 - Data transfer: Create a notepad file, copy and paste the following info into it: VOB file START STRING 000001BA4400040004 2KB data block start string 000001BA44 hex 100 = 256 bytes 1000 = 4096 bytes = 4KB 1:0000 = 65,536 b = 64KB 10:0000 = 1 MB 100:0000 = 16 MB 1000:0000 = 256 MB 1:0000:0000 = 4 GB 10:0000:0000 = 64 GB FILE 00 ( 1st 4 gigs of HD 0000000000-00FFFFFFFF ) You will need this often for reference. From now on, everytime you locate a program or part of a program, you will need to record the hex addresses, file length, and part of the header string for each program segment you find in this notepad file. Be sure to SAVE this file often as you work on it ( even make backups to another directory each day ). With the hex data displayed on your HxD window, note the cursor flashing to the left of the first data byte. Under the 'edit' tab, hit 'select block', choose the 'Length' selection, then type in 10000000 (seven zeros) and hit OK. This will select the first 256 MB of data. Type 'ctrl C' (copy) A progress window will open, and the light will blink on the connector as it copies data to the clipboard. This will take at least a minute. When done, click to the left of the first byte of the very next line below the blue highlighted data. Leave the file open, Under file menu open up your empty file and type 'ctrl V' (paste). Click OK when it asks about the file size. You'll see the data appear in red. In the file tab, click "save as..." and call this file 00.001 hit save, then close the file. Under the HD file, The cursor should still be at the beginning of the line address 0010000000. Now repeat the steps above (select block, 10000000 size, copy, paste into zero file, save - only this time call the file "00.002". Repeat this process 14 more times, being very careful not to lose track of where you are ( When you finish saving file 00.002, you will see a 2 at the start address of the next block you will copy ). Also, if you are worried about losing track, you can copy down the last few bytes of each 256 MB data block and put it with the correct filename in notepad. After you save the 10th file (calling it "00.010", you will see an A at the next start address. When you finish with the 16th file, the next hex address showing will be 0100000000. Now you can join the 16 files into a 4 GB file. Run 'HJSplit' hit "join" browse for the 00.001 file and hit 'start'. After a while, you will end up with a file called "00" with the first 4 GB of your data. You can delete all the ~.001 - .016 files. Now you can either are start analyzing the data ( see part 3) or continue with the next 4 GB block. To continue, copy this into your text file ( a few spaces below the last entry ) FILE 01 ( 2nd 4 gigs of HD 0100000000-01FFFFFFFF ) Starting with hex address 0100000000 retrieve the next 16 blocks ( just like above ) only this time title each file 01.001 thru 01.016 instead of 00.xxx If you close the program and want to do it later, use the 'search' tab and 'Goto' to type in the address of where you need to start. Note that to transfer all 100 GB, you will have to transfer about 375 blocks of data this way. I was unable to transfer larger blocks as I would get an 'out of memory' error each time I tried. There may be a way to copy the entire drive at once, but I yet don't know how and couldn't do it anyway as I am still making room on the hard drive. Part 3 - Finding your recorded programs: Open the 00 file in HxD. Hit search and Find. Change the data type from Text-string to Hex-values ( it always defaults in text when you first use it ). Copy and paste the VOB file start string code 000001BA4400040004 into it and hit OK. Once it finds one, copy the 8 digit address code on the left of this line into your notepad file right below the heading "FILE 00 ( 1st 4 gigs of HD 0000000000-00FFFFFFFF )" All DVD vob files start with this. This string also appears at the start of anything you record to the hard drive. Now hit edit and select block (leave the highlighted area alone) and type in 1000000 in the length box. Copy and paste this into your zero file, then save it as an .mpg file, calling it something like "a1.mpg" You will have a 16 MB file. Be sure to close the file once you save it (or it won't play). Now play it with your favorite video player ( I use Media Player Classic ). In LP ( 4 hour ) mode, this will give you about 50 seconds of video. This is usually enough to tell if it something you need or fragments of old deleted shows. If it is old fragments, make a note of this next to the address in your text file so you won't look there again. If it is good, and the entire video is the same program, Then you will need to go back to the same address (Find and Goto) on the 00 file, only this time select a 256 MB block ( 10000000 length ). Copy and paste it the same way, you can even overwrite the first mpg file with the same name when you save. If the video switches over to another fragment part way through the file, you will then need to edit it down. This is where it gets more complicated. First, observe about how many minutes and seconds are in the portion you need to save. I find most fragments fall into the following file lengths: 12 MB, 24 MB, 48 MB, 96 MB, 192 MB and 384 MB. 192 MB fragments are fairly common, this is exactly 3/4 of the way through a 256 MB file, or about 10 min. of video in LP mode (in SP mode, cut the times in half). So if your video plays about 10 min in a 256 MB file before switching shows, you have a 192 MB chunk. First, open the mpg file in HxD, type in 000001BA44 in the search / find window. Now press and hold down the F3 key on your keyboard and watch the first two bytes to the right of the blue selected string. You will see a '00 04' there which will slowly count up as you advance into the file. The 4th digit will only count 4 to 7 and C to F, skipping the other 8 digits. The first 3 digits count up in the normal way. Let up on the F3 key, then move the slider bar down about a tenth of the way, press F3 again and observe the count. Keep doing this to get a feel for about how fast the count is going up. Move almost 3/4 down the file and look again. Sooner or later, you'll see a discrepancy in the count ( the numbers will jump to much higher value, or back to a lower value ). Work the slider up and down (moving it as little as possible) to zero in on the discrepancy. You can hold the shift key down while pressing F3 to make it search up (backwards). Also, if you have an idea of the chunk length, just go to that hex address on the left. Here are the address codes for the following chunk lengths: 12 MB = C00000 ; 24 MB = 1800000 ; 48 MB = 3000000 ; 96 MB = 6000000 ; 192 MB = C000000 . Hit the F3 and shift F3 keys to verify this is the end of the chunk. The next chunk usually starts at a hex address ending in several zeros. Click the start of this chunk, scroll to the end of the file, hold down 'shift' and click the cursor on the right side of the last data byte. Now hit the delete key to remove this. Resave it under the same filename. Close the file and play it again. The playing time, total time and seeker bar on your media player should now be in sync once you remove extraneous chunks off the end. ( That's another way to tell, if you play a 256 MB file, which should be about 13 min in LP mode, but if the time total time showing is way off from this, then you have mixed programs ). Once you have an intact chunk you want to keep, rename it with a number like 01 and the name of the show so you know what it is - followed by "inc" or incomplete. Reopen the saved chunk and search for 000001BA44 again, but move to the end of the file, using shift F3 to find the last occurance of this string. Copy down the three bytes after the search string into your text file, next to the info you copied about this chunk. You will need this to find the next chunk of this show. Continue searching for all the start codes in this 4 GB file, Then you can proceed to the next file. Note: Commercials you deleted on the DMR are NOT deleted from the HD, they will all be there. This info is probably stored in the flash memory or at the beginning of the drive. Note2: The 000001BA code occurs every 2 KB on the drive. Any data chunk starting with this code and ending with the byte preceding this code ( no matter how long ) will play as an mpg file. It does not have to begin with the entire string 000001BA4400040004. You can even name a whole 4 GB file as an mpg and play it! ( Except for the first one, since there are no 000001BA codes near the beginning of the drive ). Note3: A "byte" in hex code is always a pair of digits shown in the editor To find the second and subsequent chunks from a show, You will need the first 8 bytes of data from the start of the last 2 KB data block of the first chunk. Another words, the code 00 00 01 BA 44 plus the three bytes I told how to find above. Here is an example of a 30 min show I retrieved ( It was in the 2nd 4 GB file, about 7 GB into the drive ) E5180000 [show #1 - part 1](192MB 10:57) 00 00 01 BA 44 38 6E 57 00 00 01 BA 44 38 6E 5C This is the last two 2 KB block start codes. Note how the last digit increases from 7 to C( a jump of 5 units ) This digit always seems to advance in steps of 4 or 5. To find the next fragment, I did a search for 000001BA44386E ( everything except the very last byte ) Each time your editor finds this string, look at the first byte after the blue selected code. In this case, it should be about 4 or 5 bigger than 5C ( it turned out to be 60 when I found it ). If the number is way smaller ( usually near 00 ) then you are in the wrong program. Hold F3 down until it gets past this show ( you will see a rapid flash of the strings, then a pause and the 'searching' box appears - immediately let up on the key and look again when it finds the next string. If the number is still way off, repeat the above. If you find a string that looks right, select, copy and paste 16 MB of data into the zero file, save and play it. If it is not the right one, keep searching. In my case, the second segment was in the 4th 4GB file ( about 14 gigs into the drive ) Once you find it, Use the procedures above for selecting larger blocks and trimming the file to the right size. You will also want to record the addresses of all additional segments you find and again record the first 8 bytes of the address from the beginning of the last 2 KB data block of this file ( so you can find the third part ) and so on. Once you get the second segment fixed up, open the first segment in HxD, move the cursor to the very end, open the second part, then select all, copy and paste this to the end of the first part and save it. (Maybe under a different name in case you messed up) Once you play it and see all is OK, then you can delete the shorter segments. Wade
DMR hard drive data retrieval - correction to yesterday's instruction post: Under part 2 ( data transfer ) This line: 2KB data block start string 000001BA44 shoul read: 2KB data block start string 000001BA Don't include the "44" when searching 2 KB data blocks. I have since discovered that this number can increase to 45 or even more in longer recordings when the next two count bytes exceed "FF FF". A few other things to note - When opening up HxD to read the drive, the 'read only' box should stay checked to prevent you from writing to the drive by accident. Also if you use a PC where you can connect the drive internally, you shouldn't have to transfer all the data to your C: drive. You can do your string searching directly from the drive. I just can't do it with my USB connected DMR drive because it takes so long even to copy a 256 MB chunk off. And I have found fragments smaller than 12 MB exist - like 6 MB and 3 MB ( and they may even go smaller ). I noticed the older stuff that I had recorded back when I let it get slam full with 200 titles and didn't get a chance to burn to DVD yet, is all in little tiny pieces of a few seconds each spread over the drive. The later shows, which I recorded after I started having 'divide' problems ( and had already gotten most of the stuff onto DVDs and deleted ) is in 192 MB or larger chunks. Wade
I replaced the C1260 and C1261 capacitors on the PSB, and my E85 is working perfectly now. I chose to order the caps directly from Panasonic, their service was prompt, and cost $3.78 for the caps and $4.95 for shipping. I had a bit of a scare for a few hours, when I started getting the TEST*L1 loop. I opened the machine back up and I noticed that I had neglected to plug the wires into the hard drive. DUH! But, I was relieved at such a simple cause. I also noticed that the store had plugged half the vent holes on the case with a sticker. I wonder if that lack of ventilation caused overheating and the caps to blow? I scraped that sticker off. I also learned a lot about the conflict between recording and TVGO downloading on this thread. That explained the problems I had with missed recordings. Now I am waiting patiently for a manufacturer to come out with a “digital” version of the E85 during this next year. Hopefully, the rest of my capacitors will survive this coming year as I wait. My thanks to all; especially to yankee10. gymmy
I haven't had the U99 problem in a while [woodknock][/woodknock], but I did have to reboot this morning for something that has never happened before. I have two different sat dishes with the receivers in different rooms. My DISH network receiver is downstairs and its running to the E85 via coax on channel 3. This morning, the E85 wouldn't recognize the channel and continued to give me snow even though the DISH receiver was on. I had to do an unplug/plug reboot and then all was fine.
K2SMN was incorrect on the issue of recording from the disk tray back to your hard drive. Panasonic only intervenes when a disk has been copy protected. Those usually are studio disks, not the ones you have been producing at home. Since I often need to bring an old show up on disk six months after I first recorded it onto the hard drive (sometimes even two or three years later) I just keep some of those key programs on the hard drive. But sometimes to clear hard drive space, I store some of the key programs on DVDs. And those are easily recorded back to the HDD. One interruption, though, is what you have on first play. If your first play is for example a menu with thumbnails of 6 or 7 shows, you will still have to choose which program you want back on the hard drive, or you will just be recording a copy of your menu for an hour or two. Later on, I edit my new HDD file to clip off the extra menu image before burning a new disk. It works, I have done it many times. Meanwhile, I notice someone here has hooked their e85to DTV or Direct Dtv or something like that. I am still using cable but it may be time to switch. However, I thought I had been told that our e85 tv guide would not interface with these satellite companies? Doesn't a satellite hookup complicate or prevent the easy recording we have all been doing? K
You can hook a digital satellite system (or any source, for that matter) up to your DMR-E85. Use the S-Video as it is the best input the recorder has. Set the recorder for input L1 - or whichever one you are using - and leave it there. Power up the tv, recorder, and satellite receiver. A Harmony remote with macro functions works great. So does the Sony RM-VL600 if you only want to spend $25. You can still use the quick record function to record for 1/2 hr., 1 hr., 2 hr, etc. And it takes 30 sec. or less to set a timer remote. I don't miss the TVGoS but then I haven't used it for years. First, the recorder was unable to control my digital cable box. Then I had one that it could control - but the channel capacity of the TVGoS was less than the number of channels I had. On an unrelated note, I had my first recorder lock-up yesterday. I was recording a 2 hr. program and used the Direct Navigator button to watch a previously recorded show. I went one page back and thought my batteries had gone dead. But I tried three other sets. The recorder appeared to still be recording according to the front-panel display so I left it alone. I forgot about it and when I returned three hours later it still appeared to be recording. I held the power button in for a while and it powered down. 20 minutes later I powered it back up and it went through a self-test. When I checked the recording it was only an hr. 17 min. long so I deleted it. My drive is getting full again with 18 hours free - I use LP setting - but I don't think that had anything to do with it because I've managed to run it completely full many times by accident. I hope it is also the last time this happens. It is four or five years old, has burned countless dvds, recorded at least five times more to its hard drive, has not given me trouble, has never needed hard drive replacement, and has never blown a cap (knock on wood). Incidentally, if the hard drive becomes - and stays - fragmented over time, what is it doing when powered off and I walk by and hear what appears to be hard drive activity?
I have the e85 hooked up to DISH and OTA via a switch and to my CBand and FTA receivers via RCA cables. You are right that it makes the operation the same as a VCR, albeit with much higher PQ. I still use the guide for my OTA recording; when I record a show off of DISH, it is misidentified as being a program from Channel 3 in Philly a station I don't receive which I left in the guide.
Here's a REPAIRED Panasonic E85 comment and an E55 Question: As I mentioned before, I received my repaired Panasonic E85 (all capacitors replaced) from my friend last week it's been running as if it were brand new. Thanks for all your help. Here's the weird thing though. I could NOT run the Firmware update that I received off this thread... Even though my machine's manufacturing date was March 2004. I burned the firmware update to a CD-R using an iMac G5 and Toast 7. Do I need to use a Windows machine? About the E55... This DMR was doing well until it suddenly decided it was not going to record onto any of my high quality SONY DVD-r discs. I was completely frustrated. I tried, Maxell's, TDK's... You name it and nothing. Then, I noticed an old cake box full of 4X Compu USA "house brand" white top DVD-r discs in the back of my cabinet. I thought, "What the hell?" and put on in and it RECORDED PERFECTLY. I have since recorded over 46 Hours onto these discs FLAWLESSLY. But, of course, these are CompUSA "house brand" discs and they NO longer sell DVD-r discs under their company name since they became an Internet only store. Does ANYONE have any idea if I can just use other 4X DVD-r discs and it should work... or even better-- WHO MANUFACTURED THE WHITE TOP CompUSA discs to begin with? As with the E85 above, I attempted to run the E55 firmware update from a CD-R. I used the firmware from Panasonic's own site... but no dice... Again, could it be I was using an iMac?!? If anybody's got a clue who manufactured CompUSA's discs... I'll be very grateful! THANKS!
Sony, Maxell, TDK actually make high quality media, lol? You might try a CD Info program to read the manufacturing info from the disc? Perhaps your burning suite includes one? Probably won't tell you anything directly but you could enter the information into a Google search. When in doubt, try using some of the top shelf stuff. I've quit using Tayo Yuden media because I like to buy stuff in person and it's a 150-mile round trip for me to purchase that brand. But I've seen many reports stating that Verbatim makes pretty good media and I've never actually had a bad burn with their media on either my DMR-E85S or my pc. But I've only used their 8x and 16x rated. Haven't tried their 4x. Do they still sell media rated at that speed?
I NEVER stated that Maxell & TDK make high quality DVD media. (From reviews off the internet, I would think the opposite to be true-- even if these brands work fine for other people.) But since I do believe that the particular Sony discs I use are of high quality (I personally have only experienced a few "dud" discs out of hundreds of Sony DVD-r discs)... I decided to try these other brands in hopes of finding something the machine would find compatible. I did not achieve my compatibilty goal until I used the "bargain basement" 4X white top CompUSA branded discs... Which is why I am hoping that someone will have some HELPFUL information. Thanks.
First, I'm sorry you found my post to not be helpful. It has been a long day and I might have been a bit distracted. In fact, I must have read your post too quickly because I think I assumed that you were grouping the Sonys in with the others you mentioned in the same paragraph. I've actually heard that the Sony branded media manufactured in Japan is of decent quality. Seems to be hard to find it from there though. Yours may have been made there although if you've gotten a few duds out of less than a thousand dvds, you could probably do better. Of course I'm basing that statement on my own experiences - and with the laws of probability and statistics being predictions of a large group, I might have three times the amount of duds (that you have experienced to date) in my next thousand or so which would, I expect, even out our failure rate. One thing to look out for is the fact that companies that rebrand media as opposed to making their own (there are relatively few actual manufacturers) will sometimes change manufacturers - say, when they can negotiate a better price with someone else - and when they change suppliers, they don't exactly state that on the package. So what worked yesterday - or even for the past four or five years - might not work today, or tommorow. Also look out for the dye type used in the cheaper discs. Although in theory dvd media and the content stored on it will last for years, in practice the cheaper dye used in some media just won't hold up that well. Of course with the average content being burned from dvd recorders this is not that big of a deal, if you are storing footage of a departed loved one (for example), it is. Be that as it may, if by HELPFUL information you mean recommendations for quality dvd-r media, I stick by my post: Try Taiyo Yuden media if you can find it and Verbatim if you can't. Both have given my friends and myself excellent performance. And about your firmware upgrade problem, what is currently displayed when you check it through the recorder's service menu?
I had a new problem last night. I set up timers to record "Mystery" OTA from our local PBS station from 9 PM to 10PM and CSI:Miami from the CBS affiliate from 10PM to 11PM. The 9 PM timer went off properly, but when I got home at about 10:15, I could tell that the second timer wasn't recording. I turn on the machine, checked the navigator and there was no program file for the CSI which should have been recording. I then checked the timers, and the timer was there and had been set properly. The little video window even said "Recording", but it wasn't. I set a new timer for the current time just to check; the E85 told me it would overide the one already set. I set it anyway and the unit finally began to record. Since the current CSI:Miami is a two parter, this really stinks. This has happened to me several times over the last three years. Does anyone know the cause or how to avoid it?
