recording from a tv with built in Freewview

[str]

Does anyone know how I can record from built in freeview - my vcr instructions say it has 99 channels but when I try to set the channel to record from on the vcr it won't go above channel 5. My tv has built in freeview and the vcr will not record any channel above - you guessed it - channel 5. Help!!!

[Buenchico]

It wouldn't help if your VCR had a million channels. Every true 'channel' on your VCR simply tunes it to a different radio frequency to tune in the type of signals that come through your aerial. The signal which comes out of the Scart socket on your Freeview TV isn't 'r.f.', it's 'a.v' (audio-video). You need to press the 'AV' button (instead of a channel number) when setting up your VCR.

You'll only be able to record the channel which your TV is showing because you've only got a single Freeview tuner. This also means that you'll need to leave the TV turned on, and switched to the relevant channel, when recording channels while you're out. Just remember that you will always select the channel to be recorded

[Buenchico]

. . . using the controls on the TV (or on its handset), while the VCR must always be set to record 'AV'.

(Sorry about the split post. I somehow managed to click the 'Submit' button too early).

Chris

[Ethel]

Sorry to hijack your post, str, but it is relevant.

Buenchico, would it be possible in this set up to buy a freeview box and have the possibility of recording from the box whilst watching the tv or vice versa?

[Buenchico]

Hi Ethel:

Your suggestion is perfectly possible. However, it can get a bit complicated setting things up.

The aerial connections are straightforward. The aerial is fed into the Freeview box and a fly-lead is fed from the 'r.f. loopthrough' on the Freeview box to the aerial socket on the TV. Theoretically, all that is then needed is a Scart lead from the Freeview box to the VCR and the set-up is (apparently) complete. (i.e. you can watch one Freeview channel while recording another).

However, you'll also have a Scart lead connecting the VCR to the TV. This is not only so that you can watch the programmes which you've recorded but also so that you can view the on-screen menus when you set up the Freeview receiver and the VCR. The TV might automatically switch to showing the signal from the 'Freeview box+VCR' part of the chain when one of these devices is active (rather than taking the signal from the aerial). If this occurred, it would be necessary to unplug the VCR-to-TV lead, after programming the recording, in order to watch a different channel on the TV (and then plug it back in later, to watch the recording from the VCR).

So it's technically possible but things might get a bit complicated.

Chris

[Ethel]

Thanks Chris. :)

[str]

Thank you so much Buenchico. I'll give it a try.