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Pace Twin Problems - post here
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Turned mine on this morning (it was in standby overnight) and there was no picture/sound unplugged and plugged it back in and it started working again. I hope it doesn't do that again!
Baring in mind I had a perfect picture with the Nokia 221T, i'm finding that the picture is ever so slightly slightly soft towards the center of the screen, seems to be something to do with the vertical mpeg scaling as it's perfectly sharp with the on screen menus... if you watch the weather you can see that text/graphics part of the weather map in the center of the screen is softer than towards the top/bottom, and on "the hits" logo you can see it on the bottom of the word "the hits". maybe it's my imagination, i've only had it since yesterday so I dont want to draw any conclusions yet.
Another problem, switching from a 16:9 channel to 4:3 QVC makes QVC fill the whole screen and it chops off the top/bottom rather than switching to 4:3, and the picture is badly out of focus in this weird mode. Not major but worth mentioning.
On the positive side, I am happy to report that it does support RGB input passthrough on the AUX scart socket with no degredation to picture quality, I have a games console plugged into it, if the Pace is in standby it works and if the Pace isn't in standby it auto switches to AUX scart input and displays AUX on the display. A bonus that the sound from gets pass through the phono sockets on the back of the Pace even when using the games console!
P.S. I'm using a Sony widescreen TV.
Baring in mind I had a perfect picture with the Nokia 221T, i'm finding that the picture is ever so slightly slightly soft towards the center of the screen, seems to be something to do with the vertical mpeg scaling as it's perfectly sharp with the on screen menus... if you watch the weather you can see that text/graphics part of the weather map in the center of the screen is softer than towards the top/bottom, and on "the hits" logo you can see it on the bottom of the word "the hits". maybe it's my imagination, i've only had it since yesterday so I dont want to draw any conclusions yet.
Another problem, switching from a 16:9 channel to 4:3 QVC makes QVC fill the whole screen and it chops off the top/bottom rather than switching to 4:3, and the picture is badly out of focus in this weird mode. Not major but worth mentioning.
On the positive side, I am happy to report that it does support RGB input passthrough on the AUX scart socket with no degredation to picture quality, I have a games console plugged into it, if the Pace is in standby it works and if the Pace isn't in standby it auto switches to AUX scart input and displays AUX on the display. A bonus that the sound from gets pass through the phono sockets on the back of the Pace even when using the games console!
P.S. I'm using a Sony widescreen TV.
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On the positive side, I am happy to report that it does support RGB input passthrough on the AUX scart socket with no degredation to picture quality, I have a games console plugged into it, if the Pace is in standby it works and if the Pace isn't in standby it auto switches to AUX scart input and displays AUX on the display.
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On this one is where I gave up since the RGB was not wired for me !. The manual does not say that the TV2 / VCR socket puts out RGB. The menu gives you composite and S-VHS options on this Scart. After plugging my RGB feed from my dbox and Nokia digital terrestrial into this socket and daisy chaining the TV output into the Pace cable box - where the other lead came from I got nothing. I had to change composite in on the TV to see the picture. So since the manual did not mention RGB or the menus and it did not work I assumed it did not work !. Some times I do have problems with the Nokia digital terrestrial going into composite but it had not.
So anyhow, I moved it around the room and put the Pace box down stream so the video ran of the TV2 / VCR socket. Essential I was trying to get RGB into that SCART [TV2 / VCR] and not out of it. I still put my money on that the TV2 / VCR Scart is not RGB wired myself - see page 41 of the manual. TV Scart .... RGB in / out, TV2 / VCR Scart .... S-Video out but no mention of RGB.
What else, the clock is running a minute slow at the minute compared with the other equipment which means it misses the start of the programmes. Suspect I just need to pull the mains plug out and plug back in.
When setting the record event using the now and next, started OK but recorded on beyond the end of the programme. The now and next showed zero time and a date of 1970. So it had lost the EPG information and just kept recording.
I love the other features. Daisy chaining it to my sat equipment and the other digital terrestrial means that I can access it like I do via the other boxes with the phono sound running out one of the other boxes and using the DTV buttons to toggle between boxes.
I am looking forward to all you people changing the HD then I'll do it after you !.
Change my story on this one now - currently it asks you to confirm whether you want to stop recording if you hit the standbye button. Q. why did I loose programmes that I had recorded - I don't have an answer for this now.
The much bigger problem was that live pause wouldn't work. Well it would but that's all it would do, pause. It wouldn't record. The counter that tells you how far behind the live prog you are just stayed on 0. Then it wouldn't record at all, even though it had done earlier. If you recorded something and then went to the library menu, the details of the recording were there but no actual recording. when you press OK to play the phantom recording, the display informed me that "cannot play this recording".
Anyway I erased everything, reformatted the disc, no change. So I powered off at the mains for a minute, powered back up and everything seems fine, apart from the AUX SCART problem.
Sorry to rain on all interested parties parade but I just thought you should know all the grisly details.
Steve
P.S. My box worked this lunchtime after being in standby all morning, perhaps that problem was a fluke.
Well I am sure you will be able to confirm what i said about no RGB through AV2 although elsewhere somebody says it does - but mine does not. I had Sony DVD camera plugged in to the little S-VHS connection not the SCART and that's in colour - if that helps:). I don't use the SCART for S-VHS myself.
I no the teething problems your having, sorting out which is a problem and which is an operator error. As I said elsewhere it's no good when it forgets the time as mine did the other day. Think it's when you stab to record a programme ahead of it downloading the EPG information correctly. I have been on those pause recordings you talk about.
I tried this out before lunch first with the video on via the AV2 and it did not come out of standby. Then I tried it out again with something turned on, on AV1, again it did not come out of standbye. Then I tried it out again, but this time with the box not turned off and this time it recorded it. Like now I am repeating the test with the box turned off and AV1 on and yeah, it's not come out of standbye.
So I think it works like this, whether you got anything connected to AV1 or AV2 it won't come out of standby for a time recording if there is activity on these SCARTS. If however, you don't put it on standbye then you can record the programmed even if you are using one of the other AV feeds. Clear as mud ?. Yep that is they, I just ran another test, so the secret is, never to put your box on standbye if you reckon that you are going to use a piece of equipment on AV1 or AV2 if the time clashes with the record time on the Twin. Reckon that is a bud.
So basically I am setting the timer, putting the box on standbye, then bringing up any piece of equipment on AV1 or AV2 so it goes AUX on the screeen, then it does not work:) - leave it off standby all is fine:D . Try for yourself.
OK
Have drawn myself a diagram of what the back of the equipment looks like, you are going to to love me:
a. yes it is true the AV2 input does mess up the recording if you have the box on standby. But, if it's not put on standby it's fine - well seems to be
b. AV1 is OK with the timer and standby
c. AV2 does do RGB - think it was my cable across the room not being fully wired
d. Right will try to move the Twin box so that AV2 is only connected to the video [how I thought I had it]
Thanks to all those people that posted - I have not stolen any of your ideas - true AV2 plays havoc with standby recording but is fine if you leave it off standbye ie. on [so it seems]
Still with my angst, would I be correct in thinking that the Nokia Mediamaster ITV Box [the chunky one] does not support RGB in with the AUX port ?. Trying to daisy chain the Pace twin in that way so I don't use the the AV2 SCART given the problems with the timer and standby.
But I like it. It is possible that I may want to record something to MD via the Nokia and also record the TV.
The Nokia manual online but for different software says it does support RGB in via the Aux but I am wondering whether this is something to do with the OnDigital software.
BTW the Fujitsu MHS2060AT 60GB which is being talked about costs £139-83 and Simply Computers, www.simply.co.uk. - bit cheaper than DABS.
I can't say that I have got that problem, but I have got my Nokia to work with the Pace using the timer with the Pace on standby. More becuase the Nokia using the timer does not stir the Pace box up when it's running - must be pin out.
I note that the digital text service is not supported by the Pace Twin yet - so there is still stuff for Pace to work on in their next release, sorting out the standby issue for one...
To the matter at hand though. Can any Twin owners on this Forum please confirm whether or not the VCR/AUX SCART on their Twin box is functioning correctly?
ie. Does it output S-Video correctly?
I know I can do that, but I'd like to do it without touching the VCR. I don't know much about SCART in terms of what control signals it carries. But I was wondering whether it was likely my VCR could be set up waiting for a singal from the Twin, so that it would start recording as soon as the Twin put out a signal.
I know this probably isn't possible. The necessary signals to do this probably aren't present in a SCART lead, and VCRs probably don't have a mode like this, but I thoguht it worth just asking. I'm new to this, and I know there are some experts that fequent this forum.
That's all very well but how would you then watch a video? Via UHF? Or does the Twin have some way of forcing it to monitor AUX2?
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Andy - still waiting for a few bug fixes (and funds) before taking the Twin plunge.
Are you sure your Tv is set to S-Video mode? If it was set to composite that's excatly what you'd see - a B&W pic. It's also what you'd see if it was in S-Video mode, but the Pace was outputting composite!
And that's not strictly true. If you try to display a S-Video signal through a composite only enabled input, then you get a B&W picture, but with a subtle sort of mesh effect to the picture. The Pace Twin is giving a perfect B&W picture, minus the chroma.
OK I have removed the pin 8 wire on the SCART lead to the TV2 / VCR and all is fine now. Timer works as it should. If I need to watch what is plugged into it in RGB I can put the PACE on and press TV/DTV.
Thanks a lot - it did cross my mind whether I needed to disconnect one of the pins. So now I am happier and can think about the disk upgraded being talked about on:
http://www.avforums.com/frame.html?http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74583
The problem seemed to arise when I tried to edit an event. Perhaps the software still has bugs. Sounds familiar? I have now reset it to see if that helps.