cw

I have a problem with playback of a timed recording. When I program my
Panasonic DVD recorder to record from my Panasonic idTV and then put the
idTV onto standby - the DVD recorder goes off OK and records the program,
but when I playback the recording only the sound comes out - there is no
picture, just a blank screen. I use a plain ordinary SCART lead although I
did try a top of the range SCART lead and that didn't alter anything. The
problem is only when I put the TV in standby for a timed recording - the
recording plays back perfectly if the TV is ON whilst recording kicks in.
(It needs to be in standby rather than OFF, as integrated digital TV
broadcasts cannot be recorded if the TV is off)

Does anyone know what could be the problem?

robert hunt

Could this be a PAL/RGB problem? I have a Sky digital (not Sky+) box set
to output in RGB mode via a SCART, and a Panasonic DVD recorder set to
use channel A2 in RGB mode. It's made clear in the digibox manual that
if you want to record from Sky in RGB, you MUST leave the digibox on,
rather than putting it into standby and allowing it to switch itself on
using the timer.

The reason appears to be that when the digibox switches itself on for a
timer recording, it only outputs in PAL, not RGB. (Why it was designed
like this I don't know.) If your idTV is the same then there would seem
to be only two solutions: (a) leave the TV on (!); (b) use PAL to record
rather than RGB.