Help with new TV

[Clitheroekid]

I recently did my once a decade TV renewal, and bought a Samsung UE43TU8500.

I'm very pleased with it, but I've hit a problem. I have an ancient, but still perfectly serviceable Panasonic DMR-EX768EB DVD Recorder, which connected to my old TV with a Scart cable. Unfortunately, the new TV doesn't have a Scart socket, so does this mean that I can no longer use my DVD Recorder? Or is there some other way of connecting the two?

TIA for any help.

[mc2fool]

You need a SCART->HDMI converter, e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/JXWL-Converter ... ref=sr_1_5 (not a recommendation, just the first one I came across)

[Rover110]

Do check if it has an HDMI socket. A quick web search claimed "There’s an HDMI 1.3 output" https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/ ... d-recorder
You might just need an HDMI cable - not a converter.

Hope this helps,
Rover

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Slightly off topic - you now have to watch every film you've ever seen before to see the detail you've previously missed

AiY

[Stompa]

Do check if it has an HDMI socket. A quick web search claimed "There’s an HDMI 1.3 output" https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/ ... d-recorder
You might just need an HDMI cable - not a converter.

The picture here:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/65071 ... e=9#manual

would seem to suggest so too.

[Itsallaguess]

Do check if it has an HDMI socket. A quick web search claimed "There’s an HDMI 1.3 output" https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/ ... d-recorder
You might just need an HDMI cable - not a converter.

The picture here:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/65071 ... e=9#manual

would seem to suggest so too.

Yep - it looks like CK might be in luck -



Image source - https://www.manualslib.com/manual/650711/Panasonic-Diga-Dmr-Ex768eb.html?page=9#manual

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Mike88]

I recently did my once a decade TV renewal, and bought a Samsung UE43TU8500.

I'm very pleased with it, but I've hit a problem. I have an ancient, but still perfectly serviceable Panasonic DMR-EX768EB DVD Recorder, which connected to my old TV with a Scart cable. Unfortunately, the new TV doesn't have a Scart socket, so does this mean that I can no longer use my DVD Recorder? Or is there some other way of connecting the two?

TIA for any help.

Are you sure there wasn't a SCART to HDMI converter cable in the TV's box ? My Samsung TV came with one.

[AF62]

Won’t watching DVDs on a 4K TV be quite a poor experience?

These days with all the streamed catch up services I rarely find the need to record anything on the HDD recorder I have. And if it is live TV you want to pause them a memory stick in one of the USB sockets will do that on a Samsung TV.

[Clitheroekid]

Many thanks for the replies. It's now working perfectly

Won’t watching DVDs on a 4K TV be quite a poor experience?

I don't and won't know, as I never watch DVDs. Nearly all the TV I watch is either recorded or streamed. In fact, I think the only live TV I've watched recently has been sporting events.

These days with all the streamed catch up services I rarely find the need to record anything on the HDD recorder I have.

Catch up is all very well, but if it's on a commercial channel you're still forced to watch advertising, which you can skip through on recorded TV.

[AF62]

Won’t watching DVDs on a 4K TV be quite a poor experience?

I don't and won't know, as I never watch DVDs. Nearly all the TV I watch is either recorded or streamed. In fact, I think the only live TV I've watched recently has been sporting events.

But wasn’t it a DVD recorder you were connecting?

These days with all the streamed catch up services I rarely find the need to record anything on the HDD recorder I have.

Catch up is all very well, but if it's on a commercial channel you're still forced to watch advertising, which you can skip through on recorded TV.

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

[GrahamPlatt]

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

So do you then get 5 or 10 minutes of blank screen that you can’t fast-forward?

[servodude]

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

So do you then get 5 or 10 minutes of blank screen that you can’t fast-forward?

not normally
- online adds are generally sourced as independent streams spliced in to the one you are watching (allows "them" to tailor them to you - or you to them more accurately)
sometimes blocking their sources can result in a noticeable period of attempting to fetch before giving up
but that depends on how the player software has been configured

- sd

[AF62]

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

So do you then get 5 or 10 minutes of blank screen that you can’t fast-forward?

not normally
- online adds are generally sourced as independent streams spliced in to the one you are watching (allows "them" to tailor them to you - or you to them more accurately)
sometimes blocking their sources can result in a noticeable period of attempting to fetch before giving up
but that depends on how the player software has been configured

- sd

I find you get the ‘outro’ card for the adverts and then immediately the ‘intro’ card and back to the show again without any break at all.

Seems to work fine with the ITV hub, All4, and Channel Five, but UKTV is a bit more hit and miss.

[mc2fool]

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

Ok, so presumably you block certain domains, but which? And, importantly, how do you find out what to block (in case it changes in future)?

[Clitheroekid]

Won’t watching DVDs on a 4K TV be quite a poor experience?

I don't and won't know, as I never watch DVDs. Nearly all the TV I watch is either recorded or streamed. In fact, I think the only live TV I've watched recently has been sporting events.

But wasn’t it a DVD recorder you were connecting?

Yes, it does play DVDs, but its main use - and the only purpose for which I use it - is recording TV.

[AF62]

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

Ok, so presumably you block certain domains, but which? And, importantly, how do you find out what to block (in case it changes in future)?

How did I find out - the internet!

But blocking these seems to deal with them -

2356e.v.fwmrm.net
2a7e9.v.fwmrm.net
ad.doubleclick.net
ads-pres.channel4.com
cdn.http.anno.channel4.com
cdn.ss.anno.channel4.com
oas.five.tv
p.videologygroup.com
s-video.innovid.com
securecdn.videologygroup.com
tom.itv.com
toots-a.akamaihd.net
trk-euwest.tidaltv.com

[mc2fool]

Connecting your smart TV through OpenDNS with some appropriate blocking filters can remove the adverts on streaming services.

Ok, so presumably you block certain domains, but which? And, importantly, how do you find out what to block (in case it changes in future)?

How did I find out - the internet!

But blocking these seems to deal with them -

2356e.v.fwmrm.net
2a7e9.v.fwmrm.net
ad.doubleclick.net
ads-pres.channel4.com
cdn.http.anno.channel4.com
cdn.ss.anno.channel4.com
oas.five.tv
p.videologygroup.com
s-video.innovid.com
securecdn.videologygroup.com
tom.itv.com
toots-a.akamaihd.net
trk-euwest.tidaltv.com

Just an FYI to anyone else trying this ... I set this up a few weeks ago, blocking exactly those above, and tried it at the time (I think with Ch4) and it seemed to work fine.

I don't stream very often, still preferring to record, so that was that, but yesterday, having failed to record Star Trek TNG (Horror: freeview 68), due to fat finger problems, I went to watch the episode on the CBS player only to find it got stuck straight off with an endless spinning loading graphic.

Reverting to a non-filtering DNS server fixed it, so the FYI is that this method of removing adverts from streaming services doesn't work with the CBS player. Well ok, it removes the ads, sure, but it also removes the programme!

(On checking the OpenDNS stats I see it was the first one in the list, 2356e.v.fwmrm.net, that was blocked, but I can't be faffed to experiment with it at all....)

[CatcheeMonkee]

I've had a go myself.

Just using:

ad.doubleclick.net
adclick.g.doubleclick.net
ads-pres.channel4.com
cdn.http.anno.channel4.com
cdn.ss.anno.channel4.com

plus:

doubleclick.net
googleleads.g.doubleclick.net

blocked ads on CH4 and CH5. But not ITV. On UKTV Play I need to click 'Retry' after initial warning and then the programme played OK.

Adding tom.itv.com from the original list removed the ads from the ITV Hub programmes but also removed the ability to pause, fast forward etc.

I see fewer ads online, too.