Problems With Multiple DVD Recorders: an article by GF Willmetts.

  This was originally going to be in the Observations section of the editorial, but as it got ever lengthy, I decided it needed to go out separately for google to hit on it.

If you’re geek and rather make your own recordings off TV, then you do tend to have more than one DVD recorder connected to your TV, even if its just for back-up. When they appear to have problems, you put in 4G and now 5G attenuators to curb outside signal interference. I’ve made a note of this is previous observations at the ends of my editorials at SFCrowsnest. I’m not focusing on that today although I might test what happens if I take one out of the aerial line to test at some point.

For the present, I’m only doing this with my LG TV and their older LG DVD recorders. With only 3 HDMI sockets, I reserved one for a blu-ray player, one for a DVD recorder and the remaining three off and HDMI switcher. Why so many? I was running out of space on the hard drives faster than I was watching them. Whether this will apply to other manufacturers remains for you to tell me. The names might be different but the functions are likely to be the same if you have a ‘magic’ remote that is supposed to control all devices connected to your TV, assuming they are all of a similar age. As DVD recorders are few and far between these days, chances are they are far older than these ‘magic’ remotes. I’m hoping the language I’m using here is straightforward enough for the less tech savvy.

The Lowdown

Does any of these sound familiar with your TV and DVD recorders when linked up by HDMI cable? The hard drive changes setting from SP to LP. The DVD recorder refuses to finalise copying to a DVD and doesn’t even recognise it? It refuses to work. With multiple recorders, despite covering the magic eye, you turn one on and others come on? About 20 minutes before a recording, the DVD recorder comes on to check its connection? That one was a new one on me and then I had a thought and looked through the TV settings for how it connects to other hardware.

For the LG TV, on the remote choose the Cog icon for setting and choose ‘General’.

Select ‘External Devices’.

Select ‘HDMI Settings’.

Turn of ‘Simplink (HDMI-CEO)’ by turning to the left using the remote’s mouse commands.

Essentially, the ‘Simplink’ when on means any hardware is controlled through the TV ‘magic’ remote. I can’t even control the sound bar through it and its very recent. Turned off and all DVD recorders started to act normally. For the blu-ray and primary DVD recorder, I will still get messages on the screen asking if I want to turn over to them when I turn on. There was what I thought was a hi-cup ending a fresh recording but it settled the next morning, taking me totally by surprise. Don’t forget to reset all your channels.

What I Think Happens

I think what threw me was three of the DVD recorders were not acting the same way so there wasn’t a consistency that way but there is with interference. If you think HDMI where solid state connections passes codes through then it could be interfering with codes not normally accessible. If an LG TV set has them, look them up but don’t mess with them, then so do the old LG DVD recorders. Afterall, there is one to change the regional settings to all. I’ve got 4 LG DVD recorders connected, three with an HDMI switcher because there are only 3 HDMI ports. I use one if for a blu-ray player, kept one as a prime recorder and the others on the HDMI switcher. Interestingly, when I turned the primary DVD recorder on now, a screen control appears on the TV screen asking if I want to switch to it. You might have to change over to your blu-ray or other players manually but if there are any updates that turn the Simplink back on, then you know you have to turn it off again.

I doubt if LG ever considered people would still be using their DVD recorders and probably hadn’t checked what the Simplink does to them. After all, they’ve discontinued making them years ago but there’s still a market for them out there. I was right about outside interference, just didn’t realise it was coming from the TV.

I’m not saying it’ll solve all these problems. Some of the messages might still come up but it won’t be because of Simplink. The 20 minute check still pops up on the primary recorder but it has stopped changing hard drive settings at long last.

Split, Switch Or Matrix

But there were still a few problems in consistency, so I focused on the HDMI splitter and got a HDMI switcher from the long river website and it made all three DVD recorders wonky. Clearly, they aren’t all the same. The first recorder wouldn’t show any commands, the second was fine and the third when re-set could only find 60 channels but still not work. I should point out that this wasn’t one attempt. I switched HDMI sockets just in case one of them was faulty and a few rests and trying again. It also turned off the sound bar and still to figure how to switch it back on. The remote control signals go through just no sound. If you’re using an LG TV, disconnect the optical link to the sound bar for 3 seconds, reconnect. Use the Settings, into Sound and turn on the optical link and it’ll work again.

Back on-line and paid some attention to HDMI matrix. These were amongst the splitters and switches and a bit more expensive. So what divides them other than cost, no red or blue pills were swallowed in the process.

The HDMI splitter just divides the signal four ways evenly. Nothing electrical other than that.

The HDMI switcher has some electronics but not necessarily balances all cables individually.

The HDMI matrix is a lot bigger but it contains a lot more gubbins and controls if you need to use them and electronics, hence the cost. Nothing to lose.

I just plugged everything in, turned on and then the first DVD recorder. Selected the hub, selected its AV port and the screen choice and straight into it. The controls all worked and formatted a DVD. Second worked OK. With the third a total format and OK. Even set them to record something later that evening. If you have multiple DVD recorders, this looks like it will sort out any problems you might have.

The scientist in me wants to see how the matrix handles the Simplink but that’s natural curiosity. It went back to its old state of nothing working right until I turned it off.

Currently

Three of the DVD recorders are working fine. The fourth needs a bit more attention but only because I was using it to switch hard drives in it and that will have to wait until my sprained wrist is better. This won’t sort out any individual problems each recorder might already have but if it removes any of the problems noted above then it has to be a good thing and save some frustration. Obviously, these changes are your own responsibility and not mine when you do them. I haven’t identified which Matrix or other HDMI splitters and switchers I’ve been using in case its not compatible with your devices.

GF Willmetts

January 2025