Audio levels for digital TV stations on my DVD Recorder/VCR?

[KEVIN_224]

Greetings from New Britain, CT! This New Englander is VERY happy the Patriots are long gone!

I presently have an antenna hooked up to my LG DVD Recorder/VCR combo (model #RC897T). I noticed something while recording the New England Patriots being eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday ( ): The audio level on playback sounded fairly low. The same thing happened when I recorded the Seattle Seahawks NFC Championship clinch on Sunday ( ). I have the audio set to "MAIN", so it's not the SAP feature causing any issues. Also, this recorder doesn't have any kind of audio level you would set yourself like a cable converter would.

Here's the thing: I need to record Super Bowl XLVIII with this machine. I absolutely will NOT use the crappy Comcast converter to record WTIC-TV in a 4:3 ratio from analog cable channel 6 in 2014. Hell no!

As a backup, I have a Magnavox DVD recorder that's at least a year older than the LG recorder is. The problem, however, is that its tuner isn't nearly as sensitive receiving over-the-air signals as the LG is. I'm sure it would receive WTIC-TV (FOX) just fine, since Rattlesnake Mountain is 5 miles or less from where I live (southern Hartford County).

Also, it's not my Toshiba 24" LED HDTV from 2011, since the audio from CBS first and then FOX second sounded just fine when I tuned them in directly. As for the cables between the TV and the recorder, I'm using the same set of progressive cables that I used with the previous Magnavox recorder and from when the cable (with no converter) was hooked to the recorder directly (before Comcast pulled the plug on the converter-free QAM lineup in July).

Any ideas, guys?

 

[boba]

High Definition TV signals use ATSC and ATSC uses Dolby Digital for audio transmission. The result is the audio level is about 1/2 the level of analog signals wether that analog signal comes from cable or satellite.

 

[KEVIN_224]

So the TV must be amplifying the incoming audio before it hits the speakers then. Again, the SAP was not on with either the TV or the DVD recorder/VCR. In my case, I need to record the over-the-air FOX signal since it's the only way I can watch the game live in HD.

 

[kittyhas1000legs]

If the option isn't on the DVD recorder, I'm not sure there'd be a way to change the audio levels.

My question is, setting aside the audio issue, how would you record something that long? Even on a dual-layer DVD, I'd imagine it would run out of space before the game ends. Does it have an SP/LP/SLP(EP) setting like a VCR to allow for 4-6 hours of video?

The best (long-term) choice would probably be a DVR for OTA, either a standalone box or a computer with a TV tuner, using your HDTV as the monitor. Of course, then you'd have the extra step of burning it if you want a physical copy.

 

[KEVIN_224]

Yes, the recorder goes up to six hours. However, the picture tends to look really crappy once you're past the 4 hour mode. I edit the commercials in the pre-game and I skip over halftime. Without OT, it'll go at least 3.5 hours or so. I also have a spare blank DVD+RW disc on standby, in case OT ever actually did happen. The other option would be to videotape it on the VCR half. This machine did that with XLVI two years ago out of necessity, since I was coming home from Portland, ME and didn't get back until the middle of the second quarter. Of course the DVD dub won't look that good if my source is a VHS tape, even with me taping it off air via WTIC-TV (FOX) channel 61 (digital 31).