Panasonic DMR E65 DVD recorder

[Zebigboss]

I cannot get my DVD recorder to record Freeview channels, eg BBC3. I have plugged it in to the Virgin
cable box thingy, but no dice. Any ideas?

[Buenchico]

Your DVD recorder probably has its own tuner built into it. Since you're seeking to use an external device (i.e. your "Virgin cable box thingy") to record from digital stations, I assume that it's only got an analogue tuner, which is of no use to you.

So you need to tell your DVD recorder to bypass its own tuner, so that it can accept signals from the external source. You should programme it to record from 'AV', rather than from any numbered channel. (Confusingly, different manufacturers use different labels for 'AV'. Your handset might label the relevant button as 'Ext', 'Aux', 'Line', 'Line In' or something similar). You then select the channel you require on your Virgin box, not on your DVD recorder.

Chris