Posted by littlejoeflub on 09/20/05 07:32

Bob Frolek wrote
> On a dvd recorder, what actually does Standby-On mean? Are Standy and
> On alternatives, as in an On/Off lightswitch? Or does this switch
> toggle between Standby-On and Standby-Off?
>
> On my Philips DVD-615 the Standby-On button is a toggle that displays
> either an icon that looks like a cactus or an icon made of the letters
> TV. It makes no mention of "Standby".
>
> For a Timer Recording, after storing and exiting Timer, I come to the
> instruction "Press Standby-On to switch off the DVD recorder". So
> what do I need to see? Cactus or TV? (Seems odd to me that I have to
> switch off the recorder to record something). The situation is further
> clouded by the next explanation that "The DVD recorder must be in
> standby mode for the timer recording to occur." (Which seems to imply
> that the DVD must be switched on.) BTW there appears to be no simple
> On/Off switch on this machine.
>
> Currently I'm getting Timer recording to work only about 40% of th
> time I try to record.
>
> Can some kind soul please get me out of thuis mess?

The Standby-On button is basically a power switch. It isn't labeled
OFF because your not turning the machine off fully, your just putting
it in a Standby position when it isn't in the full On mode or needs to
be in Standby in order for the Timer Recording to work. When you put
your dvd recorder in Standby it's the same as pressing the Timer Rec
button on some vcrs. Since you aren't engaging Standby everytime that
is why your recordings only work 40% of the time. It would be like me
leaving the vcr On and not pressing "Timer Rec" first to put it in a
mode for the timer to operate.

A few items I own that will explain standby better are:

(1) Satellite dishes from Directv and Dish Network have On/Off switches
that are really On/Standy switches because the receivers are
technically "always on" no matter what position the button is in. ON
sends video/audio to the tv set, while Standby sends what is called
"video black" to the tv with no audio. The outputs on the receiver are
"always on" and sending either of these to the monitor.

(2) Apex makes tv's with a Master Power Button on the tv itself and an
On/Standby button on the remote. When the Master Power button is
turned off all power to the tv is cut off. It you leave the Master
Power Button in the ON position and press the On/Standby button on the
remote control the TV goes into a Standby mode and displays a red light
next to it or can be turned On again using the remote. The Master
Power Button can also be used to turn the tv on and off if you don't
have the remote or want to shut off the tv fully during a lightning
storm.


(3) In the 1980s Pioneer labeled their rack-mounted stereos with
On/Standby buttons instead of On/Off. When the machine was in Standby
a red light lit up below it to let you know the stereo was off. When
the stereo was turned on the red light went out and other lights on the
stereo lit up depending on what function was selected.

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