This page explains some of the more normal things that you might want to do with the Digitrex GKX-9000. It's not as complete as the instruction manual, but it can't help but be more intelligible.

Setting the timer

To record something:

1. Press Timer. A list of the last status shows up, including programmes that have already completed.

2. Move between individual entries with the cursor up and cursor down keys. Press ADD/CLEAR to erase them, or SELECT to change or enter a new one.

3. Press Select to select the channel (Source). Use the cursor up/cursor down keys to select the channel. Press Select to get out again.

4. Press cursor down to get to Quality, which refers to the recording speed. HQ goes you about 64 minutes, SP gives you about 130 minutes (the on screen display claims 120, but the instruction manual is (for once) correct), 250 minutes from EP, and SLP gives about 366 minutes. Use the cursor up or cursor down keys to select what you want, then press Select again to exit.

5. Press cursor down to get to the date. Don't press Select unless you want to change the date. If you do, it erases the date completely and won't move on until you enter it the wrong way round (today, 21/03/2004, would be 03/21/04; to get this you enter 032104).

6. Press cursor down to get to the start time. Press Select to enter the time. Press Select to accept the time.

   This will only work if the time has not already passed. If that seems logical, consider that the time is in stupid 12 hour time, and if you do this in the afternoon and the AM/PM field (next field below) is set to AM, it will reject the entry. It also refuses to leave the field, meaning that you're stuck. The only way I've found to get out of this is:

   • Press Timer to leave the timer mode.
   • Press Timer to reenter timer mode.
   • Press cursor up to wrap around to AM/PM.
   • Select PM.

   • Go back to step 1. The recorder will have forgotten everything except for the previous recording.

7. Move down to AM/PM. If you need to change it, press Select, cursor up/down (both do the same thing) and Select again.

8. Move down to End time. Press Select to erase the current time and enter a new one, in 12 hour wraparound format. For example, if your recording starts at 2300 and goes through to 0145, you'll need to enter 1100 and PM for the start time, and 145 for the end time.

9. Move down to the bottom. Select Confirm (in the manual it's shown as OK) to accept the program, or Cancel to go through the pain again.

10. Press Timer to leave timer setup.

11. Turn the power off. This may not be necessary, but we know it works like this.

Erasing old recordings

Unlike a video tape, you can't just overwrite old recordings. If you don't have space on the DVD, you need to erase them first. This is how:

• Put a recorded DVD+RW in the recorder. After a while it will finish “Loading” and show one or more recordings (“title”s).

• Press the button DISC OPER. You get a menu marked INFO, FINAL, T-DEL, ERASE, LOCK and COMP.

• • If the DVD contains more than one recording, and you only want to the last one, position on T-DEL with the > button. It seems that you can't erase anything except for the last one. This is probably the safer bet.

  • If the DVD contains more than one recording, and you want to delete them all, select ERASE with the > button.

• Press SELECT to erase the recording(s).

• Press DISC OPER to exit the menu.

Note that this means that you can't do one thing that is possible on a video tape: if you no longer need the first recording on the tape, but you know that it is longer than what you want to replace it with, you can just overwrite it with new data. You can't do this with DVDs.

Positioning in a recording

An obvious thing you might want to do is to stop watching a DVD before it's finished, and then continue at a later time. You might note the time where you stop, and then continue from there. As with the TiVo, it wasn't possible, but the Digitrex is worse:

• There's a button GOTO on the remote control. It appears only to function in the EDIT menu, which appears to be accessible only from the DISC OPER menu. At any other time, GOTO seems to be invalid.
• If you select DISC OPER during normal play, the recorder resets to the beginning of the recording.
• On page 16 of the manual, it suggests that you can use the NAVIGATION menu to enter a specific time. This hasn't worked for me; I can only enter a Chapter or Title.

The only way that seems to work is the same way as on the TiVo: by manual search. It's frightening how little people use the possibilities of new technology. It should be easy enough to store (cache) the position in the recorder and have it remember it next time the disk is inserted.