NEW ZEALAND

On MONDAY 2 MARCH 2015 an upgrade to the distribution system for Freeview listings may trigger some PVRs to display scrambled programme information.
Click Here for Details or Click Here to access the downloads page for the latest firmware

MyFreeview | HD. Magic TV High Definition DTR
Magic TV™ High Definition Digital Television Recorder with Dual tuners and a 500GB Hard Disk Drive

Magic TV™ Contact Details

Magic TV™ Frequently Asked Questions

What equipment do I need for Freeview|HD digital terrestrial TV?

The Freeview|HD terrestrial broadcast is received via a UHF aerial. While a UHF aerial designed specifically for Freeview|HD and installed by a TV Aerial technician is recommended, usually any UHF aerial that will receive a good Prime analogue signal (clean picture with no snow) will usually work.

What benefits do Freeview|HD digital terrestrial broadcasts provide?

Digital TV is a far more efficient and flexible transmission system than the current analogue system. It allows broadcasters using Freeview to offer viewers a range of new and different services. The possible benefits include:
  • 'Ghost free' and 'snow free' reception
  • Widescreen 16:9 pictures
  • Standard definition television (SDTV) and HDTV programmes
  • High quality audio and surround sound
  • Multi-channel programming
  • Closed captioning of programmes for the hearing impaired
  • Electronic Programme Guides (EPGs) with the next 7 days programme information, 'one touch' recording and full series linking for recording TV series
  • On-screen programme information guide with current programme information
  • Multi-camera views and enhancements during selected programmes
  • Interactive television services including interactive programmes, selected Internet services, home shopping, computer games, etc. can also be provided by digital TV.

What are the differences between High Definition television (HDTV), standard definition television (SDTV) and conventional analogue television?

A picture on the TV screen is formed by a large number of small dots called pixels. The higher the number of pixels, the better the picture quality will be. The pictures of conventional analogue TV broadcasting provide a maximum of 720 (horizontal) x 576 (vertical) pixels. Typically HDTV broadcasts provide a resolution of at least 1024 horizontal pixels and 720 vertical pixels which provides superior picture quality than analogue TV broadcasts.

HDTV pictures are usually displayed on a wide screen (aspect ratio 16:9, i.e. the ratio of picture width to height) format, instead of the usual square screen (aspect ratio 4:3) format of conventional analogue TV pictures.

Together with the ability to support multi-channel sound systems, HDTV broadcasts enable viewers at home to have an experience comparable to watching a movie in a cinema.

Standard definition TV (SDTV) broadcasting can be considered the digital version of the conventional analogue TV broadcasting, both of which have the same screen format and picture resolution. However, SDTV pictures are free from "ghosting" and "snowing", which are commonly found in analogue TV pictures.

SDTV and HDTV are two of the main features supported by digital TV.

Is audio quality better on digital TV than on analogue TV?

Yes. Digital television is transmitted with MPEG and/or AAC digital stereo sound or multi-channel surround sound, thereby providing markedly superior audio quality.

What kind of television/display do I need to use Magic TV™?

Magic TV™ can output standard definition signals over both the digital and analogue connections with its on-screen menus still being legible, meaning you can keep your current TV and use the MagicTV™. However it is recommended that an HDTV (1280x720 or more pixels) is used for primary viewing. For ideal viewing a display with 1920x1080 pixels and an HDMI connection is desirable.

What is included in the box?

  1. Magic TV™ Recorder or Receiver
  2. 100-240VAC auto-ranging power adapter
  3. Backlit smart remote control (+ AAA batteries x4)
  4. Component video cable
  5. Stereo audio cable
  6. RF antenna extension cable
  7. Quickstart Guide
  8. Owner’s Guide

What do the Aspect Ratio Correction modes do?

Currently, Freeview|HD channels are always broadcast in 16:9 widescreen format. If the programme is 4:3, then black bars will be included in the broadcast image on the sides of the programme.
Magic TV™ includes a set of Aspect Ratio Correction modes, some of which can be used to remove those black bars if desired. Please see the following diagrams for further information.

Aspect Ratio Correction Modes

How many channels can I record and watch simultaneously?

The dual tuner in the MTV3600TD Magic TV™ receiver allows programmes to be viewed and recorded on 2 different UHF frequencies simultaneously. While you are recording two channels you can continue to watch a third.

How do I edit recordings?

Editing recordings is easy and achieved during playback. Follow these simple steps:

  1. During playback, at the start of the section to be cut, press X (cross) to add a “cut-mark” to the recording
  2. At the end of the section to be cut, press tick
  3. Magic TV™ will now miss out the section between these marks during future playback. Any section to be missed will be shown on the Timebar as transparent (see image below)
    Timebar showing edited sections
  4. Return to “Recorded Programmes List” and choose the edited file, press ok then select “Edit and Copy To USB/ System HDD”
  5. A smaller size file will now be created but the original recording will not be deleted until you do so manually

How do I play my camcorder movies?

Magic TV™ can play AVCHD files created by many popular camcorders. Follow these simple steps:

  1. Connect your HD Camcorder to Magic TV™ using USB
  2. Enter the Magic TV™ main menu and go to “Magic TV Gadgets” then choose “HD Camcorder Movie”
  3. Magic TV™ will now read AVCHD files from your camcorder, press ok to select “Copy to System HDD” to put files into Magic TV™ internal HDD for future playback

Can the USB port be used to move files to a USB flash drive or USB hard-drive?

You can now seamlessly expand your storage capacity by connecting one or more USB disks to Magic TV™. Recording, copying, moving, editing and playback from these disks is all fully supported.

Can the USB port be used to import and play other formats of video or images?

No the MagicTV™ does not support other formats at this stage. However using the free video converter Super (http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html,) you can convert almost any video file to .m2ts format which is recognised and played by the MagicTV™. Once you have converted the video file to this format, simply copy it into a folder called "video" on your USB HDD and follow these steps.

  • Connect your USB HDD to Magic TV™ using USB
  • Enter the Magic TV™ main menu and go to “Magic TV Gadgets” then choose “HD Camcorder Movie”
  • Magic TV™ will now read .m2ts files from your USB HDD, press ok to select “Copy to System HDD” to put files into Magic TV™ internal HDD for future playback
These same steps can be taken to use your AVCHD Camcorder files on a USB HDD instead of directly from the Camcorder. These AVCHD files will not need converting however, just copy into the "video" folder on your USB HDD.

Please note that this feature is provided on the MagicTV™ for the use of AVCHD Camcorder files. Although we have tested the free video converter Super and have run converted video files on MagicTV™, we do not provide support for the conversion and use of converted video files on the MagicTV™ beyond this hint. MagicTV has no affiliation with Super.

Can the network port be used to move files?

No the current Freeview specifications prevent this. However future software upgrades may allow this in standard definition format.

What are the RSS feeds for News, Lottery and Weather?

These are like an advanced teletext. When you connect Magic TV™ to your home internet connection, it allows Magic TV™ to obtain up-to-date News, Lottery Results and Weather from local New Zealand sources.

If I don't connect to the internet, what features will I lose?

Just the live RSS feeds. Every other feature remains the same.

Is any future support planned for more home networking options?

Yes further support is planned, these will be made available as software updates.

If you have set up scheduled recordings and the MagicTV is off when the time to start recording comes along, does the unit power up automatically?

Yes, if you have switched Magic TV™ to standby using the remote control on/off button.

What is HDCP?

When used on Freeview products HDCP is High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection used to prevent the copying of digital audio and video as it travels across HDMI cables. This is designed to prevent users from copying the HD content from a Freeview receiver to a PC or another recording device. All new HDTVs have HDCP built in and so will display the SD and HD content from a Freeview receiver with no problem. HDCP is not used on component or composite outputs and so these can be used on any TVs, including older CRT TVs. Video output from component and composite is downscaled to SD.