Philips HDTV AV5 Fix

Last Saturday I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get channel AV5 to show up on my Philips 51pw9303. I finally found the answer by going into the service menu and turning AV5 from OFF to ON. I don't know how it managed to shut itself off, but I have seen postings from other people who had the same problem with this model.

The reason I want AV5 is because that is the only input for a 720p/1080i HD signal. The TV is a rear projection model and has the older DVI connection. I need to get an HDMI to DVI converter cable before I can view anything in HD. For Christmas this year, we got the Philips DVDR3575H DVD recorder, which has a 160 GB hard drive. I like this unit because you can record over 60 hours in SP mode.

Not many standard DVD hard drive recorders available because they will soon be coming out with models that will record in HD. I have ours connected to AV4, which only puts out 480p. The recorder has a built-in digital tuner, but it remains to be seen if it will pick up any local HD stations after it is connected to an antenna. I am hoping that the up convert to 1080p will look better than 480p. After owning this wide screen for two years I'm finally getting closer to trying the HD option.