I'm trying to test the timer mode on my Avtech 761. I set it to record fixed hours
each day. I turned the unit off and came back the next day to check it and nothing
was recorded. "Timer Recording" is turned on in the menus.

Can I assume it has to be on to do timer recording? Consumer DVD recorders
for broadcast TV (like Panasonic's) will wake up when turned off to do timer
recording of your favorite show. Kind of sad that the AVC761 won't.

I guess I could use a light timer to shut it off and on, since it should wake up and power
on if it was on when it lost power.

Describe the complete sequence that you used to set up your timer recording.

Menu>
Record>
Timer Record Enable>
...
....


Menu>
Timer>
Daily 8:00 - 16:00

Did you set it for Mon - Fri ???

Page 11 of Manual


The DVR offers three recording modes, manual record, event record and timer record. If power is off accidentally, recorded video files will still be still stored in the HDD. DVR will return to the original recording status after power is on again.

1) MANUAL RECORDING (continuous recording) :
Recording is initiated by manually pressing the “REC” button,
indicated by the sign “●” on the screen.

2) EVENT RECORDING (triggered by motion and external alarm) :
When this function is activated, the recording is triggered by motion or external alarms, indicated by the sign (motion) or (external alarm) on the screen.

3) TIMER RECORDING (scheduled time) :
Recording is scheduled by Timer, indicated by the sign “TIMER RECORD”.

**********
There must be at least 8192 images of recorded data for playback to work properly.
If not, your DVR will stop the playback. For example, if the IPS is set to 30, the recording time should be at least 273 seconds (8192 images / 30 IPS) for the playback to work properly.
When the recording function is activated, please DO NOT change the date or time on your DVR. The recorded data will be disordered and you will not be able to find the recorded file to backup by time search.

**********

NOTE:
If users change the date or time accidentally when the recording function is
activated, it’s recommended to clear all HDD data, and start recording again.

_____________________________________________________________

Page 15, and 16 of the Manual


Move the cursor to “TIMER” and press ”ENTER”. The screen will show the following
options.

1) DATE:
Select scheduled record days (SUN/MON/TUE/ WED/ THU/ FRI/ SAT/ MON–FRI / SAT-SUN / DAILY/OFF) to set up timer record schedules.

NOTE 1 : Specific days could be changed by “＋” or “－” button.
NOTE 2 : If you plan to set the timer recording across the midnight, there are two ways for setting the timer recording schedule. Please follow the instructions below.

Example 1 : If you only want to set the recording timer schedule from every Sunday 23:30 to Monday 23:30, then you could set the recording timer schedule as Sunday from 23:30 to 23:30.

Example 2 : If you plan to set the timer recording from Sunday 08:00 to Monday 15:00, then you could set the recording timer schedule as Sunday from 08:00 to 24:00, and Monday 24:00 to 15:00.

Note: Please turn on “TIMER RECORD ENABLE” in RECORD” menu (see P.14).

2) START:
Select the start time for the recording.
3) END:
Select the finish time for the recording.

If this does not help then you will have to take the DVR back to where you bought it for Warranty.

I wish you the best!

The timer is not use to turn on/off the machine by time. It's use to for specifying the period to record. The machine has to be ON for it to function.

The timer record is only one parallel means by which it can record. It needs to be ON for motion and alarm recording to be possible. It also needs to be ON for remote viewing and download, functions that are expected to be present all the time.

Learn about it rather than jump to conclusions!

On home DVD recorders designed for taping commercial broadcasts, the
"timer" function typically does both. It powers up the machine and then
starts recording. So I guess I'm disappointed that the 761 lacks this.

However, what you're saying does confirm my experiment.

The other posters seem to have confirmed the 761's shortcomings.
What am I jumping to conclusions about? I was right.