I felt real optimistic after such a long thread on the subject but it seems to have died off again with no real resolve (that I'm aware of).  I thought people had finally agreed that the problem was in vdr, something it wasn't doing that it should be to preserve sync.  Unfortunately it seems I misunderstood and there is still (or was rather) whether it's a vdr or firmware issue.
<br><br>Logic still says that if mplayer can play vdr recordings just fine without losing sync, but vdr can't, the problem is with vdr, not the firmware.&nbsp; To troubleshoot you compare the differences between working &amp; not working, then factor out the things they have in common.&nbsp; In this case, the same firmware and drivers are used, thus not where the problem lays.
<br><br>Although no progress has been made (again, that I'm aware of), I still appreciate the time &amp; effort of all who participated in the other thread!<br>