Posted: 2/22/2004 8:14:56 PM EDT
| I may be the last vhs hold-out in Indiana. I'd like to get a dvd recorder, but I need your help with choosing one. I'd like the ability, like my vcr, to record one channel while watching another. Need some recommendations. |
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Here are two outstanding sites... [url]www.avsforum.com[/url] [url]www.dvdrhelp.com[/url] #1 is the BEST! #2 is OK, worth a look. Here is a more direct link to the forum you want on AVS [url]http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=059a37988a0c299cc993666451451e09&forumid=106[/url] |
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DVD-Rs are friggin' EXPENSIVE last time I checked! (about $8 for a blank CD) At that price, and the cost of a DVD writer one might as well buy a DVD IMHO Edited to add: But hey, compare CD-Rs and their writers prices today to five years ago...It's bound to descend eventually! |
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How many different recording formats are there and which play on which machines/dvd players/computer dvd players? I guess that's what I'm worried about, which is the best format and which is the most common? I'd like to get one just to record tv shows/movies,(some to save permanently), and transfer some camcorder tapes too. But if I do this, especially with the camcorder tapes, I want to be sure if I send a disc to someone with just a dvd [i]player[/i], that they will be able to play it back. |
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DVD-R will work in about 90% (maybe 95%) of players. (some older set-top players will not play burned DVDs of any kind). Stay away from DVD+R, DVD-RW, etc since those are less widely compatible. Even if your disk works, there can be authoring issues that prevent playback on older players. It is actually quite difficult to make a DVD that will successfully play on 100% of players. Hollywood DVD authoring houses have to do extensive QA testing on each release. tapeonline.com sells DVD-R blanks for $2-$5. (you don't need the more expensive "authoring" kind, just "DVD-R General" 1x or 2x) STAY AWAY FROM 4x DVD-R MEDIA since it is incompatible with all but very recent burners (not sure about players). |
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EVERYWHERE!!!! Here are some for 1.00 a pop! I've seen them as low as 50C, but they were Primco (bad). Look for Optidisk or Ritec. Here is some, not a great price, but w/ free shipping and no tax - pretty good. [url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000ET7U6/ref%3Dnosim/bestcardcom-20/002-7031912-7836043[/url] |
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Quoted: How many different recording formats are there and which play on which machines/dvd players/computer dvd players? I guess that's what I'm worried about, which is the best format and which is the most common? I'd like to get one just to record tv shows/movies,(some to save permanently), and transfer some camcorder tapes too. But if I do this, especially with the camcorder tapes, I want to be sure if I send a disc to someone with just a dvd [i]player[/i], that they will be able to play it back. 1. There are encoding formats and media formats. 2. The recording formates are –r/rw (dash R), +r/rw (plus R) and ROM. The ROM is not designed for DVD players, and it’s a tossup between +R and –R (I’ve had better luck with –R myself) 3. As to the encoding format – they are 1. MPEG 1, 2. MPEG 2 (what DVD come on) and 3. MPEG 4 (sometimes reffered to as Divx, but they are not exactly the same). The best choice is MPEG-2, for what you want, at this time. This is the encoding used on DVD movies and is the standard format for ALL DVD players (although some play MPEG-1 and a few MPEG-4). If you want to do this at home its somewhat of a bitch to get set up, but once done – its not that bad. Oh, and you will need a fairly good computer as well – since encoding is a resource hog. My P4 2.66 GHz computer, with RAID-0 (2X 80 GB 8MB Cache Maxtor HD’s) and 1 GB of PC2700 memory can take 4 hours to encode a 1 hour of camcorder tape. Of course, you can cut down the quality setting to speed this up. As for saving TV shows, there are SEVERAL ways, I use a Replay TV, then encodes w/ MPEG-2, and use a hack to transfer the files to my computer, demutliplex them (separate the video from the audio), and then use a DVD authorizing software to put them on DVD. If you are interested in this, then my suggestion is to consider TMPGEnc, who sell an encoder + authorizing suite for 100.00. It’s the same thing as ‘MyDVD’ or other packages you might see at CompUSA that do the same thing – but much more professional. Oh, and you will need a capture card as well, if your camcorder does not have Firewire. |
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Quoted: I may be the last vhs hold-out in Indiana. I'd like to get a dvd recorder, but I need your help with choosing one. I'd like the ability, like my vcr, to record one channel while watching another. Need some recommendations. I like the Panasonics. I have the DMR-E-80H, which has a hard-drive recorder too, but it might be a bit on the expensive side for you if you're just getting into this (it's $700). I like it because I can use the hard drive to remove commercials before I burn to DVD. The Panasonics without the hard drives are cheaper. |
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Quoted: DVD-Rs are friggin' EXPENSIVE last time I checked! (about $8 for a blank CD) At that price, and the cost of a DVD writer one might as well buy a DVD IMHO Edited to add: But hey, compare CD-Rs and their writers prices today to five years ago...It's bound to descend eventually! Dude, you're crazy! I just bought DVD-R that work well with my burner for................. $0.53 per disc. www.meritline.com |
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Thanks for the info. It still makes my head spin[:)] It's really a shame that the industry hasn't gotten behind one format like they eventually did with VHS. Same thing with the digital still camera formats, I guess. The thing with the media cards is, that at least you can get a reader that will interpret just about every card type as far as I know. Not so with video (dvd formats). |