Discussion on Rons review of Philips DVD recorder (1 Viewer)

[Sean Moon]

No official thread yet, or maybe I am blind, so I think I am starting things off here.
I have a few questions Ron. I have been looking at this unit for a week or so at a store near me and am deathly curious about it. It looks amazing, but I have a couple questions

1.Can it record anamorphic, or convert things to anamorphic. Meaning can I make a letterbox VHS or LD I am recording for an archive copy an anamorphic version while recording? I dont think I can, but it would be cool nontheless.

2.Does it have a scaling feature? Since it uses the Furjudja(or however it is spelled) chip, I assume it does not, but scaling is a function that made me want my current JVC player. It is an invaluable tool since my Panny 47 locks into full mode while in progressive scan.

Thsnks for the review.

 

[Danny R]

A week or so ago I thought I remembered seeing something about winning one of these beauties. Did someone already win one, or was that contest still upcoming?
Ron: In the review, you compared DVD+RW disks to a CD-RW. Is that correct, or did you mean a DVD-RW? I hope you mean the latter, as comparing any DVD format with a CD format doesn't make sense.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Ron,
I borrowed a Panasonic DVD-R recorder a while back to make personal DVD copies of laserdiscs that I already own, and I have found the compatibility of DVD-R to be absolutely fantastic, even with older recorders that I have used.
I remember how you used to brag that you sold all of your laserdiscs to finance your initial DVD collection.
I certainly hope you are not making personal DVD copies of borrowed laserdiscs that you do not own.

 

[Lane F.]

Ron,
I am curious as to why you hooked up your laserdisc player to the recorder via a S-Video cable instead of a composite cable? The general consensus from the thread I started on this topic was to hook it up via a composite cable, as the comb filters in laserdisc players are sub-par...

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Lane, I don't know about the Philips, but the comb filter in the Pansonic DMR-E20 recorder is a fantastic 3D Y/C circuit.
The only way I'd consider hooking up an LD player to the Panasonic via s-video would be if the player was a CLD-99 or one of the recent import exotic models.

 

[Lane F.]

Michael, I would have to agree with your comment about the comb filter in the Pansonic DMR-E20. But I would expect the same quality comb filter in the Philips unit, this is why I wonder why Ron hooked it up via S-Video - unless the LD player they used was a CLD-99 or LD-S9...

 

[ht2tweak]

Go Panny. I own the DMR-E20 & love its recordings. The E30 is due out soon. Having read Sound & Vision's tests & those of techie members at avsforum, the Philips' picture quality is just not good as the Panny's or Pioneer's DVD recorders.

 

[CraigL]

well damn...if that don't make you want to go right out and buy one!
Is this model vastly different than the Panasonic models? Having found them for around $550 right now...i was thinking of buying.
I know that a friend made copies of the Indiana Jones movies on DVD-R for me and i could definitely notice the difference between the lasers and the dvd.
Am i losing it?

 

[Jim_C]

Do either the Panasonic or Pioneer have a coax or optical input or is this something that manufacturers aren't allowed to include? (copy protection)

If I was to record my SW THX laserdiscs I would want to get the PCM track. Is this possible or am I stuck with analog?

A new DVD player was on my upgrade list and I had budgeted $800-1000 for it. I may have to pick up the Philips recorder instead.

Sorry if the questions are a bit stupid. I'm new to the digital recording part of HT.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Okay, to answer a few things....

First of all, I am arranging to have a
Philips rep on this forum next week to
partake in a Q&A session with all of you
regarding this product.

Here is what I can answer....

First of all, according to Philips, you
can indeed record anamorphic as long as
the input is anamorphic.

You cannot record 1080i (Hi-Def), as
mandated by the studios.

There are no digital inputs, also as
mandated by the studios. At this time
this should be the case with EVERY player.

For the person that even *hinted* I was
copying friend's laserdiscs.....trust me,
I saved about a dozen laserdiscs when I sold
off most of my collection.

Also, any reference to CD in my review is
a mistake and I will change it to DVD. I
apologize for the confusion.

The S-Vid hookup had something to do with
my friend's laserdisc player. I think it
was the only option available.

Anyone is welcome to compare the Philips
to other recorders out on the market, but
I can assure you that the Philips made
superb copies that I found indistinguishable
from the original, and, I would never invest
in any recorder that uses the RAM format for
recording as I suspect that format is the
least likely to survive the format wars.

Of course, if anyone wants to prove me wrong
on this, please do. This is an educational
experience for me, too.

Once again, we will have a Philips rep here
next week to answer your questions. I'll
also be referring this thread to them.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I would never invest in any recorder that uses the RAM format for recording as I suspect that format is the least likely to survive the format wars.

They all do DVD-R and/or DVD-RW in addition to DVD-RAM, so that's not really a fair statement. And the fact of the matter is that DVD+RW is proprietary and the DVD Consortium (though now fragmented by Sony and Philips) is behind DVD-R/W and DVD-RAM.
This battle is basically:
Sony
Philips
versus
Matsushita
Mitsubishi
Pioneer
Time Warner Inc.
Toshiba Corporation
JVC
Hitachi
Thomson
The +RW guys have a real fight ahead, there's no way I can endorse buying any recorder that cannot do DVD-R/W in addition to any other formats.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Michael,

I respect your opinion on this.

Everyone should do all the research they
can before investing in any of these recorders.

Thanks

 

[ScottJH]

Ron,

Does this player exhibit the chroma bug problem. Also could you tell much of a differnce between HQ and SP recordings. Thanks for the review. Was looking into purchasing this player and the review helps.

 

[Wookie Groomer]

I find the lack of digital audio inputs disturbing. What good is a digital recording format if you have to use analog audio. Seems like the technology is half ass'ed.

What I would like to do is use my HTPC in conjunction with dScaler to record the Star Wars Trilogy in 16x9 anamorphic onto DVD. But if I were to do this, I would be losing my 5.1 DD and it would actualy degrade the video image from a pristine 1440x960i down to 480p.

I guess those out there with Home Theater PC's may never have a use for such a device. Even though it's tempting...

It's too bad it doesn't do 1080i. For that, I could forgive the lack of digital audio.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

actualy degrade the video image from a pristine 1440x960i down to 480p

There isn't really more than around 425x480p worth of information in an upconverted 1440x960i if the latter was based on laserdisc. Yes, the 1440x960i may be closer to the optimal scanrate of your display device, but that doesn't mean that detail was created where there was none.

 

[Mark Fitzsimmons]

Because there are no digital inputs, this means this recorder can not be used to bootleg DVD's right?

I'm glad that it doesn't. I for one would be upset after spending all of this money on DVD's to only have a cheap alternative available.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'm glad that it doesn't. I for one would be upset after spending all of this money on DVD's to only have a cheap alternative available.

It is no secret, well publicized on the internet, not just on pirate sites but also on regular news sites, that $300 DVD burners for PCs can (using additional resources that are not appropriate for discussion here) pirate DVDs. So, having $600+ DVD recorders not accept DVDs as an input signal will have no effect on piracy of DVDs.

 

[Danny R]

FYI: There are already cheap alternatives, but we won't go into that here.
However if that makes you upset, wait till they start releasing all your favorite films on some new and improved high definition format... making all your current movies seem obsolete.
BTW, what about the giveaway? Did I imagine that, or was that just refering to the Phillips link that the whole world can enter?

 

[Terrell]

I personally don't see the need to support DVDs into it's recording at this time. I personally would rather buy the official studio release. Where this potentially becomes a big problem is with the advent of HD-DVD. My main purpose for buying this is for making DVDs of LDs that won't have much of a chance of being on DVD. The fact is, there are only a handful of titles at this point that won't make it to DVD. My reason for buying this is cable TV recording. If my comments above ventured too far into the wrong territory, just delete the offending statements.

Ron, my question is you mentioned recording the LD in the Standard Play mode. This was said to give DVD quality results. Did you try recording anything in the High Quality mode, and if so, what were your results. I'm assuming the HQ mode is for recording sources with a resolution higher than DVD.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Gentlemen,

First of all, regarding "piracy" of DVDs...

I don't like that word. It's because of
that word that studios have prevented manufacturers
from putting direct digital inputs into their
players.

It's good to know that our members referring to
wanting to use these players for "piracy" is
sending the right signals to the studios.

I am well aware that DVDs can be ripped on a
computer, accurately copying the original source.
The recorder are also about 1/3 - 1/2 the price
of the Philips recorder.

Be aware that the learning curve of mastering
the "ripping" process on a computer is difficult.
You also need a very large hard drive and a
powerful computer. It's also a bit of a hassle.

If that is what you are into, these standalone
recorders like the DVDR985 are not worth your time.

However, if you are looking for something to
record your home movies to, television programming
to, or even transferring laserdiscs -- this is the
product. I love this thing.

I have not yet recorded in the HQ mode. I
assumed that recording from a DVD or LASERDISC
would only result in quality as good as the input
itself.

I'm not trying to push this recorder on any of
you. My contract with Philips was to do an honest
review. We aren't making money on how many of
these we sell.

There are certainly quite a few different brands
of these players on the market -- all with different
specs on the type of media they will record. You
also have the option of buying a drive for your
computer -- but I warn, it is an inconvenience to
transfer movies on a computer drive unless you have
a speedy computer with firewire capability.

I will also repeat myself on one very important
issue....

The fact that this player uses the DVD+ format
should not be a worry factor in purchasing this
player. Each and every day I have been loaning
out test discs to friends to play on their home
DVD players. Nobody has yet to see compatability
problems. The only problems you *MAY* find are
with older players.

By all means, do some homework before buying
any particular recorder.