DVD recorders - LP (long recording mode) (1 Viewer)

[Jari K]

I have one question about "LP (long recording mode)"...

I just transferred a couple of my "The Cure" VHS-tapes to DVD-R ("In Orange" and "Play out", not available on DVD yet) and "Play Out" was around 2h 4min. With "SP"-mode, the max. was 2h 2min (or so the player said). I was in a hurry (I didn´t own the player etc), so I used "LP"-mode and got some (rather heavy) compression artifacts.

My question is, that is SP-mode "exactly" 2h 2min - or can I record e.g. 2h 4min with SP-mode? Any insight from the people that have use these DVD recorders a bit more than I have?

Thanks!

 

[Ed Moxley]

Don't know for sure, but I'm guessing if they're exacting enough to say 2h 2min, instead of just 2 hrs., it's probably exactly 2h 2min.

 

[Leo Kerr]

In short, "it depends."

If it's a CBR recorder -- constant bit rate -- then they probably mean, "we're reserving # megabytes for menus, leaving #.# gigabytes for video, at #.#mbits/second, yields 122 minutes."

If it's a VBR recorded -- variable bit rate -- then they probably mean, "well, it AVERAGES #.# on average material, with a peak of #.#. This gives us, well, 122 minutes on average material."

This, of course, leaves you with the question of, "what is average material?" 'Cause it might give you 130 minutes; it might give you 118 minutes on your ACTUAL program.


In short, I know it's easier to use a set-top recorder, but I hate playing the guessing game with it's set-up options, and tend to bounce everything through a computer and an off-line compression engine. (It also then lets me put as much or as little "control" in the menus and disc-logic as I want.) But it does take longer, no doubt about that.

Leo