LD to DVD-R on a DMR-E30; vets, please chime in with pix settings for best results (1 Viewer)

[Steven Good]

it's a long one. . .

I just picked up a Panasonic DMR-E30K, after dabbling with a PC DVD-R burner a few months ago. It was more involved than I wanted to deal with (not getting satisfactory captures to hard drive, etc.) so I returned the whole mess and waited for the price drop and the new Panasonic model to arrive.

So...I have a Pioneer CLD-702 laserdisc player and want to burn some LD's to DVD-R. Since there seems to be a lot of tweaking of settings to get the best results, I could potentially create a lot of coasters...unless any of you are willing to pass along your secrets of successful use of this machine?

I know that the comb filters, etc. in the Panasonic recorder almost HAVE to be superior to the 702's comb filters (now 10 years old). I'm pretty sure that I should pass the video signal to the recorder with composite cable, because the signal on the LD is mastered (?) that way. I'll be using Monster brand cables for both the video and analog audio 2-ch. to the recorder.

Now, the Panasonic instruction book makes my head hurt. I'll just throw out some settings, and you can respond with an "on" or "off", and perhaps why....

3-D Y/C Seperation --Does this affect recording from all sources, or just the internal tuner?

Hybrid VBR Resolution--"Automatic" (?) I will avoid the 4 and 6-hour crap settings. I may use the 1-hour setting for short programs (like the Roger Rabbit short subject collection, etc.), but mostly the variable setting seems to suit my needs, as the films I want to record are around 2 hours--give or take a few minutes.

The User Select Video Settings:

Picture: Soft, Fine, Cinema, User. Is this for recording, or just playback?

MPEG-DNR: (When any item other than "User" is selected) You can turn on and off the recommended settings for 3D, NR, block NR, and mosquito NR.

When "User" is selected:

Contract -7 to +7
Brightness 0 to +15
Sharpness -6 to +6
Color -7 to + 7
Gamma 0 to +5
3D NR o to +4
Block NR 0 to +3
Mosquito NR 0 to +3


I will be playing these DVD-R's back on a Toshiba SD-4700--the great zoom will help with taking these 4:3 letterbox discs and blowing them up to proper scale (without gray side bars) on on my 65" 16x9 Mitsubishi intergrated HDTV.

And as long as I'm asking for the moon and stars... I will eventually be transfering some VHS and 8mm stuff, as well. For playback, I'll be using a Mitsubishi HSU-795 S-VHS deck, and an RCA 3-head Hi-Fi stereo 8mm deck. I should use the S-video output (instead of composite) for the VHS stuff, right? None of the footage was actually recorded in S-VHS fomat, all VHS. The 8mm deck only has composite out, so no choice there. What settings on the Panasonic recorder should I change to get the best dub of these tapes to DVD-R?


I really appreciate any and all replies. Don't let the televi$ion fool you; I'm a cheap b_______ , and don't want to make any DVD-R coasters if at all possible. Wasted blanks mean fewer $$$ for more A/V stuff!!

Steven

 

[Steven Good]

50 looks but no replies.

shameless bump, while i tinker with my recorder blindly...

 

[Chris PC]

Interesting. Sorry, no answers but another bump with an added question. Can you master the AC3 dolby digital or DTS soundtrack and record that on the DVD?

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

Sorry Steven, no help here as I'm still saving to buy a recorder. I can, however, answer the digital question from Chris: No, I don't think you can. The recorders so far lack digital inputs which would allow this. I think it's supposed to help prevent piracy.

 

[Larry Bevil]

Steven, I just purchased the same recorder recently. I've copied a few tapes and once directly from cable with good results. I haven't tried the LD route yet, but plan to soon. I will use my Sony MDP-605 for this copying process. I haven't used that LD player for a while so I can't remember if it has an S-Video out or not. Normally, I would use that video out. But, I may have to stick with the line out hookup. If I get something copied before too long, I'll post how it turns out.

 

[Jay Blair]

I have the E20. I believe that all the DNR and picture settings are for playback only though I have not experimented with this. I just set everything to the default settings for N (for Normal setting, there is also a C setting for Cinema along with the user settings). I don't use the E20 for playback since I have a Pioneer Elite DV-37 that does a great job of playing back DVD-Rs.

What you most definitely do want to do is hook your laserdisc player up using the composite input on the E20 and composite out of the 702 because the Panny has a very good 3D comb filter and the comb filter in the 702 is so so.

By the way, when I first got the E20 I was using a CLD-D704 which has a better comb filter than the 702, but using the E20's comb filter was still a big improvement. The conversion process also greatly lessens the noise level of laserdiscs. I don't know if this is affected by turning DNR on or off in the menu, but again I have DNR set to the default setting on the E20. I generally had the 704 VDNR setting set to Standard.

I am now using a Panny LX-900 laserdisc player (in my opinion a couple notches better picture quality than a 704) and using its S-video out to a Camelot S-video amplifier that converts S-video to composite, and I then run that into the composite input on the E20. The results of this dual comb filter approach are amazing. Laserdiscs I previously found unwatchable look quite good this way on DVD-R. Some of my better laserdiscs such as Kieslowski's RED even improve enough that I prefer watching the DVD-R over the DVD (and the DVD of RED I have from Britain is anamorphic). I have now begun buying back a few laserdiscs I had sold off.

Some big improvements are also possible with VHS.

I generally use the 2 hour SP mode to record CLV discs (thus getting both sides of a laserdisc onto one DVD-R) and the 1 hour XP mode for CAV discs. I see a slight improvement using XP over SP mode but the difference is very small and not enough that I am going to record everything in the 1 hour mode and have to put up with more disc swapping.

 

[Larry Bevil]

I just recorded my first laserdisc to DVD today. As I mentioned earlier, I am using a Sony MDP-605 LD player. I used the audio line out jacks and the s-video out. Initially, I had a problem with the DVD-R media I was using. I had purchased some Memorex DVD-R blank discs and it did not record properly. That's the second Memorex disc that did not record properly. Basically, the first part of the movie seemed to play okay. Then, during the second half, I would get a lot of pixelation and the player would "hang". This happened on both the Panasonic Recorder and a Sony DVD player I have. So, I went back and pulled out one of my cheaper discs (Khypermedia from OfficeMax) and re-recorded it. This time, the recording worked fine. I did notice that the picture was a little "softer" than the original.

Has anyone had any problems with the Memorex DVD-R discs? It seems the cheaper discs I have record better than the better ones. Although, I have used one Maxell DVD-R disc and it worked fine.

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

Memorex DVD-R are a mid-tier brand. They are reported to work better than the cheapie discs, but not as well as Maxells etc.

Disc burn quality is best indicated by playback at the end of the disc, and at high bitrates.

 

[Lyle_JP]

You shouldn't be using the S-Video out on your laserdisc player. Use the composite out instead. Without question, the comb filter in the Panasonic DVD-R is far superior to the one in your Sony LD player.
-Lyle J.P.
Edit: Ooops, I see now that Jay has already pointed this out. Sorry, didn't mean to be redundant. :b

 

[Larry Bevil]

Unfortunately my Sony MDP-605 doesn't have composite video out. So, guess I am stuck with s-video. Anybody have a good idea where to buy Maxell DVD-R blanks at a good price? So far as I can determine, Buy.com seems to have the best price ($4.95 ea).

 

[Steven Good]

i have burned 5 discs now and can report the following:

1) WOW!! this is pretty easy, and i'm pleased overall with the results.

2) i've burned three Apple DVD-R's, with the 3rd one crapping out at the end and would not finalize. surprising, since i understand this is a good brand to use typically...

3) i have burned two of the Khypermedia (from OfficeMax) DVD-R's and both turned out fine. any other cheap brands that are reliable (and around $1 per disc average)?

4) my toshiba prog. sd-4700 plays all fine. my back-up pioneer dv-414 craps out on the second half of playback--blocky and hanging. haven't tried them on my PS2.

5) my old toshiba sd-2108 won't read at all...

6) i think the hybrid VBR seems to yield better results on "fixed", rather than "automatic", at SP speed.

7) the DVD-R of The Lion King frequently tops 8.5 (and hit 10 several times) on the bit-rate meter. nice!

love it, love it, love it!!

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

Thanks for all the info Steven. I'm still holding out for the panasonic with the hard drive. I tape alot of tv shows to just watch and the hard drive is a great solution for that without having to full with the dvdram's as much. I want the dvd-r mainly for home movies and LD copies.

Keep the info coming, every bit of this helps!

 

[Jay Blair]

Larry
www.partsexpress.com has a Dayton S-video to composite converter for $5.25. Part #180-140. You'll probably find this works better than running S-video out of your laserdisc player into S-video on the Panny and not being able to take advantage of the Panny's higher quality comb filter.
Here's the info on this unit from their website:
"Finally a high quality S-Video to RCA converter that plugs directly into your equipment without the need for additional costly cabling. A miniaturized passive converter filtering circuit is built inside the slim contoured body. The design is small enough that it easily fits directly into crowded panel mounted S-Video and RCA jacks found on the back of today's A/V equipment. Perfect for solving video connection problems when not all components have composite and S-Video inputs or outputs. Its unique low signal loss circuitry allows two-way conversion from S-video to composite. Note: While this product will convert the composite RCA signal to be viewed on an S-Video input, the signal will only be as good as the original composite signal."

 

[Ernest]

I have a Samsung DVD R3000 which is almost identical to the Panasonc E30. To date I have converted over 85 VHS, SVHS and Laserdisc to DVD-R with excellent results. I used the recorder's default settings and in every case the end result was better than the original recording.
I have experienced best results using PrimeDisc DVD-R's that I purchase from www.shop4tech.com. They sell for 25 / $41.95 no shipping charges. The DVD cases are 100 / $29.00 no shipping.
I am very pleased with all the conversions and now plan on recording my TMC, AMC, FOX, as long as the movies are broadcast in letterbox.
All the standalone recorders record audio in 2 channel stereo, which converts to a dolby pro logic surround. The sound is nice but certainly does not compare to DD5.1 or DTS.
I am glad I held onto the VHS, SVHS and Laserdisc because I now have 85 titles not on DVD, such as, OUAT IN America / OUAT In The West recorded in excellent quality.

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

www.partsexpress.com has a Dayton S-video to composite converter for $5.25. Part #180-140.

I have these converters in my system and they work quite well.

 

[Larry Bevil]

Jay / Ernest:

Thanks for the tips on purchase. I have ordered the converter and the discs to give them a try. So far, I have been placing my "recordings" in CD jewel cases. The reason I haven't gone to the DVD case is the lack of any artwork for the cases. Maybe some day the art work will be available to spruce up the DVD cases.

 

[Chris PC]

Yeah, I figured that about the digital audio. Oh well. I was just thinking that if you owned Star Wars LD's, you could use a CLD-99, S9 or X9 to make yourself some DVD's. But I guess thats getting close to piracy, especially if you sell your LD player and Star Wars LD's. Oh well. I guess we wait for Star Wars DVD's. By then I wonder if I'll care anymore. I like Star Wars, but not that much. I think THE MOST important thing about the Star Wars DVD's, whenever, and if ever they are released, will be the transfer. If its not the aboslute best it can be, old film not-withstanding, DVD collecting videophiles will be super pissed.
Oh well, good luck with the DVD burner. I'd like to get one to use with a video camera, but I guess there are DVD-r video camera's now. Not sure how easy those are to edit. I know we have re-writable CD and DVD media, but I still think of optical discs as your archive final product, and not the editing medium

 

[Chuck Paskovics]

Here's some covers...
Link Removed

 

[Larry Bevil]

Chuck,

Thanks for the link to dvd covers. Unfortunately, the ones I need are generally titles that aren't available on any kind of disc yet, and in some cases, not even on VHS, ie Man on a Tightrope.

 

[Adam Buchsbaum]

Ernest,
You said that you have experienced best results using PrimeDisc DVD-R's. I also noticed that www.shop4tech.com is selling TDK DVD-R's for $129.50 for a 50 pack. That's a considerable price difference from $79.50 (for the PrimeDisc which includes the Keep cases!). I would assume that the price difference is just because TDK is a brand name. Do you think that there is a difference in quality though?