Panasonic DMR80 Questions (1 Viewer)

[Jon Martin]

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking about getting a DVD Recorder to transfer over most of my laser and VHS collection to DVD-R. And, I was trying to decide between the Panasonic DMR 50 and 80. I've read just about every review and forum about them and had a few questions about the 80. Since it seems to be popular here, I thought I'd see if anyone can answer them.

1. I've read in a couple places that when you tape something off of TV to the Hard drive of the 80 that if the show is copywritten you can't record it to DVD-R, only to RW. Is this true? And what shows are copywritten?

2. On transferring VHS and laser to DVD, is the quality as good if you go to the HD and then to DVD? Or is there a degradation?

3. How is it to transfer VHS to DVD-R? I've read a lot of differing comments about transferring VHS to DVD. I understand that transferring commercial videotapes will trigger the copy protection lock and not allow recording, but I have read comments about people not being able to record their own off air video. Is this really a problem?

Thanks for any comments.

 

[alan halvorson]

Get the E80 - once you start using a hard drive, you can't imagine using a recorder without one. Better yet, if you can spring for the extra bucks, go for the E100.

To answer your questions:

1.) As far as I know, nothing on regular television is copy protected and thus, the E80 will record it. The E80 will record to HDD (the hard disc) and supports DVD-R and DVD-RAM but not DVD-RW. If you can copy a program at all, you can copy it to HDD and each of the E80's supported formats.

2.) There is no loss in quality if you copy to HDD and then to DVD-R or RAM if you a.) set DVD-R Compatibility to "ON" before you copy your program to HDD and b.) use high speed dubbing. High speed dubbing is a lossless transfer; any other speed will cause a re-encode and a slight (very slight) loss in quality. You may or may not notice it, depending on several factors.

3.) I've only transferred one VHS to DVD-R and that went without problem. I'm in the process of backing up many of my laser discs. I cannot tell the difference on my display between the original source and the DVD-R backup at either the XP or SP speeds. I've not tried any of the lesser speeds and probably never will. Copy-protected VHS or DVD's cannot be copied. I have heard of people having trouble copying noncopy-protected VHS. I'm guessing it's because VHS sometimes can output a signal that confuses the E80.

 

[Bob_Campbell]

Jon,

I just bought the e80 and will tell you that it is great.
Alan is pretty much right with his view point. The only thing else that I would recomend would be to copy to DVD-RAM not to DVD-R. With DVD-RAM you record onto it at a later date. (past the current recording not over it). And if you buy it, buy it online not at a local store. you will save yourself about $200.

Bob

 

[Michael Reuben]

With DVD-RAM you record onto it at a later date. (past the current recording not over it).

True, but you will be more limited when it comes to playback. Most standard DVD players out there do not support DVD-RAM, but they do support DVD-R.

M.

 

[Don_Berg]

If you get a cheap DVD-ROM drive for you PC (like the Toshiba for $35) it can read DVD-RAM discs. You could then copy the DVD-RAM to any other format like DVD-RW or DVD+RW with a DVD-burner drive on your PC.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

I plan on using the DVD-R... But, only for stuff I plan on keeping for a long time... Archiving tv shows, home movies, etc...

 

[Jon Martin]

Thanks for all your comments everyone. I ordered the E80 and should have it in a few days.

Thanks again!