PVR to DVD recorder hard drive - any degradation? (1 Viewer)

[STLMIKE]

I just got the Dish Network PVR, and am considering a DVD recorder to backup programs from the PVR's hard drive.

If I copy from the PVR's hard drive to the DVD recorder's hard drive, will the signal degrade? And then will it degrade further if I burn onto a DVD-R (or DVD-RAM)?

Or should I just get a DVD recorder w/o a hard drive and just burn discs right from the PVR?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Stephen Tu]

Yes, there is some degradation, because you are doing another round of MPEG encoding from the analog output of the PVR.

From the DVD-R's hard drive to the DVD-R though, there is no further degradation as it's basically just a digital data transfer.

I think getting a DVD-R with hard drive is best in the long run, as it makes editing easier.

 

[STLMIKE]

Thanks - Mike

 

[Quentin]

What about connecting my Tivo to my wireless network and then transferring files from the Tivo drive to my PC and then recording them on my DVD burner?

Basically, I don't want to have to buy a new $900 unit just to make DVD's of my TV shows if I can do it this way!

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I have a Tivo and a New Sony GX7 Recorder, with the Tivo connected Svideo into the Sony I'm Hard pressed to notice much of a difference in the best modes

 

[Stephen Tu]

For digital extraction, you won't be able to do this until fall, when the new software Tivo announced in collaboration with Sonic is released. Go over to www.tivocommunity.com and search for the "Tivo ToGo" threads. It involves some sort of physical encryption key (I suppose USB based?) to prevent file-sharing over the internet. I guess Tivo's trying hard not to get sued like Replay, Napster, etc. did.

If you can't wait until then, basically you need to do an analog capture, getting a video capture card and a direct connection to the Tivo, or a standalone DVD recorder.

 

[stephen la]

I just ordered direct tv with tivo.
two hughes 35 hour units, phase 2.
Im waiting for it to ship, but once its hooked up..will I be able to connect it to my pc somehow and record the shows on to a dvdr?
a post mentioned it will be avail in the fall.. so what do I need to do?
thanks

 

[Robert_J]

If you are talking about TiVo-2-Go, then that isn't available on the DirecTV DVRs powered by Tivo. It's only available on stand alone models.

-Robert

 

[stephen la]

thanks Robert J
I placed an order through solid signal for 2 of those hughes 35 hour units & the dish. with shipping came out to $102..good price.. thanks for the tip.

I'm kind of disapointed the direct tv tivos cant do that.
is there anything other benifits the stand alone has that the direct tv tivos dont?

 

[Jean D]

is there a way to connect the digital audio output from the tivo, to a dvd recorder so I can get 5.1 on my burned discs assuming the original program was 5.1.

Same question for a 16x9 format picture. will it record to a dvd-r through S-video?

 

[Stephen Tu]

other benefits of standalones over DirecTivos:
- MP3 streaming / show JPEGs from PC
- show transfer to other standalones & Tivo/DVD combos.
- remote scheduling

But it's still right to get the DirecTV DVR version if you have DirecTV; the dual recording & perfect video/digital audio combined with lower cost easily trump the above advantages.

Yes, but you would be hard pressed to get a 16x9 picture into the Tivo in that format in the first place. Most likely you will end up with letterboxed 4:3. One would need some sort of HDTV STB that allowed 16:9 output over S-video to record. These are somewhat hard to come by, and standalones can't control them well other than cable HD STBs. If you are interested in recording HD programs I'd recommend some other approach than standalone Tivo (HD-DirecTivo, or cable company DVR).

 

[stephen la]

thanks stephen tu

 

[Jean D]

Excellent. I wonder what they are priced at.

 

[Jean Weitzmann]

Only one SA model does 5.1 recording to DVD, the Philips DVDR740/17:
Philips web site
+ Records 5.1 audio from Digital Input (only)
+ Component Video Input
+ i-Link 1394 input
- No HDD
- DVD+R/+RW recording only

List price $599, street price around $459

JW

 

[Jean D]

Thanks for that info Jean, seems to be a bit pricey for me at this point, Im not in "need" of one, but if they were cheap enough, I wouldve seriously considered one. but unfortunatly I'm stubborn about the 5.1 feature, so no other model would make me happy.