Questions on DVD Recorders (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

Thinking of finally getting a DVD recorder (separate from the one in my computer) and I have a few questions:
- Will the DVD recorder function like a VCR? Can I set it to tape shows when I am not home/asleep/etc. (I do not have a DVR or Tivo).)
- If you record several shows through a DVD recorder, can you access them independently? Or do you have to "fast forward" through the first one to get to the second and so on? Is there a menu that indicates "program 1," "program 2," etc.?
- Is the DVD recorder technology outdated? I recall reading (I believe it was in the The Digital Bits book) that DVD recorders weren't ready for mass use because they were using old standards in terms of compression. But if I just want it to function like a VCR, will it do the trick?
- I also want it to copy old home movies on VHS and VHS8mm. Can it copy these and allow me to make menus, chapter breaks, etc.? Or am I better off using the computer for that? (The problem with the computer for me is two-fold -- 1) I have to move the VCR into the computer room and hook it up, which is a pain, and 2) it takes a monumentally long time.)

I really appreciate any advice you can offer. Thanks in advance.

 

[Robert_J]

- Yes. Programming the start/stop times for recording are similar to a VCR. I like my Tivo better because I tell it to record a show and it records it no matter what day it might be on. The network changes the schedule, it records it. There's a 2 hour special, it records the whole show. If I like it, then I save it to the DVD recorder.

- Once the program stops recording, it makes a note in the DVD's index. Once you have filled up a DVD with four 30 minute shows, it will create a simple menu with Program 1, Program 2, etc. Some DVD recorders allow you name the menu option before finalizing the disc.

- If you want a simple replacement for a VCR, it will work fine. Just make sure that it can record DVD-RW's. That way you can re-use discs when you finish with each one.

- You can easily copy home movies. I've done that from my 8mm digital camcorder (via firewire to the DVD recorder) and then edited it on my computer. My computer software can create better menus than my DVD recorder.

-Robert

 

[Ernest]

If you record separate programs onto an RW or better yet RAM, they will be listed separately and you should be able to give each a title. I just completed ROME 2 and Planet Earth and each episode has a title and is listed separately on the finalized DVD-R. Each DVD-R has 3 episodes recorded on them. I am currently working on TUDOR.

Now to do what I do on a regular basis you need a hard drive recorder. ROME and Planet Earth were easy because they were broadcast in High Definition without commercials. Greatest Pharaohs, Barbarians and other history shows contain commercials and require lots of editing. In those cases, after recording to the hard drive recorder you can easily edit, delete the commercials, and combine episodes onto a DVD-R.

Episodes combined onto a DVD-R will list separately allowing you to view each individually or one after another. If you want to watch all the episodes just select the first one and the DVD will play through all of them.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

On my Panasonic, (see my thread here), you can only setup chapters if you record to DVD-RAM. Downside, the DVD-RAM doesn't work in too many regular players.

I was wondering, maybe someone here would know. If I recorded a show to DVD-RAM, could I then copy the files to my computer and burn them, after I've set chapters and such, to a DVD+R or DVD+RW?

 

[Ernest]

For hard drive amd RAM recording programs are recorded as a single title with 1 chapter. During finalizing titles are divided into 5 minute chapters if recording is done in real time. A downside to high speed dubbing is the automatic 5 minute chapter feature is not active.

HDD and RAMS offer identical editing features with the HDD being divided into 5 hour recording segments at SP quality versus 2 hours for a RAM. (That is for 80 GB drives. As the drives get bigger the segments increase accordingly.) You can manually create chapters on either a HDD or RAM and dub the edited program to a DVD-R. The dubbing will record the manual chapter markers.

I have done tons of editing on my Panasonic hard drive using "shorten segment" and "divide a program" and they are carried over when I dub to a DVD-R in real time. I never created chapters because the 5 minute markers work for me. As an example, I just completed recording 11 episodes of Rome and Planet Earth. I treat each episode as a separate program and give each one a title. Unwanted video is deleted before and after each episode using the divide feature. I then combine 3 onto a single DVD-R. The video quality is excellent because the recording was made from a high definition broadcast.

I do this constantly with programs recorded from the History Channel, History International and other documentaries that contain commercials. I use "shorten segment" to eliminate the commercials. To answer your question, yes you can manually add chapters just follow the instructions in the Panasonic manual.