Transfer Personal DVD to S-VHS (1 Viewer)

[David A. Lane]

I recently purchased a Panasonic DMR-E20 DVD recorder and I am now transferring some personal video to DVD. The DVD-RAM feature allows me to do some non-linear editing. Once the editing is complete, I would like to transfer the final product back down to S-VHS however the VCR does not recognize the signal from the DVD Recorder. I am certain this is some kind of built-in copyright protection in the DMR-E20 and not Macrovision as these are my personal recordings.

I have found that if I use an old VCR I can connect the audio/video using the input jacks on the back of the unit and I am able to transfer my DVDs to regular VHS however this a hassle as I have to disconnect/connect the cables each time I want to do this and there are some other related problems; 1) the audio is mono because there is only one audio input. 2) when connected to the DVD recorder, the VCR only receives the signal from the DVD that is being played... it does not receive the normal cable broadcast (not even the signal coming through the DVD recorder).

I would appreciate any guidance as to what is happening and if anyone knows a way for me to work around it. I understand not being able to transfer copyrighted material, but again, these are my personal DVDs I am trying to copy.

In advance, thanks for your help.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

If the VCR was manufactured after 2000, it's required to recognize the flags that a DVDplayer embeds in the signal that says "don't copy"

I'm afraid you have to find an older VCR or play the disc from another source

 

[David A. Lane]

Hello Jeff,

Thank you for your reply. I've been to many forums asking this question and you are my first fish to bite. Please continue to dialog as I am really interested in what is happening and why.

I am unsure about the regulations that you have noted, however there are a couple differences between what you are saying and what is happening. Keep in mind I'm working with a DVD recorder that works much like a VCR, the DMR-E20 is not your typical DVD player. I am transferring my own personal (family) videos to DVD... there is no encryption, no macrivision, nothing.

My video recorders are a Mitsubishi HS359UR and a JVC HR-S3600U (S-VHS). I'm not shot in the arm with either of these recorders, but it's all I have right now. The Mitsubishi is circa 1990 and I believe the JVC was purchased in 1999... maybe early 2000.

Neither of these machines pick up the signal from the DVD player through the coaxial. The JVC won't pick up the signal from ANY input. The Mitsubishi will pick up a signal if it is connected to the DVD recorder through the A/V RCA jacks and only while a DVD is playing. The rest of the time, the Mitsubishi gives me a picture of mostly white background with some rainbow colored lines.

This makes me believe it is not something built into the VCR, but rather something built into the output of the DVD recorder.

 

[Moira]

Hey i was in best buy the other day and they have a box that alows you to record dvds. it's 50 bucks the size of a vcr tape, don't know about the sound. Moira

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I'm guessing there's some internal default setting that has this flag turned on on your recorder. Basically there's an invisible signal in the video that unlike macrovision doesn't distort the picture, but tells the VCR not to record

David, I would call the manufacturer to find out exactly what's wrong, because that shouldn't be happening

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Wait- coaxial? The DVD recorder puts out signal on RF F-type coax? If so, what channel does the tuner have to be set to in order to receive the signal? Maybe you're on the wrong tuner channel.

 

[David A. Lane]

Thank all of you for your responses. I'll answer your posts one at a time.

While I was posting I also sent email to Panasonic. Let me say, with all of my questions about the purchase of the DVD recorder, they have been very responsive. Customer service goes over BIG in our house and Panasonic has done right by me!

The problem was that I had the S-Video and Video RCAs connected at the same time. This is how the manufacturer showed the connections in the owners manual. The machine was confused and didn't know which input to accept. I disconnected the S-Video RCA and it worked fine. Disconnected the regular video RCA and connected the S-Video... no problem. Connected both again, no picture/sound. Panasonic walked me through this procedure while I connected/disconnected the cables. They said this shouldn't happen, but it works fine now.

I asked Panasonic about VCRs made after Y2K. This unit DOES transfer the signal through the RCA inputs without a problem. It will NOT transfer the signal through the coax.

Yes, the Panasonic DMR-E20 DOES have coax input and output. The DVD recorder works just like a VCR. I can record any broadcast television show to DVD... yes even my Raider games (it was a fumble!). Even our cable installer was confused as I repeatedly told him it was a recorder and not a player but he insisted he could not plug the cable into the machine. I literally had to point to the coax input.

A couple notes about this machine... it records very well at the 1 and 2 hour speeds. The 4 hour speed is less than acceptable and the 6 hour speed is not worth the bother. If you are on the timer and using the machine's flexable recording mode for a two and a half hour program, it won't record at the 2 hour speed or the 4 hour speed... it averages the speed to give you the best possible recording for the programmed time using the whole disc.

Along with the non-liniar editing features, the DVD-RAM also has some TiVo-like features that allow you to watch a program from the beginning while the recording is in process. However there is no fire wire input for our mini-DV camera to transfer digital quality images... we have to use the S-Video input. Another nice feature would be a small hard drive to hold the data while it is being edited.

Well, I think that is about enough for now. Please let me know if anyone is interested in other features of this DVD recorder.

Raider Regards,

David