DVD Recorders

My Pioneer 717 player has given up. Or at least the remote control has. I can still play some (music) dvds. But without the remote keys, I can't get the player to jump to film tracks etc.

local repairer said its not worth fixing....buy a new dvd player from Dixoms for £30

With the ditching of vcrs at Dixons, I began to think about a dvd recorder....I use the vcr to mix down family holidays etc, with fades and sweeps and background music dubbed in etc etc. Raw movies are captured on a Panasonic 3xCCD digicam and mixed on a Panasonic sVHS.

Do I buy a dvd redorder to replace the 717 and mix home movies or do I buy a new computer (this one is a 7 year old Dell) with dvd RW and some suitable software and get another dvd player?

Advice gratefully received, (even if you do go off-topic)

Cheers

Don

The simple logical solution would be to buy a learning remote, but that's probably not the answer you want to hear!! Any excuse to buy a new DVD player!! Hmm that sounds familiar!

I replaced my 717 with a Panasonic HDD/DVD recorder and have been very impressed. The only thing is it doesn't have DVI/HDMI, but when I bought it no DVD recorders had that.

If it was me in your position I'd buy a Computer with a firewire input to do your movie editing, but then you'll still need a new DVD player. I can really recommend the Panasonic DVD HDD recorder I have a DMRE85HEBSM, it is so cool for recording off the TV and is easy to use. Not as good SKY+, but I can't have SKY+ as I have a communal satellite feed.

If you went for the all out best solution, get a PC for editing, SKY+ is you want to record of TV and a DVD5 for watching DVD's!!

Thanks Simon,

Will a PC edited dvd, play on any dvd recoreder?

Or are we still limited by R+; R-; RW+; RW- etc etc (which I don't fully understand!)

Cheers

Don

Depends on the player, the Pioneer 717 playes DVD -R & -RW's no problem. My Panasonic will play DVD -R's but not -RW's. DVD -R's are the most playable format and should play on most but are obviouslt record once and can't be wiped or recorded over. DVD -RW's will play on many but not all and can be wiped or recorded over. DVD +R & +RW's are the Philips format, RAM's are the Panasonic rewrittable format. It's the old VHS BETAMAX saga all over again!!

Best thing is edit them on your PC (with the right software), transfering the files via firewire in digital format, edit them in digital format, then when done and you know you are happy, record them on DVD -R to keep and distribute to family. DVD -R can't be wiped or recorded over, but I guess you're not too bothered about that if it's home video?!

quote:

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Originally posted by Don Atkinson:
Thanks Simon,

Will a PC edited dvd, play on any dvd recoreder?

Or are we still limited by R+; R-; RW+; RW- etc etc (which I don't fully understand!)

Cheers

Don

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I have a PC with DVD recorder (Pioneer 107 I think) which I do all my home video edits and burns to DVD and all recorded DVD's will play fine on my Pioneer DV565 DVD player; however, if I give a home made DVD to friends, some can play them, some can't........... Some blank DVD's seem much better than others... Some won't play at all... On my own player (the Pioneer) they all play.. On friend's players, they won't...
I personally think that DVD recorders need to go to anoher generation (or two) before they are truly comaptible.........

Computers are supposed to work on 1's and 0's - in other words "Yes" or "No" - why does mine frequently say "Maybe"?......

PS. A DVD5 can play all DVD -R, -RW, +R, +RW formats! The only one it can't play is DVD RAM's but they're just Panasonic format only I think.

don,
I have noticed a bush (dvrsh01) combined dvd/vhs recorder for £199.99 which may meet your requirements.

dave.

As blythe said some blank DVD's are better than others. Also another reason I have found some DVD's play and some don't is down to the software and the way it records DVD's. If for example I record a DVD-R with DVD-Video specific DVD authoring software, ie Roxio DVD builder to put a photo slide show onto DVD, it plays fine on all DVD players no problem. If I then try and backup the files for this DVD by copying the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories to another disk using Roxio Creator it will play on any PC, but only certain home DVD players, if I copy them using Nero they play fine on any PC or home DVD player. The reason for this is that DVD players expect the DVD's to see the files and directories in a very specific order, which is an extension of the way PC's see them, but more specific. When a DVD is recorded in this format, it is fully compatible with a PC DVD drive or a DVD home player that is less tolerant of the DVD standards. But a home DVD player that is very strict on DVD standards (The DVD equivalent of the CD orange book) will not play DVD's that have not had the DVD's burnt specifically with this in mind. Nero does it in the correct order and in some versions it is the 'author' tick box option that enables it. Newer versions of Roxio might, but I think Roxio 6 and maybe earlier versions, just have no concept of this file and directory ordering. It had me puzzled for a while as they disks look identical when looked at on my PC.

quote:

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Originally posted by SimonJ:
Best thing is edit them on your PC (with the right software), transfering the files via firewire in digital format, edit them in digital format, then when done and you know you are happy, record them on DVD -R to keep and distribute to family. DVD -R can't be wiped or recorded over, but I guess you're not too bothered about that if it's home video?!

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If you are trying to archive family videos for posterity it is likely that -R or +R media will have a longer shelf life than -RW or +RW discs.

E-mail:- MartinPayne (at) Dial.Pipex.com. Put "Naim" in the title.

Any one care to explain -R, +R, -RW and +RW and any other obscure verbiage I that I will need to know . I have enough trouble with audio discs. I was thinking of a HDD/DVD recorder to replace an ailing VHS machine(if I can understand them).
TIA

Howard

Howard,

R = Recordable
RW = ReWriteable

RW discs can be erased and re-recorded.

R discs can only be written once.

As for + & -, I'm afraid it's just more bollocks from two different consortia competing to try to establish "the" standard. Comparable to VHS vs Betamax.

cheers, Martin

E-mail:- MartinPayne (at) Dial.Pipex.com. Put "Naim" in the title.

The other thing to bear in mind is that at some point in the very near future DVD recorders will also be compatible with the new double layered discs, which will enable most movies to be burned to DVD without compression. I love my Pioneer 501H DVD recorder with 80Gb hard drive, but the next one I buy will have a 160Gb HDD (which many now have) and be dual-layered.

Ross

So what machines at the moment have the larger HDD and dual layer ability?

Howard

There are current Sony and Pioneer DVD recorders with 160Gb, both of which play +/-R and +/-RW, and I believe the Sony can also record in + or - (my Pioneer only records in -, but plays both). I'm not aware of any current models with dual layer capability, but since dual layer DVD burners are available cheaply for PCs, I can't imagine a dual layer DVD recorder is more than a few months away, and there may already be one.

Ross

i use a toshiba dr-1. it'll do all th '-' formats as well as 'ram'. that means pause live tv, watch while still recording and some other sky+ / tivo like features. editing is a doddle too. it'll also do component / progressive out and only 199 from richer sounds these days too. worth a punt if you are waiting for digital video standards / hi-def tv and blu ray to sort themselves out.
cheers


julian

Hj SiomnJ

How does sound your panasonic aon the NAIM equipement. I have AV2/150/150 and need a new DVD. But I also could use a DVD Recorder, therefore I think about to by a DVD recorder which i'll use for recording as well as for watching and listening DVD's until I could afford a Naim DVD5.
What is your experience soundwise?
Thanks and Cheers Michael

Howard,
a few lines to add to Martin's note about the + & - glyphs to be found scattered throughout this forum.

Thanks Roy, Simon and Ross. These are all the same companies that must have wasted millions on BETAMAX/VHS Dat/Digital Cassettes etc etc.
Will they ever learn?


Julian the Toshiba has no HDD is that right?

Howard

[This message was edited by BigH47 on Sun 05 December 2004 at 17:12.]

A little extra something from The INQ, a short look at dvd players to be found on the high street.

Thanks Roy great article. Why can't all writers be as up front with their comments? I love the image of the "slack jawed spotty sales assistant" how many times have we seen that look. If it ain't on the label or box they are totally stumped.
We really are spoilt with the support we get for our "audio toys".
What is the reference to waiting til after March 2005, is that the end of the world or something else?

Howard

March should be the time all the new models come out. There should be some pretty exciting kit next year. Hopefully DVD/HDD recorders with DVI/HDMI output and I think a few with digital TV tuners etc.

Another head on the hydra?

quote:

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Originally posted by SimonJ:
I can really recommend the Panasonic DVD HDD recorder I have a DMRE85HEBSM, it is so cool for recording off the TV and is easy to use.

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I can second that for the Panny HDD/DVD recorder. Do shop around for a price, Around £400 is about right.

It also will output progressive scan if our display will support it.

MREI

The sound out is very good through my NAIT3

Jono

quote:

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I can second that for the Panny HDD/DVD recorder

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I can third that for the Panasonic DVD recorder (though I have the version sans hard drive). It is good VFM and the variable bit compression is good for getting reliable picture resolution on recordings of more than 2 hours.

However, I find that the unit sometimes fails to record in DVD-R format. The timer starts, but an error message turns on. I attribute this to the -R disk (though I am using the Philips brand recommended by the salesperson) as it has so far worked flawlessly with the rewritable -RAM disks. Should I try another -R brand?

Cheers,

Guide to the Different DVD Formats:

http://www.dvd-recordable.org/Reviews+index-req-showcontent-id-52.phtml