TV Tuner vs. DVD Recorder

[tyaholmes]

which would be the better buy if i wanted to put like 3-4 hours of good quality on a dvd disc?

[trhouse]

This is the third thread you have started on the same subject.

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic...light=#1509271

and

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic...light=#1510547

In one, the recorder is bad, in the other, the recorder is good and Nero is bad. This is not a criticism of your seeking help but it seems you are going in many directions and have not resolved why tools such DVD Author which have worked well for many gave unsatisfactory results. Have you considered that at the longer recording times like four hours; the quality you seek may not be achievable within the confines of the dvd standard ( at least on a 4.7 GB disk )?

[cyflyer]

The general consensus seems to be that recorder is the easyest and most straightforward. As for, 3 to 4 hours 'good quality', forget it. From what I have seen and experienced, 2 hours is the max you want to go to with vhs captures. Beyond that its crap/shit, and I don't know why they bother putting the 4 hour option.

[RabidDog]

Get a dual layer recorder and use dual layer discs. 3 to 4 hours good quality!

[ZippyP.]

Personnally, if I want 4 hours on a disk I'll put 2 hours in 2 hr. mode on to each of 2 disks. Rip to the hard drive and re-encode at 1/2 DVD, 2-pass VBR with avg. bitrate about 2300 kbps.

[tyaholmes]

well i am trying to put sporting events onto dvds and i cant figure out how to get them on there with good quality

[lordsmurf]

The As for, 3 to 4 hours 'good quality', forget it. From what I have seen and experienced, 2 hours is the max you want to go to with vhs captures..

Keep looking around.

Several DVD recorders do quite well at 3-4 hours, and with a computer and even a somewhat decent card, 3-4 hours should not be trouble either (though you may need to do AVI instead of MPEG, depends on card). Computer work is all about settings and good software.

DVB, digital satellite data, sends the equivalent of a 5-hour single-layer DVD, and many people consider that to be "perfect digital" quality. And it is quite good, but it's all because of the source and settings and recording equipment.

It has less to do with time length, and more to do with other factors.

[lordsmurf]

well i am trying to put sporting events onto dvds and i cant figure out how to get them on there with good quality

No more than 3 hours at Half D1, using either a good DVD recorder (try a JVC) or capture AVI and encode with 2-pass VBR.

[tyaholmes]

well for what i am trying to do would it be better to get the tuner for my computer instead of the dvd recorder

[tyaholmes]

would this work better or no? thanks

[Beavis]

If you're recording sports from a broadcast or cable TV source, you aren't going to fit more than two hours of material onto a single-sided DVD with any kind of quality level that you will be happy with. Doesn't matter if you're using a stand-alone recorder or MPEG encoder / TV tuner card.

You best option for sports is to record the thing at a relatively high bitrate (definitely higher than 2-hour mode) in the first place. Then go back and edit the thing down and cut commercials and divide up whatever's left how you want it (1 half per DVD, etc.). In order to do this, you'll want a hardware MPEG encoder card like the WinTV 250 and capture on your computer or a stand-alone recorder with built in hard drive.

[ahhaa]

Seems to me you would be happiest with a standalone recorder. You prob'ly would want the timer/channel change features & such without leaving your computer running 24/7. Simpler to learn to use, and conveniently by the TV, but the DVDs can still be edited later n the computer if wanted.

Also, then you have a box for $100-200 or so that has a warranty of a year plus. If you look around at all the posts about failing burners & boxes, consider that you prob'ly don't want your more expensive computer running that hard all the time just to capture some sports action. imho!:]

[tyaholmes]

i just figured itd be easier and cheaper to get a tv tuner for my computer because for one a tv tuner is cheaper even if yo get a top of the line tuner and that way its like a dvd recorder with a hard drive and i could get higher quality because i could record at a higher quality and then edit the commercials out to save space.

[mats.hogberg]

i could get higher quality

Could is the key word. But it will take time and effort and skill.

/Mats

[pchan]

i just figured itd be easier and cheaper to get a tv tuner for my computer because for one a tv tuner is cheaper even if yo get a top of the line tuner and that way its like a dvd recorder with a hard drive and i could get higher quality because i could record at a higher quality and then edit the commercials out to save space.

I tried this route before. I even set up a brand new PC for TV recording. I gave up for the schedule recording kept failing. If schedule recording is really what you need, get a DVD recorder. Since you are looking for 3-4hrs of high quality video on a disc, look for those recorder with either DVD+R DL or DVD-R DL support. To edit out commercial, you really need one with hard disk. Otherwise you have to do it the hard way, manually transfer from DVD disc to hard disk.

[mats.hogberg]

Otherwise you have to do it the hard way, manually transfer from DVD disc to hard disk.

And then you're really better off with a capture card, IMO. I've said it before: DVD Recorders are glorified VHS recorders. If that's what you want - Fine! But if you're into edits, and creating cool menus and stuff, you're better off capturing with a computer. A good "inbetween" would be a DVD/HDD recorder with network interface for easy transfer of the captured material to your computer.

/Mats

[overloaded_ide]

I think either way is a no win situation

Capturing direct to computer is iffey. Un-attended shedualed recordings may be missed, computer could start dropping frames, WINDOZE could crash anytime. Etc.. Etc...

Set top recorder, probably crap settings for anything more than 2hrs to a disk. Using 2 disks for an event is not an option when unattended recordings are being done.

A good "inbetween" would be a DVD/HDD recorder with network interface for easy transfer of the captured material to your computer.

Probably the best idea, record to the hard drive to begin with in best quality mode. If it has network to PC, firewrie, etc.. available use that instead of disks. If not, then put the recording onto multiple RWs if the recorder will do that in best quality. Then edit and work on downsizing to fit on one disk on the PC to get the best 1 disk quality available.

I don't think there is an easy answer if you want reliable results. I dought I would trust "LIVE" recording direct to the PC, so many things could go wrong and ruin your only recording.

[ahhaa]

I get superb quality from my Lite-On, which'll see me cheaply thru to Blu-Ray or whatever is next. My TV Wonder Card was nothing but headaches... and they should come bundled with an extra HD.

Just read a cnet article about Phillips new software, which includes a flag that prevents zapping commercials.

Ty- we're missing a couple important facts here:
You want quality, are you actually getting that on your signal input?
Are you going to be watching while you are recording? (you can PAUSE the recording during RECORD too)

also, a minority view, but if these are to be kept for years & years, the commercials get better & better as they get older. Its kinda funny to see todays clunkers advertised as the hot new car, or see a winter weather report in summer. And again, you can always edit them out.

Many DVRs have a 'Just-Fit' option too. Maybe the best advice is to get a good one from Malwarts and try it. They have a 30-day no questions asked return policy if you don't like it. That's the real easy cheap option.