Panasonic E80 Clarification.....DVD 2 DVD

[DvDstyle]

So I bought the Panasonic E80 with the HDD and DVD-R.
Hopefully someone can help me answer this.

But how do I Use this standalone panasonic to record from a standalone dvd player?

My initial thought was to get a DVD player that allowed disabling of macro. But i read around and someone told me that it's CGMS/A signal that causes you not to be able to record it. Someone recommended these two sites.
http://www.facetvideo.com/
http://www.avtoolbox.com/avt-8710.htm

So my two options are:
Get a DVD player and disable macro.
OR
buy one of those convertors to change the signals.

Which one of these will work for a DVD 2 DVD-R on standalone?
If i disable macro on a dvd player, then can i record?

Anyone who's done it successful please let me know what you did exactly. Thanks!!!

[donpedro]

Sorry to disappoint you, nut best way to do it is through PC Burner. It is easy and you don't loose anythink from original DVD. I know that this is not what you asked. I would recomend using DVD Recorde for capturing from TV, VHS, or Camcorder. Not for copying DVD's.

[DvDstyle]

Thanks for reply. I have the sony dru500a for my computer and it works fine. However, I am trying to set this up for my dad who likes to do things the old fashioned way, and nothing that deals with computers. Even though I show him step-by-step, he still prefers to do it analog. I guess computers are just too complex for him.

Can anyone answer my previous questions from above?
Should i go with a DVD player with macro disabled or one of those sites would work?
What would fix my problem for DVD 2 DVD-R?

[TuxOmatic]

I have last year's model, the HS2. You are right about the CGMS situation. Most DVD players that can be hacked to stop Macrovision do not get rid of the CGMS info. I own a Apex 500W with a custom chip in it and it has the CGMS turned off. Although you do lose quality with a D-A-D copy, it's very easy to do and you never worry about audio sync problems, etc. I have a DVD burner on my computer to burn things that I want to have 5.1 audio and perfect video, but I use the other method for quick trouble-free backups for the kids. Understand, you don't get the nice menus, chapter stops, etc. Also, if the movie runs longer than about 2 hours and 20 minutes, the machine automatically lowers the screen resolution. (at least the HS2 does)

OK, so it works for me. What do you need to get to do the same thing? That is not as easy for me to answer. I did a lot of research and learned about the Apex 500W on various forums. The Apex 500W was still available in stores at that time. I bought a modified eprom and installed it myself. I know that other players could be modified equally at the time, but that was months ago and you probably can't buy those players now. There are probably new models that could qualify, but I've been out of touch with this subject. The "black box" option will work fine as long as CGMS is turned off and you already own another DVD player. If you don't own the second player, it will probably be cheaper to buy the correct player and modify it. At least you know that which ever way you decide to go, once the copy stuff is turned off, the E80 will record and burn just like you were feeding it home movies from a VCR.

Hope that helps.

[Tearren]

If you have a little extra cash... and you want to backup DVD movies, my suggestion is to buy $150 DVD-R Burner. If not check out the below site...

www.nerd-out.com

If the link doesn't work, just give it sometime...It is a pretty decent site. Mostly dedicated to APEX, but covers other DVD players as well. Good info about DVD players and upgrading the firmware to solve the Macro/CGMS issue.


Tearren