Recording Video to HD or Disc in Burner. Which Way to go?

[j_b]

I want to record directly fron my JVC 5000 Camcoder to a burner. I film events which last longer than 1 hour which is a problem with the mini DV tapes, not to mention the cost of them and the fact that I like to only use them once,
I want to record via firewire to the Pioneer 510. I would then dump the video to computer using Pinnacle dv 500 via firewire. After editing, would dump back to the burner to make master via firewire.
Question: What is the difference when recording to the HD in the burner or to a RW disc. Which way should I go.
Are there any other burners with firewire in/out, which would give me better results.

[piano632]

The Pioneer and Sharp recorders are the only ones I know that have firewire in & out. All the other brands are IN only. I wouldn't think the Sharp is any better than the Pioneer, in fact I hear they are both made in the same factory.

The only problem you might have is connecting firewire (DV) between PC and standalone recorder - sometimes it works, sometimes not. I finally managed to get the Sharp recorder to accept DV input from my PC, but it only accepts type 1 DV files (where the video/audio tracks are mixed together) as opposed to type 2 files (which have separate video/audio tracks). I imagine the Pioneer would be the same.

[dcsos]

What is the difference when recording to the HD in the burner or to a RW disc. Which way should I go.

Its always going to be better going to the HARD DRIVE
plus it should be easier to cut out unwanted events later (tripod keels over
or such)

[donpedro]

I am confused...

Are you trying to do this ?

1. From MiniDV camcorder to DVD Burner trough FireWire.
2. From new DVD from Burner to PC through Firewire.
3. Edit on PC.
4. Send back to DVD Burner from PC through Furewire.

If yes.... why don't you send it to PC on the begining, edit and send result through firewire to DVD Burner ? Am I missing something ?

[j_b]

I am confused...

Are you trying to do this ?

1. From MiniDV camcorder to DVD Burner trough FireWire.
2. From new DVD from Burner to PC through Firewire.
3. Edit on PC.
4. Send back to DVD Burner from PC through Furewire.

If yes.... why don't you send it to PC on the begining, edit and send result through firewire to DVD Burner ? Am I missing something ?

Sorry to confuse . Yes that is exactly what I want to do. I cant send it to pc on the beginning because I will not have the pc on location ( ei, theatre to record a dance recital) and I'm trying not to record onto mini Dv tape.If I did record on tape, I would just transfer the video to pc from the camera. All I'm doing is trying to eliminate having to record onto tape, which will only give me 1 hour, and not reusable, to be safe. I'll bring burner to theatre and record right onto the burners hard drive or rw disk.
One particular recital had 3 shows, each using a 2 camera setup. I used 6 mini dv tapes per show x 3 for 18 tapes.
If the quality I get from the burner is similar to the mini dv tape, why not eliminate the tape. I also don't have to worry about having the tape end before the 1st half of the show ends.
Should I record to the hd or rw disk on the burner? Hope this helps and sorry for the length.

[donpedro]

Sorry to interupt again.... But, are you trying to record from MiniDV camcorder to DVD Burner directly through FireWire ? Is this even posible ? I would love to see results from test. Sound interesting.

BTW: Quality is going to be worse since you are doing 2 conversions. First: from optics to DV AVI and then from DV AVI to MPEG2. How much ? That is subjective.

I would definitely record to HD first. That way you are not facing issue of not having enough space.

[j_b]

Sorry to interupt again.... But, are you trying to record from MiniDV camcorder to DVD Burner directly through FireWire ? Is this even posible ? I would love to see results from test. Sound interesting.

BTW: Quality is going to be worse since you are doing 2 conversions. First: from optics to DV AVI and then from DV AVI to MPEG2. How much ? That is subjective.

I would definitely record to HD first. That way you are not facing issue of not having enough space.

Thanks for the reply. I am recording directly from mini dv cam to pioneer burner via firewire. The other big advantage is this. I am recording at skating competitions or dance competitions. These events can last 4 days of 12 hour days. By recording to the burner, the camera is just on, not recording, thus saving hours and hours on the heads. So far this fall I have filmed at 5 of these events, and my camcorder's counter says I have used it for 3 hours, which it is more like 150 hours. I would rather put hours on a $ 500 burner than a $8,000 camera.
As for results, I,m still testing the firewire part, but it does work. I have recorded to the Panasonic 30 and 50 but only using s video cable and 2 audio cables. I was losing some quality with the s cable, but not to the average consumer's eyes, so I assume the firewire will be much better. The resolution capabilities of mini dv and dv are similar, so I shouldn't have any problems. Let me know what you think.

p.s. I called Pioneer before I bought it. They said I wouldn't be able to record from burner to pc and back after editing via firewire. Only via the camcorder interface via firewire. Manual mentions nothing regarding pc at all. It works for me though. I will record to the burner's hd after editing in Premier to make my master copy. I can then burn dvd's in the burner in 15 minutes, or out to vcr's for vhs copies.
[/b]