HP CD Writer DC 3000 -- Capturing old Hi 8 and VHS, OK?

[caseychu]

Hi,

I have tons of old Hi-8 and VHS tapes (both NTSC & PAL versions) that I hope to convert into digital foramt.

I have seen the HP CD Writer on the internet. It seems very simple to operate vs. buying capture cards. Can someone let me know the pros and cons of uing the HP CD Writer?

Also, with the HP CD Writer, do I have to make it into DVD? or can I also save the movies on my hard disk?


Many thanks for anyone who can provide advice.

Regards,
Casey

[rcb]

More info here...

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=169&Search=Search&list=0#comments

[caseychu]

Thanks Mender for the link with the reviews. I will do a search next time to see if anything turns up.

However, I've got a few more questions:

Is there a difference in NTSC/PAL on DVD or will they become the same?

Also, can I save the movies captured (I think it is Mpeg2 format) on the harddrive and view from the computer directly?

And just found out in the forum that DVD+R and DVD-R are different, what it the difference???

I'm sorry if I am totally ignorant, this stuff is quite complicated for me....

Thanks,
Casey

[dwight55]

Casey, . . . yes you can capture and save your movies and videos to your hard disk. You will need about 2 gigs of space for each hour you want to keep. Why not burn them to DVD's?? DVD-R format is probably the most popular but DVD+R is reportedly a bit easier to use. It will all depend on you and your equipment. There are some stand alone DVD recorders out there (Sears has a Sansui unit: put in the tape, format the DVD, tell it to dub, done) that do a very good job. Unless you want to add fancy titles, dub in and out, voice overs, etc. these stand alones will allow you to DVD your tapes easily and quickly.

May God bless,

Dwight

[caseychu]

Thank you very much Dwight!


The Sansui recorder you mentioned sounds great. I hope I can find it or find something similar.

Thanks again.

Casey

[FulciLives]

Stick with PANASONIC or SONY when it comes to a stand alone VCR like DVD recorder. They both have excellent TBC's built-in and this is ESSENTIAL in many instances of getting quality out of VHS videos. Some other brands of stand alone DVD recorders do not have a TBC or have a very poor TBC. The Panasonic DMR-E50 is an excellent choice. Also a new model is comming out called the DMR-E55 but my understanding is that it is very similiar so you might want to wait for that (to get the newest model) or if you wait until it comes out that should push down the price of the DMR-E50 even more.

The SONY is excellent as well but more than the PANASONIC yet the quality is maybe only a hair's breath better ... perhaps not so noticeable ... especially for the price increase.

BTW Panasonic also makes 2 models that come with built-in HDD's so you can record to the HDD first ... do some simple editing ... then record to a disc.

Panasonic has been making stand alone DVD recorders longer than anyone else so they have gotten pretty darn good at it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[caseychu]

Thanks John, I went to the store and saw the Panasoinc DMR-E80H DVD (this is a recorder with a 80G harddrive). I then did a serch on the internet and found that it has great reviews. Though it unit is a bit expensive (around US$1000), I think I will get it cause I seems so much easier than using the computer to capture (which most likely I will not be able to figure out).

BTW, is there a difference between NTSC and PAL on a dvd? And can DVD-R discs play on DVD+R player?

Thanks,
Casey

[FulciLives]

Thanks John, I went to the store and saw the Panasoinc DMR-E80H DVD (this is a recorder with a 80G harddrive). I then did a serch on the internet and found that it has great reviews. Though it unit is a bit expensive (around US$1000), I think I will get it cause I seems so much easier than using the computer to capture (which most likely I will not be able to figure out).

BTW, is there a difference between NTSC and PAL on a dvd? And can DVD-R discs play on DVD+R player?

Thanks,
Casey

You might be interested to know that PANASONIC will be comming out with even newer models of DVD recorders. The replacement for the DMR-E80 will be the DMR-E85 and this is what PANASONIC has to say about it:

DMR-E85H
TV Guide On Screen EPG; 120 GB built-in hard drive; Time Slip; Chasing Playback; Simultaneous Record & Playback; 32x High-speed recording from hard drive to DVD-R; 24x high-speed recording from hard disk to RAM; Supports DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-Video, music CDs, video CDs, CD-R/CD-RW, MP3 and DVD-Audio
May, 2004
$799.95

As you can see the BIG different is that the DMR-E85 will have a 120 GB HDD whereas the DMR-E80 only has an 80GB HDD

Otherwise they seem pretty similiar but the new model does have some new features ... mostly stuff to make it easier to use ... or so they say. Quality of recording should be the same on both (knock on wood).

So you might want to wait for this new model or even if you still want to get the DMR-E80 at least wait for the DMR-E85 to hit the market as this will push down the price of the DMR-E80 although if you wait too long you might not be able to get the old model anymore.

As for your question about NTSC vs PAL

There is a big difference between NTSC and PAL as they are really two totally different video systems.

Most of the stand alone DVD recorders are set up to only record and play in one of the two systems. For instance a USA model will only do NTSC ... no PAL at all. Now there are a few models that seem to be able to record and play in both NTSC or PAL. Unfortunately I don't think Panasonic makes them like that but I have seen 'hacked' machines with this ability but expect to pay much more for that kind of functionality ... at least for a Panasonic model.

Most current model stand alone DVD players can play back DVD-R discs as well as DVD+R discs but Panasonic models are known to sometimes not deal well with DVD+R discs ... especially the recorder models (which are geared towards DVD-R and DVD-RAM).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Right now in the USA the DMR-E80 can be bought in a retail store for around $650 but if you purchase it on-line there are many places in the USA that go as low as just under $500 ... all prices are US Dollars.

[caseychu]

Thanks John again!

I went out and got the Panasonic DMR-E100H over the weekend. (BTW, I live in Hong Kong and this version has a 80G harddrive, cost around US$920, and allows you to select inputs from both PAL and NTSC). I spend my limited free time the past few nights trying to read the menu and figure out how to work the machine, it is quite complicated.

I finally did a test record yesterday from VHS (NTSC) to the Panasonic hard drive. IT WORKED!!!! And the quality is very good!!!!

Have not tried to burn from Harddisk to DVD-R, but will try in the next few days.

Thank god for this forum (especially John and Dwight), cause without it, I will still be trying to figue out how to get my budget video capture card and software to work on my computer (this is close to impossible). The Panasonic is more expensive but I think it is worth the money cause you will save so much time, especially if you have lots of tapes to convert like me. Also the Panasonic can work as a great VCR to record TV, I think it is finally a real goodbye to the VHS at home.


By the way, I have a unrelated question. Can I copy the DVD-Rs I make with the Panasonic onto my computer harddrive and view it on my computer?


Thanks,
Casey

[FulciLives]

By the way, I have a unrelated question. Can I copy the DVD-Rs I make with the Panasonic onto my computer harddrive and view it on my computer?

Yes you can do this.

In fact a little trick that some people like to do ...

Record to DVD-RAM instead of DVD-R

Import the DVD-RAM into the computer. You can buy DVD-ROM drives that read DVD-RAM for around $50 USD if your DVD burner doesn't read DVD-RAM already (some do but not that many).

Once you import the DVD-RAM to your computer you can edit it and then use a real authoring package to make custom menus and chapter points etc. then burn to a DVD-R or DVD+R disc using your computer burner.

The original DVD-RAM can then be re-used over and over and over again.

The best program for importing and editing (simple edits now don't get carried way) and re-authoring is TMPGEnc DVD Author ... it can do it all!

Please note that if you do the computer method it is best if you recorded in a recording mode vs VBR mode. There are other "tricks" too you need to be aware of to make sure it works just right.

There have been many threads on this before so a search should turn something up.

Also you might want to take a look at the DVD RECORDER forum on the AVS FORUM website.

Good Luck with your new toy

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
You don't have to do all that of course. You can simply RIP the DVD-R to your computer and watch it or even make additional copies this way.

[caseychu]

P.S. You don't have to do all that of course. You can simply RIP the DVD-R to your computer and watch it or even make additional copies this way.

Thanks John, I think I can do with the simple method you recommend above. Is there a RIP program you recommend? Also, does the RIP program enable me to write back onto the DVD-R?

Also, do I have to think about MPG2 and MPG4 (this is mentioned a few times in the Panasonic manual), or is this something totally irrelavent?

Thanks again,
Casey

[FulciLives]

P.S. You don't have to do all that of course. You can simply RIP the DVD-R to your computer and watch it or even make additional copies this way.

Thanks John, I think I can do with the simple method you recommend above. Is there a RIP program you recommend? Also, does the RIP program enable me to write back onto the DVD-R?

Also, do I have to think about MPG2 and MPG4 (this is mentioned a few times in the Panasonic manual), or is this something totally irrelavent?

Thanks again,
Casey

DVD DECRYPTER is a program that both RIPS and BURNS.

If you want to copy to your HDD to view later then use DVD Decrypter in FILE MODE select ALL FILES (which is the default). You can then view the DVD from your HDD using a DVD playback program such as PowerDVD or WinDVD

If you want to make a simple copy then you RIP in ISO MODE ---> READ which will create a single large ISO IMAGE FILE

Then you use ISO MODE ---> WRITE and select your ISO IMAGE FILE and burn it to a new DVD-R or DVD+R disc.

You can make as many copies as you want from that same ISO IMAGE FILE ... simply DELETE it when you are done.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[caseychu]

Thank you John!