Archiving HD programs from a DirecTV HD DVR to DVD

[bill2975]

(Apologies in advance if this newbie post sounds confused)

I have a DirecTV HD DVR and we have accumulated a number of great high definition programs that I would like to archive off onto DVD. I have not yet purchased a DVD Recorder.

I realize that I can do this with S-video and RCA audio into pretty much any DVD Recorder, although I'm confused about whether the 16:9 HD picture would be scrunched to 4:3 by the recorder, or whether the picture would just be lower resolution than the HD version. Of course, the digital sound wouldn't transfer either, if RCA jacks are used.

After visiting several stores and looking at the backs of the DVD recorders, it seems that only one (maybe) has component video input, and it doesn't have a digital audio input (optical or coaxial). In fact, none of the DVD recorders had digital audio inputs (these were mass market boxes - Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, etc.)

The Sony RDR-HX900 has a set of jacks labeled Component Video In, but no digital audio input, as mentioned above. So far, I haven't been able to find any information on this from the Sony website or anywhere else. I can live with transferring just stereo sound, but would love to be able to keep the HD-quality picture.

Does anybody have any information or suggestions for doing this? Do we have to wait for HD DVD recorders, whenever that is? Should I just buy a Panasonic DMR-ES10 for $179 and accept that the archived program is going to be a lot lower quality?

I've also heard rumors that some Panasonic DVD recorders won't transfer widescreen programs to DVD unless you use DVD-RAM media, but that the Sony GX300 and RDR-HX900 models will both do that using less expensive DVD-R or DVD+R disks. The question, of course, is whether this is true.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions on how to get high quality HD programs from my HD DVR to a DVD with as little picture and sound degradation as possible.

Thanks,

bill2975

[edDV]

Here is what is possible in theory:

S-Video is standard def analog NTSC or PAL and can be output either letterbox or horizontally squished (for analog widescreen). Most boxes have only letterbox mode. DVD results aren't bad off my HD Comcast box.

Although your DirecTV box can output 1080i HD over component outputs, any DVD recorder with component inputs would only work at standard def. again either letterbox or horizontally squished. This would be your best quality alternative for dub since it avoids NTSC/PAL encoding.

As currently planned, future high def recorder boxes (in the US anyway) will record and play back only from encrypted HDMI connectors and recording will be inhibited if the upstream device has copy protection or the broadcast record flag. Some DVR type boxes will work in a closed encrypted loop. In any case, these devices will not have high def component analog inputs.

[bill2975]

Thank you for the response.

If I understand you correctly, I might as well just get a DVD recorder now and use the S-Video/RCA inputs rather than waiting for a "perfect solution" someday that may never arrive.

Anyone have any suggestions as to whether to get a Panasonic DMR-ES10, Sony GX300, Sony RDR-HX900, or some other box? I currently have a Samsung 841 as a player and am not particularly thrilled with it. A better player, combined with recorder capability, might be just the ticket.

Thanks again for the response.

bill2975

[Synergy]

If I understand you correctly, I might as well just get a DVD recorder now and use the S-Video/RCA inputs rather than waiting for a "perfect solution" someday that may never arrive.

Currently all standalone DVD recorders can only record 480i analog SDTV, no matter what input jack (including component input) is used. You need to have the HD signals downcoverted to 480i on the STB unit, preferably in "anamorphic widescreen" (or "squeezed") mode, so you'll be able to get the 16:9 instead of "letterbox" recordings. You'll get more info from the following link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=542091

[bill2975]

I just experimented with off-loading one of the HD programs from my HD DVR Tivo box to an old VCR.

Had to set the DVR to 480i so that it activated the RCA jacks (Rhetorical Rant: why can't they produce multiple simultaneous outputs from the DVR so that this is less of a hassle???), but the transfer went fine. Big difference, of course, when reviewing the tape output and comparing it to the 480i input into the VCR, so I'm going to Circuit City today to get a Sony RDR-GX300.

I figure that will give me 30 days to experiment with both recording off the HD DVR, and watching some movies to see if I want to make that the main DVD player for the system.

Thanks for the responses. Feel free to make more comments if you have any suggestions.

bill2975

[edDV]

...

Had to set the DVR to 480i so that it activated the RCA jacks (Rhetorical Rant: why can't they produce multiple simultaneous outputs from the DVR so that this is less of a hassle???),

At least the Scientific Atlanta and Motorola cable HD tuners output 1080i/720p/480p HDTV and 480i to S-Video at the same time.

[bill2975]

Just as a followup for those who were kind enough to read and respond to this thread - I purchased a Sony RDR-GX300 yesterday from Circuit City. They knocked $50 off the price when I asked if there was anything they could do, since Amazon had it for $320.

Archived 6 HD programs to DVD yesterday when I got home (DVD-R). Setup was simple, and I recorded the first two as HQ, the next four as SP.

Wow! No problems! You can obviously see a difference when comparing HD versions to the 418i version recorded on DVD, but they still look great! I think the HQ looks better than the SP recording, but the SP recording is still totally satisfactory, particularly compared to VHS.

Last night we watched "Collateral", "Wind", and "Under the Tuscan Sun" on the Sony (how's that for a triple feature? <grin>), and the terrible green "push" from the Samsung SPL-841 was gone. Colors were great, especially on a Pioneer Plasma monitor.

The Samsung goes back to Costco tomorrow.

Thanks for the various suggestions.

bill2975