jvcMH20S dvd recorder

[tylerdurden]

hi, i'v recently got a jvcMH20S dvd recorder. I want to copy the stuff iv recorded to the hard drive to dvdRW's so i can edit & organise it on my pc.
The manual tells me i can format the dvd-rw in "vr mode" or "video mode", it doesn't do a great job of explaining what the difference is so i don't know which to use?
Also iv been readin posts about the jvc, apparently if you edit on the hdd, it will re-encode that footage when it is transferred to the dvd which reduces its quality? can anyone confirm this as it doesn't say so in my manual. Would the quality reduction be noticable?

thanks for any help,

[lordsmurf]

Use VIDEO mode only.

VR mode is not normal DVD-Video, odd resolutions and bitrates.

[DVWannaB]

not necessarily so lord. With my MH30 if you record in, for example, a 2-hour event in 2-hour mode (SP) to HDD, then burn to -RW, it gives you the expected bitrate and resolution. But if you record in SP a 4 hour event and try to burn that, then the resolution and bitrate will change, whether it is in VR or Video mode. Just remember that VR is for editing purposes only.

The original poster is correct, the very few niggly things about the JVC is the time it takes to write to disc after editing. A 2-hour edited playlist takes 2 hours to burn in video mode. Same playlist in VR mode is like 20 mintutes. So in such cases, I would recommend, after editing, to record in VR mode to -RW and do what you like on your computer. Unlike the Sony or Mitsubishi, your VR file will be as it should be with every cut intact as you intended (Pioneer also great in VRO mode also).

[tylerdurden]

do you know why it would only take 20 miutes in vr mode? I still don't know what the difference is between vr & video mode. Can i asume that if vr mode is quicker it produces a lower quality copy?

[trhouse]

There are pros and cons to both video and VR modes.

For example, you may want to make sure you can use VR mode because many programs that run on the PC are not compatible with VR mode. DVD Author is one program that will recognize it.

If your software is compatible, VR mode has more resolutions available than video mode. Video mode standard resolutions are full D1 ( 720 by 480 or 704 by 480 ) or half D1 ( 356 by 480 ). VR mode allows for 720 by 480, 544 by 480, 480 by 480, 356 by 480, etc.

JVC documentation is a bit lacking. Pioneer's manuals are better. For example, a Pioneer 531H manual will tell you that a 3 hour recording in VR mode will be 544 by 480 resolution. JVC says nothing about it, so you will need to do some testing to avoid non standard resolutions in VR mode. The reason to avoid them is that if you intend to eventually produce a dvd video mode disk for playback in standalone players, the non standard resolution will need to be converted to a standard resolution.

Video mode is compatible with virtually all standalone dvd players. VR mode is not. The disadvantage as described by DVWannaB is that if you edit on the recorder it does a real time transfer to the dvd-rw. Real time tranfers usually mean the recorder is re-encoding the video. If you do not edit on the recorder I would guess the transfer would be 20 minutes in either VR or video mode mode. Maybe DVWannaB can confirm that. Faster than real time transfers pretty much guarantee no re-encoding is going on. The faster transfer in this case is the better quality one.

The advantage of VR mode is that you can edit on the recorder and edit more on the PC without re-encoding. If you intend to do all your editing on the PC there is little reason to use it.

A few recorders like the Pioneer give VR mode another pro. A dvd-rw VR mode disk can be used to offload hdd content and later the content can be uploaded to the hdd again without any re-encoding.

[tylerdurden]

thanks for explaining that trhouse. I will want to play everything on stand alone players so i suppose theres no point in me using vr mode. The transfers to dvd i have done so far seem perfect copies so i guess the jvc re-encoding is good quality, don't really get why it does it tho.

[DVWannaB]

yes, I agree with trhouse. I can verify that I had a 2 hour file recorded in FR100 (1hr 40 min mode). I edited commercials and created a playlist which is now 1hr 30min long, all on the HDD. The burn in VRO mode it will be around 20-25 minutes. Conversely, the same burn to DVD-R will be around 92 minutes.

I was told that JVC does not re-encode the entire segments in cases like I had above. But to re-write the scene breaks it does it in real-time to ensure DVD player compatibility.

Throw all that I stated above, if lets say my edited movie was 1hr 45min (recorded in FR100 or 1hr 40min mode). In this case no matter VRO or DVD-R the entire file is re-written and both will take the same amount of time to burn (approx, 1hr 47min).