Confused--with panasonic e50

[fsuorange]

thinking of buying this unit but am now totally confused.

This unit can record in dvd-r. Does this mean that after I record a tv show and there is still space left on the disc that I cannot record anymore shows at a later time or date? Or does dvd-r mean I just can re-record over the recorder stuff?

It also burns on dvd-ram media. Now my second question is if I get a dvd-rom drive, cam I burn to dvd-r with as good as quality as burning straight to dvd-r with with the panasonic?

I appologize dearly for my ignorance but I am just trying to learn desperately on what to buy for Christmas.

Thanks and sorry again

[redwudz]

DVD -/+R is write once media. If you don't use all the space, the remainder is lost.

DVD-/+RW is rewritable and reuseable.

DVD RAM is rewriteable, but will usually only play back on the unit that recorded it and some computers.

DVD-R is compatable with most, but not all settop DVD players and most any computer with a DVD-ROM drive and player software. DVD+R is somewhat more compatable. Check the list of DVD players to the left of this page for individual compatability with different formats.

Your last question I believe is quality compared to a computer producing a DVD. Usually the computer method has better quality because the DVD recorder does the DVD 'one the fly', burning in real time while the computer uses slower and more accurate conversion. It really depends on what quality you want. The recorder is fast and easy with good quality and the computer method is slow and a little complex with best quality.

[bobones]

With dvd-r you can still add new shows and delete ones you don't want, but you can't edit out ads, and any stuff you delete won't free up space on the disc because it's a write once only format. Once you've filled up the dvd-r disc, you finalise it, and then it can be played in normal dvd players (in theory).

Normally with the E-50, you do all your day-to-day recording on dvd-ram, which you can edit, delete and add to your heart's content. Dvd-ram is a great format for video recording, but its one big drawback is that you can't play the discs in most dvd players. If you have a PC with dvd-ram reading capabilities, you can transfer your edited dvd-ram recordings to dvd-r and add menu's and stuff. But unless you get a hard disk machine like the HS-2, E80 or E100, there is no way to transfer edited recordings to dvd-r without a PC.

Don't let me put you off the E-50 - I have one and it's great - but realise you can't transfer edited dvd-ram to dvd-r without a PC. If you don't want a PC solution then get a hard-drive recorder so you can do all your edits before committing to dvd-r.

[bobones]

DVD+R is somewhat more compatable.

Eh? No way. DVD-R is proven empirically to be more compatible than dvd+r. See http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/DVDMediaFormats/

Personally, I have no need for any + formats at all (what is the point?), and prefer to go the offical route with DVD-R/-RW/-RAM.

RAM imo is the best format of them all. And far from it dying off, I see it flourishing as the masses realise its benefits. Having been around so long, it's already entrenched in numerous professional applications, so there's no way it's going to fade away. Maybe inferior solutions will prove more popular, but if you're considering RAM at the moment, never fear that it's a flash in the pan format. Far from it; out of all the current formats RAM is the only one that will have a long life when Blueray and AOD (or even solid state formats) take over, because long term archiving is what it's designed to do, and there's already millions invested in it.

[donpedro]

DVD -/+R is write once media. If you don't use all the space, the remainder is lost.

This is not true. You can use remaining space before you finelize disk. After that you can't.

[donpedro]

DVD+R is somewhat more compatable. Check the list of DVD players to the left of this page for individual compatability with different formats.

Just for fun I did that and here are results

DVD+R => 1409 Hits
DVD-R => 1864 Hits

So if you want to take this site as an reference, I would say that DVD-R is more compatible. But since there is always fight about this, I would switch point of view. From 3 PC/Laptop DVD-ROM's that I had, non of them where able to play DVD+R. I had to search and buy new DVD-ROM for that purpose

[FulciLives]

The best way to go about using a stand alone DVD recorder ... in my opinion ... is to use DVD-RAM

Why?

DVD-RAM can be recorded over and over ... it's like a mini-HDD or a very large FDD

What you do is record to DVD-RAM then import the DVD-RAM to your computer. Granted most computers can't read DVD-RAM but TOSHIBA for instance makes a nice cheap DVD-ROM reader that also reads DVD-RAM and it is usually only $40 to $50 USD so that solves that.

So you import the DVD-RAM to your computer. Do any simple editing (such as trimming the start and end points and if it was from TV you can edit out commercials) then burn to a DVD-R or DVD+R whichever your computer DVD burner supports.

Then you reuse the DVD-RAM in the recorder for your next recording.

The nice thing about this setup is you get a more compatable cutom made disc in the end with little effert or time spent.

As far as editing and authoring the DVD-RAM on the computer you probably only need TMPGEnc DVD Author. Some people use MPEG2VCR by WOMBLE MULTIMEDIA first to import/edit then use whatever authoring program they want.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[ZenZen]

You would really think that capturing Foxtel Sat TV via a Canopus ADVC-100, then encoding it into DVD with CCE using a high VBR...Is about as good as it gets. Right? Wrong. (That's how I used to do it).
Last week I purchased a Panasonic DMR-50, along with 10 DVD-Ram discs. To test the water, I recorded a 30 min Foxtel program on DVD-Ram using the SP (2 Hour) mode, and captured exactly the same program via the ADVC-100 and encoded it with CCE with Max settings. (If you want to record longer than 2 hours, you can use the Flexable Record mode, which is very much like VBR. You set a time Eg 2 Hrs 17 mins and the DMR-50 will fill up the DVD-Ram disc using that time).

The Results: The DMR-50 using DVD-Ram produced a much cleaner sharper picture. So, now my method of capture is on the DMR-50 to DVD-Ram, then Ram disc into the computer. (I needed to purchase an LG DVD reader that will read the DVD-ram discs..Cost $45) Using TMPGenc DVD Author I now remove the station breaks, etc, add a menu if required or feed it to DVDLab, mix with previously captured files if required, and burn straight to DVD -R.

I have 10 single-sided DVD-Ram discs, which will give me 20 hours of really good capture time, or 10 hours (XP Mode) of fantastic capture time.
Once the program has been recorded onto DVD-R, then the DVD-Ram discs are erased and ready for their next operation
Long Live DVD-Ram !!!