Beginner looking to avoid actual DVD authoring...

[bw]

I bought a Panasonic DMR-E50 DVD recorder. It is my only DVD writer. I bought it to convert my home videos from VHS to DVD using a set-top box. I do not want a DVD burner for my computer. I have no plans to edit any of the home videos. I just want to divide my home movies into tracks and label them for easy access on the menu. An example would be a wedding, being able to switch from track three (say walking down the aisle) to track eight (the best man's toast), etc. The Panasonic DMR-E50 can do this perfectly via remote control and avoid any actual DVD authoring on computer, well, for DVD-RAM discs. Dividing tracks, however, with DVD-R format is not so easy. I must press "stop" then "record" to create a track. Incidentally, there is always a blur between tracks. So if somebody is watching my DVDs straight through, they notice a blur between each track caused by the manual division of tracks.

And that stuff has been said on this website a million times.

Meanwhile the DMR-E50 has a built-in program from remote control that makes dividing tracks a breeze with DVD-RAMS. Got me thinking.

Here's my idea. Is this possible?
1) buy a recent "Regular" DVD player that plays DVD-RAM
2) connect it to the DVD recorder
3) record a VHS tape onto DVD-RAM
4) divide the DVD-RAM video into tracks
4) take DVD-RAM disc and play it on a "Regular" DVD player - simulataneously record onto DVD-R disc

Another way of putting this is if I can:
1) record a VHS tape onto a DVD-RAM disc
2) when the VHS tape is finished playing, divide the DVD-RAM disc into tracks, using the remote control setup program
3) insert the finalized DVD-RAM into the "Regular" DVD player, then use the DVD-RAM as a source for recording a DVD-R disc on the DMR-E50

I have two concerns about how possible this is.
1) Would the tracks stay in place during DVD-RAM to DVD-R copy? (the whole point)
2) Would such a "Regular" DVD player cost $100 or less?

Can somebody smarter than me please advise. That means almost anybody.

Thanks and Regards,
BW

[kcfoulk]

I have two concerns about how possible this is.
1) Would the tracks stay in place during DVD-RAM to DVD-R copy? (the whole point)
2) Would such a "Regular" DVD player cost $100 or less?

Yes, you can buy a Panasonic DVD-S27 for $80 and it can play DVD-RAM discs. But it won't help you achieve what you intend to do on DVD-R discs simply because the title menu can only be authored and not copied directly through disc playback. This can be done only if you have an HDD-based recorder if no computer editing is involved.

[bw]

I was all ready to submit that to O'reilly DVD Recording Hacks...Oh well, thanks for the info.

[gshelley61]

kcfoulk is correct. You'll need a DVD recorder with a built in hard drive if you do not want to author and burn with your computer.

[handyguy]

No you don't need the HD, the panasonics record to dvdram, which is a small HD & you can edit on it in the panasonic if you want.

[gshelley61]

I think bw wants the final product to be on DVD-R. Doesn't want to use a computer to transfer DVD-RAM to DVD-R, either. Would need HD to do that. Otherwise, archiving to DVD-RAM's all the time means significantly more $ for blank media and inability to play on most other DVD players.

[overloaded_ide]

Pretty certain you would lose all the menu's and such if you recorded to DVDram, played it back in a DVD player and record the second time on the DVD recorder. Basically you would just be recording the tape twice as one long movie I think. I had a E50 I think, and it had some way of making the chapters and titleing them with out hitting buttons durring record.
I only recorded a few DVD-Rs with it, did not like it and returned it to store. But I know I made a couple disks I had broke into sections like school plays, Holidays, vactaion trip ect.. for a friend.

As I recall you record to the DVD-r but do not finalize the disk. The bottom of the remote slides open and has extra buttons and those were where the setup for the chapters were at. Was kinda hard to find in the manual, but if you read the entire manual you might find the section for adding chapters and menus this way. I think I looked 3 times before I found the right section! Seemed kinda a goofey way to set up the manual as I recall.
Anyway after recording the disk, you can view it back in a chapter menu and set mark in mark out type point for your chapters and give them text titles. When your done then you finalize the disk. The disk is not readable in other players till you finalize it of course. Mine came out fine, when watching as one long movie no pauses or other problems and you could jump to the chapters you wanted using the remote. I missed my fancy menu's and I control file sizes and quality better on the PC so I came back to captureing with an ATI AIW card real fast!!!

Don't know why you don't want the computer to do the burning, but I would suggest getting a DVD burner for less than $100 now! What I would do then is a straight record to DVD -R disks from the VHS tapes. Just use the recorder as a capture device. Since you are capturing in real time, 2hrs to playback/record a 2 hr tape you should be able to use cheap high quality 2X DVD-r disks just fine. Then pop that DVD-R into the PC, make your menu's and set chapters with Tmpgenc DVD Author, use the programs built in burning software and burn the final DVD-R.
If you do this, then you should have great disks pretty fast and not too expensive either.
Since you would be using the settop recorder for capturing and authoring to the first DVD, the PC really only needs to copy the disk and add new .IFO .BUP files for the menus's/chapter points. The PC would not actually be capturing the video or other hard work, just transfering the files with a little extra added really.

You may not want to do it that way, or maybe your PC isn't poweraful enough or what ever, or maybe you just hadn't thought of it so I tossed it in as a sugestion.

Also if you did the copy/menus with the PC as I mentioned you could be capturing another tape at the same time with the setop recorder. If your using the settop for capturing you don't have to worry about the bit settings, resolutions, formats, etc.. like we do for PC capturing so you took out the hardstuff and adding menus on the PC is a piece of cake depending how fancy you want to get.

As for extra cost, Nec 8X dual format burner was about $75-$80 last I looked at newegg.com and I think Tmpgenc DVD author is about $60 or $75 if you register it after the free trial expires. Works great free as a trial program for either 14 or 30 days, forgot which.

Happy burning

[gshelley61]

I agree with the idea of getting a DVD burner for the computer, even though bw is against it. It just makes the most sense and is an inexpensive solution (compared to getting a recorder with HD).

BTW, I'm looking at my E50 owner's manual and can't find where you can divide programs, etc. with DVD-R prior to finalizing. You can erase a program and/or add a title before finalizing, but that's all (I think).

DVD-RAM has all the other editing features.

[overloaded_ide]

It's in there unless I was mistaken and had an E40 or E60, these model numbers sometimes I are so close on things. I had an E50 pretty sure, one from wal-mart at the time, it did not have a hard drive.

When I made a disk for a friend of some of her kids stuff like birthday, christmas etc.. I did it that way. Recorded the movie as it played and forgot about it, then went in and set chapters and titles before finanlizing the disk.

As I recall it was in the manual in some strange place, not actually a section how to make chapters and titles but something like setting record times or FR mode type section. I had a hard time finding it myself and actually ran acrossed it while looking to see how to do something else instead. I'd try to find it myself, but like I said I took mine back for a refund so of course I don't have the manual anymore either. At that time it was $500 at wal-mart and I was not $500 happy with a settop type like that. I might try another one now that we can get cheaper ones around $250-$300.
If I got another one though, I would do as I suggested, use it for capturing to DVD -R and then edit and burn from the PC. It would let me do one VHS to recorder while I was doing one on the PC with the ATI AIW.
Or I could capture to disk as I watched the movie, then edit and burn later.