PC Burner or Standalone Recorder

[mcnallyj]

Could those with knowledge tell me the pros and cons of either using a standalone recorder hooked up to my tv or a burner attached to my laptop?

What I am looking to do is transfer DV to a DVD from a camcorder, as well as transfer some of the shows I have stored on my tivo to free up some space. A pc solution will be probably cheaper and will add the capability to backup my computer and such, but the ease of use with a standalone has its advantage as well...any opinions?

[yoda313]

Hello,
If you have a firewire port get a pc burner. You can ALSO make high quality "backups" of your dvd collection . Also, pc authoring programs most likely have better options for making menus and editing the video.

If you just want quick and dirty conversion go with the settop recorder.

Kevin
P.S. PC dvd burners are SO cheap now, how can you lose??

[DVD_Ripper]

VHS to DVD -- set top recorder
DV direct to DVD - set top
TIVO to DVD - set top

Want to add any nice menus, intro movies, and all the other cool things... PC based. It allows you to create some very cool, even motion, menus for your home movies...

For set top recorders the menus / chapter creation functions are very rudimentary at best.

[DVD_Ripper]

Hello,
If you have a firewire port get a pc burner. You can ALSO make high quality "backups" of your dvd collection .

Crap Kevin... I forgot about this one

[gshelley61]

Even with the standalone DVD recorder capturing method (which is what I am doing nearly 100% nowadays), you really still need to invest in a DVD burner for your PC. For commercial DVD backup, burning final DVD-R's of your edited DVD recorder discs, etc.

[yoda313]

Hello,
DVD_Ripper-
yoda313 wrote:
Hello,
If you have a firewire port get a pc burner. You can ALSO make high quality "backups" of your dvd collection

Crap Kevin... I forgot about this one

No problem. Just another nicety about the pc burner
Kevin
[/quote]

[handyguy]

If you're great with a camera, you don't need to re edit it with your pc. Dvd recorder method is so easy, just put in a dvd, attach camera to s-video, push play & record & thats it. later you can att title with the recorder & it ads chapters automatically.

This is better suited for the dvd recorder forum though, seems to get asked alot.

[yoda313]

Hello,

handyguy-If you're great with a camera, you don't need to re edit it with your pc

That's a good point. However, a pc will let you add SPECIAL EFFECTS That could be a consideration for this videohelp member.
Kevin

[mcnallyj]

I am seeing the positives of both, but am thinking from the expertise here that while the standalone may be easier for some tasks, the burner will do that and then some, with the only cost being the extra steps required to do so. Since I do have a firewire port, I'll be good to go there in terms of capture. Now I only need to decide on which burner to get! I am leaning between the NEC 2510 and the Sony dual layer counterpart as well, not that I'll be using the dual layer anytime soon but it's nice to have it there for the future. The NEC has a great price, but I worry about some of the reviews I have read here concerning the data errors at the end of the disc on occasion as well as the drive not being able to read it's own writing every now and then, while other dvd drives can read what the NEC wrote...decisions, decisions, decisions...then there's always a plextor solution, not sure what difference the 8MB buffer makes compared to a 2MB one...

Thanks all for the assistance!

[sullen]

Bad data at the end of a disc can sometimes be attributed to bad/cheap media. Often that is where bad spots occur as the media is burned toward the outside sectors. This doesn't mean that the NEC isn't causing this problem, but the burner could be blamed for problems that are actually inherit in the media. As for which to get...I say both when you have the funds. Capturing VHS and LD to your computer is a real pain compared with a set-top DVD recorder where you just plug in and record. A set-top is also good for recording stuff off of TV, you don't need a Tivo or have to drag you computer to where you cable/dish is. Using a set-top to record gives you less control, but at the same time fewer things to adjust that might mess up your recording.

[gshelley61]

My DVD recorder has a firewire input port, too.

Principle advantages of the DVD recorder method are the large amount of time that is saved and the overall simplicity of the process.

That being said, I also have my PC totally set up for capturing, editing, filtering, frameserving, encoding, authoring and burning DVD's. I have two 120GB hard drives, two quad-format burners and a boatload of multimedia software, both payed for and free.

I've done lots of computer capturing in the past, but now mostly use the DVD recorder for that, especially if the source is in good shape. I still edit, author and burn the finished DVD with the computer, though.

[yoda313]

Hello,

sullen-Capturing VHS and LD to your computer is a real pain compared with a set-top DVD recorder

What's so hard about loading the capture program, setting the record mode, and recording?? The only extra step vs the settop recorder is authoring. But you still author a little on the settop model (ie basic menus and chapter points).

The pc isn't that hard to record to. Once the hardware is installed properly just hook up the input source and load the capture software. You just need to know where the file is saved. Start the authoring software, design your layout, and process. Most will let you burn the disc as soon as the processing is done. It just takes a little practice with the pc.

Still, the settop recorder is much more like the tried and true vcr. Your final decision should be based on your comfort level with pc software. Many have wizards that will walk you through the whole process.
Kevin

[sullen]

I was referring to the overall process. If you want a high quality capture on a PC then you have to go with a good codec like Huffy which means you need a fairly large hard drive. I know by current standards, large hard drives are plentiful, but not everyone has a big one. Then you have to actually select the program that is right for you for capturing. I have two different cards in two different machines. Because of issues with the card and Windows XP, I had a hell of a time finding the right WDM drivers that would work well. The only capture program I could find that captured full DVD res. with my card was IUVCR. It worked with my card, did full res., and didn't drop frames. Then there is the processing. Capturing at full DVD res. means interlacing which I have a bitch with. I always had the crappy interlace lines, but deinterlacing always made the video either jittery or too soft in the end. Granted, I have done several captures and gone through the process, but it is a hell of a lot more time and work compared to the set-top. Quality is of the utmost importance and I could never quite achieve the quality I wanted with the PC set-up I had. Yeah I know, crappy equipment equals crappy picture, but I am not rich and all of the time and money I spent on PC components could have easily paid for a decent set-top recorder now. Just my two cents, I am not saying it can't be easy to capture with a PC, I just never got to the point where it was easy for me.

[gshelley61]

What's so hard about loading the capture program, setting the record mode, and recording?? The only extra step vs the settop recorder is authoring. But you still author a little on the settop model (ie basic menus and chapter points).

The pc isn't that hard to record to. Once the hardware is installed properly just hook up the input source and load the capture software. You just need to know where the file is saved. Start the authoring software, design your layout, and process. Most will let you burn the disc as soon as the processing is done. It just takes a little practice with the pc.

You must be talking about capturing direct to MPEG2 with the computer, right? I agree with sullen - the biggest advantage to using the computer method is the ability to capture relatively lossless AVI (like with the HuffyUV codec), then do the editing, cropping, filtering, MPEG2 encoding, yada yada yada... but it is time consuming, has a steeper learning curve, and requires lots of hard drive space. A good multi-pass MPEG2 encode with some filtering can easily take more than 24 hours for a two hour project.

It just seems to me that a simple transfer of a good quality VHS or 8mm home videotape to DVD-R should be easier and faster than that. It is with a DVD recorder, that's all.

For projects that require advanced editing techniques, for conversion of poor quality video sources, or for maximum possible encoding quality... the computer is the only way to go, of course.