Pioneer 420H Question - Settings Option

[cie3]

Please advise the best picture quality selection on which to copy a disc from the HDD to a DVD-R disc on a new Pioneer 420H. This is a great machine by the way for someone looking to purchase a recorder w/a HDD. This is my first DVD recorder purchase.

Picture quality setting options are EP, LP, SP Fine and Optimized. I realize that the use of the settings depend on the disc capacity and the length of the program recording to the disc.

If a recording is not possible in the speed selected a red bar appears. To then make a copy, the remaining selections appear in green.

A green bar stretch from left to right to denote EP, LP, SP, Fine and or Optimited. If EP shows the shortest bar from left to right and therefore the lowest picture quality setting and Fine has the longest or widest bar, the Fine setting would obviously be better.

My question, however, is this-

If "Fine" and "Optimized" are both available options, which would produce the best result in terms of picture quality between these two options? If "Fine", "Optimized" and "High-Speed" are all possible options, which of these three would result in the best picture?
Because I have also seen Optimized with the longest green bar from right to left compared to the other possible options, I am a bit confused. In some cases, I have seen the green bar stretches further to the right using "Optimized" vs. using "Fine" or "High Speed". Please clarify.

Does "Optimized" mean that the data is simply being fit to the full capacity of a disc? Or does "Optimized" mean that the recording quality is at being produced at the highest possible quality level compared to the other possible options? Does using this setting have any effect on picture quality?

Can someone list the best to the worst..1.....2 ....3...? I realize that using the Hi-Speed choice produces a faster dub time.

I am also seeing data expressed in terms of kb sizes I think? Is a higher or lower numerical value better or worse in terms of picture quality? This really doesn't mean much to me..is there a simple explanation to this info?

Thanks for taking the time to reply...

[Epicurus8a]

I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer a few.

1.) The higher the bit rate, the better the picture.

2.)Always use the Manual settings, not the presets. (Pages 101, & 112.)

3. )For best video quality, use MN31, not MN32 (FINE). MN32 (FINE) has LCPM audio which is uncompressed, so the video bit rate actually drops a little compared to MN31. (MN31 and lower all utilize AC3 audio which is compressed audio.) I've read in several places, however, that for best compatibility with other players, you shouldn't exceed 6.0Mbps or MN23 (+/-).

NOTE: MN26 -MN32 are higher bit rates than many local broadcaters utilize. So, unless you have professional playback machines, video monitors, and exceptionally sharp eyes, it's unlikely you'll notice any difference in quality when choosing between MN31 and MN23.

In the end, "Quality is in the eye of the beholder." (Sorry for that.) So do what looks best to you.

[Frobozz]

Great questions! Just to add to the excellent advice already given, when copying from the hard drive to a DVD you cannot have better quality than the High Speed copy. This is because at high speed it is copying bit-for-bit with no re-encoding. Copying to a DVD using a higher bit rate than was used to record the program is a waste because the picture can't get better than the original recording. Copying the video using anything other than High Speed involves re-encoding the video which will reduce the quality.

Optimized is available when setting up a timer program. If there isn't enough space remaining on the disc or hard drive to fit the entire length of the recording using the bit rate you chose, optimizing will lower the recording quality to try to fit the recording to the available space. Therefore, optimized is not about optimal quality.

And do turn on the manual settings. I use the 2 hour 20 minute mode for sports programs. It's terrific.