Stand alone DVD recorder

[turdburglar]

I would like to buy a dvd recorder to replace my old vcr, but I am a bit confused about what type? how do I record a 4 hour game of footy onto a dvd-r? and after readin a post by rpjallen about transfering from dvd ram to dvd-r it still does not seem to be an easy solution or worth the trouble, can anyone help or recommend a recorder to look at?

Thanks

[Frobozz]

I find it easy to transfer video from DVD-R or -RW burned with my Pioneer standalone DVD recorder. As for which one to buy, there is a DVD Recorders forum here and at the avsforum site.

I recommend getting one with a hard drive. That way you can record the game for a longer time (in case it runs long) and go back to delete all the commercials and half-time duldrom before burning the DVD.

[ZippyP.]

how do I record a 4 hour game of footy onto a dvd-r?

Similar to vcr's, DVD recorders have 2, 4 and 8 hour mode. 2 is best, 4 is acceptable and 8 is crappy (IMHO). Put in the disk, select the mode, press record. It's just like a VCR.

and after readin a post by rpjallen about transfering from dvd ram to dvd-r it still does not seem to be an easy solution or worth the trouble,

Not necessary unless you want to copy it to your computer, edit the footage and re-author. Personnaly I use an RW disk, rip it to my hard drive with DVDDecrypter and edit and re-author with TDA.

JVC's are highly rated, I own a Lite-on (cheaper). Some good info here: https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=263168

[CobraPilot]

I have a LiteOn LVW1105HC with which I am very pleased, considering it does NOT have a hard drive (which WOULD open up greater flexibility and sheer recording capacity).

It cost me about US$85, and has 6 recording speeds/capacity options per disc (DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, single-layer only): 1 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr, 4 hr, 6 hr, and a variable speed "Just Fit". The top 4 speeds record to MPEG-2; the 6-hr records to MPEG-1, with noticeably poorer quality. I've only used the 6-hr speed once, to record a long sports game that I wanted to watch later and knew I would NOT want to save it. The quality was just adequate at the slowest speed.

It will also play VCD/SVCD, Audio CD, DivX/Xvid (AVI) MP4., etc., just about anything you can throw at it (except Nero Digital).

I bought it just before Christmas and so far it is performing well. It's one-year warranty helped me decide to purchase it.

[Cobra]

My friend has a Panasonic DVD recorder, and it produces top-notch recordings. It's a simple enough job to rip the disc it produces to your PC and edit it (maybe remove adverts) then re-burn it. As ZippyP says, a DVD-/+RW disc would be best as you don't waste a single-use disc on a recording that you'll just have to bin!

[redwudz]

I would definitely recommend one with a hard drive. I use that more for time shifting than I do the burner part. I have a 160Gb hard drive (Pioneer 633) , so I can put a bunch of stuff on there, then either watch it from the hard drive, or if it's worth the effort, record it to DVD.

Cutting the commercials out is a bit of a pain, but works well enough.

Some people make the hard drive removable, then just hook it into their computer for transfers, but I'm not that serious about it.

[JoachimS]

I find it absolutely essential to record to harddisk first, edit the recording and copy it to a DVD if you find it worth to do so.

Like 3 Episodes of Battlestar Galactica on one DVD.

Get a HD/DVD recorder. I am happy with my Panasonic.

DVD-R is mandatory, DVD+R in addition is nice-to-have, DVD-RAM if you want to do some editing on your Mac/PC without wasting blank media.

Cheers,

Joachim

[BobK]

DVD-R is mandatory, DVD+R in addition is nice-to-have, DVD-RAM if you want to do some editing on your Mac/PC without wasting blank media.

Or DVD-RW/+RW- both much cheaper than DVD-RAM and both more universally readable in PCs.

[handyguy]

DVD-RAM is not universally readble in a PC without a DVD-RAM drive of some type.

The reason for using DVD-RAM is that it has a write rating of 100,000 times, far more than a dvdrw.

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdrecorders