What stand alone dvd burner is used here by most of you

[2boot]

I'm new at all of this and have asked some questions and got some good info.I would like to know what stand alone dvd burners some of you all use,or one you would recommend ? thanks 2boot

[redwudz]

Samsung SH-S2038, Sony AD-7170S, Sony DW-Q120, BenQ 6140, Pioneer 212, and a few more. I like the SATA burners as the cables are a bit easier to arrange.

[budz]

SAMSUNG S203B, PIONEER 111L, 212, BENQ 1620, 1640, 1650 & 1655, & LGH62LI. Those are all in my different computers. In my experience the SATA dvd burners buffer levels during the burning process doesn't fluctuate compared to IDE dvd burners. The buffer level is steady.

[2boot]

Yes another question, what are some external burners that are used here or is it not a good idea to us external ones? thanks 2boot

[mrswla]

I've been using a Mad Dog external burner via firewire for the past 3 years. Very good drive. It is able to bitset to dvd-rom. The actual burner is made by NEC.

[lordsmurf]

This is the restoration forum. You guys that are giving a list of computer burners totally missed the boat here. Either that, or the question is in the wrong place.

Is this in reference to a DVD BURNER -aka- DVD WRITER that connects to a computer to burn data?

Or a DVD RECORDER, that basically replaced VCRs and connect to televisions?

Which is it?

[mrswla]

lordsmurf,

i think 2boot posted in the wrong forum. when he asked about internal or external, that's when i decided he was referring to computer burns and not dvd recorders.

If he is looking for a dvd recorder, then i would recommend the panasonic dmr-es25. i've been using this one for 2+ years now, without any problems.

[2boot]

Sorry about the confusion my question caused As I have said I am new at all of this.I have a large number of home movies an some store bought one's that I want to put on dvd's. I have just purchased one jvc hm-dh3000 and a misubishi hs-hd2000. What i would like to do is hook up one of these stright to a external dvd burner . There will be no pc involved if it is possible. I have also purchased a grex stabilzer, so my question with what I now have can I transfer my movies to dvd's or is there something else I might need? Again sorry for the confusion, and thanks to all 2boot

[mrswla]

the jvc says it has digital output. "Digital Set-top box ready with Digital-to-Digital connection via i.Link (IEEE 1394) terminal" http://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026758&pathId=15&page=1&archive=true

the mitsubishi also says that it has digital output. "FireWire® (IEEE 1394) Interface" http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com/j/i/18386/OtherDetails/HSHD2000U.html?cid=47

the panasonic dmr-es25 has dv input. http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/support/Video/DVD-Recorders-Players/DVD...el.DMR-ES25S.H, so you could possibly hook either the jvc or the mistubishi directly to the panasonic and record directly to dvd in digital without the need for the grex stabilizer.

[redshirt]

2boot I was wondering if pouring the video into the DVD burner direct with the jvc hm-dh3000 and a misubishi hs-hd2000 worked? Also, how's the quality of video on these 2 units.

Thx.

Tom

[orsetto]

Both The JVC and Mitsubishi DVHS machines will make excellent source decks for DVD conversion. But there's a 50/50 chance a direct firewire connection from either DVHS unit to a firewire-enabled DVD recorder such as the Panasonic DMR-ES25 will not work. These DVHS machine are slathered, overloaded and festooned with copy restrictions: I wouldn't put it past them to be able to identify a connected DVD recorder and say "nyet" to a direct digital connection. Don't worry about it: ordinary analog connections from one of these VCRs to a standalone DVD recorder will still yield amazing results.

Even if the firewire method does work, it is probably not going to be helpful to 2boot anyway. Since he said he'd rather avoid using a computer, he'll need a DVD recorder with a hard drive which would let him do basic editing before burning. The Panasonic DMR-ES25 would only let him go direct-to-DVD with little editing flexibility (yeah, I know, he could use RAM media, or move a DVD-RW to a PC, but he doesn't want to- not everyone has the time to go that route.)

There aren't many HDD-equipped recorders available new in USA stores, pretty much the only decent one is the Phillips 3575. If that isn't acceptable I suggest buying a Canadian-model Pioneer 450, 550 or 650 from an online/eBay "overstocks/returns/like new" dealer. Many have had good experiences with these units, including myself. Or pick up a used Pioneer 640. All recent Pioneers are excellent standalones. If you prefer Panasonic, again hit the Canadian online sources: there is no other way to lay hands on one. In the current climate the Panasonics with HDD are fetching ridiculously higher prices than the Pioneers- do not fall victim to this mania. A Panasonic is a nice unit but it is no better than a Pioneer. If you dig Panasonic, a $50 premium over a similar Pioneer may be worth it to you, but I think anyone who pays upwards of $700 for a Panasonic (when a near-identical Pioneer goes for less than $400) is a just little bit obsessed. If money is no object and you don't mind buying from respectable international/grey market dealers, you could also go for a recent super-deluxe "worldwide" Panasonic or Pioneer DVD recorder with HDD.

[redshirt]

Not to be too off-topic, but I'm looking for a reasonable S-VHS player to dub my VHS vids to my computer through my EyeTV200. I say I want S-VHS because I want to have a slightly cleaner signal from the VHS tapes than from my stock Panasonic VHS player that only has component out. I was hoping to buy new, but not finding much out there new anymore and I'm not secure enough in my knowledge to buy used equip.

Tom

[mrswla]

Not to be too off-topic, but I'm looking for a reasonable S-VHS player to dub my VHS vids to my computer through my EyeTV200. I say I want S-VHS because I want to have a slightly cleaner signal from the VHS tapes than from my stock Panasonic VHS player that only has component out. I was hoping to buy new, but not finding much out there new anymore and I'm not secure enough in my knowledge to buy used equip.

Tom

You mean composite not component, right? If your Panasonic VHS player has component output, that would be better than s-video output.

JVC use to make excellent s-vhs units. I've owned 3 different units, all were great. Don't do much with vhs or s-vhs anymore, so I couldn't tell you if that still holds true.

[mrswla]

Both The JVC and Mitsubishi DVHS machines will make excellent source decks for DVD conversion. But there's a 50/50 chance a direct firewire connection from either DVHS unit to a firewire-enabled DVD recorder such as the Panasonic DMR-ES25 will not work. These DVHS machine are slathered, overloaded and festooned with copy restrictions: I wouldn't put it past them to be able to identify a connected DVD recorder and say "nyet" to a direct digital connection. Don't worry about it: ordinary analog connections from one of these VCRs to a standalone DVD recorder will still yield amazing results.

I'm not sure if it works or not, I was just putting it out there. I use the s-video out of my HD-DVR to the s-video input of the Panasonic DMR-ES25 and it does provide amazing results. It even supplies widescreen AR over the s-video cable. I recorded Planet Earth when it came on Discovery HD and the dvd's I made with the DMR-ES25 look fantasic.

Even if the firewire method does work, it is probably not going to be helpful to 2boot anyway. Since he said he'd rather avoid using a computer, he'll need a DVD recorder with a hard drive which would let him do basic editing before burning. The Panasonic DMR-ES25 would only let him go direct-to-DVD with little editing flexibility (yeah, I know, he could use RAM media, or move a DVD-RW to a PC, but he doesn't want to- not everyone has the time to go that route.)

I believe the OP was just doing straight importing from the Play Deck to the DVD Recorder, so no editing would be needed. Besides, the Panny lets you do simple things like set chapter marks, and make simple menus, using regular dvd-r's. I believe I got the panny for $169. If you wanted to do more elaborate edits, you really should import to a computer that getting a DVD recorder with a HDD. $400 for a dvd recorder versus a few freeware programs, or maxium of $100 to buy an editing software suite like Pinnacle Studio or the like.[/quote]

[lordsmurf]

You want s-video coming off of a VHS tape.

[redshirt]

Not to be too off-topic, but I'm looking for a reasonable S-VHS player to dub my VHS vids to my computer through my EyeTV200. I say I want S-VHS because I want to have a slightly cleaner signal from the VHS tapes than from my stock Panasonic VHS player that only has component out. I was hoping to buy new, but not finding much out there new anymore and I'm not secure enough in my knowledge to buy used equip.

Tom

You mean composite not component, right? If your Panasonic VHS player has component output, that would be better than s-video output.

JVC use to make excellent s-vhs units. I've owned 3 different units, all were great. Don't do much with vhs or s-vhs anymore, so I couldn't tell you if that still holds true.

Oops, yes composite from my consumer Panasonic VCR. Component would be great if it had it. Are any of the JVC DVHS or Mitsubishi DVHS still out there new anywhere besides what's on eBay? Are the TBC and filter setups in the JVC DVHS and Mitsubishi DVHS very good?

Tom

[orsetto]

Oops, yes composite from my consumer Panasonic VCR. Component would be great if it had it. Are any of the JVC DVHS or Mitsubishi DVHS still out there new anywhere besides what's on eBay? Are the TBC and filter setups in the JVC DVHS and Mitsubishi DVHS very good?

Tom

The Mitsu DVHS is incredibly good, I've been very very pleased with the performance of mine. I'm not terribly fond of JVCs due to some prior mishaps with them but supposedly the last one or two JVC DVHS were as good as the Mitsu. Both brands are now completely sold out at stores and well-known retail websites, apparently because of all the chatter recently on forums . They actually stopped making DVHS recorders 2 or 3 years ago, so what was left in stores was a limited amount of leftover "new old stock." When shopping eBay or anywhere else, be aware of a couple of "gotchas" with these DVHS units:

Mitsubishi made just two models, the 1100 and the 2000. The 1100 was primarily for DVHS use and only had very basic playback of VHS/SVHS with no TBC or DNR. The model you want to look for is the 2000 which has pretty much the same TBC, DNR and filters as JVC, perhaps even improved slightly. It is stone reliable because it does not include the dodgy circuits needed to play the small selection of studio DVHS tapes. If you can live without seeing Will Smith in "I, Robot" on DVHS, the Mitsubishi 2000 is a great choice.

If looking for a JVC, note JVC made an astonishing number of models during the brief history of DVHS. This was largely because they were having some difficulty getting the studios to play along and had to incorporate buggy decryption hardware to play studio tapes. This hardware evolved over time, the earlier JVC DVHS machines are rather large and tend to run hot and have cooling fans. The very last JVC DVHS decks were normal size and ran a bit cooler. If you have a thing for JVC, make sure you pick a DVHS with a three-digit model number like "400", avoid the older JVC DVHS with five-digit model numbers like "30000".

[redshirt]

I've looked high and low for a boxed Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U and haven't found one. I just missed a boxed one on eBay for $365…go to it right after auction ended. If anyone here has the Mitsubishi still unopened, please PM me.

Tom