DMR-E80H HDD to DVD-R: A summary, plus questions.

[stick]

As cool as the DMR E80H is, it is far from straightforward. I have searched through this forum, to resolve my concerns regarding HDD to DVD-R dubbing. I have written a summary of what I learned here and was hoping some of the seasoned users could confirm my findings, and answer a few questions. At the very least, this could be useful to others struggling to figure it all out. Here goes.

1) If you record a TV program to the HDD, using XP and have “DVD-R compatible Rec” ON, you can create a play list (to create chapters), dub to DVD-R at High Speed (on XP, or whatever you recorded the original with), creating titled chapter breaks, which will override the automatic 5-minute interval chapter breaks when you finalize the DVD-R. Also, this will be a lossless dub, as there will be no re-encoding, unless you change the record mode from original to dub.

2) If you recorded a TV program to the HDD with the “DVD-R compatible Rec” OFF, you cannot use High Speed dubbing, and therefore, even with a play list, chapters larger than 5 minutes will be broken at 5-minute interval chapter breaks when you finalize the DVD-R. Also, there will be a slight drop in quality due to re-encoding, because it is not a High Speed dub.

Question: If you recorded to HDD with the “DVD-R compatible Rec” OFF, could you dub to DVD-RAM, then back to HDD with the “DVD-R compatible Rec” ON? Would this allow you to do a High Speed dub to a DVD-R?

3) If you do not finalize a DVD-R disc, it WILL play on your machine, but not on other players. Also, there WILL NOT be 5-minute interval chapter breaks, unless you finalize it.

Question: How bad are these 5-minute interval chapter breaks. The manual makes them sound like all video and audio comes to a stop for 2-3 seconds, potentially, in the middle of your program. Are they really this bad, or are they similar to the invisible chapter breaks on a DVD-Video?

Question: If you create a play list, breaking a 1 hour program into 5 minute intervals, then dub to DVD-R, will you notice the breaks, are they seamless, or the same as the automatic ones?


I’ve been doing some experiments, but figured that asking might save some time and discs.

[houtx67]

I don't have the E80, but I do have the E100H, so I assume that my experiences would be the same on most of your questions:

which will override the automatic 5-minute interval chapter breaks when you finalize the DVD-R. Also, this will be a lossless dub, as there will be no re-encoding, unless you change the record mode from original to dub.

You cannot override the 5 minute chapter interval breaks. They are there, but not selectable from the menu. Only titles are selectable from the menu. Quality should be lossless as it is not a Re-encoding when dubbing in high speed mode (when selected on the priginal recording). My manual says you cannot use high speed dubbing in FR mode, but another poster said he can. I intend to experiment and see if I can get the same result. This would save time for me as most of my DVD-Rs are in FR mode. I just usually re-encode from XP after commercial edits into ~2:10-2:15 FR recordings. This degradation from XP to ~SP isn't noticeable to me from an SP original recording.

Question: If you recorded to HDD with the “DVD-R compatible Rec” OFF, could you dub to DVD-RAM, then back to HDD with the “DVD-R compatible Rec” ON? Would this allow you to do a High Speed dub to a DVD-R?

You would have to re-encode to the DVD-ram in the first place, so you aren't really gaining anything.

Question: How bad are these 5-minute interval chapter breaks. The manual makes them sound like all video and audio comes to a stop for 2-3 seconds, potentially, in the middle of your program. Are they really this bad, or are they similar to the invisible chapter breaks on a DVD-Video?

They are not noticeable and they are seamless. You only get to them by hitting the skip button on your remote. They are not there for an un-finalized DVD-R.

Question: If you create a play list, breaking a 1 hour program into 5 minute intervals, then dub to DVD-R, will you notice the breaks, are they seamless, or the same as the automatic ones?

A playlist edit will be the same as a "shorten segment" HD edit. It will create a slight pause because one segment is "ending" and another "beginning". I find them noticeable, but not if you are editing out commercials because there is a pause in the program anyway.
If you want menu selectable chapter breaks, you can create different titles by ending your recording and starting again at the new point (or "dividing segment" on the HD). Dividing will be noticeable if done in the middle of a scene and not at a normal pause (like a commercial break that gets edited out anyway).

I hope this helps.

[oldfart13]

You CAN do a high speed dub of an FR recorded program but the DVD Compatablity mode must be set to "ON." Quite nice. Takes 54 Minuites to write the disc on my E80 and 4 minutes to finalize...

[houtx67]

You CAN do a high speed dub of an FR recorded program but the DVD Compatablity mode must be set to "ON." Quite nice. Takes 54 Minuites to write the disc on my E80 and 4 minutes to finalize...

That's great news. Unfortunately, I guess I'll have to stick to the XP then re-encode method for TV shows since if I recorded a show in high speed FR mode on the HD it would assume a bitrate based on a whole 4.7 gb disc for the one show (unless they are all recorded in one session and divided later). This would prevent me from putting 2-3 episodes on a disc later w/o re-encoding anyway. However, that's good news for any single program to be high speed dubbed later.

I suppose I could estimate enough time that I'll need later for the 2-3 episodes on 1 disc in high speed mode and just stop the recording early to get an appropriate bitrate, too. I used to do something similar on my E30 when I had more than one title to place on a disc in FR mode. Something I can experiment with I guess.

[oldfart13]

Yes, I do this for shows that have no commercials. I wish someone would compile a time vs. file size list much like Pioneer has for their 310 and 510 manual settings but for the Panasonics...