DVD Recorder - No Hard Drive

[CFster]

I notice a lot of people here are of the opinion that a more expensive DVD recorder with a HD is the way to go because you can edit the programming before burning it to disc.

How about getting the inexpensive Philips DVDR75 (which has no HD), burn my programming to DVD+RW (from my DirecTivo), then take it to my PC and edit the VOB files (to remove the commercials) using a program like TMPGEnc DVD Author then burn it to a final DVD+R.

I could just reuse the +RW disc over and over in the DVDR75.

Anybody try this? I know it's more work, but it's a hell of a lot less expensive. Any issues with picture quality?

[donpedro]

My reason for going with HDD is that I can replace VCR. It will act like VCR with looooonnnnggggg tape and quick search/find program. Only if I want to keep something I would burn to DVD.

[piano632]

I am in the process now of doing something similar with -RW discs. The problem with TMPGEnc DVD Author is that it does not edit on exact frames (only on I-frames which I think occur twice every second) and the result is you end up with either the first or last few frames of ads still in the final product. I'm now considering using Womble MPEG2VCR instead which is claimed to be the best MPEG editor out there and will cut on exact frames, just that it's more expensive and you'd have to use another app to author with. TMPGEnc DVD Author and Womble MPEG2VCR are the only 2 apps that I know of that allow AC-3 audio (which standalones use). As far as image quality, there shouldn't be any loss from the original unless you re-encode it.

[handyguy]

Panasonics use dvdram which is a HD actually, a small one, you can edit right on it or put it in your computer, if your computer dont read that media, you can record to dvd-r instead.

[Destroyer]

I think you can remove chapters on +RW and hide them on +R at the Philips recorder, but I'm not really sure.

The reason why I paid for the more expensive recorder with hdd is that I wanted to get rid of the problem that has been there since the VCR... where's the blank cassette or DVD+/-RW when you need it.

[donpedro]

...where's the blank cassette or DVD+/-RW when you need it.

You can aleays run out of space on HDD

[verchad]

DISCLAIMER - I use the term dvd-r because I have units that use dvd-r/rw/ and ram. I'm not promoting one format over the other, please don't attack me for my choice. Substitute +r/+rw wherever appropriate in this response.

I have DirecTivo and a panasonic dmr-hs2 ( Dvd-r with hard drive built in ). If you record things off of the tivo, you would go through these recording steps - satellite signal to tivo, tivo to panasonic hard drive, edit on hard drive, record to dvd-r. About the same as if you didn't have the hard drive and recorded to media and then transferred to pc and worked on it there. It gives you the flexibilty to record to hard drive if you want to. Sometimes, I record things from Directivo to the panasonic just to clear the now playing list.

Where it saves imho is for converting vhs to dvd-r. Just pop in vhs play it and record to hard drive to edit out ads at beginning or end, then record to dvd-r. Or just record straight to dvd-r. The panasonic has a built in time base corrector that makes your video as good or slightly better than the source was.

If you want to be able to customize the dvd, menus, etc then you will have to go through the pc as the standalone recorders are limited as to what you can create for these. Just make sure you get a stanndalone/desktop recorder that uses the same format ( -r or +r ) as your computer drive.

I notice a lot of people here are of the opinion that a more expensive DVD recorder with a HD is the way to go because you can edit the programming before burning it to disc.

How about getting the inexpensive Philips DVDR75 (which has no HD), burn my programming to DVD+RW (from my DirecTivo), then take it to my PC and edit the VOB files (to remove the commercials) using a program like TMPGEnc DVD Author then burn it to a final DVD+R.

I could just reuse the +RW disc over and over in the DVDR75.

Anybody try this? I know it's more work, but it's a hell of a lot less expensive. Any issues with picture quality?

[netuer]

Anybody try this? I know it's more work, but it's a hell of a lot less expensive. Any issues with picture quality?

I have a Sony RDR-GX7. I use 3 DVD+RW to record and use PC to edit and burn DVD+R. I need a DVD recorder to convert VHS to DVD. I don't need it to record TV shows.

The Sony doesn't have a HD. But its analog picture quality is very good. I had both Sony and Panasonic E50 so that I could compare the quality using the same VHS tapes and VCR. The picture from Sony is smoother, and less compression artifact. And it has some adjustment controls (NR, contrast, brightness, hue, and colors) for input and output. I returned the E50 last weekend. Both recorders are good. Sony is about $100 more expensive. But I already have a DVD+RW and don't have a DVD-ROM that can read DVD-RAM (about $50). So the real price difference for me is less than $50.

[thoots]

I had both Sony and Panasonic E50 so that I could compare the quality using the same VHS tapes and VCR. The picture from Sony is smoother, and less compression artifact.

netuer,

Could you be a bit more specific with your claim? I've seen some claims about "this is better than that," but nobody ever seems to say specifically anything like "at what quality." i.e., are you talking about recordings done at the best, one-hour mode, or the second-best, 2-hour mode, or one of the lesser modes?

thoots

[donpedro]

I had both Sony and Panasonic E50 so that I could compare the quality using the same VHS tapes and VCR. The picture from Sony is smoother, and less compression artifact.

netuer,

Could you be a bit more specific with your claim? I've seen some claims about "this is better than that," but nobody ever seems to say specifically anything like "at what quality." i.e., are you talking about recordings done at the best, one-hour mode, or the second-best, 2-hour mode, or one of the lesser modes?

thoots

If you check his posts you will find the answer....
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=192386

[thoots]

If you check his posts you will find the answer....
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=192386

donpedro,

Ahh, I didn't realize it was the same writer.

Still, that's a comparison at "SP" quality. I'd like folks to always mention the "quality setting" when mentioning "this is better than that." Personally, I could care less about anything less than the very best "XP" quality, or whatever any given machine might call it -- that should be the "true" test of image quality, as far as I'm concerned. Not that other folks might be more interested in one of the "lesser" quality settings, but it just seems to me if you're gonna make an overall statement that x is better than y, without any other qualifier, that out to be in regards to the very best quality the thing can do... :P

thoots

[kabanero]

thoots,

I can testify.

I had Philips DVDR75 ($450, no HDD, FireWire) for a week in August (returned back to Sears).
Now I have LiteOn LVW-5001 ($250, no HDD, FireWire). Gonna keep it.

For me:
1. NO FireWire - no deal. 99% of the time I convert D8 (DV AVI) to DVD
2. Don't care about HDD in stand alone, cause I have 4 hard drives in my PC total of 400 GigaBytes.

1. LiteOn using LSI Logic DiMeNsion 8600 chipset. LiteOn gave me the best PQ in HQ (1 hour mode) when recording via FireWire from D8 tapes, that I could not get with software MPEG2 encoders like CCE, TMPGEnc, MC, Ligos (cause DV is very hard to encode).
2. LiteOn beats Philips 75. Philips PQ in M1 (HQ - 1 hour mode) was worse than LiteOn SP (2 hour mode).
Now I capture my D8 tapes with LiteOn in HQ mode, rip to HDD, then author DVD with full control over menus, chapters, Jacket Picture, etc.

[donpedro]

thoots, quality is always subjective. You can never say that X is better than Y, becouse person A will think oposite. '-)

[thoots]

thoots, quality is always subjective. You can never say that X is better than Y, becouse person A will think oposite. '-)

donpedro,

Hehe, I hear you on that! That's why I used the "goofy smiley" -> :P

thoots