Hackable DVD Recorders, the new Trend?

[JohnnyCNote]

A year or two ago MV hackable DVD players, like the legendary Apex, were all the rage. However, it seems that that source has dried up and it's unlikely we'll see many more, if any at all. Now it looks like a new crop of DVD recorders has appeared, such as the ILO/Lite-On, that appear to be MV hackable. I'm wondering if this will present a new source of MV hackable machines, until they finally clamp down and close the window of opportunity that may have opened for us.

Whaddya think?

[lordsmurf]

No, everybody's too busy buying the inferior-quality Panasonic recorders. Nobody wants these other superior quality units, no matter the features or quality advantages they clearly pose. Go figure.

[stiltman]

MV?

[lordsmurf]

MV?

Macrovision.

[mracer]

No, everybody's too busy buying the inferior-quality Panasonic recorders. Nobody wants these other superior quality units, no matter the features or quality advantages they clearly pose. Go figure.

The human mind is quite amazing. Right now I am thinking of the way it can justifiy its own actions by belittling the actions of others. There is no good reason for this behavior on a technical forum such as this. It should not be tolerated.

[chas0039]

No, everybody's too busy buying the inferior-quality Panasonic recorders. Nobody wants these other superior quality units, no matter the features or quality advantages they clearly pose. Go figure.

I looked long and hard at Liteon a year ago and found so many problems (stand alone recorders) that I dismissed them as not ready. When they announced that they were no longer releasing any new firmware that clinched it. Smurf, are they now up to speed and making a quality product? Which one. Thanks, I value your opinion.

[telemike]

I have had good luck with the $150 iLO and now it is MV free.

[handyguy]

You just need a source dvd player that is MV free....then it wont matter if your dvd recorder is MV free.

[EvilWizardGlick]

I have had good luck with the $150 iLO and now it is MV free.

Same here.
It fills that niche that the computer can not.

[EvilWizardGlick]

Actually, despite the RIAA/MPAA, the new trend is MPEG4 players.
Next step will be HD MPEG4 players, and under $99 USD standalone recorders.
MV doesn't matter on the MPEG4 players.

[lordsmurf]

No, everybody's too busy buying the inferior-quality Panasonic recorders. Nobody wants these other superior quality units, no matter the features or quality advantages they clearly pose. Go figure.

I looked long and hard at Liteon a year ago and found so many problems (stand alone recorders) that I dismissed them as not ready. When they announced that they were no longer releasing any new firmware that clinched it. Smurf, are they now up to speed and making a quality product? Which one. Thanks, I value your opinion.

If you can get a LiteOn (or a clone) to operate in 3-hour mode, with no MV, and be 100% jitter-free, then you've struck gold.

The problem is getting it there. Hacks, cracks, mods, etc. You're going to spend time doing it. Out of the box, it's a 2-hour unit only, not much better or worse than a Panasonic of Philips.

(The LiteOn 4-hour mode is quite nice, but you might notice macroblocks on scene changes or high action. It just depends. It's CVBR usage of the LSI's that is the problem. I consider DVD+VR CVBR requirement pretty stupid, it should use straight VBR. The Apex did, and it was fine, not a true DVD+VR because of it.)

The ILO units have not reported jitter that I have ever seen. That seems to be confined to early 5001 and 5005 LiteOn's. My 5001 does it, though I am looking to try the cchang 1176 hacks here next month. I want to be really careful when I do it.

The mono tuner may be a problem for some people, but with so many of us using cable boxes and satellite receivers and VCRs, I would imagine most tuners go unused anyway. And even then, quite a few stations (even cable ones) still broadcast in mono.

[UC2005]

No, everybody's too busy buying the inferior-quality Panasonic recorders. Nobody wants these other superior quality units, no matter the features or quality advantages they clearly pose. Go figure.

I looked long and hard at Liteon a year ago and found so many problems (stand alone recorders) that I dismissed them as not ready. When they announced that they were no longer releasing any new firmware that clinched it. Smurf, are they now up to speed and making a quality product? Which one. Thanks, I value your opinion.

If you can get a LiteOn (or a clone) to operate in 3-hour mode, with no MV, and be 100% jitter-free, then you've struck gold.

The problem is getting it there. Hacks, cracks, mods, etc. You're going to spend time doing it. Out of the box, it's a 2-hour unit only, not much better or worse than a Panasonic of Philips.

(The LiteOn 4-hour mode is quite nice, but you might notice macroblocks on scene changes or high action. It just depends. It's CVBR usage of the LSI's that is the problem. I consider DVD+VR CVBR requirement pretty stupid, it should use straight VBR. The Apex did, and it was fine, not a true DVD+VR because of it.)

The ILO units have not reported jitter that I have ever seen. That seems to be confined to early 5001 and 5005 LiteOn's. My 5001 does it, though I am looking to try the cchang 1176 hacks here next month. I want to be really careful when I do it.

The mono tuner may be a problem for some people, but with so many of us using cable boxes and satellite receivers and VCRs, I would imagine most tuners go unused anyway. And even then, quite a few stations (even cable ones) still broadcast in mono.

Very true! I bought a LiteOn 5007 yesterday and tried to transfer a 3 hour VHS using the 4 Hr. Mode and it was full of blocks and jitter. Is there anyway around this? Should I take this back and get a JVC or would the JVC do the same thing?

[lordsmurf]

My 5001 is currently only MV free, no 3-hour. The 3-hour hack was the typical culprit for jitter. It was not always why, the error seemed rather random on the 1063 and latter firmwares, but it was often the correct fix.

But for you, the 4-hour mode directly out of the box does not sound right. That never really happens.

If it jitters, just hit INPUT a couple time and cycle back to the show's input. If the signal is jitter-free when it starts, 99% of the time, it will stay that way for the duration.

Certain bad VHS tapes will also cause this (and in fact would cause varying issues on varying equipment, no way around a bad tape).

[JohnnyCNote]

You just need a source dvd player that is MV free....then it wont matter if your dvd recorder is MV free.

For what an ILO goes for, I'm looking at using it as a source machine, as well as one I can back up my VHS tapes with. I also have an Apex AD1500, but I'd like to have something else in case it dies. My main recorder is a Pioneer DVR-210, which I'm really happy with, but I can't back up my VHS tapes with it unless I get one of those "stabilizers". For what they cost, I may as well get the ILO....

[UC2005]

My 5001 is currently only MV free, no 3-hour. The 3-hour hack was the typical culprit for jitter. It was not always why, the error seemed rather random on the 1063 and latter firmwares, but it was often the correct fix.

But for you, the 4-hour mode directly out of the box does not sound right. That never really happens.

If it jitters, just hit INPUT a couple time and cycle back to the show's input. If the signal is jitter-free when it starts, 99% of the time, it will stay that way for the duration.

Certain bad VHS tapes will also cause this (and in fact would cause varying issues on varying equipment, no way around a bad tape).

The tape is good shape, and the signal appears to be strong while it's recording, but after I go back and look at what recorded there are lots of fuzzy spots in places. The 4 Hour mode I was talking about is using the EP speed mode, because it says 4 hours per DVD with that speed. Is there anything I did wrong or should I expect that from this recorder?

[lordsmurf]

Well what is it? Jitter or fuzzy?

[UC2005]

Well, fuzzy would describe it best.... Let me explain:

I was recording a 3 Hour wrestling event and during the entrances and crowd shots, or when a real sudden move happened, the quality of the video really decreased, like blurry at certain spots of the screen.

[lordsmurf]

Wrestling is not a typical situation. That's common on pretty much any recording mode. You've literally got to do a superbit recording.

All you saw was macroblocks. You'd have gotten than on 2-hour and probably even 1-hour mode.

Wrestling is by far one of the most tricky things to do, as it has lots of flashing lights, lots of small detail (crowds), and lots of fast action.

I use S-VHS when I want to record wrestling, and if I need to archive it, I'll always do an uncompressed AVI and then a 2-pass VBR encode.