DVR vs VHS picture quality question

[csanii]

I have been reading the posts and have asked one of the sales folks about the quality of the DVR machines.

QUESTION: Is the XP/SP/LP/EP modes on DVR the equivalent picture quality to that of VHS or is it just that the amount of hours of recording is the same?

I typically record TV shows at 6hrs/tape. Will a DVR using 6hr mode give roughly the same picture quality? If not then what setting would I need to use to give roughly the same picture quality?

Please note I am displaying on a 57" TV so I am looking for something that will yield roughly the same quality as what I have with a VCR today.

I am seriously looking at the Pioneer 533HS but if the reality is I have to record everything at highest quality then it would be a very expensive solution.

Lastly is there any download location that has DVD images of the various modes per DVD recorder? ie. is there a DVD image that has 30min of XP, 30 min SP, 30 min LP, and 30 min EP so that the quality of each can be compared?

[pinetop]

I don't know what a 6hr VHS tape looks like on a 57" screen, but most DVD recorders have a 4hr mode that will give you a quality picture for TV recordings.

[non-linear]

You can't really compare recording quality of DVD recorders and VHS. XP and SP modes on a DVR look way better than VHS, but the longer recording time you use, the worse the video will look. 6 hours on a single DVD will probably look worse than VHS in EP/SLP mode, that's just the nature of the technologies.

With the low cost of DVD media, there's really no reason to record more than 3 hours onto a DVD.

[trhouse]

A substantial part of how good a dvd recorded for six hours will look depends on how much data the media can hold. Standard 4.7 GB media will probably look worse but dual or double layer media may look as good or better than VHS.

[edDV]

You can't really compare recording quality of DVD recorders and VHS. XP and SP modes on a DVR look way better than VHS, but the longer recording time you use, the worse the video will look. 6 hours on a single DVD will probably look worse than VHS in EP/SLP mode, that's just the nature of the technologies.

With the low cost of DVD media, there's really no reason to record more than 3 hours onto a DVD.

I agree, the two technologies degrade differently with slower speed modes. VHS looses detail and increase noise in EP mode. DVD recorders have more edge aliasing and motion breakups in the low datarate speeds. These errors are very annoying and would be maginfiled on a 50+" screen.

[ktnwin]

Let's put it this way, if you have a DVD recorder with hard disk, then I would recommend to use the SP mode (2 hours per DVD). The quality is way better than the best VHS mode (2 hours/tape). You will never regret having SP quality on DVD. In reality, I have put about 2 hrs 40 mins on one DVD using by Pan E85H (using FR mode) and I can't see any quality degradation at all.

Using a PC, I can encode video to put nearly 4 hours on one DVD with VHS best quality (take a long time to encode that much video) . The DVD recorder box just can't do it that well, but it is fast.