Which media for Panansonic DMR ES-15S

[vredstein]

First off, I don't have a DVD burner on a computer. The Panasonic is the only player/recorder I own. It's the first DVD recorder, or player for that matter, I've ever owned. I got it a couple days ago and am still learning it's functions. It came with a free RAM disc. I believe RAM is encouraged by Panasonic, but no playable on many other units.
I plan on recording several bike races on DirectTV's OLN broadcast. I may not be present to edit out commercials. I also plan on transferring many VHS tapes onto disc, many of these tapes also have TV commercials and unwanted content I want to edit out. I certainly wouldn't want to have to view the entire tape as it plays, continually pressing pause, FFing through commercials, etc.
It appears I could use RAM discs for recording and edit out the commercials by creating chapters, and deleting the commercial chapters. I believe RAM discs will allow me to use the now blank commercial space as added onto free available space at the end of the disc.
I could also record the entire show/video, then use a second ES-15, (fairly cheap at $150), for editing purposes, which would allow me to use any media I choose.
Do I have my facts straight? Are these two viable options? Would another form of DVD media, one that is playable on a wider basis, give me the same options?
Do to circumstances beyond my control, using a computer burner and computer editing software is not an option.

[FulciLives]

The best is to use DVD-RW and use VIDEO mode instead of VR mode.

I know DVD-RAM only uses VR mode. I think DVD+RW may also only use VR mode but if you can use VIDEO mode with DVD+RW then that would be fine as well.

So again use either DVD-RW or DVD+RW but use VIDEO mode which should be possible with DVD-RW and may or may not be possible for DVD+RW.

After recording ... you take the DVD disc (be it DVD-RW or DVD+RW) and RIP it to your computer using DVD Decrypter in FILE MODE (SELECT ALL FILES) which is the default I believe. Very simple to do.

After that you do the editing on the computer. There are several ways of doing this. You can use a dedicated MPEG editor such as MPEG-VCR or VideoReDo Plus. Those are the two best. They will allow for frame accurate editing.

Another option is to use TMPGEnc DVD Author ... this is primarily a DVD authoring program ... you need one of these ... but this one is popular because it allows you to edit. Now in the past it did NOT have frame accurate editing. The newest version though does support frame accurate editing. So that is a big plus. The reason it is popular (editing ability aside) is that it is very simple and easy to use and is very well made meaning it will not crash on you and in the end you can create a DVD that has good compatability (assuming you have a good DVD burner on the computer and you use quality media).

So the most common work flow is ...

1.) RIP to the computer
2.) Edit
3.) Author (where you set up the menu and chapter points etc.)
4.) Burn

In the end you burn to a DVD-R or DVD+R recordable.

You then take the original DVD-RW or DVD+RW and re-use it for the next recording. It helps to have more than one of course but if you keep up with the process you will not need all that many. I made do with 5 DVD-RW discs for a long while ... now I have 10 DVD-RW discs.

Anyways that is the most common approach people use because it works the best and is easier than it may sound. Another benefit to this method is that NO re-encoding of the video file takes place while editing. Actually it is often unavoidable to have some re-encoding around the "edit points" but that aint' no big deal. The important thing is the entire file is not re-encoded for original quality video and audio.

If you use two Panasonic machines and go back and forth then you will be re-encoding the file when you play it back on Unit A to record unto Unit B and that is a big NO NO!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
All you really need is DVD Decrypter (freeware meaning it costs nothing) and the newest version of TMPGEnc DVD Author (which is roughly $100 US Dollars I thnk). Those two programs alone will let you do all you want to do.

[Captain Satellite]

I could also record the entire show/video, then use a second ES-15, (fairly cheap at $150), for editing purposes, which would allow me to use any media I choose.
Do I have my facts straight? Are these two viable options? Would another form of DVD media, one that is playable on a wider basis, give me the same options?
Do to circumstances beyond my control, using a computer burner and computer editing software is not an option.

John's answer is excellent but I don't know if he caught that computer editing is not an option. If computer editing is not an option, I would take that 150.00 that you're willing to spend on a second deck and get a Panasonic (or other manufacturer) with a hard drive built in. You would transfer or record your content onto the hard drive of the DVD recorder, edit it on the hard drive, then burn a disc from the edited content. I am a huge proponent of DVD-RAM (it works for me) but with one deck that doesn't have a hard drive, you have no way of getting your recorded content off of the RAM disc. Taking everything into consideration after reading your post, this really would be the best way for you to go if computer editing is not an option.

[vredstein]

I could also record the entire show/video, then use a second ES-15, (fairly cheap at $150), for editing purposes, which would allow me to use any media I choose.
Do I have my facts straight? Are these two viable options? Would another form of DVD media, one that is playable on a wider basis, give me the same options?
Do to circumstances beyond my control, using a computer burner and computer editing software is not an option.

John's answer is excellent but I don't know if he caught that computer editing is not an option. If computer editing is not an option, I would take that 150.00 that you're willing to spend on a second deck and get a Panasonic (or other manufacturer) with a hard drive built in. You would transfer or record your content onto the hard drive of the DVD recorder, edit it on the hard drive, then burn a disc from the edited content. I am a huge proponent of DVD-RAM (it works for me) but with one deck that doesn't have a hard drive, you have no way of getting your recorded content off of the RAM disc. Taking everything into consideration after reading your post, this really would be the best way for you to go if computer editing is not an option.

Although I spend a lot of time researching the topic before I bought a recording machine, I was still kind of assuming it would have a hard drive at least big enough to hold a DVD's worth of data, and I was VERY disappointed that it didn't. I'll have to research machines that do, and see just what the price difference is. It seems like a very useful thing to have, and decks that lack it would be very limiting in their stand-alone usefulness.

[handyguy]

" I was still kind of assuming it would have a hard drive at least big enough to hold a DVD's worth of data"

Sure it does, DVD-RAM is a type of HD. Works just like one.

[FulciLives]

If you want a stand alone or set top DVD recorder with a built-in HDD then I would consider the TOSHIBA RD-XS34 which is a very highly rated model that includes a built-in 160GB HDD. This model is available now and if you shop on-line you should be able to purchase it for around $330 US Dollars.

PIONEER also makes highly rated models that have a bult-in HDD but the current models are all gone because PIONEER stopped making them to make room for the next newer crop of models. The new model is the PIONEER DVR-640H-s and is due out in June 2006. It will have a 160GB HDD with a price tag that will probably be about the same as the TOSHIBA I mentioned above.

As I said the TOSHIBA RD-XS34 has gotten great reveiws. I have the PIONEER DVR-531H-s (with a built-in 80GB HDD) and I love it. As I said it is gone now but if the new PIONEER DVR-640H-s is basically the same then it would get my THUMBS UP!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Use a website like PRICEGRABBER.COM to fine the lowest on-line price.

[vredstein]

If you want a stand alone or set top DVD recorder with a built-in HDD then I would consider the TOSHIBA RD-XS34 which is a very highly rated model that includes a built-in 160GB HDD. This model is available now and if you shop on-line you should be able to purchase it for around $330 US Dollars.

PIONEER also makes highly rated models that have a bult-in HDD but the current models are all gone because PIONEER stopped making them to make room for the next newer crop of models. The new model is the PIONEER DVR-640H-s and is due out in June 2006. It will have a 160GB HDD with a price tag that will probably be about the same as the TOSHIBA I mentioned above.

As I said the TOSHIBA RD-XS34 has gotten great reveiws. I have the PIONEER DVR-531H-s (with a built-in 80GB HDD) and I love it. As I said it is gone now but if the new PIONEER DVR-640H-s is basically the same then it would get my THUMBS UP!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Use a website like PRICEGRABBER.COM to fine the lowest on-line price.

Thanks for the information. Could you possibly recommend a few of the older Pioneer models? I'm a pretty dedicated Ebayer, and frankly, another $300 is a bit steep for me.

[FulciLives]

Thanks for the information. Could you possibly recommend a few of the older Pioneer models? I'm a pretty dedicated Ebayer, and frankly, another $300 is a bit steep for me.

I have the Pioneer DVR-531H-s which has the 80GB HDD. This model was sold only through WALMART but I did use to see a lot of them on eBay. There is also the Pioneer DVR-533H-s which is exactly the same as the 531 except the 531 has no DV input whereas the 533 does have a DV input. The other model was the DVR-633H-s which had a 160GB HDD but sold much higher than the 531/533 models.

So if you are bargin hunting on the web then your best bet is to look for the 531 or 533 models.

BEWARE of eBay though ... I looked a couple weeks ago for a 531 (this was for a friend) and found 2 different sellers saying it was in the original box but in the fine print of both auctions it was said the units were refurbished and therefore not brand new!

The new DVR-640H-s will have a 160GB HDD but will sell for the price of the 531/533 (when they were new) so you might just want to wait ... unless you can find the 531/533 for cheap on-line.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman