Got a DVD recorder with HD, but now a new problem!

[kevs]

I got a Sony recorder with HD that works great, easy, but now a new hitch -- always a new hitch.

I thought this would finally solve the problem of getting crappy quality going from DVD player to DVD recorder, by getting material on the HD and then going to DVD recorder. But here is the hitch. Tell me if I'm wrong -- maybe there is an option I did not see in the manual.

You select your title from the HD and select Dub to DVD recorder, but DON'T SEE what's going on while it's dubbing. Is this correct?

Unlike "dubbing" from VCR to VCR where you actually can watch the footage and enjoy the footage and see precisely, where you are, and stop, and come back later and resume where you left off--

with HD to DVD recorder, it's just hit a switch and leave the room, no seeing what scenes are playing, and certainly, no stopping and then resuming from your last scene. Or maybe I missed something. thanks!!

[Frobozz]

I don't have the Sony recorder but there usually are two ways to copy from the HDD to the DVD. One is a high-speed copy which is transfers the identical data to the DVD. This gets you the best quality transfer and takes the least time. The other is a real-time copy where the video plays from the HDD while it is re-encoded and written to the DVD. If you stop a real-time copy, the next time you start it you'll create a new DVD title on the disc. You also can probably pause the copying without creating a new title.

You should find info about this in the manual.

What most people do is edit the video (if necessary) and do the high-speed copy to the DVD unless there is a reason they want to re-encode it at a lower bit rate setting.

[handyguy]

Recorders don't do data the way VCRs do, VCRs are doing it in real time, so you can watch it.

[kevs]

thanks handguy for confirming that. that's what I thought, going back to the unit and frustratingly seeing that it's either in DVD or DV mode. ie you can't be in HD mode and see your material while dubbing it to DVD. I would have never guessed this limitation, but nothing surprises me in with DVD technology (the first being that the quality from DVD to dvd recorder is much worse than VCR to VCR) after getting over shock of that one, every other bizarre hitch or snag in the road fazes me less and less.

So I'll be returning the unit, that was my only reason to get it: to go from DVD to HD and back to DVD while I could edit as I go.


Frobozz, did you understand my post? your replies are usually top flight, and this one seemed to fly over you head -- handy got it.

[RabidDog]

Isnt this a bit like saying I used to do it this way b4 so I'll still do it this way today. What do you gain by not doing any editing cutting on your PC? (assuming you have a PC). I would watch the footage complete from HD on sony then tfr to PC and apply fripperies on there , surely a more logical work pattern. Again, assuming you can tfr footage to Pc without loss in quality. (even 2hr HQ movies can be split in half and xfrd.

Also your 2nd throwaway point "

the first being that the quality from DVD to dvd recorder is much worse than VCR to VCR"

.. I am not aware of such issues, but stand to be corrected, maybe this is only a problem on Sony dvd recorders?

[Zen of Encoding]

I got a Sony recorder, You select your title from the HD
and select Dub to DVD recorder, but DON'T SEE what's going on while it's dubbing.

Unlike "dubbing" from VCR to VCR where you actually can watch the footage and enjoy
the footage and see precisely, where you are, and stop, and come back later and resume
where you left off-- no stopping and then resuming from your last scene.

I own a Pioneer DVR-520H, so I'm not sure how the Sonys work, but if I record
material to the HD at one of the "Top Quality" settings and then attempt to burn
a DVD containing too many titles (exceeding the 4.7 Gig data capacity of the DVD),
the recorder will re-encode the material to fit the DVD. When the system is re-encoding
it does so in "real-time" with the video being output and playing on our TV.
I've never tried stopping or pausing during the re-encoding process, so I don't know
if that will work, try it.

[Frobozz]

Frobozz, did you understand my post? your replies are usually top flight, and this one seemed to fly over you head -- handy got it.

You're right, you have me baffled about what you're trying to do. What I thought you had done is record video to the hard drive on the Sony recorder and then wanted to edit it while copying that to a DVD. What people do in that case is record the video to the hard drive, edit the video on the hard drive, and then burn the DVD.

[kevs]

thanks Zen! Can you try it? I don't have a Pioneer. I would love to know a DVD with HD can copy to a DVD-R, like I do now VCR to VCR. ie at my leisure one scene here, another scene on another day -- and the HD remembers where I left off last.

Frobozz, excellent idea. Could I have done that on the Sony I just returned today? Could I play a scene I like, then play a scene I don't like, rewind to the beginning of the scene I don't like, then forward to the next scene I like, and tell the HD to delete the portion I want out?

[jamiemark]

Frobozz, excellent idea. Could I have done that on the Sony I just returned today? Could I play a scene I like, then play a scene I don't like, rewind to the beginning of the scene I don't like, then forward to the next scene I like, and tell the HD to delete the portion I want out?

In a word, yes. Say for instance you record a TV show to the HDD, you would then cut or edit out the commercials and what's left you would then dub straight to dvd. High speed dubbing is faster and the quality will be an exact duplicate of what's on the hard drive, but if you choose you can still dub to disc in real-time, if the results are good enough for your own eyes then that's really all that matters.

[kevs]

thanks Fro: How do you cut and edit pieces out? how laborious is that? think about that, you have to make markers etc. right?
(still think would be so nice if from the HD you could just watch the dang film while you are recording to DVD-R-- like I do for years with VCR)