Prosumer Decks

[rixware]

I'm looking to upgrade a stack of DVD recorders (Lite-On LVW-5005) with more reliable prosumer decks. (I've had the Lite-Ons for two years, and they've been pretty disappointing overall.)

These decks are connected to Betamax VCRs and do analog-to-DVD transfers all day long every day. Periodically I have to combine multiple tapes onto one disc, or split long tapes over multiple discs. But I do not do any TV recording or watching of commercial DVDs or use any of the typical consumer features on these decks.

I'm having a little trouble finding qualified recorders and then getting opinions on the options which really matter to me:

1. Functions available on the front panel (versus the remote, which doesn't work well on a stack)
2. Selecting defaults like auto-play, auto-repeat, auto-chapter, etc.
3. Compatibility of finalized discs across all brands of players
4. Customization availability (menu background, thumbnails, etc.)
5. Advantages/drawbacks of auto-finalize schemes

(Picture quality also matters, but I only use the two-hour mode, so this generally isn't an issue.)

I've stumbled onto the JVC pro series, which has potential, but -- besides being a bit spendy -- seems to contain only combos:

SR-DVM600US (with MiniDV deck, 40GB HD)
SR-DVM700US (with MiniDV deck, 250GB HD)
SR-MV55US (with SVHS deck)

(There are other variants out there, but these are the models still listed on the JVC pro web site.)

The DVD portion of these units looks promising, and I like having the hard drive available, but certainly don't need the combo features (which appear to be adding significantly to the price).

I've seen the DR-M100S mentioned very favorably in the forums, but it seems like an older model now (replaced with...?). I don't think it has a hard drive, and I'm a little bit leery of getting too bogged down in consumer-oriented decks (which has been part of the problem with the Lite-Ons).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rick
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[Frobozz]

My opinion is you should consider the hardware MPEG encoders that connect to PCs rather than pursue other standalone DVD recorders. I'm referring to products made by Miglia, Plextor or ElGato.

For a standalone recorder take a look at the Toshiba RD-XS55. It has ethernet networking connection to your PC plus I'm told it lets you connect a keyboard for entering titling info.

At the high end there is the Pioneer PVR-LS1 for $5,000.

[Neuron]

JVC BD-X200
I believe this is exactly what you looking for.

http://www.jvc-victor.co.jp/english/pro/prodv/bd_x200/index.html

[rixware]

Frobozz,

I have several such setups (multiple PCs, each with Hauppauge cards) for custom jobs. These stand-alone decks are for the real simple straight transfers. Part of goal here is to increase my capacity...

Rick
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[Marvingj]

This is the best of the best........

[Marvingj]

Oh yea its a toshiba of course.....

[Frobozz]

rixware,

My old Pioneer DVR-510H seems to be much like what you're seeking. It has a jog-shuttle wheel on the front panel to control many functions without the remote. Also, the Pioneer recorders can be set to three different remote frequencies so multiple units can be stacked. Pioneer removed the jog-shuttle dial on the 520.

You probably already know about the Pioneer recorder's strengths and limitations. You have only 9 menu backgrounds to choose from. Although you can choose the thumbnail the discs are always recorded in auto-play mode. Any playback tweaking of the IFO would have to be done on a PC.

I mention the 510 even though it is old because it is extremely sturdy. You may need to replace a HDD or DVD drive (not easy to do as you can see in another long thread here) but you'd have a recorder that was built before the huge cost-cutting that happened over the past couple years.

I'll never let mine go.

[rixware]

Thanks for the suggestions. So far I've got two entry-level models:

- Toshiba RD-XS55
- Pioneer DVR-510H

and these pro decks:

- JVC BD-X200
- Pioneer PVR-LS1

(Plus one model with great thighs but no number...)

This is a pretty good place to start. The two pro decks are a little out of my price range (hoping to keep this under $1000 per deck), and the first two -- though each looks great -- turn out to be a little difficult to come by.

I'm starting to realize that my new stack is probably going to be made up of more than one model. Maybe one will have a hard drive for projects requiring combining/splitting, and the rest will be just straight-to-disk models.

So what other ideas are out there if I dropped the requirement for a hard drive?

(Also, I'd still love to hear from anyone with experience with those JVC Pro models I listed above.)

Thanks again!

Rick
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[rixware]

One quick addendum...

Here's something like the form I'm imagining, though I can't verify that anything like this even exists:

Teac DV-R05

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[rixware]

I think I've found my answer, and wanted to post it here for anyone who may have been following the discussion or may have similar needs in the future.

Sony VRD-MC3

This is a strange little piece of equipment, but it just happens to do exactly what I was looking for, and nothing else. Though it's a consumer deck, the picture quality is exceptional, and the simplicity of operation is stunning. And at $210 online ($200 on sale at Sears!), it's really quite a bargain -- though I'm not sure what market it ultimately serves (other than mine).

In fact, calling it a "deck" might not be quite correct. It's listed on this site under "DVD Writers" rather than "DVD Recorders," but it's really a cross between the two. It looks like an over-sized external DVD drive, and can be used in that fashion, but it really shines when it's nowhere near a computer.

Basically, you hook up a video source, stick in a blank disc, press record and walk away.

For video sources, it accepts analog video by RCA jack or S-video, and digital by Firewire or USB. It also has slots for all the common memory cards, and can turn the photos on those cards into standard video DVDs. (It claims to work best with Sony camcorders, and can control them to allow for some fancy types of incremental transfers. I don't use it that way.)

As for discs, it writes to DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW and claims to also accept double-layer discs and DVD-RAM, though I haven't tried anything but DVD-R. The list of approved media is rather small, and I've come across plenty of horror stories from people who did not use approved media. My preferred media, Ritek DVD-R 8x hub printable, is not on the approved list. But I tried them anyway since that's all I had and I've not had a single coaster (that was not my fault) in about 100 transfers.

Pressing record (big round button, can't miss it) initiates a transfer from whatever video source the unit detects. If there is no video signal, the transfer does not start until you press play on your source. If there is a break in the source signal, the deck goes into pause for up to two minutes while waiting for the signal to resume. As a result, you will never transfer large sections of snow.

As long as the recording is only paused (and not stopped) the video will all go into one title. If you press stop, or the deck times out and stops itself, the next recording will go into a new title. The automatic menu will have one button for each title set.

There are plenty of configurable options including the interval of automatic chapter points (5 minutes is the default), the background graphic on the main menu (four choices), and recording quality. I only use the two-hour mode, and the quality is exceptional. In the three-hour mode, which I tried on one project, there were some noticeable artifacts. (Advertisements say that you can get up to 12 hours on one disc, but this is with a double-layer disc recorded at the six-hour setting.)

The menu system is very simple, and the controls on the front are sparse and highly intuitive.

One missing option, which was present in earlier models of this line, was the ability to select whether the disc you create is auto-play or menu-driven. The menu is fine, but with usually only one button, I'd rather create auto-play discs if I had a choice.

A pleasant surprise was the color LCD which shows the video as it's being recorded. This saves me having to buy and cable monitors for each unit. Having said that, I do wish it were possible to turn off the data display while recording is in progress. It covers the top and bottom of the picture, which is where tracking problems on the source sometimes can't be detected until you play back the finished disc. Most of the coasters I made were because I didn't realize the tracking had gotten bad. I also wish the monitor were on a hinge so I could tip it up to be more easily seen. Better yet, a rack-mountable version of the MC3 would be an amazing thing.

The unit prompts you to finalize a disc when you press eject. They make you confirm your choice twice before it gets done, but you will never forget to do it.

There are, as always, some annoyances -- though they are relatively minor. The DRM circuits are obnoxious, and periodically mistake static or video noise for copy-protection signals. When this happens, the only option is to stop the disc, start the tape again, and hope for the best.

The power and eject buttons are located on the front two corners of the drive. Unfortunately, this is where you will naturally rest your fingers as you wait for a transfer to end, and you can accidentally interrupt a transfer by doing so.

Finally, the drive insists on operating in either Stand-Alone or Connected mode. So you can't have it hooked to your computer AND do stand-alone transfers. It's one or the other. If I could do both simultaneously, I'd be able to create my sleeves without ever ejecting the disc. As it is, I must finalize the disc on the MC3 then move it to a computer drive to acquire the thumbnail images for the sleeve.

This unit is aimed squarely at the consumer with a stack of video tapes to transfer, but I think this may not be a very lucrative market. The MC3 can't play DVDs to your TV (there are no outputs of any kind), and it doesn't have a tuner or timer or remote control or any of the things people want in DVR-style DVD recorders. It's all about transfers, and far too expensive to consider as just an external DVD writer.

Thanks for all the help above, but I think I've found a winner.

Rick
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