Looking to buy new dvd recorder, any suggestions?

[jjeff]

Greyed out.
Yes both commercial discs played just fine on the 3575, they just would not give me the option to copy to HDD. My Sony player is also nothing special, ie no hacks to remove CP, if that can even be done. So that said, it is my opinion that somehow the 3575 KNOWS the discs are commercially pressed(maby burned pits in it's media layer, vs changing the color, or how ever home DVDR's record) and that is inhibiting the copy, not any added copy protection, eg Macrovision.
And I think the reason the 3575 CAN record the same 2 discs, comming from another DVD player, is because the other dvd player, does no pass on the information that the disc is commercially pressed, but WOULD pass on that it is copy protected, eg Macrovision. Again just a guess on my part.

[wabjxo]

Greyed out so it's prob. Finalized.

One more possibility: can you tell if the disc is a dual-layer DVD-R DL? The 3575 can only play DVD+R DL.

[rcrach]

Greyed out.
Yes both commercial discs played just fine on the 3575, they just would not give me the option to copy to HDD. My Sony player is also nothing special, ie no hacks to remove CP, if that can even be done. So that said, it is my opinion that somehow the 3575 KNOWS the discs are commercially pressed(maby burned pits in it's media layer, vs changing the color, or how ever home DVDR's record) and that is inhibiting the copy, not any added copy protection, eg Macrovision.
And I think the reason the 3575 CAN record the same 2 discs, comming from another DVD player, is because the other dvd player, does no pass on the information that the disc is commercially pressed, but WOULD pass on that it is copy protected, eg Macrovision. Again just a guess on my part.

It's a good guess. DVD's are encrypted with a protocol called CSS. The player decrypts them to view. A second level of copy protection from Macrovoision is inserted in the VBI of the analog signal. If your disk encouraged copying, it was probably meant to be copied from the analog output. ie they left out the Macrovision, this is easy. The DVR only looks for CSS when determining when to allow copying to the internal hard drive. I'd be willing to bet if you rented a movie you'd have no luck either way.

[jjeff]

They both have a silver finish to the recording side, not a gold color. I've been told the gold color indicates DL. And since they are commercial, and therefor have a photo on the other side, they don't say what type of disc they are.
Even though I personally never use DL discs, I didnt realize that the 3575 could not even playback DVD-R DL, I knew it could not record to any DL, but thought maby it could playback both(looked on the manual, and you are indeed correct, no -dl playback). Another reason, other than price, to stay away from DL discs. Note I personally have never seen -R DL discs for sale in BM stores, seen a few +R DL discs though, and I'm sure a person could get them on the internet. Just never really cared to use them myself.

[wabjxo]

Yea, very few people seem to use -R DL and maybe that's why +R DL are so readily available.

[oldfart13]

Why did people record in LP/SLP back in '81 or '82? Probably because we were still paying upwards of $30 for a good tape. Even when I was working a good job at that time it caused a lot of "ouches" from my pocketbook. I'm glad I recorded a lot of stuff in Beta from that period of time as it still plays back fine after so many years while many of the VHS have flaked. The one-of-a-kind material was done on Beta up until the mid 90s and I'm glad for doing so. VHS was always so inferior, especially on Hi-Fi recordings....

[lordsmurf]

Copying discs is not really why DVD recorders are here. These are VCR replacements, not computer replacements. I've always found this "feature" to be a silly endeavor.

[jjeff]

The DVR only looks for CSS when determining when to allow copying to the internal hard drive. I'd be willing to bet if you rented a movie you'd have no luck either way.

RCRACH, You are correct. A regular commercial DVD cannot be copied either way. Only the 2 I mentioned.

[heman31]

Whoa guys thanks for all the help. I am looking to get a phillips 3505 from my local walmart. Nothing against the Funai SV2000 I have but it does good for digital tv to dvd recording but this is for my vhs to dvd stuff that it makes a difference to me. I am picky about my video quality and such. I used to like the panasonics until I came here and learned from LS and others about all the wonders about putting vhs onto dvd with great results. I have used my Pioneer many times and have done hundreds of burns and eventually it will take a crap on me and I will have to replace it. I only use my panasonic for time base correction with flagging problems that my avt 8710 wont fix. Well cheers guys I will have to get one soon and try it out. Happy Holidays.