What is a good DVD Recorder that has Component and/or HDMI Input(s)?

[CrazyCanuck]

The old Philips HDRW 720 also has Component-In. I use a hacked ILO DVDR 04 and send the component cable output (set at 480i) to the Philips HDRW 720 Component-In to back up my dvd collection. I can only record 480i, it's the best quality 480i recordings I can get.

The Component-In feature was introduced at the time to allow 480p passthrough signals to go to TVs with only one Component-In set of jacks. Now the standard for HD signals delivery is HDMI.

[wabjxo]

One last idea for preserving 16:9 WS from STBs and game boxes:

In AVS Forums, Kelson said that some AV receivers with HDMI and Component inputs will preserve that WS signal thru their S-Video putputs.

Might be worth a try if you have an AV receiver with at least Component input?

[KingKRool2002]

One last idea for preserving 16:9 WS from STBs and game boxes:

In AVS Forums, Kelson said that some AV receivers with HDMI and Component inputs will preserve that WS signal thru their S-Video putputs.

Might be worth a try if you have an AV receiver with at least Component input?

I don't think I have an AV receiver. I just have an HDTV and a Samsung DVD Recorder.

EDIT: I just got this e-mail from the website that sells the Apple TV Converter:

"Yes, you should be able to record your plays, that seems to be a popular
application."

Could this be true? I asked him about using the converter with my DVD Recorder to record HD video games. wabjxo, does this sound like it will work? Let me know what you think of this.

Thanks.

[wabjxo]

I just got this e-mail from the website that sells the Apple TV Converter:

"Yes, you should be able to record your plays, that seems to be a popular
application."

Could this be true? I asked him about using the converter with my DVD Recorder to record HD video games. wabjxo, does this sound like it will work? Let me know what you think of this.

I'm not really knoweldgeable enough to give advice on the Apple TV Decoder, except to refer to Nextoo's direct experience with recording 16:9 WS programs from a typical STB.

Gameplay from game boxes is far from my expertise, and I still wonder if what I read about the boxes auto-downconverting if S-Video or Composite cables are used. The Decoder box "has a chance" of working since you can send Component out of the game box, but I don't know if they're smart enough to "sense" the connected device, or just the type of connection.

If it's the type of device, then you might be out of luck. If it's just the connection, *should* work OK.

Then there's the still unanswered question re: 480i, however I've copied 16:9 WS programs to another DVDR using Composite cables, all in 480i of course since both machines were DVDRs.

If it doesn't work for gameplay, at very least the Decoder might make agood "video filter" to copy movies and such, based on Nextoo's report in that thread where he tested it, so it wouldn't be a total loss????

[KingKRool2002]

I think I'll try the Polaroid DVD Recorder first and, if that doesn't work, I'll think about getting the Apple TV Decoder. It's strange that the rep. from the website would say it works with recording HD video games. Thanks.

[wabjxo]

I think I'll try the Polaroid DVD Recorder first and, if that doesn't work, I'll think about getting the Apple TV Decoder. It's strange that the rep. from the website would say it works with recording HD video games. Thanks.

He would certainly know more than I do!

[KingKRool2002]

I am going to do some more research before I decide on the Apple TV Converter. I'm probably going to wait until after I've tried the Polaroid DVD Recorder before deciding on the Apple TV Converter. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress. Thanks.

[KingKRool2002]

I contacted someone from the site that sells the Apple TV Converter/Decoder again and he told me that that product won't help me with 480p. It only works with 480i. He did, however, tell me about another product they sell on the website.

"If you want to use video sources that have up to 1080i, then consider the
scaler at http://www.svideo.com/videoscaler.html"

Do you think this would work with 480p (and higher) HD signals from my video game systems? It seems like it converts the HD signal into SD, is that correct? The PSP only uses 480p, so it probably won't make much of a difference in picture quality, but what if I want to record 1080i (or 1080p) onto my DVD Recorder with the scaler? Will the picture quality be pretty bad on the DVD Recorder (aka will it be like 480i?)? How would I set-up the connections to and from this device? The product is quite expensive (@ $400), so I want to make sure that this will work the way I want it to before I even think about buying it. (There is a 30 day satisfaction money back guarantee.) Everyone, please let me know what you think about this product. Thanks.

EDIT: The person that I contacted told me that the HD signal is scaled down to 480i. Since the signal is originally 1080i (for example), do you think the scaled-down end result will at least be a little bit better picture quality than if I just recorded the stuff in SD 480i with a Composite cable? It's starting to sound like the end result will be SD either way. If anyone has any info on this, please let me know. Thanks.