Can't copy DVD's to HDD on Sony DVD Recorder (RDR-HXD860)

[ShwMae]

I wonder if anyone can offer some advice please?

I wanted to store some of my DVD's on the HDD of my Sony DVD Recorder (RDR-HXD860), but have been unable to do so using the DVD to HDD dubbing option. The menu option to dub is simply not shown with some DVD's, which is why I'm unable to dub them (the option shows with some other DVD's I've converted from AVI/DivX to DVD).

I've tried backing up the original DVD's using DVD Shrink, but still don't get a dub option when I try the backups in the Sony recorder. I've also tried using DVD Decrypter, but still no luck.

The only things I've found that work are to convert the DVD to AVI/DivX, and then recreate a DVD from these files using Nero. However, this is a really time consuming solution, and results in large loss of quality.

The other thing that works is to use DVD Flick to create a DVD using the .vob files created after using DVD Shrink (hope that makes sense !!). However, when using the DVD Flick option, I'm seeing a lot of quality problems on the finished DVD - the best I can describe it is a pixelated disturbance, particularly when objects in the picture are moving quickly.

Any advice would be gratefully received please.

[Krispy Kritter]

It is likely a copy protection issue. The Sony will not copy protected material. You could copy the disc using your PC, and then use the new DVD. But that seems like a lot of work just to get a copy onto your recorder, especially with the limited space available on the recorder.

[orsetto]

It is a common misconception that the huge hard drive capacity of some recorders means they can be used as a "quick and dirty" home theater PC, by copying a bunch of DVDs onto their HDDs to create a "video jukebox". As you've discovered, the answer to that theory is a resounding "no", especially not on anything made by Sony, which is obsessed to the point of madness with copyright issues.

The hard drive is used to store and edit recordings you make directly with the unit, no other functionality is implied or promised. Most recorders will let you use an invisible partition on the HDD to make a temporary "backup image" of any DVD you created with the unit, but you can't access that image for anything but duplication purposes. A handful of machines will let you real-time (i.e. lossy) copy unprotected DVD contents to their hard drives, and use them as if the recorder had done them itself, but only if the DVD has just a top-level static title menu. If the recorder detects an elaborate authored menu it will usually grey out the copy to HDD option. This isn't just for copyright reasons, its also because the recorder OS is not "smart" enough to cope with managing transfers of complex authored content: you are asking too much of the machine, it isn't a full-fledged computer. Mfrs have a truly annoying habit of pandering to consumer fantasies with features that are only partially or poorly functional, chief among them the ridiculous "multimedia jukebox" nonsense. If you want a multimedia jukebox, buy an iPod, a Zune, an Archos, or an HTPC: forget using a DVD/HDD recorder for this purpose. They are an awkward solution at best and completely useless at worst.

[ShwMae]

Hello Krispy Kritter and orsetto

Thanks for your replies.

I'd found a way of copying DVD to the HDD on the Sony recorder, but it was a long winded process involving running the original DVD through DVD Shrink or DVD Fab, then recreating the DVD using Nero with the output files from DVD Fab, and then dubbing on the Sony recorder at 1x speed.

To be honest I just gave it up as a pointless exercise in the end, pretty much as you say (orsetto) - because it's an inadequate, inflexible and time consuming way to get video jukebox functionality, and when it did work there was a marked loss of quality between the original DVD and HDD copy.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Ash