terapin owners questions

[vcd4me]

Well I must say I love this site! I've finally learned how to make a basic vcd!(oh yeah thanks everyone who helped a newbie out). The down side is that I have a slow computer and converting takes 4-6 hrs. so I'm buying a terapin(cheapest vcd recorder I've found).well I've got two questions about it 1)Does it record the surround sound off my dvds?(if so when playing the dvd what setup should I use dts,prologic,etc...) 2)If I make a vcd using the terapin can i just put it in my computer so i could make an other copy or do I have to convert .dat fileto mpeg to make another copy?( I think thats what some of the other posts said that it actually makes a .dat file is that true or am I confused ) Well thanks in advance Ed O'Neill

[thebigguy62]

Don't do it! You're making a big mistake, take your $200 and learn buy something else; the terapin is a very finicky machine, burns coasters, out of sync alot, i even made a disk that would play in a stand alone player but wouldn't play in the terapin after i checked it in the other machines in the house. it's the lazy man's lo quality solution to cap and enc; find a way to get higher quality captures, search the forums, but don't buy this damn machine, i had to bring 2 back to circuit city before i learned my lesson.

[vcd4me]

Thanks bigguy but too late It's on the way.How did you buy it at circuit city I haven't seen it there before (well maybe I'll look at there website) besides I can always use it to record my old audio cassets onto cdr while making vcds on my computer. I would like to thank you (I know its the lazy mans way)Some people say its good some say its not. but is there anyone out there who can answer these questions Id really appreciate it as Ivalue everyone opinion including bigguys.Thanks Your Friend Ed O'Neill

[electronicworld]

The Terapin won't record Dolby Digital or DTS. However, your Video CD will play Dolby Pro-Logic perfectly. I've tried DVD's and recording a movie directly or on D-VHS from digital satellite and creating a Video CD with the Terapin. I've had no problems using Clone CD to burn another copy of the Video CD I created with the Terapin. For the best playback picture possible make sure your Terapin or DVD player are connected to the S-Video or Component jacks on your TV. For a clearer-sharper Video CD use a CD-RW disc. My next choice are Imation (lite green) CD-R's although there is a high rejection rate followed by any medium to dark blue dye CD-R's by Pioneer, Maxell etc. From my experience with the Terapin, which I've had for also a year, you won't be disappointed with your purchase.

[vcd4me]

Thanks electronicworld, I love you man!!just the thing I wanted to hear about my main question surround sound!So do you set up the dvd disc to play in prologic or dts? or do you just play the movie in what ever way the disc defaults to?My tv doesn't have s-video or composite, so should I just use the s-video and the rca jacks (R.I.P.HENRY KLOSS-HE JUST RECENTLY DIED-DID YOU KNOW?) from dvd to terapin directly?also you said it works better with cd-rw could you give a little more detail as to why?Thanks I really appreciate your replie(s) Your Friend I hope Ed O'Neill

[thebigguy62]

Sorry, i meant Sam's Club.

[vcd4me]

Thanks for clearing that up. Just out of curiosity why didn'y you like the terapin.I've heard so many mixed reveiws. I know its the lazy mans way of doing vcd recording but time is money

[mopar7]

For $89 you can get a Duron 800 and mb, then you'll have some speed.

[googlioboy]

I also have had my Terapin (the one in grey) and couldn't be happier with it. I currently have mine hooked up to my RCA UltimateTV system, so that when I record something, I can output it to the Terapin. The trick to the Terapin is, by the way, is to not 'finalize' the disc that you record. You have to finalize the disc to get it to play in a dvd player or on your computer, but the video quality is soooo much better if you don't finalize. You will have to play the disc only on the Terapin if you don't finalize, but the quality is far better than VHS if you don't. Have fun!
Rick Shorrock
Big Byte Video Productions
www.bigbytevideoproductions.com

[lymang]

I have never had the audio/video sync problems some Terapin owners have mentioned. I have found that the Terapin is VERY finicky regarding what media you use. To get around it's finickyness, I end up doing the following:

1. Record show on my Dish Network Dishplayer.
2. Record to CD-RW disc in Terapin.
3. Extract .DAT to .MPG using VCDGear
4. Edit commercials out (no re-encoding necessary) with TMPGEnc.
5. Re-burn to CD-R in the PC using Nero 5.5.

Best of luck with your new Terapin. I'm about to sell mine, since I'm moving on to better things (DVD Recorder).

Lyman

[vcd4me]

Lyman. have you checked out vcd-trading site. It's mostly for trading vcd's but there is a forum there for terapin users and your input would probably be great for that site. check it out
www.vcd-trading.com

[vcd4me]

how much are you selling it for? Do your homework on the standalone dvd recorders you can't get surround sound on them I'll look for the site that I read it on and post back

[dbaker6165]

Based on what i have read from this posting .... all of you could be right at the same time.... this is how...

I have owned two different Terripin recorders... one i bought from microcenter for $500 and one i bought at sam's for $200.

My first was from microcenter, It was very finiky, hardly ever could find media to record on it and it would constantly make coasters. I even had microcenter replace it for me, but got the same results.

Then I went to sam's club and I saw how much they sold there's for... $300 cheaper! So I returned the one I bought from microcenter, and bout the one at Sam's.

What I found out was that it was a "Newer" version of the Terapin (it had to be). I didnt have a problem findin media for it and I rarely would make coaster with it.

[dbaker6165]

by the way... The Terapin is only $139 at Sam's Club now

[vcd4me]

DKBAKER, I'll front the money if you pick some up for me. where are you from? We used to have a SAM's right outside Boston but it's now gone.We have the other two wholesale clubs.

Hey I did a search on the at their website, and culdn't find it.

[zzyzzx]

I have never had the audio/video sync problems some Terapin owners have mentioned. I have found that the Terapin is VERY finicky regarding what media you use. To get around it's finickyness, I end up doing the following:

1. Record show on my Dish Network Dishplayer.
2. Record to CD-RW disc in Terapin.
3. Extract .DAT to .MPG using VCDGear
4. Edit commercials out (no re-encoding necessary) with TMPGEnc.
5. Re-burn to CD-R in the PC using Nero 5.5.

I tried doing this but Nero doesn't like any files created by the Terapin. Even though disks made by the Terapin work just fine.