How good are set-top recorders?

[piano632]

I am debating whether to make DVDs on a computer or with a set-top recorder like the Panasonic DMR-HS2? Just wondering how precise these stand-alones are with editing? Any video/audio sync problems? How sophisticated a menu can you make? I have a Pinnacle Studio Deluxe 8 card which can do a lot of neat things, but the software is sometimes "buggy" and takes hours to render anything. I need something that will edit a bunch of short clips well. So far the Pinnacle is great at cutting up AVI files with no sync problems. Would I be able to output a DV file from the Pinnacle card to the DV input on a set-top recorder successfully?

[ktnwin]

Yes, the DMR-HS2 will take DV from the digital camcorder and record video on DVD-R.
One little issue is this stand alone creates
1) crude menu
2) automatic chapters every 4 or 5 mins or so, you cannot specify the exact chapter point.
The advantage is the real-time recording.

[solarfox]

Basically, a standalone set-top DVD recorder is going to give you about the same functionality as a top-end VCR. It'll record in real-time, yes, but as ktnwin says, you pay a price for it in terms of how sophisticated your final result will be. On most of them, you can't select your own chapter points or make complex/customized menus -- and on the few DVD+R models I've tried which do have the capability, it's such a pain in the butt to do it that after your first couple of discs you probably won't want to bother trying!

I would also suggest that for about half the money you'll spend on the Panasonic set-top unit, you could upgrade that 633MHz Celeron of yours to an Athlon XP2000+ with 512Mb of DDR. That's the setup I'm currently using, and it only takes between 3 - 4.5 hours to crunch an average-length movie ("average" being between 90-120 minutes) into variable bit-rate MPEG-2 suitable for DVD burning. Which really isn't too bad, especially considering that with my extra-large capture HD's capacity, I can stack up three or four movies at once and then let the system crunch on them unattended while I'm sleeping and/or going to work the next morning.

[zanos]

What about one of the most important features for ppl wanting to transfer vhs to dvdr? It greatly improves picture quality and that's something a computer dvd writer can't do at least not to that extent. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong.

[mazinz]

to be honest with you even though the homedecks make recording very easy, it still does not get as good as results if you were to run it into the pc instead.

i had an older panasonic machine, the phillips deck and the latest panasonic dmr-hs2. They do give good results but i still can see artifacts a lot even on the Xp setting. If i were to run in the same clip with my dvc2 card for my pc, i get virtually no aritfacts and a slightly better pic.

Currently i use the homedeck machine with my pc. I run the video into my homedeck then into the pc this way the video goes through the panasonic's tbc for error free capturing when it goes into the computer.

[piano632]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, the TBC is an issue. Computer capture cards lack a TBC which means you have to buy a stand-alone TBC which can cost $300. Fortunately my S-VHS deck has a TBC on the output, but my other VCR (the trusty ol' betamax) does not. As great as any analog video tape may be, it still needs a TBC or colors will look streaky. On the positive side, a stand-alone TBC is good enough to even eliminate macrovision (if need be), which the ones built into consumer equipment will not do. Oh well, more things to consider. I guess I'm due for a computer upgrade anyway. A 633MHz processor may be fast enough for most things, but for video rendering it is pretty pitiful (takes 10-12 times longer than real-time).

[dbaker6165]

get both .... a computer dvd-r drive and a standalone dvd recorder.... trust me .. you will have so much fun brning dvds in many ways... I would

[apaw]

Currently i use the homedeck machine with my pc. I run the video into my homedeck then into the pc this way the video goes through the panasonic's tbc for error free capturing when it goes into the computer.[/quote]





HELP!!

I HAVE A PANASONIC HS2...DO YOU RECORD THE VIDEO ON THE HOMEDECK OR JUST PASS IT THRU ON ITS WAY TO THE COMPUTER TO SOLVE THE TBC ISSUE?

PLEASE OUTLINE THE STEPS YOU DO...I NEED TO GET RID OF ESPECIALLY AUDIO/VIDEO SYNC PROBLEMS WHEN ITS GOES DIRECTLY TO THE COMPUTER

THANKS!

[mazinz]

i just let the signal pass through the dmr-hs2 deck. This is also good because you can then perfectly capture macro/css encoded video tapes (although i have devices to remove both, and my capture card doesn't read that garbage anyway)

Using the tbc in the machine you will eliminate any sync issues and even if you run in a completely shitty video it still works fine thanks to the TBC

[Gil T Pleasure]

What about using a miniDV camcorder with passthru to convert your VHS to DV and run it thru your PC's Firewire port?

How's the quality in comparison to some capture cards or HS2?

[ktnwin]

Capturing via DV camcorder as pass thru does results in very good quality at least for me. Plus, there is no other issues such as lip sync, dropped frames, etc...
I use my digital camcorder as pass thru to capture analog video sources (VCR, Laser disc)