Is your external DVD recorder PC friendly?

[JohnnyMalaria]

Hello,

There have been a number a threads recently that touch on the issue of connecting external DVD recorders with Firewire/IEEE-1394 input to a PC (any - not just Windows).

Some external DVD recorders will only work with a camcorder whereas others are reported to connect happily to a PC.

I think it would be useful to collate information about different recorders and their abilities to be connected to a PC for DV transfer.

So....if you have a standalone DVD recorder with a Firewire/IEEE-1394/iLink interface...

Have you tried connecting it via Firewire to a PC?
If so, does the PC recognize the DVD recorder as a DV device?
Does the DVD recorder recognize the PC?
Can you send DV directly from the PC to the recorder?
Does your recorder support output via Firewire (as well as input, which is more common?)
What model DVD recorder?
What type of PC (Windows, Mac, Linux etc)?

Thanks.

[David K]

Philips 615 DVD Recorder
I've connected it to my computer via firewire.
Computer (Windows XP) recognizes it as a Video Cam.
But I can't get any computer program to output to the DVD recorder.
I wanted to use Vegas' DV tape out process to go to the DVD recorder for real time encoding. But it wouldn't work.

[gshelley61]

The JVC DVD recorders I've owned could do this (accept and record a DV stream via firewire from a computer)

[JohnnyMalaria]

I suppose I should have stated my own experience!

Insignia NS-DVDR1 (an LG clone from Best Buy)

Has Firewire input - works with camcorders, fails with PCs (Windows)

[JohnnyMalaria]

Philips 615 DVD Recorder
I've connected it to my computer via firewire.
Computer (Windows XP) recognizes it as a Video Cam.
But I can't get any computer program to output to the DVD recorder.
I wanted to use Vegas' DV tape out process to go to the DVD recorder for real time encoding. But it wouldn't work.

Would you mind testing something?

Our Enosoft DV Processor gathers information about attached DV devices and records that information to the operating system's event log. The information may help determine what's going on.

The attached screenshot shows what to do....

Connect the DVD recorder such that Windows recognizes it
Launch the software and click the large Configure... button (1)
Click the View button in the Event Log group (2)
This should display a window similar to (3)
Look for an entry that has MSDV Device in the Category column and double-click on it
This will open the entry in another window (4)
You can copy-and-paste the information in the scrollable text area

[David K]

I’ve installed the no-license version of Enosoft and it successfully allows me to feed a DV stream from by computer into Philips DVDR615 DVD Recorder through its firewire connection and record to DVD. Windows and Enosoft recognize the DVD recorder as “AVC compliant DV camcorder.”

I tried it two ways, which both work. 1. Feeding a DV avi file (one that was previously captured) and 2. Sending a VHS signal through my Sony DigiCam into my computer and then out (via another firewire connection) into the DVD Recorder. This second method allows me to fix the IRE issue with Enosoft’s video processor, and encode the capture in real time with the DVD recorder, getting the benefit of the signal processing of both the Sony and the DVD recorder.

Enosoft’s controls (record etc.) do not work for the DVD recorder, but that is no problem, since I can use the controls on the DVD recorder to start and stop recording. The main thing is that the DVD recorder accepts the DV input, something that no other program ever allowed me to do. Very impressive!

[Frobozz]

The Firewire link on Pioneer 310, 320, 510 and 520 recorders work both ways (input and output) with Macs, so probably with PCs as well. The video streaming to the recorder must be DV format (or equivalent) and the video streaming from the recorder must first be MPEG encoded (in other words the recorder doesn't pass through a live feed). On my Mac I can use iMovie and other apps to import or export video with the Pioneer recorder.

[filmtorrent]

Panasonic DMR-ES15 does NOT work. I think this is the case with the entire current line of consumer level Panasonics. I have read some of the pro models do work but I don't know personally. I think those are thousands of dollars anyhow.

[PeBo]

Panasonic DMR-ES15 does NOT work. I think this is the case with the entire current line of consumer level Panasonics. I have read some of the pro models do work but I don't know personally. I think those are thousands of dollars anyhow.

You can try my driver for Panasonic DVD Recorders, see https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=324960
Don't hesitate send me a PM if you encounter any problem!

[filmtorrent]

Panasonic DMR-ES15 does NOT work. I think this is the case with the entire current line of consumer level Panasonics. I have read some of the pro models do work but I don't know personally. I think those are thousands of dollars anyhow.

You can try my driver for Panasonic DVD Recorders, see https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=324960
Don't hesitate send me a PM if you encounter any problem!

Thanks but I need one that works on a mac. Know of anyone working on an os x driver?

Thanks again.

[PeBo]

Thanks but I need one that works on a mac. Know of anyone working on an os x driver?

Thanks again.

Aha! But topic name is "Is your external DVD recorder PC friendly?"

If is there a Mac programmer who want develop similar driver, please contact me - I can provide some observations about Panasonic DVD Recorder (namely EH55).

[JohnnyMalaria]

I’ve installed the no-license version of Enosoft and it successfully allows me to feed a DV stream from by computer into Philips DVDR615 DVD Recorder through its firewire connection and record to DVD. Windows and Enosoft recognize the DVD recorder as “AVC compliant DV camcorder.”

David - thanks for the feedback. It's good to know that our software does behave with AVC-compliant DVD recorders.

This second method allows me to fix the IRE issue with Enosoft’s video processor, and encode the capture in real time with the DVD recorder, getting the benefit of the signal processing of both the Sony and the DVD recorder.

Please be aware that for the non-commercial version (i.e., the freely available download), a blue "spoiler" frame is occasionally inserted into the output DV stream. This occurs whenever the software is performing some kind of processing (other than simple transfer) and when the output is a physical DV device. i.e., the AVI-To-Device and Device-To-Device modes. For the non-commercial version, processing in AVI-To-AVI mode doesn't add the spoiler.