Anyone got a DVD Recorder?

[Sonic Whammy]

Hey there, guys!

Andrea's family got us a new toy this Christmas... a DVD recorder!

And there was much rejoicing. (Yaaaaaay!)

That said, I have begun to experiment with it for trades somewhere down the road. But I've run into a couple of problems, and I was wondering if any of you out there have a recorder so that you can help me out.

To this point, here's what I've learned about this little Emerson (if you have a brand that doesn't run into these problems, please tell me):

> I can't pause during a dub. So, if the tape has commercials, I have to stop the dub altogether. This a prob for anyone else?

> DVD-R's won't let you mark chapters. I assume this is a general problem, yes?

> The A/V synch is just... a hair off, though it looks like it gets better once the thing warms up. How does yours look while/after you record?

Overall, it looks pretty good using the 2-hour mode, but I feel like it could be better. Look forward to hearing from you guys.

[ClockGameJohn]

I don't know how many of these questions will be answered in a former thread, but there have been quite a few threads started about DVD recorders and trading on DVD.  This one seemed to have quite a bit of discussion...hope it helps.

http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=5594

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' date=\'Dec 28 2004, 04:50 PM\']> I can't pause during a dub. So, if the tape has commercials, I have to stop the dub altogether. This a prob for anyone else?

> DVD-R's won't let you mark chapters. I assume this is a general problem, yes?

> The A/V synch is just... a hair off, though it looks like it gets better once the thing warms up. How does yours look while/after you record?

Overall, it looks pretty good using the 2-hour mode, but I feel like it could be better. Look forward to hearing from you guys.[/quote]
1 - The Philips brands I've been buying for years do have a pause feature, and it would surprise me that there are models out there that don't.

2 - Again with my models, you're able to insert chapter markings on an "R" disc AS YOU GO, but once you're done recording, you can't go back and put more in.  The RW's give you the flexibility to add chapters later.

3 - I can't imagine why your audio and video should be off.

In short, that Emerson really sounds like it's missing a few key features, and may be buggy on top of that.

BTW, you're not *required* to edit the commercials out of your recordings, you know.  It would seem a lot easier for you to just let it roll than to sit there and awkwardly klunk through four or five separate segments per episode just to save a few minutes and squeeze a fifth show on your disc.

The Philips line uses the +R format so all my master DVDs are on +RW discs.  I typically make copies on my computer using -R discs, which seem to be ever-so-slightly more common and compatible out in the world than the +R.

[mystery7]

To be blunt, your problem is that you've got an Emerson. For the past few years, just about anything with the Emerson name has been made by Funai - those lovely people who brought you Symphonic. The also make Durabrand (for Wal*Mart), Aventura and ESA (Circuit City's house brands), and VCRs and TVCR combos for former Philips brands Sylvania and Magnavox. Funai's known for cheap. If it's good, it's a fluke.

- A pubic service message from Mystery7

[dzinkin]

(NOTE: Emphasis mine.)

[quote name=\'mystery7\' date=\'Dec 28 2004, 11:50 PM\']To be blunt, your problem is that you've got an Emerson. For the past few years, just about anything with the Emerson name has been made by Funai - those lovely people who brought you Symphonic. The also make Durabrand (for Wal*Mart), Aventura and ESA (Circuit City's house brands), and VCRs and TVCR combos for former Philips brands Sylvania and Magnavox. Funai's known for cheap. If it's good, it's a fluke.

- A pubic service message from Mystery7

[snapback]68971[/snapback]

[/quote]
So what you're telling us is that the folks at Funai are... naah, I won't say it. :-D

[mystery7]

I guess you caught me with my - I ain't gonna say it either! I'm in enough trouble.

Mystery 7, who should've kept his thoughts - damn, there's NO way out of this!

[DJDustman]

A General question from this, will dubbing from a VHS to a DVD give it better quality, or the same (As in leaving tracking probs and such)?

(This coming from a person who has no DVD Player knowledge )

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'DJDustman\' date=\'Dec 28 2004, 11:57 PM\']A General question from this, will dubbing from a VHS to a DVD give it better quality, or the same (As in leaving tracking probs and such)?

(This coming from a person who has no DVD Player knowledge )

[snapback]68983[/snapback]

[/quote]
The DVD recording is only as good as the picture it sees. Bottom line, simple as that. If you took an audiotape and recorded it to CD, it would still have hiss, right? Same principle.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'mystery7\' date=\'Dec 28 2004, 09:50 PM\']If it's good, it's a fluke.
[/quote]
The Perfesser could use this as a tagline on his site.

[Michael Brandenburg]

In response to the following comment from Matt Ottinger in this thread…

…You're not *required* to edit the commercials out of your recordings, you know. It would seem a lot easier for you to just let it roll than to sit there and awkwardly klunk through four or five separate segments per episode just to save a few minutes and squeeze a fifth show on your disc.

I have a running gag at my local post office over this: It seems that when I videotape a couple of episodes of a certain reality show for someone who can't manage to do so for himself for some reason and then mail him the tape, I have to send it to him via First Class mail at a cost of $1.98 per tape.  Now I could mail it to him at the USPS's cheaper "Media Mail" rate of $1.47 per tape if it were not for this requirement: "Media Mail" cannot contain commercial advertising!


Michael Brandenburg
(Home computer system reloaded after system crash -- check

Pinnacle Studio 9 video editing program update downloaded and installed -- check

ATI All-in-Wonder video card and TV tuner configured and ready to go -- check

Now, hopefully I can get a game-show DVD put together for someone I've promised it to since last summer -- after I get a new audio cable to replace the one I had to swipe to hook up my brother's DVD player to his new "Christmas present" TV!

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Dec 29 2004, 12:51 PM\']I have a running gag at my local post office over this: It seems that when I videotape a couple of episodes of a certain reality show for someone who can't manage to do so for himself for some reason and then mail him the tape, I have to send it to him via First Class mail at a cost of $1.98 per tape.  Now I could mail it to him at the USPS's cheaper "Media Mail" rate of $1.47 per tape if it were not for this requirement: "Media Mail" cannot contain commercial advertising!
[/quote]
Oh. My. God.

You realize they're laughing AT you, not WITH you, right?

Well, I suppose I should thank you for keeping my postage stamps from jacking up to 40 cents for another month or so, anyhow.

[Jay Temple]

(Rather than start a new thread, I'll just add on.)  I just got my DVD recorder.  Does anyone else have the problem I'm about to describe?  It says on the box that it won't copy "copy-protected" material.  I'm fine with that, but I keep getting messages that my tapes are copy-protected!  Mostly, but not exclusively, this applies to tapes that I have gotten in trades.  (To wit, every show so far that I acquired in a trade is supposedly copy-protected.)

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 12:49 AM\'](Rather than start a new thread, I'll just add on.)  I just got my DVD recorder.  Does anyone else have the problem I'm about to describe?  It says on the box that it won't copy "copy-protected" material.  I'm fine with that, but I keep getting messages that my tapes are copy-protected!  Mostly, but not exclusively, this applies to tapes that I have gotten in trades.  (To wit, every show so far that I acquired in a trade is supposedly copy-protected.)[/quote]
The only tapes you should ever find to be "copy protected" would be professionally produced studio releases, certainly nothing you got in a trade.  So something's up.

Try a different VCR, if you have one.  If your DVD recorder has a different input, try it.     If you're willing to invest some money on something that may or may not help (yeah, right...) you can get relatively inexpensive image stabilizers at most electronics retailers that might feed the DVD recorder a more usable signal.

Good luck, this doesn't sound like a fun problem to have.