Best DVD Recorder Deck DVD-R

[MikePh]

I saw no threads comparing stand alone DVD-R decks. I'm looking to buy one shortly and would appreciate any advice.

I've got lots of VHS home movies that I'd like to transfer to DVD, so that would be my orimary goal.

Last time I researched, there was a software format "war" of sorts and lots of confusion. Any updates?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also - can any of these units dub a standard store-bought DVD movie or no?

Looking for items in the $300-$600 range. Many thanks in advance.

[BradOlson]

They can copy store bought DVDs if they do not have copy protection schemes applied but the hardware to bypass the schemes has long been available.

[BradOlson]

There is still the DVD-R, DVD+R, etc. format war of sorts and that not all DVD players can read all recordable DVD discs

[Sckott]

Not exactly, Bradley. :)A lot of brands are now taking on both formats so consumers don't have to watch blanks they buy. This is filtering in slow, so watch for it.

[cwon]

I finally got a DVD-R deck for my school and the DVD-R media seems to be compatible with everything we've played it on so far. I chose a SONY deck, but there are new decks, from Panasonic for example, that have built in hard drives which should allow some editing capability before a final burn. They go for around $600 I think.
Our SONY is pretty easy to use, but make sure you read the manual on these things to burn DVD's that will be the most useful to you. By that I mean inserting chapters, etc.

[romanotrax]

Just FYI...

I haven't seen any standalone DVD recorders that allow for chapter insertion. Most create chapters every 5 minutes or so during the finalization stage.

[Jamie Tate]

I have two Panasonic recorders. One is the new model with the hard drive on it. Both do a nice job and can be had for your price range. I would highly suggest going with Panasonic. The picture quality on encoding is very good and the DVD playback quality is some of the best I've ever seen.

The model with the hard drive will also play back 2 channel DVD-A's in full resolution.

[cwon]

Originally posted by romanotrax
.

I haven't seen any standalone DVD recorders that allow for chapter insertion. Most create chapters every 5 minutes or so during the finalization stage.

romanotrax is correct (unless hard drive ones are the exception). You can't go back to insert chapters - stopping the recorder WHILE in the process, and starting to record again will insert a chapter, but you'd need to monitor the recording and do it "live."

Maybe yesman can answer the question about editing functions on the internal hard drive before burning.

Try to look at the deck's instruction manual before you buy to see if it has the features you'd like.

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by cwon
Maybe yesman can answer the question about editing functions on the internal hard drive before burning.

You can't insert chapter stops on the Panasonic. :( Also, it only has basic cut-out editing and it leaves a tiny gap between edits Edit points do not get their own chapter stop.

If you buy a Panasonic with the HD get the current models. Older machines had generation loss between dubs that created horrible looking DVD's.

[SVL]

I would wait for a new generation of cheaper DVD recorders with progressive scan and digital output for video (not sure there will be a digital input anytime soon because of label paranoia about copyright infringement). HDD is a must, IMHO, and I don't see why it should be expensive if you look at the current prices for PC HDDs.

[-=Rudy=-]

Originally posted by yesman


You can't insert chapter stops on the Panasonic. :( Also, it only has basic cut-out editing and it leaves a tiny gap between edits Edit points do not get their own chapter stop.

If you buy a Panasonic with the HD get the current models. Older machines had generation loss between dubs that created horrible looking DVD's.

That's on the HD-equipped model? *sigh* Guess I'll wait another generation utnil they add chapter stops and fix the editing issues. Having the ability to enter chapter stops and create seamless edits is about the only thing I would want from a DVD recorder. I may just go the PC route and be done with it.

[Michael St. Clair]

Huh? I've got the Panasonic with the Hard Drive (DMR-E80H), and every time you hit the "MARKER" button, it inserts a chapter break.

:confused:

Also, if you want to do PC editing and authoring, there are some great cheap packages to do so. Dump the program from the Pansonic burner onto a reusable RAM disc, then copy it to your PC using a cheap $30 Toshiba DVD-ROM drive. You can easily edit and author losslessly (no re-encoding) using TMPGEnc Author.

In my opinion, a stand-alone recorder and PC burner is the best of both worlds. Simple recording with great quality, and if you want to make a really sharp pro-looking disc, move the footage over to the PC and finish it up there. But depending on the material, you may just want to dump many of your recordings straight to DVD-R after basic editing on the stand-alone recorder.

[-=Rudy=-]

Originally posted by Michael St. Clair

Also, if you want to do PC editing and authoring, there are some great cheap packages to do so. Dump the program from the Pansonic burner onto a reusable RAM disc, then copy it to your PC using a cheap $30 Toshiba DVD-ROM drive.

Duuuuh! Jeez, why didn't I think of that?? :sigh: I've done that for "quickie" jobs using my CD-R audio deck, dumping the disc into the computer to add track markers in CD Architect and burn a good disc from it.

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by yesman

If you buy a Panasonic with the HD get the current models. Older machines had generation loss between dubs that created horrible looking DVD's.

Hi Jamie,

What model number do ya recommend?

Thanks,
Jeffrey :)

[Jamie Tate]

The one with the hard drive is DMR-E80H. I have an older Panasonic DVD recorder without the HD and it does a very nice job too.

[Jamie Tate]

Originally posted by Michael St. Clair
Huh? I've got the Panasonic with the Hard Drive (DMR-E80H), and every time you hit the "MARKER" button, it inserts a chapter break.


D'oh!!

Is that only during recording or can you do it later? I'll have to read the manual.

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by yesman
The one with the hard drive is DMR-E80H.

Hi Jamie,

Do ya know who has the best prices for these?

Thanks,
Jeffrey :)

[Michael St. Clair]

Is that only during recording or can you do it later? I'll have to read the manual.


You can do it later during playback/review.

[Jeffrey]

Hi Michael,

Where did ya get your DMR-E80H? Do they have the best prices?

Thanks,
Jeffrey :)

[Jeffrey]

Hi,

Who makes the best DVD-R blanks? Are there substantial differences like there are w/ cd-r's or are all blanks about the same?

Thanks,
Jeffrey :)

[cwon]

Stick with the familiar brands - I've heard that the off brand ones will produce more errors, especially when recording longer programs. Also, a good precaution is to use a can of compressed air to clean the blank before you insert it. Dust particles will kill a burn after you've spent the time to burn it - been there.

[Michael St. Clair]

Hi Michael,
Where did ya get your DMR-E80H? Do they have the best prices?


I got it on sale from Dell for about $480 shipped. They were having a 10% off sale and I also had a $50 off coupon from Entertainment.com.

Their prices are still very good, possibly the best, even without a sale/deal.

Who makes the best DVD-R blanks? Are there substantial differences like there are w/ cd-r's or are all blanks about the same?

I've had good luck with Memorex and TDK. I'm not an expert on the media, but I had some cheap Princo blanks that did not work well at all.

[Jeffrey]

Hi All,

Thanks! Just ordered the DMR-E80H online from Buydig for $519 including shipping. One more toy for the collection. :D

-Jeffrey

[cwon]

Originally posted by Jeffrey
Hi All,

Thanks! Just ordered the DMR-E80H online from Buydig for $519 including shipping. One more toy for the collection. :D

-Jeffrey

Now just keep an eye on specials on blanks. I usually check the Office Depot adds for 2-for-1 deals on spools. That usually works out to close to a dollar a DVD-R.

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by cwon


Now just keep an eye on specials on blanks. I usually check the Office Depot adds for 2-for-1 deals on spools. That usually works out to close to a dollar a DVD-R.

Hi,

Thanks for the lead! What kinda blanks does Office Depot usually have for the 2-fur deals? Do ya know who sells Mitsui blanks?

-Jeffrey