Recordable DVD for Joe Public Why

steviec · 17 Nov 2002 at 16:24

Why would Joe Public want a recordable DVD Player?

I can see the benefit of putting say my home videos onto DVD but to replace the VCR no way. Unless that is you can get DVD R/W Disks and a R/W Drive. As recording Eastenders, Corrie etc for the Misses and the Match and with disks at £10 each seems a waste.

Or am I wrong and all DVD Recorders are R/W?

Jez · 17 Nov 2002 at 16:40

i was under the impression the latest units could take the really cheap 70p discs? if they can then i can see the point perfectly

Intra-Agnostic · 17 Nov 2002 at 16:53

I believe Jez is correct, so i can also see the benefit

Juggler · 17 Nov 2002 at 17:45

for starters!

Sorry for the long post... tried to go through things in parts tho for easier reading!

stevie, most, if not all DVD Recorders record on both DVD-R & DVD-RAM (or DVD-RW or DVD+RW depending on the manufacturers format) :cool:

so you either record a film to keep for all time on a DVD-R and record Corrie & your latest footy match on a DVD-RAM that can be formatted and re-used over & over again like a video... although with rewritable DVD, they don't get damaged and 'wobbly' over time like your not-so-trusty video tapes but instead you get that perfect recording every time...

As for the expense, yep the branded media is expensive (I'm using Panasonic £5/DVD-R at the moment and around £15 for a one-off DVD-RAM) - but with the newer generation of DVD Recorders they are more flexible and cheapo media can be used if you are on a budget - a cheapo unbranded DVD-R can be less than a blank video as Jez suggested at around 70p!

Other useful(ish) features on the Panny E30 include the TimeSlip where you can start recording a programme and before it is finished recording and you start playing it back... I'm sure most of us have wanted to start watching before we have finished recording on numerous occasions - I know I have! It's very easy to copy your TV recorded films up onto DVD too.

A variety of recording modes (similar to your VCR) are also available that record in different quality... it's a trade off between time recorded and the quality. eg 1 hour recording on a 4.7Gb DVD = perfect quality, 6 hour recording = lower quality. I haven't really used any of the really low quality modes yet (shouldnt thinki will) so can't comment to what they are like against VHS quality...

Downside is the cost of the machine (in comparison to a VCR anyways)... but they are falling very quickly with the fairly recent 'budget' pair from Panasonic (DMR-E30) & Philips (DVDR890)

Worth a look in my opinion for all of Joe Public...

Jez · 17 Nov 2002 at 17:56

I am just really annoyed that i couldnt get the cheap unit i was offered a while back, else i would have thrown my SVHS vcr out ages ago

Juggler · 17 Nov 2002 at 18:00

Originally posted by Jez
I am just really annoyed that i couldnt get the cheap unit i was offered a while back, else i would have thrown my SVHS vcr out ages ago

...

you missed out on that one then - remember we were talking about it quite a while ago, unlucky mate - tis a cracking little beast of a machine

I'm currently in the process of getting my TV recorded stuff onto DVD... namely the Indiana Jones trilogy - not to be seen on DVD for lifetimes yet!

Very useful for 'preserving' these kind of things!

Juggler

steviec · 17 Nov 2002 at 18:04

Juggler, thanks for that very interesting reading.

Didn't realise prices had fell that much :eek:

I was debating a Tivo or Sky+ for recording to a Hard Drive (Sky+ for the extra Tuner as well though) but will now have to take a serious look at DVD R.

BTW Can you get multi-region players as I have a mixture of R1 & R2 disks.

steviec · 17 Nov 2002 at 18:08

Just followed one of your other threads and found even more info........ off to read up on DVD R

Jez · 17 Nov 2002 at 18:11

It could have been dodgy anyway, knowing the bloke there had to of been something wrong with it for that price! shame i never even got a chance to check it over though

Juggler · 17 Nov 2002 at 18:13

I hope it was of some use stevie

it almost felt like a rant.. lol

I think the perfect mix would be DVD & hard disk recording in the same box, there are some out & about but the price (for me) at the moment outweighs the benefits unfortunately - definately the way to head towards tho in my opinion :cool:

The Panasonic DMR-HS2 is a prime example with DVD-R, DVD-RAM and a 40Gb hard disk for recording - a neat combination at around £1000 though is a touch on the expensive side!

Multiregion versions are just appearing from places like Multiregion Magic of the Panasonic, and I presume, the other models from Philips etc... paying a bit extra on the standard R2
models which is fair enough and expected I guess

..edit - yep there is another thread somewhere (here!)..

Cheers,

Juggler

steviec · 17 Nov 2002 at 18:29

Prices are certainly coming down.

Now £425 for a multi-region player.

Why would you want VCR Mode though the explanation didn't make a lot of sense (to me) yes I understand to disable MacroVision etc but tthought that was on DVD's only or is it only for use recoding from one DVD Player to a DVD R IYSWIM. As if I did get one I would off load the original Tosh R1&R2 DVD Player without a MacroVision mod.

alle v · 17 Nov 2002 at 19:02

...No DVD recorder will record stuff for you, or tell what is on and when

This announcement was brought to you by the 'TiVo for you' campaign

steviec · 17 Nov 2002 at 19:46

alle v, you on commission for selling Tivo's

Juggler · 17 Nov 2002 at 20:29

//Juggler slaps alle around the face with a wet, smelly old fish

...now that the tone of the DVD Forum & this thread has been lowered I shall move on & say no more about DVD Recorders being muchos better than the average joe that is TiVo

OK seriously tho, like we decided ages ago alle - a mixture of both would be just ideal wouldn't it!

Cheers guys,

Juggler

alle v · 17 Nov 2002 at 20:38

...Just need someone to make them now

Morte · 19 Nov 2002 at 17:23

so you either record a film to keep for all time on a DVD-R

You can, but legally it's a breach of copyright.

Juggler · 19 Nov 2002 at 18:48

Originally posted by Morte
You can, but legally it's a breach of copyright.

OK... but in that case then we must go back years & years worth of recording films from TV onto VHS

Hand's up who hasn't recorded films to keep from TV broadcasts?

It would be interesting to know what the exact details are on that if you could provide them Morte, good sir - I have wondered about it on a few occasions and decided that seeing as we are paying TV licence fees we are entitled to a copy of a broadcasted tv prog/film for our own personal use etc...

Juggler