gnu Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 my dvr is full again and i usually remove programs to my vcr (i know...what's a vcr?? ). i would really love to retire my vcr and stick with dvd's I was thinking of getting a stand-alone dvd recorder. I know there are low-end recorders selling for under $100. I am not super anal about quality and i don't need hd. vcr quality was fine. i just want to be able to watch the show again. Does anyone own or have any experience with a stand-alone dvd recorder? will i waste a fortune on messed-up dvd's with a low-end unit? is this the best route to go or should i look at upgrading my very old and tired pc to record my programs to dvd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I've run into more than a few dvd players that heat up at the end of a movie and stop playing. I'm not sure what the common denominator for that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 my dvr is full again and i usually remove programs to my vcr (i know...what's a vcr?? ).i would really love to retire my vcr and stick with dvd's I was thinking of getting a stand-alone dvd recorder. I know there are low-end recorders selling for under $100. I am not super anal about quality and i don't need hd. vcr quality was fine. i just want to be able to watch the show again. Does anyone own or have any experience with a stand-alone dvd recorder? will i waste a fortune on messed-up dvd's with a low-end unit? is this the best route to go or should i look at upgrading my very old and tired pc to record my programs to dvd? Is it a TIVO? If so, just go to weaknees.com and they'll take care of it for you. I'm about to upgrade my HD TIVO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 IMO, the main caveat to transferring shows from a DVR to a DVD-recorder is that you will run into limitations on where you can play the DVD. If you use DVD-R's, you will have to 'close the disc' before you can play the DVD on any other player (and even then, there are format issues which can cause it to not work in another player). If you use a DVD-RW, you might have the same issue (I have only ever used a DVD-Rs). DVDs might be cheap, but you will run through a lot of them if you regularly transfer shows from the DVR.My parents have the same issue you do...my mom records nearly everything in sight and it can be months before she gets around to watching shows. My dad finally had enough with the VCR tapes everywhere and bought external harddrives to back up shows. Not all DVRs have this capability, and they are quite specific with the type of external harddrive they will play nice with, but it is a better alternative to DVD Recorders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 Is it a TIVO? If so, just go to weaknees.com and they'll take care of it for you. I'm about to upgrade my HD TIVO. nah...its the scientific atlanta explorer box from tw/comcrap ....My dad finally had enough with the VCR tapes everywhere and bought external harddrives to back up shows. Not all DVRs have this capability, and they are quite specific with the type of external harddrive they will play nice with, but it is a better alternative to DVD Recorders. the switch to backup onto an external hd is not enabled..(but maybe comcast could enable it?) can you watch shows off the external hd easily? i have lots of shows for the kid and you never know which show he wants to watch (so these usually stay on the dvr) plus there are some shows i want to save for posterity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Then do yourself a favor, get a TIVO.'scuse me, I need to hug mine again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I have a Panasonic (can't remember the model number) stand alone and it works like a charm. The best way to utilize the dump function is to either use the USB output, or to use a SVHS cable into the recorder. Personally I use the SVHS and have great results. Also, the Panasonic is as easy to use as a VCR.As far as compatibility with other players, it's generally not an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelguy_73 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I have a Panasonic (can't remember the model number) stand alone and it works like a charm. The best way to utilize the dump function is to either use the USB output, or to use a SVHS cable into the recorder. Personally I use the SVHS and have great results. Also, the Panasonic is as easy to use as a VCR.As far as compatibility with other players, it's generally not an issue.Do you have a model that buffers the video so that it doesn't take 1 hour to transfer a 1 hour show? My old Panny DVD-recorder didn't have this feature and so I had to leave the Tivo playing (i.e., essentially out of commission) every time I wanted to transfer to DVD. Major pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Does anyone own or have any experience with a stand-alone dvd recorder?will i waste a fortune on messed-up dvd's with a low-end unit?is this the best route to go or should i look at upgrading my very old and tired pc to record my programs to dvd?I have a Panasonic. I went through a couple of brands before I settled on this one. It works like a charm. I record every episode of "Best Week Ever" on my DVR, then burn them to DVD. It supports DVD-RAM, which makes it easy to move shows to a PC for re-authoring and editing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted February 11, 2008 Author Share Posted February 11, 2008 I have a Panasonic. I went through a couple of brands before I settled on this one. It works like a charm. I record every episode of "Best Week Ever" on my DVR, then burn them to DVD. It supports DVD-RAM, which makes it easy to move shows to a PC for re-authoring and editing.I have a Panasonic (can't remember the model number) stand alone and it works like a charm. The best way to utilize the dump function is to either use the USB output, or to use a SVHS cable into the recorder. Personally I use the SVHS and have great results. Also, the Panasonic is as easy to use as a VCR.As far as compatibility with other players, it's generally not an issue.like this?http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1169857843127 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 like this?http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1169857843127No, I got the budget model which works perfectly.http://www.burnworld.com/dvd-recorders/pan...icDMR-ES10S.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 like this?http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1169857843127Mine was much cheaper (under $100) and has no ATSC tuner, which is fine because I only need it to record from my DVR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Do you have a model that buffers the video so that it doesn't take 1 hour to transfer a 1 hour show? My old Panny DVD-recorder didn't have this feature and so I had to leave the Tivo playing (i.e., essentially out of commission) every time I wanted to transfer to DVD. Major pain.My Panasonic burns in real time only. It doesn't bug me at all, especially for 159.00. If I need to do speedier burns I just use my Mac or my new PC. If I really want to watch tv while burning on the Pani I just go to my bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Do you have a model that buffers the video so that it doesn't take 1 hour to transfer a 1 hour show? My old Panny DVD-recorder didn't have this feature and so I had to leave the Tivo playing (i.e., essentially out of commission) every time I wanted to transfer to DVD. Major pain.You have something that feeds video to your DVR faster than real time? What does that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 You have something that feeds video to your DVR faster than real time? What does that?Actually I missed that part. It's impossible to record original data any faster than real time. Now once the first DVD is buffered it takes far less time to burn, but all video is dumped via real time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Actually I missed that part. It's impossible to record original data any faster than real time. Now once the first DVD is buffered it takes far less time to burn, but all video is dumped via real time.The first DVD? What do you mean? We're talking about stand alone DVD recorders for TV. They work like VCRs, but use DVDs. There's never a 2nd DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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