need DVD advice

[Guest likeitall]

I'm a tech-retard thinking of buying a DVD-recorder. Can any of you cutting-edge types recommend a good machine for transferring all my old porn VCRs to disks? I'd really like to be able to edit out some of the less-exciting bits in the process. ( I've currently got a TV with built-in VCR, if that's relevant. ) Much thanks for any help.

[CT Dick]

LIA, I am looking forward to copying all those videos in boxes under my bed. But, Consumer Reports in March 2003 recommended waiting awhile before buying a DVD recorder.

 

There are a half dozen formats and they are not all compatible. Also, the machines are currently in the $1000 price range. Like all electronics, these should come down in price soon.

 

Dick

[bigguyinpasadena]

I concur with CTdick on this one.The price will come wasy down(already has started)and the quality/ease of use will only get better.

Imet up with a friend at the Spotlight last night and he has a new toy,a digital recorder/player that holds 80!hours of programing.It is aprox 4x6x2,and has av outlets and inputs.It was around $600-just amazing.It may put a real dent into Hotel pay per views!

[JamesK840]

The time Consumer Reports suggests you wait for has come. The format war is settling (many now record in both formats, the apparent death of more expensive and generally less compatible +R) and the prices are dropping (under $500 is available). Now through or Christmas, or just after, is a good time to buy.

 

The recorder must be DVD-R/RW (DVD MINUS R) at least, these are the most compatible and the cheapest blanks as well. Even better would be DVD PLUS and MINUS R compatible. Make sure you're looking at the recording format though, I've already seen some advertising that mentions a recorder can play -R in a way that could make you miss the fact it only records +R/+RW.

 

Be careful if you're shopping on price, as you may come across some old models being clearenced. The newer the model is the less bugs it will have and the more compatible it's disks should be. That said, a consumer recorded (as opposed to professionally stamped) DVD is not guaranteed to play everywhere.

 

The newer the player is the more likely it will play, and most (maybe as much as 80-90%) of the players out there now play -R. The Rewritable formats (-RW/+RW) are a little harder, but you wouldn't use them to archive video anyway (and the blanks are more expensive).

 

Keep in mind you'll face the same problems you would copying tape to tape, if a video you are copying has copy protection you'll need one of those $100 or so correctors hooked up between the VCR and recorder or it'll look like crap. Even so, it's not going to look great, VHS isn't a very good starting point...

 

Features to look for... some have an internal hard disk, this makes it easier to edit things together and get the disk perfect before you burn it, component out (wonder if any have component in?) and progressive scan playback are nice to have if you’ll also use it as your player.

 

Take a good look in the stores, play with the menus and read what you can online (there should be more up-to-date sources then Consumer's Reports), and remember, no matter what the salesman (or a website hosted by the +R/RW consortium) says, you want to be able to record -R or both + and - R.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

As sometimes happen

 

on this site, you are getting advice on part of your question and not all of it:

 

1. You are going to be copying store bought video tapes which are already copies of a master, which have also been played at least once and most likely more time. If you were transferring Super 8 or VHS original video taped films that you (or a friend) made or found, then your method would work. But if you are looking for better quality and longevity, I would strongly urge that you look for DVD copies of those films you really want. Not every film is yet on DVD but eventually this will come to pass and the quality of a store bought DVD will match that of a master VHS copy.

 

2. If your television set has a built in VCR, you may not have sufficient connection access to any other equipment you may purchase, such as DVD player or recorder, or you may have limited options in this regard.

 

A friend recently found this out and purchased a new television set (flat screen), and a DVD/VCR player. Another mutual friend has a digital film camera which will connect directly to the DVD player so we can copy onto the VCR for VHS tapes or we can connect the camera to my lap top and, with iDVD, create, edit and burn DVD films with any content we desire.

 

 

because we still have that capacity, in the flesh, of the unrealized - the possible . . .

 

http://www.gaydar.co.uk/francodisantis

[Guest Callipygean]

Well, not to rain on anyone's parade, but as an archivist, I can virtually (no pun intended) assure you, that within 3 to 5 years whatever digital format you choose will either a) fail, or b) be obsolete and superceded. Digital formats are an enormous problem facing the archival profession, to which there is, as yet, no clear solution. There is a bewildering amount of literature on the subject, documenting a horrendous variety of ways in which these formats can and do fail or become defective over time. As yet there are no accepted standards for digital formats. Manufacturer's claims have little credibility, since they are based on laboratory testing, not real world conditions. The only way to know if a format will still be around and working in "x" years is to wait "x" years. By which time it may be too late -- the pernicious thing about digital deterioration is that it happens catastrophically, i.e., it gives no warning or obvious signs of imminent failure -- it plays perfectly, then suddenly, boom, it doesn't, and nada, there's no recovery or fall back.

 

Unfortunately, there's few alternatives to digital formats which are within the practicable reach of the average consumer. Digitization is the way the world is going, moreover, and there's no hope of trying to swim against that tide. All we can do at this point is to be aware of the problems and follow certain guidelines. First, if you get on to the digital bandwagon, be prepared to stay on -- that means accept the fact that within a few years you are going to have to routinely "refresh" your records, or more probably, migrate them to the next generation of technology. With all the attendant costs. Second, as a general rule of thumb you get what you pay for. The trend with manufacturers is to produce CD's, DVD's etc. with increasing storage capacities, because consumer demand is for more capacity on a single disc. The reality, however, is that the discs with larger capacities are more prone to defects and failures than discs with lower capacities, i.e., the less the "play time" the higher the quality of the disc. Thirdly, just as with your computer files, back up your digital recordings -- make a second "preservation" copy to store away as a safeguard against digital disaster. Finally, don't throw away your originals. Go ahead and make the digital copies, but don't discard the source records - you may need them again. The 8mm porn films I bought 30 years ago and have kept in good storage conditions still play just fine (albeit the projection equipment is now a museum piece). Even those VHS movies, though they have deterioration problems of their own, are still good for the most part after 15 - 20 years. Will you be able to play your CD's and DVD's 5 years from now? Only time, and the whims of the technological gods will tell -- so far they have not been known for their benevolence

[ready182]

I jumped in early, about a year ago, and bought a Phillips DVD recorder for about $1000. It's supports DVD+R and DVD+RW media, but not minus.

 

Beside the Phillips recorder, I have two other DVD players, and a DVD drive in my computer.

 

I converted all of my VHS favorites to DVD. Some of the good points are you can put in bookmarks in key locations in the video -- so you can skip scenes, etc just like a store-bought DVD.

 

And of course, the DVD collection is much easier to store discretely.

 

As for compatibility, there are many issues. The DVD+RW disks won't work at all in some of my players. Some of my DVD+R recordings also have problems (in the players), usually towards the end of the video. (everything plays ok in the Phillips machine). Seems like a head alignment problem (yes I know DVDs don't really have magnetic heads)???

 

As for quality, it is mostly acceptable, except a few scenes in a few videos got "washed out" for some unknown reason -- not to the point of being unwatchable, but a definite loss of detail/quality.

 

Good luck

 

Still Ready

[JamesK840]

>I jumped in early, about a year ago, and bought a Phillips

>DVD recorder for about $1000. It's supports DVD+R and DVD+RW

>media, but not minus.

 

>As for compatibility, there are many issues. The DVD+RW disks

>won't work at all in some of my players. Some of my DVD+R

>recordings also have problems (in the players), usually

>towards the end of the video. (everything plays ok in the

>Phillips machine). Seems like a head alignment problem (yes I

>know DVDs don't really have magnetic heads)???

 

They don't have heads in that sense (not something that can be aligned and improved anyway). Most of the compatibility problems come from lack of contrast. DVD works much like CD, a tiny area is marked (stamped, usually) or not, with +or- Rs dye is burnt giving pretty good contrast but not as good as stamped. RW, I don't really know the process but do know it has even less contrast, thus fewer players, especially older ones, can play them.

 

>As for quality, it is mostly acceptable, except a few scenes

>in a few videos got "washed out" for some unknown reason --

>not to the point of being unwatchable, but a definite loss of

>detail/quality.

 

That's Macrovision copy protection, which makes the video level (kind of like brightness) go up and down. It doesn't normally affect playback to a TV, but recording circuitry hates it an makes it look worse. There are $100 or less so devices to run the video through that fix this.

[+ glutes]

If it helps, there was a article in today Wall St. Journal giving advice on this very same subject. I would have to defer to this thread, there is alot more good info. here vs. the WSJ, but wait til after the holidays!!!

[Matt_Vancouver]

mutli format dvd+r dvd-r dvd+rw dvd ram...etc.. vhs/beta

 

I've been looking at buying one for a while as well, but wanted to see which format would come out on top, and waiting for prices to drop.

On the advice of Alanalt(regualar poster here) I picked up(or rather he picked up for me) an LG burner, it's multi format, meaing it will write both + - formats and rewritables in either format... so you're coverered for everything. Unfortunatly the highest write speed, that I'm aware of is 4x, this of course will change in time, but the LG writes at 4 and the price is right( under 300 CAD) VERY INEXPENSIVE.

One drawback.. the bundled software.. not the best, but you can pick up Nero or something else fairly cheap.

Now if you want to wait for something better, and there will ALWAYS be something better on the horizon... there are blue laser burners coming in the future... (current writers use red laser) Blue will write huge amounts more data on a 5" disc than the current crop, but currently only available in Japan, and at a price point of around 4000 us... YIKES>

Anyhow, go to cnet, do a bit of comparison shopping, check out the reviews, and make a choice... good luck.

Matt(techboy)

[JamesK840]

RE: mutli format dvd+r dvd-r dvd+rw dvd ram...etc.. vhs/beta

 

They were talking about set-top DVD recorders (at least I assumed that was the question...). Computer-based ones are harder for novices, especially if all they want to do is transfer video to DVD. But computer based ones are much cheaper. I've seen the LG drive and a TDK drive for well under $150, hell, I think the LG was $115 on mwave.com I'd say by Christmas nobody should buy a desktop computer without a DVD burner, they should be common in the under $1000 bargain models by then and are at the least great for backup of files.

 

Blue laser is interesting, but still a good ways off. Consumer recordable blue would not be playable in the millions of DVD players out there now, and it's doubtful that the bastards at the MPAA will let a HD format exist without fairly draconian copy protection.

[CT Dick]

RE: mutli format dvd+r dvd-r dvd+rw dvd ram...etc.. vhs...

 

Commercial DVD's have chapter jumps for those of us who do not watch a whole movie in one sitting. (}( ).

 

If we record our VCR tapes onto DVD, will we be able to jump also or will we have to begin at the beginning everytime we watch movie?

 

Dick

[+ glutes]

RE: mutli format dvd+r dvd-r dvd+rw dvd ram...etc.. vhs...

 

Very good question Dick, I'm putting the feelers out to my techie friends right now. (However I think not, and those chapter advances have been sooo wonderful with the BelAmi DVD's. Talk about 'cut to the chase'!!)

[Matt_Vancouver]

Chapters

 

It all depends on how you choose to write the DVD. You can create your own 'chapters' using a variety of software

Chances are you will probably make a few coasters before you get it right.

CTdick, if you need me to come over and help you figure it out: ) just say the word.

Matt(half my normal rate for tech help)

[JamesK840]

RE: mutli format dvd+r dvd-r dvd+rw dvd ram...etc.. vhs...

 

It's a feature to look for, some recorders may have a button you can push while recording to make a chapter. I don't think they can be added once you close the disk though.

[Boink]

RE: mutli format dvd+r dvd-r dvd+rw dvd ram...etc.. vhs...

 

You can absolutely make chapter stops and resume playback wherever you left off. At least I can on my Phillips...:-)

[JamesK840]

RE: Chapters

 

Still don't think he's talking about a DVD burner in a computer. Just about all burning software for a computer lets you do chapters...

 

I think they're mostly talking about stand-alone set-top boxes, VCR replacement type-things. I do think you can generally do it there, but it should be easy to check this for a specific model at the store.

[Guest Tristan]

RE: As sometimes happen

 

True that copies of copies are always inferior. However, buying all your favorite VHS porn films in DVD format begs the question: How many films are we talking about? A lot of people have many high end porn films, such as Bel Ami or Falcon. These cost them $49.95 - $59.95/tape. Currently, the DVD format isn't much cheaper, or not cheaper at all. If you have quite a few favorites, that's alot of bread. For some people, it would also be a one-time thing. Once the tapes are copied, they may have no use for the machine. On the flip side is the fact that it's going to be laborious and time-consuming to copy all those tapes (especially inserting chapters as you go) yourself. I'm wondering if professional services will come down in price, though I doubt they would be able to take the time to insert chapter breaks without a hefty cost. There doesn't seem to be any solution right now without serious drawbacks. Oh, I can just picture those old VHS tapes compactly stored in DVD format.

 

Can someone please invent a magic wand that would instantly turn those old clunky tapes into DVDs?