Topic: Calling A TV/Video Techie!

[Sandra]

You can even get them in supermarkets now Clive.
Just make sure you get the correct ones for your machine, either + or - , you should be able to get rewritables one too  

[Sandra]

These seem to be competatively priced Clive, as long as you buy in bulk  

http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/DVD_Section__DVD_R_RW___DVD_R_RW___DVD_RAM_.html

Probably better to get a few locally to try it out and then order on line  

[Simon]

Clive, for your Pioneer you can either use DVD-RAM, DVD-R, or DVD-RW blank discs.  DVD-RAM cannot be played back on another machine.  DVD-R and DVD-RW discs can be played on the majority of other machines, providing you have formatted the disc in Video Mode.

I've started a new thread on this subject here.  

I've got my Sony all set up.  It's very much like setting up a combination of a DVD Player and a VCR, which is obvious, I suppose.  Everything is connected via scart leads, and set to RGB for the best picture quality.  I have done some test recordings, and the 2 hour SP mode is by far the best.  It is impossible to distinguish between a recording in SP mode, and the original digital broadcast.  As you go through the other modes (LP: 3 hours; EP: 4 hours; SLP: 6 hours), the picture quality gradually softens, but is still watchable.

Set up is very easy, and the machine walks you through the basic settings.  I'll report back when I've had a bit more of a play.

[Clive]

Thanks Sandra, those prices are better than Viking which I buy all my stationery supplies from.  

Your findings are very encouraging Simon.  I hadn't realised you have to format each disc.  I've just had a quick scan of the manual and it says it does it automatically when you load a new disc.  How long does it take?

[Simon]

My Sony takes about 20 seconds to format a new disc.  I don't think you have to do it every time, if you are using DVD-RWs, as it overwrites what is on the disc, if I understand it correctly.  I may be wrong with that - haven't got round to that bit yet.  Thinking about it, that may only happens in VR mode (not Video Mode), so you may have to format a full disc before you use it again, if you are using Video Mode.  Hopefully I can clarify that soon.

You do, however, have to finalise RWs before you can play them on another machine, which takes about 2-3 minutes for a full disc.  No longer than rewinding a video tape, really.

One other thing I noticed is that when you are recording consecutive programs on the timer (i.e. Corrie then Eastenders), it pauses for about 20 seconds between timer events to write info to the disc.

[Sandra]

Someone was having problems on another forum with rewritable dvds not working correctly if they werent formatted Simon as they retained some data from the earlier recording and couldnt read the new one somehow.
Maybe it doesnt overwrite at the beginning or something  
I will see if I can find it and post it here later  

[Dack]

Clive, for your Pioneer you can either use DVD-RAM, DVD-R, or DVD-RW blank discs.  DVD-RAM cannot be played back on another machine.  DVD-R and DVD-RW discs can be played on the majority of other machines, providing you have formatted the disc in Video Mode.

'Fraid not

The Pioneer does not record on DVD-RAM. It only records on -R and -RW.

BTW DVD-RAM can be played back on other machines (All the panasonic range from the last 2 years, thompson range, toshiba etc), thats how I do video archiving. I record on the E20 at highest quality and then edit it on there. I then take the RAM disc and play it in my RA82 player and dub it onto a DVD-R.

Well mine has turned up today and I've taken a quick look inside the box.  It has connections for SCART (not supplied!) s video, optical and RGB output so it appears there are plenty of options.  They didn't include a DVD to record on - how mean is that?    Also, it said in the advert that I was entitled to 3 out of 5 (albeit crappy) DVD films yet there is no mention of them.  Also free plane tickets to God knows where, but where are they??  

Worth giving them a ring/email - the usual situation is there should be a leaflet included that you send back with your choice of films etc.
WOnder if the promotion has finished due to their tardiness in sending the players

[Sandra]

Dont know if this is relevant or not to the two of you, Clive and Simon.
Its the post from the other forum that I mentioned earlier.
This would be writing on a pc of course, using Nero, so maybe your tv dvd recorder will do it differently  

I found that when I use a DVD-RW I had to format the disk in nero first then put the files on if the disk had been used for something else. If I did not do this the file would start to play and then go to the end and read the next file on the disk and it would not fast forward. After formating the disk all was fine.

[Simon]

Thanks Sandra.  I'm going to sit and 'RTFM' this afternoon.  

Clive, for your Pioneer you can either use DVD-RAM, DVD-R, or DVD-RW blank discs.  DVD-RAM cannot be played back on another machine.  DVD-R and DVD-RW discs can be played on the majority of other machines, providing you have formatted the disc in Video Mode.

'Fraid not

The Pioneer does not record on DVD-RAM. It only records on -R and -RW.

BTW DVD-RAM can be played back on other machines (All the panasonic range from the last 2 years, thompson range, toshiba etc), thats how I do video archiving. I record on the E20 at highest quality and then edit it on there. I then take the RAM disc and play it in my RA82 player and dub it onto a DVD-R.

Oops!   :-[  Sorry 'bout that.  I must have been looking at the JVC.    I thought it was only Panasonic players that played back RAM, so I've learned something there.  

[Clive]

Thanks Dack.  I'll buy a few discs to experiment with and let you know how I get on.  They are cheap enough to make mistakes with so it won't be the end of the world if it goes horribly wrong.

[Clive]

Well it was a bit of a struggle but I've got it working at long last.  Much of the problem was that I have 5 TV sets connected on a router system and they all stopped working (apart from the plasma set) when I swapped the VCR for the DVDR.  Then I couldn't get the DVDR tuned in properly.  Eventually it was all resolved and I've successfully recorded my first DVD.  The only problem is that in order for it to be played on one of my other DVD players, the DVD has to be "finalized" to glue the recording in place and that takes a further 20 - 60 minutes.

I bought the discs from Sandra's website (48 hours to deliver) and I've had my free DVD voucher which actually cost me £5 for 3 DVD's.

The acid test will be actually recording something Mrs Clive wants to see and get the correct channel for once.

[Simon]

The only problem is that in order for it to be played on one of my other DVD players, the DVD has to be "finalized" to glue the recording in place and that takes a further 20 - 60 minutes.

WHHAAATTT??!!!![/b][/i]    Are you sure you don't mean 2 - 6 minutes, Clive?  My Sony takes about 2 minutes to finalize a disc recorded in LP (3 hours), and about 4 minutes for EP (4 hours).  Surely there can't be that much of a dramatic difference between models?  Must be Sandra's dodgy cheap discs!    Which mode are you using?  Plus or Minus?

[Clive]

Ah!  That will teach me to read the manual properly.  It says:

If the finalization process is going to take more than around 4 minutes, you can press enter to cancel.  A disc recorded in VR mode can take up to 1 hour to finalize.  A disc recorded in Video mode can take up to 20 minutes.

I haven't had to finalize a disc yet so I will let you know how long Dalziel and Pascoe or Touch of Frost takes when the time comes.  

Oh, I'm using minus.

[Lona]

How's your recordings going, Simon?. My daughter who has the philips dvd recorder found that fitting the best fully wired scart leads improved the quality greatly. . She is still not very impressed with the 6 hour recording quality.

[Simon]

Yes, better scarts = better picture.  It's going OK, thanks Lona.  I find that the picture quality deteriorates (softens) if I try to get more than about 3 hours on a disc, but as I use DVD-RWs, it's not a problem, as I can just record over them again.  I did accidentally record an episode of Corrie in the 6 hour mode, and it looked 'film' quality, rather than 'studio' quality, if you know what I mean.  Watchable, but not what I would choose normally.  It's especially noticable, having a large screen TV.  Picture quality from a digital source, in the 2 hour mode, is second to none.

The only thing I would possibly criticise is that you can't quickly whack a disc in to record in an 'emergency', as you have to format the disc first, which takes a few minutes.  Not a big deal, but not quite as 'immediate' as shoving a video in a VCR and hitting Instant Record.

The one I have, the Sony GX3 also has a bit of an irritating 'feature', which I have discussed before, in that I can't use the Synchro Record function, because for some reason, it starts to record when I play another DVD on my other DVD Player.  The Synchro Record feature is supposed to enable the DVDR to record from a (Freeview) Digital Set Top Box timer, so you only need to program one appliance, however, as I cannot use this function, it means that if I want to Timer Record programs, I have to set the timers on both the Set Top Box, and the DVDR, which is a bit tiresome.

I still think it's a more than worthy successor to the VCR, for the picture and sound quality, and the fact that the discs are so convenient.