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May 13, 2012, 05:27 PM

Hey!

I need some information regarding DVD recorders for TV, if that exists; but I thought so. My parents have this old TV and are now looking for a new one and they have an old VHS video recorder, they used to watch DVDs on their Macs until now.

So, what to do? Would buying a DVD recorder make sense? Is that expensive? Can you use the DVDs on the computer, too? Any advice?

Thanks!
Pete

Waragainstsleep · May 13, 2012, 05:37 PM

Many of them use their own proprietary systems for recording content but some might be able to record to something more generic.
The ones I have used tended to be unreliable and short lived. They failed to record things quite often.

I would steer clear of them if I were you and look at a PVR hard-drive based recorder instead.

angelmb · May 14, 2012, 03:14 AM

I have this Pioneer DVR-545HX, there is a review on it here.

There is an unit at eBay Germany.

Eug · May 14, 2012, 08:40 AM

DVD recorders used to be quite common. Less so now, but they're still available. Just look for one that can produce finalized discs that play on normal DVD players and computers. This should be most of them.

I used to have a Panasonic that worked well. (Initially the finalized discs didn't play in OS X, but then OS X was updated and everything worked fine after that.) It finally died several years later though.

P.S. If you do get one, don't use cheap discs. Cheap discs are a big source of problems with these recorders. If you use good quality name brand media, you'll save yourself a lot of headache.

gooser · May 14, 2012, 01:24 PM

i have a humax tivo with a dvd recorder that i plan on putting on e-bay later this week. record your shows and put them on dvd when you feel like it.

May 16, 2012, 05:48 AM

Thanks for the great replies! I'm still thinking, but I think we may get one... One last thing: Can I use normal DVDs or do I have to buy special DVDs somewhere? You said, it would be great to buy good ones, but then, how to know, hmm... Pete

P · May 16, 2012, 07:47 AM

Depends on the recorder, but usually it' s regular DVD-R or DVD+R.

polendo · May 20, 2012, 05:18 PM

DVD recorders have been scarce since there are issues with copy rights and the ones with a TV tuner have been practically banned and hence aren't made any more. I spent a lot of time searching for dvd recorders (I need to record sports games to analyze certain things) this past months and unfortunately I had three options to record a TV program:
1. PVR
2. DVD recorder (if you find one)
3. PC which can record tv programs

1 PVR - I couldn't find an option to record on a DVD.. just to the PVR hard disk. Are a bit expensive.
2. DVD recorder - Stay clear of LG. The rest are unknown brands to me BUT on Amazon I found a Toshiba (tuner less) and bought three on the spot.
3. PC - unreliable.

If you still are searching for one I recommed you get a Toshiba at amazon. There were 99 USD each.

gooser · May 21, 2012, 12:44 PM

yeah. i've had my tivo one for years but they don't sell them new anymore.

May 27, 2012, 09:51 AM

Hey!
Ok, thanks for the answer, to me that was really helpful, great!

Some last question: How do you connect these anyway? Can I just use SCART or how does it work? I have an old VHS recorder and I can also connect it to a hardware recorder we have here using SCART and quality is ok if I wish to use it. How about the DVD recorder?

Thanks!
Pete

polendo · May 28, 2012, 04:53 PM

I dont know what does SCART means, but a DVD recorder is like a VHS. Same concept. From the OUT of the source to IN of the DVD recorder. And from out of the DVD recorder to IN of the TV. In my setup I use an RCA cable from the source to the DVD recorder and an HDMI cable from the DVD recorder to the TV. Its simple.

polendo · May 28, 2012, 05:00 PM

Pete,
I just realized you are in Europe (I googled SCART). Before you buy a stand alone DVD recorder from this side of the pond make sure it is compatible with your over the air TV format (you guys use PAL, right?).
regards

May 28, 2012, 05:48 PM

Hey!

Thanks, that was pretty helpful! One last question, though:
It might sound stupid, but what happens if I try to record many episodes of something? Can I actually burn them on one DVD, I mean, record one, wait an hour, record another -- I always thought CD and DVD burning would be 'one in full', so you start recording once and the disc can no longer be changed; but I dunno.

?
Thanks!
Pete

polendo · May 29, 2012, 02:34 PM

Hey there,

Its actually pretty flexible to record on a DVD. You actually have like 4 record speed setups (like on a VHS) on a 4.7 GB DVD. Time range from 1 hour on a full DVD to like 8 hours on the slowest speed. The typical caveat applies here like on a VHS.. more recording time = lower quality. I use between LP (4 hours) and EP (6 hours). To me there´s a significant drop in quality from LP to EP. LP is acceptable for looking at a TV show .. EP is not that good.
Anyway, when you insert a blank dvd on a dvd recorder an initialization process starts (typically automatically) ... in other words the DVD is "prepared" for you to start recording. You can record one program after another until you do not have more space available. You can even record on different sessions (i.e. different days) until there no space on the DVD. There´s a final process you have to do in order to view that recorded DVD on different dvd players.. that is to finalize the DVD. The dvd recorder runs a process and the dvd is ready to be seen on different dvd players. IF YOU DO NOT finalize the dvd you can only see it on the DVD recorder that you used to record... if you try to use that same dvd disc on a different dvd player you can not watch it since its not finalized. Hopefully I didn´t confused you...

May 29, 2012, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by polendo

Hey there,

Its actually pretty flexible to record on a DVD. You actually have like 4 record speed setups (like on a VHS) on a 4.7 GB DVD. Time range from 1 hour on a full DVD to like 8 hours on the slowest speed. The typical caveat applies here like on a VHS.. more recording time = lower quality. I use between LP (4 hours) and EP (6 hours). To me there´s a significant drop in quality from LP to EP. LP is acceptable for looking at a TV show .. EP is not that good.
Anyway, when you insert a blank dvd on a dvd recorder an initialization process starts (typically automatically) ... in other words the DVD is "prepared" for you to start recording. You can record one program after another until you do not have more space available. You can even record on different sessions (i.e. different days) until there no space on the DVD. There´s a final process you have to do in order to view that recorded DVD on different dvd players.. that is to finalize the DVD. The dvd recorder runs a process and the dvd is ready to be seen on different dvd players. IF YOU DO NOT finalize the dvd you can only see it on the DVD recorder that you used to record... if you try to use that same dvd disc on a different dvd player you can not watch it since its not finalized. Hopefully I didn´t confused you...

Great! That's an extensive answer, much to think about here, but I'm moving foward, starting to getting to understand everything...

polendo · May 29, 2012, 11:12 PM

I forgot to mention that when you finalize a DVD you cannot record anymore on that particular DVD disc. So basically you record programs and when it is almost full you finalize it and you are ready to see it on different dvd player.

Jul 6, 2012, 10:33 AM

I have to bump this again for a moment, I believe... One last thing:
I bought a new Panasonic DVD recorder, as I found a cheap offering. I haven't tried yet, but in the manual, it says on DVD+R and +DL it can only record 4:3, and only on DVD-R and -DL it can record 16:9, is that possible? I mean, if the manual says so... But I can't figure out how that should be true and I bought the DVD+RDL already, hmm... any idea?