Goodbye VHS, hello DVD-R, maybe

Factual Questions
1

We are about to take the plunge and convert from tape to DVD recording for our local Community Access TV channels. Currently, we record live to VHS tape, then make several VHS copies real-time for distribution thru the library. So a 4-hour meeting takes 4 hours to copy, altho we can make several copies at once with multiple recorders.

Now if we record live to DVD-R, we have a choice in the Panasonic DMR T3030 recorder: 1,2,4 or 6 hours on a single-sided DVD-R blank. We did some tests and thought the 6 hour speed had flawed video, so we will be using the 2- or 4-hour speed.

I understand the DVD speed difference, unlike VHS speeds, is in the amount of data compression. So, no matter what speed is used, we will only get 4.7GB on a single-sided DVD-R blank, right?

So can we get a 4X DVD-R PC-internal burner like the Sony DRU-500AX, and a cheaper internal DVD player, and make a 1:1 copy without having to buffer an image to the hard drive first? And if the player is rated 4X, how long would it take to copy a full, 4.7GB source disk? 1/4 hour?

Am I right in assuming that the 1,2,4 or 6 hour record speed has no effect on the disk to disk copying time?

And is the software that comes with the drive(s) be adequate for disk-disk coping, or do we need something like DVD XCOPY?

Last Question: (really!) I have heard horror stories about transferring video from tape to DVD. Is it possible to feed the output from a VHS player to the DVD burner on a computer and make a (real-time) VHS to DVD copy without any special software or routines like authoring, MPEG encoding, etc.?

Most grateful for any expertise.

2

As per your last question - my father had the same conundrum a while back. Samsung, I believe sells a rather neat combo DVD-R / VHS player / recorder. You stick your VHS tape in on one side, a blank dvd-r on the other. Hit one button (yes…they made is REAL simple) and you’re good to go. The only reason we didnt go ahead and get it was that the price was pretty steep. $800 dollars at the time. I believe they are down to around $400-$500 now.

3

najniran, if the Samsung DVD-V2000 is the unit you are referring to, it doesn’t record to DVD, and the specs don’t mention it can play DVD-R. It probably plays commercial DVDs just fine, but I have found consumer units do not always handle DVD-Rs unless they specify such.

If we can go the computer route, that might be best. Or if there is a model similar to the Samsung that also records DVD-R from VHS, that might be attractive for its one-touch concept; no messing with complicated computer programs.

4

"So can we get a 4X DVD-R PC-internal burner like the Sony DRU-500AX, and a cheaper internal DVD player, and make a 1:1 copy without having to buffer an image to the hard drive "

I can’t really answer this without knowing the speed of your computer. You should always make an image to the HD first. Why not? You can store that & make another copy of it to dvd later.

I have a Panasonic e30 recorder & it makes great dvd copies from my VHS recordings. It has three inputs & 4 outputs & each output can go to a machine that can record. (one output is RF).

You can only get 4.7gb on a dvd-r is correct…

5

I don’t see why. It’s an extra step, and if we are making only one copy, this would double the time needed. I would think the limiting factor would be the write time – no matter how fast we can read it, the write operation will determine the throughput time, so why buffer it?

As far as the computer speed, we will use whatever is needed. I haven’t looked into the DVD writer requirements, but that should tell us what the minimum is.

So a simple cable (S-video or audio/video) between the two machines is all that is needed to copy from VHS to DVD? The only reason I am pressing the question is a friend was telling me how complicated it was to do this in his setup – he has to “author” a file, convert it to MPEG-something, etc. – a lot more hassle than just pressing play & record switches or a couple of mouse-clicks.

I just talked to a salesman at Discmakers about their standalone duplicators. One low-volume model Reflex1, will dupe a DVD to another DVD in 15 minutes or less without using a computer or buffering thru a hard drive. The salesman said the higher-volume models did (or could) use an image-buffering scheme. The Reflex1 was just reduced (today!) to US$790.

6

With the stand-alone unit, yes. I just got the Panasonic DMR-E50 and have been transferring old laserdiscs like crazy. You’re right about the 6hr mode - not so hot. In the 4hr mode, the copies look exactly like the original. Which was exactly what I was hoping for. The only down side to recording to DVD-R is that you don’t get a second chance like you would with a videotape. You’ll have to be quick on the pause button if you are making copies of stuff you’ve recorded off TV and want to remove commercials. You could buy the slightly more expensive DVD-RAM discs and use the Panasonic’s built-in editor. As an experiment, I recorded an ep of MST3K (2 hours w/commercials) last week and was able to edit it down in about 15 minutes. When I watched it again, the edits were seamless.

I’ve been videotaping for nearly 20 years now and have enjoyed using VCRs immensely, but I’m gonna like DVDRs much better.

7

Thanks, Mr. Blue Sky, that’s great advice from a hands-on user.

FYI: I have been told that the 1…4 hour record modes for DVD-R share the same audio specs, but the 6 hour mode jumps to a much lower audio quality. Another reason to stay away from it.

I doubt if we could use even the 4 hour mode if we were recording sports events, where the frame-to-frame difference can be great. But we record government meetings, and the only things that move are the mouths of the politicians!