Somehow I got the task of finding the right equipment for a work related project.
We have a lot of medical echocardiogram video tapes that need to be transferred to DVD for storage, and to send to medical experts.
Ideally I would like a single machine where you pop in the video tape and copy it onto a DVD disc. Is there such a machine?
Otherwise, I would like a stand alone DVD burner that can be hooked up to a VCR to make the transfer.
I am trying to avoid installing a DVD burner in my computer at work as I do not want to spend hours copying them, and be unable to do other projects at the same time.
Under $700 will be no problem for the firm…anything above that will take awhile to be approved.
Suggestions? Personal experience? Things to watch out for?
I have two Panasonic DMR-E50 stand alone units. It works just like a VCR. I paid $500 in June, but they may have come down by now. You can put titles on each item you record as well as a title for the disc. There’s not much in the way of menu options, though. Pretty much just a list of what’s on the disc. It has 4 record modes: XP (1 hr), SP (2 hrs), LP (4 hrs), & EP (6 hrs). The EP mode is sub-VHS quality. I generally use the 4 hr mode. It uses DVD-R or DVD-RAM discs. The RAM disc will allow you to edit the content if you want. I use one unit to record stuff off commercial TV and edit the commercials out. It takes a few minutes to learn, but it’s fairly strait forward and the edits are quite clean.
I’ve made about a hundred discs and haven’t had any compatibility problems with other players.
If you have any other questions about this particular unit, feel free to ask.
The old DVD-R vs. DVD+R - right noe, they are competeing, mutually incompatible formats. If you are sending them out, some of your recepients will need to get new readers/players. +R claims near-universalcompatibility, but do your own survey.
Secondly, you will have a resolution problem - a fuzy image is not an option for your application. Philips now makes HQ and HQ+ *1 hour, and 1/2 hour, respectively) for ultra fine imaging, These are +R, and I have no experience (but then, if you are using 1/2" tape as source, your image insn’t going to get any better, so ignow HQ/HQ+ and use SP.
Yes thes really do plug in just like VCR (use the best patch cables you can - the ones which come with the equipment are noisy.
Hit “Record”, hit “Play”, then do something else for a while.
See…the DVD-R vs. DVD+R is going to be a pain…I still remember Beta vs VHS.
So…these DVD’s have to be sent to doctors throughout the US and to some attorneys. Some will be played on laptop computers, others in regular DVD players attached to regular televisions.
Before I plunk down $$$ from the firm, it would be kinda nice to know which is the more “normal” format for those kind of people.
I don’t suppose there is a machine that does BOTH… DVD-R and DVD+R?
I just bought a brand new Sansui VRDVD4005 at Sears for $400. It makes DVDs from VHS tapes and vice versa. Also handles MP3, DTS, JPEG, WMA, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD-RW.
hyjylyj that sounds like exactly what I am looking for! Cheap and easy - just like me and my fellow employees.
However, as to what has been hinted above, do the DVD’s you make work on all normal DVD players and laptops with DVD players? Have you tried them out on unsuspecting neighbors and friends? My brother sent me a DVD his buddy made, and it didn’t work on my DVD player, nor on any of my friends players.
(I don’t want to make 300 copies and then find out the discs only work on one brand of DVD’s players manufactured in Myramar.)
Let me know as I have to put in a purchase order no later than December 30th!
And any more suggestions and tips would be helpful. Sorry if I seem paranoid, but if I purchase the wrong equipment, well…I will be up that proverbial creek without a paddle.