Hey

Does it make high-speed copies of a DVD that you have previously burnt? Like if I made a set of Mork and Mindy DVDs on it. Could I use it to make high-speed copies of that set without running another DVD player though it? I hope this made sense. lol

Originally posted by tsmiller70
Hey

Does it make high-speed copies of a DVD that you have previously burnt? Like if I made a set of Mork and Mindy DVDs on it. Could I use it to make high-speed copies of that set without running another DVD player though it? I hope this made sense. lol
tsmiller70,

No, the DMR-E50 doesn't make high speed copies. It is basically the same process as with dubbing VHS onto VHS. Once you have a DVD made, you'd then need to connect a DVD player to it to make more DVDs. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no such thing as a standalone DVD recorder that does high speed copies.

Jen :wave:

I think the new Pioneer w/hard drive models allow you to transfer stuff on disc back to the hard drive and reburn onto a new disc, at high speed (not sure how fast, but faster than real time).

The Panasonic DMR-E80 allows re-recording to the hard drive from DVD-RAM discs only. It won't allow DVD-Rs to be copied to the hard drive if they're inserted in the same unit, but I've been able to copy the contents of DVD-Rs to the hard drive by playing them. That doesn't preserve the menus and such, however.

That doesn't preserve the menus and such, however.
With "and such" being quality. Playing and re-recording results in a generation loss. That would not be the case if the Pioneer model does indeed work as I think it does (I don't have one, just going by what a friend who does has told me). It's really too bad that the E80 does not allow the same from -R discs.

I just looked over the specs on the Pioneer models - the highest-end ones have built-in TIVO. They can apparently dub at very high speeds (well beyond anything my Panasonic can do). But I didn't see anything about recording from DVD-R to the hard drive.

I think the DVD recorders are going to be like PCs - as soon as you buy one, it's going to be behind the technology curve already. :>

I don't think the standalone DVD recorders are designed - and I believe this is intentional - for mass production.

I don't think the standalone DVD recorders are designed - and I believe this is intentional - for mass production.

Do you mean to say that you do not think that they are going to be the successor to vcrs? Or just that right now in early 2004 they're not considered, or designed, to be a mass market product?

Philips makes a much cheaper, scaled-down model specifically for sale in mass warehouses like Costco.

I don't think the standalone DVD recorders are designed - and I believe this is intentional - for mass production.

I was wandering if you mean that they are not as dependable as VHS? OR in other words they will break often.

You have me worried. I have alot to change over to DVD and I don't want to make 1 set of DVDs and then have a broken $400 dollar machine on my hands. lol:lol:

I meant that standalone DVD recorders are not meant to be used for mass producing discs (as in 30 copies of the same disc).

Based on the safeguards built into them, I'd say they are really designed for single-copy home use. They will not copy commercially produced DVDs, even when Macrovision and other copy guards are turned off, and they won't copy commercially produced tapes, either. And if a broadcast signal contains a certain code to prevent recording, they won't record that either. I remember hearing that the Starz networks had been fighting inclusion of those codes in their broadcasts, because they felt that the ability to tape and replay their movies was a major reason they'd become so popular among subscribers. The advent of digital signals allows these codes to be inserted in the datastream.

Now, there are no doubt ways around this with equipment inserted between the source and the DVD recorder, but at least the Panasonic that I have won't allow me to get around that.

I've heard people complain about this "feature." Even material where the copyright holder allows a backup to be made, the Panasonic has been known to refuse to copy.

This is why I feel that standalone DVD recorders are not designed to mass produce discs.

Originally posted by debwalsh
I meant that standalone DVD recorders are not meant to be used for mass producing discs (as in 30 copies of the same disc)...This is why I feel that standalone DVD recorders are not designed to mass produce discs.
I've made almost 1000 DVDs with my recorder, and the only thing I've noticed different about my machine than when I first got it is that instead of taking three minutes to finalize it now takes four.

Since I knew that I would be making close to 2000 before I could let my machine collect dust, I took advantage of the four year extended warranty. Most owners don't have the luxury of using their machine as much as I do (I work out of my home). I guess I could almost do Panasonic commercials, and maybe I'd get a commission on bragging about their products. :D

Jen :wave:

Hey Agent 13

Did you ever have to get your unit worked on and use your warrenty? just wondering.....

tsmiller70

Originally posted by tsmiller70
Hey Agent 13

Did you ever have to get your unit worked on and use your warrenty? just wondering.....

tsmiller70
tsmiller70,

I've never had to have my machine worked on! Since I got it in October, I've consistently used it 17 hours per day, without exaggeration. I use it all day long, and then when I go to bed, I use timer record for two hours. It's been great!

Jen :wave:

hey,

I am going to be getting one probably next week. I have been looking and I think you sold me on the Panasonic DMR-E50. But, have you looked at the Panasonic DMR-E60? What is the differance?

tsmiller70

No, I haven't checked into the DMR-E60. I have heard even better things about the DMR-E100 which includes a hard drive, but that is very, very expensive.

You'll have fun! And it'll open up a whole new world for trading.

Jen :wave:

I have the DMR EH80, which has the hard drive. I got mine through Amazon, with free shipping and no sales tax. I paid less than I've seen it in stores (a little more than $550). I love the hard drive - I dub a single episode to the hard drive, edit out commercials with precision, title it, and when I've got the episodes I want to burn to DVD, I just select them and go. It's more time consuming than simply copying to DVD directly, but I'm really happy with the results. It's by no means perfect, but I am very happy with it.

Hey Deb,

I have another question to ask you. You said you can edit the episodes. I was wondering...... I have sets of episodes with commercals. If I got the one with the hard drive. To edit out the commercals, once I have down loaded the episodes onto the drive could I fastforward to the commercals and cut them out? Or do I have to sit there and watch it until the commercals come on and pause it til it is over then continue on.

The reason I ask is my sets I own I have watched sooo many times and it would be great to NOT have to sit though them again.lol I want to burn them so I will never lose them and clean up the set without commercals. I'm just not up to par on the DVD recorder units.

Also with the Hard drive can you burn a set on fast forward or in other words a quick copier or does it record or burn in real time?

Thanks
tsmiller

Editing commercials is one of the things I love about the hard drive. You have to select "Shorten segment" to edit them out, and you can fast forward to the starting point, mark the beginning (and if you change your mind about where to begin, you can do that, too, until you actually select the "erase segment" option), fast forward to the end point, mark that, and then select to erase the segment you've marked. I've found even some of the older programs I have where I did remove commercials, but not elegantly, I've been able to clean up those edits even further going to DVD. This is what I always wanted edited out commercials to be, so I'm very, very happy with the function.

To burn at high speed (the Panasonic does 2x only to DVD-R discs - there may be a firmware upgrade at some point to take it higher), you have to burn at the same speed you recorded the programs. I record at SP to maximize quality, so all my DVD-Rs are done at SP. There may come a day when my Beta deck no longer works, so I don't want my disc backups to be of lesser quality than the original tapes.

Agent 13,

Does your DR 50 do that?

tsmiller70

Sorry about all the questions. But, I want to get the unit that would best serve me. Also you can tell I'm pretty dumb and this stuff.lol

:lol:

Thanks

tsmiller70,

If you think you're dumb... what am I? LOL (My husband is the brain in the electronic department at our house. Without him I couldn't even copy one video to another. :D )

No, my DMR-E50 doesn't edit commercials. Mine is like a glorified VCR. It'd be nice to be able to edit out the commercials when there are advertisements for racy shows/items. However, since we collect really old shows, most of the time the morals in commercials reflect the morals of the show they're promoting.

OK, all of this talk got me shopping for one, and I just bought my Panasonic DMR-E50. I can't wait to start using it. My question is this:

Does anyone have a TiVo already connected. I am trying to figure out how to hook up my DVD player, that would work with my TiVo and also my VCR. If anyone out there could help, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

PS. I got mine at Circut City. They had an open box one for only $259.00! They do have new in box ones on clearance for only $308.00, so if shopping, you might want to check that out.

Hey,

ok, I did it. I just bought the DMR-E80H. I got it for the easy editing. I paid $511.30

I hope that was a good price.(If not then I guess it was my bad)lol

It is being shiped and will be here Wed. Oh boy, I can't wait! I sound like a kid with a new toy. I hope I made the right choice. It was alot more than I wanted to spend. But, I just don't want to regret it later on. So, I have to bite the bullet for a little while.

debwalsh,

What kind and name brand DVD blanks do you use? Also where do you buy them?

:cool: thanks for all the help guys!

:wave: tsmiller70

I prefer the Maxells. The friend who recommended the E80 to me uses the CompUSA brand almost religiously. I experimented for a few weeks with different brands until I found one I liked and that would play well on most of the DVD players in the family. Finding the media proved more difficult - WalMart carries DVD-Rs and DVD-RAMs in my area and I tend to buy there a lot. CompUSA carries some brands. A lot of folks who do a lot of burning use Ritek and Princo - I got a few of those, and most of them ended up as coasters - unburnable, shut the unit down with an error when I tried to copy to them.

An online retailer I've ordered discs from is www.efunctional.com. They've got good prices, but I think their shipping may be a bit high.

Key thing to remember is to edit commercials out, you want to "shorten segment." Allow yourself some time to play around, check out the reviews and comments on the unit at www.vcdhelp.com, and be patient. The manual is not intuitive, but having read a lot of the comments at vcdhelp.com before I got mine, I didn't have a lot of problems. I'm still learning how to make it work best for me as I go.

I think I paid $499 for mine from Amazon.com, but they don't offer it at that price any more.

Good luck with the new baby!

Hey,

OH BOY!!! Its here! Just got it today and now I need to go get some blank DVDs. :(

What kind should I get? I'm going to Wal-mart to see if they carry Maxwell. Also do I need DVD-R or DVD+R or DVD-RAM. What in the world is the differance? Also do they all work on this unit?:crazy:

Thanks for all the help!!:wave:

You can only use DVD-R discs or DVD-RAM discs. DVD-R discs must be finalized before you can play them in another machine. DVD-RAM discs can be played in some computer DVD-ROM drives, but not other DVD players. They are re-recordable.

The manual isn't brilliant, but you will probably find it answers a lot of your questions. I strongly recommend you check out www.vcdhelp.com and look at the posts regarding the unit - I learned a great deal by reading there, and managed to bypass a lot of frustration as a result. Do your homework first.

tsmiller70,

You will be using DVD-R with your recorder. DVD-RAM is too expensive to use for building your DVD library and/or trading purposes. Each RAM is designed to be used 100,000 times, sort of like you'd reuse a VHS tape though you actually erase the stuff on the RAM by the click of a button. DVD-Rs are not erasable, so give yourself a few discs to figure out the machine or else use the RAM to practice on.

I have a Panasonic DVD player that plays DVD-RAM, by the way, but generally, I can't see a reason for your needing to use it since you have a hard drive.

I hope this helps. It won't be long and you'll be an expert... trust me. :wave:

So, what is the differance between a DVD-R or DVD+R?

Originally posted by tsmiller70
So, what is the differance between a DVD-R or DVD+R?

I'm not exactly sure, though most DVD players cannot play DVD+R. :D

DVD-R is recognized as a standard by the DVD Forum. DVD+R is another standard developed by certain manufacturers, and it is not recognized by the DVD Forum. The DVD Forum sets the industry standards.

It's like Beta vs. VHS in some ways. Not all machines can play both, there are a handful of machines that can record both. Panasonic supports DVD-R. I think it's Philips that is pushing the DVD+R. There is also a DVR-R/W and a DVD+R/W, which is not the same thing. I'm really not sure where they fit in, but the E80 is not designed to use R/W discs.

WalMart and CompUSA carry DVD-Rs by several different manufacturers. My local WalMart carries Maxell DVD-RAM discs (no cartridge) for just a little more than an average DVD-R.

I did learn recently that Maxell's new 4X DVD-R discs will work in the E80, but not at 4X speed. The E80 dubs at high speed at 2X only. Hopefully they'll come out with a firmware upgrade at some point. If you dub at real time, chapter stops are automatically generated if they don't exist already. I'm really bad about putting in chapter stops - as in, I don't.

Good luck!

Hey,

Thanks for all the help. You Guys (or y'all where I'm from) are so helpful. I wish everyone was as nice as you are.:happyface

Hey Deb,

I am still reading the instructions and I'm sooo confused.lol:D I hope it isn't as hard as it seems. WOW this thing is Big time high tech. I hope this simple country guy can figure this out. How long did it take you to figure it out? I think I understand that I first record a tape to the HDD hard drive then edit it and then I can burn it, right?

tsmiller

I did my research in advance - reading through the posts on vcdhelp.com, the reviews on Amazon. Reading people's complaints as well as tips. They helped enormously. I didn't have any problem hooking it up, and I planned to experiment and mess around for a while before committing myself. Not to the unit, but to do any disc for anyone but myself. I probably had the unit for a couple of months before I did any discs for anyone else. And since I found cheap DVD-RAMs, I copied everything off onto those so I could revisit the recordings once I figured everything out.

One thing that will help to know in advance is if you put in a bad disc to record onto, the unit will shut itself down. It's not broken, it's going into a protective holding pattern. The first time that happened to me, I about freaked out!

You may find that cheaper brands of discs work better for you. I tested the test discs in the machines in my family, and Maxell worked best on those units. (TDK, oddly enough, was very iffy - it would play beautifully on one deck, and register as a non-disc on another).

Also remember that in order to play the recorded disc on another machine, you have to finalize it - that encodes the disc so that it is recognized as a burned DVD-R.

Allow yourself some time to play with the unit - don't schedule any DVD-R trades for a while until you've messed around with it a bit.

Hi, I have the DMR-E80H model also and it's amazing!
You're gonna love it.

I'd be glad to help you with any questions if I can.


>Joker

Hey y2kJoker,

I may take you up on that.lol It may take me awhile to get it down.:crazy: But, I'll let you know. I am going to go through that manual a few times before I try to do any. I think I'm going to get a DVD-RAM to practice on. That-a-way if I mess it up I can just copy over it.lol Well, thank y'all soooo much. You have benn so kind to me and my ignorance.

Thanks again,
tsmiller

Hey Deb,

Believe it or not. I'm just getting my burner set up. Today was the first time it was hooked up.lol:talk: :lol:

I burned a disk and it plays in the unit DMR-E80H. But, the problem is, it doesn't play on any other players.:( I used verbatim discs. (that may be the problem) you said....


You can only use DVD-R discs or DVD-RAM discs. DVD-R discs must be finalized before you can play them in another machine. DVD-RAM discs can be played in some computer DVD-ROM drives, but not other DVD players. They are re-recordable

Please help me again!!

Tim:crazy:

I have both a DMR-E50 and a DMR-E80. Did you use a DVD-R or are you referring to your DVD-RAM (which cannot be played in most DVD players)? Each DVD-R disc needs to be finalized. Did you do that?

Verbatims wouldn't be the problem.

hey,

I have the DMR-E80. I read that I need to finialize my disks before on this thread. But, I can't find it in the instrution book that came with the unit. Could you tell me what page that info is on. Or could you talk me through it. I need to know how to finialize a disk.:confused:
I'm so grateful to this site and the wonderful and patient people here.:)

Thanks
T

On the E80, select the DVD (rather than the hard drive), and then choose Functions from the remote. If you don't select the DVD first, when you choose Functions, you'll get an entirely different set of options. In the on-screen menu, select Disc Settings. One of the choices in that menu is Finalize. Finalize takes about 4 minutes, and it's what makes the disc playable on a non-Panasonic player. It is actually in the manual.

page 36 of your manual


Click on "Functions"
then click on "Disc setting" (first box, top left)

then click "Finalize disc"


>Joker

YES, like Deb mentioned

make sure you are on the dvd section and not the hard drive.


>Joker

Thanks you wonderful people!!:D

You don't know how much this means to me, to know there are people willing to help in situations like this.;)

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Thanks
T