DVD / Hard drive recorder advice?

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ipodmusicman

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Hi folks,

A friend of mine is looking for a solution to copy content that he recorded on his SD PVR so that he can free up the space. Two suggestions were thrown around, one being getting a TV tuner card and sticking that into his PC and recording from there or getting a DVD/hard drive recorder.

I suggested the latter because they use their PC quite a lot and that it isn't in the living room where the TV is. Another reason for suggesting a DVD recorder with a built-in hard drive is so that they can record the content onto the hard drive, do some basic editing (top and tail and remove commercials) and write that onto a DVD. It must be easy and going this route is easier than having to deal with 3 different software applications (rip, edit and write).

Can anybody please suggest or advise on models of DVD recorders with built-in hard drives and editing capabilities? Although I've did a bit of searching online, I find it difficult to pin point a range of models that are available in SA plus advice on what models you have had experience with.

Thanks
 
Some of the DVD/hdd recorders often give hassles with the HDD - two buddies of mine had to take their Samsung and Sony hdd recorders back after 2 months as the hdd failed :(

Why doesn't he buy a Media player and store his stuff onto that, much less hassle?
 
I use an LG HDD dvd recorder (have it for about 3 years now,) it can do the basic editing you want and i have never had any problems.
they not expensive either, check out makro they the cheapest with the latest models.
 
@Hemps Having the HDD fail on you is not cool, but for their use, it should be fine. A media player to store the content on would be nice, but since they need to capture first, having the DVD/HDD recorder is the first step plus his wife (who is a teacher) needs to be able to play the content at school on DVD.

@isie, I'll check out what LG has to offer.
 
There was another brand that I was told to stay away from "Wharfdale" apparently very bad brand.

I have a philips dvd recorder and it's going strong for 2 years - touch wood.
 
If looking at the LG models, just be aware that their optical drive failure rate is very high... it's cheaper to replace a HDD unit on them than to replace the optical unit.
 
DSTV are putting copy protection on all their decoders, so make sure the recorder is compatible. This will stop you going PVR > recorder > disc
 
I will go av out to av in on hard drive recorder. then edit and then dvd.
Do not goes tuner card as you will lose some quality.

Keep the stuff cool and they might last.
 
isie said:
copy protection works on the HDMI out cable, so far recording with RCA out and analogue works just fine.
Click to expand...

No, HDMI has HDCP protection
Component & composite outputs now have macrovision copy protection, not sure about RF but think it applies to that too
 
Smurfatefrog said:
No, HDMI has HDCP protection
Component & composite outputs now have macrovision copy protection, not sure about RF but think it applies to that too
Click to expand...

It's easy to correct the composite output, and AFAIK these schemes don't work on the RF output.
 
Smurfatefrog said:
No, HDMI has HDCP protection
Component & composite outputs now have macrovision copy protection, not sure about RF but think it applies to that too
Click to expand...

HDCP=High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection so ading the word protection after hdcp is redundent :)
i was just explaining in laymans terms that curent recoders with hdmi might have trouble recording when connected with the hdmi cable any way its a moot pint in this case they copying with a SD PVR and (tested) this works fine
 
Copying content off SD-PVR to HDD/DVD recorder

Before I CANCELLED DSTV - and sold my SD PVR - I used to record content off my PVR to my HDD/DVD recorder (Sinotec 160Gb) - and edit it there before copying it onto DVD's!:D

Here is a tip - although the Video on Demand content IS supposedly copy-protected with Macrovision - you CAN IN FACT record it successfully off the PVR (unless MCA have instituted MORE advanced copy-protection already on the latest SD-PVR software!):(

Here is how you do it:

1. Get yourself a SCART to S-VIDEO / RCA converter plug - about R 50-00 or so from Makro / Ellies, etc, a S-VIDEO to S-VIDEO cable, and a 2 RCA to 2 RCA audio cable
2. Plug the S-VIDEO / RCA converter plug into the VCR SCART socket in the SD-PVR (if the SCART converter plug has a INPUT / OUTPUT switch on it - set it to OUTPUT)
3. Then plug in the S-VIDEO cables and RCA cables from the SCART converter into the back of your DVD/HDD recorder (NB - I am ASSUMING that your DVD/HDD recorder DOES have a S-VIDEO input - as mine does)
4. GO to the SD-PVR's ADVANCED menu option, select the option for TV setup and change the VCR output option from 'Composite' to 'S-video' (check your SD-PVR manual for exact details - going from memory here!)
5. Set your DVD/HDD recorder's INPUT option to S-VIDEO - and select the AV INPUT on your TV that you use for the DVD/HDD recorder - (mine was connected on the AV COMPONENT inputs)
6. Use the SD-PVR's TV1 remote to call up the playlist for either normal recordings (option 1) - or Video on Demand ones (option 2) - select required recording - cue up the item on the PVR first (press pause)
7. Then press REC on the DVD/HDD recorder - release pause on the SD-PVR - voila! - content is copied from the SD-PVR to your DVD/HDD recorder!

Have FUN transferring ALL your PVR content to HDD - or DVD - ENJOY!:D
 
Last edited:
STAY AWAY FROM LG's.... :mad:
My 300 Gb failed just after a year and to replace the lens was like R800 or something so i didnt bother.It was a beast while it was working but i googled LG issues and hundreds of complaints came up.
 
I remembered about the Macrovision copy protection that DSTV supposidly uses so this would be a huge deal breaker in this situation. But if what @Ivan Leon mentioned above works fine, then it shouldn't be a problem. All I need to do is make sure that the DVD/HDD recorder that I recommend, has an S-Video input - although I will try standard composite in first, having the s-video option as a backup is a major plus. I'd hate for my friend to spend the money without the benefit.

Now my concerns is for the LG DVD/HDD recorders themselves as to their reliability. Are there any other brands that I can look at - except Warfdale, not too confident about Sinotech. @Hemps can you give me the model number for your Philips unit?

@howardb The Hauppauge is a great idea, but at the end of the day, they need to burn the content onto DVD.
 
S-VIDEO the Better Alternative!

@ ipodmusician

The VOD content DEFINITELY does NOT copy through composite - tried that first - my DVD recorder came up with a 'protected content' warning! :mad:

I tried the S-VIDEO alternative - voila! - SUCCESS! :D

Composite uses a blended chroma (colour) & luma (black & white) signal - with the embedded macrovision protection - but, due to the fact that the S-VIDEO signal SEPARATES the chroma & Luma signals into TWO separate channels - the Macrovision protection seems to be null & void through this alternative (SO FAR!) :)
 
@Ivan Leon

What is the situation for content recorded onto the PVR? Virtually all the content my friend wants to copy is recorded and not VOD. But I'm sure he'd like the idea of being able to record VOD as well.

I can understand that the VOD content is copy-protected and it is good to know that the S-Video sorts that out. :) Nice!

Also, what is your Sinotech DVD/HDD recorder like? What is the model nr? I've always associated Sinotech as one of the lower tier brands.
 
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