I'm looking to get a dvd recorder so that I can offload my hi def recordings to dvd from my dvr (motorola qip-6416-2) so that I can watch them on a different dvd player when I go away.

I realize that the dvd pictures won't be in high def, but I would like them to be in widescreen format.

This seems like a simple request, but in looking around, this seems very difficult to do. For some reason, it seems like dvd recorders don't include component or hdmi inputs and I think my dvr box won't show widescreen over composite or S-video.

What's more, I hear Panasonic makes one of the best players and in a review, it says that you can only record widescreen on DVD-RAM discs. Can you even play DVD-RAM discs on another dvd player? I don't think they are compatible except on the original machine.

I'm just looking into this and trying to get my facts straight, but it seems like what I want to do is not possible. Maybe I should stick with video tapes. It seems very surprising to me since everything is moving toward widescreen now, but there's no way to record it.

Any help with what I'm trying to do would be appreciated or correcting any of my facts above as well.

Thanks.

You're right that no recent Motorola can output 16:9 over comp. or S-Vid, but there's an Apple TV Converter that takes the STB's 16:9 WS Component output and converts it to comp. or S-Vid for today's DVDRs.

Here's the info on the converter... (http://www.svideo.com/appletv2tv.html)

and here's a thread on tests by Nextoo to prove it works (with the bonus that it strips CP!). (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=828063&highlight=Apple+TV)

Click on my signature for two HDD DVDRs that can record 16:9 WS on the HDD and/or std DVDs if such a signal is delivered to it.

I'm looking to get a dvd recorder so that I can offload my hi def recordings to dvd from my dvr (motorola qip-6416-2) so that I can watch them on a different dvd player when I go away.

I realize that the dvd pictures won't be in high def, but I would like them to be in widescreen format.

This seems like a simple request, but in looking around, this seems very difficult to do. For some reason, it seems like dvd recorders don't include component or hdmi inputs and I think my dvr box won't show widescreen over composite or S-video.

What's more, I hear Panasonic makes one of the best players and in a review, it says that you can only record widescreen on DVD-RAM discs. Can you even play DVD-RAM discs on another dvd player? I don't think they are compatible except on the original machine.

I'm just looking into this and trying to get my facts straight, but it seems like what I want to do is not possible. Maybe I should stick with video tapes. It seems very surprising to me since everything is moving toward widescreen now, but there's no way to record it.

Any help with what I'm trying to do would be appreciated or correcting any of my facts above as well.

Thanks.

Panasonic's record whatever signal is sent to it. It will record widescreen on any disc format, but it only sets the 16:9 flag on RAM discs. All that means is the video will not be formated correctly if you try to play it on an old 4:3 TV but will play normally on any TV that allows you to select the picture size which includes all HDTV's.

I agree with above. To me the whole wide screen flag is a non issue. I really only record to R and the occasional RW disc and I have no problems recording wide screen material. I do realize though if I borrow a disc to a friend with a 4:3 TV that they would have issues with the picture being vertically stretched but most everyone I would borrow a disc to now has at least one 16:9 TV. Heck sometimes I'm forced to watch fat people (4:3 stretched to a 16:9 screen) so I don't think it would hurt anyone to watch skinny people:D

It amazes me that they don't make this easier for people. Every tv being sold now is widescreen, but there's no simple way to record a widescreen signal onto dvd.

It would be great if they just included component video inputs or hdmi inputs, but there's not much I can do about that. I guess, I'll have to shell out another $140 to get widescreen.

As for the Panasonic, is there any particular reason they don't send the widescreen flag on non dvd-ram discs? I want to burn discs to bring with me on vacation. At the vacation place, there's a widescreen tv in the living room, but only a regular tv in the bedroom. I'd really like to watch it in the original format. Are there dvd recorders out there that can set the widescreen flag properly for a non dvd-ram disc? Any recommendations?

Thanks.

It would be great if they just included component video inputs or hdmi inputs, but there's not much I can do about that. I guess, I'll have to shell out another $140 to get widescreen.
If you're meaning the Apple TV Converter, you should prob. send a PM to member Nextoo and make sure it'll work with your specific STB?

The older Toshiba's were one that correctly set the flag but they are quite old and I wouldn't necessarily recommend to someone who's never had one. I've read that they were quite good machines but anything that old is bound to start having problems and if you're not familiar with the machines you're better off with something newer.
Some people use a simple PC program to set the flag and from what I understand it's quite easy to do. I don't do this so maybe someone who does might chime in. I think that or the Video Filter would be your best choice if you're going to play the discs on a 4:3 TV.

edit: Don't get the flag and component inputs confused. The reason people want DVDRs with component inputs is because there STB will not output wide screen over S-video or composite. Even if you use a RAM disc you won't get wide screen if your STB doesn't output it to S or composite outputs.

I have an EZ17 and it records 16:9 full WS via the digital tuner onto either DVD-RAM or DVD-R. I only have an HDTV so I do not know what happens when viewed on a 4:3 set. The only difference is the RAM automatically sets the TV to the proper aspect ratio in order to fill the screen, just like a commercial DVD. On the -R discs I have to set the TV to zoom to a wider image using the remote. After that they both look identical.

I also have an ES20 connected to the S-Video output of a Motorola HD STB (not a DVR). The S-Video out does not supply full WS 16:9. I record what it outputs, which is the floating postage stamp letterbox picture, the same as you would view on an HDTV. Now I have to use the TV’s remote and zoom up 2 steps in order to fill the screen both vertically & horizontally. You waste a lot of pixels by recording all the black around the image. However the final project holds up fairly well even with all the zooming because the source was HD. Obviously the size of your TV and how close you sit will affect what you are seeing. Other than buying an adapter like the AppleTV device mentioned or buying an older recorder that has component inputs, you’re pretty much stuck with the letterbox image your cable box outputs via S-Video.

What we need is a cheap component to S-Video converter. Any engineers out there?

The missing flag is a non-issue only if you own a flawless 16:9 display and plan never ever to leave your house or play your recordings on anything but that TV. If you regularly make DVDs for friends and family, forget it: the penetration of 16:9 televisions is far from 100%. If you expect to use your DVDs on a portable player, forget half of them on the market: put an unflagged 16:9 disc in one of them, they don't know what in the hell to do with it and their zoom controls won't fix it. Still, the biggest problem is getting a 16:9 feed into the recorder in the first place: most of us depend on cable/satellite, and getting them to mate properly with any given recorder is a mess. The newer Panasonics and Phillips/Magnavox machines will record 16:9 from their internal ota ATSC tuners, but you get nada from the line inputs if your decoder box doesn't send 16:9 that way. Most don't.

The content providers long since decided 16:9 recording from cable/satellite to removable media like DVD-R was a nightmare they didn't want to deal with, hence the dearth of component-in or HDMI-in DVD recorders and the skyrocketing popularity of sealed-box proprietary cable-satellite PVRs. I don't see this changing anytime soon: the biggest recording market is the USA, and Americans seem perfectly happy to trade removable-media recording for convenient proprietary PVRs. Hi Def cable and lowball 16:9 42" display pricing have put the final nail in DVD recorders- either join the PVR herd or face up to using a HTPC. Standalones are unfortunately toast in todays market, don't hold your breath for new models with recordable 16:9 HDMI inputs.

The missing flag is a non-issue only if you own a flawless 16:9 display and plan never ever to leave your house or play your recordings on anything but that TV. If you regularly make DVDs for friends and family, forget it: the penetration of 16:9 televisions is far from 100%. If you expect to use your DVDs on a portable player, forget half of them on the market: put an unflagged 16:9 disc in one of them, they don't know what in the hell to do with it and their zoom controls won't fix it. Still, the biggest problem is getting a 16:9 feed into the recorder in the first place: most of us depend on cable/satellite, and getting them to mate properly with any given recorder is a mess. The newer Panasonics and Phillips/Magnavox machines will record 16:9 from their internal ota ATSC tuners, but you get nada from the line inputs if your decoder box doesn't send 16:9 that way. Most don't.


I'd agree with most of your points but after reading your post I did try playing a couple of my 16:9 copied discs (onto -R) in a cheap($49.99 black Friday special last year) GPX portable DVD player. It is 16:9 like I think basically every portable is, and it played just fine, full WS without changing a thing. So in my case anyway my discs recorded either from line input or built in digital tuner off a WS HD channel, play back on all my 16:9 screens. I don't have to change my TV setting when playing the original 16:9 commercial disc or the copy. They both play back in WS. Note my DVD players and DVDRs are all setup to output 16:9 and if disc is 4:3 it stretches it to fill the 16:9 screen. This is probably why I don't have to change my TV when playing my recorded WS discs.

...I did try playing a couple of my 16:9 copied discs (onto -R) in a cheap($49.99 black Friday special last year) GPX portable DVD player.You mean after a year it still works? :cool:

So it sounds like I'd have to buy a dvd recorder, plus another $130 Apple tv adapter and then I still couldn't bring the disc on vacation with me and have the option to play it on either a 3:4 or 16:9 tv? Unbelievable!

So now I'm thinking I should use a computer instead to do this. Can I get a capture card with component inputs and burn to disc this way? Is this an option? Is it affordable?

Can anyone recommend a card I could use to do this?