High Def. DVD Recorders

[exponents2046]

Can't seem to find any info on the web regarding High Def. DVD Recorders. I've seen info regarding HD DVD-Rs, but not any recorders to use them with.
Any help?
Also wondering if a High Def. DVD Recorder will be able to record live directly from an HDTV box, like the SA8300, or is the HD programming copy protected?

Thanks.

[blackbill]

Right now you can get hi def video cards for your computer that will allow to to grab and record free over-air hidef broadcasts and there are even some that allow you to record diretcly from a cable box.

You can also capture/burn/disk author REAL hd dvd's to any standard 4.7/8.5 gig disk with any standard dvd burner. I do a lot of video editing and there are 2 programs I rely on for this... Ulead MF5 and Pinnacle studio 10.7. Of the two, s10.7 is probably better since you can burn directly from the timeline.

But as far as Hd-dvd burners are concerned, there is still quite a bit of work to do before you start seeing thes readily available on the market.

[exponents2046]

Right now you can get hi def video cards for your computer that will allow to to grab and record free over-air hidef broadcasts and there are even some that allow you to record diretcly from a cable box.

You can also capture/burn/disk author REAL hd dvd's to any standard 4.7/8.5 gig disk with any standard dvd burner. I do a lot of video editing and there are 2 programs I rely on for this... Ulead MF5 and Pinnacle studio 10.7. Of the two, s10.7 is probably better since you can burn directly from the timeline.

But as far as Hd-dvd burners are concerned, there is still quite a bit of work to do before you start seeing thes readily available on the market.

Thanks BlackBill.
Are you saying that with these two software programs, you can copy HD programming in High Def 1080i or 1080p (to be later played back on a high Def DVD player) using a regular DVD-R? I thought that there was too much information for a regular DVD-R disc to hold? And that a Blue laser had to be used to record the info? I don't want to compress the recording (as that will reduce the resolution), I want the full 1080i or 1080p of the original (either broadcast or disc).

I think what I'm looking for is a stand-alone HD DVD Recorder, that burns High Def. recordings onto HD DVD-Rs, and can be played back in any HD DVD player. Since there are HD DVD-Rs, I assume that there must be recorders to burn to those discs.

[blackbill]

Thanks BlackBill.
Are you saying that with these two software programs, you can copy HD programming in High Def 1080i or 1080p (to be later played back on a high Def DVD player) using a regular DVD-R?

.

Yes. (not 1080p though.... just 1080i)

The down side is size. With a DL disk you can get upto just a bit under an hour (depending on audio type you choose) I use DD5.1 audio which will get me about 54 minutes at a bitrate of 19000k. at 25000k you can get about 40 minutes on.

One note however.... after the burn, you will no longer be able to play them back on your computer (without a hd dvd drive). For all intents and purposes, after the burn, they are REAL hd dvd's and must be played back in the Tosh. If you try and play them back in a normal dvd drive, xp will see the disk as RAW with no files on it.

EDIT:

Actually, I will take that 1080p thing back... studio does give an option to burn in interlace or progressive.... I have never tried the progressive burn though.

[jpw21683]

I can't wait until a VC-1 encoder is available. Then we might be able to fit an entire movie onto a DL DVD-R.

Back to the OP's question about an actual HD DVD burner, I can't find anything online either. I've found laptops with them, but no IDE/SATA drive to install in a desktop.

[bfdtv]

Are you saying that with these two software programs, you can copy HD programming in High Def 1080i or 1080p (to be later played back on a high Def DVD player) using a regular DVD-R? I thought that there was too much information for a regular DVD-R disc to hold?An hour of full-bitrate MPEG-2 HD runs 8.6Gb per hour. Aside from that limitation, there is nothing that prevents copying of recorded HD from the broadcast networks to DVD.

[exponents2046]

My understanding of Dual layer DVD-R discs is that their capacity is 8.5 gigs. So, how would I record an hour HD program if it takes 8.6 gigs to do so?
Also, this does not quite address my initial question of a stand-alone HD DVD Player/Recorder, as I assume you are talking about using a computer to do this mpeg-2 hd recording- am I correct?
Perhaps what I am looking for does not exist yet.

[crussader]

My understanding of Dual layer DVD-R discs is that their capacity is 8.5 gigs. So, how would I record an hour HD program if it takes 8.6 gigs to do so?

Cut out the commercials! :)

[blackbill]

My understanding of Dual layer DVD-R discs is that their capacity is 8.5 gigs. So, how would I record an hour HD program if it takes 8.6 gigs to do so?
Also, this does not quite address my initial question of a stand-alone HD DVD Player/Recorder, as I assume you are talking about using a computer to do this mpeg-2 hd recording- am I correct?
Perhaps what I am looking for does not exist yet.

As I said above, you can get about 54 minutes on a dl disk... not quite an hour at 19000k... (18000k is normal transmission rate) but there is nothing to prevent you from choosing a lower bitrate.. although the lower you go, the lesser the quality.

Yes and no to the mpeg question. Just like sd dvd, the mpeg2 format is used, onlt on sd dvd's you have a VIDEO_TS folder witch contains... among other things... VOB files, which are simply mpeg2 files with the sound muxed.

The hd dvd's that I talk about are a similar setup... they contain a HD DVD_TS folder and EVO files are used instead of vob's. The disks have menu's and chapters just like any othe sd or hd dvd.

As for the stand alone hd dvd recorders... to the best of my knowledge... they do not exist yet.

[exponents2046]

Thanks again, Blackbill. I'm not really computer savy, so that's why I was interested in a stand alone device. I'd like to record Battlestar Galactica and Firefly from UniHD (the cable station) in 1080i, then watch them later on DVD Player (still in 1080i) on my 5070 plasma. They look so much better than their DVDs (in 480 of course), even with my upconverting DVD player. I have not yet bought an HD DVD player, but I would've had I been able to make the 1080i HD recordings.
Also, my desktop computer is nowhere near my HD cable box (I know you mentioned capturing "over-the-air" HD broadcasts (using high def video card), but as I said, I'm not really computer savy, so I'd have no clue how to do that. I'll go look at the Pinnacle website, to learn more.

[Videoeditman]

Has anyone tried using WMV 9 to do an VC-1 encode on DVD-R.
I don't know if it is a suported format even though it is VC-1.

[rob8558]

i am sorry to beat this to death i just wanted to make sure this would be possible..i just purchased the toshiba A2 player... so the victorias secret show from last night that i have sitting on my comcast hddvr, i will be able to burn this using my regular dvd recorder (cutting out commercials so it is under an hour) which is connected to my cable box??? then play that disk in my new HD player and it will be HD???

thnx for any insight guys.

[blackbill]

Thanks again, Blackbill. I'm not really computer savy, so that's why I was interested in a stand alone device. I'd like to record Battlestar Galactica and Firefly from UniHD (the cable station) in 1080i, then watch them later on DVD Player (still in 1080i) on my 5070 plasma. They look so much better than their DVDs (in 480 of course), even with my upconverting DVD player. I have not yet bought an HD DVD player, but I would've had I been able to make the 1080i HD recordings.
Also, my desktop computer is nowhere near my HD cable box (I know you mentioned capturing "over-the-air" HD broadcasts (using high def video card), but as I said, I'm not really computer savy, so I'd have no clue how to do that. I'll go look at the Pinnacle website, to learn more.

On-air hd is easy enough... you just have to check what they broadcast in your area.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/PCTV+Tuners/PCTV+Analog_Digital+PVR/PCTV+HD+Pro+Stick.htm

[blackbill]

i am sorry to beat this to death i just wanted to make sure this would be possible..i just purchased the toshiba A2 player... so the victorias secret show from last night that i have sitting on my comcast hddvr, i will be able to burn this using my regular dvd recorder (cutting out commercials so it is under an hour) which is connected to my cable box??? then play that disk in my new HD player and it will be HD???

thnx for any insight guys.

Yes.

You would make sure your initial format is in mpeg2 (1440x1080). This could then be imported to a program such as pinnacle, you put it on the timeline, do your commercial cutting, transition, effects... etc, and then author to standard disk with a standard burner, with or without a menu chapter system... choice is yours. At the end of it all, you have a REAL hd-dvd.

I have done about 14 or 15 disks now... had problems with only 2.

This WILL NOT yet work in the xbox360... pinnacle is still working on that.

[replayrob]

Also.... some networks (FOX, ABC, etc...) are 720p, which is more like 95+ min on a 8.5Gb DL DVD. I was able to fit the entire full bitrate ABC HD broadcast of Polar Express- sans end credits- on a $1.50 DL DVD. Edit the commercials out with VideoRedo then save the entire edited file as a mpeg2 file, which will play back on your computers current DVD drive. Once mainstream HD editing and burning to proper HD-DVD's reach reasonable price levels... simply copy the saved mpeg2 HD file back to your computer and author it to a real HD-DVD with chapters, menu's and all.
In essence, I'm just archiving recorded HD content on cheap std DVD's till authentic authoring & burning is available.

[exponents2046]

Ok, Noobie here again. How do you get the initial recording from your DVR (Mine is SA8300) into your computer?
Second question: I checked Antennaweb.org, and in the area that I live (west side of Manhattan, NYC) does not have any digital over the air broadcasts. So, how would I use the Pinnacle HD Pro Stck, if according to Antennaweb, there are no digital broadcasts?
So, two separate issues: Getting HD DVR recorded programming into my computer (to then use a Pinnacle program to edit and prepare for authoring, onto a DL DVD-R disc)
How to use Pinnacle HD Pro Stick to get HD over the air programming into my computer?
Thanks, and sorry about being wet behind the ears in this area.

[PRMan]

i am sorry to beat this to death i just wanted to make sure this would be possible..i just purchased the toshiba A2 player... so the victorias secret show from last night that i have sitting on my comcast hddvr, i will be able to burn this using my regular dvd recorder (cutting out commercials so it is under an hour) which is connected to my cable box??? then play that disk in my new HD player and it will be HD???

thnx for any insight guys.

No, you would have to bring the HD video into a PC somehow. If you did what you said, you would have a top-notch quality DVD, but not an HD-DVD.

[rob8558]

Yes.

You would make sure your initial format is in mpeg2 (1440x1080). This could then be imported to a program such as pinnacle, you put it on the timeline, do your commercial cutting, transition, effects... etc, and then author to standard disk with a standard burner, with or without a menu chapter system... choice is yours. At the end of it all, you have a REAL hd-dvd.

I have done about 14 or 15 disks now... had problems with only 2.

This WILL NOT yet work in the xbox360... pinnacle is still working on that.


ok so i have managed to accomplish 1 thing...i have been able to transfer my sony hd camcorder stuff into my pinnacle software and burn it on to a dvd and it played on my toshiba A2..recgonized as an HDDVD. (although i am not getting any sound..have to figure that one out).

next issue is to be able to transfer my HD content from my comcast motorola HDDVR to my pc so i can put it into the pinnacle and burn it to dvd..can anyone reccomend the best graphics card for this or any other card which may be used???

blackbill is this even possible??? thnx for any info guys.

[gooki]

Also, this does not quite address my initial question of a stand-alone HD DVD Player/Recorder,

If you want a standalone HD DVD recorder hunt down a Toshiba RD-A1.

PS no idea if it works in your region of the world.

[bruin95]

If you want a standalone HD DVD recorder hunt down a Toshiba RD-A1.

PS no idea if it works in your region of the world.

$3500? I'll pass.

[bruin95]

Originally Posted by rob8558
i am sorry to beat this to death i just wanted to make sure this would be possible..i just purchased the toshiba A2 player... so the victorias secret show from last night that i have sitting on my comcast hddvr, i will be able to burn this using my regular dvd recorder (cutting out commercials so it is under an hour) which is connected to my cable box??? then play that disk in my new HD player and it will be HD???

Originally Posted by blackbill

Yes.

You would make sure your initial format is in mpeg2 (1440x1080). This could then be imported to a program such as pinnacle, you put it on the timeline, do your commercial cutting, transition, effects... etc, and then author to standard disk with a standard burner, with or without a menu chapter system... choice is yours. At the end of it all, you have a REAL hd-dvd.

I have done about 14 or 15 disks now... had problems with only 2.

This WILL NOT yet work in the xbox360... pinnacle is still working on that.

How can this be possible? If he outputs the HD DVR recording to his DVD recorder, it will not be encoded on the disc in 1080i. It would be 480i, since the best link he could use between the DVR and the recorder would be S-Video. Even if he then ripped that burned DVD to his computer and imported the files into the Pinnacle program, the files are 480i. No program out there will convert them into HD again. What he would need is to somehow get the DVR recordings to his computer directly, most likely via firewire, if that's even an option in his case.