I’ve begun the project of copying all my VHS films to the HD at SP, limiting each subsequent DVD-R dub to one film (of not more than 2 hours) at high speed on Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-Rs, except where I’ve dubbed two short films (less than 2 hours, 25 minutes total, as suggested in this forum) at FR on one DVD-R.

There was some earlier advice, together with some skepticism, that I should use high-speed dubs to avoid problems that (might)(would) arise with real-time dubs, i.e., the tiling that I’ve earlier experienced with my copying of my entire 400 or so film collection by dubbing of two films (copied from VHS to the Panny’s HD at LP) to a DVD-R. In a local public power failure of about three months ago, my Panny E80’s dubbing default was reset by probably the system default to require real time dubbing instead of permitting the high speed option (I've since re-set it). I have 6 or 8 films on my hard drive that were recorded from cable under the default condition; therefore, they can’t be dubbed. I’d prefer not to scrap these films, which remain in the HD.

Is it a lost cause to attempt to dub them to DVD-R with the real-time limitation, i.e., should I delete them and hope they will reappear in future years (which amounts to fairly wild speculation, since these are B films from the 1940s)?

Watching them is not an option I’d pursue, because what, then, would be the point of dubbing them? I collect these films to watch in the future and, if they were on VHS tape and if I watched them, I’d simply then erase them by recording over them with new material.

Is it a lost cause to attempt to dub them to DVD-R with the real-time limitation, i.e., should I delete them and hope they will reappear in future years (which amounts to fairly wild speculation, since these are B films from the 1940s)?


If I was faced with that situation: copy them to DVD-RAM (which will provide lossless copying. Take the DVD-RAM to the computer and dump it to the HDD (again lossless). Author to DVD-R using software of choice. It's a bit roundabout, but it will give you a bit-for-bit copy of what's on your E-80's HDD.

My three-year old Dell doesn't have a DVD writer. It has the usual CD writer/CD and DVD player, but I assume I can't write to the hard drive without a DVD writer. If I could write from the DVD RAM disks directly to my Dell HD for lossless storage, I'd have to eventually install a DVD writer (presumably replacing my CD player).

I've never understood the benefits (of course you've just noted one function of which I'd never previously thought) of a DVD writer as it relates to my stand-alone E80 Panny DVDR. Would I take a dubbed but unfinalized DVD to the computer for "finishing" and finalization? Since I only record movies for a permanant collection (i.e., not television series or other periodic programs that need, for example, chapter stops), for what other useful functions could I use a DVD writer, aside from designing more elegant menus for my films--the Panny menus seem perfectly adequate so far)?

A computer DVD writer offers you the ability to do much more precise editing of your material as well as easier insertion of chapter marks. It also offers the ability to create thumbnails for each of your chapter marks. The authoring software you select determines the features available to you. I find that editing on the computer is much faster than via the DVD recorder.

The other advantage of a DVD writer is the easier ability to make duplicates of your discs. In addition, a DVD writer generally offers better burn quality than standalones, as well as more control over burning speed.

Thanks for the tips re DVD writers. While I need neither chapter stops nor thumbnails because my limited but frequent use of the DVD recorder is to copy already VHS-rcorded films to DVD, record Monday evening's "24" for end-of-week viewing (and then erasure), and record newer movies and occasional PBS programs from cable.

It seems likely that the better contriol over burning quality might be the major attraction.

Is this the process?: 1) record a movie on the Panasonic hard-drive recording of a movie;

2) dub (in the Panasonic DVD-R) that recording to a DVD-R, together with its leading and trailing materials and including (interior to the movie) half a dozen or so commercial breaks;

3) leave that gross materials recording "unfinalized";

4)copy the unfinished DVD-R to the computer's hard drive;

5) edit out the unwanted material with the DVD-writing software; and

6) finalize or finish (I'm not sure of the correct jargon) by burnig the edited recording in the computer's DVD-writer/burner.

Your summary is fairly close, with couple of amendments:

Record the movie/program directly to a re-writable disc (for your e-80 it would be DVD-RAM). When complete, take the DVD-RAM disc to your PC and copy the video file to your PC's HDD. Then you would use your authoring software to edit, create your menus etc. Then burn the finished product on the PC burner to the format of your choice (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R.....)

Another advantage of the PC writer (vs. the E-80) is the option to use dual layer discs for those times when you've got a movie/program with a long running time and you want to maintain maximum quality.