Toshiba D-R410

talbain · 03-31-08, 10:09 PM

picked this up over the weekend. i'm surprised nobody has posted about this new model yet. i've burned a good dozen discs, both -r and +r, and have not had a single problem. for the price, this thing is outstanding thus far.

anon812 · 04-01-08, 01:31 PM

Yes, this is a very good model and very identical to D-R400 and KR10. Except for the REGZA Link rest of the features are the same as the ones mentioned above.

westgate · 04-01-08, 01:33 PM

please look in 'record' menu and see if there is option for recording in both 16x9/4x3 modes?
my tosh dr2 has the option but i may want to replace it sometime.
thanks!

ak3883 · 04-01-08, 01:46 PM

I also got one last week, had pretty much decided on the D-R400, and needed to get it last week to make some DVDS before the weekend. Pretty sure I got one of the first batches that CC had, and I had a $75 GC so it made it nice and cheap

Very easy to set up, I just ran svideo from my Comcast 3416 DVR to the svideo input on the back. As has been discussed, the box doesnt' output 16:9 anamorphic, but it does output 16:9, and I'd rather have 16:9 widescreen that doesn't quite fill up my widescreen TV upon playback than be stuck with cropped 4:3.

In the setup menus there is an option for picture format, you can force 4:3 or 16:9 or set it to "auto" which is what I left it on. It detected and recorded downconverted HD programs played back from my DVR just fine, in 16:9 format.

Recording looks great for SD, when I used SP(2hr) It was pretty easy to figure out how to edit the title names, neat that you can do that. There are some trade-offs with certain format discs, like for -R's you can record widescreen, but you cannot manually create chapter marks(you can set them to appear every 5,10,15,20,25,30 minutes though). For +R's you cannot record 16:9 format, but you can insert chapter marks manually wherever you want.

I was surprised just how VCR like it is, it records right away when you hit record, and stops right away. You can pause the recording and then resume, this works great for editing out commercials without creating seperate titles on the DVD.

Paired with a DVR this thing is a great way to archive, although only in SD. I have the HTPC for HD

If you have a DVR, save the money and get this tunerless model. Record to the DVR with a few button presses, then just record to a DVD using this device when you get around to it, then delete off your DVD. This way you can edit out commercials easily.

My project this summer is to convert many VHS tapes. 2hr college bball games work great on SP mode, when you edit out commercials, 2hrs is plenty of time, and you have some time to record postgame recaps or Sportscenter highlights of the game or something.

I have not tried the upconverting yet, needed to get another HDMI cable(yay Monoprice!) It's just hooked up via component for now.

If anybody needs/wants to know anything more just ask, I'll try to start checking this thread/area in my daily perusing of AVS

westgate · 04-01-08, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak3883

Very easy to set up, I just ran svideo from my Comcast 3416 DVR to the svideo input on the back. As has been discussed, the box doesnt' output 16:9 anamorphic, but it does output 16:9, and I'd rather have 16:9 widescreen that doesn't quite fill up my widescreen TV upon playback than be stuck with cropped 4:3.

In the setup menus there is an option for picture format, you can force 4:3 or 16:9 or set it to "auto" which is what I left it on. It detected and recorded downconverted HD programs played back from my DVR just fine, in 16:9 format.

Recording looks great for SD, when I used SP(2hr) It was pretty easy to figure out how to edit the title names, neat that you can do that. There are some trade-offs with certain format discs, like for -R's you can record widescreen, but you cannot manually create chapter marks(you can set them to appear every 5,10,15,20,25,30 minutes though). For +R's you cannot record 16:9 format, but you can insert chapter marks manually wherever you want.

If anybody needs/wants to know anything more just ask, I'll try to start checking this thread/area in my daily perusing of AVS

is your dvr an hd model? if so check at bottom right of your remote for 'mode' button, there may be a 'stretch' mode there which would give u the anamorphic stretch on downrezzed hd content over s video. which would allow widescreen tv to stretch back out to normal without zooming which reduces pq.

what do u mean by 'can force 4x3 or 16x9'?

also, u say u can record widescreen on -r discs. is there a software 'switch' in the record menu letting u choose between widescreen(16x9) and full screen (4x3)? the 'switch' is what im looking for. i have said software 'switch' in my 4 yr old tosh dr2.

thanks a lot!

ak3883 · 04-01-08, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westgate

is your dvr an hd model? if so check at bottom of your remote for 'mode' button, there may be a 'stretch' mode there which would give u the anamorphic stretch on downrezzed hd content over s video.

what do u mean by 'can force 4x3 or 16x9'?

also, u say u can record widescreen on -r discs. is there a software 'switch' in the record menu letting u choose between widescreen(16x9) and full screen (4x3)? the 'switch' is what im looking for. i have said software 'switch' in my tosh 4 yr old tosh dr2.

thanks a lot!

Yea the 3416 is an HD-DVR model made by Motorola, our Comcast remotes do have that button on the bottom, but it's disabled and doesn't do anything. I know the dianostic/video display config screens inside and out, no way to output anamorphic widescreen, the hardware cannot do it

Yes, there is a 'switch' that you refer to. That is what I meant by "forcing" 4x3 or 16x9. There is an 'auto' setting that detects what format picture is being fed to the input, and it will record in the proper mode. I believe this only applies to certain disc formats that can handle widescreen. The matrix of what formats support what features is in the manual, I believe it's the same as the d-r400.

chiselchst · 04-01-08, 03:37 PM

Greetings AVS members,

I am a complete newbie, and don't know squat over shinolla. I just purchased (but yet to have receice) an D-R410, which will be connected to my DirectTV and soon to arrive 50PZ85U.

Quetion: How should I connect the DVDR to my system? Should I run "S" Vid To the DVD recorder from the Sat Box, and use RCA for audio? Then use compopsite OP's to the TV?

Would an "S" Video input, and RCA audio in/out be OK? I'll be using HDMI from the Sat box to my Yammi HTR6160, then to my Pan 50PZ85U. Is that OK for the expected 480 when recording on the DVDR?

Thanks all,
Mitch

Rammitinski · 04-01-08, 03:48 PM

S-video and RCA audio is definitely the best choice for in (you don't have many options there, anyway). For out, you can experiment with different outputs at different resolutions, and see what you prefer.

The "upscaling" in the recorder will not be as good as the one in the Panny, no doubt, so you don't necessarily have to use the highest quality output connection at the highest resolution.

Most of my recorders look best on my Pio Elite at 480i over s-video or component, because my display has a pretty good scaler, but YMMV.

westgate · 04-01-08, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak3883

Yea the 3416 is an HD-DVR model made by Motorola, our Comcast remotes do have that button on the bottom, but it's disabled and doesn't do anything. I know the dianostic/video display config screens inside and out, no way to output anamorphic widescreen, the hardware cannot do it

Yes, there is a 'switch' that you refer to. That is what I meant by "forcing" 4x3 or 16x9. There is an 'auto' setting that detects what format picture is being fed to the input, and it will record in the proper mode. I believe this only applies to certain disc formats that can handle widescreen. The matrix of what formats support what features is in the manual, I believe it's the same as the d-r400.

last question, hopefully.
do u know if 410 will properly record widescreen on -r discs?
this would mean that on a 4x3 tv the image would look normal but with letter/pillar boxes while on a widescreen tv, it would be stretched out to look normal.

ak3883 · 04-01-08, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westgate

last question, hopefully.
do u know if 410 will properly record widescreen on -r discs?
this would mean that on a 4x3 tv the image would look normal but with letter/pillar boxes while on a widescreen tv, it would be stretched out to look normal.

Yes, it looks just like a widescreen DVD does on a 4:3 TV when set to "letterbox", there are black bars on the top and bottom. That was the first thing I did when I finished the first DVD, took it to the old DVD player that now resides in the bedroom with the 15 year old 4:3 TV, it looks fine.

Same on a 16:9 TV, you still have black bars on top and bottom, since my DVR box won't output anamorphic widescreen, which would have made it fill the widescreen TV. But I don't mind the bars, in order to preserve the ratio perfectly. If you wanted to fill the screen, it would distort.

The real test will be once I get the HDMI cable, how well the player upconverts what was originally an HD signal, downres'ed to 480i, recorded to DVD, then re-upscaled back to 720P. Of course I'll loose a lot and it will look closer to SD than HD, but I'm curious as to how much.

For something I cannot stand to loose the HD on, I can capture to my HTPC via firewire, then burn the ts/MPEG2 files to DVD+DL discs. I can get about 45ish minutes on a disc, before the size of the video files > 8.5GB

Or store on hard drive space, since it's soooo cheap.

In short, YES it properly records widescreen input onto DVD-r's, so long as that menu setting is set to 16:9 or "AUTO", in which case it will work properly because it can tell the ratio of the incoming signal.

westgate · 04-01-08, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak3883

In short, YES it properly records widescreen input onto DVD-r's, so long as that menu setting is set to 16:9 or "AUTO", in which case it will work properly because it can tell the ratio of the incoming signal.

thanks so much!
i just looked up what i hope was the correct manual (model #s were somewhat different but began w a 4 (?), it seems to concur w your answer.

i guess i know which machine to get if i decide to get a new one.

consider asking (politely demand, actually) your cableco for a sa8000hd or sa8300hd dvr, each w 160gb hdd. with the sara software.
important-if they cant get u one w sara s/ware, dont bother; this will give u the anamorphic stretch in sd mode (480i), over the s video output.
copy protection issues may be encountered w premium/hd channels.

i have comcast also and those were the dvrs (i had 2) i had for 3+yrs. i got rid of hd service/dvrs cuz they took away hdnet/movies. pissed me off.

talbain · 04-01-08, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westgate

last question, hopefully.
do u know if 410 will properly record widescreen on -r discs?
this would mean that on a 4x3 tv the image would look normal but with letter/pillar boxes while on a widescreen tv, it would be stretched out to look normal.

as others have confirmed, it does properly record widescreen to -r discs. also, we had a thunderstorm rip through the area tonight and my power went out as i was burning a disc. when it went back on, the recorder said it was "repairing" the disc and finished finalizing it. the damn thing played flawlessly on my other dvd players. not sure if this is a standard feature on dvd recorders these days, but it was pretty sweet...

candyman56 · 04-02-08, 12:12 AM

Is this model worth purchasing?

I'm not worried about a tuner, but can it record off of a DVR if its playing a movie? I mainly want to use this for my camcorder ripping of movies to DVD.

westgate · 04-02-08, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by candyman56

Is this model worth purchasing?

I'm not worried about a tuner, but can it record off of a DVR if its playing a movie? I mainly want to use this for my camcorder ripping of movies to DVD.

yes
and yes
dont know about the camcorder bit.

candyman56 · 04-02-08, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westgate

yes
and yes
dont know about the camcorder bit.

Thanks for the answers to my questions.

How is the build quality on this player?

ak3883 · 04-02-08, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by westgate

thanks so much!
consider asking (politely demand, actually) your cableco for a sa8000hd or sa8300hd dvr, each w 160gb hdd. with the sara software.
important-if they cant get u one w sara s/ware, dont bother; this will give u the anamorphic stretch in sd mode (480i), over the s video output.
copy protection issues may be encountered w premium/hd channels.

i have comcast also and those were the dvrs (i had 2) i had for 3+yrs. i got rid of hd service/dvrs cuz they took away hdnet/movies. pissed me off.

No dice on the SA boxes, Comcast areas are either strictly Motorola equipment or SA equipment. They are incompadible with each other. Our area and entire Southeastern PA is Motorola equipment at the headend and consumer levels. The SA boxes are much better from a technical capability standpoint, but Comcast's software/firmware pretty much limits it and places it on a near even keel with Motorola.

Not a huge deal, this is only an issue for recording widescreen programs, which would be my college bball games when shown in HD. I have a bunch archieved on VHS that I'll be transferring this summer, and this won't be an issue since they are all 4:3 of course.

Candyman56-

No issues for me so far. Build quality seems OK, I don't know if anything these days has outstanding build quality. This model seems virtually identical to the D-R400 that has generally very good reviews. I haven't tried the upconverting player yet, waiting on the HDMI cable from Monoprice.

As far as your camcorder, if it has composite(yellow RCA plug) video output, or svideo output then it'll work fine. I think there is some kind of camcorder DV input as well on the front, and some kind of specific camcorder controls.

candyman56 · 04-03-08, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ak3883

No dice on the SA boxes, Comcast areas are either strictly Motorola equipment or SA equipment. They are incompadible with each other. Our area and entire Southeastern PA is Motorola equipment at the headend and consumer levels. The SA boxes are much better from a technical capability standpoint, but Comcast's software/firmware pretty much limits it and places it on a near even keel with Motorola.

Not a huge deal, this is only an issue for recording widescreen programs, which would be my college bball games when shown in HD. I have a bunch archieved on VHS that I'll be transferring this summer, and this won't be an issue since they are all 4:3 of course.

Candyman56-

No issues for me so far. Build quality seems OK, I don't know if anything these days has outstanding build quality. This model seems virtually identical to the D-R400 that has generally very good reviews. I haven't tried the upconverting player yet, waiting on the HDMI cable from Monoprice.

As far as your camcorder, if it has composite(yellow RCA plug) video output, or svideo output then it'll work fine. I think there is some kind of camcorder DV input as well on the front, and some kind of specific camcorder controls.

Please chime in on the upconversion, I would be interested in that. I have a HD DVD A30 and Panny BD30, I use the A30 more for my SD-DVD upconversion + HD DVD movies. I am in the process of slowly selling off my HD DVD's and eventually get rid of the A30 and would like a DVD Recorder with nice upconversion.

DeeKaye07 · 04-03-08, 09:33 AM

I've got a D-R400 which is pretty much the same as the newer R410...I'd recommend it to anyone. It's a very nice recorder, and IMO the upconversion is good w/HDMI cable (it's supposed to upconvert to 1080p but I've only got a 720p set -- obviously looks great to me though). Also it seems pretty solid so far -- not flimsy or cheap seeming, to me anyway. It's easy enough to use, also. You'd probably be quite happy with the D-R410.

According to the description of the D-R410, you can plug a camcorder into the front DV input and transfer tapes to DVD pretty easily...if that's what you were thinking of doing.

DGK

sayitbetter · 04-04-08, 12:38 AM