Magnavox 537, 535, 533, 515, 513, 2160A, 2160, 2080 & Philips 3576, 3575 - Page 755

It's called full-array led backlighting with local dimming. Sometimes yields haloing artifacts on poorer implementations.

HDMI sources need a "pass-though" feature so several can be daisy-chained into one TV port. I have a streamer, BD and DVD player (the BD can't play my unfinalized dvd's) that could all be sharing one port!

BTW I haven't heard anything on OLED display technology for quite a while - is that still in the works?

...CC

I don't know about you, but what I need is something like I had in the late '80s that brought PIP to the world in the first place, a standalone A/V switcher called MultiVision. It only had PIP (not POP), but allowed fully independent switching of main, inset and audio sources from 4 input sets on the 1.1 model, or on the 3.1 model 2 composite input sets and 2 internal tuners, with or without audio tied to either main or PIP on swap. Of course now it would need to be more elaborate, with 7 HDMI in, 2 component in, 3 composite in, and maybe also VGA and/or DVI. A second out wouldn't hurt either.

Of course, these functions could be incorporated into a modern A/V amp or receiver instead of a standalone device.

Should I get 4x DVD-R blanks over 8x blanks for the 537?

I use the Verbatim 8x DigitalMovie DVD-R on my 2160A, I think there is some other favorites out there. Maybe someone else will know if the 4X would lower the laser power level or not. The burner is a 8X so that is what I like to get.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find 4X except in mini or double layer, and doubt there's any reason to want them for normal recording. I only buy TGY02 8X. All I ever see in local stores is DVD-R single layer is 16X.

I've always used Ritek shiny silver ... but that was with my Pannie ... I'm finding a few random issues here and there with some of the older ones, but way less problems than I had with anything that had a printed label or matte finish. Any problems I HAVE had with the Ritek coincided with hardware issues that required either servicing or replacing the recorder.

I've only tested the DVD on the Maggie with a few movies to see if it works ... using the Ritek shiny ... and with good results. I'm done burning biscuits for storage! Those I did burn got transfered to my MKV storage (which is now at 300 titles, so slowly but surly, and nary a problem) - after transfer, I toss the disks. Sort of. I'm shrinkwrapping and stashing those without cases in spindles of 50 for emergency use. I've already cleared a couple shelves in the library and will eventually convert that to book shelves.

(Almost a thousand books now ... maybe I should be converting those to digital instead. ;-}

Somewhere down the road I'll be raffling off several hundred jewel boxes ... stay tuned.

(Now that I'm actively searching for disks to convert, I'm finding them in some of the strangest places. Moved a chair to make room for the XMas tree and found a couple stacks I'd completely forgotten about. Can't wait to see the first Maggie owner featured on HOARDERS ... all those stacks of disks should look darn pretty in the right light.)

PS ... One brand I'd steer clear of is OPTODISC ... those were almost guaranteed to fail either during write or shortly after. I used those when I first got started and learned the error of my ways. Those I did get good writes to now litter my reject stack while I'm doing the conversions to MKV for the hard drive farm. I also had issues with PRODATA. Both are either printed or matte (so you can write on them) finish, and the problems may have been related to the Pannie drives.
Edited by NOSTRADIMWIT - 12/29/12 at 10:31am

I have more than three dozen recorders (Panasonic, Magnavox, Philips, Toshiba) and a home-recorded DVD archive of 13,000 discs. What do I use? Taiyo Yuden 8x Premium Line DVD-R media:

http://www.supermediastore.com/product/u/jvc-taiyo-yuden-jdmr-zz-sk8-silver-lacquer-8x-dvd-r-media-premium-line-tape-wrap-100pk

That reminds me that I need to reorder some more albums:


Edited by DigaDo - 12/29/12 at 10:31am

Thanks Diga Do and everybody.

Ive known about the love that Taiyo Yuden's got in the past. Ill probably go that route.

Ive also never used anything but silver tops.
Edited by EscapeVelocity - 12/29/12 at 10:33am

Are those the same TGY02 media as in the jdmr-zz-sb8 cake box packaging?

Same product in cheaper packaging makes a thrifty Scot happy. (The TY cake boxes are junk for the bin.)

I ordered an HDMI cable made by Mediabridge Products LLC through AMAZON. It arrived today, and I got an email that appears to be from this company. Is this normal (to get an email) and should I open the email? The from address is 8l7cpchq7hwlds5@marketplace.amazon.com. Thanks in advance, J

thanks to all 3 replies below. I just reinstalled sandboxie and opened it, it does appear legit. (No attachment, just a thanks and an offer of help if I run into issues). I always buy direct from Amazon so this email confounded me. I am sorry to take this thread off topic & it will not happen again.
Edited by Josea - 12/29/12 at 4:48pm

Is there an attachment? If not, it's probably just a follow up.

It's hard to answer without knowing what email program you are using. Help->About should tell you.

marketplace.amazon.com is a legit domain belonging to Amazon.com.

No it wouldn’t. A disc’s maximum rated burn speed has very little to do with actual laser power usage. It’s the recorder’s burn speed setting that determines laser power usage. In other words a good quality 1x to 16x rated disc like a verbatim AZO will use virtually the same laser power as a 1x to 8x rated Verbatim AZO disc – assuming both discs are burned at 6x speed. I would bet that a good quality 1x to 16x disc (when burned at 6x speed) will use less laser power than a bad quality 8x disc.

The 537 is a modern recorder and most likely is optimized for burning “current” 1x to 16x discs and not some ancient discs that are designed for pre 2005 dinosaur burners that don’t have proper burn instructions in the firmware to handle the more modern discs. The 1x to 16x DVD-R spec was introduced in Sept 2004 so Funai had plenty of time to write firmware for current 1x to 16x discs.

Also note - even super-high speed PC burners only burn the last few hundred megs of a 1x to 16x disc at 16x speed. Most of the burners will start at 4x, and finish at 16x. The newest burners will burn the end of a Verbatim or TY 1x to 16x disc at 24x.

Here is a quote from the Lite-on DVD drive manufacture in 2009 claiming that their firmware is written to burn regular dye 1x to 16x T-Y discs at 24x. (the burner has enough laser power)

Here is the quote:
“””The Lite-On iHAS524 supports 24X DVD+R/-R writing, * a Taiyo Yuden 16X DVD+R / -R disc is required to reach 24X recording.”””

As always, reference included.
http://www.liteonodd.com/datasheet/iHAS524_spec_EN.pdf

what does Verbatim have to say about this?
Actual quote from Verbatim marketing literature:

Q Does Verbatim have 20x DVD-R discs?
A You just need to purchase our 16x DVD-R discs.
A lot of leading drive manufactures have announced 20x drives recently. These high speed drives just apply such higher recording speed to 16x discs. Since Verbatim 16x discs have been used by majority of leading drive manufactures for inspecting purposes almost all high speed drives try to apply 20x speed to our 16x discs.



Reference to Verbatim 20x quote
http://www.verbatim.com.au/brochures/FAQsOptical.pdf
Yes that is an actual quote from Verbatim. Mind you that quote came out when drives topped at 20x speed, prior to current 24x drives.

So feel free to use good quality 1x to 16x discs in your modern recorder.

DigaDo, I thank you for making me seem a lot less obsessive! As of my most recent acquisition from Craiglist, I have sixteen of the things. I also currently have about 1700 blanks. I get itchy at 1500, and order another case of 600 at 1400.

Lately, I have ordered from Rima:

http://www.rima.com/prod/1736-100.html

I buy 8X TYG02 discs as well, but I get the inkjet printables. They burn great in my Maggies and look awesome when printed with my Epson Artisan 837.

This is a scan of one of the DVDs that I printed on my Artisan 837 (scanned on the 837 too). It looks much better than my chicken scratch on the disc with a sharpie.

Which do you like better

8X Taiyo Yuden JVC Premiums or Verbatim 16x with AZO?

If printing surface wasn't a consideration I'd probably lean toward the Verb for the higher burn speed in my PC. For use in the Maggies I'd take either at the same price.

I've also had good luck with Sony 16X +R (SONY-D21-00) and Sony 16X -R (SONY16D1) as well.

I was getting dirt cheap 50 disc spindles of 16x -R Verbs (CMC MAG AM3) from my local hhgregg B&M for $8.50. I used them for give away discs and never had a single complaint but I haven't seen that deal for a while.

Very nice, but I find Sharpies far more tolerable than inkjets. What I can't print on a mono laser printer doesn't need printing.

You guys definitely need to modernize and start using HDDs rather than DVDs. Life is a lot easier and it's much easier to find and play a recording using a media player than digging through stacks of DVDs that might fail with age.

Also, I'm going to show your post to my wife who thinks I am nuts for having about 500 movies on my HDDs.

While I have a feeling the 8x Tys may last longer and I do like the slightly tactile bottom(and more importantly spindle area which helps the drive hold the disc tighter) I detest the shinny finger print magnet top of the non printable Tys. I also believe the bottom of the discs being slightly tactile tend to attract dust more than a disc like the Verbatims. I'm too cheap to purchase the printable Tys so for me it's between the shinny top 8x Tys and 16x AZO Verbs which have a nice top that I can occasionally touch without having them look awful.
To answer you question I'd probably say I prefer the Verbs but the Tys are nice if your drive doesn't grip the disc too well or you live in a very clean environment and handle your discs with kid gloves. I would NOT suggest them for your average person or for sure when kids are involved, they would look like hell after only a few plays.
Ken F, nice looking printed DVD top, I'd love to do that, unfortunately I record just too much to take the time(and cost) to do such a nice job but it does look very professional
Edited by jjeff - 12/29/12 at 7:49pm

If you combine all the respectable online reviews from sites like digalfaq.com – the Verbs get a slight higher edge since JVC took over the T-Y. But they both get very high ratings. The Sony 1x -16x +R (SONY-D21-00) and Sony 1x -16x -R (SONY16D1) come in at third place and just like Ken F, jjeff and others I also get good results from the Sony. The respectable site digitalfaq.com stated that for burning real-time 1x - the Verbatim AZO 1x to 16x discs work best.

I mostly use the Verbatim AZO 1x – 16x for the following reasons.

1) Out of the hundreds I used I had maybe one failure while burning in my stand alone and so far no sign of any longevity issues.

2) I get them cheap ($12.99 or less per 50) at my local drug store half a block away.

3) My store takes good care in the “storage and handling”.
Have you seen UPS or federal mail hubs handle packages?? Have you seen how some stores, especially national mail-order distributors “stack n handle” discs?? I believe the number one reason of bad discs is A) stacking boxes on top of boxes B) throwing heavy packs of discs, and maybe C) drastic environmental changes in transit - as the most common causes of having multiple bad discs in a batch. I believe very few bad discs are caused by T-Y or Verbatim manufacturing.

4) If I should happen to get a bad batch I could walk in my local store and get a full refund or exchange - no questions asked and no handling or shipping fees.

I never have and never will dis anyone for ordering 8x T-Y discs, as I believe they are just fine. But for me it would be pointless to go to such trouble and trust the handlers when I have such easy access, good prices and good luck with the Verb AZO discs.

Here's my 11TB external HDD farm.

1 DVD failure = 1 movie or 3-8 TV episodes lost

1 2TB HD failure = 400+ movies or 1000-3200+ TV episodes lost

I can't imagine how I'd keep 8+ 2TB HDs online to hold all my recordings, or backing them up to prevent losing so many titles at each HD's death.

DVDs are easier to carry to a party, friend's or room without networking to play.

Lack of availability of additional Unitz and Kool Krates is getting to be a problem though.

I currently have 3 media players and 14 TB of networked video storage -- yet I do not agree with you that HDD's would be appropriate for these guys. You can only store 200 DVD-R images per 1 TB of HDD. The contents of DigaDo's 13,000 disks would require a 65 TB storage array -- just to accommodate what he has now. At the rate he burns he would probably have to add another 6-8 TB per year.

I lost a 3TB drive the day after Sandy due to a rapid cycling power failure. Luckily I had a DVD backups for most of what was lost. Time to look into a UPS.

I am just wondering, doesn't anyone here convert their stored media to a digital format like XviD or x264, files which occupy much less hard drive space than DVD or ISO files? If redundancy is the name of the game, I think you should store your media in different formats as well as on DVD-Rs and external hard drives. Converting a DVD-R's contents to XviD format is very time consuming using a program like Fairuse Wizard.. Still, the end digital file can be stored on a USB flash drive and played back using a media player or even on some DVD players with a USB port that have software to play back .avi files.

I've been saving my DVD rips as MPEG2 wtv with VideoReDo lately. I save them as wtv so they play well on Media Center extenders. I experimented with converting them to H.264 at 70% and it worked well but takes extra time to encode. In the past I saved my DVD rips as MPEG2 in mkv containers. My Samsung TV can play those directly from a USB external HDD or USB flash drive.

As far as redundancy is concerned I have DVD backups for my keepers. Anything that I have stored on the HDDs can be ripped again from a backup, or it isn't important enough to bother making a backup. I have the HDDs for convent playback. I can watch anything in my library without getting up from the couch to find a disc and load it in the player. Losing a HDD sucks but it's only recorded TV shows and movies.