Record Music/Audio from Various Sources & Make Audio DVD
Audio Bit Rates
You can record music/audio and create audio DVDs from various sources, like CD players, other DVD players, stereo systems, music channels, radio, etc.
In 2006, I did some tests with my Pioneer 640 that determined, *theoretically*, you could get LOTS of audio on a DVD if you left the video cable disconnected (didn't actually try to fill a DVD disc with the Pio like I did with the Philips 3575 described below).
To get some basic info on how our PhilMag DVDRs record audio with video cable disconnected, I played tracks of a music CD from my CD/DVD player connected to my Philips DVDR3575H/37 via L/R audio cables and the video cable OFF and ON. No discernible audio diff. at any rec mode.
Audio Bit Rates (Mbps) with Video Cable OFF
Using DVD+VR DVDR Like Philips and Magnavox
. . . . . . . . . Mbps w/Vid
Rec Mode . . .
Cable OFF
1-hr-HQ. . . . . 0.87
2-hr-SP . . . . . 0.87
2½-hr-SPP . . .0.84
3-hr-LP. . . . . .0.84
4-hr-EP. . . . . .0.84
6-hr-SLP . . . . 0.84
Max. Audio in 6-hr-SLP Rec Mode with This DVDR
~5:39:55 w/High-Speed Dub (HSD) HDD>DVD.
~6:49:33 Direct-to-DVD.
Recording to HDD and Dubbing to DVD
Max audio @ 6-hr-SLP and using HSD from HDD > DVD = ~5:39:55
I recorded
12 hours (11:59:59) of audio from a VHS movie in SLP rec mode to the HDD of my 3575 with the video cable disconnected. Tried to dub that to a DVD-R using HSD (HIGH) and it could not be done ("disc full" message). Divided that 12-hour title into pieces to find the max. length of SLP audio that could use HSD.
Here's the list of titles in my Dub menu that would HSD:
4:59:55 (For HSD only, no SLP title can be over 4:59:59)
0:10:00
0:10:00
0:10:00
0:10:00
5:39:55 Total for HSD. Tried to add a 00:01:26 audio title & it wouldn't allow HIGH.
That 5:39:55 of SLP is almost exactly the NORMAL SLP time you can get on a DVD using HSD, so the OS is assuming a normal
video/audio stream even with an audio-only title and with only the audio cable connected.
This oddity creates additional oddities when burning a DVD. It creates a FULL disc even tho it doesn't use up the entire dye surface... it acts like a normal video title but shows less-than-normal imprint on the dye side of the disc. My HSD dub resulted in a slightly smaller imprint than that shown in the 3rd pic below, right-hand disc. This is only a "curiosity" since it doesn't affect playback.
HSD took about 21 min., which is odd, again, since the file size of 2138MB for HIGH should take less time, but the SLP RTD file size of 4177MB should take MORE time? Again, only a curiosity.
All the audio titles played back normally, with all Play/Pause/Skip features working, but with black screen. Audio quality was very good.
Recording Direct-to-DVD (DTD)
Max audio @ 6-hr-SLP and using DTD = ~6:49:33
When recording direct-to-DVD, these PhilMag DVDRs do some "strange" things that make DTD unappealing, such as:
- They never fill a disc! Instead, they stop rec automatically at a certain point w/o any user interaction.
- Unfull discs return Disc Full error if you try to record more after they stop recording on their own.
- They stop at same point as long as audio line is connected, whether there's live audio being fed or not.
- They write DVD-R much differently than -RW.
All of these effects can be seen in the discs below, which were created using DTD with a 3575 on Source E1, video line disconnected (black screen). I also recorded with and without live audio from a VHS movie to see if any difference.
DTD, Two DVD-R, Both HQ Rec Mode, Stopped by Themselves @ 2:06:34, Video Line Disconnected, (L) Audio Line Connected But No Live Audio Feed vs. (R) Live Audio Feed from VHS Movie ... No Difference.
NOTE ODD, SMALL IMPRINT IN DYE FOR A 2:06:34 HQ AUDIO DTD
DTD, Two DVD-R, (L) HQ Rec Mode Stopped by Itself @ 2:06:34, vs. (R) SLP Rec Mode Stopped by Itself @ 6:49:33, Video Line Disconnected, Audio Line Connected But No Live Audio Feed ... Wouldn't Make Any Diff. Anyway.
NOTE ODD, SMALL IMPRINT IN DYE OF LH PIC FOR A 2:06:34 HQ AUDIO DTD BUT APPROX. "NORMAL" IMPRINT FOR 6:49:33 SLP.
DTD, DVD-R (L) and DVD-RW (R), HQ Rec Mode Stopped by Itself @ 2:06:34 on Both Discs, Video Line Disconnected, Audio Line Connected But No Live Audio Feed.
NOTE VASTLY DIFF. IMPRINT IN DYE BETWEEN -R (LEFT) AND -RW (RIGHT) WITH SAME CONTENT.
Converting DVD Audio to CD Using Computer
You can convert the audio files with a computer and SW for making a CD, which will play in more devices than a DVD. TBoneit recommends Freemake Video Converter (free),
as described here.
Recording Digital Music Channels
Some DVDRs can't record the digital music channels most cable subscribers can tune in their basic cable sub. The 3575/2576/2080/2160/513/515 can record those channels so, if you like the music on a particular channel and would like to play the same music "often," you can record it and keep it as a music title on the HDD, or even HSD a copy to DVD.
Recording YouTube Audio
Clevor has posted
a "clevor" procedure for recording YouTube audio directly to the HDD without having to create any intermediate files, converting, etc.
