[M-Shay]

Sony is putting out a new standalone DVD recorder that doesn't need to be connected to a computer. I know it can be connected directly to a camcorder or VCR. I want to know if it would work with ReplayTV? The recorder doesn't have a TV tuner, but it does have S-video and composite video inputs, as well as standard RCA-style stereo audio inputs. It uses high quality "hardware" MPEG2 encoding. It also adheres to Macrovision copy protection. I have a 5000 Series ReplayTV.

 

[Snarler]

I have a Philips standalone, but the idea is the same. Yes it will work in the sense that you treat it the same way you would a VCR that was capturing your ReplayTV content. If your input has Macrovision on it (i.e. you played a DVD into your ReplayTV in the hopes of then recording it out) I'd lay odds that the output from the ReplayTV would still have the Macrovision in it, so your DVD recorder would not record it. There are ways around that involving third-party tools, but I leave that as an exercise to the reader.


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Daniel


Forgot to mention, there are probably several quality levels you can record to DVD...my Philips offers 1 hour, 2 hour, 2.5 hour, 3 hour, 4 hour, and 6 hour. I find anything over 2.5 hour ends up being too blocky and artifacty for most shows recorded at Medium (i.e. I almost always use 2 if I'm dealing with hour long shows so i can fit 2 on a disk, 2.5 for half hour so I can fit 5)

 

[milky way]

Sony's DVD recorder is a little different than current stand alone DVD recorder. Here is a link with a picture,
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/12/sony_dvdirect/

 

[M-Shay]

If your input has Macrovision on it (i.e. you played a DVD into your ReplayTV in the hopes of then recording it out), are you sure that the output from the ReplayTV would still have the Macrovision in it. I thought that transferring it to ReplayTV first removes the Macrovision, so if you then transfer it to your DVD recorder, it would record it. Anyone know?

 

[M-Shay]

All third-party tools to get around the Macrovision issue that I know of involve hooking up the DVD recorder to a computer. There aren't any tools/methods that would work with a standalone DVD recorder, are there?

 

[Snarler]

I remember a discussion ages ago about the old Replays stripping Macrovision off and they modified them to pass it through correctly (heck, previous versions of Showstopper software wouldn't even let you see the signal at all) I was assuming nothing had changed since then (maybe it has though...haven't followed the discussion much.)


As far as third-party tools, I'm thinking of the ones you use on videotapes. To be honest, I haven't tried such a device on a DVD to DVD transfer (with or without a ReplayTV in the middle) but I'll take a guess that the copy protection they use is different? Or would they revert to good old Macrovision once you've actually played the signal with a valid player?


Maybe I'll experiment tonight.


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Daniel

 

[Snarler]

Quote:

Originally posted by milky way Sony's DVD recorder is a little different than current stand alone DVD recorder. Here is a link with a picture, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/12/sony_dvdirect/

Ugh. Let's not produce a horizontal unit like almost every other piece of equipment we put in our media racks. It's mostly the same as a standalone unit (when looking at that functionality I mean...obviously the ability to hook up to a PC is neat) I love the quote about DVD+R limiting playback...maybe I'm just lucky, but I make +R's from my Philips and they play in a Toshiba, an Apex, a portable Audiovox, a PS2, and at least two friends' players although I couldn't tell you their makes (the players, not the friends )


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Daniel