Does anyone use a DVD recorder to replace VCR?

BillyTheMountain · October 7, 2006, 4:50pm

I mean to record TV shows?

Can you use them that way?

I was just wondering, because they cost much more than DVD players…

habbywall · October 7, 2006, 5:00pm

I would think you can. But there’s always DVR’s which are way cheaper, but you have to pay for the service too.

BillyTheMountain · October 7, 2006, 5:09pm

I don’t have cable, just TV reception from a roof antenna.

Does anyone remember roof antennas?

So i just want to record a couple shows.

UniBrier · October 7, 2006, 5:10pm

I bet reception is great from a mountain top antenna.

BillyTheMountain · October 7, 2006, 5:24pm

It’s phenomenal.

Does anyone record TV shows with a DVR??

habbywall · October 7, 2006, 5:27pm

I have rabbit ears too!!
We just got a new tv though, it has digital stations, but there still free, man it is so awsome, it High Def, for free, but there only the local stations so it’s not as good.

john_childs · October 7, 2006, 6:19pm

Yes.
I have a DVR. It’s a model that has both a hard drive and a DVD recorder. The ones with just the DVD recorder are cheaper.

They work.

You have to realize though that the more you try to fit on a DVD the more it will compress the video and drop the resolution to get the files small enough to fit on the DVD. An issue with the DVD only DVD-recorders (no HD) is that if you try to record to a bad DVD it will abort the recording process and you’ll miss your TV show. It happens. They can be fussy about the DVD blanks, especially if you use a DVD-RW disk.

Mine is a glorified VCR. It’s not like a Tivo that will automatically record shows that it thinks I might want to watch. I have to record mine manually by setting the channel, start time, and end time, just like a VCR. It does not download a schedule like a Tivo. I like it that way. Needs no connection to the internet or an outside service.

I got it when I wanted to record the Tour de France during a NAUCC. I didn’t want to miss the tour. I needed something with a HD so it would have the capacity to record many days worth of the tour while I was gone. It worked.

A side benefit of the DVD-recorders is that you can rip the video off the DVD to get it on to your computer. Easier to do it that way than with a traditional VCR.

I record to the HD and use the DVD recorder option only for the shows that I want to keep.

BillyTheMountain · October 7, 2006, 7:20pm

excellent! Thank you.

john_childs:

Yes.
I have a DVR. It’s a model that has both a hard drive and a DVD recorder. The ones with just the DVD recorder are cheaper.

They work.

You have to realize though that the more you try to fit on a DVD the more it will compress the video and drop the resolution to get the files small enough to fit on the DVD. An issue with the DVD only DVD-recorders (no HD) is that if you try to record to a bad DVD it will abort the recording process and you’ll miss your TV show. It happens. They can be fussy about the DVD blanks, especially if you use a DVD-RW disk.

Mine is a glorified VCR. It’s not like a Tivo that will automatically record shows that it thinks I might want to watch. I have to record mine manually by setting the channel, start time, and end time, just like a VCR. It does not download a schedule like a Tivo. I like it that way. Needs no connection to the internet or an outside service.

I got it when I wanted to record the Tour de France during a NAUCC. I didn’t want to miss the tour. I needed something with a HD so it would have the capacity to record many days worth of the tour while I was gone. It worked.

A side benefit of the DVD-recorders is that you can rip the video off the DVD to get it on to your computer. Easier to do it that way than with a traditional VCR.

I record to the HD and use the DVD recorder option only for the shows that I want to keep.

ivan · October 8, 2006, 12:29am

I used to have one of those, but it broke for no apparent reason. And it was panasonic, too.

kington99 · October 8, 2006, 4:42am

Yeah at home i have a DVD recorder i use for recording TV programs. Works just like a VCR, infact it has a VCR built in aswell, better quality and you can skip through it easily instead of having to wind through hours of tape.