Recordable DVD Players
Dear Gary: The article in Issue 64, September 2002, by Bill Cruce reviewing the Philips’ DVD RP985 recorder was very well written. DVD recorders have come a long way in the last three years and are now ready for mainstream use. I recently did research on these recorders to help me determine which unit best suited my needs. I ended up purchasing the Samsung DVD R3000 and have experienced excellent results. I believe this player is made by Panasonic because it mirrors the E20 in every way, minus progressive scan. Since I owned over 80 titles in VHS, S-VHS, and LaserDisc, and I wanted to convert to DVD, it made sense for me to purchase a recorder. With the price dropping below $600 (I paid $569), the time was right for me. To date I have recorded over 80-plus titles to DVD and consider myself somewhat of an expert on home recording. I want to share my experiences with you and others, interested in DVD recording. I chose the Samsung recorder because it incorporated “Flexible Recording” as well as set time periods: XP, 1 hour; SP, 2 hours; LP, 4 hours; EP, 6 hours; and FR (Flexible recording used with the program timer only. The highest bit rate is used for the recording time period programmed in the timer recorder.) Unfortunately, FR recording is not useable for LaserDisc titles spread over two discs. Single disc titles would be recorded in the SP speed. Because FR works off the timer it does not allow editing, which is necessary for movies spread over two discs. You cannot pause the recording when switching from disc 1 to disc 2. Initially, I recorded some LaserDisc titles to S-VHS and then re-recorded to DVD using FR. That proved very time consuming and of no real benefit. To my delight the LP four hour speed resulted in an excellent DVD conversion. VHS, purchased colorized titles, S-VHS, TCM, AMC, and Fox Movies, were all recorded using FR. The results were stunning as the finished product was better than the original. Converting NTSC video to digital DVD eliminates many analog artifacts. Obviously, all the artifacts are not removed but there is a very noticeable improvement. When playing back home-recorded DVDs I found a very noticeable improvement by turning off the progressive scan feature on my Panasonic RP 82 and JVC players. I am not an expert, but I suspect it has to do with 3:2 pulldown not being able to pick up the cadence on a non-flagged DVD. Labeling DVDs is a personal choice that I avoided. If the label is not applied 100 percent correctly the DVD recording may be ruined. DVDs are very sensitive and if they are thrown out of balance or off center, they will not play. I used a black magic marker to label the DVD. Blank DVD-Rs cost $1.68, DVD-RAMs $8.00, and in cases $0.29 each. Cover material can be downloaded from many Web sites making the finished product very original looking. All and all, my experience with DVD recording has been very positive. I can highly recommend the Samsung DVD R3000.
Ernest Leo
Contributing Editor Bill Cruce Comments:
Thanks for your very informative comments. This will give WSR readers additional ideas of how DVD recorders can be used. I didn’t have time or space to cover recording from pre-existing videos on LaserDisc or videotape, though I have an interest in doing this myself, since I have, in my collection, videos that are unlikely to ever be released on DVD. I am not familiar with the Samsung DVDR3000, though, from what I can find on the Internet, I believe you are correct that it is similar to the Panasonic DVD recorder. It is in the class of recorder that I mentioned called DVD-RAM, though, I believe it will also record in the DVD-R format for compatibility. The drawback is that you can’t edit or re-record these discs to make corrections, if you want to be in a compatible format, as you can with the Phillips. I think the flexible recording feature of your Samsung is wonderful. I have that on my VCRs and wish it were on all DVD recorders. Your comment on the improvement in image when converting from an analog source to DVD merits comment. I don’t believe this is inherent in all DVD recorders. I saw a demonstration of the Panasonic DVD recorder at a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the Panasonic representatives emphasized the circuitry they have for time base correction and cleaning up analog noise. It was truly amazing to behold. The Phillips recorder that I reviewed has nothing like that.
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