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Need a DVD Recorder?

Need a DVD Recorder?

Old May 15th 2005, 9:40 am
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Default Need a DVD Recorder?

Bit of useful advice.
I needed a DVD recorder that would record from my camcorder as I simply can't get mey PC to do it! Also, one that had a tuner built in so that my UK spec TV would would work.
Anyway, went to local Good Guys, looked at 4 that did the job, LG, NEC, Philips and JVC.
Went home, checked them on the web to read up about them, check the price and most importantly to see if they can easily be hacked to be region free.
http://www.nec.com.au/products_detail.aspx?view=191 I sthe one that I bought! Here it is listed as AUS$899 and no matter where I searched, the cheapest web price was $589.
Good Guys had it for sale (no special offer) at $389.
Usual bartering for cash got it for $329.
Took less then 30 mins to hook up and 10 seconds to hack so I now have terrestial TV to add to the 100's of crappy Fox channels but it receorded a DVD immediatly.
I reckon Good Guys have stuffed up on the pricing! From TV, from Fox and from my camcorder
If you need one, get one before they figure it out (I went to the one in the Logan Hyperdome)

Andrew
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Old May 15th 2005, 10:06 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Wow thats a cracking deal , sounds like you did well.

I made an impulse purchase at wollies the other night - $220 for a dvd recorder made by KROSS which is multi-region out of hte box and seems to work pretty well. I coulnt believe the prices had dropped this much , i know the kross one is nothingon the NEC one you're talking about but at $220 it was cheap enough ( + it meant the kids can have big brother taped and they go to bed on time)
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Old May 15th 2005, 10:14 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

I am holding out for the PVRs (personal video recorders) to come down in price. No need for DVDs unless you want the program for posterity. The programs are recorded to an internal HDD and the boxes act as a digital tv set top box. You can watch one program and record another or record 2 programs at once.

BTW to record a dvcam to a PC it is recommended you have at least 512mbs of RAM, a 7200rpm or better HDD and a firewire port.
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Old May 15th 2005, 10:19 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Agreed - i bought it to download off the foxtel IQ box , had sky+ in UK and it was great but kept filling up heart breaking to delete classic old movies etc so here can burn them to dvd.
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Old May 15th 2005, 10:21 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Hi Andrew

Would you mind if I copied your post and put it on www.ozpiggybank.tk

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Old May 15th 2005, 11:03 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

BTW to record a dvcam to a PC it is recommended you have at least 512mbs of RAM, a 7200rpm or better HDD and a firewire port.
I had lots of trouble capturing camcorder footage to my PC a couple of years back but being tight, I didn't want to fork out money for a new computer system. I had and still have, a 700 MHz Processor in my PC. At the time I had a 5200 rpm hard drive and 128 MB SD Ram. I installed Adobe Premiere (version 6 I think I used then) but no matter what I did I just couldn't capture without dropping lots of frames. I added another 256 MB of Ram making 384 MB but was still dropping lots of frames. I'd seen all the advice about getting a 7,200 rpm drive but was sceptical so tried updating my operating system from Windows 98 to XP as I'd read that XP was able to handle huge file sizes where Windows XP couldn't. I was still dropping lots of frames so in the end forked out for a 7,200 rpm drive and since then have not dropped any frames apart from the odd one(only ever one frame though) due to recording errors on my camcorder.
So, in my experience the biggest reason is down to the disc rotation speed in your hard drive. It kind of makes sense as the disc writer is able to write to more area of the disc if the writer can see more 7200 circumferences of the disc every minute instead of just 5,400.
Its also advisable to have an empty and clear partition just for capturing DV too. If it isn't empty then it's advisable to at least make sure the drive has been defragmented so that the writing arm isn't losing time searching for areas empty of data.
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Old May 15th 2005, 11:17 pm
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Originally Posted by migrantoz
I had lots of trouble capturing camcorder footage to my PC a couple of years back but being tight, I didn't want to fork out money for a new computer system. I had and still have, a 700 MHz Processor in my PC. At the time I had a 5200 rpm hard drive and 128 MB SD Ram. I installed Adobe Premiere (version 6 I think I used then) but no matter what I did I just couldn't capture without dropping lots of frames. I added another 256 MB of Ram making 384 MB but was still dropping lots of frames. I'd seen all the advice about getting a 7,200 rpm drive but was sceptical so tried updating my operating system from Windows 98 to XP as I'd read that XP was able to handle huge file sizes where Windows XP couldn't. I was still dropping lots of frames so in the end forked out for a 7,200 rpm drive and since then have not dropped any frames apart from the odd one(only ever one frame though) due to recording errors on my camcorder.
So, in my experience the biggest reason is down to the disc rotation speed in your hard drive. It kind of makes sense as the disc writer is able to write to more area of the disc if the writer can see more 7200 circumferences of the disc every minute instead of just 5,400.
Its also advisable to have an empty and clear partition just for capturing DV too. If it isn't empty then it's advisable to at least make sure the drive has been defragmented so that the writing arm isn't losing time searching for areas empty of data.
Having a separate disk to record to would help more. I use a 10k raptor (pricey but the best SATA drives) to record to and have no issues. The fast drives also mean the system boots quicker and programs load quicker.

I will be putting them into a raid 0 array soon for even faster performance.
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Old May 15th 2005, 11:44 pm
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Originally Posted by migrantoz
I had lots of trouble capturing camcorder footage to my PC a couple of years back but being tight, I didn't want to fork out money for a new computer system. I had and still have, a 700 MHz Processor in my PC. At the time I had a 5200 rpm hard drive and 128 MB SD Ram. I installed Adobe Premiere (version 6 I think I used then) but no matter what I did I just couldn't capture without dropping lots of frames. I added another 256 MB of Ram making 384 MB but was still dropping lots of frames. I'd seen all the advice about getting a 7,200 rpm drive but was sceptical so tried updating my operating system from Windows 98 to XP as I'd read that XP was able to handle huge file sizes where Windows XP couldn't. I was still dropping lots of frames so in the end forked out for a 7,200 rpm drive and since then have not dropped any frames apart from the odd one(only ever one frame though) due to recording errors on my camcorder.
So, in my experience the biggest reason is down to the disc rotation speed in your hard drive. It kind of makes sense as the disc writer is able to write to more area of the disc if the writer can see more 7200 circumferences of the disc every minute instead of just 5,400.
Its also advisable to have an empty and clear partition just for capturing DV too. If it isn't empty then it's advisable to at least make sure the drive has been defragmented so that the writing arm isn't losing time searching for areas empty of data.
I had a similar problem capturing DV from my camcorder a while ago. Data from a camcorder is usually only about 3 Mbytes a sec, up to about 4.5Mbytes/s max (36Mb/s). its a fairly slow HD that can't cope with that, most are now at least 10x's that I think.

It turned out that I hadn't installed the Intel Chipset drivers for my motherboard properly and my hard drive was going very slowly because of that. I reinstalled them and suddenly permiere could capture DV no problems. You don't need the fastest hard drive to do this.

I used sisoft sandra to benchmark my hard disk and it proved it was running way slow. http://www.sisoftware.net/ You used to get a free trial, I am not sure if you still do. Might be worth checking, because it makes a huge difference to overall speed if your HD is going properly.
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Old May 16th 2005, 12:28 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Cor Blimey - what a good deal!

We bought a Basic DVD recorder a few months back and it cost us $399! Couldn't find any cheaper - other brands names like Philips and Panasonic and NEC even for a Basic model was up there in the$5-600. So took a chance as never heard of the manufacturer - but all ok. Only DVD+R/+RW format compatible though not multi, but does the job for us with usual capabilities.

Seems to me - you are right the GOOD GUYS have made a mistake in their pricing! You obviously had a better deal than us when we recently purchased our first item from a new store that has opened in Cairns. Our 17yr old son bought a Hi-Fi system - for CASH - so asked what the discount would be - bloke went off came back and guess what he said '$4 - yes you read it right $4!!!! The system was $329 and he could only bring it down to $325!!!! Although the S.E.L. said $329 he claimed the true asking price was $399 and it had recently been reduced. We argued the point but he still only took 5 more dollars off! Not a GOOD deal from the GOOD GUYS eh! So makes your bargaining even more pleasing now doesn't it? That really was a GOOD price you got!

Well done
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Old May 16th 2005, 12:35 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Originally Posted by bondipom
Having a separate disk to record to would help more. I use a 10k raptor (pricey but the best SATA drives) to record to and have no issues. The fast drives also mean the system boots quicker and programs load quicker.

I will be putting them into a raid 0 array soon for even faster performance.
Recommended!

I'm runnin 2 10k Raptors in Raid 0 and they rock!
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Old May 16th 2005, 1:43 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

I went into our GoodGuys today, and they wouldn't do $329 !! Best figure was $379.


However.... When I mentioned I was in the RACQ, they offered 12.5% off the ticket price of $399 = $349

Quite often when they do Less for Cash, they will want Cash, not Credit cards, but with the RACQ card, they give the discount even for Credit Card payments.

Some Good Guys stores will give the Cash Discount for Credit Cards if pushed.


Going back only a few months, (or that's what it seems like) I remember noticing that DVD recorders had dropped to below the $1,000 mark

They are really dropping now
 
Old May 16th 2005, 2:17 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Originally Posted by ABCDiamond
I went into our GoodGuys today, and they wouldn't do $329 !! Best figure was $379.


However.... When I mentioned I was in the RACQ, they offered 12.5% off the ticket price of $399 = $349

Quite often when they do Less for Cash, they will want Cash, not Credit cards, but with the RACQ card, they give the discount even for Credit Card payments.

Some Good Guys stores will give the Cash Discount for Credit Cards if pushed.


Going back only a few months, (or that's what it seems like) I remember noticing that DVD recorders had dropped to below the $1,000 mark

They are really dropping now
Which Goodguys? The one at Capalaba? I was considering going down & getting one!

So did you buy it?
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Old May 16th 2005, 2:32 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Originally Posted by MrsDagboy
Which Goodguys? The one at Capalaba?
Yes, Capalaba, they haven't built one at Victoria Point yet

I didn't get that model, I was persuaded to get a newer model with Progressive scan Now I just have to work out how to get it up and running, and get the picture in picture bit going. I haven't even opened the box yet

There is too much choice these days

Don't forget to take your RACQ card (even though they don't look at it )
 
Old May 16th 2005, 2:43 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

Tip on negotiating with Good Guys (and others maybe).
Full time staff at GG earn 0.5 - 2.0% commission on all sales/day.
If they only sell up to $1,000, they get the 0.5%
Not sure of the rest of the brackets but the point is the higher they sell to you, the higher their % commission.

Part-timers get a flat rate of 1% no matter how much they sell.

SHOP AT WEEKENDS and look for the part-timers, they are not so fussed about discounting to the max.

Andrew
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Old May 16th 2005, 2:50 am
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Default Re: Need a DVD Recorder?

I didn't get that model, I was persuaded to get a newer model with Progressive scan Now I just have to work out how to get it up and running, and get the picture in picture bit going. I haven't even opened the box yet.




Hi ABC
Thats good news!
You can record all me fav progs while we're on holiday then Cor thats a weight off me mind Now take it out of the BOX like a good boy

Gill
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