Recording Modes I too am about to take the plunge and find your forum v. helpful.? - Are the various recording modes (High Quality (HQ), Standard Play (SP), Standard Play Plus (SPP), Long Play (LP), Extended Play (EP), and Super Long Play (SLP) available on BOTH the HDD and the DVD or only on one? If one which one? Recording Modes I too am about to take the plunge and find your forum v. helpful.? - Are the various recording modes (High Quality (HQ), Standard Play (SP), Standard Play Plus (SPP), Long... » Read More Recording Modes I too am about to take the plunge and find your forum v. helpful.? - Are the various recording modes (High Quality (HQ), Standard Play (SP), Standard Play Plus (SPP), Long Play (LP), Extended Play (EP), and Super Long Play (SLP) available on BOTH the HDD and the DVD or only on one? If one which one? « Show Less
1718315
All modes are available on both. I copy VHS tapes to HDD and from there to DVD after editing on the HDD. I always record to HDD in the same mode I plan to use on the DVD. The DVD burn goes faster without having to convert modes.
1718316
So if I wanted to record a program that's longer than 2 hours (DVD length) I could record directly to the DVD at, say, Long Play mode? Or I could record to HDD at LP mode so I could burn a DVD later? It does make sense to burn at the recorded speed; thanks for the hint! Thanks for the help!
734075
These are two different formats used by DVD recorders. The -R is the most common. Some recorders handle both formats but some can only record to one of them. You should check the instructions for your specific recorder to see which format(s) it can use.
2084430
ok, question that will reveal how little i know about this. you mentioned recording to DVD. Can a DVD recorder record over the air broadcasts? can you set it to record at certain times, the way you would a VCR? And can you re-record over the dvds or do you have to keep buying them? (the advantage of vhs.)thanks!
965598
The default recording mode (and display for the screen) is wide screen, which is a 16:9 aspect ratio. In short, yes it does both record and display in wide screen mode.
2067410
THANKS guys, i was wondering if this happened to be anything like the GH2 and GH3 where they seemed to be unlimited recording times?
649087
Not much! Both can be played on most players. DVD plus R has the ability of recording on several layers with the proper recorder, DVD dash R is single layer.Suggest you "Google" the question as there are several answers available-mostly technical.
1455028
I tried to record using a Sony DVD+R DL disc but it ran out of space after 2 hours. Sony says that this disc is not compatable with the DVDirect VRD-MC5 (although the manual indicates otherwise) and I should use a Verbatim disc, which I haven't tried yet.
952310
Yes. You can record in multiple formats. I personally prefer H.264. I was using AVI for a while but the file size was too huge.
532885
A better question is what format will it not play. I have been able to play divx 4.x and 5.x,asi .mp4,vob,mov and .mkv 4:3&16:9 video files off of a usb on it. This is very nice if you have a lot of personal video files that you want to watch on your tv without having to do extra work converting and burning the video files to disc. I use a 1 tb external drive for storage(to play) and I have an external WD 2.5 500gb for recording with no problems. Be sure to download and install the update software first thing. Also if you are going to record from it be sure and format the drive to ntfs or you will have multiple files for each recording.(unless that is what you want) A better question is what format will it not play. I have been able to play divx 4.x and 5.x,asi .mp4,vob,mov and .mkv 4:3&16:9 video files off of a usb on it. This is very nice if you have a lot of personal video files that you want to watch on your tv without having to do extra work converting and burning the video files to disc. I use a 1 tb external drive for storage(to play) and I have an external WD 2.5 500gb for recording with no problems. Be sure to download and install the update software first thing. Also if you are going to record from it be sure and format the drive to ntfs or... » Read More A better question is what format will it not play. I have been able to play divx 4.x and 5.x,asi .mp4,vob,mov and .mkv 4:3&16:9 video files off of a usb on it. This is very nice if you have a lot of personal video files that you want to watch on your tv without having to do extra work converting and burning the video files to disc. I use a 1 tb external drive for storage(to play) and I have an external WD 2.5 500gb for recording with no problems. Be sure to download and install the update software first thing. Also if you are going to record from it be sure and format the drive to ntfs or you will have multiple files for each recording.(unless that is what you want) « Show Less
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Hi there Chris - Yes there are two recording modes - voice-activated and continuous recording. With the continuous recording mode it will record sound and video. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
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You didn't look at the manual did you? There is a page on the DVD's that this Toshiba will record on, unfortunately it's very few. Really to record you have to find disks that are cprm compatible. I emailed TDK about which of their dvd disks that are cprm compatible, and they told me they don't sell them in the US, only in europe or outside of the US. the movie and music industry has clamped down on people copying their media. Go to your electronics store and see how many DVD RECORDERS they have. You won't find many, players yes but not recorders. Even with such disks I tried to copy a movie from one of the premium channels and on the tv screen, it said it would not copy. Ten years ago it worked, not anymore.
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Mary, these play both, with the added benefit of making most regular DVDs sharper than they ordinarily play as well. We've been really pleased with this aspect, as I hadn't realized this when I purchased it! Hope this helps!
1278882
It's the dvd recording technology -R was developed by Pioneer the other by DVD Forum long time ago it mattered what equipment you had whether it was for -R or +R but now the machines (computers dvd recorders etc) can record & play back any of the two, same quality same speed, myself I've used both nowadays i go for the cheaper one, hopefully I've answered your question.
1895962
Thanks. Seems like each of these makes has its quirks. I just gave away on old (4 years) Toshiba DVD recorder that did OK for its time, but the menus were very unintuitive, and the manual was in broken english. I guess I could always pick up a D-R410 at Fry's and if I don't like it, return for the Panny when it's in stock. Fry's also has a Sony RDR-GX360 for the same price as the Panasonic, and it seems to have the same ins/outs and upconversion, but I can only find one user review out there and it was bad. I hear that Sonys are picky about the DVD brand you use, plus they're the "source" for the industry restrictions on recording HD, so I don't want to support them. Thanks. Seems like each of these makes has its quirks. I just gave away on old (4 years) Toshiba DVD recorder that did OK for its time, but the menus were very unintuitive, and the manual was in broken english. I guess I could always pick up a D-R410 at Fry's and if I don't like it, return for the Panny when it's in stock. Fry's also has a Sony RDR-GX360 for the same price as the Panasonic, and it seems to have the same ins/outs and upconversion, but I can only find one user review out there and it was bad. I hear that Sonys are picky about the DVD brand you use, plus they're the... » Read More Thanks. Seems like each of these makes has its quirks. I just gave away on old (4 years) Toshiba DVD recorder that did OK for its time, but the menus were very unintuitive, and the manual was in broken english. I guess I could always pick up a D-R410 at Fry's and if I don't like it, return for the Panny when it's in stock. Fry's also has a Sony RDR-GX360 for the same price as the Panasonic, and it seems to have the same ins/outs and upconversion, but I can only find one user review out there and it was bad. I hear that Sonys are picky about the DVD brand you use, plus they're the "source" for the industry restrictions on recording HD, so I don't want to support them. « Show Less
1772882
Sory this record on tape Hi8 and review on both Hi and Hi8 tape only. If you want record dvd you buy different ones.
888138
On page 146 of my copy of the Image Mixer 3 SE Software Guide I found some information about writing back to the camcorder.It has to be AVCHD standard only and I guess you need to use Canon Image Mixer 3 SE to do the editing. There are other limitations in the guide.I have not tried this yet. I write my edited movies to AVCHD on DVD-R and play on PS3, Blu-Ray Player or computer.One thing I like is the on-camera "Playlist". Even without a computer you can select specific clips and then play them in sequence.Of course you can't trim an individual clip but you can tailor the presentation of clips to a specific audience and then change it again and again....No tape ! I love this Non-linear stuff ! On page 146 of my copy of the Image Mixer 3 SE Software Guide I found some information about writing back to the camcorder.It has to be AVCHD standard only and I guess you need to use Canon Image Mixer 3 SE to do the editing. There are other limitations in the guide.I have not tried this yet. I write my edited movies to AVCHD on DVD-R and play on PS3, Blu-Ray Player or computer.One thing I like is the on-camera "Playlist". Even without a computer you can select specific clips and then play them in sequence.Of course you can't trim an... » Read More On page 146 of my copy of the Image Mixer 3 SE Software Guide I found some information about writing back to the camcorder.It has to be AVCHD standard only and I guess you need to use Canon Image Mixer 3 SE to do the editing. There are other limitations in the guide.I have not tried this yet. I write my edited movies to AVCHD on DVD-R and play on PS3, Blu-Ray Player or computer.One thing I like is the on-camera "Playlist". Even without a computer you can select specific clips and then play them in sequence.Of course you can't trim an individual clip but you can tailor the presentation of clips to a specific audience and then change it again and again....No tape ! I love this Non-linear stuff ! « Show Less
528048
Be sure you have a recorder that can use +R media first. Some recorders only work with -R media. Also be sure you DVD recorder can burn to Double Layer discs (the DL in the name.) These hold as much as a standard DVD you might rent or buy from the store, so I typically would not put HD content on them anyway. One of these discs recorded with content will play just fine in MOST standard DVD players. I say MOST as occasionally I have found a player that does not like to play -R or +R home recorded material. Hope this helps.