DVD Recorders in the A/V room

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skiptaylor
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DVD Recorders in the A/V room

#1

Post by skiptaylor »

I've been requested by the Stake Presidency to investigate the usage of DVD recorders to record satellite transmissions within the A/V closet/room.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with units for this? Would a hybrid DVD/VCR combination be more beneficial?

If you have been using DVD recorders or combination units, what brand and model have you used? When I contacted the local FM group I was told these are not available through them.

Any ideas/comments are welcome on this!
zevlag
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#2

Post by zevlag »

When I was in a stake in Melbourne, Australia, we were using these. It worked great. I can't be much help as I don't remember what model or such. I do know that it didn't include VHS. I don't really know why we would need to these days.
JamesAnderson
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#3

Post by JamesAnderson »

I've got one and use it to get things off BYUTV that the Church broadcasts that are not distributed afterwards on DVD, such as the recent General Young Womens Meeting.

There are some DVD/VCR models. Most of those run under $150 US. Many for less if they do not include the VCR. But as it is, VCRs are on their way out, as many major stores are over the next little while or already are not carrying blank tape anymore. You can still find blank tape but it will get harder to do so.
skiptaylor
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#4

Post by skiptaylor »

There has been some talk about getting one of the DVD Recorder/VCR combo units just to save the existing stock of VHS tapes we have in our library. :eek:

I think I'll see what I can find online. I still ask for comments on units!

Thanks!
Skip
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thedqs
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#5

Post by thedqs »

avskip wrote:I've been requested by the Stake Presidency to investigate the usage of DVD recorders to record satellite transmissions within the A/V closet/room.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with units for this? Would a hybrid DVD/VCR combination be more beneficial?

If you have been using DVD recorders or combination units, what brand and model have you used? When I contacted the local FM group I was told these are not available through them.

Any ideas/comments are welcome on this!

This is allowed and has been implemented. My old stake still records 2 VHS tapes for back-up purposes but the DVD recorder is great since you can ususally make the 5 copies in about 30-60 mins (depending on how much you are burning). As for a VHS/DVD combo my old stake just left the old VHS's and bought DVD only machines. If you notice the church is only perducing DVDs now though you might still find some videos, so a DVD/VHS combo wouldn't be beneficial in my mind.
- David
russellhltn
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#6

Post by russellhltn »

A DVD/VHS combo would be a good choice for a playback machine, but I don't see the point for a recording one.

Personally I'd like to get one with the built-in hard drive. Record to HDD, and hopefully be able to edit exact start and end so that it's nice and tight and then burn as many as you need from the drive. I know, I have expensive tastes. :D
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thedqs
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#7

Post by thedqs »

RussellHltn wrote:A DVD/VHS combo would be a good choice for a playback machine, but I don't see the point for a recording one.

Personally I'd like to get one with the built-in hard drive. Record to HDD, and hopefully be able to edit exact start and end so that it's nice and tight and then burn as many as you need from the drive. I know, I have expensive tastes. :D

Yes the DVD Recorder with an internal hard drive is the one my old stake had, and it is the one I recommend. (Not THAT expensive and you'll be cutting down on you VHS and DVD purchases too)
- David
skiptaylor
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#8

Post by skiptaylor »

thedqs wrote:This is allowed and has been implemented. My old stake still records 2 VHS tapes for back-up purposes but the DVD recorder is great since you can ususally make the 5 copies in about 30-60 mins (depending on how much you are burning). As for a VHS/DVD combo my old stake just left the old VHS's and bought DVD only machines. If you notice the church is only perducing DVDs now though you might still find some videos, so a DVD/VHS combo wouldn't be beneficial in my mind.
What record time do you use for recordings? I'm thinking 2 hour format would be best as it would give the best picture.

We have a LOT of VHS machines, but only one DVD player in the Stake building. I wonder if the VHS/DVD combo would record a better picture going VHS to DVD?
skiptaylor
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#9

Post by skiptaylor »

thedqs wrote:Yes the DVD Recorder with an internal hard drive is the one my old stake had, and it is the one I recommend. (Not THAT expensive and you'll be cutting down on you VHS and DVD purchases too)
Now THAT would be NICE! I like the idea of a hard drive!! What model recorder did your old Stake have?
danpass
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#10

Post by danpass »

When my role as stake computer clerk was expanded to that of stake technology specialist, adding satellite and A/V to my responsibilities, one of the first things that I did was to get stake authorization to buy a DVR - DVD recorder combo unit. I installed it in the video cabinet, replacing one of the 2 VCR's that were being used up to that point. This has worked out wonderfully for out stake!

It is a much better solution than a standalone DVD recorder or VCR. Both of these require frequent attention in order to get blank media loaded, between General Conference sessions, for instance. When recording straight to DVD, you also run the risk of getting media errors and ending up with a coaster rather than the intended recording.

The particular unit we got is made by Panasonic and has a 60 GB hard drive which gives us 10 to 60 hours of recording time, depending on the selected recording quality. I use the 2 GB per hour setting which gives me a 30 hour storage capacity. This is the highest quality setting that I can use that will allow a recording of a conference session to fit on a single layer DVD.

I can do basic editing directly on the unit. It has a high speed DVR to DVD copy function that copies a 2 hour recording in less than 10 minutes. What I like most about it is having the ability to schedule recordings in advance and not have to worry about feeding it blank media constantly.

I believe we paid about $250 for the DVR and we bought it about 18 months ago.

Alternatively, you could go with a PC based DVR. I haven't explored this option myself, but there are open source DVR applications available for Linux, Windows and MacOS.
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