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(Newbie) Overwhelmed by DVD/VCR recorder purchase
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Adrielle
Newbie
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18. July 2005 @ 11:55 |
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Can folks explain to me what it is that I need to educate myself about, and point me in the right direction re. purchasing a DVD/VCR recorder?
This fall I will be teaching a class in whichI want to use examples (<5 minute bites) from movies/VHS tapes. I've been trying to figure out the best DVD/VCR recorder to buy, finding out the amount of stuff I don't know about is staggering, and I need help.
My goals are roughly thus:]
* Spend <= $300 web-price on a DVD/VCR recorder that will allow me to, e.g. take the VHS that another instructor has been using and put in onto a DVD / transfer to a laptop harddrive
* Spend more time henceforth developing the class and less time trying to figure out DVD lingo and technical what-nots. Normally I enjoy figuring it all out, but my time frame is shrinking fast. I don't mind taking the time learn (later), but I need to get a minimum amount of functionality quickly.
* Copy from a VHS to a DVD (to .AVI eventually?) that I can then pop into my computer and edit (e.g. take a 3 minute segment and add in text screens or text at the bottom of the screen -- nothing fancy). If the DVD/VCR were able to do that simple editing quickly I can live with that :) but again I am more interested in spending time learning to edit DVD/.avi whatever on my computer than researcing DVD recorders.
* Flexibility recording from TV (to both DVD and VCR at same time if possible)
* A DVD/VCR that records to those media that I'm most likely to use in the future, especially in my DVD-RW on the computer.
The extent of my ignorance here is woeful, but that <sigh> means I'm learning. Pointers to any tutorials etc. are greatly appreciated. But my main goal is to pick up a recorder that will get me through fall semester with the ability to create media usable in class. The 2 DVD-VCR recorders recommended at consumerreports.org are the
* Panasonic DMR-E75VS
* jvc dr-mv1s
but I'm not certain that they meet these needs.
Many thanks for any pointers and wisdoms!
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AfterDawn Addict
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18. July 2005 @ 13:58 |
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DISCLAIMER: If you find a posting or message from me
offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
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me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate . . .
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. July 2005 @ 13:59
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Adrielle
Newbie
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18. July 2005 @ 16:58 |
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I will pursue these links and further my education. Do you have any suggestions particular to my situation? In particular should I be looking for recorders with any particular options if I am going to be going back and forth with these DVDs to my PC and cutting them up there?
TX CatFreak
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Adrielle
Newbie
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19. July 2005 @ 12:12 |
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Yesterday I was stressed and a tad incoherent. Hopefully my communication skills are better today. I'm going to try to make my questions specific this time and share information that I've learned.
I checked out the LVC-9006 on the web. It gets mixed reviews --
++ some real enthusiasm, e.g.
http://cnet.nytimes.com/Lite_On_LVC_9006/4505-6505_7-31294671.htm...
http://www.dvdrecorderworld.com/review/226
http://www.upgradeadvisor.com/content/lvc9006.aspx
-- but some cautionary tales, e.g. Amazon average is 3*** with two 1* reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007MXAAS/qid=1121...
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=139274
(1) SHOULD I BUY THE LITE-ON LOCALLY, PAYING MORE BECAUSE OF THE REPORTED HARDWARE ISSUES (for easy return)?
I can get it for relatively cheap ($204 at buy.com and newegg). But there are reports of hardware glitches, and a story at club.cdfreaks claiming that lite-on isn't speedy in fixing/returning defective merchandise. I'm wondering if I should buy it locally from CompUSA at $220+tax in case the thing goes belly up on me.
(2) WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP UP FROM THE LVC-9006, IF I PAY MORE?
(3) IS THERE A JVC ALTERNATIVE?
Both consumerreports and digitalfaq like the JVCs (fingers from 2 different universes pointing the same direction). But the one that consummerreports recommends, the dr-mv1s, is not well reviewed out there (erratically, love/hate). The only other JVC DVD-VCR combo that I can find is the DR-MX1S, which adds a HDD to the DVD-VCR. But that rockets up into the ~$525 range. Is the quality and HDD worth it?
(4) CAN I HACK THE 9006 THE SAME AS OTHER LITE-ONS?
I am assuming that I can hack the 9006 as you do the other Lite-Ons for macrovision/region-free, is that correct? The forums that I can find don't talk about 9006s.
(5) CAN I UNDO A FIRMWARE ALTERATION?
I am concerned about retracing my steps after hacking recorder firmware. Is there a way to back it up before taking the plunge?
-----
I know that I'm probably asking too many questions (isn't that the definition of newbie?). If you can answer any one question it would help me out. The links CatFreak gave me were very helpful. I am appreciative of time spent upon me and try to learn from the answer.
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Mourad34
Newbie
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26. July 2005 @ 00:08 |
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I bought mine from buy.com and I'm happy with it it runs just perfect. I've been looking for a while on any hack for 9006 but I couldn't find any one, I tried the hack on the LVC-9006 firmware's files but it didn't do any change to the recorder except the region free which you can do it by the remote control.
You cannot reverse the firmware once updated the old one is gone forever even if you insert the previous CD it says updated.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=Lite-On%20LVC-9006
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 26. July 2005 @ 00:10
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Adrielle
Newbie
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26. July 2005 @ 16:28 |
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Buy.com's price is $196.99 with free shipping. I've bought from them before and have been happy each time:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10398390&loc=101&sp=1
Can I bother you with 2 last questions?
(1) Why did you buy it?
(2) Is this correct - if I buy the LVC-9006:
* I can make it region free via remote control (how?)
* No Macrovision hacks exist at this point
I do appreciate your help. Particularly about changing firmware, I'll triple check before trying anything. Sure seems there are a lot more LiteOn hacks, and I'm getting nowhere finding a decent JVC DVD-VHS recorder. I'm ready to buy this.
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Mourad34
Newbie
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26. July 2005 @ 21:43 |
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I bought it because I need a DVD recorder if you mean why I've choosen LVC-9006 then because "I believe" the only recorder in our galaxy that can record VHS DVD-R DVD+R DVD-RW DVD+RW CD-R CD-RW no brand restrictions records from external source such as camcorder satellite as DVD or VCD, audio tape deck or disc venyl as CD-Audio plays all the above in diffrent formats DVD-Video DVD-ROM or DATA (still pictures) CD-ROM or DATA (still pictures or audio) CD-Video CD-Photo VCD CD-Audio MP3...I don't think that's all, believe it or not I put a software CD-ROM in it; instead of displaying DISC ERROR like other players do, it played the pictures inside the software folders unbelivable. Another feature that I like even I don't play too much VHS tapes, when you hit pause you get a digital still picture not the old mechanical pause, there is a lot of features I just mentioned what I remember.
I've been looking for almost a year and finaly I made the dicision on LVC-9006
For the hacks check here:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=Lite-On%20LVC-9006
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 26. July 2005 @ 21:48
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AfterDawn Addict
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27. July 2005 @ 04:48 |
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Something you may want to try as far as defeating Macrovision ... I have two LiteOn LVW-5005 units and what I do is pause the tape and start the recording process. I let the recorder run for about 10-15 seconds, then unpause the tape. The recorder will then backup the protected tape with no glitches. I do the same with DVDs except that I leave the source DVD at the main menu, start the recorder (run it 10-15 secs),then select whatever I want from the menu and voila ... No copy protection!
DISCLAIMER: If you find a posting or message from me
offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
If you dont know how to ignore a posting, complain to
me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate . . .
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Mourad34
Newbie
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27. July 2005 @ 18:41 |
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LVC-9006 is a lot diffrent than the LVW-5005, first- LVW-5005 doesn't have a tape deck, second- LVC-9006 doesn't give you the option to pause tape while copying from VHS, it's available under recording from a source which VHS is not included in the list of sourses.
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AfterDawn Addict
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27. July 2005 @ 20:28 |
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DISCLAIMER: If you find a posting or message from me
offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it.
If you dont know how to ignore a posting, complain to
me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate . . .
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Adrielle
Newbie
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29. July 2005 @ 11:52 |
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So I'm going ahead with the LVC-9006, based on this thread. Yea!
I wanted to thank you guys for all of the help. Would've come back earlier but my new laptop arrived! Now I will have a laptop, and as soon as I buy this LVC, all of the tools that I need to create a whiz-bang class. Techno is not the subject matter, but I (blush) love to play with all of the bells and whistles.
You guys are great. Mwah!!
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Adrielle
Newbie
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29. July 2005 @ 12:06 |
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