I was thinking of buying a VCR machine to record some TV programmes , but ive just seen a Sony DVD Player / Recorder ( DVD-RW ) not knowing too much about this DVD player / recorder format can any one tell me if it could be used to record Tv programmes in the same way you could ues a VCR machine..?, ( record a programme on the Tv while watching another channel..? ) any advice on this subjuet would be welcome ...Thanks

CAN ANY ONE HELP ..? WITH ADVICE PLEASE.....

Do a Google search for the model number for more information.

Basic I found in one minute search was that only the two shortest recording times of 60 minutes or 90 minutes were better than VHS recordings. There are a large number of systems out there (read Beta/VHS wars) and this is first generation overpriced equipment now and Sony again is the high price champ. But then again it could be just what you want as we all have different ideas.

Be aware that you can not watch one/record another with UBC unless you have two decoders.

Don’t bother with DVD RW for TV shows. The Media is way to expensive also the set up cost would be really expensive a good DVD RW will cost 12000 baht to get a cheep one will only postpone getting a good one. Then you will need to get a TV Tuner card.

VCRs are cheep and tapes are simple to get. China town MBK, Pantip, or even Big C you can pick them up.

Almost one year later, this topic suddenly surfaced on my screen in a search..

Just look at what a difference a year makes:

* I just picked up a dual-layer 16x DVD+-RW burner for 4300 baht (Chiang Mai)

* DVD+RW media costs around 100 baht for a disc.

* Harddisk space for recording is hardly an issue.

* TV tuner cards are all over Panthip, that is if they're not included already on your GFX card as standard.

Cheers,

Chanchao

Might try DVR/DVD Burner Combo

DVR/DVD Recorder

if you want to record tv shows, the other way is to buy a capture card. - Pipe the tv signal into the card and record. On timer if you want. Encode straight to DivX or MPEG4 if you want.

I just bought a nu dvd burner for the computer that cost 2100 baht. single layer discs only.

Dvd(minus ~ which only record whole disc n one go) cost 25 baht.

full dvd burns in about 9 minutes.

Bundled software is ok, though Nero does not recognise the machine (probably an update will sort that out.)

can't go wrong really

Actually both -R and +R support multisession (writing, then adding more data later on). It's just that there are limitations on what can *read* a multisession DVD, just like there were limitations on what can read a multisession CD (the limitations are irrelevant now since anything that can't read multisession CDs are now obsolete). With +RW and -RW, you can also erase the disc.

With DVD-recorder boxes still in the tens of thousands of baht, I think that the cheaper alternative would be to get a DVD-R drive. A 16x writer can be had for 4,000-6,000, and a TV tuner for around 2-3,000. Both would give you a lot more options, speed, and flexibility than a DVD-recorder box.

Encode straight to DivX or MPEG4 if you want.

do not forget Xvid format.The compression encoding techniques in the last year have changed dramatically with quite a few new formats available. The ability to encode/decode on the fly (stream) is the aim of the game.

for a stand alone DVD player for your television make sure you have a look at the phillips DVP divX/Xvid DVD player , its only 66USD at walmart and some one said they found it here in bangkok for around 3k baht.

ok this may sound a stupid question to those in the know but.... I have a DVD player / CD burner on my laptop.

If I buy a DVD player / burner can it just slot into the sapce left by the old one or are there things like motherboards etc that I would need to worry about?

Cheers

The optical disc mechanism on notebooks isn't like the ones on desktops. They're proprietary and specific to the make and model of the notebook. Some manufacturers do offer replacement optical drive upgrades for some notebook models, but they're usually not intended to be user-installed.

A notebook user would usually buy an additional external drive. Either a slim type (which uses a mechanism similar to the one in your notebook and would have the same limitations but would be small) or a normal sized type, which is simply a desktop drive fitted in an enclosure with firewire and/or usb interface.

why is technology so complex?

> why is technology so complex?

Because it evolves and improves. In that sense, look at nature and evolution: now THAT's complex! Trillions of species and virtually none are compatible with each other!

The alternative is to stick with something you know. But the moment you decide DVD is better than your old Betamax recorder the size of 3 shoe-boxes, you will experience change.

Cheers,

Chanchao