Page 1 of DVD re-Recorders....

My DVD player doesnt have a record button. I wasnt expecting there to be one on it or the remote, I just realised that this is a big thing missing from DVD players. How long till DVD re-recorders hit the market do you think? How will they work aswell, because I doubt it is possible to record onto CDs fast enough to capture footage off TV "live", let alone DVDs. Would this mean you would need a huge box that takes up half your room and dims the lights when you turn it on? I am terminally distracted.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 24th October 2000, 23:14

Funnily enough, Blazing, your youthful curiosity is not as daft as it may seem.

Recordable DVD (that`ll be DVD-R then) is just around the corner, with the first models expected to hit the shops at the turn of the year.

How it`ll work, goodness knows.

No doubt we`ll end up with another format war on our hands with the new PVRs (Tivo) due out this week. You may not be aware of this, Blazing, but when VHS first came out it had to compete with two other formats - Betamax and the Phillips V2000. (If you knew this I apologise for coming over all patronising like).

We had the V2000 in our house - excellent format : video cassettes you could turn over. Mind you, the player was about the size of a double decker bus ....

A commercial DVD burner will probably be based on something like the TiVO system - there`ll be an MPEG-2 card for converting the signal coming in on the fly. That`ll write the data to a built in hard drive which will then write the data to your recordable DVD "offline" at a later point. If you already have a PIII machine and the ATi All In Wonder 128 card, you`ve got most of the electronics already. Add a DVD burner and you`re away!

Before you ask, I haven`t got one myself, but I`d *like* one, okay?

well, standalone dvd-r`s are already available (pioneer)..

as for PC systems, theres DVD-R`s for them too (NOT DVD-Ram)..

also noticed some cheap DVD-R discs today, £16, TDK compatible with DVD-Rom and DVD Video drives..

Still cheaper to get a disc pressed, but give it 18months and they`ll be down to £5 a disc..

I did know about betamax actually (man do I feel patronised), my mum had one. We got rid of it in about 1864, and copied all our betamax tapes to VHS, so I ended up with an invincible historically interesting copy of 2001: A space odyssey.
What I forgot to ask was: is it ever likely though that DVD recorders will ever (ever) replace VHS? I mean sure VHS quality isnt super-duper but the tapes are cheap and easy to use. How are the DVD chumps going to get around the problem of actually making the recorders practicle?

Hi Clayts .. or enyone else for that matter who may be interested.. only it just so happens that i have a Grundig Video 2000 Boxed with instructions and free tape as new, very little used and in good working order.. offers anyone.. Collectors, etc...

And while on the case of DVD recorders, yes they are about, but too expensive and too late, HDTV will do what VHS did to Beta & 2000
anyway how many taes have you got that you have recorded on but never watched... Lots i bet

Max

too expensive you say?

£1100 for a standalone or £2000 for a pc dvd-r

now, £1100 is what it will cost you for a Good VCR (not decent, as you can get a dcent vcr for £300-£500)..

£1100 for the convenience of digital media? i think not

BUT i agree, it won`t take off, and neither will any other similar format..

Why? for the same reason DVD isn`t taking off, people (joe public, johnny punter) don`t see why they should, when they can get a goodmans vcr for £80 and films for £5-£10, whereas a dvd costs on average £15-£20, all for what, a few poxy "extras" that they`ll never view..

IMO dvd`s need to lose the `extras` and come down a few quid in price, nobody but the fanboys are really interested in them and it may help dvd take off if the price is reduced by a few £ as a result.

and please, nobody be offended, just trying to start intelligent debate here.. :)

Max - I`ve seen V2000s at car boot sales for about £20, but if yours is virtually brand new boxed it may be worth asking Hugh Scully to pop round and have a look...sorry, seriously there probably will be someone out there who would offer you silly money for it. I`ll mention it to my old man and see if his eyes don`t go all misty on me !

Altered - You say DVD hasn`t taken off ? You certainly do live up to your name, mate, it`s the fastest selling audio/video format since John Logie Baird took a cardboard box and stuck his cat in it and introduced the world to TV. Prices of discs are coming down, slowly but surely. When the hardware first came out it was about £500 for the cheapest player. Now mainstream places like Woolies (Proline), WHS (CyberHome) and Argos (Alba/Bush) have brought it to the masses, who may not be so audio/visual-fanatical as our good selves. "Rent it on video" adverts have become dual purpose "...or buy it on DVD" adverts.

I bet loads of people will find a player in this year`s Christmas stocking.

Blazing - eventually, yes, VCR will fade away - a bit like vinyl and cassettes are doing at the moment in the record industry. It`ll take some time to kill the format off.

Altered - You say DVD hasn`t taken off ? You certainly do live up to your name, mate, it`s the fastest selling audio/video format

fastest selling you say, as in a lot of units selling to fanatics in short spaces of time (5yrs), can it stand the test of time? i seriously doubt it. the problem is, for people in the poorest parts of britain, they are happy to setlle for a cheapy sub £100 vcr and pirate films for £2..

when it comes to middle england, a nice £400 vcr and sensibly priced £10, £12 maybe £15 films.

its clearly not selling to the non-techno heads (well it is, but very slowly), these are the same people who you yourself said keep tv`s for 8-10yrs, most of them can`t even tell the difference between mono and nicam. they really don`t care for dvd, it`s just another "overpriced electric thingymjig that plays films"



When the hardware first came out it was about £500 for the cheapest player. Now mainstream places like Woolies (Proline), WHS (CyberHome) and Argos (Alba/Bush) have brought it to the masses, who may not be so audio/visual-fanatical as our good selves.

very true, and with the exception of tesco`s, most of these products hardly leave the shelves.


"Rent it on video" adverts have become dual purpose "...or buy it on DVD" adverts.

yes, the distributors are pushing it as much as they can, which is why more people have heard about / seen dvd`s than Laserdisc, but many are still reluctant to buy into it with high software prices

Hi Again Clayts

Wasnt expecting much for the 2000 .. Kept it as a item to show my grandkids in years to come (maybe next year, speed things are movin) but if anyone out there wants it ...ill part with it.

And i must agree with you Clayts on everything you said about DVD being the fastest selling .etc....

And the price of VHS as only come down cos the makers know it`s past it`s sellby date (didnt we have all this with the 45 Vs CD )

Max