Page 1 of Pioneer 420 8x 4x 2x Discs... Does it matter which one??

I`m attempting my first HDD to DVD copy and have various discs;

JVC DVD-R 8x (free with recorder)
TDK DVD-RW 4x
TDK DVD-RW 2x (free with recorder)
Mr. DVD DVD-R 4x

My first question is.... Does it really matter if a disc is 2x, 4x or 8x? If so... what is the difference?

Secondly, at the moment I am only transfering the Sunday omnibusses of Eastenders (approx 1hr 50mins) to send to my sister in USA and,if possible, want to fit 3 of them onto a disc. I am still learning my DVD recorder and I have no idea whether I recorded the soap in LP or SP. I now know to record in LP as EP is too grainy for my liking and SP would be too much for a disc but how can I check which one I recorded them in? On the disc navigation page, where the titles are, I can select each recording but all I see is the title I put in. Is there any way of checking this?

Lastly, I want to be able to use the High-speed copying facility, how long would it actually take to copy 6 hours worth of recording onto a RW or R disc?

I hope someone can help me with these.

Thanks,
Jill

The 2x,4x,8x discs will all record the same quality,the difference is the speed of copying from HDD-DVD.
A full dvd will take about half an hour with 2x,15 mins with 4x and about 8 mins with 8x.
The Pioneer is capable of recording the exact running time you need.If 2 hours is too short,and 4 hours too long ,you need to use an MN setting.
In the INITIAL SETUP menu there is an option for manual recording.Default is OFF,so switch it on.Then when you use the button for changing the recording quality,when it goes through Fine,SP,LP,EP it will reach MN.Once there,use the up and down keys to cycle through the MN settings.There are 32 with 5 or 10 minute differences between them.So if you know the exact running time of your recordings,set the MN setting for that.You need the MN setting for the HDD recording to match the dvd to allow high speed copying.If you record in FINE or SP on the HDD and then change it using OPTIMISE ,then copying is done in real time.So if you dare to record something as low as 6 hour quality on the HDD,then copying it to dvd will still only take 8 mins with 8x discs.
So,for your Eastenders discs,set it to 3 hours 40.I assume your USA contact can watch PAL discs.
You could always use a -RW disc,then after watching the disc,your sister could wipe the disc and use it herself,assuming she has a recorder.

sorry for jumping in. for the friend who owns the pioneer 420H- do you know if the tuner is compatible with PAL B/G? i want to buy one from england and take it to cyprus where they use PAL B/G.

Thanks for all the info Phelings... yes, my sister can watch PAL tv because I took over a tv/video combi, a dvd player and a voltage converter when I went over there in August. All the videos I have sent up to now have plyed without problem. So, I guess I can use the 2x if I`m leaving it over night to copy. Thanks again Phelings.

apoel... It`s me, here in UK, that has the Pioneer 420. My sister in USA has a fantastic large screen tv and other equipment to go with it, including a dvd recorder, but none of it accepts stuff taped or recorded in UK. The tv/vcr/dvd I took over was purely for her to watch Eastenders and anything else I think she might like not to tape off of American tv. I had the foresight to pay the extra tenna for my Pioneer 420 to be made multi region just in case there is anything from over there I wanted recording (I must admit there isn`t much, except `The Carol Duval Show` which is a craft show... I know, we both sound pretty sad, eh?)
It must be pretty frustrating for you wanting a reasonably priced DVD recorder and not knowing if it is compatable in Cyprus. Maybe you should find a relative or friend from over here in UK to go over there and bring one in their luggage... just make sure they don`t stay a month and you have the chance of returning it back to the shop if it`s not compatable. Do you know any army based people over there that use UK equipment? Could you ask them? My next door neighbours used all the equipment bought over from Germany and seemed to work fine. Hope this helps apoel.

I`m sure I`ll have more questions as I get to know my recorder a little more although I still can`t get sound on TV Channels 1,2,3,4,5 & VCR since I had my DVD recorder installed!.
Jill

you cannot imagine socks_uk how FRUSTRATING it is. i`ve been trying for a WEEK to find out about it (know very little about these things) and i began to get the picture only last night.
here in CY we use PAL B/G whereas in UK PAL-I. therefore it seems i need a multisystem recorder(not multiregion) that is a recorder with a tuner compatible to PAL B/G. i hope i understood correctly! now im looking for such a machine.

if anyone can verify the above it will be very helpful. and also where i can find one!

Making it multiregional will make no difference to you being able to watch US recordings made by your sister.
Home recordings have no region code,so if your sister records something you would still be able to watch it on a R2 only machine,even if its NTSC.
The MR will simply allow you to watch commercial dvd`s from any region,so if your sister picks up a bargain in the US she could send it to you.
There are suppliers in the US who provide DVD players that can convert PAL-NTSC.My nephew has a Cyberhome dvd player and all the PAL discs he has will convert to NTSC for his US TV set.
May have been a cheaper bet,and an idea you may still want to take up

Last night I finalised my first Eastenders disc and played it on my daughter`s Pacific DVD player, which is identical to the one I took to my sister in USA, and it played! I only managed to get 2 Sunday omnibusses onto the disc (Mr DVD 4x) but I`m happy with that... for now! ;)

Thanks all

Jill

Hi apoel,

I`ve just got a Pioneer 520 and the manual states that the tuner is able to receive PAL B/G, PAL I, SECAM L & SECAM D/K, so am pretty sure the 420 will be the same. I got mine from here - very quick delivery (ie next day). They are doing the 420 for £329.90 with an option to make it multiregion for £9.99 - I think delivery would be £7.99 to UK. I think Richer Sounds are doing it instore for £350 multiregion if you don`t want to buy on the web.

Hiya again apoel,

I don`t know much about my Pioneer 420 but the least I can do for you is read the manual just like kevint has done.
On page 125 of the manual it gives a table stating the receivable channels for each type of tuner. For PAL B/G it states...

Frequency Channel

VHF (low) 47 - 89MHz E2 - E4
X - Z

VHF (high) 104 - 300MHz E5 - E12
S1 - S20
M1 - M10
U1 - U10

Hyper 302 - 470Mhz S21 - S41

UHF 470 - 862MHz E21 - E69


I don`t have a clue what all this means but what it does suggest to me is that, with the very mention of PAL B/G in the manual, you should be able to use it in Cyprus. I am very pleased with my choice of buying the Pioneer 420 and I`m pleased I took my time looking at all the opinions of all the folks on here and other forums and didn`t rush in and buy the first one I saw.
Let us know how you get on apoel,

Jill