Record to DVD?

[driver49]

Has anybody figured out what provisions the new S3 has for sending a signal to a DVD recorder?

I've held off buying a DVD recorder for my Home Entertainment center. But recently there have been some occasions when I've wanted to burn something off to a DVD instead of a VHS...

I don't see that proposition addressed in any of the commentary I've read so far. Don't tell me: no provision for making either VHS or DVD copies because of the stupid DRM restrictions?

--PS

[megazone]

Just hook it up to the A/V output like any other source.

[Dan203]

One thing to watch out for however is that most DVD recorders mark the content as being 4:3. So if you output a 16:9 signal it will not properly letterbox when it's played back from the DVD on a 4:3 TV. If you're going to play the DVDs on a 16:9 TV this is not a problem as you can simply stretch it to fill the screen. However if you plan to play the DVDs on a 4:3 screen then you should change your display setting on the TiVo to 4:3 before recording to the DVD. This will letterbox the content before it's sent to the DVD so you don't have to worry about it.

Dan

[Mobocracy]

One thing to watch out for however is that most DVD recorders mark the content as being 4:3. So if you output a 16:9 signal it will not properly letterbox when it's played back from the DVD on a 4:3 TV. If you're going to play the DVDs on a 16:9 TV this is not a problem as you can simply stretch it to fill the screen. However if you plan to play the DVDs on a 4:3 screen then you should change your display setting on the TiVo to 4:3 before recording to the DVD. This will letterbox the content before it's sent to the DVD so you don't have to worry about it.

Dan

This is kind of a good thing; I would rather have the box create an anamorphic signal that could be stretched back to normal (via TV WIDE format) than a 4:3 letterbox signal. My cable box forces 4:3 letterbox for simultaneous SD output and the loss of resolution is brutal. I'd much rather it output an anamorphic signal.

[Hank]

Along the same lines, if I let my the Tivo service on my HUMAX DRT-800 expire, will I be able to offload content from the S3 to the HUMAX and still burn DVDs?

[Dan203]

Yes I believe the DVD recording function of the Humax will continue to function if you allow the service to expire. However be warned that if you let it expire, then at a later date decide to resub it you will then be locked into a one year service commitment with a $200 cancellation penalty. So make sure you want to cancel before you cancel.

Dan

[Dan203]

This is kind of a good thing; I would rather have the box create an anamorphic signal that could be stretched back to normal (via TV WIDE format) than a 4:3 letterbox signal. My cable box forces 4:3 letterbox for simultaneous SD output and the loss of resolution is brutal. I'd much rather it output an anamorphic signal.

I agree, but it will only work if you have a 16:9 TV. Since the DVD itself will not be marked as animorphic and as such it will not be displayed in letterbox when played on a 4:3 TV.

Dan

[megazone]

Yes I believe the DVD recording function of the Humax will continue to function if you allow the service to expire.Hmm, I'm not sure about that. The Humax boxes don't have TiVo Basic. I'm not sure they work at all without a sub.

[macsamurai]

I was just thinking about how much I'm going to miss saving shows to DVD on my current S2 Humax DVD TiVo.

Would there be any issues with my leaving the Humax box and my "old" SD cable box connected on the component input it's currently on and using it in alongside the S3? If that would work I could switch back to the old setup for those rare occasions we want something from PPV or On Demand or when something is on that I really want to archive to DVD.

[trevoray]

I'm a proud owner of the new series 3 and i love it! i am wanting to now get a DVD recorder to archive my shows. anyone had experience with this for the new series 3? also, just in general, i am completely ignorant with how the seperate dvd recorder behaves with tivo. will it let me record more than one show? i'm assuming i have a 2 hour limit for each dvd? anyone have a dvd recorder that they love? i'm looking for good upconversion and HDMI output for sound and video.

thanks!

[Hank]

Would there be any issues with my leaving the Humax box and my "old" SD cable box connected on the component input it's currently on and using it in alongside the S3? If that would work I could switch back to the old setup for those rare occasions we want something from PPV or On Demand or when something is on that I really want to archive to DVD.

I'm doing exactly this.. and it works great. In fact, my TV offers PIP/PBP, so I could, in effect, record three different programs at once and monitor two of them at once on the TV, while burning a fourth to DVD. ;)

And I've also set up the S3 Tivo remote to control both units - the only thing missing are the "DVD" specific buttons - perhaps I'll re-program the awfully misplaced "thumbs" buttons to be the HUMAX DVD buttons.

[pinballfan]

I agree, but it will only work if you have a 16:9 TV. Since the DVD itself will not be marked as animorphic and as such it will not be displayed in letterbox when played on a 4:3 TV.

This is true. But if desired, this can be corrected.

I often burn to DVD-RW disks, then copy the files to the PC (simple drag and drop), then edit the IFO files (with IFO Edit) to reset the aspect ratio, and finally burn back to a DVD-R. Then it will play right on any TV.

The file transfer and the extra burn take a few minutes, but they don't really require my time since I kick them off and walk away or surf the web. IFO Edit just takes a few seconds. So its a bit of a hassle, but it doesn't really take long. I'd say it sounds much worse than it is.

[Horrortaxi]

It isn't exactly "brain dead simple" and there can be some loss of picture quality but I've been using this method for about 3 years:

S-video out to an ElGato EyeTV box connected to a Mac running iMovie. I used to bring my PowerBook into the living room and hook that up, but for the last few months I've had a Mac Mini living under my TV so the EyeTV is always connected to that. Once the video is on the Mac I can do anything with it--edit it, save it, stream it, burn it to DVD--whatever.

[lessd]

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. The Humax boxes don't have TiVo Basic. I'm not sure they work at all without a sub.

You can play a DVD but you can't recorded to the DVD or the HD of an un-stb Humax.

[TechDreamer]

Has anyone actually recorded an S3 signal to a DVD burner? Does the S3 with all it's DRM even allow this?

[Hank]

Has anyone actually recorded an S3 signal to a DVD burner? Does the S3 with all it's DRM even allow this?

That might depend on the program being recorded.

When my cablecards arrive on Thursday, I'll test it out.

[dnorth12]

That might depend on the program being recorded.

When my cablecards arrive on Thursday, I'll test it out.


I am curious as to the results.

Searched and found this thread as I am interested in buying a hd/dvd recorder and doing dvd recordings from the S3.

Haven't done this before and was wondering if someone might point me in the right direction for proper equipment and connection setup (would this be a pass through type thing?) - (currently using component and optical audio cable). Price will probably be a factor, but would appreciate any info regardless of price.

[mattack]

Searched and found this thread as I am interested in buying a hd/dvd recorder and doing dvd recordings from the S3.

I'm not sure if you mean "HD-DVD" recorder, or are using that for a hard drive/dvd recorder.

If the latter, check out avsforum.com's DVD recorder section. There are plenty of hard drive/DVD recorders, none of which have a subscription. You can edit recordings before burning them to DVD. I have a Toshiba XS32, an older model. I have had some issues with it, but still like the feature set a lot. I would have LOVED to pay Tivo for a hard drive/DVD recorder -- if I could edit recordings before burning to DVD and record to DVD in multi-sessions.

But since I can't, I got this to use along with my two Tivos.. (and along with my Series 3, once I get one).

[phototrek]

I have a Panasonic ES15, which works well. I don't really keep things on the DVD, anyway, so the fact that HD programs are recorded squished doesn't matter to me. I download the shows via Handbrake to my computer where I can set the aspect ratio to whatever I want. The shows stay on the computer, so it's not a problem.

[windracer]

Has anyone actually recorded an S3 signal to a DVD burner? Does the S3 with all it's DRM even allow this?
I've done it. I bought a Samsung DVD-VR335 (http://www.samsung.com/Products/DVDPlayer/Recordable/DVD_VR335XAA.asp) burner a few weeks after I got my S3. I've got the S-Video/composite audio from the S3 connected to the inputs of the burner. My S3 is connected to my plasma via HDMI. I've only run into the HDCP problem once, and simply disconnecting the HDMI cable allowed me to still burn the recording to DVD. The quality is great (especially when burning HD content).

[hearncl]

It isn't exactly "brain dead simple" and there can be some loss of picture quality but I've been using this method for about 3 years:

S-video out to an ElGato EyeTV box connected to a Mac running iMovie. I used to bring my PowerBook into the living room and hook that up, but for the last few months I've had a Mac Mini living under my TV so the EyeTV is always connected to that. Once the video is on the Mac I can do anything with it--edit it, save it, stream it, burn it to DVD--whatever.
I've done this from a Series 2 using a Canopus video converter, which converts the analog audio and video to digital video. iMovie sees the converter as a camcorder. I assume that's what the EyeTV box is doing. Other manufactures make similar video converters. Commercials, etc., can be edited out in iMovie and the result transferred to iDVD for burning to DVD with titles, chapters, etc. (The same setup also works with other analog A/V sources such as VHS videotapes.) I haven't tried this yet with the S3, so don't know about problems related to the 16:9 vs. 4:3 formats.

[dnorth12]

I'm not sure if you mean "HD-DVD" recorder, or are using that for a hard drive/dvd recorder.


I think what I am looking for isn't available just yet. Not sure as I am not up on all the tech stuff. Still researching and in a learning mode.

What I think I want, is like you said, a S3 that will burn a DVD. Since that is not available I was thinking a dvd burner with or without hardrive that could substitute for that.

I would want optical in/out (does not appear to be available) and minimum component in/out (which is available). Also the ability to record in the same format (meaning aspect) as broadcast without having to adjust the image for output. Also the ability to pass through to the plasma.

Since I am still in a learning mode I am not sure that what I would like is possible, although I suspect that it is, and I might just be looking for a blue ray type dvd burner.