First a simple request to all who post a reply to this entry. I asked this question recently in the wrong forum section and I became the butt of a few members comedy routine, I did not appreciate that so I ask that you please respect my technological ignorence and be respecrfull in your responces. Thank you for being civil. I am old school, All MY MUSIC is stored on OPEN REEL MAGNETIC TAPE. ALL MY VIDEOS IS ON VCR TAPE.. I have decided it is time to go to DISC as in DVD. FIRST technology, is there a different name for a DISC RECORDER WITH A HARD DRIVE versus one WITHOUT a HARD DRIVE. Is there any difference in QUALITY useing a given disc in one versus the other? Is there a significant advantage of useing a HARD DRIVE versus NO HARD DRIVE? Is there an advantage of useing an 80 gig drive versus a 120 gig? From a use standpoint can a signal either TUNER or EXTERNAL be RECORDED to the DISC AND hard drive SIMULTANEOUSLY? If so can the disc be replaced with a fresh disc and make a SECOND RECORDING from the HARD DRIVE? As many copies as needed one at a time, obviously? If the DIVE is recorded FIRST with NO disc, Is the process to "REWIND" the DRIVE in order to record to the DISC easy to do WITHOUT haveing to keep track of file names, timer counts, cueing, all the complicated steps for the same process useing a BURNER and SOFTWARE on a computer. I have a BURNER and SOFTWARE to burn BOTH dvd AND cd and the process is too comp;icated for me to understand, Plus useing EXTERNAL sources is not EVEN possible without a CAPTURE device at more $s. What I need from you is some basic info as to the advantages of WITH versus WITHOUT, how easy it is to use(WITH), weather the process of recording to HDD FIRST/EDITING( how easy is that alone ) THAN copying to DSC is? Not to mention the VCR like capeability of RECORDING from ONE source while playing the other(as I understand it, either source could be RECRDED while the other is being played) not to mention to be able to PLAY the HDD an INSTANT after it was resoded FROM the HDD(analogeous to the 3 head system of an open reel deck) without the inherint time delay, although I am sure it can be artificial created for old schoolers like me. Do I know what I am asking, I don*t even know any more. It is so long a process just to ask the questions! Now the easier questions. What I am asking now is for you to make reccomendations for specific BRANDS/MODEL #s. I do know that the unit should be able to handle ALL the so-called STANDARD discs today, DVD+and-/r and rw/ cd+ and-/r and rw single layer/single sided up to and includeing doudle layer double sided and ALL the others in between ram/vcd/ photo cd/jpeg/maybe scad(super cds?)/ cd-roms EXCLUDEING BLUE RAY DISCS (even I know they are not compatible with DVD). What am I missing, you think I know? I can*t think any more, you know what I am after at this point. I*m just sorry it took so long just to ask the questions and for that I appologize, but NOT for the CONTENT! I went on-line and found an owners manual that was 199 PAGES LONG!! I was going to PRINT it. I don*even have that much paper right now! PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE ME! enen though I am sure you are tempted. Unfortunately sales people are not good at this stuff. They know what they sell (maybe) and priceing. Beyond that they are useless! Please respond to reeltoreelguy@yahoo.com with as much usefull info as you can. You have no idea how confuced I am. contridictory info, wrong info, ect. By the way SAMSUNG NO LONGER OFFERS DISC RECORDERS OF ANY KIND! that I know for a fact. Thank you again for your help. I will gladly read ALL responces. Sorry this book is lo long. I just thought of something else but I won*t even bother to ask.

yes. a DVD Recorder opposed to an HDD DVD Recorder.


no. DVD-R's are the most compatible with other DVD players, aswell as they burn the fastest, so i use them solely.


absolutely.
#1.with a built in HD you dont have to worry about not having discs on hand.

#2.you can record a program or whatever to your HD then burn as many DVD's as you like one at a time at HIGH SPEED (takes my unit about 10min/disc).

#3.you can store the programs on your HD so they are there for you to view whenever you want and save you getting up changing discs.

#4.you can view programs from your HD while recording to your HD(or to a DVD) from any source. my particular unit i dont think allows simultaneous recording to HD and DVD. but with the highspeed recording i mentioned above thjis isnt really neccessary.

#5.obvioulsy the bigger the HD the more info you can store, so i would say the bigger the better.

#6.there is no "rewinding" your HD. you simply hit the menu (or whatever your unit calls it-maybe "list" or whatever) and all your recorded programs are there waiting to be played from the beginning (or wherever you last left off depending on how you set up your unit).

#7. i alsdo had a Media PC a had hoped would accomplish all of this but i also found it WAY to confusing to do so. where as this unit is VERY simple to use and edit with.

#8. in reference to editing. you have full editing features to delete any portion of anything recorded on your HD, aswel as many othe roptions.

heres my unit. i've actually had it for 2yrs so this is the updated version (200 cheaper than i paid too!) [Link: pioneerelectronics.com]

before getting this unit i had a 250gig LG HDD DVD Recorder and went through 2 of them having the same freezing problems beofre i switched to the Pioneer. i have had no problems with this unit whatsoever and would highly recomend it to anyone.

well i think with that and the link i provided most of your questions should be answered... if not let me know, i'm glad to help!

-Christian

CHRISTIAN--- Thank you for your very informative post. I liked your format for answering my questions. I will have to learn to do that in my future postings. The only thing else I will need to learn is to how to set up the particular machine I buy so that the HDD stores my recordings in such a way that it is the simplest and most logical format for me to use, which I realize is very subjective. And I will also need to learn how to use r/w discs and what differences there are in the recording process as to how the disc is reclaimed for reuse. My open reel experiances are guiding me here. I like the idea that I can record to a r/w disc and reuse it if I wish to after I have made either a copy to anr disc, or made a copy to the r disc from the hard drive. And I also like the idea that with a large drive I can store content for a long time while also haveing a large capacity to fill be fore I need to reclaim all or part of the drive. In this way I can have both temporary discs(r/w) anf permanent discs(r), just as I do now with my magnetic tapes, some for reuse and a large collection for archiveing. Thank you for clearing up some of my confuseion.

no problem. in retrospect, i'm not sure why i numbered them as the numbers certainly dont coincide with the order of your questions! LOL

-my unit has the options of listing my titles alphabetically, or chronlogically by the dates they were recorded to the hard drive, or either of those options reversed. it also has 6 catagories you can name yourself then assign titles to a particular catagory, which then allows you to search by categories in the future.

-RW are exactly the same process to record to. the only difference i have found is that they are much slower when burning at high speed (about a 1/2 hr to burn a 2hr disc), and that you can delete titles from the disc individually or clear the entire disc to make room for more media. i personally never use them, in fact i find with 160gigs i dont really NEED to burn anything to dvd. i only do so as backup in case something happens to my HD (i'm careful now after having 2 fry on me), or to make copies of programs or home movies for friends and family. the other thing about RW discs is in order for them to be played on another DVD player, like DVD-R's, they have to be finalized, which means no more rewriting(i'm 90% sure on that -it MIGHT depend on the particular RW disc you use).