Desktop SVCD burners

[vjklik]

Instead of watching my computer spend hours translating my DV files into MPEG-2 files and then working them into a DVD menu and all that, I'm thinking I would be better off if I were to get a desktop SCVD burner like the Mediencom VDR2100. It plays the discs back, records Audio CD's and is just about real time. I have leterally hours and hours of footage I would like to preserve and distribute via SVCD. This model runs around $500 US with shipping and all that. I think it might be worth it as a stand-alone plaeyer and recorder. Anybody have any comments on this. I've got a 450MHz G$ and 512 MB of RAM. Most of my hard drive is taken up by DV files that I'd just as soon get rid of. Plus my masters aren't getting any younger... If any of you can think of a reason to AVOID this model or this technique let me know because after the 1st of the month, I could afford one of these... barely, but certainly. Plus it'll record audio CD's more or less on the fly as well...
Cheers
-klik-

[Meierhans]

You are talking about a standalone copy/burn station? How is it connected? How fast does ist burn?

Why don`t you just use a normal PC with a good burner??

Check this out, there is alot free software to burn VCD/SVCD with a normal PC:
www.vcdhelp.com

[MoRpH]

Meierhans... I think Kilk's point is that he doesn't want to bother with all the encoding and stuff to produce the SVCDs ona PC, so a stand alone realtime encoder/burner from a composite input would be perfect for him

[Meierhans]

Year, i do understand that very good, I`m also confused by all these rules you got to follow.
Very complex thing if you want to make it (half) by hand.
But with a standalone you can`t do your own menus, right?
If you don`t need them, just take nero and burn your clips as VCD.


Did anybody do a promotional VCD already? With menus?? Anybody knows about cDVD?? (DVD format but burned on normal PC)
I want to make one, running on standalone DVD player as good as on PC (and Mac?)

Right now i think i will do a normal VCD and put some HTML based content on it, so you can play it on PC without the need of a special VCD/DVD player with menu support.

[KillingFrenzy]

Just record them back to DV.

You'll be kicking yourself in two years when you're stuck with a bunch of lower quality output cds.

$500 would get you a box of 50.

DVD burners are down to $350.
You could always just save the actual DV files on one of them, and not even bother with encoding to m-peg2. If you're archiving.

[Meierhans]

Year, this is right!

Downcompressing archived material is like buying an expensive car, and the kick off the mirrors, because it doesn`t fit in your garage.

But promo CD`s are another topic.

[sleepytom]

Have a good look at the disks these standalone things burn - all the vcds / svcds that i've seen that have been produced on standalong "realtime" burners are very poor quality when compaired with disks made using TMPEG on a pc

check also that you can playback svcd in the players you use for gigs - i've heard of lots of problems with disks burnt in standalone burners.

Tmpeg on a pc really is a better solution - it does batch conversion so can be left running over night ("realtime" standalone burners need you to be there to push butons) the SVCD and VCD presets work fine and you have a lot more control over disk structure and layout than with a standalone burner (using nero you can create disks with menus and all the advanced features supported by vcd)

for archiving DV you need to ether burn dv files to a data dvd or make DV tape masters - MPEG2 is not a good archiving format, it has far too many artifacts when converted to an editable form

[Linus]

hi

with the dvd i heared it is the problem now that there are many inkompatibilitys with ?layers and dvd-rom?s in computers but when this will be fixed and the dvd?s come down with the price for the burner and the software.

anyone nows more and can clear this up?

thenx

Linus

[vjklik]

One of the attractions of the desktop burners was the fact that you could take anything you burn on it and use it for playback. Good points all regarding the archive thing. I have a DVD-RAM drive which lets me store huge files. So I can put the DV's there. When you guys trade material back and forth do you use CD-R data disks or VCD and SVCD? Ideally I would like to be able to condense the thirty or so VHS copies of my masters into a camera bag-sized carrier and pack a pair of VCD players with the Panasonic to a show. Remember, I have a Mac and I've noticed the VCD and DVD burners aren't as well designed as the ones for PC yet, unless you count the new I-Mac's which I don't have. Anyway. Thanks for the advice. Something to think about. If anybody has had a personal experience with desktop burners, Or the whole compatability issue. Let me know. I hate the web for video distribution, but you can check out live footage of mine at http://www.vjklik.com/video/footage.html
or the souce material at
http://www.vjklik.com/video/
cheers
-klik-

[BrainStove]

Well vjklik, I think your best choice could be a standalone DVD Burner/Player like the Panasonic DMR-E20 (I have one from 4 months ago and I?m very very happy with it), It is a DVD-R/DVD-RAM burner video recorder model, currently you can find one "Brand new" about $599,00 USD (I?d paid $900,00 for mine when it was barely available).

Since your main purpose will be to preserve and backup all of your huge footage (I guess as a HQ continuous video stream rather than digital movie formats due you already have a DVD-ROM burner for that), there is no best buy than the DMR-E20 for the work.

I wont run for a feature list post here, you can make a search from www.alltheweb.com or Google for that and also try a price comparison search for the best deals. I want to focus on some more important issues:

1.- Because this is DVD instead of VCD, you can get longer time and the most HQ video for your material preservation along with the fact this will be a zillion times more compatible with all of the DVD players out there.

2.- The price is almost the same than standalone VCD/SVCD burners, you only miss the Audio CD burning feature but...

3.- The blank DVD-RAM (Rewritable format) media is cheap and everywhere available, the DVD-R media is getting lower price every minute.

4.- You?ll have several Composite/S-video/Component I/O connectors and of course you?ll be able to record off the air broadcast material on DVD-RAM too, as a regular VCR do.

5.- One nice feature is that you can record until 6 hours (EP mode) video material on a single DVD-RAM and after that make some NLE assembly type edit selections on the same DVD-RAM to create a infinite shorts playlist of the material storaged as multiple video loops to be selectable and played, even at EP speed the video quality will be far superior to VCD/SVCD.

6.- Instead the portable VCD players that you could be planning to buy for use on the road... well, there is some portable DVD players also not much more expensive.

There is a lot of other useful functions, but you can figure it out yourself doing some further research.

At last I?ll give you a link as a good start point where you?ll find answers to any additional questions you could have, just check http://www.1click-and-choice.com/dvd/dvd.htm.

I hope this help you.