How am I going to be able to use my VHS recorders when digital is forced on us?

In article , André
Coutanche writes
"Roger R" wrote

Hmm.. 'probably'.. IMO tape is still the most flexible, reliable,
dependable and inexpensive storage medium for video. AIUI tape is
the only medium used professionally in TV studios.

*****

Others can say whether tape is the *only* medium used in studios - but
not much of it is VHS cassettes!

Once DVD recorders are ubiquitous (and they've made more progress than
one might have expected a few years ago when they were strictly
early-adopter kit), I think you could apply all those adjectives to
DVDs.

I'm still wondering why some semi-intelligent manufacturer hasn't
produced a twin-tuner DTT PVR with built-in DVD recorder. (Perhaps the
answer is lurking in the question, somewhere near the word
'intelligent' ... ).

2 reasons I think:
1-It involves a lot of development, time to market is quite long (this
is why the range of available DTT PVRs is growing very slowly)
2-Market share is small. Combined with (1) this means it is difficult to
come up with something with an acceptable retail price.
--
Tim Mitchell

In article [email protected], Adrian wrote:
I bought the Pioneer model they were selling a couple of months back and it
is excellent. I don't regret buying it for a minute.I can of course record
from a freeview box, but it's timer recordings which become clumsy.

Agreed. You have to set two timers instead of one. It's a minor nuisance but
not rocket science, and it can only be a matter of time before equipment is
available that has everything in one box.

Rod.

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:12:01 +0100, Dave wrote:

[snip]

If your DVD recorder has
a hard disc as well as a burner, you can edit-out commercials, etc
first, before you burn. If it only has a burner, you can do the
editing on a computer, if you want to.
[snip]

If the PVR is a Topfield, you can edit out bits on the PVR before
archiving.

Cheers,

Colin.

Roderick Stewart wrote:

it can only be a matter of time before equipment is available that has
everything in one box.

One of the Sony DVD recorders already has a Freeview tuner in it.

Regards

Mark

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 00:32:59 +0100, BeeJay wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 23:18:50 +0100, Colin Stamp
wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 20:53:09 GMT, "Paul Healy"
wrote:

Answer = Topfield TF5800 PVR

I wondered how long it'd be before someone said that )

I have to agree though. Once you've used the Topfield, you'll find
that the best use for a pair of VCRs is to level-up a table on a
sloping floor.

I have looked at this and it seems ideal except for one thing. At
present with a VCR I can tape a programme and then pass the tape on to
a friend, or I can tape educational programmes and take the tape to
work. How is it possible to do this with the Topfield? Or is there
another solution?

It normally happens the other way round with me. People give me VHS
tapes expecting me to be able to play them. I gave away my VHS machine
when I got a DVD recorder /

The last time I tried to give someone else a VHS tape, they couldn't
play it back because my machine defaulted to recording in some
super-duper non-compatible format.

If you have a need for removable media, I'd suggest keeping the
original VHS or DVD recorder along with the PVR.

Cheers,

Colin

Mark A wrote:
Roderick Stewart wrote:

it can only be a matter of time before equipment is available that
has everything in one box.

One of the Sony DVD recorders already has a Freeview tuner in it.

Regards

Mark

Unfortunately it doesn't have a hard disc.
--
Adrian

Adrian wrote:

Unfortunately it doesn't have a hard disc.

No, and I see their new dual-layer model has gone back to an analogue
tuner for some odd reason. Strange.

Regards

Mark

I don't have a TV console type DVD recorder as yet so this is a bit tounge in
cheek, but IMO they are not as flexible as tape because the tape can be
interrupted, wound back a bit and then 'lined up' for the subsequent recording.
e.g. if the start of an advert break is missed, the tape can be rewound to the
last bit of programme and then lined up ready for a restart when the programme
material restarts producing an apparently seamless playback. Can a DVD
recorder do that?

I just record the whole programme & edit the ads out afterwards using
the A-B erase function.

Marky P.

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 11:34:14 GMT, "Aidan Brick"
wrote:


"Adrian" MyFirstNameATTyahooDOTTCOMM wrote in message
news:[email protected]
"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...
At present I have two video recorders which I use for recording two
different programmes at the same time, especialy when I'm out at the
times
they are being broadcast.

I undersatnd that set top boxes are available for use with conventional
TVs,
but how will that help me record differet programmes at the same time?

In 3 years when analogue switch-off is supposed to start, there will still
be millions of perfectly servicable VCRs out there along with libraries of
tapes which people don't want to lose. People will therefore have to buy a
new recorder (hard-disk or DVD or both) for new recordings and keep their
VCR as a playback-only device.

Of course, the problem with using a digibox with a VCR or other recorder
is
that you can't use the recorder's timer to set the channel to record. The
solutions to that are clumsy at best and probably beyond a large
proportion
of the buying public who want ease-of-use, not a basket full of remotes
and
a nest of SCART cables which only their teenage son understands.

I recently bought a PVR / DVD recorder which I got for a good price at
Richer Sounds. The down-side of this unit is that it's analogue only so in
a
few short years, I will have problems with it. Why did I buy a non-DVB
recorder? Because I wanted a hard-disk/DVD recorder combination and the
options are very limited at the moment. It amazes me that the vast
majority
of models available on the high-street are still without digital tuners.

If people can knock-out a STB for £30 with power supply etc, it must be
possible to incorporate one into a recorder for about £15 above the cost
of
the analogue tuner - or even include both for about £20 - so why are we
not
seeing digital recorders becoming the norm yet?

Here's a prediction:
When the switch-off starts to happen, despite all the pre-warning, vast
numbers of people will be caught without suitable equipment (particularly
the elderly). Digiboxes will be in short supply and priced to take
advantage
of the situation. Digital-enabled recorders will be even rarer Aerial
installers will be swamped with people who have left it until the last
minute to go digital, only to find that their aerial is inadequate and
their
loop-aerial on their bedroom portable is a waste of space. There will be
an
outcry, newspapers will get involved and switch-off will be delayed for
another year or more.

Adrian

You may well be right. I bought my first DVD player about 5 years ago (from
Woolies). Together with a PVR, digital video camera and a PC, I have
disposed of all my legacy VHS tapes (which, let's face it, are crap by
comparison) and now have a far superior (in terms of technical quality)
library of DVD's. It's probably a bit early to say, but I think that they
will stand the test of time much better than the VHS tapes I had from the
early 80's did. It never ceases to amaze me though, that people will allow
themselves to be stymied by advances in technology. So what if JVC are still
making videos. We are in a transitional period that WILL see VHS becoming
totally redundant, in the same way that audio cassette and vinyl became. If
you don't want to get caught out by it, do something about it.

Aidan


May I add that although cassettes & vinyl are considered 'dead'
formats, both are still being produced.

Marky P (vinyl junkie)

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 17:20:55 +0100, "Adrian" wrote:

Mark A wrote:
Roderick Stewart wrote:

it can only be a matter of time before equipment is available that
has everything in one box.

One of the Sony DVD recorders already has a Freeview tuner in it.

Regards

Mark

Unfortunately it doesn't have a hard disc.
I have that Sony unit. I had to make the decision between intergrated
DTT or a HD, & I opted for the former. Editing is still possible
using the A-B erase function, & timer recording is so easy it's
unbelievable! Just select a programme from the EPG & it's done!
Shame there's no PDC equivalent on DTT though :-(

Marky P.