# 942-dvd recorder ?'s



## Playaction (Feb 8, 2005)

I want a dvd recorder to copy movies from 942. What inputs do I need on the dvd recorder. Which outputs do I use on the 942? Can you even record hd on a dvd? I have mostly jvc equipment so I would prefer that but would be willing to go with another brand. I assume I would not need one with a hard drive. How long can you record on a single dvd with good quality. I am new to this so forgive the multiple and jumbled questions. Thanks for any help.


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

You cannot write HD to a DVD. The highest output current DVD's will take is 480p. If you set the tuner to output at 480p you could record your HD programs, they just won't be in full resolution.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

Don't spend the extra $$ on a DVD recorder with a hard drive, its not needed. Since the 942 only has RCA outputs you only need an RCA cable. From what I hear, the PQ is excellent. Your DVD's will be widescreen if they were widescreen originally and the quality should be as good or close to commercial DVD. You will have to set your 942 to 480i output. 480P would be output via the DVI or Component connections and not the RCA ones.


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## Nightmare (Nov 3, 2002)

Can I assume the S-Video, Component, DVI and HDMI will not output to a DVD burner?


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

Nightmare said:


> Can I assume the S-Video, Component, DVI and HDMI will not output to a DVD burner?


Most DVD burners will accept Composite and S-Video. You could use the Composite on the 942 as long as it is set to 480p.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

480P will NOT be output via composite (RCA connection)

480P (and above) is output via Component or DVI/HDMI

480i is output via SVHS and Composite



LtMunst said:


> Most DVD burners will accept Composite and S-Video. You could use the Composite on the 942 as long as it is set to 480p.


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

LtMunst said:


> Most DVD burners will accept Composite and S-Video. You could use the Composite on the 942 as long as it is set to 480p.


Oops, My bad. I meant Component.


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## lifterguy (Dec 22, 2003)

I have a Pioneer DVD recorder with a built-in hard drive. It is connected to my 811 via S-video (the recorder does not have component inputs.) I have recorded HD programs in wide screen. Of course the recording is 480i, and the quality is noticably lower than the HD original, but it's still pretty good. One of the things I like about the built in hard drive on the Pioneer recorder is that it allows me to edit programs before I burn them to DVD. That way I can remove commercials or extra stuff at the beginning or end of a program. Of course you can do this on a PC if you have the right software and a DVD burner, but I find it easier to do it on the recorder's hard drive before I make the DVD.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

You would certainly need a hard drive based DVD recorder with an 811. In this case he has a 942 with a 250GB hard drive built in. Really easy to cue up a program, start it, pause the recording, fast forward through the commercials, start recording again, etc, etc. No need really for another hard drive unless you want to use it to archive some of your 942 recordings (in SD, not HD obviously).

Just in case anyone out there doesn't know this, the 942 does not have any S-Video connections so you have to use the Composite RCA jacks with any DVD recorder.



lifterguy said:


> I have a Pioneer DVD recorder with a built-in hard drive. It is connected to my 811 via S-video (the recorder does not have component inputs.) I have recorded HD programs in wide screen. Of course the recording is 480i, and the quality is noticably lower than the HD original, but it's still pretty good. One of the things I like about the built in hard drive on the Pioneer recorder is that it allows me to edit programs before I burn them to DVD. That way I can remove commercials or extra stuff at the beginning or end of a program. Of course you can do this on a PC if you have the right software and a DVD burner, but I find it easier to do it on the recorder's hard drive before I make the DVD.


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## MarkoC (Apr 5, 2004)

I used to have an 811 and I now have a 942. The PQ on my recorded DVDs was much better from the S-Video on my 811 than it is from composite on my 942.


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## waltinvt (Feb 9, 2004)

Ok, I can speak for the 942 with an E85 Panasonic dvd recorder. It works very well.

You DO NOT need to change the 942 settings to 480. By virtue of just using the composite (and that's the only real choice you have anyway) it's going to be 480, even if the 942 is set to 1080.

I had an 811 and used S-Vid to this same recorder. The 942 composite output is every bit as good as S-Vid was on the 811, so don't let the fact that the 942 has no S-Vid scare you.

If you can afford a dvd recorder with a hard drive, get it. Even though you can store programming on the 942, you can not edit it there. If recording movies is your goal and you're setting up timer recordings on the 942, you could get up to half an hour of junk after the movie is finished but before the 942 stops recording. With a hard drive on the dvd recorder, you can get rid of that plus any previews that may have been shown before the "feature" started. Many times this can make the difference of fitting a movie onto a single dvd (at a decent bitrate) or not.

Also, get a dvd recorder that allows you to set the bitrate to "fixed" and can use "FP" mode (flexable). It's hard to explain but with the E85, I can get almost 3 hours on one dvd and you can't tell it wasn't done at SP. Even at SP, the E85 will fit 2 hrs and 9 minutes and will burn it to a dvd (high speed dub) in about 15 minutes.

Also if the dvd recorder has a HHD, you (at least with my E85) can easily edit out commericals, etc before you burn.

I originally had a non HDD dvd recorder and took it back. I can't express enough how much better it is to have that space to store on the dvd recorder where you can edit and burn when you have the time.

Just my 2 cents.


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## MarkoC (Apr 5, 2004)

waltinvt said:


> I had an 811 and used S-Vid to this same recorder. The 942 composite output is every bit as good as S-Vid was on the 811, so don't let the fact that the 942 has no S-Vid scare you.


Having had both an 811 and a 942 I would respectfully disagree with you. I think the recordings from the 811 are noticeably better with my Panasonic DVD recorder. Another advantage of using the 811 with a DVD recorder is that with the 811, you get a letter-boxed widescreen recording, but with the 942 you don't.


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## lifterguy (Dec 22, 2003)

ibglowin said:


> You would certainly need a hard drive based DVD recorder with an 811. In this case he has a 942 with a 250GB hard drive built in. Really easy to cue up a program, start it, pause the recording, fast forward through the commercials, start recording again, etc, etc. No need really for another hard drive unless you want to use it to archive some of your 942 recordings (in SD, not HD obviously).
> 
> Just in case anyone out there doesn't know this, the 942 does not have any S-Video connections so you have to use the Composite RCA jacks with any DVD recorder.


Since his question was about archiving HD content to DVD, I didn't bother to mention that in addition to the 811, I also have a 522 DVR. Even with the 522, if I want to archive something, I first dump it to the hard drive on the Pioneer DVD recorder. I can do the dump overnight or while I'm busy with something else, and then go back and edit it on the Pioneer before burning the DVD. I can scan, mark, and then edit out all of the commericals in an hour long program in about 10 minutes. It's much faster than allowing the program to play in real time, and then using pause to edit out the commercials.


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