I Need a little help choosing a DVD recorded/player Options

[shivers20]

I am thinking about buying my fiance a dvd recorder/player. She is currently using an old vcr to record all of her tv shows but its becoming a big hassle switching out tapes all the time. Now for my questions.

1. What disks should i buy? DVD-R? DVD+RW? I need disks that can hold alot.
2. Can I erase/record over the old shows on these disks? or do I have to keep buying new disks all the time?
3. What else should I look for in a dvd recorder/player? Will I be able to record cable?

Thankyou

[mattcosturos]

I am thinking about buying my fiance a dvd recorder/player. She is currently using an old vcr to record all of her tv shows but its becoming a big hassle switching out tapes all the time. Now for my questions.

1. What disks should i buy? DVD-R? DVD+RW? I need disks that can hold alot.
2. Can I erase/record over the old shows on these disks? or do I have to keep buying new disks all the time?
3. What else should I look for in a dvd recorder/player? Will I be able to record cable?

Thankyou

I got a LiteOn 5005 DVD Burner. It takes ALL kinds of media. Makes it great for finding media anywhere, and that can be used on other dvd players.

The liteon is a cheap basic dvd burner. It has a tuner, and several inputs. Basically you pop a dvd in, let it format, pick the quality (1/2/4/6 hours), and press record. Then press play on your vcr/tivo/other dvd.
One issue I found is some dvd's (Lions Gate Films) will not play in my Liteon burner, but I can play them on my other dvd player, and copy them.

It you have an RW disk you can record over the old shows. I got mine for backing up shows and movies, so I havent used a RW disk very much.

The liteon dvd burner has a tuner so you can record cable, but it records the sound in mono. If you have a cable box, you can pass the signal to the burner to record any cable channel you get.

When i was looking at burners I saw a nicer one by Toshiba, with some more advanced features, but I just need ed a basic recorder.

[pitman2]

I also have the Liteon 5005. I chose it because it does +-R/RW formats. And it has a nice pricetag (buy.com).

While looking into media formats I was overwhelmed trying to find the right type of media. From doing extensive reading I've found that in the write once format, the -R is compatable with the most stand alone dvd players. And in the re-write format the +RW is the most compatable with the most players. Although that tends to less of an issue with newer dvd players, but it's something to keep in mind. If you don't know what types that you current player(s) will work with, you can find good information at videohelp.com.

As for good brands, I was a bit confused as to what to buy. Because it seems that most manufacturers buy discs from eachother, so in many cases you can buy a bundle of discs and get blank media from sometimes two or three manufacturers all under one brand name. And some of theose manufacturing processes are garbage, so you can end up getting bad discs.
For more information just search for dvd media codes on a search engine.

Here is a list that I keep in my wallet for a reminder of some good brands. This is not a complete list by any means but just what I've found to be the best bet when it comes to buying from a brick and mortar store, since these brands tend to make, and buy from companies that make good media. Although I suggest buying online.

Top of my list:
Maxell (+/-R , -RW)
Taiyo Yuden (+/- R)
TDK (-?) (+RW 2.4x)
Verbatim Data Life Plus (+/- R/RW)

If I were in a pinch:
Fuijifilm (+ R/RW, -R)
Mitsubishi (+ R/RW, -R)
Verbatim (+/- R/RW)

I'm currently using Taiyo Yuden (-R) and Optodisc (+RW). One thing to remember is to buy from a reputable source. I get my discs from supermediastore.com. There are other good places to get stuff but I use these guys.

Hope that helps.

This post has been edited by pitman2: Dec 10 2005, 10:20 PM