Anyone burning dvds from 942 ?

[waltinvt]

I had pretty good luck burning dvds from my 508 and 811 onto a Panasonic E85. Now I'm replacing both units with a 942 and wondering how well the 942 records to dvd - especially since it has no S-Video output.

Has anyone tried using the TV2's RF or composite outputs for dvd recording?

 

[Baahumbug]

Been using the composite out for recording and it works fine. PQ is as good as you will get using composite video, and I haven't burnt any coasters yet.

 

[waltinvt]

Been using the composite out for recording and it works fine. PQ is as good as you will get using composite video, and I haven't burnt any coasters yet.

Can you qualify "good as it gets using composite". Usually composite is worse than S-Video but of course there's no S-Vid on the 942 to compare it to. Someone posted recently that the composite outputs on the 942 had better PQ than the S-Vid on either the 811 or 5xx receivers. Can you confirm that?
Thanks

 

[Baahumbug]

Sorry for the confusion in my previous post.

As you have mentioned, there is no S-Video to compare, and using the composite output, I find the resulting picture quality from the recorded DVD to be satisfactory, and comparable to the PQ I am getting from an 811 which is hooked up using S-video.

I have tried playing back the DVD's on both a 46" HDTV and a 100" screen, and while the picture may be a little bit on the soft side, particularly on the larger screen, I cannot say whether this is due to the fact that I am using a cheapy $140 DVD recorder, or that is the older movies (specifically the James Bond series which has been airing on Encore), that causes the softer picture.

I have put some home video onto DVD using Firewire into my PC, and yes, the resulting PQ is visibly better.

I would suspect you to have better results than I have, since you have a much better DVD recorder than me, (at least yours has a known brand name), and you have obviously more experience than I have in burning DVD's, since I only got my 942 about a month ago, and my DVD burner a couple of weeks later.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but perhaps when more people get 942's and begin burning DVD's, then there will be more people available to offer a better comparison.

 

[MichaelG]

Does the 942 pass "native" format through the composite port?

I have already noticed that the 811's SVideo port does not pass the format properly, with the picture formatted for a 4:3 television. In other words, if I try to record a 16x9 program, the 811 automatically adds the top and bottom bars. It is possible to change the format on HD output using the page up/down button but there are only 2 options on the SD output ..... Normal and partial Zoom (i think partial Zoom since I am not in front of my TV now). What they need is a "stretch" mode on the SD output to lock in the correct format...no black bars....

Since I was formally a Voom sub, that STB did it properly and of course my D* Samsung also pass the signal unaltered.

 

[Ncc1701]

I havent installed my 942 yet. My DVD recorder has component inputs. I'll have the component out going to the DVD rec and the HDMI going to the TV. Will I be able to use both outputs at the same time?

 

[CDH]

I havent installed my 942 yet. My DVD recorder has component inputs. I'll have the component out going to the DVD rec and the HDMI going to the TV. Will I be able to use both outputs at the same time?

What model is it that has component inputs? So far I haven't seen one with component inputs, only composite or S-video.

If I could find one that would record 480p from component inputs then I'd be interested in doing exactly what you're suggesting: using the component outputs to DVD-R and HDMI to the TV.

CDH.

 

[Ncc1701]

I have a philips DVDR77. Its really cool. It also has a media slot to plug in cards from digital cameras. Playback quality on my Samsung DLP using component looks nearly HD.

 

[David_Levin]

The Philips recorders (+RW) and thier Magnovox clones have component inputs. But only at 480i.

I've seen some reports of Sonys with component in as well.

 

[waltinvt]

Sorry for the confusion in my previous post.

As you have mentioned, there is no S-Video to compare, and using the composite output, I find the resulting picture quality from the recorded DVD to be satisfactory, and comparable to the PQ I am getting from an 811 which is hooked up using S-video.

I have tried playing back the DVD's on both a 46" HDTV and a 100" screen, and while the picture may be a little bit on the soft side, particularly on the larger screen, I cannot say whether this is due to the fact that I am using a cheapy $140 DVD recorder, or that is the older movies (specifically the James Bond series which has been airing on Encore), that causes the softer picture.

I have put some home video onto DVD using Firewire into my PC, and yes, the resulting PQ is visibly better.

I would suspect you to have better results than I have, since you have a much better DVD recorder than me, (at least yours has a known brand name), and you have obviously more experience than I have in burning DVD's, since I only got my 942 about a month ago, and my DVD burner a couple of weeks later.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but perhaps when more people get 942's and begin burning DVD's, then there will be more people available to offer a better comparison.

Thanks, your feedback did help and I appreciate it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with my E85 and will certaintly post the results.

 

[CDH]

Thanks, your feedback did help and I appreciate it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with my E85 and will certaintly post the results.

Any luck? How do DVDs look burned using the composite output?

CDH.

 

[Ray S]

What model is it that has component inputs? So far I haven't seen one with component inputs, only composite or S-video.

If I could find one that would record 480p from component inputs then I'd be interested in doing exactly what you're suggesting: using the component outputs to DVD-R and HDMI to the TV.

CDH.

About two months ago on the 942 thread of dbstalk.com, there was someone with a Sony DVD recorder that had component inputs. He did some comparisons with the 921 which has S video. It was a good thread. Do a search.

 

[waltinvt]

Any luck? How do DVDs look burned using the composite output?

CDH.

Although I haven't been able to experiment as much as I'd like, a lot of what I've burned from the 942's HD channels look pretty good. A few didn't come out great and I'm not sure why but many look at least as good as I used to get from my 811 using S-Vid. One secret with the E85 is to make sure the bit rate is set to "fixed".

 

[riffjim4069]

I recently purchased a Panny ES10 and was not impressed with the recording - all output, be it 4:3 or 16:9, was squished. I double-checked all settings and still had the same problem. I recently read about a 942 bug where TV output is squished in Single User Mode. Just a couple quick questions:

1. Will placing the 942 in Dual User Mode correct the output problem? If so, I will try another recording this evening.

2. Will L2.27 correct this problem? I hope so singe I like using the PIP feature which is only available in Single User Mode.

Also, is there an option that directs recorded output (only) to TV2 while in Single User Mode? If not, I'll just have to place the 942 in Dual Mode.

 

[David_Levin]

You don't say which direction it's squished in....

Aspect ratio stuff can get tricky and some of the issues could be specific to the Panasonic (which I don't have). A vertical squish can call be happing on the playback side....

If a DVD is flagged 16:9 and being played back on a 4:3 TV, the DVD player will create a top/bottom letterbox.

If you monitor the output of the Panasonic during recording, is the aspect ratio correct?

What type of disc are you recording to? I believe I've seen reports that the Panasonic will set the 16:9 flag (assuming 16:9 is detected) when recording to a RAM, but not on the other formats.

Are you tying to record an Anamorphic DVD? Are you creating Discs for a 4:3 or 16:9 TV (or both)?

Can the 942 do Anamorphic off the TV2 port (perhaps not because this is ment for SD)? You might end up needing to connect the DVD recorder to TV1.

 

[riffjim4069]

You don't say which direction it's squished in....

Aspect ratio stuff can get tricky and some of the issues could be specific to the Panasonic (which I don't have). A vertical squish can call be happing on the playback side....

If a DVD is flagged 16:9 and being played back on a 4:3 TV, the DVD player will create a top/bottom letterbox.

If you monitor the output of the Panasonic during recording, is the aspect ratio correct?

What type of disc are you recording to? I believe I've seen reports that the Panasonic will set the 16:9 flag (assuming 16:9 is detected) when recording to a RAM, but not on the other formats.

Are you tying to record an Anamorphic DVD? Are you creating Discs for a 4:3 or 16:9 TV (or both)?

Can the 942 do Anamorphic off the TV2 port (perhaps not because this is ment for SD)? You might end up needing to connect the DVD recorder to TV1.

I am recording to a -RAM disk and all output, 4:3 and 16:9, is being vertically squished to something slightly less than 4:3. I'll try TV2 in Dual Mode...and TV1 if that doesn't work. Thanks!

 

[waltinvt]

I am recording to a -RAM disk and all output, 4:3 and 16:9, is being vertically squished to something slightly less than 4:3. I'll try TV2 in Dual Mode...and TV1 if that doesn't work. Thanks!

This is a 942 problem in that the composite outputs produces a squished (looks tall & skinny) picture and the tv aspect controls (at least mine) won't zoom properly.

Try setting the 942 screen size to 4:3 # 2 in the HDTV setup menu. This works great for many of us. While in this mode, your normal HD picture (through dvi) will then have black bars top & bot but this can be resolved by using the Dish remote's "format" button (with a little loss of vertical resolution) and the picture will still look relativly good.