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Well at this point I don't really know what use I'll have for a DVD recorder beyond capping what I can't get over firewire and transferring some stuff over that I have on VHS, so I went ahead and ordered the Panasonic unit you suggested, CRB. Should be here by Friday.
Ok, I have the DVDR unit set up with S-Video cable and DVD+RW disc. Now I just have to figure out how to record in VR mode? I tried recording, just setting it for 20 minutes and then playing performances back to back. When I went to copy the files to my computer they were .vob files. Also for some reason it split the recording into two files. The smaller of which I was able to import to DGindex but not the other.
One major bummer is the quality in which this is "broadcast". It's not that good.
ETA: It looks like it split the files due to size. The first file is 0.99GB (almost 4 full songs), the smaller is 288MB. I'm assuming it automatically splits right before the 1GB mark.
Over It: http://www.sendspace.com/file/om4tqi
The smaller clip contained OI uncut so I went ahead and put that one up so you can see what we're dealing with. It says the pic size is 640 but it plays in WS? I wonder if it has anything to do with the settings on the DVDR, which asks if your TV is 4:3, or as mine is 16:9. You guys no I'm not the brightest bulb...maybe you can figure it out.
Diff, get in here before I make even more of an ass out of myself!
Phew! Ok, glad you guys liked it. I'll try to get the other ones done tonight. Two things I couldn't figure out.
1) When I played back the mpg it had large black strips on all four sides of the vid. It played in WS format, but it didn't use the whole screen. The avi did though.
2) Any idea why DGindex wouldn't let me import the 0.99GB file? Is it just too big, or do you think there was an error of some kind?
I'm so exhausted. I'm going to bed. But I'll leave you with this question.
Why can't I import the VOB into DGindex?????
.
I've been putting together another long post. sorry shoulda told you earlier!
The black on the left and right is a little worrisome. You could be losing a lot of resolution because of them. I'll suggest some things to try in a sec. First, about the 1GB VOBs, and possibly a fix for the DGindex problem... Are you using DVDDecrypter to copy the VOBs to the hard drive? You can set it to create 1 big VOB instead of 1GB or smaller pieces. Exceeding the 1GB limit violates the DVD-video standard but what do we care? We're just using it to extract the MPEG-2 video from it. 1 big VOB may be ok for DGindex. To make 1 big VOB using DVD Decrypter "Using DVDDecryptor: DVDDecryptor in IFO mode has an option to combine all the VOB files for a program as a single large VOB file when it copies them to the hard drive. Since a program like DVDDecryptor is the fastest way to transfer VOB files to your hard drive., this is probably the easiest way of creating a single large VOB file. For additional information, please see this How-To guide" http://www.videoredo.com/FAQs/ExtractStreamsFromDVD.htm (excerpt from http://www.videoredo.com/FAQs/SupportFAQDVDEdiitingAuthoring.htm) Attempts to fix left/right blackness A few Qs when you did the first OI: * What is the cable box (not the DVD recorder) output ratio? 16:9? 4:3?
* When you watch OI on your TV, do you see the flickering when the camera pans from right to left, from Jaco (sp?) to Kat at around 20 - 24 seconds in your AVI? If it looks ok on the TV, it might be due to the resizing or the deinterlacing in avi.net.
* What video stats in the Information window show up in DGIndex during its conversion? Frame Size, Aspect Ratio, Frame type Compare the stats when you do the tests below.
For each of the following tests, you can do a short test record of one of the songs to the hard drive of the recorder. Be sure to keep track of which item on the DVD recorder hard drive corresponds to which test. I ended up confusing myself once by not doing that. Then transfer it to DVD+RW, and then onto your computer hard drive to view the mpg and see if it's fixed. Before starting each test, erase the DVD+RW according to the DVD recorder instructions on page 34 "Deleting all contents of a disc -- Format Disc (DVD)" *TEST 1: Change the cable box output ratio (16:9 or 4:3) *TEST 2: Change the DVD recorder output ratio. However I don't think the DVDrecorder setting affects the mpg you end up with, just TV viewing. That's all I can think of for now. I thought I had another test in mind but I can't remember now. Good luck!
* When you watch OI on your TV, do you see the flickering when the camera pans from right to left, from Jaco (sp?) to Kat at around 20 - 24 seconds in your AVI? If it looks ok on the TV, it might be due to the resizing or the deinterlacing in avi.net. -It doesn't look to smooth on the TV either.
-DGindex stats:
For each of the following tests, you can do a short test record of one of the songs to the hard drive of the recorder. Be sure to keep track of which item on the DVD recorder hard drive corresponds to which test. I ended up confusing myself once by not doing that.
-Wait, you can record to the DVDR's hard drive before transferring to disc??? Then transfer it to DVD+RW, and then onto your computer hard drive to view the mpg and see if it's fixed. Before starting each test, erase the DVD+RW according to the DVD recorder instructions on page 34 "Deleting all contents of a disc -- Format Disc (DVD)" *TEST 1: Change the cable box output ratio (16:9 or 4:3) -I don't know if it'll let me do this. I can't find anything in the setup menu. *TEST 2: Change the DVD recorder output ratio. However I don't think the DVDrecorder setting affects the mpg you end up with, just TV viewing. That's all I can think of for now. I thought I had another test in mind but I can't remember now. Good luck!
^I made some notes above in red. Hopefully it clears some things up.
I upped the mpg so you could see what the source looks like.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/g1h0fd