Domestic Recordings - what do you do ?

[David Buck]

Hi all - My last dvd recorder has now packed in and before I shell out on a blu-ray recorder does anyone have a better method these days for making domestic recordings - if you have a particular set-up that you think is good value and provides good quality recordings I'd appreciate some advice ; I feel distinctly retro as I still burn from my HDD DVD recorder to dvd-r and I'm sure I should have moved over to some form of external HDD archiving before now. The number of recorder models on the market is pretty small these days as people are embracing streaming and pvr's with limited capacity ( or being forced to abandon ownership of media is another way of looking at it! )

Or can anyone point me in the direction of a good AV site where this stuff is covered ?

[Peter Stirling]

Well here is something a bit left of field for you LOL

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HDMI-Freeview-SD-USB-Recorder-Digital-TV-Tuner-Box-Receiver-Multi-Media-Player-/131492593008?hash=item1e9d91bd70:g:GToAAOSwnDxUfHZi

So far I have found recording to a USB memory stick robust in a way DVD isn't - you know you go to the shelf and pick up a DVD you recorded a couple of years ago and your first thought is 'is the damn thing going to play' or ' how long will I need to coax the thing into actually playing'
I have had USB dongles lying about all over the place (ie not looked after in anyway) and they just work no problem - plus you can keep them in their native file structure ie MPEG2 or even smaller size the newish MPEG4 which means they will play on virtually anything..
To keep a USB stick from wiping, the delicate part is when you unplug it-you must make sure it has finished what it is doing and thus dormant, respect this and it should last.

The only disc based system I had utter trust and respect for was the very old 'VCD' system which used MPEG1 and you recorded these on ordinary CDs and got about a hour on them. The resolution was about the same as VHS, but these discs were reliable and a big hit in countries with humidity problems where previously VHS tapes use to jam.

[Kev Hunter]

I've been using Panasonic HDD+DVD recorders - in fact I'm on my third machine since 2005 - and I've not had a problem with them or the DVD-Rs in over 10 years. The only reason I've upgraded twice was to get improved performance : the first was fairly basic, the second had a Freeview tuner, and my current machine (the DMR-XW380) has twin Freeview HD tuners. The DVDs I recorded back in 2005 still play perfectly - I've never had one iffy disc - is this unusual? I tend to use Sony, Maxell or Imation DVD-Rs, as a friend of mine had some unreliability issues with recording onto TDK discs.
All fine and dandy then.. but I seem to be recording few programmes these days, as there's not generally a lot of stuff that appeals. Comedy series (such as Peter Kay's Car Share being a recent keepie, but that is now available commercially anyway) and BBC4's music documentaries and compilations are often worthwhile, but apart from that, pickings are very slim.

[Stephen Byers]

The BIG problem with Panny VCRs with HDDs is that it is almost impossible to back up the hard-drive. Its a laborious process using RAM disks one programme at a time.

[Kev Hunter]

I don't back the HDD up, Stephen.. anything I want to keep I edit / chapter from the HDD and put straight onto DVD-Rs, then erase from the HDD. Not a lot of point in keeping 60 hrs worth of programmes on the HDD!

[Jeff Leach]

I think the Taiyo Yuden brand ( They manufacture for several brands archive quality) are regarded as the best discs
On the market.


www.amazon.co.uk/TAIYO-YUDEN-DVD-R-INKJET-PRINTABLE/dp/B001UAT9VU

[Dale Rumbold]

I currently copy any recordings I want to keep from my Panasonic DVD Recorder onto a DVD RAM disc ; and from there onto my PC still as an MPEG2 file. I subsequently convert/edit these to MP4 format for retention and viewing on my LG Smart TV, for various reasons too tedious to go in to here, but which relate to the LG's very poor set of controls when viewing these files. The DVD RAM discs are reused endlessly. I used to copy everything to DVD-R but found them unreadable even when first created : my Panasonic is rubbish at doing them, and even some of the files copied to DVD-RAM need to be redone because they have errors.
I too would prefer a new technique for, say, copying files directly from a Sky box or similar to a flash drive, as I know my Panasonic won't last for ever.

[Tony Walshaw]

This is an interesting topic. In the era of VHS I recorded and kept many things - music TV shows, films, documentaries etc. In those years I was keeping things that would not be available readily, after original broadcast.

In the same way I can store items on the hard drive of the recordable Freeview player, and have done so.

Though I am now in the habit of watching (mainly the BBC) i-player for anything I want to see.

There is also You Tube where you can find all manner of clips and even complete shows. In this respect I appreciate people who take the trouble to upload footage.

Items that interest me are likely to be out there at any time. So it has not been intentional, but I don't normally save recordings any more. Which surprises me, when I think about it.

[Jim Exley]

I've had a Mini DV camcorder that I've used for all my family stuff since I bought it in 2003. I've made DVDs for ease of viewing, but I feel that the actual camera tapes are the safest form of long-term storage.

[mikesanderson]

I have a grundig digital tv recorder using 3 external usb sticks this records in mp4 format i transfer the mp4 files onto my PC then archive on DVD-R (Arita 8x Discs i find very good) then i use 'Great White North Listmaker' to archive lists of shows on these numbered disks which i then add to a database to keep track of where and what i have as some discs hold 20+ programmes from tv/youtube etc. I'm currently compiling disc no 3642 !!! ...and in the 5 years i have been doing this i've only lost 2 discs But i know one day i will need to back up to something else .....