[niccam]

Hi everybody was wondering if anybody out there could help with this question. Have a Panny e20 and thinking of buying the Pan dvds35 player with the notion of saving video material on the Pan e20 as dvd ram (as master copy) and then playing it on the Pan s35 and making copies on the Pan e20 again. Will there be problems with playing dvd ram and recording it as dvd-r?Thank you.

[Fuel Crusher]

Hi niccam, I do this very thing but I use a panasonic RA-82 as the ram player. The only two things you should be aware of are 1, Obviously the video will go through another encoding process so you will get a quality drop, this will depend on the quality of the original and the quality you select for the dvd-r recording, and 2, You have to manage any edit points carefully, the RA-82 has a slight pause when playing back edit points so I always try to edit on still pictures or fade to black scenes, doing this the pause is totaly unnoticable. The s35 however may have seamless playback as an option in which case this wouldn't be an issue.

Regards
Paul

there is nothing in the menu about seemless play

I haven't tried this yet, you may need to wait for the next model

S35 the great way to compliment E50

S35 is great VFM IMO

[niccam]

Thanks for replying the seamless playback is not a problem in my case, have you used the Mirror dvd-ram discs yet and are they any good?

[niccam]

Hi Im getting mixed reports on there is/not svhs output on the dvds35 can you put me right on this and whatever the out come what is the best connection if i want to play on the dvds35 and record on the drm-e20. Thank you

[Fuel Crusher]

I've not tried the mirror ram discs, svp right. But I did manage to grab ten of the even cheaper discs that bigpockets had (£2 each) and they've been faultless.

there is not an svhs connection

i think you meant s-video though if so no not via the normal s-vid socket but I think it can output an s-video signal via the scart socket

see other thread on S35 about connections I will post there very shortly

[niccam]

Thanks again for your replys and yes you were right I did mean s-video socket.

the way you set it up depends upon your other equipment

but you can output a S-video signal through the scart or an RGB signal through the scart.

Without a doubt us the component outputs to your CRT/Plasma and use the S35 as your main player

Going from RAM to -R works a treat with no noticeable drop in quality

[harrisuk]

But this is why everyone wanted rw+. Having to buy another DVD deck to backup is a joke.

I wish Philips would produce an RCE recorder with decent reliability and we would not have this problem. Ram is a waste of time.

And i have an E50 so no bias. I keep saying it. Ram never going to take off in a big way. Totally incompatable. Most Highstreet retailers are still not selling the panasonic recorders and that includes RS....

[Rasczak]

I wish Philips would produce an RCE recorder with decent reliability and we would not have this problem.

But they don't.

keep saying it. Ram never going to take off in a big way. Totally incompatable.

Considering RAM has had a 69% world take up a think it's safe to say it already has 'taken off'.

The next-gen format, BluRay, is going to be even more incompatible but no-one seems to bothered. Why? Because we will always have DVD-R for that.

Having to buy another DVD deck to backup is a joke.

Well not really as your then getting the functionality of a HDD/DVDR combo, i.e. record in best quality mode (using the hybrid VBR and making use of FR to maximise disk space), full flexibility to edit and then burn to highly compatible write-once media. You couldn't even dream of doing this with +RW.

All things said though you don't have to buy another DVD deck. If you have a half decent PC then you can simply get a DVD burner on your PC. In your case Harris (I seem to remember you already have one of these) all you need is a ROM drive capable of reading RAM disks - and all recent Toshiba DVD-ROM drives read RAM disks. You will then be able to burn your RAM recordings to DVD-R.

Of course the other alternative is to build a DVD-RAM library and not transfer the contents to DVD-R. I have a friend with the E30 who does this - he buys cheap DVD-RAMs for permament storage and, when he needs to lend out a copy, makes a copy to VHS (which ultimately is THE most compatible format).

[Rasczak]

Most Highstreet retailers are still not selling the panasonic recorders and that includes RS....

Thats true but that is because the Philips is the cheaper option. Most stores have the Panasonic in stock or can easily order it but only display one model to avoid confusion over formats putting people off.

However I would argue the majority of people who buy DVDRs tend to have the internet and therefore realise they can get kit much cheaper online and thus buy online. And virtually every site has the Panasonic for order whereas many online retailers do not advertise the current 880/890 due to realibility. AVLAND for example:
http://www.avland.co.uk/dvd/dvdr.htm#dvdr

Or PRC Direct:
http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/PRC/PRC.f.../catalogs/1223

Originally posted by Rasczak
Thats true but that is because the Philips is the cheaper option. Most stores have the Panasonic in stock or can easily order it but only display one model to avoid confusion over formats putting people off.

I do not think this is true not most major electrical retailers now seem to stock the Panny

I was in two seperate Comets and Dixons yesterday all had the E50 and Comet had the E30

I didn't have to buy a second dvd player I chose to


In retrospect I wish I had gone for the HS2, a HDD / DVDR is the sensible choice

[Rasczak]

I was in two seperate Comets and Dixons yesterday all had the E50 and Comet had the E30

I think the competitive price of the Panasonic E50 makes it highly desirable for Dixons, Currys, Comet etc. Plus Panasonic have started aggressively pushing the E50 - reviews/articles are cropping up all over the place from PC magazines to Womans Weekly* - which is encouraging stores to stock and display it.

* I would like to emphasis I do not read Woman's Weekly

incidently I think the E30 is a lot better looking than the E30 the mirror finish makes it look far more classy than the E50

[TommyVecetti]

Maybe the E30 was too subtle, I notice the E50 has *DVD RECORDER* in big letters across the disc tray.