Canon HV20 help and Advice

[uno]

I have a Canon HV20 HDV camcorder and im looking for a dvd recorder to record straight from the camera to the recorder as I have stacks of tapes and just need to get them onto dvd asap. I have had a ask at Currys/Comet and they advised to get one with a dv input then connect other end of lead to socket on camcorder and use that instead of scart is that correct ? Can anybody advise of anything that may be suitable

[glesgaguyav]

The advice was correct
Any Set top DVD recorder with a DV firewire input will do, just remember to switch to SD DV output on the HV20 the DVD recorder will not record HD footage

[uno]

Oh I didnt know that what would happen if i just left it on HD output would I get no picture on my recordings ? I will have to look at the manual to see how to do that. Has anybody got any recorders they can reccommend, the guy in Currys advised me on a cheap Phillips one for £85 saying he would spend over £100 as whithin 18months there will be HD/Bluray recorders widely available.

[redsox_mark]

I don't know what the recorder would do if you feed it HDV - it will either do nothing (i.e. not recognise the input), or give an error.

For DVD recorder advise probably best to ask on the DVD recorder forum.
I'm not sure about settop Blu-ray recorders being common in 18 months (or what their price will be).

[glesgaguyav]

Originally Posted by uno

Oh I didnt know that what would happen if i just left it on HD output would I get no picture on my recordings ? I will have to look at the manual to see how to do that. Has anybody got any recorders they can reccommend, the guy in Currys advised me on a cheap Phillips one for £85 saying he would spend over £100 as whithin 18months there will be HD/Bluray recorders widely available.

Just set the camera to "DV lock" in the menu (it's all in the manual).

You can pick up set top recorders from your local Tesco/Asda etc for much less than £80, I believe I even saw one in Asda for around £40 and I think it had HDMI output! just make sure it has the small firewire input.

[senu]

I would suggest, (if you have quite a few tapes) to get a DVD recorder with a HDD.
This will enable you record maybe 2 or 3 differnt tapes ( which may not be full) and then complile them into one DVD.
It will also allow a little editing ( ied triming off of unwanted bits) and merging scences before makig the DVD.
Im all for saving money but you are more unlikely to go wrong if you stick to Panasonic, Sony or Even LG ( Ive got an LG now and its is great) . The quality and durability will still be there when the "pain " of paying that litle extra would have gone.
The other advantage of Settop recorder with HDD is that if there is an error in the recording or finalising of the disc, you get another chance rather than having to rerecord all over again.

[felix2]

Originally Posted by senu

you are more unlikely to go wrong if you stick to Panasonic, Sony or Even LG ( Ive got an LG now and its is great)

Or Toshiba or Pioneer. But as Mark said, best to see what they're saying on the DVD recorder forum these days.

[senu]

Originally Posted by felix2

Or Toshiba or Pioneer. But as Mark said, best to see what they're saying on the DVD recorder forum these days.

That is right..
But just browsing the shelves at say Comet , I would stick fairly close to "known brands" as I see all sorts and wonder how many "returns" they generate
Just like DVD players ( going for £20) you do get what you pay for and

I dont see Hi Def recorders being "commonplace" that quickly
and
....being readily available with the " Hi def format war" still simmering and playback devices just getting to be "affordable".
Even the PC drives and Media are just not around in any great no, and they tend to preceed availabiltiy of cheap domestic units
The Chap from Curries either has some market inside knowledge I dont, is trying to sell cheap DVD recorders or is being naive..( I rather suspect the latter)

[felix2]

Sorry, couldn't resist that When I was getting my DVD / HDD recorder 3 years ago those "big 4" brands seemed to be accepted as the ones to go for, with LG just starting to make a (positive!) impact too. I went for the Toshiba which still serves me very well. I do know a couple of people who got really cheap unbranded DVD recorders from supermarkets and either couldn't get them to work properly or were disappointed with the quality.

I guess there will be all sorts of weird and wonderful media player machines coming out over the next couple of years, offering all sorts of HDD / DVD / Bluray / memory stick / firewire / USB / HDMI / wireless playback and recording of all sorts of formats, including "unauthored" PC / camera video files. But I agree, I wouldn't personally bank on buying a set-top HD DVD /BR recorder with a HD input for a couple of years yet. But other forums on here will know infinitely more about all that than me!