Panasonic VW-BN1 disc burner

[WarPig843]

Anyone know how the VW-BN1 burner works, Im thinking of buying one for my Pany SD9 to make high def DVDs

If I understand things correctly, it burns a high def recording onto normal DVDs.

Or would I need to use a different kind of disc?

[alsina]

It will burn to standard DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R/DL or DVD-RAM discs.

[A n d r e w]

I believe you need to daisychain the VW-BN1 and your camcorder to your TV set for playback.

[alsina]

You do. Else you can play the discs back directly in a compatible player such as the Panasonic Blu-ray players.

[WarPig843]

Cheers for the replies, so does it definately record high-def onto normal DVD-R discs, as opposed to SD.

Think I might have to get one and play the discs in my PS3.

[Mr Lazy]

I assume you don't have a computer?

If you have a computer AND a PS3 then there is no point getting one of these. Although I guess the "one-touch" burn aspect might be attractive I don't think these burners are worth the money IMHO.

[Zaichik]

I agree - I have a similar burner for my Canon cam because my computer is crap and I'm frustrated with its limitations. On the Canon, you can't add stuff to a disc once you've burned it because it's automatically finalised and you can't edit the names of the titles. The one advantage it does have over my current computer is that it can burn to dual layer discs.

It is quick and convenient, though.

[alsina]

Originally Posted by TheBear843

Cheers for the replies, so does it definately record high-def onto normal DVD-R discs, as opposed to SD.

Think I might have to get one and play the discs in my PS3.

Definitely.

[WarPig843]

Originally Posted by Mr Lazy

I assume you don't have a computer?

If you have a computer AND a PS3 then there is no point getting one of these. Although I guess the "one-touch" burn aspect might be attractive I don't think these burners are worth the money IMHO.

Point taken but Im not sure my computer is up to the task of using the editing software, heres the spec.

Acer Aspire Laptop
Intel Core 2 dual Processer
120GB HDD
DVD Super Multi double layer
2GB DR2

Im currently copying the SD card onto my PS3 and then reusing the SD card again. But im conscious that I might not be able to ever copy it over from my PS3 to a disc if needed later.

With the Panasonic burner I could make back up copies onto DVD as well as storing on my PS3, but need to confirm it will burn in HD.

But if my computer is powerful enough then I might buy some editing software instead. What do you think???

[alsina]

Originally Posted by TheBear843

Point taken but Im not sure my computer is up to the task of using the editing software, heres the spec.

Acer Aspire Laptop
Intel Core 2 dual Processer
120GB HDD
DVD Super Multi double layer
2GB DR2

Im currently copying the SD card onto my PS3 and then reusing the SD card again. But im conscious that I might not be able to ever copy it over from my PS3 to a disc if needed later.

With the Panasonic burner I could make back up copies onto DVD as well as storing on my PS3, but need to confirm it will burn in HD.

But if my computer is powerful enough then I might buy some editing software instead. What do you think???

As answered previously, the VW-BN1 burns to standard DVD's in HD (AVCHD).

[Mr Lazy]

Originally Posted by TheBear843

Im currently copying the SD card onto my PS3 and then reusing the SD card again. But im conscious that I might not be able to ever copy it over from my PS3 to a disc if needed later.

You should be ok ie. transfer back to the laptop. However I've heard some reports that using the Panasonic software you can't write back to the camcorder but this would need to be confirmed by an SD9 owner.

With the Panasonic burner I could make back up copies onto DVD as well as storing on my PS3

Yes you certainly need to be making at least one copy plus the original and personally I wouldn't trust using only the PS3 plus a DVD as my only copies, but it depends how precious your video is. For achive copies, an external hard drive for the laptop would probably be best, though burning the video files as a data DVD on the laptop would be cheaper.

But if my computer is powerful enough then I might buy some editing software instead. What do you think???

Difficult to say, and you didn't give the speed of the CPU and the OS, but my AMD 1.8Ghz dual core laptop with 2GB RAM struggles to even play AVCHD never mind edit. However the only real issue should be getting an adequate preview. Rendering might take a while but you'd leave it overnight anyway. I would suggest downloading trial versions of editing software. Reports suggest that Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum requires the least amount of CPU grunt (my experience backs this up but then I haven't tried all the different editing packages available).

@ VW-BN1 owners - how many mins of video can you get on a double-layer DVD, presumably it's 40 mins?
The Panasonic UK website gives very little info:
Panasonic - ideas for life - AVCHD

[gunneredw]

Does anybody know if the VW-BN1 is the same model as VW-BN1E-S
Or What is the difference

Need a compatible for HDC-SD9

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by gunneredw

Does anybody know if the VW-BN1 is the same model as VW-BN1E-S

The "E" more than likely designates that it's the model destined for the European market, and the "S" is probably a colour code - silver?

[gunneredw]

What's the best price anyone has found on this burner?

[WarPig843]

Originally Posted by gunneredw

What's the best price anyone has found on this burner?

Empire Direct are doing it at £125
Campkinsonline £117 (though ive never used them)

Ive not factored in any delivery costs though. ED is perhaps the best bet for the sake of £8 difference.