Shoutbox

I want to burn TV shows onto a DVD with my laptop using Sonic PrimeTime. But I don't know what I need in order to do that. Also, what type of blank DVDs should I use? Thanks.

You need a TV Card so that u can get the TV image into your laptop and the type of DVD to use depends on the DVD Players you want it to play on.

I've never used Sonic PrimeTime, or even heard of it, but the website for it says it does what you want it to do, so software wise you seem to be all set.

I assume that you have a DVD burner drive.

You want a DVD-R or a DVD+R. They are exactly the same for most practical purposes. Buy whichever one is cheaper, except if you need a specific one. Some older set top DVD players only take one kind, but most others, and all computers can read both.

If you are unsure, borrow already burnt ones from a friend, or buy one of each and burn something onto them and test them in your set top players.

Both these disk types have a dual layer counterpart, but they are insanely more expensive, around ten times as much for only about twice the space.

Just for the laptop having an S-VHS output doesn't mean you can use it as an input. Most laptops have this connection to output the visual from the LCD screen, not for recording to the laptop, but I think there are some that have integrated TV Tuner, if this is the case you provably will need this cable:

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Originally posted by rav0
You want a DVD-R or a DVD+R. They are exactly the same for most practical purposes. Buy whichever one is cheaper, except if you need a specific one. Some older set top DVD players only take one kind, but most others, and all computers can read both.

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Exactly, anyone will be for the safe function, but first be sure your DVD burner and DVD Player (if you're going to watch it on TV) can read that brand/type of DVDs.

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Originally posted by YottabyteWIzard
I think there are some that have integrated TV Tuner, if this is the case you provably will need this cable:

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If there is an integrated tuner you don't need those cables, you need only to connect an antenna.

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Originally posted by rav0
Some older set top DVD players only take one kind, but most others, and all computers can read both.

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Certainly not all stand alone DVD players accept all formats. It also doesn't matter if they're new or old!

The same with computers and DVD drives for computers. Certainly not all computers support all formats, and this is again nothing to do with new or old.

In other words, it is not a fixed fact that old dvd players support only format X or only format y, or new dvd players support format X and Y. It is as random as... ermmm....  a random letter

So, to recap:

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Originally posted by Hybrid
But I don't know what I need in order to do that. Also, what type of blank DVDs should I use? Thanks.

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You need the type that your laptop burner supports. This can be DVD-R and/or DVD+R.

If it is only one of the two, you have no choose than to use that format.

If it is both, than you might consider what type your standalone dvd player supports (if you have a standalone one), or what type the dvd player in your desktop computer supports, or what type the dvd player from your friends support or something like that...

you would have a better sucess rate burning any sort of video to a dvd -r opposed to a +r.

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Originally posted by lizard.boy
you would have a better sucess rate burning any sort of video to a dvd -r opposed to a +r.

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Why's that? That's the first time I hear this... ????.

The difference between DVD-R and DVD+R is not quality or anything, it is just another way of writing/reading data on the disc.

Some reading

personally i have never found a dvdplayer/dvd-rom/ps2 that will read only dvd+R, and i think the only execption to that would be the xbox.

[OFF TOPIC]

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Originally posted by lizard.boy
Some reading

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As far as I can read from there, those tests are more compatibily tests for media aka hardware, than they are compatibily test between DVD-R and DVD+R...

In fact, theyself say:

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We think that the critical factor in any assessment is not the underlying specifications, how stringent or relaxed they are, but rather the particular hardware offered during their implementation.

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This means, to put in a rediculus extremis, if you test a DVD+R disc on 100 DVD-R players, of course it will be incompatible compared to a DVD-R and the DVD-R would come out as "most compatible".

Or to put it in another way, if there are 100 excellent brands of dvd-r's and only 1 crappy brand of dvd+r, than the dvd-r will come out as a winner, and vice versa. This doesn't say a thing about how succesfull your burn would be.

Thus, what is shown there isn't a test to see how many burns fail or are a succes on a DVD-R compared to how many burns fail or are a succes on a DVD+R. Because there is no difference between those formats for that, because it depends on the type/version and brand of burner and/or brand of disc you're using.

What is shown there is how compatible a specific dvd player is with different brands of dvd discs. Only it is put in a rather strange way (on the front page).

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Originally posted by lizard.boy
personally i have never found a dvdplayer/dvd-rom/ps2 that will read only dvd+R, and i think the only execption to that would be the xbox.

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Don't compare game consoles with dvd players though. There are far more different brands and types of dvd players than only the ones included in a PS2 or Xbox. It isn't because those game consoles support one format or the other that all players do, far from it...

In fact, if it would depend on anything at all, it would be mostly depend on the brand of dvd player you have/buy.

There really is no true objective technical solid argument or advise to give as to what type to use (if you have the choice); they both are equal and equally as much used. It only depends on what you prefer, would have, or would use the most (or your friends or family or...)

It is not for nothing that there are still two different types. If one type was used more than the other, or clearly better than the other, the industry would already came to a single format...

Anyways, this is going seriously off topic I think... so I'll sush... sorry for the off topicness...

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