Info and forum posts by 'andydunn'

This user hasn't used our main site yet, so has no main account at present.

Joined on: Sunday, 4th July 2004, 22:20, Last used: Sunday, 4th July 2004, 22:20

Access Level: Harmless

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This user has posted a total of 5 messages. On average, since joining, this user has posted 0 messages a day, or 0 messages a week. In the last 30 days, this user has posted 0 messages, which is on average 0 messages a day.

Recent Messages Posted:

RE: Panasonic E55 recording modes

Viewing on 32" Sony Wega widescreen, from version 2 Sky+ box using 20 quid gold plated Cambridge Audio scart leads in RGB mode. I use a mixture of Datawrite and Ritek blank media.

RE: Panasonic E55 recording modes

Read the manual? Oh yeah, now why didn`t I think of that? lol

Seriously mate, I did read the manual, twice in fact.

What I didn`t say in my first post was that I had already tried Flexible Recording for a program that ran for 4 hours, it didn`t look any different than the standard 4 hour LP mode to me, sub VCD quality.
The reason I *didn`t* say anything was because I wanted totally unbiased opinions without me sending everyone off down the "FR will sort you out" route which is what I could see happening.

I tried FR again last night with a program that ran for 3h 20m, it still looks sub-VCD to me.

So (deep breath) I`ll try asking the same question is a slightly different way....is there anything APART from FR that can be altered to improve recordings? Does FR employ a variable bitrate for recording or does it simply pick one of the 4 pre-set modes anyway, in which case I can`t see any advantage in using FR.
Is the bottom line that FR is only effective with recordings that go a little over the two hour mark, like a film that goes for 2h 15m?
There`s no trick I don`t know about? No hidden menu? No firmware upgrade? etc

If FR is the only way to improve picture quality, I think I`ve just bought a very expensive 1 hour video recorder! Hopefully, someone will prove me wrong.

Best wishes :D

Panasonic E55 recording modes

Hi to everyone,
Well, I went for the Panasonic E55 and I am hoping for a bit more advice please.
I know the E55 has 4 different recording modes with varying levels of compression, obviously XP being the most desirable with regard to sound and picture quality but limited to 1 hour of recording time. I find the 2 hour SP setting pretty good too but not long enough for a film that runs for say, 2 hours 20 minutes for which I have to use 4 hour LP mode.

The LP mode is ok for a few soaps for the missus but not good enough quality for a film longer than 2 hours, IMHO.
Is there a work-around for this problem? Can I record at better picture quality for longer than 2 hours? I was under the impression that by buying a DVD recorder I could record the entire content of a dvd at roughly the same quality, a good example being I want to record Gangs of New York tonight on Sky but it is 2 hours 40 minutes long, on LP setting I won`t be impressed with the quality for sure.

Anyone got any advice please?

RE: Need help choosing DVD recorder please

Many thanks for the advice. I did suspect the lack of RGB would be an issue but its good to hear someone in the know confirm this.
The Panasonic it is then.
Cheers :)

Need help choosing DVD recorder please

Hi to everyone,
I`ve decided my house needs a stand alone DVD recorder. I`ve read reviews, checked websites and I`ve narrowed it down to two models, the popular Panasonic DMRE55 and the LiteOn LVW-5005.

Ok, here`s where the problems start. People speak very highly of the Panasonic E55, I would have just gone for this in a flash but I read some people think DVD-RAM is a "niche" market and plus the blank media is dearer.

So onto the LiteOn LVW-5005, it uses cheaper DVD-R/RW & DVD+R/RW, I have plenty of these already for my pc dual format burner. Plus it has a DV port for my digital camcorder which I know I would use.

I will mainly be using the stand alone DVD recorder to take programmes off Sky+ and for camcorder tapes.

Opinions please?

Many thanks :)