I’m not sure if this is a new idea but Panasonic is now selling the DMR-HS2 Hard Drive video recorder, DVD player and DVD burner. So you can watch DVDs, record TV programs like a Tivo/Replay TV, and burn those TV programs to DVD. It also has video in and iLink/firewire in so you can plug in your video camera old or new and burn a DVD or copy to the hard drive.
The one thing that stuck out for me though, it’s also got a PCMCIA slot which you can use to stick in various memory cards from digital cameras. You can view all the pictures of course but it will also make a Thumbnail/Slideshow DVD for you that you could send to friends for example.
i’ve been looking for a device like this but the asking price @ techtronics.com is too high 4 me
so i’ll wait until the price comes down CONSIDERABLE around the ｣400 mark !
Nice site Greggman by the way !
I just purchased one of these recoders, and I love it. It has become the most used piece of video gear I own. This is the machine that makes vcr’s obsolete. Picture quality is incredible, even in multi generation copies, I can see no visible signs of picture degradation. My advice is to buy one of these and sell your vcrs while they stil have some resale value.
I can’t say enough good things about this product. The hard drive is so much worth it. I don’t have TIVO or anything like that – this is a good alternative, plus you don’t have to pay any fees. You do have to set the timer like its a VCR (unlike TIVO which programs and records for you).
I found it very easy to use and has many options and features that I would need and want (thus far). The only thing I could possibly want added at this point is some sort of keyboard input so you can type out titles. To enter titles you use the remote.
I bought one of these just before Xmas - It works great to record from the satellite. It was advertised as a great machine to transfer all your old VHS movies onto DVD. But when I tried a couuple, I got the message ” copying of this material is not allowed” Anyone know how I can get around this? Thanx Scot
I think they meant you could transfer home movies to DVD. You cannot transfer old commerical movies to DVD. They are protected with Macrovision and all the various types of recording machines that I know of check for Macrovision and will fail to record them.
For example I tried once to record a DVD signal with my digital video camera. It gave me a similar error message. The frustrating part is I was not trying to pirate the movie or give a copy to a friend, I was just trying to get a short clip as a sample for a presentation I was giving. My understanding is that it’s legal for me to do that just like it’s legal for me to quote part of a book, newspaper or magazine but the machines will not let you do this.
If you shop around you can find macrovision cancelling devices or you can find the schematics on how to build one if you are eletronically inclined. I’ve thought about it but I’ve never actually gotten around to it. Mostly because for me, the issue only ever comes up once a year or so.
there is a way of getting past the “copyright protection message”
I recently heard of The APEX 1500 dvd player and you can transfer any dvd to your DMR-HS2 . I bought one off ebay and it works great! You can make a backup
of any dvd movie. I paid $100 for the dvd player on ebay.
Only have one problem is that sometimes when I burn a dvd directly to the dvd disk it sometimes skips and i get garbled sections in the recorded movie..maybe it is the cheap disks I am using or maybe i should record to hard drive first then to disk….any ideas??
Yes, getting an Apex will work because the Apex does not send the Macrovision signal. There are also patches / hacks for many computer and game console DVD players to turn off the Macrovision signal and there are mod kits for various DVD players to turn off their Macrovision. But, all that does not help him. He wants to transfer videotapes, not DVDs. For that he’s going to need a macrovision cancelling box or a VCR that doesn’t put out the macrovision signal.
Where can I get a PC Card adapter for this DVD Video Recorder? I need adapter for a Smart Media Card. Does one adapter for all types of OC cards listed in instructions?
as far as I know you can use pretty much any PC Card adaptor. I’m pretty sure they are all the same.
Hi there. Thank god I was not the only one having problems locating these cards. The good news is they do exist and I have just recently managed to purchase one that accepts all major memory cards (SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and SMC) all for a reasonable price of @ $55 Australian. I purchased mine from Harris Technology instore however I would say they have them available on their web site at http://www.harristechnology.com.au
Cheers Mark