Posted by Bob on 11/28/05 22:01

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 01:50:00 -0600, senior.dennis@nospam.com wrote:

>Yesterday I was in Walmart and saw a DVD machine that said Play and
>Record DVDs.

That's known as a DVDR - a standalone DVD Recorder/Player.

Get the latest version of the ILO DVDR05-MU1-5.40. It's there - look
for it. Do not get the 5.38 version. Do not get the MU version. Do not
get the ZU version. The MU1-5.40 version is manufactured in September
2005.

>Can they be used to record something off the tv antenna or from cable
>if a person has cable? Can it record directly from another DVD player
>or a VCR? Once again I thoughy a computer was needed to copy stuff?

The ILO (as well as most but not all) DVDRs will do all that. But
it will not defeat copy protection schemes.

>Then, if I was to buy one of these things, what do I use for media?

The ILO uses DVDR +R and DVD +RW. Get Verbatim DVD +RW at Sam's Club -
30 discs for under $30. Use only Verbatim 4x. If you use DVD +R, get
FujiFilm Made in Japan from Best Buy, 100 discs for $35. Do not get
Made in Taiwan.

>Do they sell special blank DVDs ot are they the same ones used on
>computers? Are they expensive?

They are the same DVD discs that are used for computers. The cheapest
way to go is +RW because you can erase them.

>Sorry for all the questions. I didnt even know there was a DVD
>recorder except the ones that go inside a computer case.

Pioneer is the acknowledged king of DVDRs. But they are expensive.

I recommend waiting a year for the hard disk versions known as
DVD-HDD. They need another year to mature and for the price to come
down.

>One last question, if I bought one of these, and it does not require a
>computer, can it still be hooked to a computer to backup photos and
>stuff?

You might be able to get the composite output of the video card from
the computer to work. But why would you want to do that? Buy an NEC
3540 DVD burner for under $40 at Directron.com or Newegg.com.

>That would be about the main reason I'd want one, so I can
>backup my photos on my harddrive, rather than using floppies or buying
>those 256 meg sticks that go in the USB connector.

A DVDR is a poor choice for that task. Get a computer burner like the
NEC 3540. Use DVD +R discs. Burn 8x discs at 8x and 16x discs at 12x.
Get only Taiyo Yuden write-once DVD +R discs at rima.com or
supermediastore.com. Do not use any other because all the rest are
crap nowadays.

Some of them used to be good but market pressures and shoddy entrants
into manufacturing have conspired to turn out crap - even Verbatim
Mitsubishi in discs (write once DVD +R). Verbatim is the best you are
going to find in re-writeable discs (DVD +RW).


--

"One must realize that the world is a network of real and virtual
combat zones where the stakes are high, struggle is the primary
mode of being and only total victory is acceptable.
-- Sun Tzu, "The Art Of War"

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