Posted by <normanstrong on 11/19/06 19:27

"Citizen Bob" <spam@uce.gov> wrote in message
news:4560829d.12455093@news-server.houston.rr.com...
> The low-cost Insignia NS-DVDR1 (Best Buy Online $115) has 4 resolution
> settings: 1-hr, 2-hr, 4-hr and 6-hr. The manual claims that the 6-hour
> setting will result in poor picture quality.
>
> I ran a in which I recorded 4 TV segments of 1 minute each using the
> timer. Each segment was recorded with a different resolution setting.
> I examined the title thumbnails with Display which tells you the
> resolution of the clip. Each matched up to the way I set it up.
>
> When I played the titles on a 19" TV I could see no difference in
> picture quality whatsoever. They all looked the same.
>
> When I ran the same test with my now-deceased ILO DVDR05MU1 with the
> identical brand of DVD+RW disc, I got noticeably different results in
> the order expected. The 1-hr was best and the 6-hour was worst. The
> 6-hour was worse than the equivalent extra-long play VHS tape.
>
> But this is not the case with the Insignia. Could it be that the MPEG2
> codec chip is vastly improved?

Very interesting. I performed the same test, using the ILO v. Lite-On 5115.
I also found the 6 hour picture unacceptable on the ILO and quite good on
the Lite-On, although not as good as the SP mode. (I was using a 27" set,
which might have something to do with it.) The break in picture quality on
the ILO seems to be between LP (3 hour) and EP (4 hour). SP and LP both
give the same results, with EP, SLP and SEP (8 hours) all giving an
unacceptable picture. At least it's unacceptable to me, although my wife is
less picky. As a result, I've set the ILO for a default LP speed, and I use
the Lite-On or the Polaroid for longer record times.

BTW, Citizen Bob, aren't you the one with the Polaroid from Wal-Mart? If
so, I have a problem with it that I'd like to discuss with you.

Thanks,

Norm Strong

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