# Save to VCR or DVD??



## misterdk (Dec 31, 2005)

My first post here. I've been using my DirecTV Tivo for about 3 years and love it. Just got my new Hughes HR10-250 HDDVR. I used to be a frequent user of the "save to vcr" feature where I would record programs onto the HD and then save them to VCR and share the tapes with friends. Now, into the 21st century. Is there a way to get the programming that I've recorded on the Tivo HD out of the box in a format where I can burn the program to dvd instead of "save to vcr"? Thanks for all comments and ideas.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

Buy a DVD recorder and connect it to the TiVo. Use it the same as a VCR.


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## Guindalf (Jun 13, 2001)

To answer your question.... No, you have to use the Save to VCR option. One show at a time.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

Well, you don't have to use the Save To VCR function, but it is still one show at a time.


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## RMSko (Sep 4, 2001)

JimSpence said:


> Well, you don't have to use the Save To VCR function, but it is still one show at a time.


Actually, don't you just hook up the DVD Recorder to the TiVo the same as a VCR and then use the "Save to VCR" function, but instead of saving it to a VCR, you save it to the DVD Recorder, i.e., aren't you still using the "Save to VCR" function on the TiVo?


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

I knew that my reply would get a response.  Yes, the DVD recorder is connected the same as a VCR, but you can just play the program as you normally would. The Save function just disables some remote functions so you don't mess up the recording and it displays a description of the show before the playback starts.


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## misterdk (Dec 31, 2005)

Thanks for the responses guys. Yeah, I was reading the manual (shocking, I know) last night and Lo and Behold on page 81 it says, "just connect a DVD recorder instead of a vcr and use the save to vcr procedure.......". Needless to say I was shocked. It remains to be seen if it really works as claimed. Does it matter if you use -R or +R blank disks, anybody know?


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## maharg18 (Dec 4, 2002)

The Tivo could care less what type of discs you use. The DVD recorder is just recording from the analog outputs of the Tivo, so of course it will work as "claimed".


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## A J Ricaud (Jun 25, 2002)

Just remember that you have to set the HD Tivo's output resolution to 480i while the DVD/VCR is recording, then switch it back to high definition (i.e. 720P or 1080i) when done.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

The DVD recorder will care which DVD format discs are being used. Not all recorders can use both - and +.


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## michael1248 (Feb 14, 2002)

I just bought a Samsung DVD Recorder and seem to rememeber there was talk a while back on how to "Save To VCR-DVD" and make sure the aspect ration is not "squished." If I am recording from my (widescreen) setup, how do I make sure that the picture will play correctly on a non-widescreen TV?


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## misterdk (Dec 31, 2005)

I just brought home my new DVD recorder. I went for the L/G LRY-517. I read some favorable reviews on the unit and it seems to have just about all the currently available bells and whistles. I'll let the Forum know how it performs for me. Another comment....and I'm probably not the first to say it, but, I'm pretty disappointed in the HD picture quality. It is not "stunningly vibrant beyond my wildest expectations..." or words to that effect. But I'll give it time. I'm using the Hughes HR10-250 HDDVR with a Phillips 37" HD LCD TV. I connect the DVR to TV via the HDMI cable and I'm using a digital optical audio cable into my Yamaha HTR-5740 receiver. I'd like to hear other opinions about the HD quality that you are receiving. I didn't really expect "night and day" difference but I was hoping.......
Thanks for the tips and comments.


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## A J Ricaud (Jun 25, 2002)

Usually, the difference between SD and HD is pretty dramatic. What resolution do you have the HD Tivo set at? Is it possible that you have it set at SD resolution, i.e. 480i/480p?

Also, you may have watched an upconverted program that is not really HD.


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## misterdk (Dec 31, 2005)

My resolution is at 1080i. What I've observed so far is that any Live broadcast in HD has the very best image. But some of the older movies I've seen on the HD channels don't seem to come close to let's say a live football game. does everybody here say that ALL shows on an HD channel are dramatically different from SD shows? Has anybody used one of the calibration discs I've heard about? Are they worth buying and using? Thanks.


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## rlj5242 (Dec 20, 2000)

misterdk said:


> Has anybody used one of the calibration discs I've heard about? Are they worth buying and using?


 I think that almost everyone on the this section of the forum has used one and most find the results worth the price. There are a few that have paid real money ($500+) for a professional calibration. Again, those people found it to be worth the money.

-Robert


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## kimsan (Jan 23, 2002)

michael1248 said:


> I just bought a Samsung DVD Recorder and seem to rememeber there was talk a while back on how to "Save To VCR-DVD" and make sure the aspect ration is not "squished." If I am recording from my (widescreen) setup, how do I make sure that the picture will play correctly on a non-widescreen TV?


There should be a setting in the DVD recorder menu to specify whether the source is 4:3 or 16:9. As long as you set that correctly, a widescreen recording will be tagged so that on playback it will fill a widescreen set or be letterboxed on a standard. Home-made anamorphic recordings at their easiest


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## DavidS (Sep 27, 2000)

michael1248 said:


> I just bought a Samsung DVD Recorder and seem to rememeber there was talk a while back on how to "Save To VCR-DVD" and make sure the aspect ration is not "squished." If I am recording from my (widescreen) setup, how do I make sure that the picture will play correctly on a non-widescreen TV?





kimsan said:


> There should be a setting in the DVD recorder menu to specify whether the source is 4:3 or 16:9. As long as you set that correctly, a widescreen recording will be tagged so that on playback it will fill a widescreen set or be letterboxed on a standard. Home-made anamorphic recordings at their easiest


Not all recorders correctly tag the image; my Panasonic does not for instance. Therefore, I have to set the HDTivo's output to 4:3 when I record to DVD. The HDTivo then inserts the top and bottom bands with the letterboxed picture.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

Slightly off topic, but wanted to respond to the PQ question and use of the calibration DVDs. When I first got my HD RPTV I thought the picture was bad. I almost took it back. But, then I read on the AVS forums about how the TVs have their brightness and contrast settings adjusted to the max for showroom display. I turned those back to half and it was amazing how the picture quality improved. I then got my hands on the AVIA DVD calibration disc and went through the adjustments of the other parameters (color, tint, sharpness, etc). I also found out how to access the service menu, so I could adjust overscan and other things.


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## A J Ricaud (Jun 25, 2002)

misterdk said:


> But some of the older movies I've seen on the HD channels don't seem to come close to let's say a live football game. does everybody here say that ALL shows on an HD channel are dramatically different from SD shows? .


Your observation is correct. Many "HD" programs are upconverted from SD and don't come near real HD content. Also, OTA HD will look the best of all because it has the least amount of compression.


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## kimsan (Jan 23, 2002)

DavidS said:


> Not all recorders correctly tag the image; my Panasonic does not for instance. Therefore, I have to set the HDTivo's output to 4:3 when I record to DVD. The HDTivo then inserts the top and bottom bands with the letterboxed picture.


There *is* a workaround for non-tagged widescreen if you use and RW disk and add your computer to the mix.

1. Leave the HDTiVo set to 16:9 and record as normal to and RW disk.

2. Read the squished video into Womble Mpeg Video Wizard on your PC. You can use this to quickly edit out commercials etc if necessary.

3. Export the video, but manually set the tag to 16:9.

4. Author and Burn the resultant video with any decent programs that are widescreen aware.

MVW streams the unedited mpeg file with no re-encoding, so the process is very fast. Changing the format tag takes no *real* time at all.

I know it adds more steps to your current simple process, but the final result is an anamorphic widescreen disc. No real difference to a 4:3 set, but better resolution for a 16:9 set.


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## dirk1843 (Jul 7, 2003)

Since we are talking about this kind of stuff...............

In theory, should an ucompressed full bandwidth SD (480i) picture look as good as an HD one DOWNREZZED to 480i??


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## rockon1 (Dec 15, 2005)

misterdk said:


> I just brought home my new DVD recorder. I went for the L/G LRY-517. I read some favorable reviews on the unit and it seems to have just about all the currently available bells and whistles. I'll let the Forum know how it performs for me. Another comment....and I'm probably not the first to say it, but, I'm pretty disappointed in the HD picture quality. It is not "stunningly vibrant beyond my wildest expectations..." or words to that effect. But I'll give it time. I'm using the Hughes HR10-250 HDDVR with a Phillips 37" HD LCD TV. I connect the DVR to TV via the HDMI cable and I'm using a digital optical audio cable into my Yamaha HTR-5740 receiver. I'd like to hear other opinions about the HD quality that you are receiving. I didn't really expect "night and day" difference but I was hoping.......
> Thanks for the tips and comments.


 I also find that I get a better picture through component than HDMI, weather thats because of my tv's HDMI input or the 10-250 output, I don't know, I would lean towards the 10-250. Tv is a mitsubishi DLP.


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## gohawks63 (Apr 23, 2005)

misterdk said:


> Thanks for the responses guys. Yeah, I was reading the manual (shocking, I know) last night and Lo and Behold on page 81 it says, "just connect a DVD recorder instead of a vcr and use the save to vcr procedure.......". Needless to say I was shocked. It remains to be seen if it really works as claimed. Does it matter if you use -R or +R blank disks, anybody know?


I have done this many times. I have a Sony RDRVX515 (DVD/VHS combo) connected to the H10-250. It works flawlessly. Just remember to set your resolution on the H10 back down to 480i, otherwise you won't get any output.


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## kimsan (Jan 23, 2002)

dirk1843 said:


> Since we are talking about this kind of stuff...............
> 
> In theory, should an ucompressed full bandwidth SD (480i) picture look as good as an HD one DOWNREZZED to 480i??


In theory, full SD *should* actually be better than down-rezzed HD due to fewer conversions and the like. In practice (in my experience), down-rezzed HD looks better in most cases. Maybe it's due to the initial filming techniques and attention to detail.

YMMV


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## dirk1843 (Jul 7, 2003)

So to see what we have been missing all these years thanks to ALL providers, just set any HD channel to 480i and see what we should be getting. Hard to believe.


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