How to transfer shows from DVR to DVD?

[porsche911girl]

Hi there,

I've got a Time Warner Cable Scientific Atlanta DVR that is getting full, and I'd like to free up more space on it without losing my saved shows. And i recently got a laptop with a DVD burner on it and (somehow) the ability to record live TV. However, I don't know what I'd need in order to hook the DVR up to the laptop in order to burn a few shows to a DVD, and attempt to cut out the commercials. Does anyone know how to do this, or would it just be easier to buy a DVD recorder?

Come to think of it, I do have a Sony VHS-to-DVD-recorder that might do the trick, just not sure how to go about using that and hooking the DVR up to it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

[stomachmonkey]

AV signal out of the the Cable Box to the input on the VHS/DVD recorder.

AV signal out of DVD/VHS into TV.

Scott

[pmajka]

which model, specifically???

Some thread some where, lots of general info.
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/2/115294.html

[Don Plumley]

Yup, I record stuff from my DVR all the time to my DVD-R

[porsche911girl]

Originally Posted by pmajka

which model, specifically???

It's the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD model.

[RickM]

Here's a thread asking the same question. Perhaps a simpler solution has been developed since.

transfering from dvr to computer....

[pmajka]

copied from that link
Here's how you do it. (This is for a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR, but I suspect other DVR's will be similar):
1) Connect the red/white/yellow audio/video cables to the respective OUTPUT 2 connections on your DVR.
2) Connect the other ends of the red/white/yellow cables to a Pinnacle Systems Dazzle DVC 90 device (you need to install the DVC 90 ahead of time on your PC, so you end up with Instant DVD Recorder 1.5 on your PC).
3) Connect the USB 2.0 end of the Dazzle DVC 90 to your PC.
4) Start your Instant DVD Recorder software onyour PC, identifying where you want to copy the recording (PC hard drive or directly to a DVD burner). Complete all steps except the last one (i.e., "Start Recording").
5) Select the playback options on your DVR, with the last being "Copy to VCR".
6) Hit "Start Recording" on your PC/Instant DVD Recorder.

[RickM]

If going from the 8300 DVR to your tabletop DVD recorder there is a provision on the 8300 where you select "DVR to VHS". However it will only output 420 (perhaps 720...It's not clear which)

I'm all ears for a simple, straight forward solution when going from the 8300 DVR to PC/DVD burner.


Page 29: http://www.scientificatlanta.com/ExplorerClubGuides/getting_started/4003870.pdf

Note: You will not be able to offload Premium channel content or other copy protected material.

[RickM]

Substitute VCR with Tabletop DVD burner...

Cable color code:
Yellow = Video
White = Audio Left
Red = Audio Right

[porsche911girl]

Wow! You guys are awesome! Thanks so much!

[porsche911girl]

Well I got the component cable yesterday to hook the DVR up to the VCR and it works (recording it to VHS tape). Only thing is, I wish there was a way to burn it on VHS or DVD WITHOUT the commercials. I also wish there was a way to burn it directly to DVD rather than DVR --> VHS -->DVD, as that seems kind of tedious, plus, with a DVD unless you use a RW one, I don't know how to check to make sure it's recording onto the DVD...if that makes any sense.

And I also can't figure out how to set the recording speed on the VCR to SLP from SP. It's a Sony VCR/DVD Recorder RDR-VX515 model. And of course, no one can find the instruction manual/user guide for it.

[slodave]

Here's the manual:
http://www.docs.sony.com/release/RDRVX515.pdf

[porsche911girl]

Thanks slodave! You're a lifesaver!

Does anyone know how to cut out the commercials when recording a program onto a DVD from a DVR (it's not a live show, but an already-recorded one? Of course, I'm going out on a limb here and assuming that I'd need a video editing program like Final Cut Pro to do anything like that. Please tell me I'm wrong!

[stomachmonkey]

You need to record from VHS to computer.

You can take it from the DVD but you don't want to.

THe DVD is already compressed into a format that you can not edit. So you need to convert it back, takes a whilw and you get a loss of quality, then recompress back to DVD when done, more loss of quality.

Edit using iMovie. Final Cut is overkill for that.

Dump out to DVD.

[porsche911girl]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

You need to record from VHS to computer.

You can take it from the DVD but you don't want to.

THe DVD is already compressed into a format that you can not edit. So you need to convert it back, takes a whilw and you get a loss of quality, then recompress back to DVD when done, more loss of quality.

Edit using iMovie. Final Cut is overkill for that.

Dump out to DVD.

Guess I should have stated that I'm on a Windows laptop running Vista.
Is there a way to do any of that using Windows movie maker/media center/muvee (whatever the heck that is)?? Or am I screwed because I don't have a Mac?

[stomachmonkey]

Video editing is not exclusive to Macs.

Sounds like Windows Movie Maker will do the trick.

[berettafan]

Glad this thread came up. I had always assumed backing up my DVR onto DVD required two witch doctors and an act of Congress but this thread got me reading up on DVD recorders.

Went and bought a Toshiba DR400 ($139 at Circuit City; who, by the way, does not reflect internet pricing in the store. you have to ask for it) and a case of 75 Sony DVD-R's for $24 at Sams Club this past weekend. So far i've copied a Legends of Motorsports that was almost 2 yrs old and a couple Victory By Design episodes onto DVD's. Double checked them on a different dvd player and they work fine!

I feel waaay better knowing i won't lose my favorite shows!

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Glad this thread came up. I had always assumed backing up my DVR onto DVD required two witch doctors and an act of Congress but this thread got me reading up on DVD recorders.

Went and bought a Toshiba DR400 ($139 at Circuit City; who, by the way, does not reflect internet pricing in the store. you have to ask for it) and a case of 75 Sony DVD-R's for $24 at Sams Club this past weekend. So far i've copied a Legends of Motorsports that was almost 2 yrs old and a couple Victory By Design episodes onto DVD's. Double checked them on a different dvd player and they work fine!

I feel waaay better knowing i won't lose my favorite shows!

DVD recorders are great. My wife is in the middle of backing up all of her bootleg concert VHS tapes to DVD.

Also the home video that we have on Mini DV tapes.

My Toshiba DVD recorder has a one button direct to DVD function. You plug in the camera, it recognizes it, rewinds if necc then starts the recording. Nice and simple.

You gotta shop the circulars. This weekend Staples had a 100 Pack of Sony media for $19.

[berettafan]

wow $19! i stopped in staples but the sony DVD-R's were $50 per 100. shoulda checked the paper.

i will also be doing all our mini-dv video camera tapes as well. very cool stuff!

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by berettafan

wow $19! i stopped in staples but the sony DVD-R's were $50 per 100. shoulda checked the paper.

i will also be doing all our mini-dv video camera tapes as well. very cool stuff!

Small chance they were not on sale in your area.

I grabbed two stacks.