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Pioneer DVD-Writer DVR-104 $359.99 (possibly $324)

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<< Hmm, now to decide if the software is worth the extra price.... I would love to use this with my dv500+ >>



I don't think the software is worth it. I use Nero and it does a MUCH better job than Prassi.
 


<< Quick question - I've heard people mention copying DVDs with these units - is that possible with existing retail software, or do you need otherwise 'shady' steps in order to make DVD copies.

Before I get branded a pirate - let me just say people with kids will know EXACTLY why I want to make copies of my originals. Unlike adults (well, healthy adults at least) - kids can watch the same DVD repeatedly, and after a week or two, make it look like someone ate a steak dinner off of it. I'd just like to do some 'Fair Use' backup copying, so that I don't have to go ordering a copy of Toy Story every other week.

Can any of the retail software packages just do a wholesale copy from one DVD to another (barring those DVDs that are too large to copy onto one disk)? >>



I back up most of my DVD's, then let the kids use the copied one to injure. I can copy some of the DVD's 1 to 1 meaning an exact perfect copy. On others I have to strip out the sound tracks and then reencode with ReMpeg. From start to finish I might have to invest 5 minutes of my time.....but it takes about 4-5 hours for the encoding. Very very easy once you have done it a few times. Oh, and get a dvd-rw to test them first. I haven't wasted a single dvd-r yet. 🙂 Oh, and the backups are perfect...by that I mean I can;t tell via the quality what is the real one or the copied one. I used to do all of them svcd....no mas for me!
 
This info is so interesting to me. I have a 2 yr old and 4 yr old and they watch a single DVD over and over. I have a large DVD collection but the kids do injur them no matter how careful we are. I would love to copy them and just give the kids the copy's. I've started making 2 copies of each CD I buy before I give it to them for the computer. They seldom survive over one year, sometimes just a few months. When you have young kids being able to copy the original is really a necessity.
 
Ok, I broke down and order the thing from Compgeeks today. So where is the best place to buy the dvd-r's and does anyone know if they'' play in my Apex AD600a? If not what else would be a good but not to expensive player to match this up with?

paths
 


<< Ok, I broke down and order the thing from Compgeeks today. So where is the best place to buy the dvd-r's and does anyone know if they'' play in my Apex AD600a? If not what else would be a good but not to expensive player to match this up with?

paths >>




I just ordered some of THESE from Meritline. Quick shipping and $1.98 each ($5 or so shipping). I've also used some of the CD-Recordable blanks ($2.98 last month when I ordered them) and they work fine. These are GENERICS and are not on the "approved" manufacturer list in the drive's memory. "Approved" media will burn at 2x (30 mins per DVD). "Unapproved" generics will burn at 1x (50 minutes or so per DVD).

Apple.com has Apple-brand DVD-Rs for about $5 each. They are "approved" and burn at 2x fine on this drive.

The nice thing about the Pioneer A03 (and I'm sure the A04 is the same) is that they will use almost ANY blank media. I've burned about 50 or so DVD-Rs from CD-Recordable and Apple and have not had ONE problem!!

Now the standalone DVD recorders (like the Panasonic DMR-E20) are reported to be MUCH pickier about media. Generics don't always work in the standalones.




 
A few thoughts:
1) How well do the A04 cope with unbranded media certified for X2 burning. It seems that the A03's firmware preventing x2 burning on pretty much any media apart from Pioneer ?
2) It seems the Retail version is a good deal when you factor in the Pionneed DVD-R and DVD-RW included. These retail for $30+ no ?
3) As for backing up DVDs it IS quite a bit of work especially if you want to keep the same look as the original one, i.e. menus, chapters, audio selection, extras, etc...unless of course the whole thing fits onto a 4.3gb (4,700,000,000 bytes) DVD-R. Very few movies fit that bull. As a previous poster said, you have to reencode with Rempeg and rebuild the .ifo files, etc...On the other hand if you just want the main video and one audio channel, then that's fairly easy.
 


<< I back up most of my DVD's, then let the kids use the copied one to injure. I can copy some of the DVD's 1 to 1 meaning an exact perfect copy. On others I have to strip out the sound tracks and then reencode with ReMpeg. From start to finish I might have to invest 5 minutes of my time.....but it takes about 4-5 hours for the encoding. Very very easy once you have done it a few times. Oh, and get a dvd-rw to test them first. I haven't wasted a single dvd-r yet. 🙂 Oh, and the backups are perfect...by that I mean I can;t tell via the quality what is the real one or the copied one. I used to do all of them svcd....no mas for me! >>


Hmmm... Somebody pm me with this info. I am interested.

While most of my usage of DVD-R(W) will be for data backup, there are a couple DVDs I'd like to back up. They're hard to get (in Canada) or else out of print, and it'd be a shame to lose them.
 
Does anyone know how fast the A04/104 burns a CD-R at because I was thinking about getting a CD-R burner but now I am thinking about getting this instead?
 
Just got my drive today in the mail from Newegg. I'll be testing it out tomorrow night or Wednesday after I finish editing the video I'm working on.
 
Compgeeks out of stock. Newegg doesn't ship to Canada.

Anybody know where to get the Panasonic DVD-RAM/R instead? Or else Pioneer A04 cheap?
 
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