VCD Recorder vs. DVD Recorder
 

There's a VCD Recorder at eBay called the Terapin that sounds pretty interesting for its $240 price. The MSRP is $499 at the official website. I'm tempted to buy one to use mostly for recording the weekly TV shows that my family wants on CD-RWs and possibly transfering some home videos of my kids onto CD-R. My question is, does anyone think this would be a worthwhile purchase being that I don't have any desire to spend four times that amount for a recordable DVD player? Anyone think the brand name DVD-R players will come down to the $500 mark within the year? I'm not a huge fan of VCDs but they beat VHS in my book... I hate rewinding/forwarding. ;)

I will bet that the prices for the DVD recorders will comedown soon. Might take just over a year but it will happen. Either one format will win and then everyone will make them or the three will stay and start a price war. Just look at the dvd marget so far. Progressive scan- one year later ~$200
DVD-a and SCAD ~$300

This is the trend.

I would wait.

Terrapin has a sample VCD they will send out that shows the quality of the recording from different sources (TV, home video tranfers, etc). Call them and ask them for a copy-it will give you some idea what to expect.

IMHO, I think it will be possible to buy a name-brand DVD recorder at the $500 price point within a year. New models are always on the way with more features at lower prices and this presents the opportunity to pickup deals on close-outs.

It appears that the Terrapin recorder only uses CDs labeled "for consumer use" which I think means they're not the inexpensive computer/data type. Must be the expensive ones with the royalty paid that are for standalone CD recorders.

Where did you see that information? And just how expensive are these other kinds of CD-Rs?

I read their pdf manual (I was looking for specifics on picture resolution which I couldn't find) and saw it mentioned there. Then on their site: http://www.terapintech.com/fea_cdmedia.html

The discs easily cost many times the computer type which I generally get for 2 - 10 cents each. They are selling their CD-R for $20 per 25.

Well that's certainly interesting. I don't recall seeing any mention of special CD-Rs needed in any of the eBay auctions... not that I'm surprised. ;)

They are both the same. If you purchase an Audio CD-R it states you must your Audio CD-R but you can use the computer CD-R's without any problems. Its just marketing!

If you mean by your first use of "Audio CD-R" a standalone CD recorder, all the consumer ones I've seen require the use of the more expensive, royalty-paid Audio CD-Rs. There is a data marking that the unit looks for to distinguish between the audio and data CDs.

I'm not used to the term "Consumer CD-R" as used by Terrapin, but I know my computer ones don't have "FOR CONSUMER" under the compact disc Recordable logo as they show on theirs:

http://www.terapintech.com/images/fea_icons.gif

First about the CD-R's: The Terapin is picky about what you use. Memorex give mine fits! But Prime Peripherals(I think they went out of business though) and Hi-Val work fine. TDK, Imation and Pioneer have been erratic, with TDK being the best of the three. I haven't tried Fuji yet but have heard good things about them. Other cheapos? Don't even bother.

To the actual machine: Terapin overheats very easily. I'm talking an hour of use. And when it does-there's a good chance of loosing what you've recorded. I had a friend of mine drill holes in it and add a small (12v?) computer fan. If you do a google search, you'll find alot of people have done this.

So unless you're willing to tolerate the problems that the Terapin can bring, I would wait for DVD recorders to come down in price. BTW, $250 is a damn good price. I paid $350 plus shipping for mine.

Thanks so much for the information. You've been very helpful with the important kind of details. I'll definitely be holding off until I can buy a DVD-R player.

Anyone know anything about the Amoisonic VCD Recorders?
 

I own a Terapin CD Video Recorder.. I got it back when Sam's Club had them for $200. It's worth it at that price.. the $500 MSRP is way to high considering DVD Recorders are priced $700-$1000 already and will be dropping considerably soon enough.

I like the Terapin a lot. I haven't had any overheating problems but I only use it for 1-3 hours at any one time. I've only made one coaster but it was my own fault (powered down Terapin while it was finalizing a disc). I use Verbatim CD-RW's and haven't had a problem. The Terapin does not require "for consumer use" CD-R's/RW's unless you are recording Audio CDs. For Video CD's any CD-R/RW media will do.

I'll probably eventually get a DVD-R, but for now the Terapin suits me fine.

--
fab

Don't even get me started. Why in the sweet name of all that is sacred to "our" format of choice would you want a VCD recorder?
The quality doesn't even come close to what you are used to on DVD. And that horrible micro-blocking, boy is that an annoying pain. If you can't afford an actual DVD recorder just wait until the prices drop. The clock is ticking....

I believe I already stated that I was considering a VCD Recorder because I hate the forwarding and rewinding that comes with VHS. I could buy a top of the line DVD Recorder and HDTV right now but I'm saving for a house first. HT isn't a priority compared with that. ;)

That's the kind of answer I was hoping for. Perhaps Pac-Rat has a lemon player?

Yes, a house is indeed a priority. I would hold off on your purchase anyway. DVD recorders are coming down and it'll
be worth the investment, enjoyment and quality in the confines
of your new home. Best of luck.

It's definitely possible, but I read a lot of complaints about overheating before I got mine. Lucky for me I had a friend smart enough to figure out what to do for the drilling and fan, and haven't had a problem since. So while it might not be a widespread issue, it is still a problem others have had.
I just wanted you to know one of the drawbacks of it. :)

Just as a sidenote, I've seen DVD-R drives for PCs down around $299. Might be more work then you'd like as compared to a standalone recorder, but I'll take DVD over VCD any day ;)

[Removed spam -X]

I just picked up a Panasonic E20 standalone dvd burner for $750 delievered. It was a little pricey. But, I tape a lot of shows and some of them I want to have in dvd quality. I have already used it to copy the Flash (tv show pilot) from the Laserdisc I own. And have recorded an episode of Enterprise off of my dish reciever. The quality is great. I am waiting for some cheaper dvd-r's that if they work. I will be recording some more. The only downside is that even the cheap dvd-r's are $2.49 delivered and can only be used once. But, they have already come down a lot and I can expect them to keep going down.
I am excited to be recording dvd's of my favorite shows and movies that won't be coming out on dvd for a long time. For example the movie "Hawk the Slayer" that I have on Laserdisc. No one even knows who owns the rights for this movie anymore. And my LD player might be on it's last legs. So I will make a dvd copy. And at the 2hr sp mode. I have noticed no difference in the quality of the picture.

Personally, I don't really see a VCD recorder as being practical. You can't even record any program beyond 74 or 80 minutes long, and swapping discs takes too much time (you would have to "format" a new disc before you can hit that record button). Unless you're happy cramping just 3 sitcom episodes per disc, wait for a DVD recorder.

Or use the trusted S-VHS/VHS recorder. You can still transfer the old recordings to a DVD recorder in the future.

Is there a reason you don't just go with a capture card and a CDRW drive? You can get the capture card for less than 100 dollars and the drive for less than 50 dollars and all the software you want for free. Will save you about 100 bucks over the standalone and be alot more upgradeable.

-K

Well, you can get the Pioneer DVR-A04 for less than $400 these days, and blank DVD-Rs have dropped to less than $2 apiece.

Is that a standalone player? If so, where can I buy it?

No it's a PC burner. The cheapest "quality" stand-alone recorder
retails for around $2,000 (Pioneer's). The Panasonic version lists for $1,000 but doesn't compare in quality. I've posted about the
Pioneer recorder on earlier threads.

Well those are the prices I was aware of for standalone DVD recorders, thus why I'm inquiring about VCD recorders. ;) I don't want to spend a thousand or more right now, just a few hundred. :)

I would listen to Kevlar and go the PC route. Most people already have CD-RW drives, just tack on a $100 capture card and you're set. Not to mention it'll be much more versatile and upgradable than a stand alone unit.

Highdef,
I am sure that the Pioneer might be a better unit. But, I have recorded on my e20 (sp mode) from a dish receiver, vcr & laserdisc. And I think the quality is very good. Better than anything I could get from vhs or vcd. Maybe, if I saw what the Pioneer could do. I would agree it records better. But, for what most people will use it for (home use) It is more than adequate and could be bought in the mid $700 price.

Agreed. I do use DVD-R professionally, therefore my quality standards are much higher than consumer requirements.

Locally the Philips DVD+RW recorder (model DVDR-985) is selling at full list price of $999.99 at The Good Guys. It's a nice looking unit and I almost bought one on impulse until I remembered to consider looking at mail order prices first.

It has Progressive Scan, component video inputs, DV (iLink) inputs from your camcorders with that feature, and a convenient front panel that can be removed to expose a bunch of hidden inputs so that if you put the unit in a rack, you can still access the unit from the front.

It also has the Faroudja DCDI video processing. Convenience features include giving you index picture screen of the DVD contents. So, if you don't already have a DVD player that has both progressive scan and Faroudja in it, you might simply want to pop for this one which happens to record....

I closed this thread in response to a request by the thread starter.

-stevevt