DVD burner and software advice needed

viqi11 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-25-2004, 07:45 PM

I am jumping into creating DVDs for my home videos. I plan to convert my old videos from VHS tapes as well as new videos that I shoot with my miniDV camcoder Sony TRV-17. I plan to download videos from my camcoder using firewire.
I need some info on DVD burners.
Has anyone used the HP DVD Movie Writer dc4000? Or does anyone know if its the best out there? It connects to the PC via USB2.0. It can directly also capture VHS videos directly.
I am not sure if this way is better than connecting your VCR to camcoder and camcoder to the PC via firewire?
Does the USB2.0 connectivity loose quality while transfering VHS tape to DV?
I am also considering the following drives, but not sure which one to choose.
TDK Indi DVD 840G
Plextor PX-708A
Sony DRU-510A

I am leaning towards HP DC4000, unless there some disadvantages that someone can point out.
Do Adobe Premier and Pinnacle Studio and all thos expensive softwares come with encoding AVI files to MPEG1 and MPEG2 for burning VCD, SVCD and DVDs?

Thanks.

Marc Peters · #2 (**permalink**) 05-25-2004, 08:01 PM

The TDK Indi DVD 840G and the Plextor PX-708A are essentially just rebranded versions of the same unit - and both have recieved pretty solid reviews. They can also write 4x DVD+Rs at 8x. Nice.

In fact all 3 of the units you mention are reviewed and compared in one article: http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/TDK_Ind...tml?tag=subnav Even better.

Remember that all of these are INTERNAL drives. The HP DVD Movie Writer dc4000? Never heard of it! However, you're paying a premium of $100 for it being external and the analogue capture.

viqi11 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-25-2004, 08:31 PM

The HP DVD Movie Writer dc4000 has analogue capture, the advantage in my case would be that since I am in USA my miniDV camcoder is NTSC system. Some of my VHS tapes are in PAL system. I do have a PAL VCR, but since the camcoder is NTSC, it might not transfer the video (I have not tried it yet). With the HP drive the analogue capture will transfer the PAL video and convert it to NTSC AVI (I am assuming all this since I am not sure if it will actually do it). There is not enough info out there about the drive to answer all these questions.
One other advantage of being external for me is that I can carry it with me and use it with my laptop.
Thanks a lot for your reply.

The other question I had was that in your guides you mention that to convert AVI files to MPEG1/2 use the software TMPGenc, do the expensive video editing softwares like Adobe Premier and Pinnacle Studio have some kind of encoder to convert avi to mpeg?

Marc Peters · #4 (**permalink**) 05-25-2004, 08:34 PM

Originally Posted by viqi11

The other question I had was that in your guides you mention that to convert AVI files to MPEG1/2 use the software TMPGenc, do the expensive video editing softwares like Adobe Premier and Pinnacle Studio have some kind of encoder to convert avi to mpeg?

Yes, but I like TMPGenc