Number 239 - April 2003

Buying a DVD Recorder
By Bob Eigines, Coastal Computer News, January 2003
Well, the prices are coming down, now under $300 and as low as $220, for a DVD recorder. The blank disks are now under $2.50 each in lots of ten or more. But beware, the great decision as to which format is still under debate, DVD-R or DVD+R! If you just wish to make videos either one should work in most DVD players made after the year 2000, but not all. Cheaper DVDR disks and players will not work.    Support out there is very weak to almost NONE! Much time is needed to be invested like 4 to 10 hours to make a 2 hour video DVD, of which several programs require you to sit in front of your computer.    Most of the software is overpriced and does not work without many problems and no support like "Video Studio 6" by Cyber. The best so far has been "MyDVD" by Sonic. Some of the suggestions listed below came from them.    The best input devices are: "USB Instant DVD" by ADS ($160), "Bungee DVD" by Pinnacle ($150), "DCS 100" ($170) and "DCS 200" by Dazzle ($230). They all come with software that have individual problems, and advertise "Fast, Easy & Fun", boy that is a huge JOKE! It's Slow, Hard, & Will drive you nuts!    If you can not provide all of the suggestions (really necessary evils) below then don't get involved. I became one of their guinea pigs and I am about to throw it all in the circular file and call it a loss.    My ASUS computer is an Intel P3 @ 866MHz, 256MB RAM @ 33MHz, 60GB Hard Drive @ 7200 rpm ATA100, ATI Radeon 32MB video card with the "USB Instant DVD" input device (I tried out the DAZZLE equipment, but it had big noise problems and they had NO support at all.) VIVASTAR (LF311) DVD-R recorder. I have tried two operating systems such as Win 98SE and Win ME and saw no difference, and went back to Win 98SE.    For Windows '98 XP users start off with these suggestions on getting ready to record a DVD:     Install at least 256 MB of RAM     Disable the Screen Saver     Disable the Turn off Hard Disks option    Disable the Hibernation option    Disable the Network Time Server (Win XP)    Disable Text to Speech (Win XP)	Disable any scheduled tasks (for example, virus scan)    Do not increase Virtual Memory beyond Windows' recommended setting    Close any other running applications    Do not copy any large files while capturing    Do not allow any remote activities, such as PC Anywhere or Timbuktu connections    Your hard drives are formatted to NTFS (which as no files size limitations Win XP)    You have at least 21 gigs available on a single drive    You have the latest drivers for the following: DVD Rom, burner, CD-ROM and burner.    Your hard drives have been defragmented.    In particular, while capturing video, do not use your PC for any other activity. Video capture requires all your PC's processing power, and any action such as inserting a disc or receiving e-mail may cause errors in the captured video files.    Your monitor resolution must be set to 1024x768 16 or 32 bit color    You are running ASPI driver 4.6. No higher, no lower. If you are unsure, you can go here to find out and/or download the appropriate driver: http://aspi.radified.com    You are not running you machine/session of a network/RAID configuration    Make sure you have the latest version DirectX (a must), WMP (a must):    If your "Input digital device" is on USE, then remove all other USE external equipment.    You may also find it beneficial to enable DMA for all your drives.    There are DVD-RAM and DVD+RAM which allow you to save up to 9.6GB of Data, but hard drives are much cheaper, like 20GB for $69.00 or lower. It is just not FAST and EASY as they have stated in their advertising!    Email Bob Elgines: elginesz@rraz.net    This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an International organization to which this user group belongs.
Number 239 - April 2003