Converting MiniDV "LP" (1.5hr tapes) to DVD+-R ????

Good day, all.

What is the current state-of-the-art to:
Take a 1.5hr LP mode MiniDV tape that was recorded on a Sony
camcorder and copy/convert it to a DVD+R or DVD-R having the maximum
quality?

I have found that getting from a "1" hour MiniDV (SP) mode is quite
easy - zero problems using a PC or set-top DVR to create DVD-R and DVD+R.
Most software & set-top DVR boxes do this without a problem.

My problem is the 1.5 hour LP MiniDV mode - which is the only mode that
I want to shoot in. (Most folks are unaware that the QUALITY of a SP (1 hr)
and a LP (1.5 hr) is 100% the "same" - the bits are identical. In the
old analog world, the LP mode was of less quality because the tape moved
more slowly.
In the digital world, tape speed does not matter. Slow digital tape speed
could cause more drop-outs,
and be more difficult to read - but the dots and dashes are the same, so the
quality is the same.)

Assuming that my Sony MiniDV camcorders all record and play back the 1.5 hr
LP
mode the same as if I were filming in the SP 1hr mode - naturally I want to
shoot
for 1.5hrs before having to change to a new tape. Incidentally, all of my
D8 Sony
camcorders will shoot and replay at the LP 1.5hr mode as well as the later
MiniDV
camcorders, you just get a slightly less quality product.


So here is the QUESTION

What specific hardware and/or software do I need to copy a 1.5hr LP mode
MiniDV or
1.5hr LP mode Digital-8 tape "DIRECTLY" onto inexpensive DVD-R or DVD+R
media for replay
on most DVD player boxes connected to a TV? Another way to ask the question
is: Given the current technology, how do you copy a 1.5hr MiniDV tape onto
a DVD-+R
in REAL TIME and get the MAXIMUM quality possible? What specific hardware
and/or software
make & models do I need to purchase to do the above?

THANKS,
Gene

 

"Gene" wrote ...

Most people who record in LP mode come here crying
and regretting the decision. Good luck. You will need it.
I have significant doubts that your experiement will go
as well as you think.

You need a DVD recorder with firewire input.
I got an email from Geeks today selling them for ~$60

If you record in real-time to DVD in the "normal" mode
(2 hours), there really isn't any range of "quality". It is what
it is.

I am quite happy with the several LiteOn DVD recorders I
have bought at Costco. <$100

 

Thanks, Richard.

I have a Liteon 5005 with all the mods, a new Sony GX330, and a
Panasonic ES20. The ES20 has what is known as "Flexible Recording"
which lets me select 1.5 hours, the other two are the standard
1, 2 hr, etc. mode. The ES20 hangs (freezes) far too often, and
the other two create DVDs that only use a portion of the DVD-+R.
Unless you completely fill up the DVD, you are not getting the
best possible quality.

Here is my ideal set-up, a dedicated PC that:
- has two quality DVD burners
- software that will simultaneously burn two DVD-R disc
in real-time as it reads the MiniDV tape via firewire.
- chapters generated automatically ~ every 5 or 6 minutes
- the software will write the ~ 95 minutes of tape onto the two
DVD-Rs, filling each to within 95%+ of DVD capacity.
- the software will finalize both DVDs, open the DVD burner
doors, and rewind the MiniDV at EOT.

It sounds so simple. Just insert two blank DVD-Rs, place in a
MiniDV tape, and start a program (or batch file) and come back
in 1.5 hours to a finished product with maximum quality and chapters.
Unfortunately, I can't find a specific program (or programs) that will do
this without operator intervention.

And while I'm wishing: I REALLY just want a camcorder that will
write an hour of DV quality to a "LARGE" DVD-R disc - not those junky
little 30 minute ones. Imaging, writing an hour or more to super inexpensive
media, and never having to go to a PC or set-top box

gene