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Could CDRW Disks Replace Videotapes?
NewtonsLaw asks: "I'm in the process of building a TiVo-like PC that uses off-the-shelf technology to implement video timeshift, MPEG recording, MP3 recording, etc along with Net-radio functionality. Over the past two months I've effectively replaced VHS video tapes with CDRW disks. Once a program has been captured on the PC in (S)VCD MPEG format, I can either watch it by playing back the recorded file or dump it onto a CDRW and watch it on my DVD player, before blanking the disk and returning it to the 'empty' pile. What I've noticed is that most of the CDRWs I've tried only last about 30-40 rewrites before they start showing significant data dropouts (almost always at the start of a recording). Since disks in (S)VCD format don't carry the same level of error-checking/correction as disks written in regular data format, such dropouts are more noticeable than they would otherwise be (of course the up-side is that you get to store 805MB on a 700MB CDR/RW without overburn).
What I want to know is -- how many rewrites do most people expect from their CDRW media? I seem to recall seeing a figure of a thousand rewrite cycles being touted by some manufacturers. Is this realistic? Thirty rewrites makes a $2.50 RW disk an economic medium for this purpose but it seems a hell of a long way short of 1,000."
"I've tried CDRW disks from several manufacturers and they're being used in a new Sony CDRW drive which seems to function just fine. I've also encountered a slightly shorter lifetime for CDRW media when used for (S)VCD disks and written by a slightly older HP CDR/RW drive.
And before anyone asks 'Why don't you just play directly from the HD?', I should point out that I have to share the TV gear in this house with the rest of the family so it's just easier to burn their stuff to disk and let them use the DVD player than to fight over access to the TiVo-clone."
Q: Could CDRW Disks Replace Videotapes?
A:Over the past two months I've effectively replaced VHS video tapes with CDRW disks.
Sounds like "Yes!" to me!
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Because it's hard to play a hard drive in a DVD player.
storing video on punch cards. This would be great for editing as I could just pull out a stack of cards and insert it into another stack.
Has anyone else done this?
Answering your question would be a violation of the DMCA. Sorry, ask Jack and Hillary.
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
you mean people actually /use/ CDRW discs?
You should take a look at the GNU version of TiVo called GnuVo. It's pretty nice except it won't let you watch any shows about capitalism.
I have to use a super-mega-ultra-fine tipped Sharpie.
most of the CDRWs I've tried only last about 30-40 rewrites before they start showing significant data dropouts (almost always at the start of a recording)
Sounds like you've reproduced the VHS experience accurately.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
You have a really backwards way of saying "well, it depends how much video you wanna store"
I guess I was a little overzealous with my first post, in an attempt to get the 'FP'.
Why, are posts sorted by zealousness, from greatest to least?
lets see, 24fps, 600 lines per frame,
thats 14400 punch cards per second.
My guess is that it'd catch fire after about
a minute... from the friction.
Also, on a related note, are you some kind of sick tree-killer?????
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
'Trash in Video out' or something?
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.