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Sony Launches DVD-Burning Appliance
what_the_frell writes "News.com.com has a story about Sony's latest DVD Burner that can be connected directly to your VCR or Camcorder to directly record or back up your recoded home movies, TV shows, etc. It can also be hooked up to a PC via a USB 2.0 connection as well. The article reports that the device effectively removes the PC from the equation, giving users an easier way to make their own DVDs. No word yet if it will record straight from your television, or from your DVD Player to circumvent copy-protection. *wink*" Sony also has its own press release on the gadget.
I hit read more and /. told me "nothing to see here, please move along." which by coincidence was exactly what I was about to say. I've had a pvr / dvd burner for at least half a year now. This isn't new stuff, except that it can be hooked up to your computer. And then the article goes on to say that they are eliminating the computer from the personal media loop? Then why do they have connections for it? Is it too much to expect rational reporting, at least?
I submitted this story last night, and it didn't get posted.
Sony has an investment in the DVD standard being used, I wouldn't worry.
(Also don't forget, this is also the company that brought you the BetaMax decision)
There's no way that Sony of all people would release a device that ignores macro vision, or even the broadcast flag.
That said, If it connects to a VCR, then it probably uses RCA/RF/SVIDEO inputs, which you could clearly use to record from any source .
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autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Careful...
Just because it's a neat idea doesn't mean they put quality into its components and/or construction. I've shyed away from buying things from Sony after reading many reviews of their spiraling (downward) quality. Different people in charge with different priorities. Akio, you are missed.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
...but is there any reason that someone who already owns a PC-capable burner would want to spend another $300 for this?
In fact, it seems to me that this product is only for people who don't own ANY kind of burner, not even a non-PC set-top DVR:
if you already own a set-top DVR, and you have $300 to burn, wouldn't you rather spend it on a more capable PC-based burner (e.g., faster, multi-format, etc.)?
What about the IEEE-1394 interface they were so proud of on their cameras? I have one of those i-Link and USB DCR-TRV cameras with a lot of v8/hi8 tapes to burn into some optical media. Why do I have to be forced to use an analog connector between two digital devices? Really expected to see Sony better integrating their products.
I have a DVR-500, and it really, really sucks. It, like all Sony products, stopped working directly after its warranty expired, and now only burns at 1x, sometimes.
It makes loud clicking noises when starting and may or may not work on some media.
The 510 model likewise, sucks. It does the same things, and, as it got older (a friend of mine has one), stopped running at top speed as well.
Do yourself a favor: NEVER BUY SONY. Does it look cool? Yes. Does it work well, at least immediately? Yes. Is it substandard crap? OH Yes. Will it outlive a puppy? Never.
Sending friends and family home movies on a DVD is going to be great for the folks who like that sort of thing. As long as these are ``real DVDs'', not some crippled substitute, they'll be great.
For the slightly longer term ... there are garage bands today, and maybe someday there will be garage movie producers. Another ten years of Moore's law will make something like Toy Story possible on a few desktop PCs. I'm really looking forward to that.
See what I've been reading.
better read this before you start recommending Apex products. A lot of people hate this company.
An alternative solution might be the adapdtec viedeoh hardware mpegII encoder with built in TV tuner. cost about 100 sterling add in the cost of a seperate burner then the price is competetive.
I can't quite see the advantage of this device as a stand alone unit.
Pirating videotapes maybe, simplicity?
I just can't see the point if you can't edit without using a PC why would you want to buy this device?
getting raw camcorder footage direct to dvd without editing is just going to mean ripping it again from the dvd to edit out all the worst shots.
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It does DVD+R and DVD+RW, both single and double layer. It's pretty well known that the + format is less compatible with players than the - format.
So the disks it burns probably have a 50/50 chance of even being playable in my 3rd generation (5 years old) Panasonic DVD Player.
Sure, they'll play on my Mac or PC, but sitting in a computer chair to watch 90-120 minutes of video is far less preferable than kicking it in my easy chair and stuffing a disk into the player in the entertainment center.
If they make a -R version I might consider one.