New user.... Recording to DVD

anotherbob

New Member
I've read the very comprehensive section on what can and cannot be done with a HDR-Fox T2, but I would just like to confirm that what I have concluded is correct. I currently use a Topfield TF 5800 and I can record from this to a Toshiba DVD recorder. (The aged Toppy is being replaced having become a little flaky of late.)
As I understand it I will not be able to record HD recordings from the HDR-Fox T2 to DVD, but I will be able to record SD recordings. Is that right?
I ordered my Humax from Humax Direct at what seems a very reasonable £129 +P&P.
 
As I understand it I will not be able to record HD recordings from the HDR-Fox T2 to DVD, but I will be able to record SD recordings. Is that right?
You can record HD material to a DVD recorder but as this is done via SCART the resolution of the recordings will not be HD.
 
I currently use a Topfield TF 5800 and I can record from this to a Toshiba DVD recorder...
As I understand it I will not be able to record HD recordings from the HDR-Fox T2 to DVD, but I will be able to record SD recordings. Is that right?
What you have been reading about file encryption etc applies to the direct extraction of files by copying to USB (or other means to access the internal HDD), it is irrelevant to simply recording the video output from the SCART or RCA connections.

The cleanest way to create a DVD from Freeview content (recorded by HDR-FOX) is to extract the recording to a PC and then using a DVD authoring package (eg Windows Movie Maker) to write the DVD directly - all the video remains digital, rather than conversion to analogue for SCART output, then being digitised again by the DVD recorder. The latter is however simple and straightforward.

A standard DVD is not capable of HiDef video, even if you did follow the process to unlock a HiDef recording and transfer it to a PC, and then figure out how to import it into a DVD authoring package. For an easy life it is much better to start with StDef material.

When you use your analogue DVD recorder, you will find that the result is not even as good as StDef Freeview, regardless of whether your recording was StDef or HiDef.
 
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Many thanks for your responses.
It seems I will be able to continue to record to my Toshiba :)
I don't think I will see much difference between HD and SD since our living room TV is a 22" Sony Bravia, and I'm told that the benefits of HD aren't apparent on small sets like this.
Another question if I may.....
After I connect the Humax to my network can it record from iPlayer and You Tube?
 
Though the Humax will not record iPlayer or YouTube without the Custom Firmware.
If you are using the DVD to record the output from the SCART socket then it should record anything going out of that socket.
Given that the socket is intended for attachment to a TV it follows that iPlayer and YouTube stuff would have to go that way ... For iPlayer and YouTube this would be "live" play (though in this case aren't they recorded on Internet,)
Or have I missed something?
 
Once again, thanks for your responses.
The option to record iPlayer and YouTube via SCART output sounds OK.
I need to do some more reading on custom firmware.
I use GetIplayer on my PC for audio only at the moment.
 
The risk to recording iPlayer/YouTube via the video feed is that if the Internet stream is interrupted or slow, the output video freezes until the incoming data catches up (known as "buffering"). To ensure you get a clean recording, pause the play immediately at the start so that the data has a chance to get ahead. Come back later (depending how fast your Internet connection is) and then start recording and unpause iPlayer/YouTube.

With custom firmware the download buffer is accessible to save off as a standard recording, once the download is complete (however long or short it took).

Quick Guide to Custom Firmware (click)
 
Many thanks for your responses.
It seems I will be able to continue to record to my Toshiba :)
I don't think I will see much difference between HD and SD since our living room TV is a 22" Sony Bravia, and I'm told that the benefits of HD aren't apparent on small sets like this.
Another question if I may.....
After I connect the Humax to my network can it record from iPlayer and You Tube?

My parents have a 24" Sony 1920 x 1080 TV in their bedroom, and you can clearly see the benefit of genuine HD content on it. I dispute many of these claims of "x resoultion isn't beneficial on a y sized screen", for a start this fails to mention the viewing distance. I watch a 32" 1920 x 1080 Sony, and I'm sure 4K resolution would look better at that size.
 
I dispute many of these claims of "x resoultion isn't beneficial on a y sized screen", for a start this fails to mention the viewing distance.
That's why many smartphones with little screens have full HD displays and premium tablets have had display resolutions in excess of that for a number of years.
 
I suppose so, though I don't know how. Via USB I suppose? The Mac and Humax are on the same network.
I don't know about Mac specifically, but I assume (like on a Windows PC) that once you have a video file accessible to the computer you will be able to import it into a video editor application and from there export to DVD. That is the critical stage, because creating a DVD that will play in any DVD player means setting it up properly, and the video editor application will know how to do that (on a PC: Windows Movie Maker will do). The trick is to ensure that the source file is in a format the video editor understands. What follows is for StDef, and that is a lot easier than HiDef.

The simple approach (and it doesn't need CF) is to copy the source material to USB, then walk it to the PC/Mac. The copying to USB will decrypt the recording so that it is usable, but the recording will be a .TS file which the video editor may baulk at. Try it and see. If this is something you are only going to do very occasionally, the USB transport method is as good as any and you know where you are with it. In any case, first time round it will be the least-fuss way to check whether your video editor will take the .TS, and you know it will have been decrypted. If the .TS won't import, try the simple trick of changing the file name from .TS to .MPG.

If it's still no dice, you can try changing the video format to .MPG properly using the WebIF*. If you are not already automatically decrypting your recordings (see Things Every... section 5), you will need to ensure your DLNA server is turned on (Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Setting >> Content Share = On), then find your recording in the WebIF Media Browser and check whether it shows the green "Dec" icon against the recording. If not, wait for the green circle DLNA icon to appear (if not already), then select "Decrypt" from the OPT+ menu (click the OPT+ button). Icons are shown on the wiki HERE (click).

When the recording has been decrypted (or if it already is - "Dec" icon), click the OPT+ button and select "Extract to MPG" to make a .MPG copy. You can transfer this file to your computer (the same way) and try importing it into your video editor - if it still won't there's nothing more we can do and you will just have to find a better video editor.

If this is something you want to do frequently, it should be simple enough to transfer recording files to your computer across the network, and there are several ways to do this. The simplest is to download via your web browser, using the "Download" option in the OPT+ menu. If the file is not already decrypted, it will be decrypted in the download process (but again, Content Share must be turned on).

Alternatively, if you are familiar with FTP, you can transfer the file by FTP if you have the Humax FTP server turned on (Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Setting >> FTP Server = On), or the CF betaftpd package installed (in this case the Humax FTP server must be turned off). The recording must have been decrypted first.

Alternatively, you can make the HDR-FOX file system appear as a network drive accessible to your computer. For Windows compatible network file sharing, install the CF samba package (this might also work with Mac). For other operating systems (particularly UNIX-based operating systems such as Linux and Mac) install the CF nfs-utils package. With network file sharing installed, the HDR-FOX should appear as a network storage device in your file manager, and you can navigate it and copy files around as usual. Again, the recording must have been decrypted first.

See also Index (click) >> Miscellaneous >> Video File Support & Manipulation

* WebIF: Web Interface - the browser-based control panel for the Custom Firmware (CF). For other definitions and explanations see the Glossary (click).

HTH
 
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