This has question has frequently arisen on the forum so I thought to collect a few ideas together (many posted before) which others might like to qualify, add to, comment upon etc. Note that in the discussion below it is assumed the commercial DVD-R has a hard drive and recordings on that HD are edited and then burned on a DVD.

Before making any decision you need to be clear in your own mind of:

1. What you want to record

2. Why you want to record - time shift or archive to view again several times in the future

3. The quality standards you expect

4. Convenience of recording – how much time can you devote to it?

5. The budget

The case for a PVR
1. Highest possible audio & video quality
2. Simple to record and erase
The case against a PVR
1. Recordings are not portable
2. There are no audio-video inputs so only free to air TV can be recorded

The case for a commercial DVD-R
1. Old tapes, cable or satellite TV can be recorded at high video quality
2. DVDs are a relatively cheap medium to record
3. DVDs are a portable medium
4. The DVD-R will play as well as record so can be used for commercial DVDs as well as home recordings
The case against commercial DVD-Rs
1. The tuners incorporated are analog so an external STB is required
2. No digital audio inputs are incorporated so DD 5.1 cannot be recorded
3. For highest quality, only single layer at a little over 1 hour is possible

Note that the technology is changing rapidly, features are improving and prices are coming down so the above comments only apply in the present context.

Why not a computer DVD-R?
The case against DVD recording is weaker if anyone is prepared to do it on a computer.
Advantages
1. Digital audio is preserved
2. With dual layer burners now available, much longer high quality recordings can be made
3. The hard drive of the computer is used for editing etc
4. Very cost effective
Disadvantages
1. Some technological computer prowess is required
2. The recording must be ported from a PVR (the Topfield is popular for this as it has a USB port to connect to the computer) or recorded from a video card in the computer – this might be less convenient for some

In all cases, making DVD recordings to archive, either with a commercial DVD-R or on a computer can be time consuming. Whether this is a negative or not depends upon the individual. It takes a lot of work to edit out the commercials from a program recorded initially on hard drive. The result can be rewarding and very satisfying so this aspect of it becomes a great hobby for some. Others might reason that commercial DVDs are so relatively inexpensive it is not worth the effort. Some commercial DVD-Rs (e.g. the Pioneer 720H) have a very rapid copy feature which shortens the time of transferring a program from the hard drive to the DVD provided there is no difference in recording quality-time. E.g. a I hour program recorded on hard drive at maximum quality will speedily copy to DVD but if it is 90 minutes then it takes 90 minutes to burn the DVD.

So, to get back to the leading question, PVR or DVD-R? Unless you wish to make DVD recording a hobby and devote significant time to it to archive programs you wish to see many times, then there is little point in a DVD-R. Time shifting is just so easy on a PVR and video and audio quality is preserved. However I enjoy editing from hard drive to make DVDs and am building up a significant home library via a commercial Pioneer DVD-R. However this is not a new enterprise for me as I was archiving previously on s-VHS tape but DVDs are a much more convenient and better medium which yields higher video quality. And I still use s-VHS tape for time shifting most movies, but DVDs are without rival for other material.

In time, the negatives presently existing with commercial DVD-Rs will go although high definition video recordings are another challenge around the corner. Prices will drop and features will increase but it is akin to waiting for the next great computer feature. You could wait forever as it is a never ending technological march forward.

Hope this helps.

John

Handy comments John. For me it basically came down to usability. I've a few friends with combo DVD-HardDrive machines and they find its extremely rare that they use the DVD side of things after a bit - just too fiddly.

If you are the type of person that keeps recordings for years and watches them repeatedly then DVD is it.

But if you tend to watch what you tape, and delete it within a few months then the simplicity of having everything on one box is a great benefit.

Good Luck

Peter Gillespie

personally its the function of having a fully intergrated entertainment system which drives me to my decsion.
eg musc/video and pictures all on a single box.
The DVD side is purely a backup device for my own music or pictures or video rather than copying/recording TV...

I agree. I think people find the idea of making their own DVDs seductive. Sort of "Why not buy one that records as well as plays". I've talked a couple of people out of this into PVRs because that meets their needs.

And, like anything new with many options to choose, it does take awhile to get used to operating a DVD-R. The manuals are usually unhelpful until you dig deeply & decypher the instructions. But I must hand it to Pioneer with their 720H, the on screen menus etc are very easy to follow. I took familiarisation with the unit slowly and it paid off. Trying to take in all the sophisticated niceties too quickly can be confusing and is unecessary for basic recording. In particular the timer is the simplest I've yet encountered on any recorder.

I'm waking up to the advantages a high definition recorder will offer us late this year or next year. It will give us much more playing time at the best quality SD. It had not occurred to me before that any SD commercial DVD playing over 2 hours must have the video quality compromised to fit it all onto the one disc - no wonder the video quality of some commercial operatic DVDs are not great. So this will be the main appeal to me rather than being able to record in high definition. Done well SD can be impressive IMO.

John

At $300 a piece just buy both

I record about 6 programs a week on DVD, and delete them when i have watched them, usually the next day.

I certainly do not find them fiddly. When programs follow each other, i just use DVD-RAM so that i can start watching the first one recorded.

I have 5 DVD-RAM Double Sided = almost 50GB of Data, which i find very easy going, and definately not cumbersome.

Well done Tassie Devil.

For me its just to much hassle sending files to a PC (I don't own a laptop or have computer near my gear anyway) to make a DVD and the time involved or buying a DVD burner to copy annaloge files, so I went for a twin tuner PVR with 80gb HD, easy to use with great digital pictures, I copy watch and delete, if I really like a movie I'll buy it but 90% of what I do have in DVD's are Music artists and concerts as they are used more often than not and I don't get tired of them like a movie story line.

My bobs worth...

Hi Foxtail
Your describe how I feel exactly. Although moderately computer literate, I just cannot be bothered with the hassle of one for burning video DVDs. A DVD-R fills my need for the music oriented items I like to archive.

And I'm finding the 1 hour "restriction" for top quality video not as much a bother as first imagined. In fact it can be more bother to find a smaller segment on a 3 hour tape than it is to have to spread some items over more than one disc.

But doing a DVD "professionally" with titles (which I'm not bothering with) and chapter markings (used a bit) can be VERY time consuming. If the commercial DVD is good enough quality, it can be a better option to buy that.

It all depends how much time & effort you have to spare :-)

John

Commercial pre-recorded DVD's are double layer, capable of 8.5GB (4 hours Video) - hence the layer-change blip when playing them.

Not all. Large majority but apparently some go on the cheap side.

Ah, but I can see an obvious deterioration in 2 hours per side vs 1 hour on the DVD-R.

So, as I said above, I'm looking forward to a high def DVD player to be able to record SD at max quality. It is obvious to me (projected onto a big screen) that many commercial SD DVDs are sub standard.

John

Yess Tassie Devil,
I just could not be bothered mucking around with a DVD disk or PC/Mac (I have 3 of those). I just want to press a button menu and away I go. Of course with the new STB's the picture is very nice too thank you (and on my huge 2.2m Pj screen mind blowing).

Can you connect the digitial output from a digital STB to a commercial DVD-R and record a digital signal without having to go through an analog phase?

I thought you had to record the analog output from the DSTB. If this is true it sucks.

Not that obvious a deterioration on DVD-R