DVR for recording Broadcasts

[boonedoggle]

Hey there! I have a little problem I've run into and maybe I can get some help before I purchase a DVR.

I have a customer who is using, and has been using VHS to tape legal broadcasts for several years. They now want to make the jump to recording these broadcasts digitally with the purpose of MPEGing individual clips within the broadcast for email or CD-R burning. I have not been able to find a DVR that SPECIFICALLY states that this can be done, or if it's even possible without having some type of DVR with a computer interface. I'm hoping someone out there has had experience or knows of a specific product that I can use for this. Any info or inputs will be useful. THANKS!

Boonedoggle

[GeneralLeoFF]

Theres all kinds of options realy (none realy as easy as VHS is/was)

The closest thing to replacing VHS in the digital relm is a DVD recorder (standalone). There is TiVo and all those other PVR things but to me there realy not all that praticle when theres DVD recorders on the market. You will need to rip the video off the TiVo in some way shape or form if you want to keep the video anyway so ya might as well use a DVD recorder. Panasonic makes a few nice ones.

Anway thats probly the best way to go as far as just upgrading from VHS to digital.

As for grabing segments for sending in email and such they basicly have 2 main options. Either hook the DVD Recorder (or any DVD player for that mater) to a capture card on there PC (digital or analog card) or put the DVD in the PC DVD drive and rip it and edit it from there like you would any other DVD.

[boonedoggle]

So, do you think it would be possible to get a DVR with a Firewire, input it to a PC with an editing program, such as Premiere, and digitize it that way?

[GeneralLeoFF]

Yes that would work fine. However I am not aware of any DVR devices that allow you to do that. The only DVR device I ever messed with is a TiVo and you have to hack those to get the video on a PC without converting it to analog and then to digital again. Theres some quality loss but not realy anything to lose sleep over.

Prolly someone else here has more experance with DVR devices then I have though.

I guess then my recomendation on using a DVD recorder insted would only stand if they acctualy care to archive all the stuff they record. If this is just for recording stuff there going to watch once and then delete then a DVR is much cheaper

Capturing clips for email is pretty much the same whatever way they go.