Video Asylum

Posted by budget minded (A) on November 05, 2005 at 14:09:25

i've been home taping TV shows for a very long time but it looks like VCRs and the blank tapes needed to use them are disappearing fast. i was considering buying a DVD recorder, but found out that you can't do "stop and start" recording to edit commercials out unless you get a ridiculously expensive unit with a hard drive. sorry, i'm not ever going to spend $400 or more on something that will break within 3 years. my onkyo DVD changer is about 5 years old, has been repaired once for $140 and is already acting up again.

ok... so regular DVD recorders are one pass only which totally sucks if you want to do any editing and ones with hard drives are way overpriced. not only that, but home DVD-Rs don't even allow you to do precision edits anyways, and it sounds like many of them really only place "skip tracks" in place of commercials which wastes disc space. the commercials are still there, you just skip past them.

then, i decided to look into PC DVD recorders and got nowhere quick. i have a W98se/300MHz/128MB/20GB/6GB pc. i KNOW that there USED TO BE DVD-Rs that would run on my system, but not now. unless you want to see me fly into a "beat bill gates and the entire PC industry with a tire iron" rant, DON'T say "just get a new PC" i have SERIOUS issues with constantly having to keep buying new gear that ISN'T BROKEN because the greedy bastids that run the industry all make sure everything becomes useless in just 3 years. i despise planned obsolescence.

with that out of the way, does anyone know where i can find older DVD-Rs that will still work on my PC? i saw one model that would work on a 98se/450MHz/64GB system which would seem comparable to mine as i have twice the memory if 2 thirds the speed, but a tech at compusa said that it would take 3 days to burn a disc on my pc. i don't believe that for a minute.

i don't need 50X DVD recording. i would be happy if someone knew where i could get a useable DVD-R for good old fashioned 1x backups. i'd also like to go the PC route to back my DVDs up too. i'm so sick and tired of having to sit through the previews on my "the incredibles" disc because it refuses to let me get to the menu. i want to just edit that noise out as well as reduce the risk of scratching my 200 DVDs.

i have SERIOUS issues with having to spend $500+ to do essentially the same thing that i can with an $80 VCR. if anyone knows where i can find a refurbed DVD R that will work on my PC, i'd be grateful. an "old school" editing program would be nice too.

thanks in advance if anyone knows how to stay retro and thumb one's nose at planned obsolescence. any responses based on "be a good little consumer and just spend spend spend and never stop spending... spending is good... keep up with the jonses" will be ignored. a straightforeward "it can't be done" is better.