anyone have either emerson dvd recorder from Walmart and do you like it?

Hey mnbvcx201 do you finalize your dvd after recording it ? or like budman says your video RCA jack could be connected wrong.

 

Oh yea I forgot disconnect your s video cord if you have one connected because its always the dominant video jack which can cause a black recording picture.

 

I did finalize the disk.
Do I need to connect the rca cords in the back?
If so, where do they go from/to?
Thanks,
Tom

 

We will see if anyone else knows the proper vcr to dvd recorder connections in here first. If you don't get a reply I will pull my entertainment center back out and let you no. It's been a long time since I set up that system.

 

I finally figured it out.
Here is how it works.
1. Put DVD in, let it read disk, then set speed with rec speed button near top.
2. Put tape in, rewind if needed.
3. Switch select to DVD, then hit DUB button.
4. Recording stops when disk runs out or stop is hit.

Works good with the plain DVD-R's I bought off ebay.
Thanks,
Tom

 

Good job Tom, sorry i'm just a lazy azz sometimes.

 

I have the Emerson DVD Recorder from Wal mart, and my problems with it are the disc compatibility issue. It does not work with Imation DVD-R discs. The menus are kind of difficult to navigate. It uses on screen Icons which make no sense cause they look like cartoon characters. Biggest Problem is that all discs created by the machine are Marked as Copyrighted, even discs of my home movies ported in from Video camera. Because they are marked copyrighted, they cannot be copied in my computer for distribution to other family members. I can spend 99.00 for some software that does, this supposedly, but that's kind of breaking the bank after buying this unit for that purpose.

 

Kinda messed up with Emerson, should have went with Panasonic but we all live and learn.

 

ok, i have a ton of questions and need answers immediatly.. i am very close to buying the
--Emerson DVD Recorder/VCR Combo EWR20V4.
probably within the next 2 to 3 hours, but need these questions answered first everyones help is greatly appreciated.
1. which brand blank DVDs are best to buy?
2. do i buy DVD-R or DVD-RW?
3. i see DVD+R or DVD+RW, how do they differ from the ones mentioned in question two? which ones are better?
4. can i record to DVD from a television station?
5. can i record to DVD from a VHS?
6. are they any problems?
7. can they easily be fixed?
8. on a scale of 1 to 5 what would you give this unit?
9. how is the quality of the burned DVDs?
10. is setup easy?
11. how is the on screen display?
12. i do not understand the speed ie 1x, 2x, 8x or whatever.. what does that have to do with anything? and what do i have to watch out for when speed variation is involved.
13. is there only a certain speed i can record at?

guys a clear response to these questions would greatly help me. thank you all in advance. if need be i can also be reached at machrking@aol.com and AIM: machrking

 

1. which brand blank DVDs are best to buy? Plain DVD-R's off ebay worked for me.
2. do i buy DVD-R or DVD-RW? either
3. i see DVD+R or DVD+RW, how do they differ from the ones mentioned in question two? which ones are better? I have heard + format is more compatible
4. can i record to DVD from a television station? Yes
5. can i record to DVD from a VHS? Yes, unless it's copy protected
6. are they any problems? PIA to learn, lacking in features, and copyrights DVD's
7. can they easily be fixed? dunno
8. on a scale of 1 to 5 what would you give this unit? 2.5
9. how is the quality of the burned DVDs? Good in 1hr mode, quality goes down with ea rec speed
10. is setup easy? OK, manual sucks
11. how is the on screen display? OK, manual sucks
12. i do not understand the speed ie 1x, 2x, 8x or whatever.. what does that have to do with anything? and what do i have to watch out for when speed variation is involved. quality goes down with ea rec speed
13. is there only a certain speed i can record at? quality goes down with ea rec speed

IMHO, Spend another $100 buy a Panasonic

 

great response.. i can get it for $180 brand new off ebay, i figure you can't go wrong there

 

Hi,
this is a good recorder for the price. Stick with a DVD-R that is not over a 4x dvd. A 8x dvd will not work. I use BeAll, Maxell, and TDK in my recorder. It only burns at 1x , so that is why the 8x disc's will not work. The picture looks great at 2hr and good at 4hr, but after that it looks bad. DVD-R and DVD-RW, Do you want to reuse the DVD'S ? if yes than a dvd-rw is the best, but if you are going to record once on the disc than use dvd-r.
The only thing I don't like about the recorder is that it does not have slow-motion and you can't see the time remaining on the DVD when playing. For the price it is a good recorder, but the cheap price is because it has been stripped of features that the 500 to 600 dollar recorders have.

Budman28

 

PLease Help! I am getting this unit as a gift for myself and have 2 questions. 1) Aside from price, what are the positive qualities/features this unit has to offer? 2) When recording from vcr to dvd can you pause the unit to take out commercials or is there another way that this can be done? Thank you!!!

 

Yea Emerson has a great history of quality.

 

Hi gsr852,
Yes, you can pause the dvd while recording. I have just the recorder and not the combo.
qualities/features , are the same as any other recorder, but you can't edit like some higher priced recorders.

 

Thanks budman28 but since I am new to this your answer raised another question. When you say you can't edit as you would on higher end units what are you referring to?

 

Hi gsr852,
You got me with that one. This is the only recorder I have owned, so I am not sure. I have been told that you can't edit like higher brands, I guess they mean, picture menu and taking out scene's that you don't want before you finalize the disc, joining scene's etc... I just put the title of the movie on the menu. I have been told that editing with dvd-rw is no where near the higher priced brands. I think someone posted something about this at the start of this thread. What are you wanting to use it for? If you are going to just have Movies and home video than I don't think you will need the edit feature's that this one does not have. Let me know if this helped.

Budman28

P.S. Check out the 5th post from dvdmate

 

Thanks again Budman28. I appreciate the help. I guess when I get the unit this week I will see for myself. It says in all the info I have read about it that you can edit so, I guess I will see just what exactly can be done. I have to say it is strange that reading the comments on this site that some people say it is great for the money in one breath yet say it is not the greatest overall, very confusing.I put one more question out there for anyone who might know. In the past I have burned video files downloaded from the net onto a cd-r and played them on my home dvd player. There are some video files though that the copying software says won't be able to be played on a home unit.Are there any freeware programs that can convert any video file type into a format that can be played on the home dvd player??? Thanks

 

What is a video stabilizer,what will it do with protect or copyrighed dvds or vcr tapes, and whats a good one to use?

"Route #2, record your copyguarded vhs in vcr1 to a blank vhs tape in vcr2. Make sure you have a video stabilizer connected to these vcrs. Take your newly recorded tape out and put it in your vcr to record onto dvd, and woola the copy protection is gone and you have a new dvd. I know this is a lot of work and hassle but it's the only way I know but it always worked for me."

 

www.stardevelopment.com is a good source for video stabizers/copy guard eliminators.