Rewriteable DVD Usage

[ptalar]

I have a Sony RDR-VX500 Combo DVD Recorder and VHS Recorder and I occasionally record TV Shows on the DVD using the VCR Plus option. My question is, do rewriteable DVD's automatically erase over existing material like a VHS tape or do I have to go and manually erase previous material. I tried using a rewriteable DVD and it copied the show fine and said I had 50% left. When I recorded again on it it used the remaining 50%. Shouldn't the Rewriteable DVD be automatically erased and written over? I am not really sure how RW DVD's work for everyday recording of TV programs.

Please advise.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[vidgamer]

I have the same recorder. It does not automatically erase.

Think of a VHS tape when you get to the end -- it doesn't rewind and start erasing the first show automatically to put more on! For VHS, you have to rewind it to the point that you want to record over and hit stop. For the DVD recorder, you have to specify that a show should be erased. A different step, but once you get used to it, it's pretty nice.

There is a quirk or two involved, though, at least when I use DVD+RW. Let's say that you want to delete a show that you've watched, but it's number 2 out of three. Great, you think, you'll gain an hour to tape something else! Nope. Not until you delete what comes after it (show #3) will it actually make all of the space available. This was not clear to me from looking in the manual; maybe it's in there somewhere.

If you're done with the DVD and want to start over blank, you don't even have to reformat it entirely. There's an option to delete all titles, which is faster. Probably faster than you rewinding the VHS tape.

So, I think this is a lot better than VHS, and it's probably easier, once you get past the differences. This isn't quite as nice as a PVR, but given enough discs, it may be good enough for the few shows I'm interested in.

The best thing about this change (from VHS to DVD+RW) is how cheap the discs are. So, get a stack, and if you don't have time to watch a program, just put that disc aside... My only problem is that now I've created a stack of several for a show, but I lost track of their order! I think it also puts the date of the recording in the menu, so I should be able to figure it out when/if I have the patience to sit down with them....

I have a Sony RDR-VX500 Combo DVD Recorder and VHS Recorder and I occasionally record TV Shows on the DVD using the VCR Plus option. My question is, do rewriteable DVD's automatically erase over existing material like a VHS tape or do I have to go and manually erase previous material. I tried using a rewriteable DVD and it copied the show fine and said I had 50% left. When I recorded again on it it used the remaining 50%. Shouldn't the Rewriteable DVD be automatically erased and written over? I am not really sure how RW DVD's work for everyday recording of TV programs.

Please advise.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[ptalar]

Vidgamer,

Thanks for your response. I thought I was stupid or something. So there is a twist to DVD RW compared to VHS Tape. I learned how to erase the title from the title list. It is very fast. It is good that you pointed out that if I leave title 1 and 3 of three titles the deck does not seek out the open area. You have to delete all of them or at least the last one to create more space for recording. I wish the use of DVD RW's were clearly spelled out. Instructions on how these actually work are very elusive. The instructions in the owners manual are not that clear and basic.

Phil

 

[vidgamer]

Yeah, I like the recorder, but it is taking a while to learn some of the finer points. You might call them quirks.

Like, when you record, you can hit pause... unless you do a manually-timed record like I usually do. By manually, I mean, let's say a program comes on. You hit record once, and it starts recording. Hit record again, and it says "30" on the display, to record for 30 minutes. Hit it again, and it records an hour, etc. If you try to hit pause now, it won't work! Why? It doesn't make sense to me. I have not tried pausing during a timed record, but since I'm generally not present, at least it doesn't matter if it doesn't.

The only thing I don't like about the recorder is that it seems to be a tad pricy compared to much of the competition. It seems to have a lot of features, but so do many of the players these days.