Considering a DVD Recorder or should I just get a Blu-Ray recorder?

D

DHart

Member
I've been planning to convert a lot of old VHS and Hi8 tapes to DVD. And I also happen to be making a lot of HD movies with my 5DII, GF1, and ZS3... movies that will have to be stored on disc at some point.

So... does it make sense to buy a DVD recorder for these needs or would it be smarter to buy a Blu-Ray recorder?

Will Blu-Ray recorders also record (and play) DVDs? (If so, this would likely sway me toward the Blu-Ray option.)

Do Blu-Ray discs offer better long term storage reliability than DVDs do?

Is storage cost per GB lower for DVD? (i think so, if my calculations are right). Looks to me that storage cost per GB is quite a bit lower with 1TB hard disk drives (going for about $90 for a 1TB drive today) than either DVD or Blu-Ray, but I know that data can go bad on hard disk drives during long term storage if the drives are not "refreshed" periodically... so that makes HDDs look a little less ideal, even if their cost per GB is lowest.

So, bottom line... better to buy a Blu-Ray recorder or a DVD recorder?
 
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Buy a Blu-Ray recorder. DVD Recorder is a waste at this point.

Yes BluRay recorders will burn DVD and CDs as well. And readers will read DVDs and CDs just fine.

BluRay does not offer better long term storage at this point. I use it anyway.

My 25GB BluRay disks are about $2.70 each. Not sure how that shakes out versus DVDs and their cost. But frankly, there are so few HD projects I do that would fit on a DVD, it's nearly immaterial. I'd rather not spread my projects over a bunch of disks if I don't have to.
 
Thank you for that, Perrone. I agree, a 4.4GB disc doesn't really hold all THAT much.

I guess the cost differences aren't all that great after all... here's what I come up with for a cost comparison:

1TB Hard Drive (1000 GB) is about $90 = 9¢ per GB

4.4GB DVD is about 50¢ = 11.4¢ per GB

25GB Blu-Ray (in 25 disc OWC pack) is $3.60 = 14.4¢ per GB

And I understand that Sony is expecting their standard Blu-Ray discs to hold about 34GB soon.
 
I'm finding that Blu-Ray recorders are not so readily available here in the US. I wonder when the flood gates will open and we'll have a variety of reasonably priced options to choose from. What's keeping the USA retail market from having a good supply of Blu-Ray recorders?
 
Are you referring to a blu ray burner that works with a computer to author blu ray discs?

I see plenty for sale here in the US for as low as $180.00 or so.
 
David S. said:
Are you referring to a blu ray burner that works with a computer to author blu ray discs?

I see plenty for sale here in the US for as low as $180.00 or so.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I bought mine over a year and a half ago. They're in every computer electronics store around, amazon, ebay, B&H, etc. Can't imagine what the difficulty would be.
 
Oh... no difficulty finding a blu-ray burner to install in my MacPro, but I was thinking along the lines of a blu-ray recorder/player in a stand alone case to be able to use on it's own without a computer. Reason being, I'd like to connect a VCR player to it and copy VHS tapes to DVD/Blu-Ray discs without having to run all of that through my computer.

I could use a Blu-Ray burner in my MacPro for burning my movie projects as well.
 
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