Sending files to VCR from AIW 9700 Pro

[Shadow Mason]

How does one record a movie file (mpeg, avi, whatever) to a VCR using
the All-in-wonder 9700 Pro?

All of the documentation describes how to display the contents of the
computer screen on a TV monitor. This is an incredibly roundabout way
to go about this and it has proven to be extremely flaky.

I was expecting an interface where I simply "played" the file I want to
record and the video goes streaming out the exit port.

Jim at Shadow Masons

 

[Laurence Wilmer]

How does one record a movie file (mpeg, avi, whatever) to a VCR using
the All-in-wonder 9700 Pro?

All of the documentation describes how to display the contents of the
computer screen on a TV monitor. This is an incredibly roundabout way
to go about this and it has proven to be extremely flaky.

I was expecting an interface where I simply "played" the file I want to
record and the video goes streaming out the exit port.

Jim at Shadow Masons

Which is exactly what happens.
But you need the TV (presumably connected to the VCR) to see what it is you
are recording, don't you? So the concentration is on getting what is
displayed on the TV correct, so that you are recording exactly what you want
eg if it doesn't look full-screen on the TV when you record, it won't be
full-screen when you go to play it back.

I agree that the quality of the final result is nowhere as good as I had
hoped, but:-
I experimented with copying an SVCD and got excellent quality, so I am sure
that the poor quality is the inevitable result of analogue to digital
conversion (when the signal is input to the card and stored on disk), and
digital to analogue conversion again (outputting from disk through the card
to VCR).

In any field (music, photo etc) where you shove an original through a
conversion process and then back again, you get increasing degradation. No?

Laurence

 

[J.Clarke]

Which is exactly what happens.
But you need the TV (presumably connected to the VCR) to see what it
is you are recording, don't you? So the concentration is on getting
what is displayed on the TV correct, so that you are recording exactly
what you want eg if it doesn't look full-screen on the TV when you
record, it won't be full-screen when you go to play it back.

I agree that the quality of the final result is nowhere as good as I
had hoped, but:-
I experimented with copying an SVCD and got excellent quality, so I am
sure that the poor quality is the inevitable result of analogue to
digital conversion (when the signal is input to the card and stored on
disk), and digital to analogue conversion again (outputting from disk
through the card to VCR).

In any field (music, photo etc) where you shove an original through a
conversion process and then back again, you get increasing
degradation. No?

The pros call it "generation loss" and endeavor to minimize the number
of generations used in a production. Two generations on top of however
many were used in the original production knocks the quality way down.