The JVC digital VHS recorder has some drawbacks...................
First, there is no encoder inside. It records either analog signals in analog format, just like a VHS recorder, or it records digital signals received directly from digital satellite. In other words, it takes the MPEG2 encoded digital video as it is received from the satellite and puts it directly on the tape. In playback, the digital signal from the tape looks exactly like the digital signal from the satellite (possibly minus some formatting information), and it is decoded through an MPEG2 decoder. Not necessarily a CUBE decoder.
Therefore, you cannot record or encode analog video into a digital format.
And what about the search or browse feature -- very boring on tape. Compare searching for a song on cassette tape to searching for a song on a CD. No contest.
The recorder is significant in that it takes video which has been transmitted digitally and stores it digitally, without any decompression/compression. Therefore, the recorded video is EXACTLY the same as the transmitted video -- a perfect copy, no degradation.
Good idea for now, but recordable DVD will blow it away later. |
