Recording from DVR to DVD (Lappy)?

Does your DVR have a firewire port on it? I know some do. If not, you will need some type of TV Tuner/capture device or VIVO port on the GPU.

I started to write up a big response but then I realized I need to know two things before I can help you.

1. Is it correct that you mean you want to take a show which you have recorded on your Dish Network DVR and use your laptop to put the show on DVD?

2. Do you own a fairly recent camcorder? (Weird question but I'll explain why when you answer)

Anyways if you can answer those two questions then I'll know how to respond to you and help you.

The reason I asked if you had a camcorder is that most of them will convert analog signals to digital. But anyways, let's talk about the steps you need to do to get your show from your DVR to a DVD. Here are the basic steps:

1. You'll need to convert the analog signal to a digital signal so it can be captured to your hard drive. Use RCA jacks (the white, yellow, and red plugs that are used to get the signal from your DVR to your TV) and hook them from the DVR ouput to an analog-to-digital converter. The converter will take the analog signal, convert it, and output it through a firewire cable that you will plug into your laptop. For an example of an analog-to-digital converter, see this link. http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/prod...apture/vidusb/ (If you have access to a recent camcorder, it can probably do this function.)

2. You'll need video capture software to capture the digital signal from the converter. If you buy a converter, it will probably come with its own software. The best capture software I've found (and a very popular one) is Scenalyzer. http://scenalyzer.com/

3. You'll need video editing software. Once you have the video captured to your hard drive, you'll want the ability to edit it.

4. You'll need DVD authoring software. Once you have your video captured to a file on your hard drive and edited, you'll need to convert it to a DVD compliant file by using a DVD authoring program.

I know it seems like a lot, but its not that hard if you get good tools. I've just given you a very basic outline of what is needed. If it looks like something you want to do, I would suggest that you go to www.videohelp.com and check out the forums, guides, and especially the tools section. The tools section is a listing of lots and lots of software that you can use, some of it free and some of it very cheap (and some of it *very* expensive, lol.)

There are ways to do it without converting to analog first. That's why I asked about the connectors on the machine. It is possible you can keep it digital. If you are not sure about the connectors, what is the model number of the DVR?

That model doesn't appear to have a firewire port on it. It does have a USB port, but I doubt it is capabe of transfering the data. It is more likely to be used as an input device. You will get the clearest reproduction using the S-video out for recapturing video, and the optical audio out for recapturing audio. The optical audio out will keep it in digital format. Capturing from the S-Video will be analog from the source, but the highest quality available. Obviously, you will need the proper capture device for you notebook also. There are some good external devices available.