Portable DVR

Does anyone have any experience with a portable DVR for recording on a motorcycle?

[luvtolean]

Seems like the jitter from vibration on the bike would make for some lousy recordings.

I am looking at something solid state like this...

http://www.stackinc.com/dvrharsh.html

[luvtolean]

If you have the bucks for that Stack unit, I'm sure it works real well. toy that one.

I am not sure how much it costs...you are starting to scare me....

[luvtolean]

I wouldn't say scare, but "prepare". That fella isn't going to be cheap by a long shot.

I also thought about this option which is only $375

http://www.chasecam.com/recorders/pdr.htm

FWIW:
Most DVRs also precompress video. To edit you must uncompress it then recompress it for use. This results in some loss of quality unless the compressor is lossless (most use lossy MPEG2) While camcorder are uncompressed or lossless in most cases.

What about MPEG4?

Originally Posted by smoothrideronli

What about MPEG4?

I believe it is lossy in all implementations. Most video compression is lossy as that allows the greatest compression factor.

Given that, your best method for editing is to always work with original stock, compressed or not, or non-original stock saved in a lossless format. The initial and the post compression passes won't hurt you too much but all the generations in between will bring on the pain.

Originally Posted by esoteric

Given that, your best method for editing is to always work with original stock, compressed or not, or non-original stock saved in a lossless format. The initial and the post compression passes won't hurt you too much but all the generations in between will bring on the pain.

In English that means what...should I not get a portable DVR? What is the best method for recording?

Originally Posted by smoothrideronli

In English that means what...should I not get a portable DVR? What is the best method for recording?

When video exists in digital media it has to be encoded in some way like everything else. In any video there is lots of information coming into the video recording device quickly so in the interest of conserving space on the media and being able to work with low-bandwidth storage devices in real-time that can't handle that massive wave of data, the video data is often (but not always) compressed. Various methods of compression can be used for this and some of them are lossless (what comes out is the same as what goes in) and some are lossy (less information comes out than went in). Lossy compression algorithms generally offer a tradeoff in accuracy versus space savings (or speed) that the user can futz with.

Unless you're purchasing a system specifically designed to capture video and store it in a lossless format (something uber expensive and professional) it's safe to assume that the original material stored by the recording device is compressed in a lossy format and approximates what came through the lens. It's also safe to assume that any video editing you do will be using lossy compression whenever you extract a clip or save a composition. Just like taking photos of photos or making copies of negatives, unless a lossless format is used at the output stage, some aspect of the video will be lost during the operation.

Given that knowledge, it's in the interest of higher quality video to do any editing and composition of the material with either 1- original material straight from the camera, or 2- sections of that original material extracted and saved in a lossless format as the intermediate stage.

Sorry LTL you were wrong...it is scared or more like petrified...the price is $6400 just for the DVR...no camera no other equipment.

[luvtolean]

That's Stack for you man.

That unit just had the look of a piece of gear for a ride to space. You pay for that.

Ok thanks Esoteric. I think for what I need it for a regular DVR or maybe a mini DV tape will work well enough. I will put some videos online when I get the new DVR. Is it unreasonable to expect something close to DVD quality from these methods?

Originally Posted by luvtolean

That's Stack for you man.

That unit just had the look of a piece of gear for a ride to space. You pay for that.

Looks like it will be the chasecam unit for $375...

Originally Posted by smoothrideronli

Ok thanks Esoteric. I think for what I need it for a regular DVR or maybe a mini DV tape will work well enough. I will put some videos online when I get the new DVR. Is it unreasonable to expect something close to DVD quality from these methods?

No. Most cams have resolution more like VCR quality (check the number of lines)

The one I have has 580 TVL. I am not sure how that compares to a VCR.

I think a VCR is 480 and DVD 720 so in between.