Missing your favorite TV shows due to work or other commitments, and not having time to catch up on on-demand services is a common issue. If you record a TV program, you can enjoy your favorite shows at your convenience, as many times as you like. This article provides methods for recording TV programs and an easy way to burn recorded TV shows to DVDs. If you’re interested, be sure to check it out.
Benefits and Methods of Recording TV Programs: TV, External HDD, Recorders, and Computers
Do you need to burn from an external HDD to a DVD? Before discussing how to burn from an external HDD to a DVD, let’s first explore methods for recording TV programs.
In today’s busy society, we’ve all experienced the frustration of not being able to watch our favorite shows at their broadcast times. This has led to the widespread practice of recording TV programs for various reasons, such as saving them for convenient viewing at a later time, skipping commercials, or fast-forwarding through content.
Before you can burn from an external HDD to a DVD, you need to record the TV program. There are four main methods for recording TV programs: recording with an external HDD, using the built-in recording feature of a television, using a Blu-ray recorder, or recording on a computer.
While Blu-ray recorders offer advanced recording capabilities, they tend to be more expensive compared to other methods. Some models even come with multiple 4K tuners, allowing you to record multiple programs simultaneously.
On the other hand, there are televisions with built-in recording capabilities, although they are not as common. Using such a TV simplifies the process, as you can record shows with just one device. However, many people living alone may not own a television.
For those without a television, another option is to record programs on a computer using platforms like YouTube, where domestic and international programs are often available. If you intend to burn from an external HDD to a DVD, make sure you’re well-prepared.
External HDDs are cost-effective and offer large storage capacities in a compact form. They come in various models to cater to different needs, but be aware that not all TVs support external HDDs, so ensure compatibility before making a purchase.
Benefits of Burning Recorded TV Programs to DVD
Benefits of Burning from an External HDD to DVD:
Viewing on Different TVs, Even After Upgrades
Typically, TV programs recorded on an external HDD can only be viewed on the connected television due to copyright protection measures. Attempting to connect the external HDD to other devices may result in the deletion of all recorded data.
To address this issue, a technology called SeeQVault was developed, allowing playback on other SeeQVault-compatible devices. However, it’s still less convenient compared to affordable external HDDs. Therefore, while it may require a bit of effort, burning to DVD is the optimal choice.
Higher Durability
Generally, the lifespan of a BD recorder averages around 5 to 7 years, which is not exceptionally long. External HDDs are said to have a lifespan of approximately 10,000 hours when calculated based on operating time.
Moreover, if they are physically stressed, subjected to impacts like falls, or damaged in any way, their lifespan can become even shorter. To mitigate such risks, it might be more prudent to write the videos to DVD discs for data preservation lasting over a decade.
Widespread Compatibility
Unlike external HDDs that can only be viewed on connected devices, DVDs can be played on a wide range of terminals, making them more accessible and portable for on-the-go enjoyment. Additionally, when your external HDD or BD recorder’s storage becomes full and you need to clear space, burning to DVD offers a convenient method for long-term storage.
Can Recorded TV Programs from Each Method be Dubbed to BD or DVD?
Generally, TV programs recorded with a BD recorder or a computer can be dubbed to DVD. Content recorded on an external HDD is viewable only on the connected TV, and if you wish to dub it to BD or DVD, you will require a BD recorder.
The easiest method is to connect the BD recorder and the computer via LAN (network) and save the content on a BD (Blu-ray Disc).
Both TV programs recorded with a BD recorder and on a computer can be written to BD or DVD. This way, you can enjoy your programs on any player, regardless of the device. Content recorded on a computer can be dubbed to DVD through DVD burning software, while content recorded with a BD recorder can be easily dubbed to DVD through the recorder itself, making this an advisable approach.
Top 4 Easy-to-Use DVD Dubbing Software
If you want to burn recorded videos from your computer to a DVD, you can do it easily using DVD burning software. Searching for DVD burning software online may present you with a variety of options, and you might find it overwhelming. In the following section, we’ll introduce some popular DVD burning software recommended by top search results.
DVDFab DVD Creator
DVDFab DVD Creator is our top recommendation for its ability to convert various video formats into DVD-Video format. Developed by a well-established company with a 20-year history, DVDFab has been widely loved since its release in 2003.
DVDFab DVD Creator allows you to create DVD sources from a wide range of video formats, making it compatible with various playback environments. Thanks to the utilization of multi-core processing and technologies like Intel Quick Sync and CUDA, it offers super-fast and high-quality DVD creation.
Despite its powerful features, DVDFab DVD Creator is user-friendly, and by following the instructions, you can easily burn any video to a DVD. Here’s how to use DVDFab DVD Creator to burn TV programs recorded on your computer to DVD or BD:
- Download and install the latest version of DVDFab DVD Creator.
- Launch the software and click “Create” in the home screen’s option bar. You can switch between different modes by clicking the “Create Mode” switcher on the left side. Choose “DVD Creator” as your mode and load your source video. Click the “+” button in the center to load your files, or simply drag and drop them here.
- After loading your source, you can configure detailed settings and menu options. Adjust video quality, aspect ratio, and set up your menu according to your preferences. DVDFab DVD Creator also allows you to combine multiple videos with different formats into one DVD.
- Select your output destination, then click “Start” to begin the burning process. You can monitor the progress of the task during the operation.
DVD Memory
DVD Memory is a video editing software developed by the Chinese company Wondershare. It supports writing to DVD from various video formats, including AVI, MP4, and M4V.
In addition to videos, it allows you to create photo slideshows and offers video editing features, such as adjusting video colors, cutting videos, and modifying brightness and saturation.
WinX DVD Author
WinX DVD Author is a free authoring software developed by Digiarty. It allows you to convert videos shot with cameras or smartphones into DVD-Video format and burn them to DVD discs for long-term storage.
One drawback is that it provides a limited number of DVD menu templates, making it challenging to customize menus to match the content. Also, it doesn’t support drag-and-drop functionality, so loading source videos can be somewhat cumbersome.
WinX DVD Author is completely free and offers various functionalities, including downloading from YouTube.
DVDStyler
DVDStyler is an application developed by Alex Thuring from Germany, which allows you to create DVDs freely. It runs on different platforms like Windows, macOS, and Linux and supports a wide range of video formats, including AVI, MOV, MP4, and MPEG. It’s a professional-grade video editing software with diverse functions. Moreover, it provides multilingual documentation, making it user-friendly even for non-English speakers.
One drawback is that it doesn’t offer advanced menu editing and settings. Additionally, while the software itself supports Japanese, entering Japanese characters in the menu may result in character display issues.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve explored methods to record TV programs and move them to BD or DVD for long-term enjoyment. To preserve your favorite videos without deleting them, always consider dubbing from an external HDD to DVD or moving recorded data to BD or DVD.
While the process of dubbing recorded content to BD or DVD can be slightly challenging, learning how to burn from an external HDD to DVD can make it easy even for beginners. Use this article as a reference to find the method that suits you best and create lasting memories on DVDs.
