How Do I Record DVR to DVD? Connecting and Recording from your DVR to your DVD Home Player

How Do I Record DVR to DVD? Connecting and Recording from your DVR to your DVD Home Player
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How Do I Record DVR to DVD?

There are a couple of different ways to record the video/audio content from your DVR onto DVD. One is to transfer the content onto your PC and subsequently burn the file format onto a blank DVD; this is simple to do as many DVR’s offer a USB connection which goes straight into a USB port on your PC. Another way is to use your home DVD-recorder and connect it to your DVR, to then record the output as it is playing.

In this article we will look at the second option. Follow the steps and you will have your favorite program recorded in a matter of minutes. If you wish to learn about how to capture a stream onto your PC please refer to the following article:

How to Connect a DVR to a PC

Recording DVR to DVD

After having recorded your show on your DVR, you can then make the necessary connections in order to get the stream playing on your DVD-recorder and hence record it onto a blank DVD. We will use the easier method involving 2 SCART-plugs to connect DVR, DVD and TV in chain, so you can see the picture:

  1. Connect the first SCART from your DVR to your DVD player.

  2. Connect the second SCART from your DVD to your TV. The TV usually has multiple SCART-plug inputs (AV1, AV2 etc..) so make sure you know which one you’ve chosen. You can then switch to the appropriate AV channel on your TV to get a picture.

  1. In this manner you cannot see your TV/cable/satellite signal since the appropriate cable will be missing (unless you’ve plugged it in appropriately.) To get a signal: Plug your TV-signal cable into the INPUT of your DVD recorder (it may be a lead for cable, satellite or just aerial depending). Plug an RF cable from your DVD OUTPUT into your TV INPUT.

  2. Switch everything on, and turn the TV to your DVD-R channel.

  3. You may need to switch your source to SCART INPUT on your DVD-R, to see the picture and subsequently record.

  4. Insert a blank disc and change your recording-time settings appropriately to what you want to record. For example, a 30 minute show, a 1:00 hour feature, Gone With The Wind, etc.

  5. Check everything is OK again, and the picture is visible.

  1. Press Record on your DVD recorder and press Play on your DVD-R.

  2. You are off! It is recording in real-time. Don’t forget to press stop once it’s finished. In the case of ‘Gone With The Wind’ it may be sometime.

  3. Finalise your disc and re-watch whatever you have recorded at your leisure, as many times as you want.

And there you have it! There is also a connection method involving S-video outputs but the SCART chain is probably the easiest (although it may take longer).

In any case, the easiest way to record your DVR program onto blank DVD-R is by using the computer. Refer to the article above (in the very first heading) for information on how this is done.