How do I extract videos from my Panasonic PVR?

February 25, 2006 7:36 AM

How can I get files off my Panasonic DMR-EH60D PVR? The DVDs it burns are video as opposed to data, and my eMac won't recognise them.

Ideally I'd just like the raw files straight off it somehow. The closest I could find to a product page is this.

posted by samstarling to technology (6 comments total)

What format discs are you using? If it's DVD-RAM, your mac won't read the discs. DVD-R or DVD+R, or their rewritable equivalents, should be fine.
posted by ascullion at 8:52 AM on February 25, 2006

I couldn't find the exact model DVR, but this DMR-EH50S can burn to DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+R. Presumably, the defect is with your Emac. What kind of disks are you burning things too? Try a different disk type, like DVD+R rather then DVD-R. DVD-R is more "video-y" from what I understand.
posted by delmoi at 12:21 PM on February 25, 2006

I dunno the emac, but the new intel iMac supposedly can read DVD+R and DVD-R. What kind of disk are you burning?
posted by delmoi at 12:26 PM on February 25, 2006

I was burning onto a Sony 4.7GB DVD-R - from the answers so far I'm guessing there isn't a way to 'hack' easy access to the files without using DVD's or suchlike... Which would be nice!
posted by samstarling at 1:46 PM on February 25, 2006

You should have absolutely no problem playing the video or copying the data off the discs with any mac DVD drive. If you do.. it's possibly because the DVD drive is an old one that doesn't recognise 'burnt' DVDs. Can you try putting the discs into a different computer?
posted by ascullion at 2:28 PM on February 25, 2006

I'm going with the assumption that it's a standard DVD.

if you want to extract the video to something useful, for say, iMovie...MPEG Streamclip is what you're looking for. It'll extract the Video MPEG-2 file back into soemthign you can edit.

And if you can, return the camera and get one that captures on a MiniDV tape.
posted by filmgeek at 2:30 PM on February 25, 2006