andym172

Our Sky+ system is now constantly nearing full capacity and so I think it's time we purchased a DVD recorder.

There is the option to increase the size of the internal HD in the Sky+ box, but I've been told there are some issues with doing this.

I'd like for the recorder to be DVD-R as this should allow me to play () the DVD's on my Powerbook.

So, does anybody have any recommendations? Don't mind spending up to £3-400

SC008Y_MAD

iTrader: (5)

I would say the philips DVD Recorder. Philips are the best!

Philips DVD recorder/ HDD

Philips DVD Recorder/ HDD
PHILIPS
HDRW720

douglasb

www.empiredirect.co.uk are advertising a Philips DVD recorder at £185 in today's Telegraph. No idea if it's any good or not, but it does seem to be about half the price that these things sold for about a year ago.

pslewis

Panasonic with DVD-RAM

Forget the Philips, they use the DVD+R format thats going the way of Betamax!

Pete

GC8

With the greatest of respect; that is bollocks.

Simon

pslewis

With the utmost respect I think DVD+R is Bollox Too!

I nearly bought the Philips but reliability issues and the fact that they were using the DVD+R format stopped me ...... do a search on the Philips and you will find that there are reliability issues

Panasonic are a cut above and use the winning DVD-R format, have Time-Slip and DVD-RAM

Pete

Mini_Man

I have a Sony RDR-GX3 Dual format DVD recorder, I haven't had a single problem with it. Cost me in the region of £300.

djuk

I don't think Ive ever agreed with anything pslewis has said on this forum... until now

GC8

I bought one of the first Philips and I havent had any problems though they did have a reliability issue; my comment was with regard to the DVD+ format which is way superior Pete (DVD-RAM is superior in terms of longevity only). I could back this up with links but I realise that youre only here for a little troll until Matron comes around ;-)

gsm1

From what I've been told DVD+R is the more reliable format. You might hear of many people using DVD-R disks but in the re-writeable format I'm pretty sure DVD+RW disks are the most popular.

djuk

DVD+R on paper does have some advantages over DVD-R in terms of flexibility but the thing for me is compatability. DVD-R tends to be playable in a lot more machines than DVD+R so really if your recording is for home use only, a DVD+RW machine might be fine, however if you want to be able to take those recordings you have made and show them to a mate who has a different dvd player, there is a chance it won't play.

David

jd

I did a load of reading on this when i bought my 'philips' dvd recorder from richer sounds. Read any website and they will say that dvd+r/w is the safest buy for the long term. The only advantage of dvd-r/w is that it is supported by the dvd forum who have just announced plans for greater capacity etc.
Anyway, do the research and make your own mind up, i'll still be using my +r/w recorder in 5 years regardless.

Oh, 230 multi region from www.richersounds.co.uk

mrklaw

If its just for dumping off sky+, then basic R or RW is fine. You don't need RAM or fancy time slip, as thats what your SKY+ is for.

So simply go for the cheapest one with RGB in and a good quality encoder.

If you are going to copy the DVDs to your powerbooks hard drive, then look at RW, as you can use it as a shuttle between systems. Otherwise, look for a good R recorder as the discs are very cheap now.

paulr

How does it rate on normal dvd playback?

Madjay2

pslewis is 100% right, philips are as reliabley as chocolate fireguards to be honest although the newer machines are alot better built. Panasonic DMR E55 or the Pioneer DV420 with 80gig harddrive would be the ones i'd personally go for myself

MJW

Panasonic rule the roost with DVD recorders, but don't discount swapping the hard drive in your Sky+ box as its a relatively simple process. There's some links in this thread which you'll find useful.

Mini_Man

Very well, i'm no expert but the picture quality is sharp, dark details are not lost, colours are great. I've had it almost a year and in that time i've recorded loads of dics and not a single one was a coaster.

I thought about getting the Panasonic that everyone has been taking about but i wanted to have the dual format compability which was important to me.

I thought about a Phillips DVD recorder (as it was cheap) but i had read too many bad stories about recorders not recording, catching fire, breaking discs, etc...

andym172

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I'll take a trip down to Richer Sounds tomorrow.

Any other recommendations would be gratefully received

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=366375 for a cheap try

Iain Young

Have a look on http://www.avforums.com. There are extensive reviews of recorders, (which I did a lot of research into before buying a recorder a couple of weeks ago). I was going to get the Panasonic, but the specs of the one I bought just blew it away.

I ended up buying a Toshiba RD-XS32SB (multi-region) for about £380 from rgb direct. Looking at the reviews etc, it is generally agreed that for the money it is the best machine out there. Supports timeslip recording, dvd+r, dvd-r, dvd-rw, dvd-ram, mp3 cds, loads of connectivity options (including firewire for direct transfer from video cameras to dvd), record to the hdd whilst playing back a previously made recording, progressive scan support for plasma tvs etc. It'll even change the channel on your sky box for you if you want (via a sky remote emulator thingy).

I think the picture quality is better than the panasonic recorder as well (although thats just my personal opinion). I wouldn't touch the Phillips. I've seen the picture quality of those things and wasn't impressed at all...

There's a good review thread here....

http://www.avforums.com/frame.html?h...ghlight=rdxs32

Iain

Steve Perriam

various home cinema mags have some good info / reviews / recommendations...

they also tend to do a little write up / comparison etc of the various formats....

latest home cinema choice recommends the following :

Panasonic DMR E-85
Toshiba RD-XS32
Phillips DVDR-80

within their top 5. These are all around £500 RRP bracket. Although online you can probably find a few good offers.....

they also rate the :

Panasonice DMR-E55 & E60

Certainly from what i've read in mags the past few months seems to indicate that Panasonic are the brand to beat atm ?

TelBoy

Similarly, i have the GX-7, which is a GX-3 with bells and whistles, and also mine is the "chipped" version which gives it all-region capability.

There isn't a format that the GX-7 can't cope with (afaik). Playback of pre-recorded dvds is superb, it really is. But i have to say, i don't think the recording quality (on LP and EP speeds at least) is much to write home about, and in my opinion you do need to use either of those recording speeds to get decent capacity on the disk. I'd actually say my video in LP format is sharper than dvd, but of course without the flexibility, ease of access and so on. I haven't, however, compared my recorded discs with the quality of any other recorder.

The GX-3 and GX-7 also don't have the hard disk and accompanying time-slip functions, but i've never considered that necessary, especially considering how easy it is to see what's recorded on a disc. Personal choice there i guess.

What DOES irk me though, and it seems common to all dvd players, is the time it takes between turning the thing on and actually being able to play a disc! What's all that about?! If CD had the same delays, i'd go nuts! I just can't believe they can't build them with instant playback. Of course, that'll be the "all new" development which they'll sell to us in a few years' time to pursuade us to renew our players/recorders...

paulr

i was going to ask about that.I have a Sony "normal" dvd player which takes forever to start up.Is this just a thing with Sony or is it prevalent with other brands too?

paulr

Telboy/Mini-man......do your Sony's play copied discs ie dvd-r.I have a load that i copy myself for own use?

TelBoy

Yep, mine certainly does. As i say, on the GX-7 at least, there isn't a format it can't handle, or at least not one i've encountered.

On the start-up thing, most people seem to moan about the time it takes, but they could all be Sony owners for all i know, so i'm not really sure if it's Sony specific, sorry!

gsm1

Most stuff these days takes ages to start because they have to 'boot-up' like mini computers.
I'm using a Philips DVDR80 at the moment but did have an Ellion900A (Korean make). The Ellion was a lot faster and you could stop/start record without the delay that the Philips has. Other than that the Philps is a great machine, just a pity the remote control was designed by David Blunkett.

paulr

my 5 yr old Pioneer dvd player starts up straight away,i use it as a cd source,it would be a pain if it didnt.
maybe its a sony characteristic.

The problem i have with a lot of makes is they are just so ugly,doesnt anyone put any effort into design?

TelBoy

Agreed - most are utterly uninspirational.

I'd go so far as to call the Sony pair ugly.

Mini_Man

Yes my Sony can handle copied dvd-r discs no problem. You can throw most discs at it and it will play them.

As for the looks of the Sony, i quite like it, goes nicely with my Sony Home Cinema system but each to their own i guess

Chins

I have had problems with my Philips. Hit and miss if the record will play back. Keeps coming up with disk errors on recordable disks. Fine with prerecorded stuff

Any ideas?