ChrisHicks

hi, I'm going to buy a dvd recorder soon(haven't set a price yet but won't be extremely high) and was looking to see what brand others have and their experiences with them. have you run into any problems? make a bunch of coasters while trying to record? anything you can give would be great. thanks.

another thing...I don't think it will matter if it records on DVD+ or - since I will be the only one viewing the discs.

bboisvert

I've owned a Panasonic DMR-E60 for about 6 months (?) or so... recording onto Ritek DVD-R and have been extremely happy with both the picture quality and ease-of-use.

meritocracy

I own a Panny E-80 HDD unit. No problems and love the HDD's storage capacity, ease of use and the ability to High Speed Burn lossless copies from it. I typically burn to either Ritek's or Beall's. No coaster issues with either. Stay away from cheap media and you should be fine.

rkndkn

I've owned a Pioneer 420 for about a month. (Exclusive to Costco, but similar to the 520 except lacking the DV-in. )

While some people have stated that it's very sensitive to the quality of VHS tapes you may be transferring, I have had absolutely no trouble there.

The hard drive and editing capabilities are great. I've been successfully using Ritek and TDK DVD-Rs. So far have only used one Ritek DVD-RW, which is working fine. I had a couple of odd instances when I could not add more to a partially recorded disc in Video Mode -- it may have been a disc issue, however.

The other slight issue I have had is that on a couple of higher-numbered stations, I detect an off-and-on light herringbone pattern through the recorder tuner. I switched the cable straight to the TV, and I didn't see it. A straight wall feed to the recorder still shows it, however. However, my standard set-up has the incoming cable split 3 ways and is quite complicated, so that while it appears to originate in the 420 tuner, I can't be 100% certain. I only have basic cable, and the overall quality is lacking, anyway.

I am presently waiting to confirm the features of the Toshiba XS-53 (expected in October). The Japanese release has a feature I absolutely would love -- a dual tuner which would let you record 2 channels at the same time. I'm waiting for any confirmation of this feature on the U.S. model. The U.S. model will have a 160 GB harddrive (while the Japanese one has 320). I would seriously consider picking up the XS-53 as my second recorder if the features are good.

Sonicflood

I've got a Panny E-80H & LOVE it! Could not imagine life without it.

I burn only Ritek & Verbatim. I've had mine since February and have only had 3 coasters. This, I attribute to faulty discs. I format my HD approximately once every three months or so to keep things running smoothly.

I use mine with DirecTV like a TIVO and have also used it to transfer all my old 8mm family videos and all of my VHS (that are OOP and not available on DVD). Probably burned 300 or so DVD-R's. The unit seems to improve the PQ of whatever you transfer over which is a plus.

Another nice feature is it's ability to use the passthrough to convert composite & S-video inputs to component output. This has been handy. I use an Audio Authority 1154A component/digital audio AutoSelector for all my sources. This allows me to have only one component cable going to the projector for all sources & only use one digital input on my surround receiver.

Back to the Panny E80H

The only thing I wish it had is:

A: higher capacity HD
B: the ability to control my DirecTV receiver (I currently set both the Panny & DirecTV receiver to record)
C: Firewire input., so I could connect my PC to it.

I'd (personally) never consider one without a hard drive! This has been VERY useful for editing.

Good luck in your search. You'll be elated once you get one.

Sonic

kenbuzz

I'll second the on the Pioneer 420. I bought the same unit at Costco last month and it's worked like a champ. The HDD is plenty big (80 G) and the editing capabilities are top-notch. There are a few user interface issues I'd like to tweak, particularly the method of entering text labels for DVD titles/chapters, but the overall flexibility and power in what you get far outweighs the occasional inconvenient function.

Here's the Costco link: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=&topnav=&cat=


I've used Office Depot-branded DVD-Rs from jump and haven't made a single coaster yet. I'm about 20-for-20 to-date. I believe the OD discs are Riteks but cannot confirm easily since I don't own any other DVD-writing drives.

My *only* complaint about the 420 is that it doesn't appear to copy chapter marks to the DVD unless you burn in High Speed Copy mode, and most of the things I want to burn are too long for that mode. When I burn in either Optimized mode or in one of the "speed" modes (EP/LP/SP/MN), the only chapter marks I can get are every 10 or 15 minutes (depending on a menu setting). Of course, I may just be doing it wrong -- I've only had it for a month -- but if there's a way to copy chapter marks in OTHER than High Speed mode, I don't know how.

[I have one other complaint, but it's not 420-specific. I want to make copies of a few specific older VHS tapes that I have that are never going to come to DVD, and that I'm worried about playing any more due to increased signal degradation. Unfortunately, the 420 refuses to record anything once it figures out that the incoming signal is copy protected. Yeah, I know, that's why it's protected, but things like my 1988 Cincinnati Bengals Yearbook video can't be replaced once the tape breaks or completely wears out, and having a way to "freeze" the video at the current 16 year-old level of degradation by burning a DVD copy of it would be a Godsend. I'd also like to make a copy of some of my kid's videos so he can watch it on our portable DVD player during our 12-hour roadtrips to see the grandparents. I don't want to have to buy one of those "video stabilizer" pirating devices, but I'm open to other suggestions.]

Sonicflood

The Office Depot-branded DVD-Rs are indeed RITEKG04 4x speed. I bought two packs of 50 during the buy one get on free sale and have been very pleased! I recently used a 50 pack for burning MAME Rom sets without the 1st coaster.

On a side note, Office Depot has the Verbatim Datalife DVD-R's on special in store. Buy one (I believe $54.99) get one free. Not bad! I was tempted to pick some up, but I still have about 130 blanks.

Sonic

ChrisHicks

thank you all for the replies. I definately want a recorder with an HD now because of your comments. thanks again.

matome

I have a Panny DMS-HS2 with a 40GB HD in it. I've since moved to a computer DVD burner for most of my needs but the Panny definitely served it's purpose for me. I was able to do decent editing functions and the time-slip function was a great feature. As far as I'm concerned, if you're gonna go with a standalone burner, a model with a HD is a must, which allows for archiving, multiple copies, editing etc.

kahuna

You might want to check out the Panasonic DMR-E85HS with 120 gig hd at Amazon.com. It's going for $483.94 with free shipping.

Alan Smithee

I have a video stabilizer I bought in 1992 that gets rid of the copy-protection flag. There should have been a law stating that if they are going to use copy-protection on something, then that title can NEVER go out of print, ever! (I've been amazed at some of the VHS tapes they bothered putting Macrovision on too.)

kenbuzz

Well, I guess I'm off to eBay to grab one. Thanks.

bnewt

I too am looking for a dvd recorder, but I will need one that combines with vhs vcr & I need it to be black. Has anyone heard of a release date for the Pioneer unit, I believe it is dvr-rt500, that is supposed to be released in September.

X

That makes 4 that I know of. Maybe you'll be luckier here!

nightmaster

I have a Magnavox unit and I'm pleased with it, no issues, DVD+R discs only. Basic unit, no HD, pretty much a VCR type recorder that uses discs. The prices are still too high for J6P to run out and buy one off the shelf, which is unfortunate because until that day comes VHS will still be very enticing to lots and lots of people.

corycouger

Is the Panasonic Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/VCR Combo
Brand/Model: PAN DMRE75VS any good?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...#more-pictures

meritocracy

I've read good reviews of them, however, I personally prefer to use separate units. If one aspect breaks down on these combo units, you're essentially screwed. Additionally, if you're thinking of using a stabilizer at some point in time, I'd avoid a combo unit period.

ChrisHicks

ok, so I never got around to getting a recorder since I've been doing all my christmas shopping. now I'm finally done with that so now it's time for my own gift. I have been looking at a few models and was wondering if anyone has any feedback on them. here are the recorders:

Toshiba RD-XS52
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/prod...?model=rd-xs52

Panasonic DMR-E95HS
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SRSQa9h...00&I=133DMRE95

Sony RDR-HX900
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-SRSQa9h...0&I=158RDRHX9H

all 3 are very similar in regards to having an HDD with some type of TV Guide programming but then there are some differences.

which one would you pick?

rkndkn

I would not recommend the Sony RDR-HX900. It's Sony's first model with a hard drive, and I think the lack of certain features is inconvenient and surprising at that price point. The Sony doesn't have the ability to tailor the quality of the recording as much as some of the other brands (very important for best quality), and hard drive recording lacks a "divide" feature. I recommend reading this thread and others at AVS Forum -- very informative site loaded with user experiences.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...0&pagenumber=1

I personally own the Pioneer 420 and the Toshiba XS-32. The Toshiba XS-52 is an upgrade of the 32 with a bigger hard drive, but deletion of -RW recording capability. While user experience varies greatly, many people are put off by the possibility of the "black level bug" being evident on their own equipment.

matome

I have the Panny DMR-HS2 for a couple of years now, and I love it. The 40GB hard drive might seem a little small nowadays, but it's fine for me. Can't beat it for editing/storing shows. I've probably burned a couple of hundred DVD's on it without a coaster (and that was even with the cheapie no-name DVD-R's from back in the day).

JCJF10

I haven't had much interest in these until I got HD cable.

But mostly this seems like the most direct way to convert my MiniDV tapes to DVD.

Psych1

I probably shouldn't be answering this because my experience is limited but I don't understand the advantage of a stand-alone. I got a dual-layer burner for under $100 for my PC and I believe it and I can now do everything I can think of. I'm also only using free software because it seems to be far more advanced than the commercial programs.

JCJF10

How many Dual Layer DVDs have you burned?

I bought 5 but I've yet to need to burn one of them.

The stand alone might simplify the transfer from video for me. Also I'm thinking I might end up with better video quality.