Please advise - any machine capable of the following?:

[peripatein]

Hi,

I truly hope one of you could try assisting me with the following issue.

I am looking for a machine with the following capabilities and characteristics:

I) Copying of video cassettes of ALL formats to DVD's Hard-Drive, as to enable perfect, extremely high quality editing of material with the computer prior its burning.

II) At least 160 GB HD.

III) Burning to DVD RAM, as well as to DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW.

IV) Direct copying from TV/SATELLITE/CABLE TV to DVD's Hard-Drive, as well as direct burning to DVD from TV ("live", without prior copying to HD).

V) Price range: $300 - $400.

Please advise which machine would answer BEST all these parameters.
Hoping to hear from you soon.

Yuval.

[Rasczak]

Copying of video cassettes of ALL formats to DVD's Hard-Drive

Most DVD recorders will do a decent job of this - certainly for archiving Betamax, SVHS or VHS you shouldn't have any problems. Avoid cheap brands or Philips models which lack a TBC though and have been known to cause audio sync issues when archiving. Any of the 'big' names though: JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba and Pioneer will do a fine job.

enable perfect, extremely high quality editing of material with the computer prior its burning.

The best editing can be found on Panasonic, Toshiba and Pioneer recorders. Whilst very good I wouldn't describe it as 'perfect' though: it is still limited by the core characteristics of MPEG2. If you want perfect editing I would suggest using such a machine in conjunction with a programme such as TMPG Enc MPEG Editor. But it all depends what you want - basic editing is done quickly and effectively by set-top DVD recorders.

II) At least 160 GB HD.

III) Burning to DVD RAM, as well as to DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW.

IV) Direct copying from TV/SATELLITE/CABLE TV to DVD's Hard-Drive, as well as direct burning to DVD from TV ("live", without prior copying to HD).

V) Price range: $300 - $400.

Panasonic models best match these requirements. If you forego DVD+ burning (not really required - esecially if you intend to use the machine in conjunction with your PC) then Toshiba becomes an option. The new Sony models are also worth a look although be prepared to go without DVD-RAM!

Just for your info peripatein I notice you quote the price of a machine in $ and thus I assume you are in North America? - this is a UK based forum and, if you want specific advice on models to buy, you are probably best going to www.avsforums.com - UK models tend to have different features/characteristics than the US models (normally less features and Scart connections) and thus it is worth finding out if there are any local issues worth knowing about. However everything I have said above applies internationally.