SKY+ Vs DVD RECORDER

[jason44mag]

Hi all im looking to buy a dvd recorder but not sure whether to invest in a sony or upgrade my sky box to +.

Hidef tv interests me so i would wait for the sky upgrade, however i do like the idea of sharing dvds with friends, family etc & i would also like to make hardcopies of great tv stuff (if there is anything on!!).

So as you can see im stuck. One other thing that appeals about sky+ is the ease of recording shows by highlighting them with the on screen tv guide can you do this with a dvd recorder?

And to make things even more confusing is it possible to get both and can you record to sky+ then send the recoding to the dvd recorder to make a hard copy??????

any help from people in a simular situation would be very, very much appreciated.

thanks

[owey]

I was the same as you, I have gone for a dvd recorder with HD in the end as I only have the cheap Sky package for the kids and I would have to pay the extra monthly charge to get Sky+.Also I to want to record things to watch when I am away in my lorry.I haven't got it yet so I cann't tell you how easy/hard they are to use. I did go for the Toshiba RDXS34 with 160gb hd at £258.99 which is a very good price for that machine.

[nnicol]

I have a DVD/HDD recorder and it is brilliant. You record to the hard disk then edit adverts etc. then burn to disc. I was using this with a normal Sky box and it was fine. I upgraded to Sky+ this week and now can record two programs at the same time. You can then send them to the DVD/HDD do your edits and burn them on to disc. Doubled my HDD storage also, 80GB in Sky+ and 80GB in DVD/HDD. If you can afford it I would recommend both.

[Steve N]

Originally Posted by nnicol

I have a DVD/HDD recorder and it is brilliant. You record to the hard disk then edit adverts etc. then burn to disc. I was using this with a normal Sky box and it was fine. I upgraded to Sky+ this week and now can record two programs at the same time. You can then send them to the DVD/HDD do your edits and burn them on to disc. Doubled my HDD storage also, 80GB in Sky+ and 80GB in DVD/HDD. If you can afford it I would recommend both.

Same here. This is the perfect solution.
Also, stuff I want in A1 condition I record direct to my HD recorder as I find stuff I save on the sky+ invariably has some small glitch or blocking somewhere on the recording. Don't know why this is. I'm intending to reformat my sky box as soon as I can clear the backlog of recordings.

[phelings]

Sky+ cannot be compared to a HDD/DVDR.They are each suited to different requirements,and for recording from Sky ,there is no device better than Sky+ as it offers numerous advantages over any DVDR/HDD combo.
Like watching and recording 2 different channels,or recording 2 simultaneously,or recording in 5.1,or no red dot at all.
As said above,the ideal is Sky+ and a separate HDD/DVDR combo,and if your'e really flush or don't want pay tv then a Fusion or Thomson Freeview PVR makes the set.

[seany_mor]

Originally Posted by owey

I did go for the Toshiba RDXS34 with 160gb hd at £258.99 which is a very good price for that machine.

I'm thinking about one of these. Who's doing it for £259?

[owey]

I ordered it from Kays catalog with a 30% discount code, to use the code I think you need your reference No which you get when you make your first order. You can pay in one go or get an account, I paid straight away.

[manj]

kays ... did you just pay - ie had no account ? then entered code ?

Ps i believe when u record via SKY+ its actually storing the DVB streams onto disk as they are transmitted ie there is no conversion.
With dvd recorder you are convertiing analogue to mpeg2 (normally). So theoretically you will get to see the piccture in same qualtiy as recieved by the sky+ box .

Whereas via dvd recorder you can introduce artiifacts. However that depends on the quality of the recorder.

Its matter of "horses for courses" , wot u want at the end. I flexible high quality pvr ... sky+
Oflline Archiving machine .. dvd recorded
OR Both !

[owey]

I had the account first then ordered it, no due in for 3 weeks though .