[bradavon78]

That's it. One Freeview tuner is fine.

I'd prefer a decent make. Until I get some idea of cost hard disk size isn't important BUT really under the £300 mark?

Thanks

[MartinH32]

If you can find one and it took me some time the Sony RDr-HXD710. It has 160gig hhd, freeview tuner and records on to -r -rw +r +rw +rwdl

[bradavon78]

Thanks. I looked at one of those earlier but for now am interested in sub £300 players.

[bradavon78]

Anyone?

[aekostas]

When in the market for a DVD recorder with a HDD I shopped hastily and based all my hopes in the reputation of Panasonic. The only such machine with Freeview they had then was the EH60D. It had a bigger disk than the EH50 and Freeview and that's all from what I could see, but the price-difference was (from memory) 150 pounds. That's half your budget.

I bought the EH50 for 250 GBP and a Philips Freeview recoder for 36 GBP (OK, that was a mistake) and that's it.

The forthcoming Panasonic DVD recorders:

http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/d...omparison.html

I am led to believe that the 75 model will be out at 350 GBP, which is not bad at all.

[bradavon78]

Thanks.

It's a pity you can get HD/DVDR Recorders now at reasonable prices but ones with built in Freeview are still expensive, it seems.

It just seems really dumb to buy one without Freeview as I'm bound to want to watch something else while I record something. The analogue tuners only have 2-3 years life left in them. Besides I never watch analogue TV.

[knotpc]

Originally Posted by bradavon78

Thanks. I looked at one of those earlier but for now am interested in sub £300 players.

bradavon78
The Pioneer DVR440h-x is out in 2-3 weeks about £300.
Supposed to have analogue and freeview tuners.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...630979-1485527

Regards

Knotpc

[bradavon78]

Thanks.

It does strike me as really expensive for just a 80Gb hard disk. I'd rather buy a 160Gb Toshiba and one of those tiny Freeview receivers.

[knotpc]

Originally Posted by bradavon78

Thanks.

It does strike me as really expensive for just a 80Gb hard disk. I'd rather buy a 160Gb Toshiba and one of those tiny Freeview receivers.

bradavon78
They were going to replace my TOSH 32 with the TOSH 24.
TOSH 24 has no RGB input so I declined(it does have RGB output)

Regards

Knotpc

[bradavon78]

Thanks. It was the Toshiba RD-XS34 I was looking at.

It was at BargainCrazy for literally an hour at £203 but went out of stock before I could get it, they're a clearance store so aren't getting any more

In a way it's good as that doesn't have a Freeview tuner.

I agree a DVDR or HDR without RGB Input is very pointless. Considering how cheap an RGB input is they ALL should have it. I'd want RGB Loop through ideally too

[knotpc]

Originally Posted by bradavon78

Thanks. It was the Toshiba RD-XS34 I was looking at.

It was at BargainCrazy for literally an hour at £203 but went out of stock before I could get it, they're a clearance store so aren't getting any more

In a way it's good as that doesn't have a Freeview tuner.

I agree a DVDR or HDR without RGB Input is very pointless. Considering how cheap an RGB input is they ALL should have it. I'd want RGB Loop through ideally too

bradavon78,
I was really happy with my TOSH32, but sadly went belly up. TOSH34 would have been an ideal replacement, but the insurance company(Dom +Gen)said there suppliers informed them it was no longer being manufactured.
If you get one, get it insured because a lot have found the drives pack up after 15 months or so!

Regards

Knotpc

[bradavon78]

Any others?, cheers

[beerhunter]

The Sony now appears to be the only one - when you can get them. My mate waited and gor one and is delighted. I bought a Panasonic DMRES20 DVD Rec and am equaly delighted and richer by just over 300 quid.

[bradavon78]

Surely the Sony RDR-HXD710 isn't the only HDR/DVDR/Freeview Combo? There must be cheaper models?

What about the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer etc . . . ?

The Sony is really expensive. I've decided I'd get one now if I could find it for under £300. With Analogue being switched off over the next few years Freeview is going to be a must.

What are HDR/DVDR Combo units actually called?

[ash]

Panasonic DMREH60 is hard to find now maybe?
Also the new Panasonic models are out soon.

[beerhunter]

bradavon78. Under 300 quid? Good luck!

[bradavon78]

I've started to notice that but really it's not much to ask, for a 40-80Gb model anyway.

80Gb hard drives cost peanuts. I can understand a 160Gb being over the £300 mark but an 80Gb model. A Freeview box costs peanuts too so why so expensive? I realise they're being marketed as premium products next to a DVD Recorder (VCR replacement), fine I have no problem with this but £280 say is still far out of most people's price range.

Especially when you consider you can get 80Gb models for under £200 now. They're asking TWICE the price for a £30 Freeview box???

Fingers crossed come Christmas time they'll be more reasonably priced. I'll have to wait. Buying one without built in Freeview just makes no sense to me.

[ash]

Originally Posted by bradavon78

say is still far out of most people's price range.

"Most" people would jsut buy a normal DVD Recorder, or a cheap LiteOn HDD REcorder.

[brassbellend]

I'm in a similar position but I want a little bit more too. I would ideally like the recorder to have an upscaling HDMI output too. I'm going to wait and see what the new panny 75 is like.

[bradavon78]

I don't understand why DVD Players get these "sort" of features without having to pay to much (i.e - DivX, HDMI) but on Recorders you must pay much more.

Originally Posted by ashmufc

"Most" people would jsut buy a normal DVD Recorder, or a cheap LiteOn HDD REcorder.

Most people do no research and are fools. Basing their entire opinion on what to buy on purely how it looks. The amount of times I've heard "that's a nice mobile phone" or the "Ipod looks really nice".

They've not even asked basic questions like "how good is the battery".

[lasitha]

Panasonic 75 looks good, but I don't think I want to pay £400. I think £350 is a fair price.

[Ian Dudley]

Originally Posted by bradavon78

Surely the Sony RDR-HXD710 isn't the only HDR/DVDR/Freeview Combo? There must be cheaper models?

What about the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer etc . . . ?

The Sony is really expensive. I've decided I'd get one now if I could find it for under £300. With Analogue being switched off over the next few years Freeview is going to be a must.

What are HDR/DVDR Combo units actually called?

I'm in the market for a HD/DVD/FV recorder as well, and from what I can see we're at a pause in the market. The first generation of players (Sony 7/910s and Panasonic EH60) are rather long in the tooth and dropping out of manufacture. But the large range of new models coming from various manufacturers aren't quite here yet.

I've got my eye on the Panasonic Ex75 or 85, which on paper looks to be exactly what I need. But mindfull of the shortcomings of various players that are only visible from reviews (e.g poor interface design or anamorphic encoding problems), I'm very hesitant to buy without seeing a proper professional review from the likes of HCC. e.g the Sony 710 looked perfect, but has the re-encoding widescreen issue which is a big turn off from me. If I hadn't read reviews and forum posts I wouldn't have known about that till it's too late.

All the big manufacturers have machines on the way that will meet your spec, and with a sudden inrush of models prices are likely to fall to your price point. But I think the sensible thing to do is probably wait a month or so until someone gets thier hands on the new kit and tells us which ones are the lemons.

Frsutrating though, I've just got my wife to agree to me spending the cash on one after months of effort, and now I have to wait longer!

[Ian Dudley]

Originally Posted by lasitha

Panasonic 75 looks good, but I don't think I want to pay £400. I think £350 is a fair price.

Avland have the 85 for £439, so for another £40 you get an extra 90Gb of disc space. For such a small difference I can't imagine why anyone would buy the 75. In fact the cynic in me suspects the 75 will drop in price as soon as it's released.

The new Tosh recorder is apparently going to be £350 with a 160Gb drive, and the Sony 710 is currently at about 329 on Amazon, so I think the 350 mark is probably where most kit will end up.

[beerhunter]

I reckon that the comparitive priceyness (?) of these devices stems from their rarity - plus Sony always charge a premium (Read Akio Morita's book and look at the price of their DTT STB.)

The reason that there are not many around is that the usual suspects who drive down prices simply can't get their boxes to work. (Look at the mess PVRs and some DTT STBs are in.) So that leaves the market to Sony and Pnanasonic.

[bradavon78]

Originally Posted by Ian Dudley

I'm in the market for a HD/DVD/FV recorder as well, and from what I can see we're at a pause in the market. The first generation of players (Sony 7/910s and Panasonic EH60) are rather long in the tooth and dropping out of manufacture. But the large range of new models coming from various manufacturers aren't quite here yet.

I was thinking exactly the same.

Originally Posted by Ian Dudley

the Sony 710 looked perfect, but has the re-encoding widescreen issue which is a big turn off from me. If I hadn't read reviews and forum posts I wouldn't have known about that till it's too late.

Is that where it ONLY records anamorphic as non-anamorphic? What a bug to not spot during pre-release testing.

Originally Posted by beerhunter

I reckon that the comparitive priceyness (?) of these devices stems from their rarity

Exactly BUT they really shouldn't be rare.

Originally Posted by beerhunter

plus Sony always charge a premium (Read Akio Morita's book and look at the price of their DTT STB.)

True. Sony kit is usually flawless but also always a bit of a rip off, especially when you consider the likes of Samsung release kit much cheaper and usually nearly as good.

Who is Akio Morita? Yeah their STB is stupid money, it doesn't even have a card slot (which I don't need BUT for that price I'd insist upon).

Originally Posted by beerhunter

The reason that there are not many around is that the usual suspects who drive down prices simply can't get their boxes to work. (Look at the mess PVRs and some DTT STBs are in.)

Please explain?

It's odd Samsung haven't brought one out, they're usually really quick to notice customer demand at a reasonable price. I remember when the Samsung 709 DVD player came out. It sold bucket loads because of it's cheap price + feature set.

[bradavon78]

What's a decent site to keep an eye on new and yet unreleased AV equipment? The manufactures sites are useless until the kit actually out there.

What in particular models are worth keeping an eye on? i.e - HDR/DVDR/FV

Currys have dropped the price of the Sony 710 to £450, which could be the sign of an imminent replacement model on the horizon. I'm after such a combination myself but don't mind a smaller hard drive size and don't really want to spend much more than £300. Sony has also released a new budget (£170) DVD recorder so fingers crossed that they will soon introduce a new model with a 80GB hard drive and Freeview.

[bradavon78]

Originally Posted by Music2000

Currys have dropped the price of the Sony 710 to £450, which could be the sign of an imminent replacement model on the horizon.

From what?

Originally Posted by Music2000

I'm after such a combination myself but don't mind a smaller hard drive size and don't really want to spend much more than £300.

Me too exactly on both points.

[ash]

Why not get a Freeview PVR and a Pansonic DMRES20/15/25 whichever you want, or a cheaper HDD DVD Recorder with no freeview

[bradavon78]

Originally Posted by ashmufc

Why not get a Freeview PVR and a Pansonic DMRES20/15/25 whichever you want

For me because I already own a Freeview STB (Tuner 1) and a High-End Pioneer DVD Player so adding another two devices would be really ott. Adding 1 is fine as it would replace my VCR.

True I wouldn't use the DVDR very much but another box/remote would still have to be bought. I know I'd use it every now and again. All-in-one is definitely much better.

Originally Posted by ashmufc

or a cheaper HDD DVD Recorder with no freeview

Because in 2-6 years time the analogue tuner in these models will be useless and all those who have spent £200-400 on a HDR/DVDR without Freeview will only be able to record from an external source + analogue is dreadful when compared to digital.

I don't own a HDR yet but am confident two tuners is a must. Just like you have two analogue tuners now (VCR/TV) so can I can watch something else while it's recording. Adding a second STB would really, really be OTT.

I could be wrong and you only need one tuner but considering I imagine you record much more than you did before with an HDR two tuners in some way shape or form seems a must, no?

p.s - I have zero interest in paying for Sky or Cable (which isn't in my area).