Holding out for the Sony RDR-HXD870

[azzy129]

Good thing, bad thing??

Capacity HDD: 160 GB
HDMI Output
HD 1080p upscaling
Digital TV Tuner
Advanced Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW Recording (dual RW compatibility)
DVD-RAM/DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW Playback
High Picture Quality: HQ+ recording
Pause Live TV
DV Terminal (i.LINK): Program Dubbing/One Touch Dubbing/Advanced Program Dubbing

Anyone got any more inside information. Expected to be around the £245-£300 mark. Out mid June. Will this unit be compatible with my Sony 40V2500 which supports a video input of 1080i (not P). This one upscales to P (as above), will this cause problems with my TV ie. picture quality.

[PhilipL]

Hi

Anyone got any more inside information. Expected to be around the £245-£300 mark. Out mid June. Will this unit be compatible with my Sony 40V2500 which supports a video input of 1080i (not P). This one upscales to P (as above), will this cause problems with my TV ie. picture quality.

HDMI does not improve picture quality and you are already watching an upscaled picture, as all HD Ready TV's must upscale or otherwise you would have a tiny picture in the middle of the screen.

The more pleasing picture will likely come from outputting 576i for your own recorded programs and 576p when watching commercial film DVDs that are progressive. This means your TV does all the necessary picture processing in one go at the same time so is cleaner and introduces less artefacts. You can do this easily with component cables and HDMI is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Just so you are not disappointed

So yes it will be compatible, just don't bother using the upscaling.

Regards

Phil

[azzy129]

I read somewhere that component leads are only for video signals, so what do I need to carry the audio (sound) from my source to the TV?

[jockohomo]

I'm also holding out for it as it seems to tick every box. Will go with my new Samsung M87 which I also waited a long time for and am delighted with.
Sony will replace a 2 year old Liteon 5045 which was a piece of garbage. It never played DVD's reliably and now the tray won't even open, only good for recording from TV but the tuner is also substandard.
Will never buy Liteon again!
Sony must be multi-region and I'm relying on this forum to point me in the direction of a trustworthy retailer.

[marty2005]

If u got a Samsung M87 then you might be better off waiting for the new Samsung SH853/855/857 digital dvd recorders since they have anynet that works with the new Samsung tv's.

[jockohomo]

The Samsung recorders sound interesting. Can you point me in the direction of any specs. and when they are due in the stores?
Thanks.

[Ronnoc]

Originally Posted by PhilipL

Hi



HDMI does not improve picture quality and you are already watching an upscaled picture, as all HD Ready TV's must upscale or otherwise you would have a tiny picture in the middle of the screen.

The more pleasing picture will likely come from outputting 576i for your own recorded programs and 576p when watching commercial film DVDs that are progressive. This means your TV does all the necessary picture processing in one go at the same time so is cleaner and introduces less artefacts. You can do this easily with component cables and HDMI is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Just so you are not disappointed

So yes it will be compatible, just don't bother using the upscaling.

Regards

Phil

I am a bit confused now. When I first read the article below on Sunday I understood HDMI ensured a better picture now I am not so certain.

'......digital HDMI socket, an essential connection that delivers both video and audio in one convenient cable to your screen or surround-sound system. Crucially, it also offers the possibility of upscaling, where a standard-definition DVD picture is boosted (upscaled) to a clarity in theory approaching high definition, if viewed on an HD-ready screen.'

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle1747020.ece

[Ronnoc]

Originally Posted by azzy129

Good thing, bad thing??
Anyone got any more inside information. Expected to be around the £245-£300 mark. Out mid June. Will this unit be compatible with my Sony 40V2500 which supports a video input of 1080i (not P). This one upscales to P (as above), will this cause problems with my TV ie. picture quality.

I have just got a Sony 32V2500 and was thinking of getting the Panosonic DMREX75. I see the new ones are due out shortly which will complete with the RDR-HXD870. Because of PhilipL's comments I think a cut price Panny might be almost as good as the newer models!

[marty2005]

The new Digital tuner Sh851/3/5/7 can be seen on the French Samsung website.

Should be in the UK soon. Komplett have the analogue tuner only models listed.



SH857

[azzy129]

Spoken to sales manager at Sony center yesterday he informs me that the 870 will upscale to 1080i on my TV as the DVD recorder supports video format upto and including 1080p (being the highest). Also mentioned that HDMI is the most superior connection between TV and HDMI device. Component leads are Analogue at the end of the day. Only good if no HDMI input/output available.

Appearence wise this unit looks so sweet, a bit like the sky HD box shiny and black. If you're ever passing a sony center get them to show you the picture and spec from their dealer brochure. Some play ignorant and say "Oh we don't know much about it or when it's out". play them at their own game that's what I say.

[marty2005]

Wot I like about the Samsungs is that u can copy mp3/divx/jpgs to hard disk and back to dvd.

Still no cd-text and dot-matrix display on any dvd recorders.

No card readers either except pana but that is for jpegs only and I think only 1 way copy.

[Ronnoc]

Originally Posted by marty2005

Wot I like about the Samsungs is that u can copy mp3/divx/jpgs to hard disk and back to dvd.

Still no cd-text and dot-matrix display on any dvd recorders.

No card readers either except pana but that is for jpegs only and I think only 1 way copy.

It seems the Panny copies jpgs to the HDD via the SD card.

Can either the Panny or the Sony copy MP3 and/or MPEG to the HDD via disc or SD card?

[mendd3]

Originally Posted by PhilipL

Hi



HDMI does not improve picture quality and you are already watching an upscaled picture, as all HD Ready TV's must upscale or otherwise you would have a tiny picture in the middle of the screen.

The more pleasing picture will likely come from outputting 576i for your own recorded programs and 576p when watching commercial film DVDs that are progressive. This means your TV does all the necessary picture processing in one go at the same time so is cleaner and introduces less artefacts. You can do this easily with component cables and HDMI is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Just so you are not disappointed

So yes it will be compatible, just don't bother using the upscaling.

Regards

Phil

Yeah except REAL hd players then HDMI is a must for HD sound and a plus for HD picture, hate it when they say its a gimmick

[bigtim]

Originally Posted by mendd3

Yeah except REAL hd players then HDMI is a must for HD sound and a plus for HD picture, hate it when they say its a gimmick

Also cheaper, neater, smaller and less susceptible to cable quality that component cables, plus they carry sound. Some good gimmicks right there.

[crazy horse]

Try this link regarding prices on the HXD870: http://www.cheapelectricals.co.uk/ac...drhxd807b.html

[azzy129]

Brief review/article in June's Home cinema Choice. Looks like this and other models in range will be quite popular

[Knyght_byte]

Originally Posted by mendd3

Yeah except REAL hd players then HDMI is a must for HD sound and a plus for HD picture, hate it when they say its a gimmick

HDMI isnt a must for HD sound....it can be carried over 6/8 channel analogue...(and to stem the digi/analogue audio debate, when that digital signal gets to your AV amp, it still gets turned in to analogue to be amplified, its quite possible the HD player will do the DAC work better than the Amp will so analogue connection between the two will prove superior....but that argument all comes down to the actual equipment, not the connection type)

also component can carry HD picture, although not many TV's will take 1080 by component...but a lot of large screen projection systems do....lets face it, you spend the money, get the big screen, forget 50in

[azzy129]

1 shop on Tottenham Court Road (London) already has it. I wonder if it's UK spec and not an import.

[azzy129]

It was a hoax. Stupid dealer trying to tease me.

[k-spin]

Originally Posted by marty2005

Still no cd-text and dot-matrix display on any dvd recorders.

My HXD860 displays CD Text although it only appears to display the CD name, not individual track names (not sure if that is a problem with the HXD860 or the way I have burnt the CDs).

[mdawkins]

Anybody know if the 870 will upscale SKY signals to HDMI when connected to the 870 by the scart input? also does it only have 1 RGB scart?

Thanks

Martin.

[azzy129]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought you need either a DVI or HDMI connection for upscaling with a compatible device, I don't think you can upscale from a regular Sky box through a Dvd recorder with HDMI output and especially not with a scart connection.

[bigtim]

Originally Posted by mdawkins

Anybody know if the 870 will upscale SKY signals to HDMI when connected to the 870 by the scart input? also does it only have 1 RGB scart?

Thanks

Martin.

Yes it will, same as the 860 already does.

Originally Posted by azzy129

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought you need either a DVI or HDMI connection for upscaling with a compatible device, I don't think you can upscale from a regular Sky box through a Dvd recorder with HDMI output and especially not with a scart connection.

Happy to correct you . 860 and 870 can be set to output an upscaled resolution via HDMI or Component (720p, 1080i, 1080p on the 870) everything that they display is upscaled to that res, including anything that comes in via the scart socket such as SKY.

But, your HDTV upscales all inputs to the panel res any way, it has to. So getting the 860/870 to do the scaling will usually result in 2 scaling steps (if the TV is not full 1920*1080p res).

[mdawkins]

Are both the Scart sockets RGB? as it would be useful if it could pass through RGB from SKY to my TV when it is switched off.

Thanks

Martin.

[bigtim]

Originally Posted by mdawkins

Are both the Scart sockets RGB? as it would be useful if it could pass through RGB from SKY to my TV when it is switched off.

Thanks

Martin.

860 will take in and pass out RGB. Of course, it won't pass an upscaled or progressive pic out through SCART.

[yogi659485]

Hi everybody

Looking to get a DVD Recorder and I want to get a 1080p version to go with my 1080p LCD.

I don't know much about DVD Recorders but the Sony RDR-HXD870 looks pretty good. Was thinking of going for the Panasonic DMR-EX77 but it doesn have the series recording stuff like the Sony.

Unfortunately I can't get Freeview in my area! Can I plug my Sky box into the DVD Recorder so I can record stuff. Im not sure if I can. I only have the box standard Sky connected by Scart.

Any help would be a bonus. Thanks

[AndrewH13]

Originally Posted by bigtim

So getting the 860/870 to do the scaling will usually result in 2 scaling steps (if the TV is not full 1920*1080p res).

Even if the TV is 1080P, I suspect 95% of people wont have 1:1 pixel matching switched on, so scaling will still take place?

[marty2005]

Forgot what I was gonna say.

[MikeMcr]

When did Sony start using GuidePlus in the "D" models? I notice the 870 is listed as using GuidePlus here:

http://www.europe.guideplus.com/En/o...ce/models.html

Does the 860 use GuidePlus? Personally I hate GuidePlus and hope it can be disabled in preference to the Freeview EPG. The Pioneers can use GuidePlus and it makes it quite noisey at night while it downloads.

[azzy129]

Apart from Play.com does anyone know when the mainstream shops like Currys/John Lewis/Comet and more importantly Sony Shops will be selling this and other new models in the range. If you look on the Sony website they still have the current (previous) models listed.