newbie would appreciate help in choosing

[morgs]

Hi everyone, just found you this morning

I have read a lot of the threads and posts, and I hope that I can ask your help in choosing the right (first) dvd recorder

Here goes

I have sky + (and that will be the bulk of my recording)

I do have a Digital video camera (but do I really want to burn unedited footage onto dvd?? I think I prefer to edit down on PC then burn)

I have some video that I would like to transfer to dvd

I guess I want decent playback quality AND record quality (so is RGB a must??)

short list is the panasonic E55
(I told you it was short!)

I know it's going to be decent (£176 from dixons.co.uk)
but can I live with the reported delay when you turn it on or put a disc in?? as it will also have to act as my cd player as well.

any thoughts or alternatives
A friend has just emailed me to tell me that argos are selling liteons WITH rgb for £120
Would you touch with a bargepole??

I really would appreciate any help befor I part with my hard earned

Yours thankfully newbie MORGS

[Nick_UK]

The E55 is a nice recorder. I have its predecessor (the E50), and it has been great. One thing you should consider is if you want Multi-Region, because many outlets are selling the MR version for a few quid more. Take a look on Pricerunner for the best deals/prices.

[martinthorn]

A friend has just emailed me to tell me that argos are selling liteons WITH rgb for £120

I have a Liteon5006 and it's great, however some people
have had bad units and are reporting some jerkiness of the
digital picture when fed through the Liteon (does not
occur during recording). Argos have a reasonable return
policy so it may be worth trying one at that price..

[morgs]

At dixons, they are quoting the product as DMRE55EBS, but have not specification

Is this the multi region version? If it is, £176 looks even better!

Regards. Morgs

[Rasczak]

morgs, before you decide on any DVD recorder you should consider what you want out of it. Primarily do you want to make editted recordings that are compatible with other DVD players? If so then you need to look at HDD/DVDRs that use VR mode: Toshiba RDXS32, Panasonic E85, Pioneer 420. All of these are around the £350 mark but are the only viable options for editting on compatible media.

If your not bothered about editting then a machine like the Panasonic E55 will do a superb job: out of the budget DVD recorders it is the best overall package by a significant margin. You can pick it up already multi-region from places such as RGB Direct (although it seems you'll pay a few pounds more than Dixons are offering it for).

[morgs]

Ok

I'm being cheap, but if I have sky +, I don't necessarily need a load of functions like time slip etc
would something like the liteon do me for a while or (and I can hear your sighs as I write this....)

in my situation, is the E55 worth me spending the extra 55 quid over the liteon......

I know, I know! but I have to ask!

Yours rather ashen faced
Morgs

[Rasczak]

would something like the liteon do me for a while or (and I can hear your sighs as I write this....)

in my situation, is the E55 worth me spending the extra 55 quid over the liteon......

Well it depends whether you want Flexible record, 3hrs full resolution recording and (for the budget) a relatively high callibre DVD recorder. Or whether you just want the cheapest available regardless... Only you can decide that!

[morgs]

point taken.

Order placed,

Panasonic here I come

Thanks for the advice

yours, thoroughly admonished

morgs

[pjskel]

I'll chip in with the JVC DR-M10 which I've just ordered (in black) from Highway Hi-Fi for the princely sum of £190 plus £15 delivery to Belfast.
Now, if only I lived on the mainland, it would've been free delivery!!

[morgs]

Oh? I hadn't looked at it

How does it compare to the panny?

Sorry! Lazy, i should check myself, but you have obviously made a choice. would you mind telling me how you did it?
Ta
morgs

[Rasczak]

How does it compare to the panny?

JVC recorders are excellent in terms of features and performance. The only downside is they lack 'RGB input'.

One other issue which is either very good or bad depending on your perspective is that for recordings over 2hrs 30mins to 4hrs the JVC models use 'intrim resolutions' that aren't in accordance with the official VR mode. What this means is that between 2hrs 30mins and 4hrs recordings will look better the most of the competition due to them being a higher resolution (although note the panny's goto 3hrs full resolution). The downside is if you want to import onto the PC then most applications will not be able to handle the video without re-encoding.

[morgs]

Well, the one "must have" for me is RGB
Rather makes the sky digital impotent without it!

[pjskel]

Originally Posted by morgs

.........but you have obviously made a choice. Would you mind telling me how you did it?
Ta
morgs

Well, I wanted both options of RAM and RW for Timeslipping, plus RGB or lack thereof wasn't an issue as I'm using NTL analog (refuse to pay digital prices for the same channels I currently watch!) and will probably worry about RGB when I eventually go digital and upgrade to a HDD based DVDR, or if the BlueRay ones appear at proper prices straight off the bat - highly unlikely though I guess.

That and everyone else has pannys, I wanted to be different and preferred the look of the JVCs. Also, a 26"-32" JVC LCD may be on the horizon in a year or two's time, so same brands tend to work best together.

[morgs]

well yes there is that, and the panasonic E55 is certainly no looker!!

can anyone tell me whether the DMRE55EBS model quoted by dixon IS the multi region machine? trying to get information out of them is, well, not easy!

[Rasczak]

can anyone tell me whether the DMRE55EBS model quoted by dixon IS the multi region machine?

No - it will be Region 2 only.