Quote:
Originally Posted by JerryBolton
Good post Zappo,
If the answer to all the questions you posed in that post was yes, which dvd recorders would be at the top of the list?
If I had to knock off features I could do without, then in order I'd remove
1. Ability to record commercial DVDs
2. Ability to play SVCD cds
3. Freeview tuner
4. Ability to read an SD card
but I'd add
1. Transfer data to and from recorder hard disk via network connection.
2. UPscale to HD
To be connected to a Sony HD LCD TV with the main source being a Sky HD receiver.
My current favorites are the Sony RDR-HXD1065, Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S or LG Electronics RH200MH
Your thoughts are most appreciated!
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I ended up going for the Panasonic ex75 because the hard disk on the 85 was only 90gb bigger and not worth the extra £110 at the time. The 85 is cheaper now.
The point about that post was that there are always compromises with this kit so you have to really work out what is a "Must Have" and what is a "Nice to Have", then create a shortlist of two or three models and check these forums for those features and look for other issues.
Editing was my big thing and although I was not too bothered about Freeview it would now be a must have. I have two Sky+ boxes but this is useful as you can record channels like More4/Film4 direct to the HD. It also frees up clashes on the Sky Box.
I do not have Sky HD, but I know nothing practically records an HD signal to optical. There are no HDMI or Component INPUTS on the Panasonic DVD recorder or others as far as I am aware. This means you would wire your SkyHD Scarts to the DVD if you wanted to record and have both devices connected via HDMI to your LCD. If your LCD only had one HDMI you would use the component OUTPUT of the DVD to connect to the LCD.
I am not aware if any LAN connection, I did look into that for streaming from my NAS. My findings were that you can't beat the high end consumer DVD recorders for value, functionality, simplicity, low power consumption. I see a media centre as a staging system or for those who want to get rid of Sky and go with something like Myth TV. see
http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures
Myth is ideal for downloaders and the like as it can present a library of downloaded material. I do not have time for all that and my time is money so I will continue to pay Sky it's exorbitant fees!
Don't expect any recorder to record commercial DVD's unless you first make a copy via a PC that removes the protection. Even then they do it in real time and encode it which is lossy. There is not much point in doing this on a DVD recorder unless you want a few scenes.
Forget that LG, do not go near it with a barge pole. I bought one and found that it could not fast dub a recording if you edited it. Considering that my primary requirement was to archive Sky+ for 8 hours overnight, DIVIDE the 8 hour TITLE into respective programmes and PARTIAL DELETE the advertisments, the LG was useless. So I took it back and got the Pany.
The Pany has much more function but some find this complex, the manual looks as if it was written by techs who have never used the product and translated by fishermen. The user interface is not much better BUT you can get to grips with it by simply trying out every function 5 times!
The pany also had some quirks that centre around adherence to DVD standards. One affects the widescreen flag, it does NOT record this if you have the high speed dub (HSD) set to ON unless you use DVD-RAM disks. You want HSD on because it allows you to copy without loss as it just copies the files and does not re-encode what has already been encoded. DVD-RAM disks may be better but they are slow 3x not 16x and they are expensive. The widescreen flag is overcome by setting your TV to the one you use the most.
This is an example of the compromise you have to make with any model. With the LG I was not prepared to compromise on editing but I am OK with the issues on the Pany. In fact I keep discovering new features (probably because the manual is so awful).
You have to find the compromises of the Sony which is definately worth a look and find out what you can live with.
Also find out when the next generation of products are coming out, for my money the Pany 85 is a steal at the moment and any new generation model would be over £500.
When you finally decide, check out the multi region options and the discount codes for the likes of Currys and Dixons for haggling if nothing else and get yourself a 5 year warranty. This is complex kit and it will go wrong at some point. Also buying a warranty is a great negotiation tool (saved me a lot).
Good luck!
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