DVD Hard Disk Recorder with Freeview HD

DamianP

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My mum and dad want one of these for Christmas and I'm having difficulty finding one that meets all of their requirements. They want a Dvd recorder with a hard disk that also has a twin tuner preferably HD!

I'm not sure if this even exists. Does any one know of any and can you recommend one?

Thanks Damian.
 
My mum and dad want one of these for Christmas and I'm having difficulty finding one that meets all of their requirements. They want a Dvd recorder with a hard disk that also has a twin tuner preferably HD!

I'm not sure if this even exists. Does any one know of any and can you recommend one?

Thanks Damian.

Yes they exist.

Twin tuner HD HDD recorders are available with either a DVD drive or a Bluray drive.

They are available for the Freeview platform or the Freesat platform.

If you tell me which combination you are after I will direct you to the available models.

Once you have seen this I will also move this thread to the DVD recorder section.
 
Thank you very much. It would be the DVD one they'd be after. I've found only one so far - the Panasonic DMR XW380EBK. Are there any others available to compare. Thanks, Damian.
 
Thank you very much. It would be the DVD one they'd be after. I've found only one so far - the Panasonic DMR XW380EBK. Are there any others available to compare. Thanks, Damian.

That is your only option.

There are no other machines with that specification.

More details are available here

And it may be useful to see this sticky thread here.

[It deals with and has relevancy to the DVD drive versions as well as the Bluray types ]
 
I've looked at the reviews for the DMR XW380EBK and the reviews aren't very good (sluggish response, adverts in the EPG, etc...).

I spoke to my dad again, and he's not that bothered about it being HD. Are there any more options for a DVD recorder with hard drive and twin Freeview recorders?? Thanks in advance.
 
I've looked at the reviews for the DMR XW380EBK and the reviews aren't very good (sluggish response, adverts in the EPG, etc...).

I spoke to my dad again, and he's not that bothered about it being HD. Are there any more options for a DVD recorder with hard drive and twin Freeview recorders?? Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately not.

All DVD recorders apart from this new breed of HD tuner models are single tuner machines.

If you want Twin tuner, and DVD recording facilities these are the only machines on the market.
 
Thank you very much. It would be the DVD one they'd be after. I've found only one so far - the Panasonic DMR XW380EBK. Are there any others available to compare. Thanks, Damian.

I'm looking for something similar.

As far as I know, the pvr's with blu-ray are backwards compatible so I don't see a problem.

Forgive me if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

I'm considering the Panasonic DMR-BWT700 but am un-decided if an all in one is the right way to go.
 
I'm looking for something similar.

As far as I know, the pvr's with blu-ray are backwards compatible so I don't see a problem.

Forgive me if I've got the wrong end of the stick.

I'm considering the Panasonic DMR-BWT700 but am un-decided if an all in one is the right way to go.

I guess it depends on your needs and the aesthetics. A one box solution looks neater granted, but there are a couple of things to bear in mind. One is the expense, the Panasonic DVD/BluRay and HDD Freeview HD recorders are expensive. How often do you think you will actually use the DVD/BluRay recording side?. If you wont use that side then it may be cheaper overall to buy a dedicated Freeview HD PVR and a seperate DVD or BluRay player (although of course you wont have the DVD or BluRay recording features). Another thing to consider is what happens if one side of it breaks down. With two boxes if one breaks down you still have the other and, if the broken side is beyond repair, it's cheaper to replace the DVD player or BluRay player (or the HDD side) than buy a new box. Even with a good guarantee you may be without your all in one box while it is away for repair.

Having said that though, from current reports the Panasonics appear fairly bullet proof and reliable.
 
Yes, one of my concerns was the problem of one element failing.

As regards price, I don't believe it is that expensive. Amazon are selling the unit at £387. A decent pvr (eg Humax HDR FoxT2) is £199 (refurb) or the Panasonic HW100 (to keep the same make) is £205.Add the Panasonic BDT210 at the £170 (all Amazon prices) and it makes the price very similar AND the all in one is a bluray recorder rather than player.

OK, the recorder aspect may not be used THAT often, but at least it is there. I currently have a Sony RDR-HX510 and have only used the recorder for about 8 disks admittedly.

My other 'problem' is home cinema. I'm also considering changing to something like the Panasonic SC-BTT370 but I THINK I can still use my Yamaha RX-V357.

I'm hijacking the thread a bit methinks.
 
Yes, one of my concerns was the problem of one element failing.

As regards price, I don't believe it is that expensive. Amazon are selling the unit at £387. A decent pvr (eg Humax HDR FoxT2) is £199 (refurb) or the Panasonic HW100 (to keep the same make) is £205.Add the Panasonic BDT210 at the £170 (all Amazon prices) and it makes the price very similar AND the all in one is a bluray recorder rather than player.

OK, the recorder aspect may not be used THAT often, but at least it is there. I currently have a Sony RDR-HX510 and have only used the recorder for about 8 disks admittedly.

My other 'problem' is home cinema. I'm also considering changing to something like the Panasonic SC-BTT370 but I THINK I can still use my Yamaha RX-V357.

I'm hijacking the thread a bit methinks.

The Yamaha has optical inputs (and one coaxial digital input if I remember), so yes it will certainly work (and doesn't it have HDMI inputs too which might be the better path?). The Panasonics I am pretty sure transcode the AAC 5.1 sound used on Freeview HD into Dolby Digital 5.1, via the SPDIF optical output or via HDMI that your amp can handle. The only problem might come if you have several products you want to connect but your amp doesn't have enough inputs, but there are switch boxes around that help with that.

If you are thinking of buying new, this from Onkyo gets superb reviews from users:
Onkyo HTS3405 Black | 5.1 Package System inc. Speakers excluding DVD player | Richer Sounds
The price has also just been cut by another £100 to £249.

They also have a similar Onkyo amp on it's own for just £169, which could be a good option if you already have good speakers.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/onkyo/txsr309/onky-txsr309-blk
 
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I would also say be aware of the slight limitations of the Panasonics. You cannot record directly on to disc, you have to record to HDD first and then dub onto disc. They also have an advert that takes up around the third of the EPG, but whether this is an issue depends on how annoying you find it. Most users don't even notice the adverts it seems. However, if you want record something in HD from Freeview and then burn it onto BluRay disc easily, they are your only real choice. You can get the Humax to copy HD to an external HDD that you can then use a PC to edit and burn to disc, but it requires a wee bit of extra software and is more of a hack.
 
Thanks for the replies.
We've more or less decided to go the all in one route, knowing the limitations.
Are all AV receivers so BIG? I looked at the Onkyo and it looks as big as my Yamaha.
Looks like I just need the optical cable for now.
Do better quality cables make THAT much difference? I also talking about co-axial here.
 
Looks like I just need the optical cable for now.
Do better quality cables make THAT much difference? I also talking about co-axial here.

None.
 
Thanks for the replies.
We've more or less decided to go the all in one route, knowing the limitations.
Are all AV receivers so BIG? I looked at the Onkyo and it looks as big as my Yamaha.
Looks like I just need the optical cable for now.
Do better quality cables make THAT much difference? I also talking about co-axial here.
I'm using several optical cables from "Poundland", they are just over 1m long and cost just £1.00:thumbsup:. Unfortunately, they don't sell digital audio co-axial cables.
 
The whole thing surrounding expensive cables is a bit of a con really, and a throwback to analogue cables.

In analogue cable days (scart, composite, s-video etc.) better quality construction certainly did often improve picture quality (and often sound quality too). However that isn't the case with digital cabling. The signal is digital, so it either works or it doesn't, the 1s and 0s that come out the other end are exactly the same as they went in normally. The only time better quality cables would make a difference is for long cable runs where the better construction might help to minimise signal loss and interference. With normal lengths of 1-2m, as long as the cable is decent construction and properly shielded, it makes no difference. I have a couple of Poundland cables, a couple of Amazon cables that cost around £2 and a couple of Monster cables I was given that were expensive, and there is absolutely no difference in performance between them.
 
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Thanks for the replies.
We've more or less decided to go the all in one route, knowing the limitations.
Are all AV receivers so BIG? I looked at the Onkyo and it looks as big as my Yamaha.
Looks like I just need the optical cable for now.
Do better quality cables make THAT much difference? I also talking about co-axial here.

AV amplifiers generally are quite hefty for a number of reasons. They tend to have higher power requirements than dedicated stereo music amplifiers, they are normally also receivers so have radio components within them and they have to drive multiple channels rather than just the two of music amplifiers, plus they require all the gubbins to route video signals as well as audio, and all the gubbins to strip out the audio signal from HDMI etc. As a result they have many more components than dedicated music amplifiers and generate more heat, so also require larger heatsinks etc. All this adds to weight and size.
 

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