Originally posted by andyhag
Help
I want/need to get a HDD/dvd recorder. The question is which one? If you look around the price of the HS2 and Pioneer 5100 are very close.
What do people think?
I will be using it for archiving old videos.
I also want to link up with sky.
Help
Andy
What would be the best way to hook it all up
In the Pioneer's favour it has the ability to play MP3s and WMA - the HS2 cannot.
Bobbles that was just one line in a list of pros and cons! You could have equally have quoted my one liner on the HS2 and said the same! I was only giving an overview and the bulk of my post related to the core points: DVD-RW and RGB issues.to say those are the only real advantages is a bit ridiculous
before you buy you may want to consider the updated E100. I know it is a fair bit more but you may be worth it. I'm sure others here can point out the key differences
In the sense of core HDD/DVDR functionality the machines are much of a muchness. Ultimately the aim of any such unit is to make editted recordings onto DVD-R. Both machines will achieve this well. There are more pros and cons for each machine - people can find these out by reading the forums or stating precisely what they want. The list otherwise is endless:Rasczak - to me the advantage you quoted seems a very minor one. You then said they are much of a muchness. This implies there are no other advantages worth considering which simply is not true.
Depends whether you want the extra space/features! The E100 is just a tweaked HS2. It doesn't really inspire anyone to upgrade but for a new buyer then I would say the E100 is worth the £250 extra over the HS2 yes - especially if you want to use it as your primary DVD player.Do you think those E100 advantages are worth the exta money?
Both of these have been sorted by the firmware upgrade - all new machines should have had this.The E100 does not have the 'lip synch' or the 'screen flicker' bugs like the HS2.
'Minor' issues that put me off the HS2.
Yes indeed. But the specification has to be the first point you look at.There's a lot more to it than just spec alone when considering a purchase like this
is the firmware update available to existing machines? I have an hs2 which suffers from lip synch problems, so would be interested if it could be updated
Originally posted by Rasczak
- If you want to record from the machines internal tuner then you don't want the 3100.
Apparently so. The recordings from the AV inputs are beyond reproach but there have been some accounts that the internal tuner isn't brilliant. Your best bet is to experiment with the machine prior to buying. That way you will know one way or the other. The Pioneer 5100 will do an excellent job on the Camcorder side of things though no problem.Is there a question mark over quality of 3100 / 5100 internal tuner ?
Originally posted by OARDVD
Say, for example, you record a 1 hour programme in SP on the HDD. On the HS2 it has to be dubbed in realtime to DVD-R, so it takes 1 hour. This also involves a reconversion, which loses quality. However, on the E80 it can be high speed dubbed and take approx 30 minutes with no loss of quality. On the E100 it takes approx 7.5 mins.
Even with an E100 you'll need to dub in realtime to some extent unless your prepared to keep the original recording settings (XP, SP, LP, EP) which will make it difficult to fill the DVD-R to capacity. There is a way around that (on the E100) by recording the original on DVD-RAM using an appropriate FR settings, dub in High Speed back to the HDD and then dub in high speed to DVD-R (which obviously avoids re-encoding) but if you use FR sensibly during a dub then the loss of quality should be minimal.Interesting facts, this is the precise reason I am considering returning the HS2, dubbing reduces quality too much for my liking
There is a way around that (on the E100) by recording the original on DVD-RAM using an appropriate FR settings, dub in High Speed back to the HDD and then dub in high speed to DVD-R
Indeed if you try to use FR to convert from XP to nearer EP quality than the results are horrific.
Excellent value indeed.And if it's any interest to anyone I notice Richer Sounds now have the E100 at £699