I'm having second thoughts about the RDR-HXD710

[treefrog]

I've been waiting a long time for this model and swore that I wouldn't hang around like I ussually do and would buy it as soon as it came out. It appeared to have everything that I could want from a DVD recorder.
But now its out I'm getting cold feet.
There's a couple of things that concern me.
1. I've heard a lot about fan noice. I don't have Sky+ and haven't had a DVD recorder with a hard disk before so I'm not sure what to expect. Will it be like the fan in my laptop(that would be OK) or like the fan in my version 1 playstation 2 (please God, no).

2. I read a recent review of the 510 that stated that when transferring anamorphic material to DVD+R and DVD+R (dual layer) the picture is converted from anamorphic to letterbox format. I assume that the 710 is going to do the same thing. I used to record onto DVD+R on my Philips and had always assumed that it was recording exactly what it had received.
I'm not sure whether all DVD recorders exhibit this behaviour, whether its something to do with the format of the disk or whether Sony are just holding back a feature for the next range.

My question is, should I be concerned about these 2 points.

Thanks

 

[ArtS]

Hi Treefrog

I have 710 and I have noticed that fan noise is not a problem. I think, it is similar or even less than laptop's noise (it is too hard to compare if I don't know what laptop you have). I think Sony has temperature sensor for fan, beause if I switch it on fan noise is louder for a second or two, then it is becomes normal. Sometimes, if my machine works for a long time, fan noise becomes louder. My PC is much, much louder then Sony. In most cases Sony's fan noise is noticable only after midnight (ghosts? ), when everyone and everything sleep well. Anyway, even after midhight it is almost unnoticable . In my opinion Sony's fan works well. My 2 year Panasonic VCR engine's motor is a little bit louder than Sony. Can you believe it?

I have not tried to record 16:9 picture on DVD+R/RW yet, so I don't know if Sony makes it letterboxed. I have not tried it because I know, that Sony records 16:9 picture as 4:3 on DVD+R/RW. I will try to record something 16:9 from my DVD player, so check this thread soon.

ArtS

 

[Cablechap]

Question 2:

I'm sure somebody can advise if this is not the case, but I read somewhere (not very useful I know) that 16:9 material is recorded in the same format on DVD+R/RW media, the only issue is that it is not flagged as such, and so on playback, you have to set it manually.

 

[treefrog]

Question 2:

I'm sure somebody can advise if this is not the case, but I read somewhere (not very useful I know) that 16:9 material is recorded in the same format on DVD+R/RW media, the only issue is that it is not flagged as such, and so on playback, you have to set it manually.

I remember seeing this post but I think a 510 owner posted further down stating that it definately converted the format.

 

[treefrog]

I remember seeing this post but I think a 510 owner posted further down stating that it definately converted the format.

I went back and had a look at that thread and have concluded that they were infact both totally correct. I think I understand now. My previous recorder didn't allow setting the format of the picture for recordings (I don't think) so this is new to me. My understanding now is that if I record everything in 4:3 I will always end up with all of the picture whether it be on DVD-R, DVD+R or DVD+R dual layered. The only downside being that I would manually need to change the TV when watching them back depending on format.

 

[treefrog]

Thanks, Arts, for the info.
It looks like it may not be quite as bad as I thought.
You said that the fan is slightly louder when you swtich it on. Does that mean that the fan is always on, even if you are just watching a DVD.

Thanks

 

[ArtS]

As I mentioned above, fan speed depends on internal temperature. Recorder has build-in HDD, which always works, even if you don't use it (while you watch DVD for instance). HDD is always rotating its plates, so it is always ready to use, and it is getting hot. Because it is hot, cooling fan has to work. It is normal. Maybe it stops for a while from time to time, I don't know. But its noise is not noticable, when you watch TV.

My recorder stands about 2.5 meters from me on uncovered shelf. If I watch TV with low level sound (when dialogs become noticable) I cannot hear recorder's noise. I can hear it only at night, when everyone sleeps well, and I don't use TV. But it is noticable only when recorder is on or doing timer recording.

One more thing - if I dub something to 4x DVD-RW, the DVD drive noise is noticably louder than fan noise!

I think, every HDD recorder do the same - their fans work always! But, as I know, Toshiba doesn't use temperature adjustment for its fan, so it is works at constant speed.

ArtS

 

[treefrog]

As I mentioned above, fan speed depends on internal temperature. Recorder has build-in HDD, which always works, even if you don't use it (while you watch DVD for instance). HDD is always rotating its plates, so it is always ready to use, and it is getting hot. Because it is hot, cooling fan has to work. It is normal. Maybe it stops for a while from time to time, I don't know. But its noise is not noticable, when you watch TV.

My recorder stands about 2.5 meters from me on uncovered shelf. If I watch TV with low level sound (when dialogs become noticable) I cannot hear recorder's noise. I can hear it only at night, when everyone sleeps well, and I don't use TV. But it is noticable only when recorder is on or doing timer recording.

One more thing - if I dub something to 4x DVD-RW, the DVD drive noise is noticably louder than fan noise!

I think, every HDD recorder do the same - their fans work always! But, as I know, Toshiba doesn't use temperature adjustment for its fan, so it is works at constant speed.

ArtS

Thanks again, Arts, you have been very helpful.

 

[ArtS]

2. I read a recent review of the 510 that stated that when transferring anamorphic material to DVD+R and DVD+R (dual layer) the picture is converted from anamorphic to letterbox format. I assume that the 710 is going to do the same thing. I used to record onto DVD+R on my Philips and had always assumed that it was recording exactly what it had received.
I'm not sure whether all DVD recorders exhibit this behaviour, whether its something to do with the format of the disk or whether Sony are just holding back a feature for the next range.

Hi treefrog

I have done some experiments with 16:9 picture and DVD+RW. I think, DVD+R is virtually the same as DVD+RW.

First, I have recorded title with 16:9 aspect ratio from the sky (SAT TV). On HDD it is anamorphic 16:9 picture.

But when I tried to copy this title to DVD+RW, the recorder reencoded it in real time to 4:3 letterboxed picture .

I thought, I should change Video setting to record 16:9 on DVD. With Sony you can decide which way you want to record anamorphic picture. On HDD you can choose 4:3, 16:9 or Auto, but on DVD 4:3 or 16:9 only. So I changed setting to 16:9, and the recorder reencoded title to 4:3 letterboxed in real time too .

So, I have decided to try DVD-RW in Video mode. That is no problem. Sony records 16:9 and 4:3 (of course) properly .

Maybe I have not used all possible combinations of settings, but my conclusion is:

If you record 4:3 picture on Sony, disc type doesn't matter, but if you want to record 16:9 picture you have to use DVD-R/RW discs.

I will try some other settings in the future, but I don't suppose it helps.

I don't know, if your Philips can read "minuses", but if yes, you could use "minuses" for 16:9 titles. As you probably know, "minuses" are more compatible with standalones players.

ArtS

 

[treefrog]

Thanks again Arts for the info. I found the manual on the sony site today and read it cover to cover and to be honest I am none the wiser.
I'm usually pretty good at these things but I don't think I'll fully understand the recording format issue until I buy one and try it out.
I still can't fully comprehend why one would want to set the aspect ratio of a recording. Surely anybody would want to record a broadcast in its entirety irrespective of the shape of TV they have or the aspect ratio of the original program and not have any processing done on the recording. That way they have the flexibility to watch the recording on any type of TV at the same resolution as the original broadcast.
I'm sure that I'm harping on about something that really isn't an issue, its just the fact that they brought it up in the review of this machine as a negative.
I'm still eager to get one though, just as soon as I find it for sale on a site that I trust.

Thanks again