Question Recommendations For Freeview Recorder

Gammerz

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My Panasonic DMR EX85 is on its last legs - the sound quality is terrible, so I'm after a replacement. The DMR EX85 was great in that it could record any SD Freeview program to HDD, then I could edit and archive to SD DVD (DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R).

I was looking for an equivalent model but I've heard that Freeview copy protection on newer recorders now prevents archiving to DVD and Blu-Ray, making a DVD recorder and even more so, a Blue-Ray recorder, a waste of money, with the only real option being an HDD recorder without the DVD recording ability.

How restrictive and widely used is the protection on Freeview films and series?

Are there any Freeview recorders out there better than the "DMR-EX97EB-K DVD Recorder with Freeview HD Recorder - 500 GB HDD" or what looks like the equivalent model without DVD recording: "DMR-HWT130EB Freeview+ HD Recorder - 500 GB"?

Thanks.
 
The copy protection on modern recorders is not as bad as you fear. It is usually possible to create at least one copy in High Definition. SD copying is unlimited.

If you want just SD archiving capability then the EX97 cannot be bettered.
Obviously, a machine like the HWT130 has no permanent archiving capability.

But a HD/Bluray archiving machine does have a lot going for it. There would be no point in making and selling these machines if restriction was so bad that they could not be used.

This is the only currently available machine on the market with such capabilities.
 
I was a little worried about these reviews on Amazon - one of them looks like an experienced Pana recorder owner.
 
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