DVD Recorder

[Juguard]

I'm going to buy a DVD recorder in the next few days, but need some help deciding which one. I'm not a big fan of Sony, but theirs looks pretty good. The 2 models I have been looking at are the RDR-GX300 and the RDR-VX500 . $399 and $499 respectively. The VX500 has a VCR also, wich is nice to do VHS to DVD, and it has some other features like i.Link for camcorders. But what I need the most, is DVD Recording performance, and quality. Top I'm willing to spend is $500, unless there is something so special, that I should invest a bit more.

Let me know what you know, and what you think, heh.

Thanks.

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

You want to spend 500$, buy this one Panasonic

I personally bought the one with 120gb HDD HDD+DVD

All I have to say is this is such better to have the HDD. Otherwise, you always have to burn tv program on dvd

I love to record a tv series completly and then burn all the shows on a dvd.

also, panasonic supports dvd-ram

[Veedems Veteran]

also, panasonic supports dvd-ram

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and doesn't support dvd-rw, dvd+r, dvd+rw. I'd say go with the 500 if you want easy vhs dubbing, however, if you don't mind working a little bit, save the cash and get the 300.

[Juguard]

well, so far im leaning towards the Sony RDR-VX500 ... It can also play CDRW MP3s, so its pretty cool, and has the i.Link for Camcoders, plus easy VHS Dubbing. :) ... I'll read more about others.

[Veedems Veteran]

well, so far im leaning towards the Sony RDR-VX500 ...  It can also play CDRW MP3s, so its pretty cool, and has the i.Link for Camcoders, plus easy VHS Dubbing. :) ... I'll read more about others.

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One other unit you may wan tto look at is the LG LGXBR446 . Has 7 in 2 mem card reader built in also.

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

and doesn't support dvd-rw, dvd+r, dvd+rw. I'd say go with the 500 if you want easy vhs dubbing, however, if you don't mind working a little bit, save the cash and get the 300.

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who need dvd+rw or dvd-rw when you have dvd-ram which you can delete the part you want on the disk to rewrite anything else... which dvd-rw and dvd+rw don't

You have to erase the entire dvd!

Also at the highest quality on the panasonic, you need a dvd-ram 8.5gb to record a 2h movie. Want quality? it's there

and from a couple of review I saw, panasonics are the highest rates

[Veedems Veteran]

who need dvd+rw or dvd-rw when you have dvd-ram which you can delete the part you want on the disk to rewrite anything else... which dvd-rw and dvd+rw don't

You have to erase the entire dvd!

Also at the highest quality on the panasonic, you need a dvd-ram 8.5gb to record a 2h movie.  Want quality? it's there

and from a couple of review I saw, panasonics are the highest rates

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Incorrect. There are recorders out there that do not require you wipe the disc clean. For instance, one Toshiba model will take the second show off a dvd-rw and move it to the beginning of the disc (if you delete the first show) so that you can record from where the second show leaves off instead of being confied to the same recording length of the first show/

Also, dvd-ram lacks compatibility. Try to play your discs in a Sony, Toshiba, Magnavox, Philips, Samsung, etc dvd player. Most models simply will not play it.

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

whatever fits you need, I will never ever switch to a sony

dvd-ram is just the way to go imo

[Juguard]

I'm no t a bit sony fan either finalcut, but they seem to be prety good, and got good reviews. Also, it says in the sony manual that to record a widescreen, 16:9, you need to use a DVD-R or DVD-RW, wich I think some models out there dont even bother having compatibillity for DVD+R and DVD+RW

Most likely, I'm going to get it from online, cuz its cheaper, but I have to get it before March 1st, F1 season starts the first weekend of March, and I need it. :p

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

Juguard: I've shopped sony too because I was a hufe fan in the past. All I wanted is something with dvd-ram support for the only reason that when you record a movie to a dvd-r or anything else, to have decent quality, you will need 2-3 dvds

dvd-ram 2 sides can record only 2hours at highest quality on my panasonic

So if you have a big screen tv, think about it!

Personally, the format compatibility wasnt an issue compared to quality. My panasonic has 213h storage at lowest quality and around 23h at highest!

I wont bother you if you have 32" and less tv but when you have bigger... ugh

Sony are great and I've been a fan for over 20 years now but their dvd-recorder didnt impress me at all. Maybe you have models and prices I dont have where I live

About the 16x9 on dvd-r and dvd-rw, im really not sure from where you know that. I'd like to see some articles.

As my panasonic records on dvd-r, I wont have that supposly issue

cheers

[Juguard]

well, what type of quality can you record on a DVD-R? The Sony RDR-VX500 supports: Recording Hours on DVD: 1H(HQ)/1.5H(HSP)/2H(SP)/3H(LP)/4H(EP)/6H(SLP) The only way to see the quality is to try it. Yea, I'm taking a risk buying either unit, but I really dont want to edit everything I record. I just want to recorde, name the DVD to whatever I recorded, and Store it. Whats going to suck, is I bet in a year from now, they will have Dual Layer DVD Recorders, or maybe even Blue Ray, or HDVD, or whatever its called. Wich is gona suck spending money for the current DVDs.

I might look at DVD-RAM so I can record at higher quality, so I can fit more on a single DVD-Ram, then in about 2 years get a new recorder and convert everything to Blue Ray. If they are availale in 2 years. We'll see.

[Juguard]

well, a DVD-RAM 9.4G is double sided, wich means I have to switch sides on it. And its dam expensive for a single disk. I rather use 2 DVD-R to get the same quality and much cheaper.

[Veedems Veteran]

For your needs, I think you're making the right choice with the Sony model. Go with your gut instinct man.

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

like bangbang is saying, just buy what you need

We would be always waiting on new stuff thinking about new upcoming technology...

the sony HQ quality is probably the same as my highest too, 1h on a single dvd 4.7gb

Below that on big screen, the image is bad :/

for the price of dvd-ram, its true they are expensive, but I get em as same price of dvd-r from a friend :)

take your pick and send us your impression

good luck