Need Advice as to which Desktop DVD Recorder to purchase

[_JW_]

Hey guys, I'm new here.. anyway.. I've wanted to purchase a desktop DVD recorder for awhile now, and I've been doing some research as far as to which model/brand I should get. I'm interested in a brand that records DVD-R's primarily. My #1 priority is quality of the tapes, I want good quality on the DVDs in 3 hour or 4 hour mode mainly (good 6 hour quality would be nice too).. I was looking at pioneer but after reading some of their reviews here, it doesn't look like I can get a good pioneer one that records with good quality.

My second priority is a hard drive, which would be nice for editing out commericals and stuff.

Thats really it, I would apperciate any suggestions any of you have. Thanks!

[FulciLives]

If you want a stand alone DVD recorder that does DVD-R and includes a built-in HDD for capture/editing then you cannot go wrong with Panasonic.

The best bang for the buck right now is the DMR-E80 which has an 80GB HDD built-in but later this year (I think sometime in May of 2004) Panasonic will be releasing even newer models and the replacement for the DMR-E80 is the DMR-E85 and it comes with a 120GB HDD built-in!

A word of warning ... if you are a quality freak then the 2 hour mode is the best choice for a balance of content and quality (there is a 1 hour mode but even being a quality freak I realize how limiting that is time wise per disc). The 4 hour mode is OK but I surely woulnd't "push it" past that. In other words you can forget good quality at 6 hours. DVD just can't cut it there as the capacity of a single layer DVD disc is just not enough for that much content ... at least not in any remote defination of the word quality.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[FulciLives]

I forgot to mention something ...

You might want to check out the website AVS forum

They have a forum dedicated to stand alone DVD recorders.

It is a great resource

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Capmaster]

If you want a stand alone DVD recorder that does DVD-R and includes a built-in HDD for capture/editing then you cannot go wrong with Panasonic.

The best bang for the buck right now is the DMR-E80 which has an 80GB HDD built-in but later this year (I think sometime in May of 2004) Panasonic will be releasing even newer models and the replacement for the DMR-E80 is the DMR-E85 and it comes with a 120GB HDD built-in!

A word of warning ... if you are a quality freak then the 2 hour mode is the best choice for a balance of content and quality (there is a 1 hour mode but even being a quality freak I realize how limiting that is time wise per disc). The 4 hour mode is OK but I surely woulnd't "push it" past that. In other words you can forget good quality at 6 hours. DVD just can't cut it there as the capacity of a single layer DVD disc is just not enough for that much content ... at least not in any remote defination of the word quality.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

I agree with John and would even question the 4-hour mode if there's any action or flashing lights - especially difficult for encoders. That's a personal choice though and everyone's idea of what "good enough" is is bound to be different I also would recommend a Panasonic ...they're well-designed and the quality will surprise you.