Pioneer DVR-660H Recorder - Any Good?

[Plarocks]

Looking to possibly upgrade my old Pioneer DVR-7000 with a newer model.

Anyone have the Pioneer DVR-660H?
Is the unit worth the $500 USD they seem to be trading at now?

Would love to find a good DVD Recorder with a Hard Drive, as I am tired of making coasters if I start a manual edit too late, ect.

Thanks for reading.

[jjeff]

From everything I've read about the 660(or even the 560 or 460) they are the pinnacle of Pioneers endeavor into the DVD Recorder business.
I wouldn't expect the 660 to be of the build quality of your Elite 7000, which IMO was one of the nicest looking and well built DVDRs ever made, it's still proven to be very reliable and well made.
Orsetto or one of the other Pioneer power users will be able to elaborate more on the differences but I don't think you'd be unhappy getting a 660 and from what I've seen $500 for a like new recorder isn't a bad deal.
Not sure what media you use but the best media for such a recorder would be JVC Taiyo Yuden 8x Premium line available online for <30 cents/disc delivered. Not only is 8x media more reliable but it's easier on the DVD burner because it requires less burning current and things run cooler.

[SkyerFlyer]

I have owned 2- 660's for two or three years. One is still brand new, never opened in the box. I bought two in case they turned out to be turds, I would have a backup while looking for something better. No need to look any further.

I've owned several Panasonic HDD/DVD recorders and think Panasonic is probably the best consumer brand. I've always been pleased with the performance of my Panasonics.

However, the 660H is a great recorder. Picture quality is about as good as it gets for 480i recording. The quality is very tweakable with a host of video options, adjustments and recording speeds. I have done over a thousand burns with the DVD drive and NEVER had a problem. Always use quality discs.

Still using my first machine with zero problems...I highly recommend it.

[Plarocks]

Thank you so much jjeff and SkyerFlyer!

I have been wanting to find either a Pioneer 560 or 660 for sale. I missed the last used 660 that sold on E-bay for $375

I basically want to purchase a top quality DVD recorder with a Hard Drive. Hey SkyerFlyer, any hopes of you parting with one of your units?

So far I have been only able to find a 160Gig 560 unit for sale. Open Box, new, but he wants $700.

But get this, I can buy the JVC SR-HD1250 Blu-Ray recorder with a 250Gig Hard Drive for $900!

I would primarily be using this to record my DV tapes, VHS tapes, and Standard Def Fios Recordings to DVD-R. I would also see if this could record my Hi-Def broadcasts to a Blank Blu-Ray, but I think the stop copy flags may not allow me to do that. However, does this unit work well as a DVD recorder? I would have no problem with anamorphic DVD's from my Hi-Def recordings like the DVD-Rs I make now.

Just wondering if the JVC SR-HD1250 will be the "Best" DVD recorder I could be using today, or would I be better off shelling out the bucks for a final Pioneer unit?

Thanks for all of your info. If I break down and try the JVC Blu-Ray recorder, I will post the results of my experiments here!

[usually_quiet]

Thank you so much jjeff and SkyerFlyer!

I have been wanting to find either a Pioneer 560 or 660 for sale. I missed the last used 660 that sold on E-bay for $375

I basically want to purchase a top quality DVD recorder with a Hard Drive. Hey SkyerFlyer, any hopes of you parting with one of your units?

So far I have been only able to find a 160Gig 560 unit for sale. Open Box, new, but he wants $700.

But get this, I can buy the JVC SR-HD1250 Blu-Ray recorder with a 250Gig Hard Drive for $900!

I would primarily be using this to record my DV tapes, VHS tapes, and Standard Def Fios Recordings to DVD-R. I would also see if this could record my Hi-Def broadcasts to a Blank Blu-Ray, but I think the stop copy flags may not allow me to do that. However, does this unit work well as a DVD recorder? I would have no problem with anamorphic DVD's from my Hi-Def recordings like the DVD-Rs I make now.

Just wondering if the JVC SR-HD1250 will be the "Best" DVD recorder I could be using today, or would I be better off shelling out the bucks for a final Pioneer unit?

Thanks for all of your info. If I break down and try the JVC Blu-Ray recorder, I will post the results of my experiments here!

Take another look at that Blu-Ray recorder before buying . It has no component analog inputs, no HDMI inputs and no tuner. See http://pro.jvc.com/pro/attributes/DVD/brochure/srhd1250_1500.pdf It is really a specialty product for HD videography.

[victoriabears]

my goodness these are getting rare aren't they, I have used bidnapper for many years for ebay bids, works like a dream.

These things seem to go in cycles, if you can wait and be patient the price may come down, I've checked everywhere and place slike B&H photo, dvd overseas that used to stock them no longer do, Pioneer stopped making them some time ago so I suppose the stocks have gone.

Hard Drive machines in the USA really do seem to be a thing of the past.

Do not know what the JVC of 2011 is like but gotta tell ya, in the past , Panasonic blow them out of the water reliability wise, sorry Lordsmurf but it seems the JVC Euro machines are much better.

I have two JVC DVD Recorders (PAL) that have done sterling work on my vhs project, which will be finished in a few months-phew !

[jjeff]

I agree with avoiding that JVC BR recorder, you'll be much better with a older Pio or even Panny w/HDD. For Pannys look for a '05 EH-50 or '06 EH-55 or EH-75v combo, you already know what to look for Pios . As was pointed out to me, the x50 and x60 series Pios(which most consider the best models) were not officially imported to the US (Canada had them) but by that time the US had mandated all DVDRs either have a digital tuner or no tuner at all. Pioneer wasn't about to upgrade to a digital tuner so they pulled out of the US. I've also been somewhat looking for a used x50/x60 Pio but after several years of Craigslist and pawn shops I have yet to see one in my area, let alone have it be a decent price. Pannys are available at times but can be priced higher than I'll go.

You could purchase a new or floor model Panasonic EH-59 international DVDR w/250GB HDD and dual layer burning starting at ~$250 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/DVD-Players-Recorders/ci/15316/N/4294210544 I have one and it's a wonderful machine but does have a couple caveats. One is no tuner(only line input recording for the N. America) the other is unless you slightly lower the input brightness(-7.5 IRE) your recordings will be a tad on the light side. If you're recording from a DVD player with a DARKER setting you're good to go but with VHS for a source you may need a Proc Amp or other device to slightly lower the brightness. Note with VHS you may not even notice the slightly elevated brightness but with a good quality source it is noticeable, to me anyway.
You might want to keep an eye on this thread http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1305007 where member em-t-wallit has been updating lots of used HDD DVDRs. Note almost all of the newer Pios are in Canada and not the US. Go to the last posts for the most current deals.

[lacywest]

Interesting stuff ... said here ...

[WILDHAWKE]

Hi, I am wanting to know if the PIONEER DVR660H MODEL RECORDER,,does this have an ANALOGUE or DIGITAL TUNER,,Many Thanks..Mal.T. [NZ].

[jjeff]

Analog, I now own a 660H and can say for sure analog PAL only, it is a very nice recorder though for recording from it's line inputs which record not only PAL but also NTSC.