New Maxent (formerly Sampo America) DVD recorders revealed

[clayts]

From Area 450 :

Maxent, the new name for Sampo America, have already revealed what their first two DVD products are likely to be, although details about one remain very sketchy.

Both are DVD recorders, with the standard version set to retail between $279 and $299. The DVE-R6 is a totally new design from Sampo, featuring a new slimline look which is more aesthetically pleasing than the slightly chunky DVE-R3. Measuring up at 430mm wide by 300mm depth by 68mm height, the R6 will be the entry level recorder, with very similar specifications to the R3. It is understood at this stage that it is feasible the recorder will feature an IEEE1394 Firewire input, although this is noted only as an "optional extra" at present. Details of this recorder have yet to appear on the Sampo Taiwan site.

Details of the new DVE-R7 are not so clear-cut, however, although we expect it to be the US version of the soon-come Claire DV-R7H DVD+R/+RW deck fitted with a 120GB hard drive, announced at the back-end of last year. A manufacturer's recommended selling price has not yet been released for this deck and neither have details of the Taiwan version of the R7. If Maxent were to release this model imminently, they would beat Philips, Sony and Mustek to the punch, all of whom announced new DVD+R/+RW recoders with hard drives at this year's CES in Las Vegas.

We'll publish more information about the two recorders just as soon as we get it. However, it now seems highly questionable that the DVE-R3 will get a US release this Spring, as was originally thought.

[tag]

What about this? Worth looking into????

Maxent RS215 at Costco

[clayts]

My colleague Craig is currently trialling one, but first impressions suggest there may be a DVD+R finalising fault, remedied only by a firmware upgrade.

I'd hang back until we've published our review.

[clayts]

Incidentally - they're showing the wrong picture (that's the MX-RS200). The MX-RS215 looks like this (although it has a Maxent badge, not a Sampo badge) :

[tag]

clayts,

Thanks for the response.

I've bookmarked your web site (very nicely done, btw!!) and will check it on a regular basis for the review.

Kind of strange that Costco would have the RS200 pic on their site but state it's the RS215 in the description. I did a search for the RS215 and couldn't find any reseller other than Costco. So, now I'm wondering if it's actually the RS215 they're selling.

[clayts]

Yes, it appears to be - the '200 doesn't have FireWire input, he '215 does.

The recorder has only recently landed in the US, so it won't have spread to many retailers yet. Indeed, the only other person we know who has stock is our mate Gene Callahan - and he can supply them region free too

[tag]

Thanks again!

I'll have to run over to my local Costco when I get a chance and see if they have one on display. I'd like to see this recorder up close.