Pioneer DVR-231S ?

[lumis]

i was at an out of town wal-mart today and saw the pioneer dvr-231s, it looked similar to the pioneer dvr-220s that i have.. and was priced the same ($198).. has anyone used this dvd recorder? has pioneer finally fixed the bugs from the 220s and packaged it as the 231s?

i almost want to buy it and and out.

i posted my review of it in the dvd players comments;

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4512&Search=Search&#comments

[steve2713]

I wasn't really aware of any 'bugs' in the 220. Elaborate?

[Frobozz]

Yes, what bugs in the 220? My guess is the 231 is the Walmart-only version of the DVR-233S. All I know about the 233 is that it has a maximum 10-hour recording mode and only one set of inputs on the back. A couple non-familiar online retailers claim to have the 233 in stock but yours is the first sighting I've heard about of a new model.

My brother just bought a 320S because he wanted the Firewire input and didn't want the hard drive models. Pioneer apparently will only have Firewire in the hard drive models in the future, so the 320S is the last of its line.

[vhelp]

Yes. Do elaborate on the bugs in the 220-S version, because I'm
unaware of them. All I do know, so far, for my dvd recorder projects,
I've never come across any. (sure, someone posted a "black-out" issue
with vhs tapes, but I haven't been able to duplicate it. Thus, I have
ruled that issue out as a false bug.
And, that is *THE ONLY* bug that seems to be going around here, for
the 220-S unit.., hardly worth throwing you's out the window
..one bug ?

Anyways

Cheers,
-vhelp 3327

[ROBERT BLACK]

Yes. Do elaborate on the bugs in the 220-S version, because I'm
unaware of them. All I do know, so far, for my dvd recorder projects,
I've never come across any. (sure, someone posted a "black-out" issue
with vhs tapes, but I haven't been able to duplicate it. Thus, I have
ruled that issue out as a false bug.
And, that is *THE ONLY* bug that seems to be going around here, for
the 220-S unit.., hardly worth throwing you's out the window
..one bug ?

Anyways

Cheers,
-vhelp 3327

The 220-S has received complaints about excessive grain on the recorded image. Could this be what lumis is talking about?

[lumis]

maybe i went a little rough in calling them bugs.. but

1) support recording from 16:9 & maintaing the correct A/R (without having to patch on the PC)

2) support recording at 192kbps ac3 (256kbps is just a waste, and so is LPCM). (not really a bug)

3) multi-system (NTSC/PAL) dvd video playback support (not really a bug, but c'mon)

4) support DVD+R DL for playback, i can understand not recording them.. you should especially when the book type is DVD-ROM. (totally a bug)

[lumis]

Yes, what bugs in the 220? My guess is the 231 is the Walmart-only version of the DVR-233S. All I know about the 233 is that it has a maximum 10-hour recording mode and only one set of inputs on the back. A couple non-familiar online retailers claim to have the 233 in stock but yours is the first sighting I've heard about of a new model.

My brother just bought a 320S because he wanted the Firewire input and didn't want the hard drive models. Pioneer apparently will only have Firewire in the hard drive models in the future, so the 320S is the last of its line.

the 320 is exactly the same machine as the 220, with the exception of the firewire/dvi port, correct?

the 231s i saw didnt have a firewire port on it.. thats what made me think it was a newer version of the 220.

[gshelley61]

Here's the Pioneer web page on the 233. One Call and J&R have them in stock for $199.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_15020669_236514640,00.html


Here's a decent picture of the 233 from a Japanese web site...

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20050107/ces04_03.jpg

[ROBERT BLACK]

maybe i went a little rough in calling them bugs.. but

1) support recording from 16:9 & maintaing the correct A/R (without having to patch on the PC)

2) support recording at 192kbps ac3 (256kbps is just a waste, and so is LPCM). (not really a bug)

3) multi-system (NTSC/PAL) dvd video playback support (not really a bug, but c'mon)

4) support DVD+R DL for playback, i can understand not recording them.. you should especially when the book type is DVD-ROM. (totally a bug)

1. I've recorded 16:9 shows all the time. No problems.

2. I'll have to check that manual again. I thought the 220-s had 192kbps ac3?

3. Multiregion? Absolutely! They're should be a hack.

4. I've played a friend's +R discs on mine. (Taiyo Yuden)


The only bug I can see is the excessive video noise, on TV recordings. Even if the cable/sat signal looks decent on you're monitor, theirs just too much of it. But a good signal booster from Radio shack should solve most of that. The 510H seems to have this problem as well. On direct TV to DVD-R recordings.

[lumis]

robert black,

a friend of mine and i both have this dvd recorder. so i'm sure this is not just an isolated incident.

1) if i were to record from a true hdtv source in dvd-video mode, finalize the disc & give it to a friend who had a regular dvd player and regular tv, everything would be all out of proportion. the player records in 4:3 only, although you can force 16:9 with your tv.

2) it has LPCM & 256kbps ac3..

3) ...

4) i said DVD+R DL, double layer DVD+R discs. it will not play them. and it pisses me off. probably because its using a DVR-104 drive that doesnt check the booktype like most drives do.




gshelley,

yep, thats the player.. it doesnt seem like its as good as the 220.. it only has 2 inputs, 1/front & 1/back.. nice find on the website, i couldnt find it for crap.

[ROBERT BLACK]

lumis,thanks for clearing all that up. Yeah, I've never played +R DL discs on the 220-S, only the single layer. As for capping a true ATSC HD source, quite frankly I'm surprised it capped any image at all. My understanding is that most of these recorders can only handle NTSC standard period.(PAL in euro models or hackable recorders) But good to know you can get some sort of image(although AR messed up) from an HD source.