Pioneer 660 HDD Recorder First Impression

[oldfart13]

I have a price at least, $550CAD. Checked the manual and it isn't an ATSC tuner, so it is definitely intended for the market here. Looks to be mostly a standard update to the 650, except for the LAN port. It shows a connection to a computer running XP(SP2) and Vista but I *assume* it should work with a wireless LAN adapter, such as you would use on a notebook computer. The computer must also be capable of playing WM11 it says in the manual. The unit I saw I had one of the salemen crack out of the box so I could check the specs in the manual. I didn't get to check where it was manufactured. Probably on my next visit. If you have specific questions, let me know so I can check the manual/recorder to see if they can be answered.

[wabjxo]

If same as DVR-640, outside box, one end or side, should have:

Designed by Pioneer.
Manufactured in China.

For US buyers, CAD$550 = US$555.7240 at today's conversion rate.

[oldfart13]

Made In China March 2008

[wabjxo]

No "Designed by Pioneer"? That would be an Oh-Oh!

[oldfart13]

Hmmm...looks similar to this Japanese one, except that it only has a 250 Gig drive:

http://search.pioneer.co.jp/?ord=s&id=10733&rt=eng&kw=dvd+recorder&image.x=17&image.y=9

I'll check for the "designed by" in the manual providing it says at all. The only sure way would be to get pix of the circuit boards...

[oldfart13]

Hmmmm....the Canadian one can't do 2 shows at the same time. According to this: http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news_details.php?id=15885 the Japanese one can. maybe not so similar after all....

[oldfart13]

Okay, I took a look at the entire manual today as well as they had it out of it's box for a good look. The file transfer appears to be one way, from the computer to the recorder HDD but it will allow 2 way tranfer of data from the Internet, say for the Gracenotes data after audio files have been transferred to the HDD. The 660 seems to be about the same as the 650 other than the LAN port, right down to the front and back controls, inputs and outputs. I had a bit of confusion with the need for WM11. It is only needed if the computer is connected via the USB port. However, there seems to be a problem with the manual. Page 102 says it needs Windows Vista to run through the Ethernet port, but on page 26, it says it will run on XP Home or Premium as well as long as SP2 is installed. It should be easy for someone to take a quick look at the boards as the unit is held together with several Philips head screws. No word anywhere on the box or unit as to who assembled this unit. Just "Made In China". Any idea who assembled the 650s?