Pioneer DVR-57H or Sony RDR HX900

[mn072065]

Some advice. I was given a xmas bonus. I would like to buy a good dvd recorder. I know all the features of both of these machines and their prices. But I cannot make up my mind. I know the Pioneer is more expensive, but i'm looking for quality on recordings from TV and transferring some of my old VHS tapes. I appreciate any opinion. and does anyone know a cheap place to check for pricing. Thanks

[Synergy]

If these two are your only choice, definitely go with the Sony model. The Pioneer DVR-57H is the Elite (meaning overpriced) version of the Pioneer DVR-810H and it doesn't allow any editing on the HDD (one of the major reasons to buy an HDD-based recorder), and it's basically a glorified TIVO machine with DVD recording/playback features. There are equivalent if not better and cheaper DVD recorders, of course, than these two, but that's probably another topic.

[zob]

I have a Sony RDR HX900 and the picture quality is excellent. Sense I have not tried the Pioneer recorder I cannot comment on it. I guess the best way to make a decision is to compare the features and the user reviews on the Internet. I have had mine for less than a week so I have not wrote a review because I like to try the unit out for a couple weeks before doing so. Another thing you may want to consider is the compatibility of the recorder with other components in your home theater system. The three things I look for in a DVD recorder is picture quality, ease-of-use and good compatibility with other DVD Players. There is also a forum topic listed on VideoHelp for the Sony RDR HX900. I hope this information helps.

[Frobozz]

I am a huge fan of the Pioneer DVR-510H-S (which I have) and its current model the DVR-520H-S. But I wouldn't buy a DVR-57H. My daughter has the similar Pioneer DVR-810H-S and it basically is a TIVO with the ability to record its programs to DVD. My 510 can do many, many things her 810 cannot do. Here is a link where you can read some basic comparisons between the models.
http://pioneerelectronics.com/pna/press/release/detail/0,,2076_4313_95272457,00.html

I recommend you choose between a DVR-520H-S and the Sony.

[mn072065]

Thank you so much everyone. Now I will read and try to choose from the pioneer 520 or the Sony. I want to make sure I buy the best model... Thanks

[mn072065]

I did not know how complicated some of these machines can be. I like both features of both machines Sony and the Pioneer 520H. Anyone else with other opinions. I read that the Pioneer has great Professional menus tempates for creating menus. Anyone have samples of these menus on how they look.

[oldfart13]

Go here and look for the HX900 threads...

www.avsforum.com

[Frobozz]

The Pioneer has great features for customizing the quality of your recording, but the title menus are basic. You have a choice of 9 menus. The first three display 3 movies per page and have some graphics on them. The second group of 3 display 4 titles per page and the third group displays 6 titles per page. These are just color panels with boxes for each title. The title has a screen image you can select (in an earlier menu) and two 16-character lines of text.

What is terrific is the ability to set 32 different encoding rates for the length of the content and to fine tune the video's color and other qualities for encoding. The editing is easy as well.

[Synergy]

What is terrific is the ability to set 32 different encoding rates for the length of the content and to fine tune the video's color and other qualities for encoding. The editing is easy as well.

Frobozz brought up a very good point. All the big six Japanese DVD manufacturers (Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, JVC, and Sharp) use some kind of Flexible Recording (or called Manual Recording by Pioneer and Sharp) feature to fully utilize the whole disc space when recording to DVD media for archives, except Sony. If you want to record a program, say, 2hrs 15 mins long, on a Sony model, you have to choose the 3-hr instead of 2-hr recording mode, losing some quality and maybe wasting 45 min worth of space. On models with FR, you just specify the length of the recording, and the machine will allocate the available disc space to the recording without wasting any space. It''s a very useful feature in certain occasions.