Anyone bought the Pioneer 231 from Walmart

[etcallhome]

Walmart has a new Pioneer DVD recorder that looks to be a replacement for the old 220's. 231 I believe it is. Has anyone purchased or used one of these? I have looked all over this site for any info on this lastest version. The 220 consistently got solid reviews for good performance and PQ. Is the new one as good as the old?

[FulciLives]

The new 231/233 models dropped some features that the older 220/225 models had ... I believe it mostly lost it's "adjustments" like contrast/saturation etc. that almost made the 220/225 have it's own built-in mini proc-amp. I also think (might be wrong) that the new 231/233 does not have the variable record time and you must use "fixed" recording times. Also no input adjustment for 7.5 IRE BLACK vs 0.0 IRE BLACK.

In short you are better off with the 220/225 models (both are the same).

The good news is you can still find the 220/225 models.

For instance ... AMAZON.COM has the 225 right now for $179.88 with free shipping. You might also want to try PRICEGRABBER.COM or eBay

Even if you have to pay the same for the 220/225 as you do for the 231/233 you are still better of with the 220/225 models.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[gshelley61]

Correct. Pioneer has "dumbed down" their new entry level units (231/233) so much that they are not a good choice for the video hobbyist. Either find a 220/225 (used 220's are going for a little over $100 on eBay these days), or buy their new DVR-531H (also at Wal Mart). It's loaded with excellent features, has a built in hard drive, and is very reasonably priced for what you get... $337

[ebenton]

I don't know if anyone has a Rex audio video store near them, but they have the Pioneer DVR-320S on sale for about $199 locally here in Florida. They have it online for $189.
http://www.rexstores.com/flexon/site/Video/DVD_Recorders/5PXS86VKLCA1QBXFGLFW/sku.html
I don't know anything about the features, but it's got a higher model number, so it must be better, right?

[gshelley61]

The 320 is identical to the 220 and 225, except that it has a IEEE 1394 DV firewire input jack. They are all last year's models.

[etcallhome]

Thanks to all for the very helpful helpful comments.