DVD Recorder Wish list

[Ozzyjim]

Some of the featues I would want in a new dvd-recorder....... I don't think I will ever purchase another unit unless it has similar specs to this and will just use a PC with twin HD Tuner cards and Satellite tuner cards...


2x HD Tuners
500GB+ HDD
Blue-Ray reader / DL dvd burner
USB (file playback / extra recording space / firmware update)
e-sata (As with USB)
Ethernet port (Internet connection / stream youtube video's etc. / download recordings to pc to edit)
RGB input
Component input
HDMI output (upscale all to HDMI if used)
Adjustable input and playback noise reduction
HDD uses NTFS or similar file system so recordings are not split
Recordings made as TS format


What does everyone else want???

[jjeff]

Ability to set the WS bit on burnt DVDs.
User selectable D1, 1/2 D1 record mode, or ability to select at which point machine switches from D1 to 1/2 D1.
Ability to display title remaining time.
Ability to create thumbnails for chapters(ala older Toshibas).
Ability to attach USB HDDs.
.....
Unfortunately in the US we only have one model DVDR w/hdd(and that's only available online from WalMart) so I doubt any of my or your wish list will ever make it here
I wouldn't be surprised if all DVDRs pull out of N. America at some point in the near future

[Ozzyjim]

Wow - I knew there were less to choose from in the states but that is shocking.. Woulda thought dvd recorders would have taken off bigtime... Here in oz we are spoilt for choice in that respect... LG (I think) have just released a dvd recorder that can use it's internal hdd or a external USB drive to record to/play back.. There are also the twin HD tuner models with blue-ray players built in etc.. Maybe it's because Tivo etc has taken off in the US more than here... I'd be lost not being able to archive to dvd.. It's a shame you can't import recorders from here, we use a different format for digital terrestrial tv.. other problems such as power difference and NTSC/PAL are easy to overcome... Hmm maybe add dvd-recorders with swappable tuner modules.. then could have 1 tuner for sat tv and one for terr tv or cable etc...

[handyguy]

You can easily build your own DVD recorder with most of that stuff. byopvr.com build your own pvr

[victoriabears]

Its hard for Brits and Aussies/Nz to fathom but North Americans do not archive the way we do, dunno if its the destruction of the joy of viewing by commercials or just that they have so much else to do, its much more of an outdoors society than the UK certainly.

[jjeff]

.. It's a shame you can't import recorders from here, we use a different format for digital terrestrial tv.. other problems such as power difference and NTSC/PAL are easy to overcome... Hmm maybe add dvd-recorders with swappable tuner modules.. then could have 1 tuner for sat tv and one for terr tv or cable etc...

We can purchase international DVDRs, Panasonic, Pioneer, LG, (most from the middle east and multi-voltage) but they lack a tuner usable in the US as well as being about a 2006 design. Of course no dual tuners, or any other of what's on your or my list.
I do have a Tivo HD that I use for basically all my timeshifting(because the features I wanted were not available in DVDRs) but I still use DVDRs for archiving off the Tivo as well as backing up commercial DVDs. Yes I believe DVRs have basically killed off DVDRs in the US and now in Canada(where DVDRs are also getting scarcer every year).

[handyguy]

I don't watch TV as much as before. I use Netflix to get TV series without commercials, stream 45,000 films, STARZ, Etc.

TV is changing to a business model of where people want any program any time any where on anything & for free .....

[orsetto]

I don't watch TV as much as before. I use Netflix to get TV series without commercials, stream 45,000 films, STARZ, Etc.

TV is changing to a business model of where people want any program any time any where on anything & for free .....

Which is why the choice of quality (as opposed to just loud) home audio gear and video recorders has dwindled to near nothing in the States, and our overall media culture is sliding straight to hell on greased skis. All these "conveniences" and "bargains" seem wonderful to consumers, until the lack of profits and ancillary business opportunities drives everything into the same mediocre toilet. No interest in recorders or decent audio is why we have no electronics retailers left but Wal*Mart and Best Buy. No interest in getting off our asses to handle or purchase physical media means no more niche video or music or book stores providing exposure to lesser-known material. Lack of interest in any sort of professional journalism or printed media results in magazines and newspapers all going away, leaving us with blogs and iPhone apps as the sole source of info about anything.

I could not be less interested in browsing an online NetFlix catalog or iTunes, or having to search Amazon and countless other sites to find new things I might like. All the hot air about online sources providing diversity and a marketplace for new ideas is just that: hot air. You almost always need to already know what you're looking for in order to find it online, its no replacement for reliable reviewers or browseable shelves. I sorely miss Tower Records and the assortment of independent video stores and booksellers we once had, now vanished forever. Plus, I live in an overrated urban neighborhood where people will steal the teeth out of your mouth in broad daylight, so the LAST business model I want to patronize is one that sends things to my mailbox for easy theft and liability. NetFlix? You can keep it: all NetFlix means to me is the death of all the video stores I once used. The only thing more pretentious than seeing New Yorkers receive NetFlix packages is seeing New Yorkers receive Fresh Direct food packages- ugh.

Eventually the 50 and up crowd I'm a part of will die off, leaving behind a generation thats perfectly content with nothing but Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Twilight derivatives and Pixar cartoons. With no curmudgeons left to complain or feel nostalgic, the on-demand paradigm will finally come into its own and wipe out all memory of anything better. Until then, the transition period continues to suck the joy out of a lot of things some of us once loved.

[joecass]

I have to completely agree with Orsetto, me being in the 60+ age category..... too many changes in our culture has driven the world we knew away..... but not for the better. The Analog world left behind was much more reliable, and simpler. We didn't need fancy computers to read a news story, bought top-loading VCR's that lasted forever, not to mention totally reliable audio equipment that was practically indestructible. Tube TV's that lasted 20 + years, open-reel tape machines, still have a 1975 Sony and it still friggin works. Still have a 1979 Technics turntable (made by Matsushita/Panasonic)..... still works. We will never see quality like that again in our lifetimes.
Besides moaning over the absence of old media, such as newspapers & magazines, the worst part is..... the newbies that took over for them have no clue or consideration for what we as older people knew & loved. Everybody portends to be an expert, and, from what I've
seen..... are complete idiots pretending to be knowledgeable.

My "wish list" for a new DVD recorder would include
2 TB SATA 3 hard drive
Blue Ray recording and playback
Multiple tuners capable of recording ATSC, NTSC, PAL & DVB-T
e-SATA and USB ports for extended recording time
Ethernet port for streaming video from your network or Internet connection right onto the hdd
A file system compatible with computers for offloading or editing
A TIVO-like interface for recording TV shows
VHS, S-VHS and D-VHS recording and playback
Inputs would include HDMI, DVI, Component, Composite & S-Video
A Firewire port for direct recording from your HD Cable box or HD Tuner
5 Year Manufacturer's Warranty
Price = less than $1000

I'll keep dreaming.... and someone wake me up when one of these is invented and sold in the USA

[p_l]

All of the above, plus a live orsetto streaming channel.

[jjeff]

^^^

[em-t-wallitt]

A 2010 or 2011 Pioneer HDD/DVD recorder with ATSC tuner in North America.

[DarrellS]

That captures ATSC instead of analog. What good is an ATSC DVD Recorder that only records analog? Without the ability to record Digital TV to a HDD that you can connect to your PC, a DVD Recorder is absolutely useless. Hollywood will never allow the federal government to allow manufacturers to produce units that allow these options so I doubt that a DVD Recorder will ever be on my shopping list.

There is an outright war between Hollywood and the consumer. When I used my VCR to record TV shows, I still went to the movies every once in a while and I rented a ton of movies. I haven't been to a movie or rented a movie in years. Hollywood's business model is working great.

It won't be long before Sony Storm Troopers are busting down our doors and destroying our recoding equiptment and burning any backup DVDs and HDDs that they find.

[robjv1]

Eventually the 50 and up crowd I'm a part of will die off, leaving behind a generation thats perfectly content with nothing but Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Twilight derivatives and Pixar cartoons. With no curmudgeons left to complain or feel nostalgic, the on-demand paradigm will finally come into its own and wipe out all memory of anything better. Until then, the transition period continues to suck the joy out of a lot of things some of us once loved.

Well, I'm only in my 20s (barely) and I feel exactly the same way. Netflix isn't so much good as it is the ONLY option left and the only place to get what I want, which is mostly older releases I got on VHS years ago. Where I live it had become mostly chains anyways, with only the 500 most rented titles in the Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos of the area. Hollywood came in and killed most of the local places and then 6 - 7 years later Blockbuster showed up in town and killed them off. Now there is nothing, but a sole Blockbuster in town, where once there were several (off the top of my head three local independent places, two regional chains, four Hollywood Videos) in a town of 200,000 people.

Still, nothing will replace the years of strolling down the aisles of the local video store on Friday/Saturday night looking for something good -- it was a special treat for me and my family, but I guess some people found it annoying instead of exciting. Sure, *I* was a little annoying to my family, as I had to read the back of every box in the store, but nothing can replace having the whole inventory around you and the opportunity for comparison. Netflix is great if you know what you want, but if you don't know, it's a blind abyss.

The one part of Netflix that is not so great though is the way it reduces the fun of a family outing to an exciting place into the same feeling as getting a letter in the mail. Somehow, as the convenience has increased for me, the desire has lessened accordingly.

[joecass]

Back to the OP, Toshiba actually does have "wish list" recorders for sale in Japan.....

Toshiba adds to its VARDIA line the D-BW1005K VHS/Blu-ray combo recorder that also gets a 1TB internal hard drive for storage. The device is able to write on BD-R/RE and DVD-R/RW/R DL and play DVD and Blu-ray video discs.
Toshiba’s D-BW1005K comes with built-in digital TV tuner. It’s USB port and SD card slot can be used for showing images and AVCHD videos. Also introduced is the D-B1005K Blu-ray recorder with 1TB hard drive but lack VHS functionaility, the D-B305K with 320GB hard drive. The Toshiba SD-BD1K is a stand alone Blu-ray player. All models have Ethernet LAN port for internet connectivity.

[pepegot1]

Technology has marked the end of good-honest journalism and has reduced it to Bogs and Cable TV propaganda. Walter Cronkite is dead, and with him good fair reporting, to be replaced by Fox News and MSNBC-take your pick. Truth is what you believe, not that which is subject to public verification. This is a clear and present danger to any inquiring mind and to our democracy. The higher the tech, the bigger the wreck. That is most unfortunate. No paradigm lives forever. The end of DVR's is a drop in the bucket. We don't want big government-just even bigger business to control us.

[orsetto]

Back to the OP, Toshiba actually does have "wish list" recorders for sale in Japan...

Sometimes think if I see one more post with these vaporware Japan-only BD wonder recorders I'm gonna hurl. Japan is the bizarro world when it comes to cameras or electronics: no matter what the state of the economy, or consumer trends in the larger world, the Japanese home market will buy anything new at any ridiculous price. They are insatiable recordists, and don't care at all if a format might fail or be obsoleted. In the past three years something like two dozen similar recorders in HD-DVD and BD were announced for Japan, none of which were sold beyond its borders. One or two Panasonics escaped into Australian and New Zealand distribution, but thats as far as it goes. Americans will absolutely not pay more than $200 for a recorder, and with the now permanently-scarred economy Asian mfrs cannot afford to lose money just to generate N.A. volume anymore: no more subsidizing the US with $400 recorders that sell for $800 in Europe. The moment passed, the public made clear what it wants, and it isn't standalone recorders. The continued existence of the US-ATSC Magnavox H2160 astonishes me: Funai must be losing gobs of money at its low Wal*Mart price. The return rate is staggering, only desperate forum types (like me) who need to replace an older DVD/HDD recorder buy them and keep them.

[Ozzyjim]

I would love it if Dreambox (popular with the DVB-S crews) would make one, BUT one that ships with a stable OS installed... I JUST purchased a DVD recorder from a german bloke on ebay that has a satellite tuner.. I never knew theese existed about 250 Euros later I am waiting for delivery.... Hmmm aybe add to that wish list:

DVD Drives should be SATA PC drives for easy replacement
There should be a LINUX OS installed
Programs can be added to the HDD like the Dreambox Linux receivers (Burning programs, editing programs etc)


I have never personally used ANY toshiba device - are they any good??