Test: The Best DVD-Recorder On The Market Today

[zorankarapancev]

It does not have VBR as most people call it but as far as I know no one does.

Panasonic and Sony DVD recorders have VBR recording.

[tommyoz]

thanks rhegedus for your reply. very helpful.

Can anyone verify the picture control (Brightness, Color, Contrast, Gamma), in the Sony RDR-HX900 or previous Sony models. If not, I am leaning toward the Pany :P

The Sony RDR-GX300 has Contrast, Brightness, Color & Hue for both playback and recording. It also has noise reduction for recording.

[Capmaster]

It does not have VBR as most people call it but as far as I know no one does. Pioneer claims to be able to do it but I doubt it is anything close to good PC programs.

The Panasonic not only has this, but it has "Hybrid VBR" which changes resolution on the fly to avoid macro blocks and stretch out the time a bit. Works great, but plays hell with your video apps if you try to edit it later We have a DMR-E50.

The good thing is that you can disable it if you want. I leave ours turned on. I captured Starship Troopers 2 - probably the worst macro-block-generating source ..even worse than Event Horizon because of the almost constant flashing lights. The Panny capped it with no blocks ...none. It was then that I fell in love with Hybrid VBR

[zorankarapancev]

The RDR-HX900 also features Time Base Correction, Pre Frame Noise Reduction and Pre-video Equalizer technologies that rebalance and equalize video content before it is recorded onto a DVD, improving the original source content even before the encoding process begins.

In the output phase, the RDR-HX900 recorder employs Frame Noise Reduction, Block Noise Reduction and Video Equalizer technologies combine to produce a richly textured visual rendition while minimizing picture interference caused by background artifacts or distortion.

The new recorder also incorporates proprietary DVD playback technology called Precision Cinema Progressive, which incorporates Pixel-by-Pixel I/P Conversion technology to augment and balance DVD-video elements.

[jnk76]

It does not have VBR as most people call it but as far as I know no one does.

Panasonic and Sony DVD recorders have VBR recording.

It does not have VBR as most people call it but as far as I know no one does. Pioneer claims to be able to do it but I doubt it is anything close to good PC programs.

The Panasonic not only has this, but it has "Hybrid VBR" which changes resolution on the fly to avoid macro blocks and stretch out the time a bit. Works great, but plays hell with your video apps if you try to edit it later We have a DMR-E50.

The good thing is that you can disable it if you want. I leave ours turned on. I captured Starship Troopers 2 - probably the worst macro-block-generating source ..even worse than Event Horizon because of the almost constant flashing lights. The Panny capped it with no blocks ...none. It was then that I fell in love with Hybrid VBR

hey I don't doubt they say they can do VBR recording. My problem would be how good is the quality level. Sorry but I don't think it can compare to lets say CCE or TMPGEnc. I am kinda of a quailty nut so my opinions may not apply..........but without testing I guess I may be wrong.

[smearbrick1]

3. Pioneer DVR-720H (3 stars):

For – Easy to use; slim; well-equipped with editing features;large hard-disk (160GB).
Against – Picture performance just isn’t up tp scratch at this money.
VERIDICT – A reasonable performer in some ways, but both Panasonic and Sony offer you more ability for your cash.

“…but we can’t help but point an accusing finger at the Pioneer’s chief weakness: the picture quality should be a lot better…next to Panasonic and Sony, its picture lacks verve, crispness and richness… It’s such a shame. The DVR-720H scores highly for easy of use and has an extensive array of editing features, but luck of video sparkle, whatever you’re watching, weighs heavily against it. You can buy better.”

Can you post a link to this article?

It appears that the article is awfully one-sided for a review of "the best dvd recorders". Also, the review for the Pioneer does not match the reviews for the Panasonic or the Sony... maybe the Pioneer's review was... I don't know... fabricated. I'm not screaming conspiracy, but it just seems totally strange to compare three dvd recorders two of which, are over 1000.00 and the third, and apparently worst, of the three is well under that mark.

[gshelley61]

hey I don't doubt they say they can do VBR recording. My problem would be how good is the quality level. Sorry but I don't think it can compare to lets say CCE or TMPGEnc. I am kinda of a quailty nut so my opinions may not apply..........but without testing I guess I may be wrong.

The problem with computer capturing and conversion to MPEG2 is not with the encoders. You're right... TMPGEnc and CCE are excellent. However, computer capture cards (at least the ones I've tried) simply can't compete with the excellent video pre-amp and sampling sections in some DVD recorders. Both the Panasonic E50 and the JVC DR-M10 I've used generate results far superior to anything I was able to do after two years of messing around with computer capturing, filtering, frameserving, encoding, authoring, etc. FWIW

[Capmaster]

It does not have VBR as most people call it but as far as I know no one does.

Panasonic and Sony DVD recorders have VBR recording.

It does not have VBR as most people call it but as far as I know no one does. Pioneer claims to be able to do it but I doubt it is anything close to good PC programs.

The Panasonic not only has this, but it has "Hybrid VBR" which changes resolution on the fly to avoid macro blocks and stretch out the time a bit. Works great, but plays hell with your video apps if you try to edit it later We have a DMR-E50.

The good thing is that you can disable it if you want. I leave ours turned on. I captured Starship Troopers 2 - probably the worst macro-block-generating source ..even worse than Event Horizon because of the almost constant flashing lights. The Panny capped it with no blocks ...none. It was then that I fell in love with Hybrid VBR

hey I don't doubt they say they can do VBR recording. My problem would be how good is the quality level. Sorry but I don't think it can compare to lets say CCE or TMPGEnc. I am kinda of a quailty nut so my opinions may not apply..........but without testing I guess I may be wrong.

Of course it couldn't compare to a purist's DL of DV, 8-pass encoding, etc. But within reason, it does a pretty damn good job of it.

But, like everything else in this hobby, my opinion of "good" and yours may be two different things, so all advice should be followed up with an "eyes-on" test.

Can you get ahold of a unit to try out over a weekend? If nothing else, buy it, try it, and take it back if you don't like it. A place like Circuit City or Worst Buy would give you no troubles returning it a few days later

[zorankarapancev]

It appears that the article is awfully one-sided for a review of "the best dvd recorders". Also, the review for the Pioneer does not match the reviews for the Panasonic or the Sony... maybe the Pioneer's review was... I don't know... fabricated.

Did you ever have a chance to compare several DVD recorders from different manufacturers side by side? If you didn’t, I can tell you that it is quite revealing:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=181157):

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=207122&highlight=


I don’t doubt the results… only sometimes it is hard to except them.

[jnk76]

[quote="CapmasterOf course it couldn't compare to a purist's DL of DV, 8-pass encoding, etc. But within reason, it does a pretty damn good job of it.

But, like everything else in this hobby, my opinion of "good" and yours may be two different things, so all advice should be followed up with an "eyes-on" test.

Can you get ahold of a unit to try out over a weekend? If nothing else, buy it, try it, and take it back if you don't like it. A place like Circuit City or Worst Buy would give you no troubles returning it a few days later [/quote]

LMAO........SL 5 pass but agree with your comments. Everyone has a different perception and view of what they see. What looks like a horrible mess of macro blacks to me looks normal to my wife. I actually had to pause it to show her.

Yes I can buy a unit to test out..........I just need to return this Toshiba that I am currently borrowing

The big drawback with panasonic for me is no RW support. I normally think Sony is overpriced but it is a nice feature to support all the formats.

[jnk76]

hey I don't doubt they say they can do VBR recording. My problem would be how good is the quality level. Sorry but I don't think it can compare to lets say CCE or TMPGEnc. I am kinda of a quailty nut so my opinions may not apply..........but without testing I guess I may be wrong.

The problem with computer capturing and conversion to MPEG2 is not with the encoders. You're right... TMPGEnc and CCE are excellent. However, computer capture cards (at least the ones I've tried) simply can't compete with the excellent video pre-amp and sampling sections in some DVD recorders. Both the Panasonic E50 and the JVC DR-M10 I've used generate results far superior to anything I was able to do after two years of messing around with computer capturing, filtering, frameserving, encoding, authoring, etc. FWIW

Haven't done any capturing but I have heard the same about the audio. I actually don't capture. I transfer the mpegs from recorder at a high bitrate (usually 7.0 mbps) put them on computer and then join normally around 3 hrs worth..........re-encode with CCE and then make some menus and what not and then burn. More work but the recorder would join maybe 1.5 hrs or less with no nice menus.

The one thing I like about the Toshiba I am borrowing is that even though it has akward menu selection and is a manual driven learning recorder......once I learned the method it was fairly easy to use and is very quick and powerfull for editing. I find it much quicker editing on recorder rather than PC. I was going to get the Pioneer 510 next but may give the Sony a try.

[DVWannaB]

I am with jnk76. I am going to give the Sony a go and see what happens, maybe early in the new year. Maybe time to give up my TiVo, ReplayTV, FW and USB2 MPEG2 caps.

Note: You guys should check ebay in January/February 2005 for a TiVo, a ReplayTV and a USB2 capture device on sale at a good good price

[Ego_Shredder]

I planned to buy a standalone DVD recorder but most of the machines are overpriced and limited in some way, so I will instead be putting together a PC with a Hauppauge WinTV PVR-150 and using software like SageTV or GB-PVR. This means I can install massive hard drives and only burn DVD-R's when I want to keep stuff. Things have moved on a lot in the last couple of years and I think DVD recorders will be a short term thing or just something for people who want simplicity rather than feature rich techy stuff.

[Frobozz]

I think DVD recorders will be a short term thing or just something for people who want simplicity rather than feature rich techy stuff.

There are many reasons why a standalone DVD recorder is either inadequate or too expensive compared to other options. However, its convenience makes up for a lot of that. Simplicity, though, may not be its best selling point. In fact, the complexity probably keeps people from giving up their VCRs (which they still don't know how to program).

Burning video to a standalone recorder will remain a modest niche. People who only want to time-shift or temporarily store programs will be happier with their TIVOs and all the other hard drive recorder options. People who are making home movies with their DV camcorders will be happier with their computers that can do exciting editing to spruce the dull video. Only people who want to build libraries of recorded TV programs or to transfer their VHS and Laserdisc collections will find a standalone DVD recorder to be the best solution.

As for me, I love not having to tie up my computer with routine video work. That's both a convenience and a time savings that I'm happy to pay for.

[linetest]

If I could get my computer to spew out the desired results, I may not have bought a standalone.
The PC stuff is endless. I spent $250 on Pinnacle Deluxe 8 w/capture unit. Out of sync audio/video (P4 Dell, 568mb memory, Ultra ATA, yada, yada). Ran end-it-all and countless othe things to get it to work. No soap. So I Spend another $90 on Pinnacle 9 (the capture device is proprietary). Still No soap. So now I'm supposed to buy another capture device and new software?
Nope. Press the record button on the stand alone and start the camorder. Problem solved.

[spiderman2k1]

"zorankarapancev" The sony DVD recorder can not divide MPEG2 files. This is one big down fall on this unit and no FR mode.

There is alot of Info right here for the Sony DVD recorder

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=463155

Please take in consideration that, as being discussed in other forums (namely AVFORUM), Sony HX-900 and HX-1000 don't have this 2 features (for european market, but i would suspect the same is true for US market):

- Divide title function on HDD
- Flexible recording (control the recording quality by bit rate or by duration - time)

These are considered major week points for these recorders.

The firts means that if you do a recording of a 2 hrs program in HQ mode (1 hr / DVD), just because you want the best quality for this in particular, you can not copy half to one DVD and the other half to other DVD !

The second means that if you intend to record a show that has 2h01m you have to use LP mode (3 hrs mode) wich actually shouldn't give you a very nice Picture Quality !

Both these are merely examples. It's the same principle for all the other recording modes.

Hope that helps

[gshelley61]

If I could get my computer to spew out the desired results, I may not have bought a standalone.
The PC stuff is endless. I spent $250 on Pinnacle Deluxe 8 w/capture unit. Out of sync audio/video (P4 Dell, 568mb memory, Ultra ATA, yada, yada). Ran end-it-all and countless othe things to get it to work. No soap. So I Spend another $90 on Pinnacle 9 (the capture device is proprietary). Still No soap. So now I'm supposed to buy another capture device and new software?
Nope. Press the record button on the stand alone and start the camorder. Problem solved.

Amen

[zorankarapancev]

- Divide title function on HDD
- Flexible recording (control the recording quality by bit rate or by duration - time)

I don't mind lack of "divide title function on HDD", but because of lack of FR recording I will never buy Sony DVD recorder.

I hope that Sony engineers will read this posting.

[seekninfo]

According to the info on this page: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9pRL5c8KgP0/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=116500&I=158RDRHX9H the sony model is made for DVD in region 1 only. Does that mean that my home made DVDs will not play on this?

[donpedro]

nope... it will play regon 1 and region ALL as all DVD Recorders sold in US. Home made DVD's are authored with region ALL (also known as 0)

[tommyoz]

I don't mind lack of "divide title function on HDD", but because of lack of FR recording I will never buy Sony DVD recorder.

I hope that Sony engineers will read this posting.

zorankarapancev, Actually it sort of does have it. It's just not called FR mode and can only be done through timer recording. It's called record mode. I mentioned this before when I first purchased the RDR-GX300 but I kinda forgot about it and never tested it. I can do without it so I never really needed to check on it.

This morning while I was working around the house I decided to test it.
I set the the timer for 2hours and 30 minutes then I selected record mode to on. It recorded for 2 hours and 30 minutes. I did the same thing with my Pioneer unit and I will post the specs later on for comparison. I will also record something for 1 hour and 45 or 50 minutes to see what I get.

[zorankarapancev]

tommyoz,

Will you do this test:

Record 2 hours and 15 minutes and see the recorded side of the DVD disc. Find out if the whole disc is recorded or if there is some space left as an unrecorded portion. Also see which recording mode will be chosen (SP or LP) during the recording.

[tommyoz]

zorankarapancev,
Yes, I did realize this after I made the recordings. I first recorded on RW which you can't tell. I proceeded to waste a DVD-R and noticed that it did not record the whole DVD. What it did was just jump to the next recording mode. Hence the name recording mode, my bad.

[DVWannaB]

"zorankarapancev" The sony DVD recorder can not divide MPEG2 files. This is one big down fall on this unit and no FR mode.

Sony HX-900 and HX-1000 don't have this 2 features (for european market, but i would suspect the same is true for US market):

- Divide title function on HDD
- Flexible recording (control the recording quality by bit rate or by duration - time)

These are considered major week points for these recorders.

I am with spiderman on this. I have changed my mind about this Sony. After carefully lookig at the stuff thats most important, the 2 major weaknesses of this unit are both at the top of my priority list.

Really shame on Sony Especially when their top competitors are offering this. Time to look at the Panny E95 and JVC MH30 again

[Capmaster]

"zorankarapancev" The sony DVD recorder can not divide MPEG2 files. This is one big down fall on this unit and no FR mode.

Sony HX-900 and HX-1000 don't have this 2 features (for european market, but i would suspect the same is true for US market):

- Divide title function on HDD
- Flexible recording (control the recording quality by bit rate or by duration - time)

These are considered major week points for these recorders.

I am with spiderman on this. I have changed my mind about this Sony. After carefully lookig at the stuff thats most important, the 2 major weaknesses of this unit are both at the top of my priority list.

Really shame on Sony Especially when their top competitors are offering this. Time to look at the Panny E95 and JVC MH30 again

I'm normally a Sony fan but that reason (no FR mode), along with the fact Sony wasn't putting TBCs in their recorders made me go with the Panny E50. Way less money too. I think Sony missed the DVD Recorder boat :P