Is there a good DVD recorder out yet ?

[Ptrebor]

I am frustrated with the last 5 DVD recorder that I tried .
Here is what I am looking for:

DVD Ram recording capability
HDMI up conversion
The best image quality as possible


So far I tried 2 Toshiba DR-4 that I returned within a month
I tried 2 Toshiba DR-5 that I returned within a month
I tried 1 Panasonic DMR-Es25 that I returned within a month.

They all have major problem that shows at start up or within days,

Image freezing up, bad sound , bad image, Disk recognition problem, formatting problem.


I am using Panasonic DVD-RAM 2x in cartridge
and Maxell DVD-RW 2X

Do you consider these to be good or bad ?

Maybe I did not find the pearl yet but I am just fed up. Do you think that there is one machine
that works in the market ? The companies agreed that they should just put the project on the shelf for few years and develop adequate product for the consumer.

Can someone help me to find a nice and reliable machine or should I just give up ?
What are the options ? Is a machine with a H Drive better at all ?

Thanks

Ptrebor

[trhouse]

These are all well regarded recorders. I would stop swapping recorders and look at the media you are using. Unlike VHS, just any media will not work well with recorders. Look to the left and check out the DVD Media section. Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim are amongst the best media. Verbatim is excellent for dual/double layer.

[yoda313]

Well a recorder with a hard drive would give you the option of recording to disc later. Make sure the recording was good the first time then burn it. Though from what i've read it takes a little while to burn from a harddrive. That's the nice thing about driveless dvd burners - you get it on disc right away.

I can't tell you for sure what one to buy. I have a liteon 1107 hc1. It does very well for the most part. Though no stereo rf tuner so you'd have to use a stereo vcr to record off air or cable/satellite in stereo. But it works well enough and up to the three hour mode is good quality. Basically the 4 and 6 hour mode is only good for sports stuff you won't archive and watch just once.

THough it does seem to have sound problems when you fast forward a disc. It will cut out or go out of synch when fast forwarding sometimes. Though if you let it play all the way through without fastforwarding no synch issues. A bit odd for sure.

the only other thing I could recommend for you is to try the networking stuff. You can get a bunch of wireless stuff these days. You can get an enclosure for a harddrive with a router transmitter - you could transfer your pc recordings and beem it out probably. You may also want to look into a slingbox - tv over internet.

The other option of course is to forget the disc and get a tivo - all harddrive. THen you could do realttime dubbing of your recorded programs later - a bit of a pain but you'd be assured of a good quality transfer. Or hack it and do digital dumps to your pc. Though you can get a wireless tivo-to-go transmitter for the series 2 I believe that will beam your programs to your pc. Worth a look if your fed up with regular dvd recorders. There a lot of alternatives out there.

[samijubal]

I'd say trhouse hit the nail on the head. I use 2 D-R4s, they perform flawlessly with RAM/RW/R media. I never use cheap discs, I learned my lesson with them 5 years ago. The picture quality on the D-R4 is nothing short of amazing.

[SCDVD]

If people would realize the importance of using good media, the "I've got a problem" posts would be a fraction of what they are. There are two primary problems with media selection. One is the quest for the "sweet deal"; that is looking for the best price on media without regard for anything else - save a few cents a disc and then wonder why they have bad results. The other is placing too much trust in the brand name. For example, "Is it live or is it Memorex." Well, Memorex is a well known brand but they often sell some really bad media. Another example is trusting the house brand at major retailers. The reality is that the house brands at places like Staples, Comp USA, Office Max, Office Depot etc. are just plain junk.

[BCdave]

The LG LRH-790 has all of the features you require: multi-format recording (including +RDL, Xvid, and RAM, but not the cartridge type RAM); HDMI upconverting, and the most recent generation LSI encoding chip provides superb video quality, noticeably better than the source when recording from VHS or from the LG's tuner. Here's LSI's press release: http://www.lsilogic.com/news/product_news/2006_07_25a.html

I don't have the LRH-790, but I have its little brother, the LRH-780 (no upconverting; 80GB HDD instead of 250GB in the LRH-790), and it works perfectly for my purposes.
Note however that the LG's do not have Flex Recording, which I believe the Toshiba's and the Panasonic do. Also, in my very limited testing, I was not impressed with the video quality of the Mpeg4 recording - If those features aren't of paramount importance to you, the LRH-790 might suit your needs.

The non-HDD LG LRA-760 also has upconverting and LSI-generated recording quality, and may record to RAM (I can't be sure from LG's Canadian website, but you can download the manual and check if you're interested)

The LRH-790 & LRA-760 seem to be only sold in Canada, and are currently on sale at Future Shop.

But although I can highly recommend the LG recorders, I have to agree with trhouse & samijubal - you might get a lemon from ANY manufacturer, but if you've had those particular problems with several Toshibas & a Panasonic, it definitely looks like poor quality media. I had similar problems back in '04 with DVD+R's burned on my computer, until I read Lord Smurf's information on media and switched to Taiyo Yuden ... I've since burned 1,000 - 1,500 discs on computer with less than a 1% failure rate, and I've never had a failure from my LG recorders.

Here's Lord Smurf's excellent site: http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

[Ptrebor]

I am using Panasonic DVD-RAM double side in a
cartridge (2-3X) Type 4.7 G per side.
I am using Maxell DVD-RW 2X for dada/video

Do you consider these to be bad or good ?

[samijubal]

I haven't had problems with Panasonic RAM discs, but all of mine are single sided. I've only used Verbatim and Fuji RWs, both MCC, so I don't know about Maxells.

[ofbarea]

I am using Panasonic DVD-RAM double side in a
cartridge (2-3X) Type 4.7 G per side.
I am using Maxell DVD-RW 2X for dada/video

Do you consider these to be bad or good ?

I have 3 Panasonic RAM disks (3x) that I use a lot with my Panasonic DMR-ES10. No problems in quality for 1 to 2 hours recordings per side.

For the best settings for recording with Panasonic recorders check this post:
Panasonic Tips and Tricks

[jmatteis]

I haven't had problems with Panasonic RAM discs, but all of mine are single sided. I've only used Verbatim and Fuji RWs, both MCC, so I don't know about Maxells.

I am trying to use Fuji DVD-RW as well, and the Toshiba D-R4 will not format it, as well, I am still having problems with the chapter function, after using the latest firmware disc sent to me by Toshiba. Any other suggestions for DVD-RW. The guy I spoke with at TOSHIBA said the new firmware would allow me to create chapters, as well as let the machine recognize more brands of media!

[samijubal]

What speed are the Fuji discs? Are they MCC? Mine are 2x MCC discs. I've actually used 6 D-R4s, they all work fine with the 2x MCC discs.

[handyguy]

I used some Panasonic disks daily for 3 years & they work just fine.

Sounds like you might have some over heating, perhaps you have your machines in an entertainment case or on the carpet?