New DVD Recorders - TEST

[zorankarapancev]

Gil T Pleasure,

I do not have GX7 any more. Sorry, I can not answer your question.

Zoran

[handyguy]

" but RAM disks are 9 gigs one side, not flippers! "

Hmm, I have 9 of them & they are not 9gigs per side sir.

[webeye]

I know nothing re ram discs....no re'butt'al from me
From Tigerdirect...catalogue
TDK (4.7gb) 1x cartridge......$15 CDN
TDK (9.4gb) " " $19 CDN
Emtec (9.4gb) 1x " 5pack....$71.00 or $14.20 per disk CDN

[Robbins1940]

I have the Panasonic DMR-E50EBS. Works great for me. When you record in XP mode the quality is the same as broadcast tv.

Only cost me £294 in July. Now you can buy it for nearly £60 less.

The one with a hard drive costs twice as much, ranging from £599 upto £999 depending on where you look.

Personal I never used the timer yet. Only used EP mode when recording from VHS tapes otherwise I use SP or LP or FR mode.

Don't waste £400 just for a hard drive.

David

[andydd]

To answer some points. A double sided Ram disc holds 9.4 GB. It is kinda misleading when Panasonic says it can record 12 hours worth as its actually 2 x 6 hours (you gotta flip the disc over).

The Panasonic E30/50/60 and prob other models all record in AC3 DD 2.0 by default BUT in XP mode you can choose LPCM mode, this will give you better audio quality but at the expense of Video quality.

All that said..I lurve my Panny DMRE50, when of my best buys ever !

[PhilipL]

Withdrawn

[Gil T Pleasure]

That answers my question. As they say down under.. TA!

[bnbhoha]

zorankarapancev,

Thanks for the objective reviews. I personally was holding out for the Pionner 510H (the hard drive version of the 310). I guess the end quality would probably be the same as the 310 ;however, I will wait for more reviews before I decided which recorder to buy. The contenders are the Panasonic E100 (because it has firewire) and the Pioneer 510H.

Out of curiousity zorankarapancev, why pay so much for an e60? I believe ecost.com has the Panasonic E80 (hard drive version) for $499 + you get a $30 rebate and I think they ship to Canada. Being a professional, I thought perhaps a HD unit would compliment your needs. Have you tried any of the HD versions? Thanks again.

[zorankarapancev]

bnbhoha,

- I bought an E-60 because I need a DV input. It's HD version is E-100, not E-80.
- Panasonic Canada ( or any other manufacturer who has a distributor in Canada ) will never honour an American waranty.
- I always make writen arangement with the sale person to have a 30 days trial period before I make a commitment to keep the product that I have puchased. If I am not satisfied for any reason, I can ask for a replacement or for my money back (no restocking or any other administrative fees). I would never get this option, if I order anything from the US.
- About the US price: that will be US$ + CDN$ exchanging difference + shipping + custome taxes. Probably I will end up with a little bit lower price.
- I do not need an HD version of any DVD recorder. I edit my videos on my linear (BETACAM SP) and nonlinear ( Final Cut Pro ) systems. For an eventual duplication of the DVD's, I use a stand alone DVD duplicator (-/+R). IMHO HD versions of the DVD recorders are overpriced. If you need a replacement for your VHS recorder (videotaping TV programs) then a HD version is the way to go.
- There is no difference in the recording quality between DVD recorders with or without a HD.

Zoran

[piano632]

I am disappointed to hear about the lack of video quality on the Pioneer machines. I have been waiting many months to buy one, but after hearing this I guess I won't.
And why buy the RDR-GX7 when apparently Sony is going to release some new DVD recorders named the RDR-HX8 (w/ 160 GB hard drive) and RDR-HX10 (w/ 250 GB hard drive !!!) Not many details so far, but these 2 recorders are listed at:
http://www.1-877camcorder.com/video-dvd-recorders.html

[donpedro]

Don't take this as definitive result. Go and see by yourself if you can.

I appreciate all posts that people are sending but rest of you... make your own judgment if you have that option.

[webeye]

Re ..the new Sony recorders to come......they will now want your second born child now as well as the first born. lol:

[donpedro]

I just felt like it is worth of adding here.

Firewire input accepts an output directly from the computer.

Just tested it it with Philips DVDR 75/17 and it accepts an output directly from the computer too. I used Pinnacle Studio version 8 for test.

[luvvbuzz]

just thought id say that the word TA actually comes from england, particualy the east end of london, it is cockney, but i expect the australians use it seeing as most of them origionated from the uk in the first place.

[Robbins1940]

I am from the North-East of England and we say TA too.

It was borrowed from the Danish when they invaded England, they say tak.

David

[tweedledee]

Aussies don't say TA, they say "cheers" and if you say thanks to them, they say "no worries"

[Adder_78]

Is there any hardware site/sites that has DVD Recorder tests? And news about new DVD recorders etc?

[webeye]

Aussies don't say TA, they say "cheers" and if you say thanks to them, they say "no worries"

And the Americans say 'no problem' or 'huhuh' or somthing like that
and Canadians say 'your welcome'

Now back to the biz of recorders.. 8)

[ZippyP.]

...and Canadians say 'your welcome'

We're soooo polite.

[oldfart13]

Since Japan is the primary market, those decks will miss the Christmas rush season here where 1/2 your yearly money is made. Sony blows it again...

I bought the Panasonic E80. I would have bought the E100 but it was out of my price range. As it is, it's a nice techie toy and probably overkill for my needs (transferring old VHS, 8mm and Hi-8 tapes to DVD). The new USA Pioneer Tivo units do not allow Tivo recorded content to be edited, so they are much more like a PVR than a DVD recorder. Several people at avsforum have bought them, evaluated them and returned them...

New models from JVC and others are expected before Christmas but their info seems to be sketchy at best. For people looking to replace their VCRs, though, the decks have a way to go as most people not involved in digital video capture/conversion, etc. will not be able to understand the content of the manuals. The Panasonic E80 manual is 55 pages long and some stuff is so poorly explained that I had to go back to avsforum and copy the E80/E100 newbies Cheet Sheet to be able to set up the deck for simple things like High Speed transfer and DVD-R compatability mode. If you get one of these decks, I suggest you check out that forum under the DVD Recorders section. You'll learn a lot in a very short time and save a lot of mucking around...

[javierol]

The TOSHIBA RDX30 (UK version) allows recording in LPCM audio format with 8MBPS video.
Quality is excellent in that mode (1 hour of video, LPCM audio)

I cannot understand the reason why studios use Dolby Digital without LPCM for some of their music concert releases. Dobly Digital sounds worse than a 64k MP3.

[Bob W]

I wonderr if the Philips DVDR80 performs better than the Philips DVDR75?

[tommyoz]

I don't think these DVD recording manufactures have this down yet.
I've had 3 recorders and all went back to the store. I'm gonna sit back a while and see. Those reviews were very helpful.

[oldfart13]

I have the Panny E80. I'd be looking for a newer deck but nothing has been announced for Canada yet. I'll probably have to wait til summer. What 3 decks did you have and why did you return them? The Panny is mostly overkill for me but it's great for what I want to do. My productivity for DVD creation has gone up hundreds of percent over trying to do video captures with the computer. Still learning about advanced menu making, etc. using the computer for reauthoring but things are going great. I'd never go back to my old system...

[tommyoz]

What 3 decks did you have and why did you return them?

Well, I started out with the Sansui VCR/DVDR combo. All I was looking for was for something to help me get rid of my VHS tapes for good. It was taking up to much room.
I liked it but I had trouble reauthoring some of the DVD's I made with it.
I blamed it on the recorder. Oh and trust me I know it was the recorder.

Next I tried my hands at lower end unit thinking maybe I'll get lucky and get something that will actually work for cheap. Well that didn't happen.
The Cyberhome DVDR1500 was worse then the Sansui. Trouble again with reauthoring. These 2 units I believe were having trouble and not being consistent with their DVD structure.

Next up, the Philips DVDR75. The unit was actually quite nice and I did not have any trouble reauthoring. I just felt after reading some more about DVD recording that I could do better with quality. Now I read zorankarapancev review and see that I could be right. I don't know what I'll be waiting for but I'll know when the time is right to buy.

[zorankarapancev]

New info!

Who said that the professionals don't agree with the results of our Test?

The prestigeous Europian Imaging and Sound Association - EISA voted Sony RDR-GX7 the Best Europian DVD Recorder 2003-2004!

Another interesting megatest : https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=207122

Keep yourself inform!

[lennykravitz]

wow, this has been one looonnng & very informative post. I've been looking for a dvd recorder to replace my vcr for some times now & after reading this post I've learn that I need to get a unit with a hd or use dvd-rw. Got a couple of ?s for you guys...

1. on the units with hd, say after recording to the hd & I decide to burn the the program to disc, can record just the show & leave out the commercials?

2. the average price btwn similar units with & without hd is about $200 for 80gig(pioneer 310 & 510). has anyone look into the possibillty of manually installing the hd into unit that initially came without hd(pioneer 310)? because current hd prices are so low & getting lower (120gig for around $60 after stupid rebate)


thanks in advance 8)