Which type of standalone DVD Recorder do you own?

[Infiniti2004]

Panasonic DMR-E80H
DVD-Ram Dvd-r

[jzaman]

I have a Panasonic e60, e80h, and a Sansui VRDVD4005. I feel that the PQ of the Panasonic units are the best but for a quickie the Sansui is decent and it utilizes DVD-RW. Since DVD-RW works on more DVD players than DVD-RAM (only on select Panasonic models) it is perfect for a fast capture that I do not want to edit by PC but I want to play on current DVD players and then erase. DVD-RAM from the Panasonics and DVD-RW/DVD-VR from the Sansui are directly and easily editable with Tmpgenc DVD Author AC3 version.

[spiderman2k1]

I have the Panasonic E80H best DVD recorder I think.

[calisto]

Have got Panny DMR E-30

Write to ram then rip it to computer

[arthur]

i have a philips dvdr70 (but only for a week). great recordings in M1/2/2x and passable even down to M6. especially like the M2x setting - 2.5 hrs in D1 resolution! i'm not a big fan of philips but i think that plus is the best format (for standalones anyway) and the prices have tumbled in the last 2 years. in fact, this was 20 pounds cheaper than my pioneer dvd player bought back in 2001. vhs is about to do a titanic - sink without a trace!

[spiderman2k1]

"arthur" I would say DVD-R and DVD-RAM is better for DVD recorder's with DVD-RAM you can just delete a show if you do not want it any more. You can recorded and watch at the same time on DVD-RAM. And with DVD-RAM and DVD-RW they use VRo file's it jsut one big MPEG2 file that you can ecit with MPEG2VCR. DVD-RAM work's just like a hard drive. I even got the LG 4081 DVD burner. Now I just leave a DVD-RAM disc and when i want to download some thing I just download to DVD-RAM. I like this alot some time's you might have a hard drive problem and you will lose all your data.

[donpedro]

with DVD-RAM you can just delete a show if you do not want it any more. You can recorded and watch at the same time on DVD-RAM.

Just trying to make sure that someboby will not get an impression that this can be done only with DVD-RAM. Pioneer does both things with DVD-RW.

[spiderman2k1]

"donpedro" I know you can record in VRO mode but do not think you can delete one show from a DVD-RW I think you have to format the disc again. That's from what I have read. I could be wrong. But that what I think the difference's are both record in VRO mode but only DVD-RAM can you record on the disc and watch some thing else on the disc at the same time.

[Gil T Pleasure]

DVD-VR mode behaves the same way whether it be recorded on DVD-RW or DVD-RAM.

On the other hand, DVD+VR mode allows for different recording options. It is up to the manufacturer what DVD+VR functionalities to offers on its products. I wish the DVD+RW Alliance made it mandatory to add all DVD+VR recording functionalities to all DVD+RW recorders.

[Gil T Pleasure]

Just noticed that the DVD+RW format has taken the lead by a vote.

[Gil T Pleasure]

Now that all DVD burner manufacturers, including Philips and HP, have gone dual format, will standalone DVD recorder manufacturers follow this trend?

Will buyers choose dual format DVD recorder over single format DVD recorder with HDD or single format DVD recorder with support for double layer disc? Or will buyers simply choose the least expensive DVD recorder they could find?

[FulciLives]

Now that all DVD burner manufacturers, including Philips and HP, have gone dual format, will standalone DVD recorder manufacturers follow this trend?

Will buyers choose dual format DVD recorder over single format DVD recorder with HDD or single format DVD recorder with support for double layer disc? Or will buyers simply choose the least expensive DVD recorder they could find?

I sure hope dual layer DVD recorders come out. For true ummm tape head i.e., those that love to record A LOT of TV that a dual layer DVD stand alone recorder (with HDD as a plus) would be great.

I love the computer method but it's just too slow when you record a lot of TV. At least with a dual layer DVD recorder you can get 2 whole hours at a very high bitrate. Even a 3 hour mode would be very high.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Bartflaster]

Pioneer 3100 here.
I wanted to go with minus as that was the most standardized and compatible format, that and my pc writer is minus only and I wanted to be able to work my recordings on the PC when required
I think, as Gil T says that most will become dual format in time, well if they dont get this blueray stuff in before then.

[proton]

I got a Philips DVDR70, great machine!
M1 and M2 mode are great, the rest M2+ till M6 are not so good.
But maybe I'm picky I use a 82cm Sony Wega 100hz widescreen TV.
So I see any difference in picture quality quite fast

[Capmaster]

Panny DMR-E50

[frobert65]

Sharp DV-HR300.

[BobK]

None yet. I'm still waiting for a better selection and price on recorders with a hard drive that also record to either +RW or -RW.

[Gil T Pleasure]

BobK,

You mean something like this? Of course this is probably going to be out of your (and most people's) price range.

-Gil

[Neuron]

Panny DMR-E60S (DVD-R/RAM). Love it!

.

[zleepy]

Cyberhome 1500

Mods:
1. 80mm case fan (purple LEDs) same color as Standby-button's LED.
2. Drilled a hole in tray's faceplate to open it with a big paper clip.

Disc comes out at almost room temperature.

[JMO]

I've had a Philips DVDR880 for seven months and done nearly 100 recordings with it (both off air and home video transcription) and I'm very very happy with the results. The 880 started to show signs of the well-documented faults the machine is notorious for, so it's currently off for repair under warranty.

I was considering buying a Panny or Pioneer as a replacement/ second machine, but in the long run (rather than have different disc types) I've gone for another Philips (DVDR70); I've flashed the firmware to the current version and I'm looking fowards to archiving a bunch of material.

[Iview]

Daytek P-30 DVD+R/RW

[RDS1955]

I have the Panasonic DMR E80H... Great Unit, however, when recording anything over three hours onto a single disk, Like the Old John Wayne Movie "The Alamo", it compresses it real bad..Even while trying to record it in FR mode...I've used it to record a ton of movies off Satellite, though.. Great editing features... I love the frame deletion aspect when cutting out the commercials... Now if they would only devise a way to eliminate the station logo's displayed in the lower right hand side of the screen...

[JoRodd]

I have not yet purchased a standalone because I am not yet totally sold on it. I collect old sports broadcasts and am in the process of transferring my collection to DVD. I use my PC. It gives me a lot more flexibility even though the process takes a lot more time. I have received games rendered on a Panasonic with mixed results. I guess I'll wait until a standalone gives me more flexibility.

[RDS1955]

Hmmm. Games Renderd on a Panasonic ????Don't know if your talking about the particular model which I mentioned, But If I were to use the standalone to filter a game through, I doubt if it would do it properly either...But to record movies that are normal length like 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, it does a good job..

[kidkurrupt]

Iview Posted: Apr 26, 2004 05:18

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Daytek P-30 DVD+R/RW

Hey Iview, have you had any problems with this yet? Compatibility issues, anything?

[Iview]

kidkurrupt
Had the Daytek for over a month, worked right out of the box, and no problems to speak of as of yet. This unit has a fan built-in. I did recorded continuiously for over 6 hours at a stretch, and the case was just warm to the touch. So I assume I won't have any over heating issue.

Recorded from all sources, Satellite, D8 (Firewire port) and Hi8 (Svideo) Camcorders, Computer (Svideo), VCR and DVD (with Macrovision hack).
Day to day use are 2 and 4 hours mode, 1 hour mode is best, but only use it for very special cases. Over 20 discs and no coasters yet.

I ran the recorded discs through my projector displaying a ** 120" diagonal ** screen. The 1 hour mode copies in terms of image and colour was so close to the original that it was hard to distinguish, it was just slightly softer when one takes a very close look, not much noise present. In 2 hours mode, images are softer than 1 hour and a very slight loss of details, colour still remains good, very watchable on the 120" screen still.
In 4 hours mode, the picture start to loose details very noticeably on the 120" screen, but it still looks good for TVs 32" and under. Good for storing TV episodes, definitely not archival quality.
6 hours mode, what can I say, use it for soaps and cartoons recording while the family is away, in another word something you don't need to keep, aka VHS.
I did not notice any microblocking or pixelization, even in 6 hours mode. It just start to loose details and get softer picture as you extend the recording time.

Compatibilities:
Used Memorex, Sony and Mitsubishi 4X discs without any problem.
+RW discs (without finalizing), plays in computer DVD drive, and only 2 out of 5 of my DVD players, incidentally, the ones that don't play them are the older ones.
+R discs (finalized), play in all of my DVD players and others, old and new.

Down side:
Hardly any editing to speak of.
Firewire will not accept computer.
Audio section can be improved, compares to the video quality it's not up to snuff.

IMHO, overall, for the price, it worth every penny of it.
Hope this will help.

[Marvingj]

Cyberhome 1500 Great Picture & I can Hack it!

[kidkurrupt]

kidkurrupt
Compatibilities:
Used Memorex, Sony and Mitsubishi 4X discs without any problem.
+RW discs (without finalizing), plays in computer DVD drive, and only 2 out of 5 of my DVD players, incidentally, the ones that don't play them are the older ones.
+R discs (finalized), play in all of my DVD players and others, old and new.

Hey iview, thanks for the info it does help.

Another question, what brand of +RW's and +R's did you use that played in all players?

I tried Memorex +RW, HP +R, Mitsubishi +RW, Sony +RW and none of them worked in my other players. What brands of +R did you try that worked?

It's funny because +R discs are supposed to be bitset to DVD-ROM, so they should play in all players. The HP +R I tried had a purplish background, which was maybe the reason why it didn't work.

Thanx

[chas0039]

Just noticed that the DVD+RW format has taken the lead by a vote.

Keep in mind as you look at the data that many of us may have purchased based on factors other than the re-record capability. I chose Panasonic for many reasons, none of which were the DVD-RAM capability. Had they offered an identical model with ANY RW choice I would have snatched it up.