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  1. has anyone had experience with this recorder yet? wal mart has it for $300. i wanted to find out a little bit about it.
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  2. Hmm, seems its the same as the one at Target, E50, which is only $224, but might be cheaper now, its a clearance item.
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  3. Originally Posted by harmsway1976
    wal mart has it for $300. i wanted to find out a little bit about it.
    The following link is for the European version of the DVR-220, I'm sure the US version has component output instead of the RGB:

    http://www.avland.co.uk/pioneer/dvr220/dvr220.htm

    It's about time for the Pioneer recorders to be more competitive with the Panasonic models in terms of price.
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  4. Pioneer have 5 new DVD-R and DVD-RW recorders, from what I've found out the DVR-220 is there basic model.

    Thay all record from RGB and there video encoder gives very good qualty pictures even at the 6hour per DVD mode, but only in the video in is nice and clean and not to bisy.

    The range goes like this

    DVR-220 DVD-R\RW recording
    DVR-320 DVD-R\RW recording and Ilink in
    DVR-420 DVD-R\RW recording and 80GB HDD
    DVR-520 DVD-R\RW recording, 80GB HDD and Ilink
    DVR-720 DVD-R\RW recording, 160GB and Ilink

    The Basic DVR-220 is probably going to be around 280-300 GB pounds.
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  5. I just picked one up at Walmart yesterday. My early impression of this recorder is excellent. It is very feature rich for a recorder in the <$300 range. In January, I purchased the Liteon 5001 recorder and was happy with it until I realized it didn't excell in the timer / VCR functionality. The Pioneer overcomes all the Liteon shortcomings.

    To begin with, the features that I appreciate most are:
    1. OTR
    2. 32 timer slots, with Daily, Weekly, Mon-Fri, and Mon-Sat functions
    3. Automatic record, when used with Satellite. In theory, this works by starting up the recorder whenever it senses video on input 1. In my case, even with the satellite receiver turned off (DVR-510, 100-Hour Dish Network), the recorder cycles on and off. I will have to work on this
    4. NICE custom menus with dvd-video mode
    5. Very complete remote. Very complicated though...
    6. Disk history - it keeps track of disk names, and how much free space is on each
    7. Fully configurable bitrate control. In 10 minute increments. This way, if there is a movie to record that is 1:40 in length, you can configure the bitrate to exactly that time. Amazing.
    8. Stereo tuner
    9. 3 sets of inputs, 3 sets of outputs (including component progressive and interlaced)
    10. Fan that runs while unit is on. No overheating as my LiteOn does
    11. When setting up a timer recording, you can specify in advance what the title will be. Not only does this save time in the end, but with daily recordings, saves me from inputting the name of each program 5 times per week!

    That is a short list. Now here is what I compare to the Liteon, which is a +RW recorder:

    1. LiteOn +RW disks do not require finalization. Record, pop out, put in DVD player, and it comes to life. On the Pioneer (-RW / -VR) you must finalize the packet-written disk to create the VIDEO_TS directory (DVD-Video setting). This process takes up to 20 minutes, depending on the number of titles, and their chapters. DVD-VR takes up to 1 hour. This is taking some getting used to, as I was happy with the +VR (+RW) way of things.

    2. LiteOn +VR disks (because of format specifications) do not allow you to time seek the video. You can only skip to chapters. The DVD-Video disks after finalization in the recorder have full time / chapter seek in the dvd player. Nice!

    3. Liteon recorder is simple - plug it in, record, eject and all works. Pioneer takes more planning and thought considering it's more robust interface.

    4. Liteon recorder has no option to do much of anything while it's recording. You touch a button, and the recording might stop. On the Pioneer, it acts much like a DVR - you can modify timers, modify settings, etc., all while the recording happens in the background.

    5. Chase play. Now this is a cool feature. If using 2x media, you can record and watch titles on the disk at the same time. In other words, you can back up to the beginning of the currently recording program, or watch any other title already on the disk while it records in the background. This only works in -VR mode though.

    Bottom line, I will keep my LiteOn for a quick record of a 2 hour movie on HBO or something, but the Pioneer will be doing all the timer recording. I paid the same amount for the Pioneer ($298) as I did for the LiteOn ($299) in January, but feel that the Pioneer is a better value. The only tough part is that my investment in +RW blank media is high (150 disks). All I can do is finalize programs on the -RW, and disk copy them to the +RW disk to watch at a later date. This adds another 17 minutes (for they are 2.4x media) per disk, but in the end it will work out.

    I give this a 9-10 rating for excellent feature set at a bargain price. I reserve 1 star at the fault of DVD -RW spec which requires lengthy finalization step.

    TJDmobile
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    Originally Posted by tjdmobile
    That is a short list. Now here is what I compare to the Liteon, which is a +RW recorder:


    TJDmobile
    Hi, TJDmobile:

    How about the picture quality compared to LiteOn 5001? Also is there a firewire input? Thanks!
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  7. Hey CChang! Seen you at DC forum!

    The Pioneer has excellent picture quality. Like I said, you also have 32 steps for picture quality / time allocation. Great recorder. Makes the Liteon look and feel Cheap.

    No Firewire on the 220. They have a 320 for that. I will keep my 5001 around for firewire...

    I really like my new Pioneer! 8)
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  8. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    The Zoran (Pioneer) will start to falter at 4-hour modes (you'll tend to see macroblocks more), and the LSI (LiteOn) will exceed it in quality somewhat (though not as well as the JVC or Apex, as LiteOn uses CVBR instead of VBR ... not CBR either, CVBR).

    The LiteOn just needed a firmware upgrade to get timers/etc working better. www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/liteon.htm ... the LiteOn can also be made region-free, MV-free and have 3-hour modes (best mode to use for max length at best possible quality).

    The -RW is hard to swallow. I'd say to stick with TDK and Maxell brands -RW discs. Maybe Verbatim too. I'm having to get used to it on my new JVC. But the quality is worth the -RW hassle, I guess.

    I've spend the day custom-modding my LiteOn 5001 with a fan and heatsink. All it took was a few hours and less than $25 in parts. My upgrades will work better than the official 5005 LiteON upgrades too, and I did not have to spend $100 more for the 5005. I have some parts left over, so I may begin to sell LiteOn 5001 upgrade kits pretty cheap on my site in coming weeks.

    My time with the 220 was brief. I needed at least ONE +RW recorder, as I have 100+ blanks that would otherwise be useless. And I'm addicted to the LSI chips too, so the JVC beat the Pioneer at -RW.

    These Pioneer units are at Best Buy, Costco, and several other places. They sort of snuck up unannounced and are everywhere. About time a quality machine beats down the Panasonic, in terms of mass availabilities (it's harder finding some of these other good recorders locally from LiteOn, JVC, etc).
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    I have yet to see a Pioneer entry unit for sale in a Brick and Mortar. I am at Wal-Mart all the time and haven't seen this unit on the shelf. The only thing I have seen lately is the Cyberhome which they are clearancing. Saw the 1500 for $175 as an open box demo. Was tempted, but really want the control that the Pioneer has with the 32 step recording. I have talked a lot of crap for the past year and have still not bought a recorder. Money always seems to be tight...someday.


    EDIT: Went to the Wal-Mart site and now this recorder is nowhere to be found.
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  10. LordSmurf - LSI is tops - I agree. However, you have to note...you posted that a FW patch added the 3 hour, and MV among other things. Perhaps you also read all the posts from people (myself included) who indicated that this new firmware introduced a severe "jumpy" video condition which made watching the recorded programs inpossible. Liteon has introduced multiple patches, but has NEVER fixed the problem where a recording of 1 hour only records 59 minutes. Their published solution is to simply add a minute to the end of the recording. That is unacceptable. 1 hour timer should be one hour...period.

    Are you sure you have seen the Pioneer DVR-220-s everywhere? I live in a big city, and Best Buy, CompUSA, Costco, Circuit City don't carry these (and say they never have). My thoughts are this recorder is BRAND NEW (It's not even released in Europe yet, it's pre-ordering there). Mine was manufactured May 2004. The reason I ask is because I fully disagree with you on the video quality point. Unlike my Liteon 5001 (which I purchased when they FIRST showed up in December), the Pioneer has true VBR. You can watch the video bitrate (in 4 hour mode, for example) go from 1.11 to 4.85 bitrates. On Liteon CVBR, it always remains in the area of 2.xx bitrate. The 4 hour mode on this Pioneer is superior to the LiteOn (I would know, I have been recording in 4 hour on the Liteon for 6 months).

    While I am on the subject, I have become very familiar now (through many hours of experience) with DVD-VR (much different that DVD+VR that +RW machines use). The Pioneer (and other -RW recorders) use the DVD-VR or DVD-Video methods to record (user choice). When in Video mode, you record to the -RW sequentially. Since it's linear, you can't overwrite earlier programs without erasing them. Not a big deal though. Once the disk is full (or not), you finalize the disk (yesterday, had 6 recorded shows, 1 hour each) which takes only "2" minutes. Pop it out, put in standard DVD, and away it goes (you can fully customize the menu, long title names too). The resulting disk is a 100% DVD-Video disk. Time seek, everything. This disk can then be freely copied or edited on the PC.

    DVD-VR on the other hand, uses a packet writing system to make it completely editable. You can remove ads, combine titles, split titles, etc. You regain all space that was removed, because since it's packet written (JUST like a hard drive, or DVD-RAM), it doesn't have to place the data in a fully defragmented pattern. Therefor, if I have 2 hours of video, remove 30 minutes worth of ads, I have a full 30 more recording time. No defrag necessary. I finally figured out how to edit this on the PC (previously received invalid disk errors). I had to disable my packetwriting software on the PC (Sonic) and install InstantRead from VOB (packet READING software up to 2.5). Now the PC reads the .VRO file (just an MPG file, custom extension). I aquired TMPGenc DVD Author which works fantastic with these files (to fully edit). Ulead DVD Movie factory 2 also works fine to import the video. No finalization necessary on the recorder, taking out the 28 minute step on the Pioneer. Therefor, I have an editing solution which requires no more time (actually less, the pc doesn't choke on the DVD like the +VR disks) than the same function on the +RW disks from the Liteon.

    Sullen, I got mine at Wal-Mart Superstore 2 days ago. The had only been on the shelf for 1 day. Don't buy the Cyberhome, it has problems with heat and drives going bad. What I find interesting is that this recorder doesn't show up anywhere in Pioneer's own web site!
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  11. The Zoran (Pioneer) will start to falter at 4-hour modes
    Just to clarify, Pioneer DVD recorders (starting with the 510H and 310) use Renesas Technology (a Japanese design firm) chipset, not Zoran, as stated in their brochure which can be downloaded from the following link:

    http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/home_entertainment/dvdplayersandrecorders/dvr310/support/brochures.html

    The DVR-510H-S and DVR-310-S come with the
    industry's first 1-chip recorder engine, a revolutionary
    development from Pioneer in cooperation with a
    leading device manufacturer, Renesas Technology
    Corporation.
    Smurfy's problem is that he likes to make blanket statements without telling (or maybe knowing) the full story. LSI Logic chipset may be the best among those off-the-shelf products, but it takes more than the chipset to make a good recorder. His continuing bashing the Panasonic models while praising the JVC really amuses me since JVC is also owned by Matsushita. So either way, the money eventually goes to the same corporation.
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  12. Originally Posted by Synergy
    ....LSI Logic chipset may be the best among those off-the-shelf products......Panasonic....JVC is also owned by Matsushita.
    Putting the facts together then, we have:

    1) The Panasonic and JVC brands are both owned by Matsushita.

    2) JVC uses the LSI Logic chipset.

    3) Panasonic uses some "proprietary" chipset (origin presumably unknown).

    Hence, could it be possible that Panasonic models actually use a highly modified version of the LSI Logic chipset or a chipset manufactured specifically for Panasonic by LSI?
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  13. Originally Posted by tag
    Hence, could it be possible that Panasonic models actually use a highly modified version of the LSI Logic chipset or a chipset manufactured specifically for Panasonic by LSI?
    JVC chose to use the LSI Logic design mainly because it was late to the DVD recorder game and it spent much of its resources on the D-VHS format which isn't very popular so far, and using off-the-shelf design helps save the R&D and production costs. Panasonic never used any off-the-shelf chipset and prefers to stick to its own proprietary chipset, even their current low-end DVD players still use the proprietary chipset.
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  14. Originally Posted by Synergy
    JVC chose to use the LSI Logic design mainly because it was late to the DVD recorder game and it spent much of its resources on the D-VHS format which isn't very popular so far, and using off-the-shelf design helps save the R&D and production costs. Panasonic never used any off-the-shelf chipset and prefers to stick to its own proprietary chipset, even their current low-end DVD players still use the proprietary chipset.

    Thanks for the information, Synergy. However, it does beg the question (somewhat) as to why JVC didn't use the same chipset as the Panasonic models, considering they're both owned by the same corp.

    It seems like it would could have amounted to a considerable cost savings for Matsushita to have utilized the same chipset in both brands.
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  15. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    JVC and Panasonic may be part of the same corporation, but they are separate companies through and through. You'd have to have a lesson in corporate structure to understand that more fully. If JVC wants something from Panasonic, for example, it would have to buy it. Stupid, maybe. The way it works, definitely.

    Now, the LiteOn units "jumpiness" is simply caused from MV, no more no less. Removing MV removes the problem. Be sure to use correct firmware to do it (early official ones or recent hacked ones).

    Yes, I have seen several stores stocking the model. Best BUy had them on the loading shelves up top, but no prices and no floor models to look at. Costco had cases of them and samples to look at on the racks. Pioneer 220, about $299 at each place.
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  16. Originally Posted by lordsmurf
    Now, the LiteOn units "jumpiness" is simply caused from MV, no more no less. Removing MV removes the problem. Be sure to use correct firmware to do it (early official ones or recent hacked ones).
    Let me start by saying that I respect the work you do with your website and here as well. You clearly have a passion for all this digital video stuff. However, there is a darker side to this post:

    [RANT START]

    Sorry man...you are W-R-O-N-G. You just bought your LiteOn, so considering I was one of the first 10 members at DCforum (as I got one of the first production units) I know the recorder much better than you. My jumpy video was introduced in 1163, (I have had 1129, 1141, 1143 anf 1163, and 1163 with hacks applied) as the versions were rolled out. My sources that had the problem were NEVER from macrovision sources. Satellite, CAMCORDER, and over the air broadcasts through the tuner. Therefor, whatever was introduced in 1163 which affects a lot of LiteOn customers has nothing to do with macrovision. It was poor implementation of a FW. LiteOn (like I said, I have the history to back me up) tend to roll out the FW to the customer in it's alpha stage. They see how the users suffer, then put out ANOTHER alpha quality firmware. Simple things like "Liteon, can you please make the 1 hour mode setting record for 1 hour?" is stupidly still not fixed. Yes, I did manage to "go-back" to a previous FW (1143) which returned my machine to full working order, but lost the OTR function which was offered in 1163.

    Telling me to check for the correct FW is laughable. Like I said, the 1143 works fine with no Macrovision hacks. If 1143 didn't work, I would have used 1141 with the disable trick. Oh-well, you have to own your 5001 for a few more months, and you will likely see it's flaws - especially if you upgrade to Panasonic or Pioneer.

    I know you are only trying to help, but I have been doing this for a long time here, SHSPVR and DC-Forums (LiteOn). I tend to dive in and exhaustively learn about things. I don't mean to take offense, I just wish that before you became such an expert on the 5001 Liteon, you would have read all the posts (mine included) on the LiteOn forum. Just because you don't have a particular ailment on your machine with 1163 does not mean that other machines dont.

    -Rant Over-
    TJD
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  17. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Well, I'm surely no expert on the LiteOn itself as a unit, but in the past week, I've completely torn apart the hardware and played with firmware (had to use somebody else's code, because my own editing failed, including mor things I was trying). It's modded with a fan (with switch), a heatsink, and has MV-free, region-free use, and is excellent in 3-hour mode with its 3.3 CVBR (4.4 max) bitrate 352x480.

    The MV is what caused the jumping on my unit, as well as a bunch of other ones. Are you sure your issue is not related to cooling? Long shot seeing how it is fine under 1143, I know. But a well-cooled, good unit, using the real MV-free 1163 works quite well.

    I saw excessive jumping myself until 1163 hacks were applied. Gauging from that, and knowing how MV protection ruins so many other devices, I'm readily and eager to blame the problem on some badly made MV protection.

    My only beef with the unit is the CVBR. Sure, better than CBR, but CVBR is a limited max VBR. The max for 2.5 avg is 3.0 max (which sucks as a max). The LSI chip can do better than LiteOn firmware is letting it.
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  18. See my post on January 19, titled "Heat Vents" on DCforum. Here's a photo of my project:

    http://geocities.com/tjdmobile/liteon

    Yep. Early on (in January) I put up a big thread on how I cooled mine down by using a corrugated sheetmetal sheet, bent into the same shape as the original cover. (I also have a chipset heatsink and fan from Comp-USA on the LSI chip). The disks are cool, and no heat rises out of the case except for the power supply. Heat is not my problem. If it were, going back to 1143 would not have solved it. Like I have said before... For 6 months, my machine had not one single error or problem recording. 1163 (both with, and without hacks) killed it. Besides the jumpy video, the front LED display would randomly freak out, blinking various elements on and off. A power cycle each time would clear that problem.

    Also - I am sure the LSI could do better, but LiteOn is constrained to the specifications of the DVD+VR specifications (to have certification, and the logo rights). The specifications allow for CVBR, not VBR. Do a search for changes made in 1143, I think that Banitc explained it in there... Banitc makes it quite clear that some of what people are asking for is not possible only becuase it's out of spec (but then again, LiteOn audio is MPEG rather than AC3 or LPCM...)

    Anyway, I am happy with 1143 because the Pioneer fills all the holes left in my perfect DVDR set-top. I use the LiteOn today to record any "watch only once" stuff, and to download my minidv videos. Personally, I think that this configuration gives me the best of both worlds, +VR / DVD-VR.
    LDW 5001, Nov 2003. Pioneer DVR-220-s, May 2004. Haup PVR-250 (2) Ver. 15 + 16. Slowpoke P4 1.8Ghz, 500 gig . Dish DVR-510 - 100 hrs. DirecTV RCA. DLP HD HT Projector at 170 Inches Diag. Tivo Gen. 1 with 180 hours
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  19. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    I find it strange that JVC and Apex can make higher max bitrates and they call it VBR. The JVC has a max cap at 4.5 and Apex at 9.8 (though never went above 3.9) for video in 4-hour mode. LiteOn uses 2.8 which can never yield block-free quality.

    The power display only freaks out on me when I press the button on the unit. It did this out of the box on 1143. The remote has no such problems. Odd, but I can live with it (face the same issue on a JVC 3800 SVHS of mine). I have both in their own cheap surge into a larger unit so I can flick on/off quickly if needed. I just use the remote anyway.

    When I last demux'd a test file, I thought I saw AC3 audio. I'll have to look at that! No matter, AC3 is just a besweet batch away anyhow (plus I normally convert to WAV to correct pitch/hiss anyhow).

    Mine is a December 2003 build version. I'm thinking the motherboards are different. I had some reasons for that yesterday, but I've slept since then.
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  20. First off- could we get off the p*ss'n contest on the Liteon/Pioneer. I was hoping that this would be a good evaluation of the Pioneer!
    TJDMobile, I went up to Walmart this morning and they had 3 of the 220s on the shelf. I was tempted to pull the trigger but didn't (yet). The unit has all the inputs that I want that my 5001 doesn't. My main concern is: Will the pioneer read +R discs that were created on the 5001 or for that matter created on a PC?? The answer to this is important to me. I believe that the answer is that it will NOT .
    My Dad has a 5001 and a Panasonic E30. His E30 will not read +R discs! This puts him in an awkward situation as far as versatility, etc...
    Thanks in advance, Gerry
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  21. I just bought the 220-s last night and it did play my dvd+r discs just fine.
    I returned my cyberhome that was a piece of ****.

    So far the Pioneer is light years ahead of the game for the price the only dissapointment is there is no coaxial audio out only optical digital out. otherwise I am very pleased with the menus and the ease of use.

    The pioneer runs cool and no heat buildup. recorings look great.

    I will post more when I have more time to write.

    Happy so far.
    TURP7622
    Former Cyberhome Owner
    Current Pioneer DVR-220-S Owner
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PioneerDVD/
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  22. [quote="turp7622"]I just bought the 220-s last night and it did play my dvd+r discs just fine.
    I returned my cyberhome that was a piece of ****.

    So far the Pioneer is light years ahead of the game for the price the only dissapointment is there is no coaxial audio out only optical digital out. otherwise I am very pleased with the menus and the ease of use.

    Turp7622, thanks for trying a +R disc for me and the results are great. Actually, I pulled the trigger and went up and bought one this afternoon . I just couldn't pass up the price for a good feature set. I have not hooked it up yet because I have to make some decisions about my 5001 and such. I think I have it figured out now and will have to make some moving of equipment tomorrow. I believe that I am really like the autostart feature, plan on hooking that input to my dish 501 for timed recordings.
    I do have a question for tjdmobile: In your review over in the Liteon forum you said "the unit has pure VBR across all record settings". I see a thread in this forum (the one on the JVC MV10) that a guy bought a 220S and he says that it is CBR across all modes.. Could you confirm that it is VBR for me.. Thanks Gerry
    ps: will report my likes/dislikes after hooking up tomorrow and doing a little testing...
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  23. Member kabanero's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by ggw2000
    I do have a question for tjdmobile: In your review over in the Liteon forum you said "the unit has pure VBR across all record settings". I see a thread in this forum (the one on the JVC MV10) that a guy bought a 220S and he says that it is CBR across all modes.. Could you confirm that it is VBR for me.. Thanks Gerry
    ggw2000,

    That was me. I bought 220S on Thursday and tested it for two days. It went back to Wall Mart today because it doesn't have iLink for DV and video quality is worse than from 5001.

    Alos today I bought 210S with iLink (looks exactly like 310S) in Costco for $299. It goes back to Costco tomorrow becasue:

    1. It has FireWire (iLink) DV input/output, video quality is ok, (LSI in 5001 is still better) but it didn't work with my PC and Vegas 5.
    EDIT: I got it working. Now I can record to 201S directly from Vegas 5 using Print To Tape feature. This is the only good featue on Pioneer DVD recorders with DV in.
    2. 210S doesn't have AUTO record mode with Timer like 220S does, and this was the only mode with true VBR.

    Below is the screen shot of Bitrate Viewer with open VOB file recorded on 220S:



    All four preset record modes and 32 manual modes record in pure CBR despite Bitrate Viewer says that stream type is VBR. Look at the yellow line in the graph, that is totally straight line.
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  24. I was able to get a great recording onto a DVD-r with the 220-s last night with excellent quality. the program was 2.2 hours so I set the recording mode to manual and set it to record at a bitrate giving me 2.5 hours so I would have plenty of space for the finalize.

    The disc came out great and even looks great on my 6 year old panasonic A-110 DVD player.

    The quality of video was as good or better than I got with the Cyberhome set on 2 hour mode.

    I like the ability to manually set the bit rate to adjust the length of the disc by half hour increments. you dont have to settle on 4 hour mode when recording a 2 hour and 10 minute program.

    The editing features are quite nice also very intuitive. This player also inculdes the chase feature when recording on -rw in the vr mode. it does not have the I-link feature. that is on the 320-s but from what I can tell that is the only difference in the two units from the manual they share.

    I did notice that Best Buy had a Pioneer 225-s for $299 and I do not know the difference between the 220 and the 225. Both are so new that this thread is about the only info on the unit anywhere on the web. there are a few UK sites with just a listing of it.

    So far am am extremely happy with the 220-s.

    It is easy to use and gives many features only available on much higher priced units.
    TURP7622
    Former Cyberhome Owner
    Current Pioneer DVR-220-S Owner
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PioneerDVD/
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  25. As I stated previously, I went up and bought the 220S. Yesterday I rearranged things in my entertainment center and played with it some. Man, what a recorder for the price! I'm afraid to say in my opinion that as far as feature set it is a Cadi compared to the 5001. I will also say that I also like the 5001 for what I want to use it for which is VHS to DVD xfer. There are so many buttons on the remote that I thought it would take me a week to figure this thing out. But everything is really fairly simple and designed well.
    To date my only disappointment is with the L1 Auto Start option. I have my dish 501 sat receiver hooked to it and cannot get this option to work . It appears that the 501 puts out a low level voltage or something on the Svideo even when off. When I set Autostart it powers off and then powers back on after a short time and starts recording. I disconnected the Svideo from the back of the 501 and it goes into autostart the way it is suppose to. The threshold for autostart is set to LOW. I looked but could not find any way to adjust the threshold. I will call Pioneer and put my 2 cents in as this was an important option to me. I have worked around it by setting up the 501 to turn on a "vcr" and it outputs an IR code to turn it on and off. Small problem is that if I close the glass door on my unit it does not work. Going to look into a IR extender.
    The PQ so far is at least as good as the input on recording at 1hr. I did not have time so far to do a more in depth PQ review across the other settings. It does look like the Manual settings are going to be the cat's butt tho for recording in the 2:01 to 2:30 hr recordings.. More to come
    Gerry
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  26. kabanero,

    I can't explain why this application shows the bitrate at a CBR configuration. If you press DISPLAY twice on the 220, you can clearly see that the bitrate is variable. Take for example, the menu screen from my dish DVR. When it's recording that, the bitrate holds steady at about 1.35 mbps in 4 hour mode. Once the program starts, it jumps up to 4mbps, then back to 3.xx then back to 2.xx and varies up to 3, down to 2, etc. My Apex portable has a realtime bitrate display mode as well, and it has the same results. The Cyberlink PowerDVD 4 on my PC again, has the same results. I think that the BitrateViewer you use (and I have also, in the past) is not displaying the bitrate correcly. Perhaps it is displaying only the peak bitrate. After all, it depends on headers and I-Frame data for this (I think...)

    Gerry,

    Sorry that I didn't get back earlier on the +R thing... I posted on the DCforum that my +VR and DVD+RW work fine in the recorder. I should have tested the +R!

    The Panasonic units are set to not play disks recorded on +R and +RW (friend at work has the E80). My +RW disks only play on his when I change the bitsetting to DVD-ROM. I think that Panasonic is holding it's ground on the -r/DVD-RAM arena for the time being. Pioneer is (like most) playing for both teams.

    On the auto-start...You have the exact same scenerio as I do with the autostart. Dish network yields this problem, but my Directv receiver doesn't. I am sure there is some way to get this to work. I will likely start a project when I have time to overcome this. I can create an intermediate breakout box that adds a micro-ohm resister in line, which should bring about the result that we want. At any rate, I won't do this until after I have spoken with Pioneer and Dish Network tech support. There has to be some kind of solution in the works for this.

    Also, all things aside..I kind of wish I had waited for the Pioneer instead of getting the LiteOn. The liteOn is just to limiting for the kind of quality and compatibility I desire. I used the LiteOn a couple of times over the weekend to transfer 2 hours movies from the DVR over. This is only because I have so darn many +RW blanks to use up.. I have a feeling the 5001 will be gifted off to a family member in the very near future (just like I did with my old TIVO when I picked up the Dish DVR)

    If anyone needs advice about using -VR to it's potential on the PC, let me know. I have played with this a lot, because no finalization is necessary on the Pioneer, dispite other posts which say it is...

    I am such a big fan of my new Pioneer, I am almost inclined to start my own discussion board on it, kind of like how DCforum got started! This Pioneer is honestly an amazing value. It's priced where some of the cheap China imports were a couple of months ago. My Pioneer is labeled as Made in Japan. A label to look for on any electronics!

    For those interested in Coax digital output - Radio Shack in the U.S. carries a converter. It's fairly inexpensive for what it does. I have a Pioneer receiver, so it has both inputs (making a non-issue for me)
    LDW 5001, Nov 2003. Pioneer DVR-220-s, May 2004. Haup PVR-250 (2) Ver. 15 + 16. Slowpoke P4 1.8Ghz, 500 gig . Dish DVR-510 - 100 hrs. DirecTV RCA. DLP HD HT Projector at 170 Inches Diag. Tivo Gen. 1 with 180 hours
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  27. tjdmobile, thanks for the response.. As you, I really love the 220S so far. Man, this is a nice little machine! Please post if you come up with anything on the Autostart as this is the only downer of the machine.. It would be nice to have a single forum for discussions on this unit. At this point and maybe never(?) would there be any possible hacks for this unit in the way of Macro/Region? Look forward to more reviews from people as we get used to the 220S.. Gerry
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  28. tjdmobile,

    I would love to see a forum dedicated to the Pioneer DVR. Let us know if you start it up and we will be there.

    I think the 220 has a lot of potential as it is the first low cost/ high feature DVD Recorder that works like it should.

    I have been scouring the internet looking for information on the 220 and have only come up with this one thread for info.

    We need a Yahoo Group or a Forum like this to really dig into this machine and help those that are out there looking for a low cost alternative.

    One thing I found of interest when I went to go buy this was that there was only ONE model of +r/+rw available at WalMart. When I origianally bought the cyberhome there were 2 or 3 + models available. I am finding it harder to find the + recorders out there.

    Another interesting thing I saw was a Pioneer 225-S at Best Buy in a Blue Box. The 220-s is in a green box. I could not see any difference in the description but there was no floor model and there is nothing on the net about a 225-s. all I had to go on was that the box said Pioneer DVR-225-S. I would love to know the difference but as I said before there is just no info available.

    Lets get a Group or Fourm Going!!!!
    TURP7622
    Former Cyberhome Owner
    Current Pioneer DVR-220-S Owner
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PioneerDVD/
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  29. I just created an empty group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PioneerDVD

    I will need to figure out the best way to administer it, so that it can be helpful to people. Advice welcome. It doesn't have any messages yet, but soon will.

    TJD
    LDW 5001, Nov 2003. Pioneer DVR-220-s, May 2004. Haup PVR-250 (2) Ver. 15 + 16. Slowpoke P4 1.8Ghz, 500 gig . Dish DVR-510 - 100 hrs. DirecTV RCA. DLP HD HT Projector at 170 Inches Diag. Tivo Gen. 1 with 180 hours
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  30. Well earlier I said that I would post my thoughts on PQ with the 220S. Last night a did a little testing across the preset modes of 1hr, 2hr and 4hr. This is a subjective test based on my eyes. Following is the equipment used and the set I used.
    Equipment: Dish DVR921 HD Receiver
    Hitachi 60VX500 LCDRPTV
    Pioneer 220S
    Monster Svideo Cables
    I decided that I wanted to have the cleanest signal possible so I used Discovery HD and the show "Trading Places". This gives me DVD quality on the Svideo connector and since the show is shot with HD cameras it is a vibrant clean output. Also it was what was on at the time . I recorded 5 minutes across the 3 modes and then reviewed them.
    1hr mode: exact replica of the input.. VERY nice.
    2hr mode: almost the same as the 1hr mode but occasional noise around subjects and in backround- still real good
    4hr mode: things go downhill here- more noise and colors are not as vibrant. I would place it about SAT standard definition quality or slightly lower but better than local analog cable.
    Again this IMHO and your results may be different. A smaller display would give better results and a larger display would yield worse results as you would be stretching the picture out even further..
    I will try to stay to the 1hr and 2hr modes and use the manual setting for anything between 2hrs or so... Gerry
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