I need advice on choosing a dvd recorder.

[orbitmonkey]

Hi.

My dad has decided to buy a dvd recorder and would like me to research which one is the best for his budget.
He would like to spend under £200.
He is mainly interested in high quality recordings rather then fancy options.
i was thinking of getting a Panasonic DMR-ES10 but have read it has some problems.
Is it possible to record onto a dvd rw/dvd ram and eject it without finalising so he cauld change a blank dvd during an ad brake?
is it possible to change the recording quality per recording so a disc has a mix or different qualitys?

Thanks

[trhouse]

"Is it possible to record onto a dvd rw/dvd ram and eject it without finalising so he cauld change a blank dvd during an ad brake?"

Yes to both media except dvd-ram does not need finalizing.

"is it possible to change the recording quality per recording so a disc has a mix or different qualitys?"

Yes, if they are separate titles. Quality settings cannot be changed during a recording. It needs to be stopped, the setting changed, and restarted. This is true of most recorders.

[captcrunch]

The Panasonic DMR-ES10 is really not that bad for the price.
The only complaints Ive made on this recorder is recording from really poor videotape in 2hr mode and getting small blocks.But to the average joe, recording good source video and tv shows he probably wouldn't notice nothing but good quality.If I recorded 2-3 hrs of something clean and brought it to friends and family they probably wouldnt say anything.But to video heads like myself we stare and stare and see artifacts and blocks.Plus the panny is very easy to use and records Dvd-r and Dvd+R and records on most brands.

[orbitmonkey]

Does it have an s video in
and rgb in and out scart sockets?

I also read that the PIONEER
DVR220 was good. Which is better?

[trhouse]

"Does it have an s video in
and rgb in and out scart sockets? "

The ES10 does not, the ES20 does. Here is a link,

http://www.avland.co.uk/panasonic/dmres20/dmres20.htm

"Which is better?"

It depends on what better means. For example, if better is

1. Being able to adjust chroma, hue, black level, white level, detail before capture.
2. Capture to dvd-rw in VR mode.
3. Capture four hours ( LP mode ) in 352 by 480 resolution

The Pioneer can do this.

If better is,

1. Capturing to dvd-ram and dvd+r.
2. Capturing four hours at 704 by 480 resolution
3. Stabilizing some unusual forms of horizontal, vertical sync issues

The Panasonic can do this.

There are more differences. This is just to give you some idea of what to expect.

[lordsmurf]

Pioneer, JVC and LiteOn would all be excellent choices.

Panasonic is only a decent machine if it is used in 2-hour mode ONLY and no more. If you can resist longer times, get it. But it's not any more user friendly.

The LiteOn units are super dummy-friendly. I'd say get on of those for a parent. The "easy guider" system is a one-button area where you can erase or finalize discs. And then recording is simple. I would use a satellite box, cable box or VCR for the tuner (plug into LiteOn using composite or s-video cables), not the recorder's tuner. P

JVC gives better quality. Pioneer is about the same as a LiteOn.

[trhouse]

One other item may influence your choice. I believe the Pioneer DVR-220 is now discontinued. There are rumors about that happening to the ES10 but Panasonic USA denies it.

Some other differences between the machines. Pioneer recorded disks play back immediately, Panasonic recorded disks can do that or they can be recorded so they default to a menu screen first so you can choose what is to be played back. You can do that with Pioneer disks but need to hit the "menu" key or a similar key on your playback unit.

The Pioneer will fill most of the 4.7 GB available space on a typical dvd. The Panasonic will use 4 GB leaving unused recording area around the outer edge of the disk.

[strongbad]

Pioneer limits 4.3GB

[donpedro]

.... BTW 4.7GB and 4.37GB that DVD medium can store is same think. So last 2 comments might be confusing based on which method they use to calculate GB.

DVD-5, holds around 4 700 000 000 bytes and that is 4.37 computer GB where 1 kbyte is 1024 bytes

* In the computer world is 1 KB data = 1024 bytes so 4 700 000 000 bytes / 1024 = 4 589 843KB / 1024 = 4482MB / 1024 = 4.37GB.

[orbitmonkey]

The Liteon LVW5002 is only £120.
I Found this comment in the dvd recorder list

Seems to play all my backup dvds except 8.5dl. Starts ok, but hangs on the menus. It did on both that I tried.

if it has trouble playing 8.5dl backup dvds would it be likly to have trouble with official 8.5 dl film dvds?
Would the dvds made using the 5002 play in other dvd players?
How is the 3 hour quality on liteon recorders?
Does it have an s video in
and rgb in and out scart sockets?

Thanks.

[e404pnf]

if it has trouble playing 8.5dl backup dvds would it be likly to have trouble with official 8.5 dl film dvds?

Commercial DVDs are made differently to "home-made" DVD DL back ups. They are pressed rather than burnt so won't be a problem. (lets face it, that would mean it wouldn't be able to play most commercial DVDs!)

-e404pnf

[orbitmonkey]

Thanks.
The panasonic seems to not record widescreen without using ram media
would the 5002 record in widescreen onto a dvd r or dvd rw?

[classfour]

As a long time Panasonic owner (DMR-E20, DMR-E55), I would only recommmend them if you have a DVD-RAM drive on your computer. You never know when you want to put a set of home movies onto DVD. The DVD-RW standalones would be much more user-friendly if there was even a remote chance of doing DVD authoring.

I can attest to the old E-20s longevity: I've been using it for four years with little trouble. The newer E 55 is definitely not built as well, but was made in Japan.

If I had it to do over, I'd go with the JVC or Pioneer. A relative has an LG that I've taken an extreme dislike to. I can't speak either way for the Lite-On, but it's probably one level below the JVC or Pioneer for long-term use.