Now thoroughly confused..help with choosing a recorder

[nikolasmor]

After reading through a million posts/reviews..etc I am now more unsure than when I started. But hey, thats what this forum is for, right? Here's the deal. At this point I am in need of a new VCR and a new DVD player as both are about 4 years old. I would like to get a nice DVD recorder as opposed to just a player. Has to be DVD-R because that is what I use. I will be switching over to DL next year as I'm sure most of us will with the pricees dropping, so that is a wish, but not neccesarily a requirement. A very big wish if you will. On top of that I was hoping to make this a combo unit. I want to transfer all of my older VHS tapes to DVD and that will be the biggest thing for me. The VHS side will rarely be used other than for converting and the DVD side will run an average of 4-5 hours a day plus the converting. Price isn't really an issue, to an extent. I don't mind spending a few hundred for a good unit that will earn its keep.

Thanks
Nikk

[nikolasmor]

Oh and am not really looking at the hard drive side of things, it will not get used much if its there, so thats not a requirement as I use my PC to record my TV shows..boy thats one long nonsense sentance...anyways you get my point

[donpedro]

Just be aware that you might run into issues when converting commercial VHS to DVD. (copyright protection)

[nikolasmor]

Cool thanks, anyone else have any other thoughts?

[broadway]

many of those on this forum do NOT buy the combo units
they use a VCR like the JVC HRS9911 which retails for $300+
ideally you want to use the same VCR that was used to record the VHS tapes
choose the DVD recorder based on the reviews

[knight]

I would recommend the panasonic DMRES30S.

I have had this combo unit for a few months it gives great quality and I have not have any problems with it.

http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPF-Panasonic_DMR_ES30_DVD_Recorder_and_VCR_with_80GB_HDD

[nikolasmor]

No issues with commercial disks?

[strongbad]

STAY AWAY from the new pioneer 531/533/633. I wouldnt get a Panny either because they crop the image with their 704x480 spec. if you can, id recomend a 220/520 pioneer. much better quality

[trhouse]

There are new units coming out all the time but at the moment, these two units appear to be the only ones that satisfy all your requirements of 1) recording to dvd-r, 2) recording to DL, and 3) happens to be a combo.

[lordsmurf]

Do not buy combo units.
Do not buy Philips or Panasonic crap.
Do not buy because of disc type.

Buy a good unit.
For all things, a JVC.
For just off-tv work, a Pioneer
For just VHS transfer, LiteOn

Then be sure to get a good VCR and TBC for any tape work.

[vhelp]

I agree.. with the suggestion on the 220-S model by Pioneer.
They are pretty good at times. I think the "beafier" models are
begining to show signs of slipage. You know what I mean. Anyways.

The 220-S was (IMO) the mid-point of quality. You have all the bells
and whistles though not too much. The other later models pushed
too far, IMO, and are.. Anyways.

If you can, you might consider a model with an HDD in it. I always
see this, when someone doesn't get it, and later, regrets it, because
they moved further from their original intent/goal, and end up having
higher requirements, such as HDD and longer recording times, etc. etc.

I have the 220-S model, but I'm one of those, who later, regret it,
because now, I would like a HDD, so that it would act/simulate a TIVO
type unit. Don't get me wrong. I dont' regret, in the negative way.
Just that I could have probably splurged on a HDD model.

In addition to above, I would of also wanted one with DV support as well,
because I deal a lot in DV video.. though I do have an iLO recorder
that has DV, fwiw mentioning here.

If I were recording a lot of items, a DVD Recorder would be the best
suggestive move to take. Getting a hardware capture device (ie, MPEG-2)
is not such a great idea if you have lots and lots to record, and later,
want to open up in another area of video, such as TIVO type or schedule
type recordings while you are out most of the day. Hardware
type capture devices (ie, MPEG-2) are not that good for this because
you would have to keep your PC on, always. And, I just don't like this
move much. So, definately the DVD Recorder route.

Look into the Pioneer DVR 220-S units, if you can. They are slightly
older (last years' model) but still kicking in quality.

As far as VHS goes. You want a separate VCR unit. You don't want one
that is built-into the DVD Recorder because they will most likely
favor Macrovision at a higher degree than stand-alone VCR units.

Plus, you have the added ability to add gizmos in-between the VCR and
the DVD Recorder, (should you go the more advanced route, in time)

Mind you, the above is for one-time recording projects.. pop in a dvd-r
disk and record. Re-Encoding is another beast all-together. I don't
think you are in that direction, though.

To Recap:

** DVD Record w/ HDD is probably your best route, maybe w/DV support
** Consider the Pioneer DVR 220-S model, if you can find one (non-HDD/DV though)
** Hardware MPEG-2 capture devices - not so good IF you're away mostly
** Commercial VHS tapes, have Macrovision.. expect them non-recordable

-vhelp 3597

[Seeker47]

STAY AWAY from the new pioneer 531/533/633. I wouldnt get a Panny either because they crop the image with their 704x480 spec. if you can, id recomend a 220/520 pioneer. much better quality

Based on what ?

I thought gshelley had some rather good things to say about the more recent Pioneer models . . . though I seem to recall he was also getting rid of one of them, recently acquired.

Mind you, I like the 520 a lot, but it seems to be well on its way out of the market at this point, so maybe not so easy to get anymore. The 80G HDD is definitely a limitation, as I find I'm having to dump stuff off to -R or -RW with regularity, in order to free up space. (I like to record movies at max. quality.) Also, I'm thinking the "DV" In on this unit isn't really Firewire -- even though it says 1394 in the specs online, because the plug shape looks all wrong to me. That isn't really a factor for ME yet, but I know people who wouldn't buy a model that lacked this feature.

[Seeker47]

Buy a good unit.
For all things, a JVC.
For just off-tv work, a Pioneer
For just VHS transfer, LiteOn

From reading a great many reviews of many makes / models, and my own experience with the Pioneer 520, I'm inclined to add that Pioneer seems to hold a decided edge on Ease of Learning / Ease of Use. Also, some of the Toshibas are said to have more in the way of fine degree features and controls, appealing to more advanced users, but this is said to place them at the opposite end of the learning curve. Also, a number of reports suggest they are overly finnicky as to blank media.

I haven't seen the higher end JVCs in too many stores, and a lot of the more common stores don't seem to carry the Pioneer brand, perhaps because Pioneer doesn't want them to.

[donpedro]

Also, I'm thinking the "DV" In on this unit isn't really Firewire -- even though it says 1394 in the specs online, because the plug shape looks all wrong to me.

There are 2 types of connectors. It is definitely Firewire or iLink or IEEE 1394 or "DV in" that is commonly used on video equipment.

[cahusker]

I just bought a Panasonic DMR es 10. While it is new to me I can say that it is the easiest functioning recorder I have had. Quality seems eaqual to my Liteon. Best thing I like about it is it responds very quickly to commands given to it through the remote or manually. My liteon and Cyberhome were much slower.
The thing to do is buy your recorder from Costco. I bought my liteon there a year half ago. I began to have some minor problems with it, which I think were heat related as I had no fan. Took it back to Costco no problem returning it. They said they have a 5 year warrenty on electronics. So I love the Pansonic but if it takes a dump on me I am safe for 5 years.