Hello all. Looking for some advice and this definitely seems to be the place to get it.

For many years now, I've been recording massive amounts of television programs (mostly sporting events) into my collection. VHS used to be the medium, but I made the switch to DVD early on, buying a Pioneer DVR-7000 right after it came on the market. A couple of years later I upgraded to a DVR-520 and have used it extensively ever since.

As personal tradition goes, I always buy a new piece of electronic equipment in the months leading up to an Olympics (as there is this August) so I've begun my research efforts. Coincidentally, I have a friend who's in the market for a DVD recorder, so I told him I'd be willing to give him my 520 (which is still in excellent working condition) and get something new for myself.

Pioneer has been great to me thus far. I love their machine because I'm very simple when it comes to DVD burning.. I just want to put video down on a disc at a high quality (love the flexible recording) and maybe insert a few chapter markers. Hence, their HDD to DVD recording method is perfect for me, especially that there's multiple source inputs so I can hook up, say, a VCR, as well as a cable box or whatever else I can throw at it.

I've decided it's too early in the game to try and invest in an HD recorder. I made the mistake of buying my DVR-7000 and having to pay top dollar for it, before the price of blank DVDs went down to what they are now. Unless someone thinks I'm wrong, probably best to wait until at least the next Olympics in 2010 before I even think about a unit that will record high-definition to DVD.

I did some research on the DVR-640H. Knowing that it's all but disappeared from the US market, I recently stumbled across the DVR-650H. Love the enormous hard drive, love the multi-format compatibility, and love that will function much in the way I've come to love about the 520. I have cable, so the analog shut-off next February shouldn't be an issue for me.

So the question is.. is the DVR-650H the answer? Or is there another unit out there that would seem to fit me better? My most basic requirements are that it must have an HDD, and must have multiple inputs. An ATSC/QAM tuner would be nice, as would any ability to record in high-def (within reason, I'm certainly not willing to spend lots of money on blank discs, especially for the quantities I record), but these are things I can live without until I make my next upgrade, whenever that is. Sorry to be so long-winded, but again, any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Couple of questions. What recording speed do you currently use most?
What would be the minimum size of HDD you would like, would say 160GB be large enough?
Would you be willing to go to Canada(do you live near the boarder) or would you be willing to purchase a international unit, say from Worldimport.com, etc.
Reason I ask is because except the Philips 3575 w/160GB HDD, there's not a whole lot HDD units still imported to the US.
Canada still has Pio's and Panny's, and there's the international route, but none of those would have the digital tuner.
The Philips does not have FR but does have many canned speeds. Note the Philips drops resolution on any speed slower than SP or 2hr/DVD, which is why I asked what speed you prefer.
Personally you might just want to hold onto your Pio until the HD units come out(if ever). Currently nothing made for the US market, other than Tivo will do HD right now.
Personally I'd just get a CECB for ~$20 with coupon and hook it up to your Pio. You should be able to get fine WS digital HD lite recordings going that route.

Ideally I like to do recording at MN15 (3-hour mode) or better. And virtually any program/event I record that's longer than 4 hours I'll record to multiple DVDs. I love the FR, which is knock number 1 against the 3575. Knock number 2 is the lack of multiple inputs. And me being the stickler over video quality that I am, those are big minuses there. 160GB would probably be big enough, but you'd be surprised how quickly I could fill a 250GB if I wanted to.

Getting a DVR-650 wouldn't be a huge problem.. I live in New York, there's a couple of places here that sell them (not exactly that cheaply, but there are alternative methods). I don't think I'd have to go to the drastic measures I would to get a 640 either.

2 questions to add that I've read elsewhere, hopefully you or someone else knows the answer...

1) I read in another thread that someone said that Region 1 DVDs won't always play in this recorder. Just to confirm, even though I know it's supposed to be region free (and I could care less if any other DVDs play in this unit).. I can play back and record good old NTSC signals on this, including through the tuner without any problems?

2 - this is in general moreso than about a specific recorder) I know the analog shut-off date is 2/17/2009, but I have digital cable. I know I have nothing to worry about there, but I have a split cable line, 1 side goes into the back of my 520.. is that still going to work, assuming my cable provider is still feeding an analog cable signal? (and this is Time Warner NYC, so that's a lot of customers they still need to make happy).

1.) Yes, and

2.) Yes.

Getting a DVR-650 wouldn't be a huge problem.. I live in New York, there's a couple of places here that sell them (not exactly that cheaply, but there are alternative methods). I don't think I'd have to go to the drastic measures I would to get a 640 either.



Where in NY can you get the 650? Are you in NYC or upstate near the Canadian border?

Is it the regular production line 650, or is it 1 of the international versions?

If you don't need the digital tuner, I'd get the 650 in a heartbeat. I have the 640, and I love it, especially the DVD-RAM capabilities. In the forum here, we've not heard much about problems with the 640, but the Philips has generated pages of discussion about its tuner.

Let us know what you decide.

Where in NY can you get the 650? Are you in NYC or upstate near the Canadian border?

Is it the regular production line 650, or is it 1 of the international versions?

If you don't need the digital tuner, I'd get the 650 in a heartbeat. I have the 640, and I love it, especially the DVD-RAM capabilities. In the forum here, we've not heard much about problems with the 640, but the Philips has generated pages of discussion about its tuner.

Let us know what you decide.

I live in NYC, so not only could I buy online from retailers like J&R or B&H, I'm a short trip from both of them. It looks like both of them have the international version, so I'm hoping that wouldn't be an issue. Is that something I can get working out of the box or do I have to do something else to get it to work? Also, if I'm buying from a Canadian retailer (I've seen a couple out there that might be a little cheaper), is that the same model or am I getting something completely different?

That all said, if I buy a new DVD recorder, it's going to be from Pioneer. From all I've read here and elsewhere, it still seems more worthwhile to find a 650 than settle for another unit just because it happens to be available in this country. A digital tuner is a fairly low priority for me since my trusty old analog tuner will still function for what I need it to do (thank you, Time Warner), which makes the lack of other features on the 3575 far too unattractive.

Like I said earlier, I'd love to be able to upgrade into the high-def recording world, but I'm still seeing that as being a few years off before it's worth the investment. In the meantime, and especially if I can sell off my 520 to a friend, this makes much more sense.

The international Pioneer do have NTSC tuners, just like the Canadian models. I believe a Canadian model would be more exact in it's compatability, though.

At least for the international models, besides the voltage converter, you will also need a litlle $5.00-ish "RF converter" connector, to hook the coax to the RF input on the recorder. They should sell those wherever they sell the recorders. If not, I know you can get them through www.world-import.com, where they also sell the recorders (they even carry a new, 500 GB Pioneer model. I'd check them too, to see who has the best prices at this time. They all run their own sales occasionally).

As personal tradition goes, I always buy a new piece of electronic equipment in the months leading up to an Olympics (as there is this August) so I've begun my research efforts.

...
I've decided it's too early in the game to try and invest in an HD recorder.

You could get a Tivo -- Series 3 & Tivo HD both record HD (both OTA and through cable).. and you can transfer recordings to a computer.

That seems to be the best bet in terms of wanting to record HD.

You could get a Tivo -- Series 3 & Tivo HD both record HD (both OTA and through cable).. and you can transfer recordings to a computer.

That seems to be the best bet in terms of wanting to record HD.

That's actually not a bad idea. I have a SA 8300HD cable box (which I'd love to be able to archive programs from.. but alas, that's not possible), but I'm not sure how easily I could get a Tivo to work in that mix. I'm all about permanent storage though, which is why DVD's are so convenient, easy enough to get a spindle of 100 for under 50 cents per disk. Not quite as cheap with HD storage.

Back to the original topic, should be noted.. I stopped at B&H on my way into work this morning. In very plain sight, out on display.. a Pioneer DVR-650H. Didn't get a chance to stop and ask questions, but availability is most definitely not an issue.

That's actually not a bad idea. I have a SA 8300HD cable box (which I'd love to be able to archive programs from.. but alas, that's not possible), but I'm not sure how easily I could get a Tivo to work in that mix.

Tivo's *REPLACE* the cable box. So you sometimes can actually save money, esp if you had a cable DVR.

But as I said, you can transfer to computer, and downconvert/burn to DVD.

I admit I haven't done this, and I bought a toshiba hard drive/DVD recorder precisely to avoid doing it on a computer -- but that was years ago, and I only had old Tivos that had no computer transfer ability (supported) at the time.

Tivo's *REPLACE* the cable box. So you sometimes can actually save money, esp if you had a cable DVR.

But as I said, you can transfer to computer, and downconvert/burn to DVD.

I admit I haven't done this, and I bought a toshiba hard drive/DVD recorder precisely to avoid doing it on a computer -- but that was years ago, and I only had old Tivos that had no computer transfer ability (supported) at the time.

It's a wonderful thought, but an expensive one. I'd have to pay for the box, then for the service, then for the Cable Cards (which, if I've read correctly about Time Warner NYC is both not a simple deal and could cost me access to HD channels and on-demand content). And if I'm doing that largely just to copy high-def video to my computer only to have to down-convert it, it almost defeats the purpose. But rest assured, when it becomes cost effective to start burning content to Blu-ray or another medium without paying a ton of money for it, I'll be all over it.