Sorry if this question has been asked, but this is the first time I am venturing into this section.

Right now on the market, what is the best 1080p Upconvert DVD Recorders w/HDMI which could match the quality of the upscale chipset in the Toshiba A30 or A35?

Personally I don't believe the quality of upscaling in any DVDR is equal to that of a good quality TV. I have heard that HD players like your A30 can be better than a TV, but not recorders. Most people have far better luck outputting 480 and letting the TV do the upconverting.

I agree with jjeff that it will be difficult to fond a DVD recorder that has put as much $ into image processing as a TV. With that said, I will tell you want my sense has been after owning severla different models of DVD recorders/upconverters over the last 15 months. I included a continuum of picture quality (PQ) as I interpreted it after owning each of the brands of DVD recorders listed below. This list is for PQ only, some of these may have features that would make a lower PQ easier to justify. All of these DVD recorders were last years models (with the exception of the panasonic which is a 2008 model), but I doubt any of these companies invested heavily in PQ as it does not show up on the fact sheet and thus does not help SELL recorders. All these recorders had their images displayed on a 92 inch screen, so it was very easy to see even a slight difference in PQ.

Phillips (DVR)<Toshiba/Samsung<Panasonic<LG<Xbox 360 Elite

I have not tried any other brands so I cannot comment on those. You probably noticed that I placed the Xbox 360 at the top of the list. this is obviously not a recorder, but it is the best upconverting DVD player I have ever owned. It has become the standard by which I compare the picture quality of the other DVD recorders/upconverters I own.

I would highly recommend AGAINST getting the Philips DVDR3537. It was a hideous picture. I returned the first one I had and got another just in case it was a flaw with that individual unit. IT WAS NOT. Purchase this model at your own risk

I hope this was helpful.

So set the player at 480i or 480p?

Are all DVD-R's that bad? I have a Pioneer 550 hooked up to an older TV, so haven't had a chance to test its progressive or upscaled output (plan to get a plasma, so I'll be able to test it eventually).

I have mine set for 480p and I think it looks as good as 1080i upconverted. Note I wouldn't say the upconverted is any "worse" I'd just say not better than 480p.
The 1 HDMI cable is also nicer than the 5 component cables, but again I wouldn't say any better PQ, just more convenient. The last 2 statements were in regards to a Panasonic EZ series DVDR, I'll have to agree with DHJELLEN that with the Philips 3575 I felt the PQ was worse using upconverting feature and actually got better PQ using 480p vs. upconverted output.

Personally I don't believe the quality of upscaling in any DVDR is equal to that of a good quality TV. I have heard that HD players like your A30 can be better than a TV, but not recorders. Most people have far better luck outputting 480 and letting the TV do the upconverting.

I agree with jjeff that it will be difficult to fond a DVD recorder that has put as much $ into image processing as a TV. With that said, I will tell you want my sense has been after owning severla different models of DVD recorders/upconverters over the last 15 months. I included a continuum of picture quality (PQ) as I interpreted it after owning each of the brands of DVD recorders listed below. This list is for PQ only, some of these may have features that would make a lower PQ easier to justify. All of these DVD recorders were last years models (with the exception of the panasonic which is a 2008 model), but I doubt any of these companies invested heavily in PQ as it does not show up on the fact sheet and thus does not help SELL recorders. All these recorders had their images displayed on a 92 inch screen, so it was very easy to see even a slight difference in PQ.

Phillips (DVR)<Toshiba/Samsung<Panasonic<LG<Xbox 360 Elite

I have not tried any other brands so I cannot comment on those. You probably noticed that I placed the Xbox 360 at the top of the list. this is obviously not a recorder, but it is the best upconverting DVD player I have ever owned. It has become the standard by which I compare the picture quality of the other DVD recorders/upconverters I own.

I would highly recommend AGAINST getting the Philips DVDR3537. It was a hideous picture. I returned the first one I had and got another just in case it was a flaw with that individual unit. IT WAS NOT. Purchase this model at your own risk

I hope this was helpful.

Thanks guys, it sounds like the DVDR's just don't have the top quality image processors for SD-DVD's.

Thanks guys, it sounds like the DVDR's just don't have the top quality image processors for SD-DVD's.If you want that you are going to have to invest some money in a top line player, like the Oppo. The Toshiba HD-DVD players are rated surprisingly high for their upconversion of SD-DVD and ranked near the Oppo and Denon players.

The Toshiba D-R560 just became available at several e-tailers (B&H Photo, ...). The jury is out on how well this unit works (compared to last year's D-R550) until someone gets one and runs it through its paces.

Bob

The Toshiba D-R560 just became available at several e-tailers (B&H Photo, ...). The jury is out on how well this unit works (compared to last year's D-R550) until someone gets one and runs it through its paces.

Bob

Does that model have the ability to record to DVD-RAM?

Not according to the Toshiba documentation. Just DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W. It does support time-slip recording, though.

Bob

Not according to the Toshiba documentation. Just DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W. It does support time-slip recording, though.

Bob

Are you sure about the timeslip feature? I thought the timeslip and chasing playback features requeired the DVD-RAM media type. I looked on their website and did find timeslip & chase listed in the detailed specs page for the D-R550, but not the D-R560. On the page for the D-550, it does say that this is with the -RW media type. Perhaps I simply have a misperception about which media types can perform these functions.

If you own this model, can you confirm the timeslip and chasing features for us?

I thought I remembered reading about a DVDR that would do time-slip or chase play with out RAM's, it must have been that Toshiba. Do you know does it work for both + and - RW's?

The time slip feature is listed in the B&H Photo write-up on the unit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/543668-REG/Toshiba_D_R560_D_R560_DVD_Recorder.html. Maybe they got the info wrong.

Bob

The time slip feature is listed in the B&H Photo write-up on the unit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/543668-REG/Toshiba_D_R560_D_R560_DVD_Recorder.html. Maybe they got the info wrong.

Bob

Yes, I saw that too and I almost included it in my previous post, but I asumed it was a mistake as the Toshiba website did not include it.

We may need to wait for someone who owns the D-R560 or the D-R550 to post his/her findings.

AFAIK, time slip with DVD-RW discs is possible if recording in VR mode is supported.

I have used the d-r550 for over a year. Yes it has Time Slip and VR mode. I believe it Time Slips only on DVDs formatted in VR mode, not Video. It will format a DVD in either mode.

I am extremely pleased with this DVDR Recorder. One great feature I discovered, it can speed up playback by 1.3x(30%) or slow it down by 0.8x(20%) using remotes 1.3/0.8xPlayback button. This is a very helpful feature for those like me who watch alot of news/talk programs. You can watch them faster, without changing the voice tempo(no squeaky mouse sounding voices), by setting playback to 1.3x. The Instant Skip button is used to skip through commercials in 30 second increments, common on most all recorders.

This recorder has all the bells and whistles you have come to expect on a more modern, post 2007, recorder; Live record, Chase playback, Resume where you last left playback, record/play on DVD-R/RW/-/+/CD Audio etc. Ram discs are no longer supported on most recorders because its media is expensive and becoming obsolete. This recorder will record/play/format in Video or VideoRecord(VR) on DVDs.

This recorder has all the bells and whistles ... Resume where you last left playback, record/play on ....CD Audio etc.

I'm interested in the two points I quoted. AFA the resume feature, does it work with more than just the last disc(for example last 6 discs) and does it remember even after being powered down? Also are you saying the 550 records to CDs? That would surly be a uncommon feature in this day and age, years ago several mfgs. recorded to CD but not anymore. If it records to CD can it also record video to CD, Ala VCD? Not that I personally cared for VCD, to me it was always severely bitstarved and showed, but it was a novel idea.

No recording to CDs. I know it remembers playback point if powered off on same disk. I never use it to view portions of recordings on many discs, so I don't know if it remembers between discs.

The manual is available online if you want to investigate further.

Thanks guys, it sounds like the DVDR's just don't have the top quality image processors for SD-DVD's.

There are however some good players out there in addition to the Oppo there is the Yamaha and a few others. If you need a recorder then get a separate player.