i went to walmart last week to pick up a new dvd recorder and they just put out a whole new stack of sony RDR-GX255 recorders

cost was $148.95 plus tax

has no built in tuner which i don't need because i record from my dual tuner HD DVR's from the S video output

no hard drive which i don't need

it's clearly marked on the box that this recorder has no tuner at all

it does have hdmi out with up conversion

i've been recording day and night since i bought it to make sure it's ok and so far no coasters from my old stack of walmart imation 8x blanks which did not work on my old sony due to an out of date firmware i guess

so far seems like a pretty solid machine with lots of recording modes which i like

no s-video input on the back but there is one on the front as well as a dv digital input for digital camcorders

can also record on +r dual layer blanks which is a new feature for me

i've always like the HSP "90 minute" recording mode on the sonys. the quality is very close to HQ and comes in handy for recording 90 minute shows like SNL in a "close to" HQ quality mode

$148.97 might seem expensive for a recorder with no tuner and no hard drive but i have always had such incredible luck with my old sony but it's getting harder and harder to find 8x blanks and even when i do find them, it's not always guaranteed that they will work unless they are brand name which are almost impossible to find in 8x. it's a real shame that no firmware update was available for my old sony which just keeps going and going. i recorded thousands of dvds on that thing and it just keeps on going

i also have two newer philips dvd recorders that i have a lot of trouble with, one of them is just dead. my old 2003 sony which i recorded over a thousand dvd's on is still going strong so i felt confident paying the premium for the sony name

Think it's hard trying to find 8x, try finding 4x, like my older Panny E85H uses!

Think it's hard trying to find 8x, try finding 4x, like my older Panny E85H uses!

my new toshiba hd-dvd player lets you put a cd in and update the firmware in a matter of minutes

they could do with with dvd recorders but they choose not to

I think the E85H has an update available on the Panny website that you can do to modify it - I'm just always afraid to try those things.

I just bought the GX255 a couple of nights ago. It plays DVD's just fine, and even played a DVD with raw jpegs burned from the computer. This is the first DVD player I've had that could do that with out using some kind of software to convert them. I haven't been able to find any reviews what so ever online good or bad about the 255. :confused: I've found some on the 355 which says it goes over board with copy right protection. Something about not being able to record TV shows/movies to be watched at a later time. I'll see how the 255 works, I hope it's a good unit. I hope it records TV shows, as I like to watch them on the road.

Just curious. What difference does 8x vs 4x blanks make? You are only recording from S-Video. Not copying from HDD to DVD. Why would the speed matter?

DEFINITELY stay away from Sony recorders if you have any worries about copy-protection.

Just curious. What difference does 8x vs 4x blanks make? You are only recording from S-Video. Not copying from HDD to DVD. Why would the speed matter?

It's a compatibility issue. The recorders have info in them (firmware) which allow them to use varies types of DVD media. The firmware "tweaks" for 8x are different than those for 4x, so some units work better with 4x, some 8x. Some of the older units won't work at all with 16x blanks. That's the issue. Finding media that will record well. Newer units have info for the later media types and so can use say 16x media fine.

(A lot of us hoard our older 4x TY's because we think they were the best DVD media made to date. Can't buy them anymore.)

I bought it as my main DVD player. It plays most everything I've thrown at it, so that's cool. It even plays the burned home movies from my Samsung DVD-R120. Some players have problems at the 5 minute mark when playing burned DVD's from the R120.

hi, just wondering if anyone has had problems recording shows given all the talk about copyright protection problems with these sony dvd recorders. i'm hesitant to buy this sony gx255 dvd recorder. also, i noticed that it only upconverts to 1080i and not 1080p. is there a noticeable difference when you watch something?

I've been calling Funai at least one time every month asking for a 16x firmware upgrade. I tell them that I had to go and buy a new recorder because 8xs are not readily available now (I already upgraded to 8x from 4x a few years back using their firmware upgrade). I think it is really sorry of the manufacturers not providing the upgrades on a timely basis, if at all. It is such a waste to pay so much for a machine only to have it become obsolete due to the firmware.

otk or anyone, please look in 'record menu' of gx255 and see if selectable options for recording 16x9/4x3 aspect ratios are there. thanks.
for de-encryptors, see firebird-systems.com

hi, just wondering if anyone has had problems recording shows given all the talk about copyright protection problems with these sony dvd recorders. i'm hesitant to buy this sony gx255 dvd recorder. also, i noticed that it only upconverts to 1080i and not 1080p. is there a noticeable difference when you watch something?

firebird-systems.com

I'm taking mine back right now. It's not reading brand new DVD's, and when it does, it skips. Think I got a POS.

DEFINITELY stay away from Sony recorders if you have any worries about copy-protection.

yeah, i just found this out a few weeks ago

can't record any premium cable channels at all

ok, i've recorded 200 dvd's so far and only 2 coasters but i figured out quick why

never press record and then pause right after it, the recorder locks up for some reason and then the disc becomes useless after unplugging and plugging back in the recorder

my old sony had a "rec pause" button on the remote that would let you cue up the recorder and then just hit rec for instant recording but the 255 does not have that feature and if you wish to "cue up", you have to hit record and let it record for a couple seconds before hitting pause or you'll end up with a coaster

other than that and the stupid copy protection, the recorder seems bullet proof so far

other than that and the stupid copy protection, the recorder seems bullet proof so farhttp://www.world-import.com/dp-5000_copy_enhancer_video_stabilizer.htm.