[hroeder]

In the November 1st technology section of the New York Times you can find a review of the Panasonic DMR-E20. Before you place those orders for a new Replay or Showstopper, you might want to look at this.


$1400 for a DVD recorder that will also record to DVD-RAM.


You can record and playback on a regular DVD player your favorite TV shows. The discs cost about $7 each. They also have a DVD-RAM packet that runs $35 and will allow you to record up to six hours, and ERASE! It will let you begin playing back before finished recording. It will also allow you to record one program while watching another.


Pioneer is evidentally releasing a similar product in the $2000 range shortly.


These are both a bit pricey for my blood right now. But When they drop to about half, it's out with the VCR, the DVD player, and the CD player. One machine for all purposes.

 

[NJChris]

Go to E-cost..It is half of the MSRP it is $709. I was going to wait for the Pioneer DVR-7000 or the Philips DVR 1000(model# might be wrong) since they use DVD-RW, and the panasonic uses DVD-R.


But I'm impatient, so I ordered one.

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?DPNo=963458


People are paying 800+ for it on ebay.

 

[RandyL712]

I've heard its foolish to spend over $500 and get anything that's NOT DVD+RW (which is different from DVD-RW). You'll likely have compatibility issues.

 

[Ryan]

What does a DVD hold? 4.5 gig? 9 gig?


Does it always record at DVD 'quality?' I don't need that for my cooking show archives.


These units will not serve the same purposes as a PVR. They do not have enough capacity.


I like the idea of recordable/re-writable DVDs in conjunction with a PVR. Maybe we can get sonic|blue to make one with ethernet for offloading shows from 4xxx series Replays.

 

[NJChris]

Quote:

Originally posted by RandyL712 I've heard its foolish to spend over $500 and get anything that's NOT DVD+RW (which is different from DVD-RW). You'll likely have compatibility issues.

I didn't realize the diff from DVD+RW and DVD-RW... I think they are +RW.


*shrug*

 

[NJChris]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ryan What does a DVD hold? 4.5 gig? 9 gig? Does it always record at DVD 'quality?' I don't need that for my cooking show archives. These units will not serve the same purposes as a PVR. They do not have enough capacity. I like the idea of recordable/re-writable DVDs in conjunction with a PVR. Maybe we can get sonic|blue to make one with ethernet for offloading shows from 4xxx series Replays.

I believe most of them let you change the quality (highest, high, med, low..etc).


The highest allows 1 hour and i think the most is 6 on a DVD R/RW. It depends on the machine and if it uses VBR, I believe.

 

[dkan24]

Panasonic- DVD-RAM and DVD-R


Pioneer- DVD-RW, DVD-R


DVD+RW and DVD+R claim to have better compatability when they come out. Only one exists right now by HP for the PC. I would not buy DVD-RAM.


By the way- I saw the Panasonic hooked up to a High Definition monitor, it looked unbelievable. The content was a burned DVD-RAM from a digital video camera. Looked better than the HDTV they were showing in the store, in my opinion.


But it only looked great b/c the source was great. Replay could look as good, if the mpeg2 data was originally high quality. Here's to hoping that the Replay5000 will link up with the 4000's, allowing us to watch the high quality of the 5000's (recorded direct stream dig cable/ satellite) on the 4000's!!

 

[NJChris]

The Philips DVDR1000 and DVDR1500 use DVD+RW according to http://www.dvdrecorder.philips.com

 

[tawollen]

If you purchase anything through ecost.com you might want to check out ebates.com . They offer 1% (or more) back when you purchase things through them from their associated stores, one of which is ecost. Dell, and a lot of other online sites are also associate.. Hey, saving anything is good


Troy

 

[hroeder]

The Panasonic has three different speeds, similar to a VCR. The highest quality is only 1 hour to a disk. But according to reviews, the six hour quality was better than S-Video. (Not my words, just reporting.)


I had not seen the DVD-Ram feature from anyone before. It sounds like they've taken RePlay technology and added it to a DVD recorder.


I used to use eCost quite a bit. Then they raised their shipping and handling to outlandish rates.

 

[C44335]

DVD-RAM is dead.

No one but Panasonic is supporting it.

Sony, Philips & Pioneer are going DVD-RW.


Check out www.dvdrw.com

 

[hroeder]

C4etc.


I'm sure a RW compatibility would catch on with computer people. But are they going to put that in video recording machines? A different issue.

 

[C44335]

the pioneer and philips units are dvd+rw.


Just because something is first or better dosen't mean it will survive in the marketplace (ie:Beta)

www.dvdrw.philips.com/personal/personal.htm

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pi...,20923,00.html

 

[rayliner]

Sounds great, but it currently has no brains like Replay or Tivo currently do. Although, with computer interface, it has some potential for those that want to design the front end - include a channel guide, favorites list, etc. Could be cool!