You're gonna get ALL KINDS of answers, but I for one am in the +R group and love it...I got the Philips DVD75 and am very happy with it.
Read another thread I posted about it here
Read another thread I posted about it here
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Which DVD Recorder to Purchase???
Which is the best DVD Recorder to purchase? My father recently purchased a video editor and want to burn his final productions onto DVDs. Also TV shows.
Any recommendations?
Any recommendations?
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Panasonic DMR-E80H. No question hands down the best bang for the buck. You can get it for around $500 shipped. The internal HardDrive has one feature the +R crowd can't touch, ~40 hours of UNATTENDED recording at SP (2hr/disc) mode. Program in those timer changes (and on the cable/dss box if necessary) and go away for the weekend.. come back and you're ready to watch/edit/burn as you wish. Anything else and you have to be ready to change discs every 2 hours.
....except of course the E100 which has a 120GB hard drive — it can store up to 26 hours of video in the highest-quality XP mode (with virtually zero loss in picture quality), or a whopping 160 hours of video in EP mode!
The step up there was justified for me by the bigger disc, faster burning in certain modes and the Compact Flash/PC Card slot for my digital photos to make DVD Slide shows for family and friends. I've had mine a week and am loving it.
Good luck.
The step up there was justified for me by the bigger disc, faster burning in certain modes and the Compact Flash/PC Card slot for my digital photos to make DVD Slide shows for family and friends. I've had mine a week and am loving it.
Good luck.
Another vote for the Panny E80. Great recorder!
Right now there is ZERO reason to get a unit without the Harddrive... the E80 can be had for $500 shipped ( www.pricegrabber.com is your friend) the best price for a Philips DVDR75 is $408... for $82 you get the harddrive and a superior piece of equipement... seems a no brainer to moi'
I was looking at the new Sony recorder that records both + and - in either R or RW. The other unit I was looking at is Pioneer Elite. I have also been under the impression that the format of -R or -RW is what most all DVD players can play and the + format is not able to be played on most all DVD players.
Can someone help me understand that better?
Can someone help me understand that better?
You've been given some fairly strong comments about the Panasonic DMR-E80 (or E-100 if you want to really do this right). As Londo has stated: "Right now there is ZERO reason to get a unit without the Harddrive...". I agree.
I view the Sony as somewhat of an overpriced underachiever that offers higher pricing, no hard drive, DV input (the E-80 does not), and the +RW format, which is either a punishment or a reward depending on your particular situation.
I assume that the Pioneer Elite you are considering is the 7000. Great unit and built like a tank. But the technology and pricing has moved forward where Pioneer has not.
What you ultimately gravitate toward is your decision, but if pricing, quality and operational flexibility are what you want, it's hard to beat either E-80 or the E-100 at this stage of the game.
I view the Sony as somewhat of an overpriced underachiever that offers higher pricing, no hard drive, DV input (the E-80 does not), and the +RW format, which is either a punishment or a reward depending on your particular situation.
I assume that the Pioneer Elite you are considering is the 7000. Great unit and built like a tank. But the technology and pricing has moved forward where Pioneer has not.
What you ultimately gravitate toward is your decision, but if pricing, quality and operational flexibility are what you want, it's hard to beat either E-80 or the E-100 at this stage of the game.
I have had my Panasonic DMR-E20 for nearly a year. It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of the newer Panasonics, but it can do something that, to the best of my knowledge, no non-Panasonic unit can do; record and playback at the same time. This means you can time shift and cut out the commercials, a GREAT feature. It also seems to be forgiving of the trashiest CD-R media. I buy the cheapest I can find and have never had a problem.
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I can give it a shot...
the short version -
-R/-RW/RAM are the only LEGITIMATELY recognized formats by the DVD Forum ( www.dvdforum.org ), this is the groups that OVERSEES and LICENSES the DVD format and DVD Logos... taken from the front page of their site...
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+R/+RW are, in reality, a 'rogue' format that deviated from the DVD standard. It's like making a audio cassette that had the two stereo tracks in a different position... looks like a cassette, fits a casette deck, but is different 'inside'.
That's not to say the -R format hasn't had it's share of 'rogues'.. in reality there is no such thing as 2x -R burning. The -R standards only had 1x and 4x defined originally (if my memory serves me correctly [ahhh! Iron Chef flashback]) and the Pioneer 2x was a kludge to compete with the 2.4x +R speed (and gave the original A03 drive a (roughly) equal paltform. that caused problems till an official 2x standard was defined.. by that time the 4x drives/media got common....
Most (if not all) of the original pushers of +R/+RW have now started making 'universal' burners (-/+ R, -/+RW) drives and a couple (Iomega, LG [or was that LiteOn?]) have announced -/+R, -/+RW, DVD-RAM drives. I suspect this was in response to the higher compatibality ratings of -R discs and the falling market share (to be fair, most of the -R vendors have added +R/RW capabilites in their drives also.. however I would venture it was to CAPTURE a larger market share than just to be compatible..)
Probably the two best combo, PC drives now are the Sony DRU510 and the Pioneer A06.
This 'merging' has not appeared in the standalone market to any real degree.. there has been some discussion on the Sony standalone and it's support (or lack thereof) of +R.
Yes, -R/-RW is the more compatible of the formats out there as tested and reported by many many magazines/webzines.
-R/-RW media is less expensive across the board also.
+R has an 8X PC burner out (Plextor combo.. 8x +R / 4x -R) but no sign of any quantity of 8X media.
DVD-RAM has been around a while, and with the exception of people who want to diss the format, will be around a while longer. All of the current crop of Panasonic DVD set-top players will play DVD-RAM discs. Thompson in Europe has annouced DVD-Ram capabilites in there new players and you will probably see more makers add the compatibility soon.
DVD-Ram is the ideal 'editing' format since when you remove a segment (commercial) it's GONE and the space is physically removed from the program and the space reclaimed.
As one person pointed out.. DVD-RAM can do a trick that +R/+RW can't do... be recording on one part of the disc and playing back another.
| Originally posted by SweepScott I have also been under the impression that the format of -R or -RW is what most all DVD players can play and the + format is not able to be played on most all DVD players. Can someone help me understand that better? |
the short version -
-R/-RW/RAM are the only LEGITIMATELY recognized formats by the DVD Forum ( www.dvdforum.org ), this is the groups that OVERSEES and LICENSES the DVD format and DVD Logos... taken from the front page of their site...
Quote:
| Please note that the "+RW" format, also known as DVD+RW was neither developed nor approved by the DVD Forum. The approved recordable formats are DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM. |
That's not to say the -R format hasn't had it's share of 'rogues'.. in reality there is no such thing as 2x -R burning. The -R standards only had 1x and 4x defined originally (if my memory serves me correctly [ahhh! Iron Chef flashback]) and the Pioneer 2x was a kludge to compete with the 2.4x +R speed (and gave the original A03 drive a (roughly) equal paltform. that caused problems till an official 2x standard was defined.. by that time the 4x drives/media got common....
Most (if not all) of the original pushers of +R/+RW have now started making 'universal' burners (-/+ R, -/+RW) drives and a couple (Iomega, LG [or was that LiteOn?]) have announced -/+R, -/+RW, DVD-RAM drives. I suspect this was in response to the higher compatibality ratings of -R discs and the falling market share (to be fair, most of the -R vendors have added +R/RW capabilites in their drives also.. however I would venture it was to CAPTURE a larger market share than just to be compatible..)
Probably the two best combo, PC drives now are the Sony DRU510 and the Pioneer A06.
This 'merging' has not appeared in the standalone market to any real degree.. there has been some discussion on the Sony standalone and it's support (or lack thereof) of +R.
Yes, -R/-RW is the more compatible of the formats out there as tested and reported by many many magazines/webzines.
-R/-RW media is less expensive across the board also.
+R has an 8X PC burner out (Plextor combo.. 8x +R / 4x -R) but no sign of any quantity of 8X media.
DVD-RAM has been around a while, and with the exception of people who want to diss the format, will be around a while longer. All of the current crop of Panasonic DVD set-top players will play DVD-RAM discs. Thompson in Europe has annouced DVD-Ram capabilites in there new players and you will probably see more makers add the compatibility soon.
DVD-Ram is the ideal 'editing' format since when you remove a segment (commercial) it's GONE and the space is physically removed from the program and the space reclaimed.
As one person pointed out.. DVD-RAM can do a trick that +R/+RW can't do... be recording on one part of the disc and playing back another.
Panasonic DMR-E80H, around $500 ( www.pricegrabber.com )
will do all you want with no hassled (record from Replay, Cut commercials, burn with minimal menus).
Lot's of room for 'future' flexibility.
will do all you want with no hassled (record from Replay, Cut commercials, burn with minimal menus).
Lot's of room for 'future' flexibility.
I have to go with the majority here and reccommend the E80 Panasonic. I have one and it's worked great for me.
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Except for the lack of DVI and Component in on the Panny (if that matters to you)
| Lot's of room for 'future' flexibility. |
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The Sony does NOT record in +R or +RW BTW.
It should be able to PLAY them though.
| new Sony recorder that records both + and - in either R or RW |
It should be able to PLAY them though.
Actually, the Sony RDR-GX7 writes to DVD+RW (in addition to DVD-R and DVD-RW), but not DVD+R.
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Correctamundo.. that's why I said -
This 'merging' has not appeared in the standalone market to any real degree.. there has been some discussion on the Sony standalone
and it's support (or lack thereof) of +R.
| Originally posted by Gil T. Pleasure Actually, the Sony RDR-GX7 writes to DVD+RW (in addition to DVD-R and DVD-RW), but not DVD+R. |
This 'merging' has not appeared in the standalone market to any real degree.. there has been some discussion on the Sony standalone
and it's support (or lack thereof) of +R.
The Sony RDR-GX7 will play +R even though it will not record it.
Having a harddrive / dvd recorder unit in one is a huge convenience. The Sony recording/playback is tops in my book.
Okay, here's my issue with the Panasonic Harddrive recorders. From what I've read (no first hand viewing experience), the Panny's are GREAT for recording, editing, flexibility, etc., BUT their playback is marginal. Many have stated in this forum, "well, obviously you need the have the Panny to record and another DVD player for viewing". I say BS.
I want a DVD recorder that has OUTSTANDING playback. My five year old Toshiba (was top of the line back then) has an awesome picture, but no progressive scan output.
Any suggestions for recording AND great playback?
I want a DVD recorder that has OUTSTANDING playback. My five year old Toshiba (was top of the line back then) has an awesome picture, but no progressive scan output.
Any suggestions for recording AND great playback?
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