Can anyone recommend a good DVD Recorder?

josha007

Hi all. I've done a bit of searching on the forums but can't find what I want.

I'm looking to buy my girlfriend a DVD Recorder for Xmas, but I'm not quite what to go for. I'm no expert in them so some help would be much appreciated. I know companies like Samsung and Panasonic are well renowned in this area, but I'm not looking to spend too much. It's definately got to be under £150, and nothing too complicated too.

Is that possible at all in the current market?

Many thanks in advance.Josh

JasX

A dedicated DVD recorder is a pretty niche machine, have you considered if a hard disk type recorder (could get a very reasonable one for <£150) might prove more flexible/appropriate.... if she absolutely needs to then burn DVDs occasionally a PC DVD recorder drive can be picked up for around £15

Oneday77

Personally if it has to be a DVD recorder then go for Panasonic as they all should have Digital tuners in them now and be less than £150.
But the question is does she need a DVD recorder? As the previous poster said a Hard Drive recorder is far more flexible for recording TV.
What ever you do make sure anything you buy has digital in it.

josha007

I'm a bit confused now. Are DVD recorders now a bit dated? JasX you suggest a hard disk type machine, what is there available? OneDay do you know of any good Panasonic recorders that would do the job? Do most recorders now come built in with Tv tuners?

Sorry to be a pain.

timmmers

Hardrive recirders are convenient but totally useless if you want to keep what you record any length of time...get a DVD recorder with HDD, (sometimes refered to as a PVR if it has a drive). the drive can usually be used to timeslip telly ..pause and resume live shows.

A twin tuner is handy too, and adds little to the price. Ditto upscaling for better quality pictures.

Many stockists go on about the HDD and other features yet fail to mention there's no Freeview tuner...old stock they want rid of.

Panasonic are very nice, but pricey. I'd have a good look round the review sites and wait for Xmas deals before BlueRay becomes more normal.

www.cpc.co.uk have frequent offers but they are one of the people trying to lose non Freeview stock sometimes so be careful.

t

Look at this beauty http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/product.php?nav=6&product=UMAX013&title=UMAX+CHILI+DVR-9200HX+DVD+RECORDER+WITH+160GB+HARD+DRIVE

then check the description tab and what its actually got...no digital tuner ..so not much use. Lots like that around.

isofa

josha007 wrote: »

I'm a bit confused now. Are DVD recorders now a bit dated? JasX you suggest a hard disk type machine, what is there available? OneDay do you know of any good Panasonic recorders that would do the job? Do most recorders now come built in with Tv tuners?

Sorry to be a pain.

Not really dated, it's just that the technology has reached a peak and not many new features are being added. Sony are just about (well, "soon" anyway, as prices of current models have dropped significantly...) to release a new set of models...

The best by far are the Sony and Panasonic's, these can come with a hard disc too, so you can record directly to hard disc, or to DVD, or to the HD first, edit then burn to a DVD.

Check out the reviews of the best models here http://whathifi.com/Reviews/Home-cinema-Reviews/DVD-recorders-Reviews/

The Sony RDR-HXDs would be my choice, the higher the model number, the larger the hard disc. However the comparable Panasonic's DMR-EXs are just as good, but read the reviews!

The only limitation with DVD recorders is currently they have one digital tuner, so you can only record one digital channel at once (just like an old VCR would work).

You'd be looking at around £170 to £200 for a Sony or Panasonic DVD recorder with a hard disc: http://www.richersounds.com/products/home-cinema/home-cinema-separates/dvd-recorders These have all dropped in price because new models are expected.

Without the hard disc, they should be well within your budget, but are becoming a bit harder to find from suppliers... I've not seen them for a while.

If you just wanted a PVR (i.e. a hard disc recorder), these record direct to hard disc (as with the part of a DVD recorder with an hard disc). However all the good ones have twin digital tuners, so you can record 2 different digital channels at once.

One of the best is the Humax 9300T, which can have 300 to 500GB of hard disc space. They range from approx £160 to £250 depending on hard disc size. John Lewis also stock these items.

There are lots of forums and dedicated advice here: http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-entertainment-players-recorders/

Ghost

I've recently purchased a Panasonic DMR-EX79EB.

It records on to DVD, has a hard drive, freeview tuner (only 1 though), USB socket, etc.

I'm very pleased it with.

m_13

You'll find a friendly resource forum over at AV Forums:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/dvd-blu-ray-recorders-recording-media/

Based on their advice I bought a Sony RDR-HXD995 DVD/PVR. I've got it using the temperamental VideoPlus+ EPG but it does record and control our Sky box (doesn't switch it on but does change channels). If only Sky would stop moving programmes around on their schedule.

We couldn't have Sky+ because we living in a block of flats with only one feed and although it's possible to get it to work, we can also record digital TV on the digital tuner on the Sony and write the recorded programmes to DVD.

The recordings are superb quality and the disk size is great compared to BT Vision which we keep having to delete things on. Between the two we can record three and watch one.

josha007

Ha I feel so in the past!! So these freeview hard drives are the future?

I just want to get it straight too, apologies in advance. These new 'hard drives' can record live tv and save it on the hard disk? How many hours roughly can they hold? Basically they are very much like a Sky+ box?

Josh

hethmar

I spent a few weeks researching this myself recently and settled on a 320 Hard Drive Humax 9300T. It is about the most highly rated and its easy to use, I had it up and running in ten minutes and Im defo not techie.

2 tuners, you can record two programs at the same time whilst watching another. You can have picture in picture and pause tv and no doubt lots more stuff I havent discovered yet.

I got mine from amazon, free delivery, about £160

macman

josha007 wrote: »

Ha I feel so in the past!! So these freeview hard drives are the future?

I just want to get it straight too, apologies in advance. These new 'hard drives' can record live tv and save it on the hard disk? How many hours roughly can they hold? Basically they are very much like a Sky+ box?

Josh

A PVR is exactly like a Sky+ box (or vice versa), except you don't have to pay Mr Murdoch a king's ransom over the years to use it. A Freesat PVR records from a Freesat source, a Freeview PVR records from a Freeview source. In every other respect they are identical, with twin tuners.
The Humax 9300T has a 320GB hard drive, the 9300T500 has 500GB-more than enough for most people (except Leopard, who I believe has 2TB and rising ).