Bargain DVD Recorders

MSE_Martin

This is a draft posting written based on Martin's briefing by a member of the MSE team. Martin hasn't seen it yet, so it's provisional, but we thought we'd get it up and running as soon as possible.

DVD Recorders have been around for a little while, and what seemed like such a futuristic bit of technology until quite recently can now be had for under £50. If your old VCR is on the blink, then it may well be worth snapping one up, but read the 'Things to look out for' section of this post first, because there's some crucial differences.

Which is the cheapest?

• Alba RDVD1001 £49.99 includes delivery. This basic (yet quite bulky) box, available from web retailer ebuyer, records on DVD+R and +RW ('R' discs can only be written once, RW are rewritable and can be recorded over many times) discs, and includes an analogue tuner so you can record one thing whilst watching another. On the minus side, it'll only play region 2 DVDs, but hey, you can't have it all.

• Alba RDVD1002 £53.98 includes delivery. Essentially a more slimline version of the model above, this one's reduced at Dixons. It plays + and -R recordable discs (only records on +R), as well as MP3 cds. Again, it's locked to region 2 playback only, although there may be a method of unlocking it just by pressing a few buttons.

With surround sound kit

• Goodmans DVD Recorder/ Home cinema kit £59.99 includes delivery. For less than £60 you can get both a DVD recorder and a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound kit, again from ebuyer. It's unlikely that the sound or picture quality will trouble more expensive equipment, but with other useful features such as Videoplus and a built-in radio, this seems a bit of a bargain. When I checked there was none in stock, but there should be some soon so it's worth checking back often.

DivX/XviD capability

• Sumvision SV 1000 DVD Dual +/- Recorder £67.99 includes delivery. This is the only recorder in this list that supports playback of Divx/Xvid DVDs (a way of compressing video into much smaller files without losing too much quality, similar to how MP3 works for music). It can record on both + and - blank DVDs and has a built in Dolby Digital decoder. Again, it's cheapest from ebuyer.

Things to look out for

DVD vs. VHS. DVD recorders have obvious advantages over video recorders; recorded DVDs offer better picture and sound quality, and no deterioration over time. These units also give you a wider choice of recording modes, ranging from high quality for a short length of time to low quality for longer recordings. However, they have their disadvantages too; it usually takes a couple of minutes for a DVD to actually start recording, and if there's an error the whole lot'll be lost- no good if you're recording something important.

Recordable discs. There are three types of recordable DVDs: +R, -R, and DVD RAM. I'm going to ignore DVD RAM, because while it offers features the others lack, capable recorders are generally more expensive and limited in availability. There are a few technical differences between +R and -R, but none will be obvious in the finished product, especially with recorders at this level. Some of the cheaper recorders are fussy and will only accept one type, so be sure to get the right ones, or they simply won't work.

Region Coding. All of the players above are locked to region 2 playback (although some may be unlockable with freely available remote control codes- check the web). Region 2 players will only play DVDs made specifically for the European market, which display a "2" on the packaging.

Tuners. The recorders featured above have analogue tuners, which'll be quite useless when the digital switchover takes place, and you'll only be able to record what you're watching. At these prices this may not be too much of an issue, but it's something to bear in mind.

If you've seen similar products at better prices, then please click reply and share the info with other MoneySavers.

TaBunny

Does this one record in long play as I don't really understand the stats thanks
DivX/XviD capability

• Sumvision SV 1000 DVD Dual +/- Recorder £67.99 includes delivery. This is the only recorder in this list that supports playback of Divx/Xvid DVDs (a way of compressing video into much smaller files without losing too much quality, similar to how MP3 works for music). It can record on both + and - blank DVDs and has a built in Dolby Digital decoder. Again, it's cheapest from ebuyer.

ukbandit

remember, for ebuyer go through quidco...although the cashback is the most misrerly i have ever seen at 0.1%!

TaBunny

I think I'll give this dvd player a miss awful review here: http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/sound-and-vision/vision/dvd-players/529896/reviews shame coz I was really interested it in, sigh seems like no one knows of a really good cheap machine that would fit what I'm after. Oh and thanks for the idea re quidco but I joined up with it and don't really understand how to use it so I usally don't thanks.

ukbandit

TaBunny wrote:

Does this one record in long play as I don't really understand the stats thanks
DivX/XviD capability

• Sumvision SV 1000 DVD Dual +/- Recorder £67.99 includes delivery. ebuyer.

if your asking what i think your asking, then yes.

DVD Multiple Recording Modes: HQ (1h), SP (2h), LP (3h), EP (4h), EP+ (6h) Timed record
i.e. you can record in Hi Quality, Slow Play, Long Plan, Extended Play and Extended Plus.

hope that helps.

ukbandit

TaBunny wrote:

I think I'll give this dvd player a miss awful review here: http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/sound-and-vision/vision/dvd-players/529896/reviews shame coz I was really interested it in, sigh seems like no one knows of a really good cheap machine that would fit what I'm after. Oh and thanks for the idea re quidco but I joined up with it and don't really understand how to use it so I usally don't thanks.

thats ok.

OT im sorry but you really need to start using cashback sites, they really are a moneysaver!

simply login in and select your retailer (e.g. currys, dell, play, hmv etc) and click the link to that retailer from quidco. after a period (depending on the retailer) you will get a % or £ value back, whoch you get as a Direct Debit from Quidco. e.g. on car insurance you can get back £120, and if thats not Moneysaving, i dont know what is!

TaBunny

ukbandit wrote:

thats ok.

OT im sorry but you really need to start using cashback sites, they really are a moneysaver!

simply login in and select your retailer (e.g. currys, dell, play, hmv etc) and click the link to that retailer from quidco. after a period (depending on the retailer) you will get a % or £ value back, whoch you get as a Direct Debit from Quidco. e.g. on car insurance you can get back £120, and if thats not Moneysaving, i dont know what is!

Yes thanks for the advice, but I really can't get my head round it, if I had someone here to help show me what to do etc maybe I would, but when I went on the site I just found it all a bit confusing, sorry that I'm a little thick and stuck in my ways.

TaBunny

Ok I think I may of found one which is a good one, I have a yamada already but it's just died, until then it was great played everything. Here's the link to the one I've seen I think it looks ok, any thoughts?
http://www.3wisemonkeys.co.uk/proddet.jsp?src=Kelkoo&id=1331&cat=5&tduid=06bfda1a07a753fffffe247a803615f2

crabmagyola

I am looking for one with a Hard Drive, but am unsure as to how it works, and how much they are, what the best thing is (80GB/160GB/more) etc. I was hoping it would work like Sky Plus somehow, but think that it would only work like this with Freeview.

TaBunny

http://www.3wisemonkeys.co.uk/proddet.jsp?src=Kelkoo&id=1331&cat=5&tduid=06bfda1a07a753fffffe247a803615f2Well finally found this one which has all the specs I'm after but can someone tell me do all dvd recorders allow you to tape the saved programmes from your V+ box onto dvd. I have about 20 hours of programmes on my V+ box memory which I would like to copy onto dvd to keep for future, do all dvd's allow you to do this, or at the very least the one below?

ukbandit

crabmagyola:

you can get one with a HDD, the bigger the better. other bits are optional, dependinghow much of a nerd/audiophile you are (e.g. DIVX, dolby etc).

Sky+ has some extra functionality that can't be replicated by recorders as far as i'm aware (series link) but other then that theya re pretty much all on a par (barring the odd really bad one!)

Tabunny - not had any experience with that store. Richer sounds have one from Cambridge Audio (good company) at £80, that you can walk in and buy.

IF you really want to know about what to get, head over to AVforums, where the real techies hide....they are more then helpful over there, theres plenty of cross posting..!

And for questions over Quidco, if you want, next time your planning on buying something, PM me and i'll talk you through your first purchase, or for a riskfree alternative, login, serch for kelkoo and click on that link before doing a search, as for your 3wisemonkeys search could have earned you 10p....:D

as far as i know (and i'll confirm when my V+ box comes) you only need to select DVD output and you can then record onto PC/DVD recorder. again, check the Virgin media part of the AVforums for more advice.