Recommendation on DVD Recorder

Thanks for the detailed response and that helps me a lot in assessing what inputs/outputs the machine should have. I had seen another post saying the same thing about the visible difference between component video and HDMI... although the cost of the HDMI calbe almost made me fall of my chair when I bought! I'll take a look at the Pioneer/Panasonic DVD Recorders. I really appreciate the advice!

Check out Sams or Costco or maybe evwn Walmart for cables. I bought some really nice Phillips cables at Sams and I think the DVIs were under 25 dollars and component even cheaper. HDMI were a little hogher, but not much. Monster refers to the price, not the quality.

HTHMAN gives great advice. I agree totally and also on his suggestion towards Pioneer and Panasonic. We have two Panny DVR's, one with hard drive and one without and enjoy them both. Pioneer is at the same level of quality. Pick the one that has the features and functions you like the best.

RR6

Thanks for the feedback. Which Panasonic model would you recommend? I was looking at the ES20 but not sure if there were other models you might recommend.

....Nice little machine. Dual DVD/VCR deck which can record VCR->DVD or vica versa.

Handles a bunch of different media and DVD-RAM (I think it's the only deck out that does that).

So far it's been a smooth performer. I'd like a bit more on screen info, but you can't have everything. CNET reviewed it and liked it. Gave it a 7.0 I believe.

Both of our Panny DVR's are about 18 months old. We have the DMR-E55 and DMR-E85. They have been replaced by new model numbers but I'm not up on the latest models.

We have old VCR's so we didn't get the combo unit and I would not recommend them unless you need both in one chassis.

The E55 was the basic unit with no hard drive. My wife uses it and loves it. She uses mainly the Panasonic DVD-RAM double sided rewriteable discs in a sleaved cartridge.

I have the E85 with hard drive. I would definitely recommend the models with the hard drive if you can afford it. The hard drive is very convenient. When you want to keep a disc for later use then you can simply dub from the hard drive to a DVD-R.

RR6

Thanks for the details, I hadn't thought of using the Hard-drive on the DVD player for dubbing, that does make sense. What's the advantage of using DVD-RAM? It sounds like a DVD-/+RW format, does it have more capacity?

Question: Are you (or anyone for that matter) running their DVD Recorder attached to both their set-top box AND a VHS or other DVD player? I was wondering if any of the devices had two sets of inputs so I could record DVDs off of both my cable set-top box and my VHS?

I think the ES20 is the new model for the E55 I have. The E80 might be the new model for our E85 w/hard drive. The hard drive is great because you don't have to mess with any discs unless you want to archive a program onto DVD-R. We also use it for copying old S-VHS tapes to DVD-R. Each unit has an input on the front for camcorders and two inputs on the back for VCR, etc and of course a component out. We have a second DVD and a an S-VHS VCR hook up to it as well as the cable antenna input. Our componment video output goes to the plasma thru the A/V receiver and the digital audio output to the receiver.

We currently use the DVR as our regular DVD player for movies. For dubbing just one DVD to a blank then we just dub from a 2nd DVD palyer to the DVR (not copy protected ones of course). When we want to dub many copies of one of our camcorder videos then we transfer it to the hard drive and then dub onto blank DVD's at 4X speed. Works nicely except Panny's owners manual is not the easiest to understand.

The DVD-RAM is actually superior (I think it has more editing features) to the DVD-RW and +RW but is downrated by many reviewers because it is only compatible with other Panny DVR's and Toshiba (I think has RAM). So if you swap rewritable discs with friends then the RAM is not for you. However, we use the DVR for us only so the DVD-RAM is great. It has the same capacities as the other formats. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours recording times as well as a flexible setting. The only difference between the 6 and 8 hour setting on the Panny is the audio. The Panny/RAM also does playback chasing, commercial skip, time slip, etc.

My wife who uses the Panny without the hard drive simply uses over and over the same two RAM two sided discs and records on the 8hr setting for her daily Japanese news broadcast and cooking shows. That gives her 16 total hours on each disc. Actually for news programs and Emeril the long setting is not too bad. Our JVC plasma has a great digital noise reduction circuit and looks OK. For me the 1 and 2 hour setting are excellent and the 4 hour setting is very good.

Normally when I want to record a game or show on her Panny I just throw in a DVD-R. They are so cheap when they are on the buy one get one free at Costco that they become coasters if you screw up.

Hope this helps.

RR6

Thanks for the description of DVD-RAM, there are so many formats of DVD these days it tough to keep them straight but I think I'd be similar to yourself, I can't imagine every swapping a DVD with anyone so this would only be for internal use. You have a really similar setup to what I would like to have so this is sounding like a good recorder for my needs.

Out of curiousity do you do any chaptering on DVDs that you create? The review on CNET says it can't create chapter stops on R/-R/-RW discs, does it work on DVD-RAM discs? I could see this being a bit useful for chaptering some of the kids shows we'd like to archive.

All the dubbing I did was when I first got the DVR. Mainly it was for transferring to DVD our S-VHS tapes which had already been completely edited the analog way, wow, what a lot of work!

I forget about features when I have not used a component for sometime. I just checked the owner's manual and I think this might work for you.

''Title/Chapter'' .....''Programs are recorded as a single title consisting of one chapter......You can then divide a title into multiple chapters (with HDD&RAM)(HDD is the hard drive).....You can change the order of chapters and create a play list (HHD&RAM).....The maximum number of items on a disc, HHD; titles 500, chapters 1000...RAM&DVD-R; titles 99, chapters 1000...(under Chapter Operations it lists)...Erase Chapters, Divide Chapters and Combine Chapters''...(also) under Editing Operations During Play it mentions Create Chapters.

I believe it is generlly agreed that RAM is superior for editing to the other 2 rewritable formats. I have listed a link here for the owner's manual for the model DMR-EH50, click on operating instructions-PDF file. This will give you the definitive answer. Most people that I have talked to that don't swap rewritable DVD's agree that the Panny DVR with RAM is the way to go.

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=89308&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&surfModel=DMR-EH50S&catGroupId=24987&surfCategory=DVD%20Recorders&displayTab=R

Of course editing by computer is a better system for true detailed editing if you go that way, but way too much computer knowledge for me. This way you get a DVD recorder and good DVD player all in the same package.

RR6

Another thread started by "alwatso" states that he cannot name the chapters and only the titles. If that might be a problem see his current thread.

RR6

RR thanks for all the great info, this is much more informative than anything I've been able to find either online or at a tech store. I appreciate the help!

Thanks for the tips, I think I went through Radio Shack and I ended up paying almost $90 for the HDMI cables, it was actually very difficult to find HDMI to HDMI cables, I looked everywhere before finally ordering them at the local Radio Shack. I agree about Monster though they seem to be about 50% more expensive than anything else!

I recently bought a new HDTV (Sony KD34XBR960) at a Sony outlet for $900 and also got a new Toshiba D-R2 DVD recorder (refurbished from EBay for $90) with it. A new HDTV cable box will arrive from DishNetwork on Wednesday. When I checked at WorstBuy and CircuitCity for HD equipment it turned out that not only were they horribly overpriced on the TVs and DVD recorder, their prices for cables were even worse. WalMart doesn't seem to carry HDMI to HDMI cable and Target is cheaper than the other two stores, but still really expensive on high end cables. In thesestores, I would have paid close to $200 for a combination of 1 HDMI cable, 1 set of S-Video cables and one set of component cables. After lots of searching on the web, I found a cable comparison test in PCWorld called "The Cable Game" http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,121777,00.asp
that points out that there is no real difference between MonsterPrice cables and the cables from various online companies that offer similar quality material.
I got 1 6ft HDMI cable, 1 6ft premium component video cable, and 1 3ft premium S-Video cable, all gold-plated, including FedEx 2-day shipping for $61. A lot less than anywhere else. Not even my wife is complaining about this expense anymore....

...So, if I were you, I'd save my money on those silly HDMI's and stick with good, beefy component cables. Old rule of thumb, the more cable you have conducting the signal, the better the signal on the other end. Compare the "amount" of cabling carrying component (RGB + Audio L & R) vs. a, HDMI cable.

No comparison.

Component wins hands down.

.....HDMI is a digital transfer and component cables are analog transfer. Some find that one is better than the other based on the particular components involved. Many think it is best to try out both and then decide which looks better.

RR6

Here is an example of the savings you can find from top-rated online dealers for the 12' HDMI cable, the 6' one is $3 less.

http://www.buy.com/prod/Acoustic_Research_AP_086_Performance_Series_HDMI_Digital_Audio_Video/q/loc/111/90140132.html

RR6

Boy, wish I had seen this price before buying mine at Radio Shack! I more than 3x as much!

I have to confess I'm not sure I've really noticed the difference moving from Component to HDMI... and the copy protection 'feature' sounds like the video equivalent of Digital Rights Management. However, I do like the fact that there is only one cable to manage.

It doesn't just sound like DRM, it *is* DRM, and it is likely to get worse. There is even talk in the industry that the big movie houses are pushing for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players to down-convert analog (a.k.a. component) video output, which would force you to use HDMI in order to get the quality you paid (dearly at this point) for. That's why I personally will resist HDMI as long as possible.

Anyway, back on subject, I have used both Pioneer and Panasonic equipment with good results and recently acquired a Panasonic DRM-ES20, which I am quite happy with so far. Further, I have used the Acoustic Research brand cables quite extensively and have had nothing but great results.