Sony RDR-GX7
Sony RDR-GX7
John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
Expertise Over 20 years experience in electronics and gadget reviews and analysis, and consumer shopping advice Credentials
- Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)
7-10 FT Sony RDR-GX7
Not content to take a backseat to the likes of Panasonic, Pioneer, and Philips, Sony has entered the DVD recorder fray with the company's debut model, the RDR-GX7. It's available now for $800 (list price).
Upside: Instead of picking sides in the DVD format war, Sony has chosen to split the difference; the RDR-GX7 records on DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW discs. Additionally, it features progressive-scan output, VCR Plus+ compatibility for its built-in TV tuner, a FireWire connection for camcorder hookups, and VR mode support for nonlinear editing on DVD-RW discs.
Downside: Curiously, the RDR-GX7 wasn't designed to record on DVD+R discs. More problematic, however, is the lack of a built-in program guide or IR blaster (both of which are featured on Philips's forthcoming DVDR80); those shortcomings mean those with digital cable or satellite tuners will have to jump through a few extra hoops to record their favorite programs.
Outlook: Despite the unit's potential appeal to digital camcorder archivists, the absence of a program guide and an IR blaster make this model hard to recommend to television fans. Consider instead the Panasonic DMR-E80H, which--at a list price of $100 less--records to DVD-Rs and features a built-in 80GB hard drive.
Not content to take a backseat to the likes of Panasonic, Pioneer, and Philips, Sony has entered the DVD recorder fray with the company's debut model, the RDR-GX7. It's available now for $800 (list price).
Upside: Instead of picking sides in the DVD format war, Sony has chosen to split the difference; the RDR-GX7 records on DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW discs. Additionally, it features progressive-scan output, VCR Plus+ compatibility for its built-in TV tuner, a FireWire connection for camcorder hookups, and VR mode support for nonlinear editing on DVD-RW discs.
Downside: Curiously, the RDR-GX7 wasn't designed to record on DVD+R discs. More problematic, however, is the lack of a built-in program guide or IR blaster (both of which are featured on Philips's forthcoming DVDR80); those shortcomings mean those with digital cable or satellite tuners will have to jump through a few extra hoops to record their favorite programs.
Outlook: Despite the unit's potential appeal to digital camcorder archivists, the absence of a program guide and an IR blaster make this model hard to recommend to television fans. Consider instead the Panasonic DMR-E80H, which--at a list price of $100 less--records to DVD-Rs and features a built-in 80GB hard drive.