Toshiba RS-TX TiVo/DVD recorders
Toshiba RS-TX TiVo/DVD recorders
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)
2 min read
Toshiba's $699 RS-TX20 combines a 120GB TiVo hard disk digital video recorder (DVR) and a DVD recorder in one unit. At its highest quality setting, the RS-TX20 will be able to record about 40 hours of programming to its internal hard drive (at its lowest video quality, that capacity jumps to 140 hours). The RS-TX60, which features a larger 200-hour maximum capacity, sells for $100 more.
Upside: Unlike with Toshiba's earlier SD-H400, anything recorded on the RS-TX20's hard drive can be archived to a DVD-R at the touch of a button. And while the RS-TX20 will function almost identically to the Pioneer DVR-810H, the Toshiba includes some notable enhancements: a FireWire input will allow easy transfer of home movies from any DV camcorder, and a larger hard drive will let the unit store 50 percent more video than the Pioneer can.
Downside: Unfortunately for hard-core archivists, commercials can't be edited out before burning a DVD. Toshiba teases you with a 45-day free preview of the TiVo Plus service, but maintaining access to that full range of TiVo conveniences--such as 14-day programming guides, Season Pass recording options, WishList keyword searches, and the cool Home Media Option--will cost you either $13 per month or $300 for the lifetime of the unit. Otherwise, the stripped-down (but free) TiVo Basic service will have to suffice.
Outlook: The Pioneer DVR-810H is CNET's highest-rated combo DVD recorder, and the Toshiba RS-TX20 adds a larger hard drive and easy camcorder connectivity for a lower price. We'll have to reserve judgment until we get our hands on one, but the "ToshiVo" looks promising indeed.
Upside: Unlike with Toshiba's earlier SD-H400, anything recorded on the RS-TX20's hard drive can be archived to a DVD-R at the touch of a button. And while the RS-TX20 will function almost identically to the Pioneer DVR-810H, the Toshiba includes some notable enhancements: a FireWire input will allow easy transfer of home movies from any DV camcorder, and a larger hard drive will let the unit store 50 percent more video than the Pioneer can.
Downside: Unfortunately for hard-core archivists, commercials can't be edited out before burning a DVD. Toshiba teases you with a 45-day free preview of the TiVo Plus service, but maintaining access to that full range of TiVo conveniences--such as 14-day programming guides, Season Pass recording options, WishList keyword searches, and the cool Home Media Option--will cost you either $13 per month or $300 for the lifetime of the unit. Otherwise, the stripped-down (but free) TiVo Basic service will have to suffice.
Outlook: The Pioneer DVR-810H is CNET's highest-rated combo DVD recorder, and the Toshiba RS-TX20 adds a larger hard drive and easy camcorder connectivity for a lower price. We'll have to reserve judgment until we get our hands on one, but the "ToshiVo" looks promising indeed.