Does anyone have any idea when the LG HDR416 will be available in the USA? I've emailed the company but haven't heard back yet. I'm looking to buy my first standalone recorder and had narrowed it down to one with "plus" format recording capability, a VCR included, a hard drive, and 1394 connectivity. This one looks very interesting, with a 160GB HDD, and the ability to do high-speed dubbing from the HDD to DVD. A few others that caught my eye are not available yet, either: Lite-on DVR-L71 (early fall), with a 80GB HDD but no VCR, but it writes all formats; Philips DVDR600VR (this summer), with a VCR but no HDD that I can tell. I like the idea of not having to finalize discs with the plus format, the ability to change things later, and the supposed ease of PC editing later if you used DVD+VR to record the disc. Should I pursue getting a plus-format machine now (I guess if I give up the VCR idea, I can get one quicker), or will the dual-layer machines be worth the wait? I'm a part-time pro photographer/videographer and have people standing in line wanting to buy DVDs from me! I'm tired of doing SVCDs. I don't have a DVD burner in my PC and don't want to add one to my old system, for I really need a whole new computer, but when I do get that it'll be optimized for editing. I'll often do slideshows of stills w/music, followed by unedited or mildly edited video of an event. For now, I figure if I can't get my slideshows directly into the standalone recorder's HDD, I can route them thru my D8 camcorder and into the standalone that way, then add the video footage. Any advice will be appreciated!
I have been using my Panasonic DVD recorder for similar purposes; copying people's wedding videos onto DVD. One of the issues I have run into: my Panasonic's finnished product looks like crap only because of the menu it sticks at the begining. As well, the discs don't play in a lot of DVD players. I use my computer to strip the menu, as well the finnished burned DVD is far more compatable with stand alone DVD players.
