Does anyone know or recommend a DVD Recorder that has the following features? I know that all these features may not be available on 1 recorder, but if more than 1 of them is available on a single machine, that would be great. We would like to be able to... *Have a harddrive *Record 1 channel and be able to watch another channel at the same time. *One that can handle more than 125 channels. - we have digital cable and we would like to be able to record from cable channels as well as local channels. *Be able to have the DVD Recorder turned off and still be able to watch cable. Are we just asking for too much from a DVD Recorder?
If youre looking for a hardrive why not takie a look @ one of the newer Tivo's. Heres one that matches your criteria except, im not sure if you can watch 1 and record 1 channel. http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=humaxDvd40hr I think your best bet would be to look for PVR's with a DvD burner instead of looking for a dvd recorder with the features of a PVR. GooD Luck
I am completely new to dvd recorders, but tired of watching recorded tv shows on vhs. I was looking at a Samsung R130 which seemed to have a lot of features, but not a lot of reviews and the reviews I have seen are 50/50. I want to stay in the 150.00 price range (unless there is an excellent one out there for less). My plan is to replace my dvd player and vcr with it. The recording format doesn't matter a whole lot to me except that I would like the option of /RW's since most shows I will not be watching again. Most important options to me are: Read format: DVD-R/RW,DVD+R/RW,CD-R,VCD,and SVCD (I use it as a cd player also), (MP3 and Jpeg a plus) I sometimes use avi files and now know how to convert them, but they don't turn out all that great so if there is one out there that has that option great! And the obvious...............Picture & Sound! Main uses will be recording TV shows, Playing DVD's, Listening to CD's. Any suggestions???
Thanks Socom! I will check into those too. I figured we were asking too much. We always want things we can't have... LOL
I think youre looking for too much in one device, you could get a dvd player to play all those formats including avi for around 50$ these days and then get a PVR like a tivo, or any dvd recorder.
DVD recorder is what I'm mainly interested in. Anyone have any suggestions on a decent one that isn't over 150.00???
LOL, Nuttybug you are so right. I just don't want to buy one and find out it's a piece of junk. I know technology is always advancing and it is inevitable that if you buy one a better one for about the same price will come out a week later (atleast with my luck), but if anyone has one already that is pretty decent I'd be happy with that. I read a little bit about Tivo and I don't like the idea as I don't have digital cable and I don't want to shell out a monthly payment plan either. Thx for the suggestions Socomii
I just bought a Panasonic DMR-EX85 DVD-Recorder and it's a fantastic machine. It will do all you require and more. BTW I am in Europe so if you are in the US the model name may be slightly different but a visit to Panasonics US website will point you in the right direction.
Thanks Trom. Well, as usual I got a bit antsy, and decided to go ahead and purchase the Samsung R130. So far it's been great for me. Easy to use, quick to set up, and color is great. I would not suggest anyone just settling for it though. The display reads it does just about everything, but it doesn't. It doesn't play VCD's, it can record in -R & +R format, but can only playback -R format which I thought was kind of odd, and the sound I'm not sure if it's just me or the sound on the player, but it seems a lot lower. I haven't checked out any other features yet, but if someone is just looking to play regular dvd's and record T.V. shows it's pretty decent. Let me know on yours what you think about the quality of pic, sound, and use. I'm going to keep that one in mind! Oh, BTW did it have a hard drive like Nuttybug was looking for??
Part of your wish list depends on how you hook up your DVD recorder. I have a Presidian 3222, which is made by Lite On and carried by Radio Shack (yes, Radio Shack). I record On Demand programming on it, as well as Encore, IFC and other digital cable channels with no problems. And frequently I'll be watching a Giants' game while the recording is going on. Recording quality depends on the source, but unlike Cyberhome's cheapie, this recorder doesn't seem to degrade what it's recording. I've had mine for about 15 months and have had no problems with it that I didn't expect to have--it's a bare bones unit that records very well, but I sometimes wish I could record more before swapping discs. I save Victoria's Secret commercials and TV shows minus commercials on DVD now, and it has no problem playing the DVDs I've burned myself. It also plays MP3 and JPEG files. And Radio Shack often runs rebate programs--I was able to get my recorder for $75 plus tax. Rebate forms are acknowledged by email and you do get paid off relatively promptly as these things go.
