Taking the plunge DVD recorder

Tatooine Hobbies & Interests
1

About to take the plunge into the DVD recorder market, after 18 years of hard service the VHS video we have has started chewing tapes.

Its appetite has grown and we have decided to put it in the great video retirement club.

So has anyone recommendations to offer.

For starters we are looking at 2 different Panasonic models.

Please dont offer any Sony models, I have a major problem with the company and its marketing. From many years ago.

So the models we are looking at are

Panasonic DMR-EX75 DVD Recorder w/ Freeview Tuner about £290
Panasonic DMR-EX85EB-S DVD about £360

As its a major splash of the cash we wondered if there are any recommendations.

2

Quick update

Had a chat with the guys at work and some features which I was not aware was that you can change the quality of recording onto a RW-DVD, one person said it was up to 8 hours on a single DVD, now thats good.

So far up to 26 views and no answers.

:sigh:

3

Not too up on DVD recoders m8. Still playing with VHS, but will soon be getting a new TopupTV box with hard drive storage to record to.

IMO I’ve found that buying bargain DVD players from my local Asda was initially a bit bogus, but as the technology moved on, they became really cheap, but fully featured. I am almost loathe to buy a branded make as in some cases you are only paying for the name. The technology is basically the same.

It’s like with PC building, I started out by paying for Philips and Sony CD players/writers, but more recently have bought non-branded units and found them no different in quality or performance, so why pay more. My 2 cents worth

4

Hi Allen - Just my 2c.
When you get DVB-T you will notice a big difference in viewing quality. Once you’ve got used to this and if you put 8 hours onto a DVD, you will be frustrated by the playback quality. 2 hours per disk is more realistic. So like VHS casettes so you’ll still end up with a pile of half seen stuff on the floor and have to keep records of what’s on each disk, work to clear the disks ready for the next recordings etc etc.

Much better imo if you can go that extra distance financially to get a hard disk recorder / DVD combo such as the DMR-EX85 (if you want to go Panasonic). Use the HD for all recording, then archive any stuff you want to keep onto DVD - there’s no loss of quality digital to digital media. Having all your recording on one hard disk allows superb recording library features, so easy to find what you want to watch and easy to delete it when you’ve seen it. Also plenty of capacity for when you’re on holiday etc.

We’ve had the DMR-E85 for a couple of years. Its similar but has an old analogue tuner. No reliability issues to report.

Oh - and make sure you can recieve DVB-T in your area and check if you will need to change your aerial.

5

I agree digital tuning is much better assuming you have the availability.
Can’t comment on the specific models you have mentioned, don’t buy Goodmans I have one and it is carp.
We find the four-hour recording quality is fine for normal viewing, much better than VHS.
If I was buying again, it would not be Goodmans and I would deffo take the hard disk option.

6

Cheers Mojo, Balrog and Droid.

We went out yesterday after checking prices and models.

So after checking out Bennets (a discount electrical store), then Argos, we ended up at Comet.
Price difference was saving £50.
Total cost £349, early Xmas pressie for house.
We decided after looking at the models and features that we wanted a SD card slot feature, to display hoilday pics, etc.

Panasonic DMR-EX75EB-S

Took out the old tape munching video and DVD player.
Put in the new DVD recorder, between NTL box and TV.

Less cables, also known as rats nest behind telly:)

Easy to set up, apart from setting the time, not easilly found in the menu.
Put in blank DVD RW, takes + and -, formatted in less than a minute.

Tried out the different quality of recording, and found the following results.
8 hours on DVD, slightly blurry around contrasting edges, not going to use.
4 hours on DVD, brilliant quality
2 Hours on DVD, brilliant quality
1 hour on DVD, brilliant quality

So tried the hard drive recording and its a doddle.
SD card slot with holiday pictures, amazing quality, now need a really good camera!!!

Already filling up HD with Outer Limits and Dr Who, ready to watch, when I want to.Plus you can title the saved programmes for ease.
As I type only have 160 hours remaining space on HD:)

Next project is hooking up last good video player we have and transferring home movies onto DVD.

So easy to use, less clutter with cables, definitely recommend a Hard Drive option, so simple to keep, delete, preview, record on DVD if you want:D

7

Quick update

Started to record the old VHS tapes to DVD, its a doddle too.
Putting these on DVD-R, the unit records it and finalises it.
Just have to wait for Voyager to finish before I can start doing the rest:)

8

Sounds like a great little device. :slight_smile:

9

Dont throw out your original vhs tapes. I put all mine onto DVD a couple of years ago and some of them won’t play now. It maybe because I put lables on the DVD’s and it caused problems with the dye’s. Hopefully DVD-R are more reliable now. Keep them just incase :slight_smile:

10

Deaky

Cheers for the tip, I use a permanent marker, fine tip to write on the DVD’s.

The plan is to put the craft tapes on ebay after I’m finished doing the errr, back ups.

:slight_smile: