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DVD Recorder for $200-300 (1 Viewer)

Bryan_P

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May 25, 2001
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Alright, well I've done my searching on this topic so as to not annoy, but either I'm incompetant or all the posts are old enough such that I think a new one may be in order. So here goes.

I'm looking for a DVD recorder to possibly get this Christmas, in the price range given. Does anyone have any recommendations as to a pretty decent player for the money? I would love to have a model with component inputs. And this is going to sound really stupid, but are there any (good) players with a hard drive for $300? I've been convinced that it would be nice, but I don't need it.

Well, that ought to do it. Thanks very much for your help!
 

Bill Will

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 26, 2001
Messages
1,282
I've seen the new Panasonic for $199 but of course at that price it has no Hard Drive.
 

Bryan_P

Stunt Coordinator
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May 25, 2001
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I've looked at that one too, and it looks pretty nice, but I noticed that it doesn't have a digital input for recording in DD 2.0. Don't most models have this feature?
 

ChuckSolo

Screenwriter
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Jun 26, 2003
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In the price range you are talking about, you will not get a hard drive and most of the players will record in at best, stereo only. It depends on what you want the recorder to do. In my case all I wanted was a recorder to take the place of my S-VHS VCR and to transfer old camcorder and VHS content to DVD. I have successfully transfered non-macrovision VHS tapes to DVD, but the pre-recorded movies I transfered were very old. The tapes were almost 20 years old. The only players that I have seen that have hard drives and record in DD are usually in the $600.00-$800.00 price range with the price going up as the hard drive gets bigger. If all you want to do is replace a VCR the model you mentioned will do just fine. If you want more advanced, Tivo like features, best look elsewhere and be ready to spend more than twice as much. As for me, my Gateway DVDR is fine for now. I will look at getting a model with a hard drive as soon as prices come down.
 

Bryan_P

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 25, 2001
Messages
72
Would it make more sense to get a TV Tuner card for my computer and get a DVD writer for that? Then I could probably get a dual-layer writer (though they are a bit slow now). It doesn't sound as convenient, but perhaps more flexible. My only concern is being able to burn a show onto the DVD in such a way as to be able to watch it on my TV.
 

Pamela

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 14, 2001
Messages
779
I just picked up a Humax combination TiVo/DVD recorder at Best Buy for $199-after rebate ($299 minus $100 rebate). I just love this thing! I've become a DVD=burining fool!
 

Rick.A

Auditioning
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Jul 10, 2002
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Wal-Mart is advertising an 80Gb hard drive DVD recorder for $278. It doesn't have as many outputs and inputs as some units, but that is a pretty good price for an HD recorder.
 

Bryan_P

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 25, 2001
Messages
72
Rick,

Thanks for the info on the Wal-Mart player. I'm always a little wary of going for deals like that, though, especially for a brand I have not heard of. Do you think it is a safe buy? I worry that players like that will be totally substanderd or plagued with problems.
 

Bill Will

Screenwriter
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Dec 26, 2001
Messages
1,282
From what I understand the iLO brand is made by the same company in China that makes the Liteon, Go-Video & all the other cheap DVD Players & Recorders that are out there & a lot of them have not lasted very long. The other thing to check is to wether the iLO HD model has a Stereo Tuner in it because from what I've read the player only model has a Monaural TV Tuner in it. But I guess you could get around that if you hooked your cable box or sat. box to it. Myself I'm going with the Panasonic without the HD for $50 more than one of the cheap DVD Recorders from China. If you have to have a HD model I would save up & get one from Panasonic, JVC, Sony, Pioneer, Philips & etc.
 

GrahamJW

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 15, 2003
Messages
84
Bryan:

There is a bit of a learning curve and considerations when turning your PC into a PVR. If you are technically minded, then it can be a great project. If not, it can turn into hours of frustration.

visit http://www.tv-cards.com/ for more information

I did turn my PC into a PVR, but it took a while to work out the bugs.
 

Mike Williams

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 3, 2003
Messages
1,019
Philips is the only brand I new of DVD recorders that has component INPUTS. We use one at work, because we make window burn DVD copies from Beta SP tape for editing. I'm going out today to buy a DVD recorder and because of the component inputs, I'm going with Philips.
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2003
Messages
39
Bill Will,

Which model of Panasonic are you referring to for $199?

I'm just looking for a box that I can hang off the back of my TIVO to dump recorded shows to (i.e. cool stuff from Discovery or various cooking shows)....

Been looking at the iLo DVDR04, but the only thing I've heard bad is about reliability. Any comments for me?

Thanks!
Mike W.
 

Doug Brewster

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
325
"...turning your PC into a PVR. If you are technically minded, then it can be a great project. If not, it can turn into hours of frustration."

Another problem with this is making sure your computer is up to the challenge. I went to a DVDR/VCR because of all the frustration I ran into whenever I tried to edit my Digital Camcorder recordings on my PC. It seemed to always end up a headache and I often lost whole projects after hours of edits. I upgraded and upgraded and it always ended up the same.

After talking to others and hearing of their trouble-free experiences, I have recently made major improvements in my PC and am going to try to use it as a PVR. If it gives me as many problems as before, I'll finally realize that I truly am too stupid to own a computer. :b
 

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