Best Buy best buy? (1 Viewer)

[MannyE]

I went to BB today with my little 10% off coupons I got in the mail expecting to come home with a DVD recorder and the SW trilogy DVD set.

I came home with the trilogy and threw away the other little 10% off coupon.

The pickins seemed very slim! BB only had 5 on the shelf. 4 were butt-ugly and one was too much. Then I went to Target and was interested in the Cyberhome CH-1500 DVD recorder, but they were out of stock. Price was right at just $199. No wonder they were all gone!

It was at BB I realized I had no idea what was what and I had to do some research on what models are more desirable, and what to stay away from.

So of course, I thought hometheaterforum!

SO fellas...199 to 250...what am I gonna get? I will be heading off to Brandsmart which I remember had a great selection from Apex to Pioneer and everything in between.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Manny,

Don't leap into this without pondering at least these few things:

What kind of recording are you looking to do? (TV, Camcorder dubs, etc.)
Which formats, if any, preferred? (-R/-RW, +R/+RW, RAM)
Do you need a hard drive? (Greater storage, full editing capability, etc.)

Think good and hard about just these few issues (and a slew of others). You may find your price target is not suited to your purposes.

 

[MannyE]

First, thanks for the reply and the great advice.

Here's all I expect to be able to do:

1. Download TV shows from my Tivo to DVD that I can view in my DVD player upstairs or in the car for the kids.


That's it.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Okay...so do you wish to edit the TIVO content before burning? I understand Tivo units do not allow for commercial editing. If this is something you desire then a non-HDD unit which is DVD-RAM capable would fit the bill other considerations aside. However RAM is not compatible with a slew of players on playback so that seems to lead us to a unit with a HDD. Again...this is strictly if you desire to 'clean up' the content before burning. If not...then a simple unit of the type to which you previously referred should suffice.

Either -R or +R will be playable in the greatest variety of players, +R supposedly being the most compatible with older machines. My Tosh's use -R/-RW as well as RAM. Using mainly -R I have yet to have an issue of incompatiblity with a slew of different players of various ages. Your mileage may vary of course. Nowadays incompatible Media speed seems to have a greater chance of screwing things up than DVD format.

Good Luck.

 

[Scott Dautel]

Oh my ... are you a TiVo plant?
You need to sell your existing TiVo and immediately trade up to the new TiVo DVD recorder from HUMAX!

 

[MannyE]

No, I do not need to edit outthe commercials.

But the player comaptibility is an issue. I will solve nothing if I do not choose a player whose copies can play in the units I own.

I have noticed that this comes up more with the "faster than real time" recordings. (the player compatibility) So...if I am not considering recording at anything but real time....

If I was going to buy a cheapo recorder, which one would you recommend?

and yes...I AM a Tivo plant... a Hemp Tivo plant.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Check out this thread over on AVS forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...0&pagenumber=1

Might be helpful.

 

[MannyE]

Paul,

That was a very helpful link! Thank you. It looks like i will be getting that 150 buck player!

 

[Paul Clarke]

Good Luck...hope it fits the bill.

Tell the rest of the Knights who say Ni!!! I have a shrubbery.

 

[MannyE]

It is a good shrubbery. I like the laurels particularly,... but there is one small problem.

I have re-considered. Taking into account the unpredictability of these players, and the distance I would have to drive to return/exchange it, I will be going to Brandsmart tomorrow or Sunday to purchase something in the same price range...maybe a little more...

Brandsmart is the only store that has a good selection in my area.

 

[MannyE]

Just picked up the DVR-413 from Zenith for 198. Good set of features, butt-ugly, but it seems to work.