What to look for in a DVD recorder these days?

Brendan Burgess

Founder
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This Best Buys thread is a bit out of date.

I have a few problems with my Sony RDR HX 710 and I wonder should I just buy some new technology. I have an old tv as well, so maybe it's time to upgrade both of them.

Any links to a good basic guide to "What to look for in a TV and DVD recorder".

Better still, anyone fancy doing a Key Post on the topic?
 
DVD recorders are a bit passé now. I guess that you'd probably be best skipping this generation of technology, and going for a hard-drive recorder, such as a UPC box or Sky box or your own unit.
 
What does "your own unit" mean?

I have UPC, so what should I get from them?

Can I copy stuff I record onto DVDs if I want to give them to others?
 
Thanks Sue Ellen

I don't really get the advantage of this?

At the moment I record onto the hard drive mostly. After watching the programmes I delete them. In some cases, I copy them to DVD for myself or to give a copy to others.

This service seems very limited to me. I must be missing something?

Update:

Record a TV show easily. How many of us really knew how to set the timer on our video recorders?
Click to expand...

I am able to set the timer, so maybe there is no advantage in this?
 
You can record onto the box and then copy on to a DVD. I do it all the time and it's very handy. I have UPC.
 
Hi Brendan,

We only got ours last week so still getting used to it. With our previous set-up we couldn't record directly from UPC unit so this is a lot easier for us.

You can also pause and rewind programmes while they are on, I understand. This option is very handy too

'Record every episode. With series linking you can record the entire series of your favourite programme, so there’s no need to record the programmes individually. At the touch of a button, you can record the lot, so there’s no need to miss a minute of the drama'.

Both my Mother and brother have the box and think they are great so I decided to give it a try. Of course, there is the usual 12 months minimum contract.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
I am able to set the timer, so maybe there is no advantage in this?
Click to expand...

I have a upc set-top box linked, by SCART, to an LG DVD/HDD recorder. It requires more administration that the newer generation set-top box described by Sue Ellen. The principal advantage, from my POV, is that 'series link'-type features can be quite restrictive, specifically if the programme starts before, or ends after, the schedule time, i.e. the set-top box just records what was set. With RTE, that's a common event. Channel 4 too.

This means I have to manually set all of the upc AutoTune prompts and, with a 3 day time horizon, that becomes a regular event. But one I choose to undertake. With reference to programmes starting earlier or later than scheduled, I set the timeer to record to a couple of minutes before the (scheduled) start and a couple of minutes after the (scheduled) end, i.e. record 65 minutes for a 60 minute programme.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
In some cases, I copy them to DVD for myself or to give a copy to others.
Click to expand...
I'm just wondering if this is a real requirement? How much of the content is available online regardless (e.g. RTE Player or similar, or Youtube). Can you just send them a link instead of sending them a DVD?
 
Complainer said:
I'm just wondering if this is a real requirement? How much of the content is available online regardless (e.g. RTE Player or similar, or Youtube). Can you just send them a link instead of sending them a DVD?
Click to expand...

In my case, I have a GAA and rugby mad relation living in Kenya. I am his source for DVDs of major games. And I used to keep him supplied with video cassettes !
 
Leo said:
The Western Digital get consistently good reviews.
Leo
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I am none the wiser as to what AJ or Complainer means by " your own unit. "

Is this a
Dvd player?
an alternative to the UPC set-top box?

If it's the latter, what is the advantage over the UPC one?

I am coming to the conclusion, that I should get the UPC yoke, and then copy whatever I want to keep long term to a hard drive dvd player. Maybe that's what "your own unit" does?
 
Leo said:
The Western Digital get consistently good reviews.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, the WD series of players don't allow you to record from the TV. In addition to my upc set-top box and LG DVD/HDD recorder, I also have a WD unit attached to the TV.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Thanks, but I am none the wiser as to what AJ or Complainer means by " your own unit. "

Is this a
Dvd player?
an alternative to the UPC set-top box?
Click to expand...
I'm talking about a hard-drive recorder, a unit that allows you to record TV onto a local hard drive. It is an alternative to the UPC recorder, but is not an alternative to the UPC decoder. The UPC decoder (set top box) is still required.
 
I just got the latest UPC Cisco DVR HD decoder.
I have not had much of a chance to play with it. To be honest I don't watch much TV, but herself wanted Sky One so I was allowed to get the 30/3Mb broadband

I had and still have a SKY HD box, with UK Freesat card.

1. Picture quality of SD channels is not as good as Sky. This is understandable as in all probability UPC just rebroadcast the Sky signal for non domestic channels. Most people would not notice the difference unless compared side by side.
2. I noticed bad pixilation on some channels, but I do not have access to the same channels on the freesat to compare against.
3. The installer just left the UPC box outputting a 720 signal, I changed it to 1080 which I also have the Sky box set to.
4. The channel guide is dead slow and clunky when compared to Sky. It takes a few seconds to load, the picture/sounds drops, while with Sky it is near instant and picture/sound remains at all times.
5. The menu system and remote layout is not as friendly as the sky box.
6. It is passively cooled, while the sky box has active cooling. In layman’s terms, the UPC box is quiet, but gets very hot. While the Sky box's fan can make a slight noise, but does not get hot. Well it does, but nothing like the UPC box! Luckily for customers, I believe UPC (unlike Sky) retain ownership of the box, so it is their problem when/it fails! I don't think they will last long if your cat takes to like sleeping on it
7. Cisco claims it is eco friendly, but mine has a Western Digital 'Blue' HD, rather than a model from their 'Green' range. (You can see inside, as it is covered with cooling slotts bottom and top) Not to mention the amount of heat it dissipates. I must stick a meter on it and get the wife to log in a spreedsheet the power consumption, a la Clubman!
8. It has two Ethernet ports etc on the back and I believe a built in cable modem. It appears the long terms plans are for UPC to offer full interactive services and video on demand etc.

9. Oh yes it has a build in HD Recorder, but I have not bothered to even look at this yet. In my old age I have lost careing if I miss a TV program.
 
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