V Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 My mum wants one so simple is a key word here, but shes pretty clued up Would prefer a known make. Dont need a hard drive unless its only a bit £more. I do need suggestions/help with format RAM seems to be the best but will need it to -R which they dont seem to (been looking at Panasonic) + also best place to buy. Richer Sounds and the like. Doesnt have to be the latest model around, so long as it works well. I suppose around £200-£300 mark??? Many thanks Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merckx Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I've got a Panasonic DMR E85HEBS, it's got a 80GB hard disk. I wasn't sure about paying the extra for the hard disk but I'm glad I did, great for recording programmes that you want to watch later then you can delete them - no messing with discs. You can dub the programme onto a disk later if you want or make recordings straight onto disk. It's got the same features as Sky+, you can record a live programme and come in say twenty minutes later and watch it from the start whilst still recording. It's very easy to use and it got a good write up, picture is faultless. They're coming down in price all the time, many places found on Google are selling it for just over £300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qaisar Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Ive got the Panasonic DMR E85HEBS too with multi region playback and agree with merckx its a great system When i was doing my research i got the impression that Panasonic DVD are amongst the best out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I bought a cheapie one. Liteon, Grundig...all the same from Curry's... was only 140 quid...seems to work... but then I only use it to record stuff on the DVD+RW's which I then edit on the pc Gav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Pioneer 220 here. We were so impressed we got Maggie's dad one for his birthday. Points to remember: the Panasonic DVD-RAM format won't play in other players. Although the Panny will record in 'normal' format just bear in mind that if you want to play the recording in another player (the cheapy one in your bedroom, for example) then you lose all the RAM advantages. Hard disk recorders are generally better, but you pay a bit more. Don't buy a Phillips one! These have really bad reputations. Toshiba AV1 Panasonic E55 Pioneer 220 These are all good. Mine was £169 from Richer Sounds but I think it's just gone out of production and is a bit thin on the ground now. Have a think about if you want camcorder options and/or good editing features (useful for taking adverts out and putting whole series on a single disk, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted March 8, 2005 Share Posted March 8, 2005 Forgot to say: http://www.avforums.co.uk Have a nose around, lots of good info - you might bump into me! (also useful to see what is quite possibly the most fragmented forum website ever - and they recently culled a lot of them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V Posted March 9, 2005 Author Share Posted March 9, 2005 Cheers guys. I heard the Panasonics were supposed to be could hence why i've mainly been looking at them. Been looking at these 2: http://ws1.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PANA-DMRE55-EBS http://ws1.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PANA-DMRE85 Dave, I assume when you say 'normal format' thats -R? Are these/yours able to record/play on -RW?? the spec list on Richer Sounds says not. Not knowing the tech side of things, i would of thought if it played -R it would play -RW's??? or is this just to safe guard them, as i see just about all DVD players dont say they will play RW's full stop. If they are able to play -RW's i'll plump for one of those above i think. Soory for all the questions, but do any of your machines record -R dual layer as well or am i just asking too much Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Yes, any recorder will play R or RW - what you need to take note of is if it's -R and -RW OR +R and +RW. They are like Betamax and VHS, different formats, and there are only a few recorders that will do both. There is no real advantage of either one (I believe + is slightly better but not amazingly so), but you may have to check compatibility with any current DVD players you have. The Pioneer 220 uses -R and -RW. R is the record format, in that you record once and can't then record over it again. RW is rewritable, just like video tapes, in that you can record and erase, record and erase, and so on. In order to play on other players generally speaking you have to record on R, although some players will happily play RW (even when it says they won't in the manual - my Pioneer 444 is not meant to play them but will). Blank R discs are cheaper than blank RW disks, and I know of a lot of people who record straight onto R when they are planning to watch it on other players or give it to friends and just bin the disk afterwards (they are only about 99p each). I got five RW disks and five R disks when I got my recorder but really the R disks were a bit of a waste of time. There's a whopping 30hrs of recording time on those 5 RW disks at the lowest preset recording choice (the 220 comes with some 32 different choices for quality/recording length, with 4 set by the factory as 'standard' ones - the longest standard setting is 6hrs per disk. I can get more on by going through the menus and choosing a longer time, but quality will start to suffer. At 6hrs the recording is the same quality as the original broadcast). Are these/yours able to record/play on -RW?? the spec list on Richer Sounds says not. Yes they are. Not knowing the tech side of things, i would of thought if it played -R it would play -RW's??? Correct! or is this just to safe guard them, as i see just about all DVD players dont say they will play RW's full stop. Yes, as mentioned, generally most players won't play RWs, but then again some will and they just don't say so in the manual. There's no way of working it out really - my player was considered a 'good' player when I got it and so that may mean it's clever enough to cope with a variety of disks. But then you hear of really cheap players that will happily play whatever you throw at them. It's very hit and miss. But if you are concerned about being able to play your recordings on other players then just get some R disks and use them. If they are able to play -RW's i'll plump for one of those above i think. If you can stretch to a hard disk player (and think you'll use the extra features such as editing) then go for a recorder with a hard disk player. Personally I just wanted a straight video replacement so I didn't bother and saved the extra cash, but there's no doubt that they have distinct advantages over DVD-only recorders. I know of people who just record straight to hard disk all the time and rarely actually burn anything to DVD! I view my recorder as a stop-gap really - my video was knackered and I didn't really need the advantages of a hard disk player, but in another 4 or 5 years I can see me ditching this and going for a hard disk recorder. It's the future I think. You can edit stuff on a DVD recorder (the 220 has some very useful chaptering and editing tools) but it's just *easier* on a hard disk recorder. All I can say is do your homework and don't rush into it. Have a good look around at reviews and features, think about what you want, read about what you can do on a DVD recorder and a hard disk and see what features appeal and which ones you can live without. I'm delighted with mine, but the Panasonic E55 is recognised as a very good bit of kit. I would really recommend having a good look through the DVD Recorders forum on AVforums. Soory for all the questions, but do any of your machines record -R dual layer as well or am i just asking too much I believe they are all single layer - instead you just up the recording time and lower the quality to cram more in. Remember that even at the lower settings it's still light years ahead of a video recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V Posted March 9, 2005 Author Share Posted March 9, 2005 Dave, got some time on your hands then Thanks very much though, much appreciated I understand the formats as far as compatibilty goes but not the reasons why. Its just going to be a bit of a bugger if it doesnt play -RW I see + is only dual layer. I'm thinking + recorder with HDD that plays - might be a better option Time to go and harass some shop assistance. Cheers again SV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 I'm a qualified typist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qaisar Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 I think Sony do the dual formats (+ and - play and record) I also was considering the Panasonic DMR55 and 85. Decided to go with the 85 due to the benefit of a HD so i wouldnt have to shell out for Sky+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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