OT: DVD Recorders, What to look for? Options

[Scott Carlberg]

What should someone look for when searching for a DVD Recorder?

I see some at $89/99 - $299+ (I know, the higher $$ have more features)


But for 'basic' recording of Movies and such to DVDs, are the basic models good enough?


your thoughts & experience are appreciated!

[abbott295]

I bought one of those cheaper ones about a year ago, maybe. It didn't seem to work and I took it back and got a 'better name' brand that cost a bit more. I have made a few copies with it and then haven't done anything for quite a while.

The plan was to transfer the old 8mm tapes to dvd while there is still equipment to play the 8mm stuff.

I think you also need another tv to be able to monitor what is going on with the dvd recorder. At least, I seem to need another tv to monitor the dvd recorder, takes more space and hook ups from all possible sources, or ease of changing source. And of course, time dedicated to actually doing it.

Good luck

[cooltimes]

http://www.adstech.com/

[warrenoliver]

Scott,

I bought one of these about a year ago. It works pretty well and I use it in place of the old VCR.

Couple of things to keep in mind:

There are several formats out there. The ones that come to mind are:
+R, -R, +RW, and -RW. The "RW" are rewritable and can be erased and rewritten multiple times just like the old VCR tapes. I imagine that by now, there are more that I don't know about. Anyway, these formats are specific to the media (discs) that you buy. Sometimes one of these formats will be on sale, then later the other is on sale, so, pick your favorite and wait for it to go on sale. I tried several formats and decided I liked the +RW the most, so that is what I have the most of.

I bought a recorder that could do all 4 formats since I couldn't anticpate where I would want to play the recording. Usually, I just replay in the DVD recorder, so it doesn't matter. The problem comes in when I want to record for someone else's DVD player, or if I want to record to play in my Dodge Minivan DVD player - then I have to experiment a little to find the correct format.

That's about the extent of my knowledge on that subject.


Warrenoliver

[Scott Carlberg]

http://www.adstech.com/

..since I do Not see any DVD Recorders (I did a Search) on that site, I'm guessing you sent me there for the 'Video Capture' devices?

Oh wait, it looks like the DVD Xpress DX2 records TO DVD.
Was that the Product you had in mind???
http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV-709-...id=USBAV-709-EF

I ask because I do have a Pinnacle Studio Product, but it takes SOOOOO MUCH time, holy CRAP! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[cooltimes]

http://www.adstech.com/

..since I do Not see any DVD Recorders (I did a Search) on that site, I'm guessing you sent me there for the 'Video Capture' devices?

Oh wait, it looks like the DVD Xpress DX2 records TO DVD.
Was that the Product you had in mind???
http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV-709-...id=USBAV-709-EF

I ask because I do have a Pinnacle Studio Product, but it takes SOOOOO MUCH time, holy CRAP! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Yes. DVD Xpress DX2.

[Pnambic]

I've got a Samsung DVD recorder that I bought the day after Thanksgiving last year.

A few of the requirements I had when I bought it were:
- HDMI output
- HD Upconversion
- fibre optic audio out

I've only used it as a replacement for a VCR and it has done an outstanding job in that respect. I suppose I could also connect my camera to it or some other component and record it, but I haven't yet.

There happens to be one on Woot! right now. If you're not familiar with Woot!, they're an interesting website. They put a product up for sale every night at midnight their time (I think they're in Texas). They usually have an outstanding price on it, but only sell the one product per day. Sometimes the product sells out in seconds. Sometimes it doesn't sell out all day. I don't own this model DVD recorder, so I can't speak as to how well it performs, but it is a good price.

Oh, and shipping is only ever $5 for anything on Woot!, no matter the size. (They were selling 61 inch HD DLP TV's last year at about 2/3rds the local cost and still with $5 shipping!)

[cooltimes]

Some past items with selling price WOOT.com sold can be seen here:
http://dealmac.com/online-stores/Woot-com/1692/


IMHO
That DVD recorder:
read buyers comments before buying anything to be better informed.

Cooltimes