Which standalone DVD recorder?

[bensboss8]

Hi

Can anyone recommend a half-decent 'under the telly' DVD recorder, so I can junk my VCR and move my DVD player to another room?

I have been looking for higher end Lite-on recorders which will record on + and - as well as CDR and RW.

I don't want to spend a fortune and I don't have any spectacular Home Cinema requirements.
It is just a replacement for VCR and DVD player.

Any advice would be welcome.

TIA

[bensboss8]

Just a quick PS
Is it worth the (considerable) extra expense of a recorder with a built in HDD?
Also, can the HDD be replaced with a bigger one in any of the many models out there?

[robguy]

The cheapest DVD standalone I've found that does DVD-R and DVD+R AND has a hard drive is the Sony HX-900. It retails for $799 (available at Sears.com if you want to read the specs), and has a 160GB hard drive.

Panasonic (Panasonic.com) has a model with a 400GB hard drive for $1,400, and a model with 160GB hard drive for $799. These models only record DVD-R and DVD-RAM.

I have not found any standalones that record to CD.

A standalone with a hard drive allows you to record a LOT of programs without hunting for a blank DVD every time you want to record. When it comes to editing, just edit on the hard drive and then dub it in the same machine to a blank DVD, complete with a simple menu. The hard-drive standalones also have a built-in transcoder to shrink your recordings to fit on one DVD.

I have found no standalones on the market yet that do dual layer.

Having used a standalone with a hard drive, I don't think I'll buy another "plain" standalone in the future that doesn't have it. I can go on vacation and not worry about if there's enough room on a blank DVD to record a certain program, or be limited to how many programs I can record (My Sony, for example, will record more than 200 hours in the SLOWEST mode).

In the end, YOU must decide if spending $800 is worth it. I'd say take the plunge, but then again, I like swamp gas.

As for changing out the hard drive for a larger one (you're probably thinking about getting a smaller hard-drive model and replacing it, I'll wager), I personally wouldn't do it, because I think it would be cheaper to get the right size you want to start off with. By the time you gather your pesos for a larger hard drive, there'll be some model out (brand new) with something bigger. Besides, fiddling around inside of standalones may lead to quirky and unexcpected problems with the standalone if you're not a technician to begin with, not to mention voiding your warranty on the machine. Just my 2 cents.

[Experi-Mentor]

my option would be to wait for the prices to fall more & other/better/newer features to be added. but, that will take time.
if you're not in a rush, then why hurry

[robguy]

Had a friend like that. Kept waiting for the "perfect" VHS machine to come out with all the features he wanted.

Years later, he still doesn't own one.

lol

[Experi-Mentor]

point taken but, stand-alone dvd recorders are still a "new toy" on the market (as compared to vid recorders), & there's lots of room for improvements to come

[mtrevelino]

Below is a post from a DVR site that I belong to. I recently purchased a Lite-on LVW-5005 recorder, and I think that it works great. It does not have a hard drive, but it serves my purpose just fine.
Mike....

Not to "rain on your parade" but - I purchased the same DVD recorder in December and found that it had pretty poor picture quality. Specifically, blacks were recorded as gray, and highlights were clipped. I took the unit back and got another one - had the same problem. Got my money back and purchased a Sony GX300 - much better
picture quality and the built in tuner is stereo (not mono like the Lite On). I'll admit that the Sony costs more - but you do get what you pay for.

Regarding your statement:

>Also, when I use the dvd recorder, I believe that I am recording in analog??? (stereo, but not digital). >
The DVD is always RECORDING in digital - but all of the inputs (except the DV input) to the Lite-On (or Sony) are analog. The recorder must first convert these (both audio and video) to digital and then record them. It is the poor A to D conversion in the Lite-On that I had a problem with.

The Lite-On tuner is Mono, but if you feed the Lite-On from an external stereo source (the 8000, for example), it will record the stereo.