DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Players/Recorders/etc

[bmwracer]

dochira wrote:

Well, that's years away for me. It'll be pricey when they first come out. But if you wait to buy because "something better will come along" you'll never buy anything.

Agreed.

I'm not gonna wait out the Blu-Ray HD-DVD debacle...

To be honest, without the pricey equipment to watch HD broadcasts and (eventually) discs, it's just gonna be an extravagance only for the select few...

[bmwracer]

Toranaga wrote:

Like... the original Star Wars trilogy (the original original one, unedited)

I've got that trilogy on Laserdisc.

[dochira]

bmwracer wrote:

I've got that trilogy on Laserdisc.

Cool, before Lucas "fixed" them

[bmwracer]

dochira wrote:

Cool, before Lucas "fixed" them

Spay or neuter?

Thing is, with that Laserdisc version everything's not as clean: you can see telltale lines and stuff where things are superimposed and the like...

[ahochaude]

bmwracer wrote:

A Sony? Must've been pricey, ne?

Yeah, it was around $390.00 back in December last year. I bought if from Circuit City.com. It was a RDR-GX300 model.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-DVD-Recorder-RDR-GX300-/sem/rpsm/oid/96101/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do


My grandfather has not had any problems with it so far. Seems pretty good.
_________________

[bmwracer]

ahochaude wrote:

Yeah, it was around $390.00 back in December last year. I bought if from Circuit City.com. It was a RDR-GX300 model. http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-DVD-Recorder-RDR-GX300-/sem/rpsm/oid/96101/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do My grandfather has not had any problems with it so far. Seems pretty good.

Yikes, that's way more than I'm willing to spend.

Looks like the Panasonic is still the one to beat...

[dochira]

bmwracer wrote:

Yikes, that's way more than I'm willing to spend. Looks like the Panasonic is still the one to beat...

I realize you're weary of CC, much like CompUSA. But I saw this model on sale (at least in NorCal) for $179.99, plus 5 DVD-RAM via mail-in rebate.

[bmwracer]

dochira wrote:

I realize you're weary of CC, much like CompUSA. But I saw this model on sale (at least in NorCal) for $179.99, plus 5 DVD-RAM via mail-in rebate.

I saw that rebate on the Panasonic site... Doesn't do me much good, since my PC's Pioneer writer can't read DVD-RAM...

[Geezer]

BMW

Well I wish you'd hurry up and buy something... and figure out how to use it.

Because I'm flat out planning to use you as my guinea pig.

By the way... you mentioned before that you'd heard about problems with Lite-on.

What kind?

I was just looking at a Duel Deck Lite-on for under $200.00. It looked good because it said it worked with both -R and +R.

Any specific problems? Or just rumblings?
_________________

Manga is to Literature
what Graffiti is to Art

[murdocknakashima]

i noticed that toshiba released a new stand alone recorder. it's the toshiba d-r4. as how it is, i have no idea. all the electronics review sites don't have reviews yet. i saw that model at sears (in hawaii) for $199.99.

as far as recorders with hd's go, yeah, panasonic is kinda pricey. i got mine's a little over a year ago (pany dmr-e80h ... which is also discontinued ... 'upgraded' to the dmr-e95) for a little over $500 and the prices still haven't gone down yet. although, i don't use my hd to edit commercials out of shows. i just use the hd's for programs longer than 2 hours and relief recording (if my RAM discs run out of space).

[bmwracer]

Geezer wrote:

BMW Well I wish you'd hurry up and buy something... and figure out how to use it. Because I'm flat out planning to use you as my guinea pig. By the way... you mentioned before that you'd heard about problems with Lite-on. What kind? I was just looking at a Duel Deck Lite-on for under $200.00. It looked good because it said it worked with both -R and +R. Any specific problems? Or just rumblings?

Most of what I've read about LiteOn are complaints about tech support and the lack of firmware upgrades... I did buy a LiteOn player a while back, mainly becuase of the hackability and auto NTSC/PAL conversion, but it has its quirks (crummy remote, so-so features)...

Guinea pig? How so?

[bmwracer]

murdocknakashima wrote:

i noticed that toshiba released a new stand alone recorder. it's the toshiba d-r4. as how it is, i have no idea. all the electronics review sites don't have reviews yet. i saw that model at sears (in hawaii) for $199.99. as far as recorders with hd's go, yeah, panasonic is kinda pricey. i got mine's a little over a year ago (pany dmr-e80h ... which is also discontinued ... 'upgraded' to the dmr-e95) for a little over $500 and the prices still haven't gone down yet. although, i don't use my hd to edit commercials out of shows. i just use the hd's for programs longer than 2 hours and relief recording (if my RAM discs run out of space).

Thanks for the heads up on the Toshiba... I'll check it out.

EDIT: here's the info on the D-R4: http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvr/product.asp?model=d-r4

Looks pretty good.

EDIT 2: There was one single review on the Amazon.com site for this model... Looks like it's sorta picky when it comes to media, but I think all players/writer/recorders have that problem... Some more than others...

[dochira]

Cool, more recorders are coming into the sub-$200 range. I noticed that the Toshiba does not record onto +R media.

[bmwracer]

dochira wrote:

Cool, more recorders are coming into the sub-$200 range. I noticed that the Toshiba does not record onto +R media.

Apparently. For me, the key is +/- RW discs...

I wonder why these companies don't design a player/recorder that accepts all DVD media forms... They seem to make PC-based writers that can do do it... Must be politics/marketing/etc... It surely isn't technology.

[olnil]

bmwracer wrote:

Apparently. For me, the key is +/- RW discs... I wonder why these companies don't design a player/recorder that accepts all DVD media forms... They seem to make PC-based writers that can do do it... Must be politics/marketing/etc... It surely isn't technology.

Panasonic has just released 2 new models that record to dvd-r, dvd-ram, dvd-rw, and dvd+r. I hear these models are not picky as to what brand of dvd media you use. Plus I think they have 8x dvd burners in them.

The DMR-ES10 which does not come with a hard drive can be had for about $180.

The DMR-EH50S which comes with a 100 gig hd. This just hitting online and brick and mortar stores now. Should be able to get this one for about $400.

I would go with the hard drive model. They also improved the 4 hour (450 lines of resolution) recording mode.


Toshiba has a new model RD-XS34 that just now coming out. It can be had for $400. It comes with a 160 gig hd. Records to DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW. They also fixed the black level problem that was a problem on the older 2 models.


What Pioneer dvd burner do you have on your computer? I have the A-108 and it plays dvd-ram type disc. As well as the A-109 and I believe the A-107 does also. I record to my e-80 hard drive. Then edit out the commercials. High speed dub to a dvd-ram. Take the dvd-ram disc to my computer and import files to my computer using TMPGEnc Dvd Author 1.6. From here I can also edit if I had not edited on the E-80 hd, add chapters, and make customs menus, with motion is I want and also add background pictures and vidoes.

[bmwracer]

Yeah, the Panasonic was mentioned earlier... It's my front-runner so far.

According to videohelp.com the A107 (which I have) does not support DVD-RAM or DL discs...

[pcmodem]

Bought a pair of Philips DVP642's, one for my friend Toshi's birthday, one for my mother's birthday.

Note for those unaware, the DVP642 can be reprogrammed to Region Free with a simple push of a few buttons on the remote control. It also plays DivX.



Cheers,
PCM

----------------------EDIT
Doh!

Wrong thread, move this post, BMW.

[bmwracer]

pcmodem wrote:

Bought a pair of Philips DVP642's, one for my friend Toshi's birthday, one for my mother's birthday. Note for those unaware, the DVP642 can be reprogrammed to Region Free with a simple push of a few buttons on the remote control. It also plays DivX.

But it's not a DVD Recorder......

[olnil]

bmwracer wrote:

Yeah, the Panasonic was mentioned earlier... It's my front-runner so far. According to videohelp.com the A107 (which I have) does not support DVD-RAM or DL discs...

Well the site is wrong. Do a search on google and you will see that it "Supports to read DVD-RAM (Ver.2.0 and 2.1) ".

I thought it did since I was going to buy a A-107 external model about a year ago. Only reason I wanted to was because it could read dvd-ram disc. Comp Usa had the external model on sale for $79. By the time I got down there they were sold out. I ended up months later getting the A-108 model internal drive for the same price.

At least you still have tyhe dvd-rw option with the panasonic.

Do you have Nero installed on your computer. If not d/l Nero Info Tool and install it on your computer. It will tell you if your A-107 does support dvd-ram.

[bmwracer]

olnil wrote:

Do you have Nero installed on your computer. If not d/l Nero Info Tool and install it on your computer. It will tell you if your A-107 does support dvd-ram.

I've got DVD Info Pro... I'll check it out.