can you suggest a cheap but reliable DVD recorder

ikthius · 14-12-2005, 18:04

Ok,

I have never ventured into the world of DVD recorders, but my aunt who records all the soaps and watches them constantly, wants a new video recorder.

but I am finding it harder to find VHS copies of films that she likes, for presents. And I was told that major retailers are stopping VHS soon.

So, I was thinking of getting one of these DVD recorders for her crimbo, nice lad me......

but what to get?........

I have trawled this forum and found this:
http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/home.nsf/pa...rd_Disk_Drive_

or I went to amazon and found this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...817433-5949454

what do you guys recommend?

also a few questions,
can video plus work with DVD recorders?
is it just as easy on these recorders to record stuff as it is in video?
is it the same set up to store channels in DVD recorders as it is in videos?
basically is it the same as video but with the exception you use blank DVD-RW?

ik

jellybaby · 14-12-2005, 18:16

I think the answer to you questions is yes to all of them

Personnally i'd go for the one at lidl, for the simple reason it has a built Hard Drive, so you only have to burn the stuff you want to keep on to DVD

Ramrod · 14-12-2005, 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by jellybaby

Personnally i'd go for the one at lidl, for the simple reason it has a built Hard Drive, so you only have to burn the stuff you want to keep on to DVD

Thats what I'd say

dilli-theclaw · 14-12-2005, 18:19

I think i'd get the one with the hdd too

Halcyon · 14-12-2005, 18:22

Yeah whilst looking up DVD Recorders many people advised getting one with a built in H.D. as then you can cut out the commercials and bits you dont want, and then burn the finished thing to DVD.

14-12-2005, 18:38

just to confuse you a little more, Ik, in Aldi currently they have this one

http://uk.aldi.com/special_buys/product_502.html

- which records to hard disk only, but has Freeview built in & twin tuners, so you can watch one prog & record another.

Nanook · 14-12-2005, 23:46

A mate of mine bought a DVD/HD thing from lidl yesterday, but the discs come out in VRO format, they will not play in his own stand alone dvd player, or on mine, but play ok on a PCs dvd drive & on the unit they were burned on. Anyone know of a tool (preferably freeware) to convert from VRO into something a regular player can read?

15-12-2005, 00:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanook

A mate of mine bought a DVD/HD thing from lidl yesterday, but the discs come out in VRO format, they will not play in his own stand alone dvd player, or on mine, but play ok on a PCs dvd drive & on the unit they were burned on. Anyone know of a tool (preferably freeware) to convert from VRO into something a regular player can read?

http://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/t232309.html

paul11974 · 15-12-2005, 01:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by homealone

just to confuse you a little more, Ik, in Aldi currently they have this one

http://uk.aldi.com/special_buys/product_502.html

- which records to hard disk only, but has Freeview built in & twin tuners, so you can watch one prog & record another.

now that looks good value

ikthius · 15-12-2005, 11:11

how much can 80gig hold?

we are thinking of getting freeview for her, but she desperatley needs this professionally installed as she needs a good arial, as the one she has is really bad.

the coax cable has one thin thread of copper wire around the plastic part around the thin copper wire in the centre.

ik

jellybaby · 15-12-2005, 11:32

an 80 gig HD can hold around 40 hrs of recording (depending on what form of compression it uses)

15-12-2005, 11:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikthius

how much can 80gig hold? <snip>

good question, they don't make that clear, do they, and it is a key piece of info.

- I'm guessing here, but assuming 6Mb/s being saved as MPEG2 you are looking at just over 2.5GB per hour, so an 80GB disk would give around 30 hours.

However, if I capture direct to DVD, at home, 4.7GB gives about 90 minutes recording, so 80GB would be around 25 hours.....

so my guess is about 25-30 hours.

paul11974 · 15-12-2005, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by homealone

good question, they don't make that clear, do they, and it is a key piece of info.

- I'm guessing here, but assuming 6Mb/s being saved as MPEG2 you are looking at just over 2.5GB per hour, so an 80GB disk would give around 30 hours.

However, if I capture direct to DVD, at home, 4.7GB gives about 90 minutes recording, so 80GB would be around 25 hours.....

so my guess is about 25-30 hours.

so is it good or bad ?

orangebird · 15-12-2005, 12:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul11974

so is it good or bad ?

to have 25-30 hours of television you feel the need to record? That's bad....

dilli-theclaw · 15-12-2005, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikthius

how much can 80gig hold?

we are thinking of getting freeview for her, but she desperatley needs this professionally installed as she needs a good arial, as the one she has is really bad.

the coax cable has one thin thread of copper wire around the plastic part around the thin copper wire in the centre.

ik

Well my sky+ box can get 20hours on a 40gb hdd. So I'd say you'd get 40hours on your box. Now the actual amount does vary slightly (at least on sky) as some of the channels aren't exactly the same data rate.

Also maybe the box will allow you to choose a quality level for recording so you can get more on.

Although my dvd recorder is brilliant (especially as it's multiregion and has no macrovision protection). If I was choosing NOW i'd get a hdd/dvd recorder.