Need DVD Recorder Advice.

[indacup]

I was told today that we can no longer exist without one.


Actually, we have a local college that airs some extremely rare movies and TV shows from years gone by ( see HERE ) which my god father and step father would love to watch, but don't have access to.

So Someone in our household volunteered to start recording shows/movies of their choosing and send it to them.

We are NOT looking for state of the art equipment here...just something that'll get the job done.

I see a LOT of recorders under $200 HERE

Is any one better than the other? Should I be looking for specific functions?


thanks

 

[spankdoggie]

Can you see if they have uploaded them online? They should have it online, too?

The shows you want to see might already be online. I don't know.

Edit: wow, those look pretty rare, for sure... They should have them online though, or they should have the capability to do so, unless there is some copyright infringement thing going on that I don't know about.

Rambling,

 

[Eracer]

There are lots of different features, but if you are copying VHS to DVD, then all you really need to do is get one with both VHS and DVD transports built in. This will allow you to do one-touch dubs from VHS tapes to DVD. The addition of a hard drive allows for flexible editing, but in your case is probably a cost you don't need to bear. I like the Panasonic DMR-ES30V. One criticism of this unit is that it can't automatically add chapter stops (which allow you to skip through a DVD) but for movies? Who cares.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Just my .02 cents, but have you considered a DVR from either your cable company or Tivo.

At first I thought these were a waste of money, until I bought one. Now I can't live without. The reason I eventually bought one was that my DVD Recorder broke twice after only 2 years. The second time, being out of warranty I decided to look for another. While looking closer I figured I planned to spend around $400-500 for something that would likely last 3 years (maybe), or 2 if it was like the last one. Tivo I could get a box that will record 2 shows at once and watch a 3rd that had already been recorded. Store up to 80 hours. Fast forward, rewind and pause live TV. Which for a DVD recorder with a Hard drive, I would probably pay closer to $600. So for $60 for the box and $300 for 3 years I was set with something 10 times as good when you add all the other features as well. You can also usually get them through your cable company for around $8 a month. Although at the time our cable company did not offer one that would do two shows.

Then if you want a DVD recording, simply copy it off to your computer and use the burner on your PC. Although you would want to check, I am not sure if copying off to the PC is a function of all DVR's or just TIVO.

TIVO is not something I would live without at this point, and there are packages for just a year for around $129 instead of 3, although I got a much better deal doing 3 at a time. And again, the cable company has them for around $8 a month, but again this may not have the option to link to a PC which would likely defeat your purpose of wanting DVD's. Also I would recommend getting the box through the TIVO site, as they are about $200-300 if you go through a store. Tivo site even had them for free with the service for the cheaper models. They also have HD models and even models with DVD Recorders built in.

Worth a look IMO. If you do decide on DVR, I would highly recommend getting one that will record 2 shows at once like the Series 2 TIVO.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Also as Spank mentioned, you can do alot of this online for a couple bucks a show. I only know, again because of TIVO, where I can download them to my box. Although I think you can do it to a PC as well, not sure??? With the TIVO it will not allow you to copy these to a PC, although if you do it to a PC I am not sure what options you have if you choose to ignore the copyright infringement. TIVO uses Amazon unbox, where TV series are around $2 a show, and movies around $2-4. Kinda nice if something happens like losing the power and you miss a show.
Amazon.com Unbox video downloads: TV shows, movies, international videos and more, ready to download