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COPYRIGHT 2006 Australian Consumers' Association
The models in our latest test of DVD recorders contain the sexy technology you'd expect, such as the timeshift feature that lets you start watching a program before you've finished recording it. And their hard disc also gives them the advantage of greater storage capacity.
The DVD/hard disc recorders on test can be set to record at highest quality (about one hour's worth of recording on a DVD), mid quality (about four hours) and low quality (6-13 hours on a DVD). And when set on low quality you can store anything from 96 to 356 hours of programming on the hard disc--that's a lot of episodes of The West Wing.
However, the more data you store, the more the machine has to compress it, which is why it's called low quality--the picture quality suffers. This is particularly noticeable on a big screen, so it's best not to use the maximum-capacity mode if you'll be watching your recorded DVDs on a screen larger than about 60 cm.
All in all, the models in this test play and record well. Some (the PHILIPS, LG and SONY) are better than others at handling disc errors such as scratches--an important feature if you rent lots of DVDs and want to avoid the frustration of your movie freezing or stuttering.
THEY CAN SEND A MAN TO THE MOON, BUT ...
Despite DVD/hard disc recorders' nifty features, the same old problems from VCR days persist, such as unintuitive remotes and illogical onscreen menus. And as always, the number of different connections can freak out the less technically minded. Thankfully that's only an issue when you're first setting up the machine. See Video connections, page 23, for an explanation of what's what.
It's worth noting that as this technology is relatively new, we don't have any data on recorder reliability. All the machines' manuals except one contained cautions and disclaimers about looking after the hard discs. So read the manual and follow the care instructions (don't move it while it's working or place it near extreme heat, for example). Otherwise your piece of rather pricy technology might need replacing before its time.
FORMAT FIASCOS
If you intend to play your recorded DVDs on friends' DVD players, be aware that different discs won't always work in different machines. That's because the way data is distributed on DVD is dictated by two competing groups, the DVD Forum and the DVD Alliance. Unfortunately for the consumer, their dictates don't always match.
Here are some of the formats you'll come across, and a guide to what they mean:
* DVD-R: A write-once disc format (you can only copy onto it once) with 4.7 GB capacity, which is supported by the DVD Forum.
* DVD-RW: A rewritable DVD format, also...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
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