DVD Recorder

[ajbrun]

I need to find a cheap, but still decent DVD recorder to buy. Does anyone have any suggestions?

It should:

* Be multi-region
* Able to record on pretty much all disks
* Be able to 'pause' live TV (does that require a HD?)

I don't know if it's possible, or how much it would increase the price assuming it is possible, but if you can get a DVD recorder that can record 2 things at once, that'd be good, although it's not essential. Be good to pause something whilst another thing is recording for example.

I believe panasonic is a good name, but I really don't want to spend much, whilst at the same time, getting something that's worth-while having, hence why I'm asking here .

Thanks .

[Funkstar]

For pausing live TV you are really looking at a PVR box rather than just a recorder. I spoke to Panasonic a few weeks ago about this for my Dad. They no longer produce PVR boxes, even their all singing hard drive/DVD Recorder/VHS deck can't do time shifting, it is purely a recorder. Should you could fake it by pressing record while watching and then coming into the recording part way through, but i don't think it is as easy as just pressing pause ans then play again.

The guy in the Panasonic shop actually recomended Humax boxes for a proper PVR setup.

[ajbrun]

So, in other words, all DVD records can effectivly pause live TV, just some you need to press record first, then go back and watch what you've missed whilst it's still recording.

[Funkstar]

not all will be able to continue recording while you watch from the start. I know this was a big bonus on the DVD-RAM units when they first came out. I think DVD-R/RW (and +) have cought up though.

[ajbrun]

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/dvd-recor...eb-s/index.htm

Well, we're thinking of getting that model. The only problem is, is that we haven't been able to find many reviews of it. If anyone's used it, or knows anything about it, please let me know .

I don't think we'll be needing one with a HDD as the only advantage I can see is that it enables you to record without disks, which we don't really need.

As far as I know, this model does everything I need it to do, but if anyone could find me a review for it, that'd be great .

[TWOTELLYS]

Ive got two panasonic one dmr 10 without freeview and a dmr 20 with freeview both excellent boxes the only downside is they can not record on dvd+rw but play it they dont play divx but everything else ive tried no problems had a sony but it was very tempermental and threw wobblers with discs even though it was multi format. the only way i have found to pause live tv is by using dvd-ram discs on both machines and im sure they can be made multi region pretty easily via a search on google
the dmr 10 is actually 10 pound dearer in argos at the moment than the dmr 20 with freeview

[ajbrun]

I can't find a link to the DMR 20, could you find one for me please? How much different is it to the one I found?

Thanks .

[TWOTELLYS]

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/5334939.htm

[BenW]

Thing is it only has 1 freeview tuner meaning you cant watch one channel and record another, you need a twin tuner to do that which leads you to PVRs

[ajbrun]

Do you get any PVRs without a HDD? Although it would be nice, a hard drive would only bump up the price, and since we could manage with disks it wouldn't be neccessary. The only PVRs that I've seen do far have got hard drives included.

Have you got any suggestions for a PVR player that would fit my spec?

[BenW]

A PVR recorder IS a hard drive device with built in tuner(s). Anything that takes disks is a DVD recorder

[ajbrun]

Then a PVR is not what I want in that case. Are there any DVD recorders about with dual tuners? It's not really important, but it'd be another nice feature to have.

Unless anyone knows of a DVD recorder with dual tuners, I'll probably get the one I linked to, rather than the one TWOTELLYS showed me, as it doesn't seem to be quite as good .

Thanks again .

[dancingmatt]

I'm extremely impressed with the Humax PVR9200T and it costs £189 from Currys online. It's a Hard disk recorder with dual tuners and 160GB disk, and you can connect it via USB to archive recordings (and burn them if you have a DVD writer) on a PC.

It's absolutely fantastic. It just works, exactly as it should. Unless you can get a great DVD recorder for a lot less than £189, I really can't see why you'd want to put up with changing disks to record stuff on a DVD recorder. That's just the same as the old problem with using VHS tapes - always having to find a disk with some free space.

[ajbrun]

Here's a thought:

You're has a USB connection for a PC I presume. Our DVD recorder would go in the living room, and this is no where near the nearest PC. Is it possible to get a PVR with a wirless network connection instead of USB?

Also, how much does 160GB hold? Is it about 160 hours?

Thanks again .

[Funkstar]

I know the Humax LCD PVR TVs have USB host posts on them so you can connect an external drive, no idea about the set tup PVRs though.

160gig is about 80 hours.

however if it can read a 160gig drive (which will be using 48bit addressing) then there is the chance of slapping a 500 or 750gig drive in there instead

You might need to mess around with something like Partition Magic to get it going. Either that or there may be a hard drive setup menu. I'm only geussing on these points though.

[ajbrun]

Are there any recorders out there with a HDD that can connect to your wireless home network at all? I've had a quick look, but can't find anything decent, but that might be because I don't know what i'm looking for .