Help me find a DVD recorder that doesn't suck.

December 18, 2005 12:00 PM

Help me find a DVD recorder that doesn't suck.

Can you recommend a good DVD recorder? We finally bought an LG recorder this week and had to return it because it was faulty. Oddly, the second one was even worse: the display showed garbage, the tray opened and closed at random times and it even had a blue screen of death twice. I've been doing my research, and the trouble is we can't find a reasonably-priced model that doesn't under-perform (the LG seemed the best of the bunch, but clearly that wasn't true). Seems like every unit out there has reviews claiming it's unreliable, generates 'coasters' instead of usable discs, or just doesn't work as expected. Am I looking in the wrong place or is the technology just under-developed? I'd rather spend $300 than $600 (units with hard drives are up around that price) but I'm thinking about giving up and waiting until things advance a bit. Do you have one that works properly? I'd like to hear your experiences so I can make a more informed decision.

posted by BorgLove to technology (6 comments total)

Check www.videohelp.com.
posted by kuperman at 12:42 PM on December 18, 2005

I have the Panasonic DMR-ES40VS, which is a VHS/DVD recorder dual unit and have been nothing but happy, happy, happy with it. Looks like they're selling < $300.br>
I know Panasonic also makes some models with hard drives in the $300-$400 range.
posted by bradlands at 1:12 PM on December 18, 2005

I don't know much about DVD recorders, but I've worked in the DVD industry for 6 yrs and we test all our "A" titles on banks of players, so I know which brands to avoid and which to recommend. And the top three most bulletproof brands are Pioneer, Sony & Panasonic. Furthermore, Panasonic have always been at the forefront of DVD recorder technology, so I'd go with one of them.
posted by forallmankind at 5:43 PM on December 18, 2005

All I can intelligently add to this discussion is a recommendation for Plextor's PX-740UF (the F is for Firewire, there's also a non-firewire version)

I have had zero problems with it, in comparison to a Sony model that I've had loads of problems with.

Then again - I can't tell if you're taking about a "vcr-style" recorder (indicated by your price range), or a PC-style recorder (indicated by your reference of a blue-screen-of-death).
posted by odinsdream at 6:11 PM on December 18, 2005

odinsdream, I was talking about vcr-style. I know it seems odd to mention a BSD outside of the context of Windows, but that's honestly what happened on my TV. Blue screen, text garbage. Weird. I've been a Mac user for years now, and seeing that brought back lots of nasty memories.

forallmankind, thanks for the brand suggestions. That's just the kind of info I was looking for.
posted by BorgLove at 8:13 PM on December 18, 2005

I bought a refurbed Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD recorder three years ago and was happy with it, mostly. Every now and then it wouldn't record a show because it didn't like the DVD-R blank (no consistency on which brand it would gag on.) 97% of the time, tho, it worked flawlessly. You can get the newer versions of this box for under $200 on the 'Bay.

But it got replaced this fall with a Pioneer DVR-533HS 80GB hard drive/DVD recorder, which is just outstanding. For $100 or so more you get the flexibility of HD recording, no TiVo fees. I'm never going back.
posted by mojohand at 7:33 AM on December 19, 2005