DVD recorder for highest 2 hour quality

May 21, 2006 12:42 PM

What's the best DVD recorder (hopefully with a VCR as well) which could capture a 2-hour movie from the cable box with the highest quality?
posted by quintno to Technology (1 answer total)

Weeeelll.. your requirements narrow it down. You want one that can record to dual layer discs, and has a VHS deck. My picks would be the Sony RDR-VX515 or the Panasonic DMR-ES45VS. Both should serve you well.

The dual layer disc thing will give you the best quality (as well as the ability to squeeze a shedload of video onto dual layer discs at lower quality settings), and both can copy from VHS to DVD (or vice versa). However, both will refuse to copy from copy-protected discs or tapes, and might not be happy if the cable source uses copy protection (I tested a Sony device recently that refused to record a movie I'd TiVo'ed from HBO, for instance).

I haven't tested either of these myself, though: I did test a load of similar devices for PC World a few months back, so you might want to read that for info on how easy they are to use, etc.
posted by baggers at 3:51 PM on May 21, 2006