[?]: Looking for a solid, low-cost DVD recorder

[mighty_vespa]

Well, I think I waited long enough to start looking for a DVD recorder.

I have shelves full of old VHS tapes (LEDA!!), I’m looking to record them onto DVD-Rs and then recycle the whole lot of 'em. I’m not looking for anything super, high-end sexy. I have a lover-ly, six-year old Pioneer DVD player that’s done nearly everything I’ve asked it to do... except record. :P

Any recommendations?

Maybe it would help, if I jotted down what I'm looking and not looking for:


WHAT I'D LIKE

- Less than $150
- Records to +RW (as I like to use my +RW discs as test discs)
- Reasonable load times for burned and blank discs (I’m willing to concede on this, within reason, if this is the only negative about a recommended model)
- Good composite A/V connections and RF (I only have a CRT)
- Player can be found easily and in-stock (w/ a recommended retailer)
- Recording quality is as good as the VHS’
- Made of sterner stuff (a.k.a. won't crap out from steady use)
- Recorded/finalized discs are playable on almost anything (including Macs)


WHAT I WON'T NEED

- Creating chapter stops or combining multiple tapes onto one disc (I have 100+ TY discs to use)


I searched all over this forum, but didn’t have much luck finding anything specific to what I desired. Although, I did find one or two manufacturer recommendations and that lead me to these:

Toshiba D-RW2 DVD Player/Recorder (http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-D-RW2-DVD-Player-Recorder/dp/B000ELE4Q6/sr=8-1/qid=1170802827/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3581541-7644105?ie=UTF8&s=electronics)

Panasonic DMR-ES15S DVD Recorder with DV Input (http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMR-ES15S-DVD-Recorder-Input/dp/B000F4C2AM/sr=8-1/qid=1170802340/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3581541-7644105?ie=UTF8&s=electronics)

Well, they're within my price range and available. Question is, are they even worth a damn? What other models and manufacturers should I be seeking out?

Aaaand this is where you folks come in.

Thanks. :D

[Buster Darkwings]

I'd like to backup some VHS tapes as well, so I was thinking about getting the Panasonic one, it seemed to get good reviews and it makes DVDs that are playable in standard players AFAIK.

Unfortunately it's not available in Japan so I'd have to import it. The cheapest Panasonic recorder here is like $500 I think. Just about everything here is HD and digital ready and either includes a hard drive or a VCR, neither of which I need.

I believe DVD recorders will soon be required to include a digital tuner, so you may want to make your decision soon as the price could be going up once the digital tuners are included.

[KShinjo]

I have the Panasonic DMR-ES15S. It's a very good DVD recorder. Compared to earlier models, one thing I like about this one is it's ability to use dual layer DVD-R/+R discs.

It accepts DVD+RW blanks too.

Load time is fine (at least to my senses - I don't know what's considered a bad load time) . Finalization of discs does take a bit of time though (about 5 minutes at most I think). The finalized discs I made play in just about everything save some of the older DVD players (for example, my ancient Apex AD600A won't play 'em). Your Pioneer might have problems.

I purchased mine at Best Buy. It's pretty much available everywhere.

The recording quality is excellent. The machine has a timebase corrector which is perfect for recording VHS material.

The negatives about the machine - It doesn't have a internal hard-drive so editing functions are very limited. It also doesn't play DivX files and SVCD discs (not a big deal IMO).

Finally, when using the machine be aware of tapes that have Macrovision. The machine will not record anything that has Macrovision (unless you have a Macrovision defeating gizmo - no idea where to get one). I don't recall anime companies using Macrovision on their VHS releases anyways.

Hope this helps.

[mighty_vespa]

It accepts DVD+RW blanks too.

Excellent.


The finalized discs I made play in just about everything save some of the older DVD players (for example, my ancient Apex AD600A won't play 'em). Your Pioneer might have problems.

Really? My Pioneer DV-626D has played discs from every region, CD-Rs and anything I've burned off my G5 Mac (DVD+RW and DVD-R). I haven't tried DivX files because I haven't had a need to watch any. However, I'd like to believe that my Pioneer will be able to play burned Panasonic discs, if it's able to easily handle G5 burned ones. Or am I a little naive for thinking that?


I purchased mine at Best Buy. It's pretty much available everywhere.

Would you mind, if I asked how much you paid for it and when you got it?


The recording quality is excellent. The machine has a timebase corrector which is perfect for recording VHS material.

Just what I needed to read.


The negatives about the machine - It doesn't have a internal hard-drive so editing functions are very limited. It also doesn't play DivX files and SVCD discs (not a big deal IMO).

If these are the only serious negatives, then it sounds like a winner to me. I have no need to save any of my recordings internally.


Hope this helps.

It has. Thank-you. :)

[LOUiE]

I did a search (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-1978470-9530443?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=DMR-ES15S) for his recorder and it looks like it's a cheaper one at $125. You could also go with the newer ES25S as well which includes everything the ES15S has but also does upconversion as well for only about $30 more and only $5 over your budget. I don't know how it compares to its older brother though. Just keeping your options open. :)

[KShinjo]

The finalized discs I made play in just about everything save some of the older DVD players (for example, my ancient Apex AD600A won't play 'em). Your Pioneer might have problems.

Really? My Pioneer DV-626D has played discs from every region, CD-Rs and anything I've burned off my G5 Mac (DVD+RW and DVD-R). I haven't tried DivX files because I haven't had a need to watch any. However, I'd like to believe that my Pioneer will be able to play burned Panasonic discs, if it's able to easily handle G5 burned ones. Or am I a little naive for thinking that?

If your Pioneer plays DVD-R/+RW discs burned on the Mac, then you should have no problems with discs burned on the Panasonic.

Would you mind, if I asked how much you paid for it and when you got it?

I think I paid about $150. I had some BB coupons to lower the price a bit. It's definitely cheaper to buy online. I only purchased mine at BB because I wanted one that day and didn't want to wait.