Design, Ease of Use, Hard Disc and DVD recording, Digital Tuner
Disadvantages:
Not easy to see recording light, slow startup
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
SUMMARY
I bought this DVD recorder to replace my previous Phillips one which seemed to die just outside of the warranty period. The recorder is slim, relatively stylish with it's silver and black finish, easy to setup and of typically high Sony build standards. There is a plethora of inputs and output connections, and the recorder has the ability to record to it's internal Hard Drive or to DVD disc. The recorder also has a digital tuner which allows it to pick up terrestrial digital channels on Freeview. In all I think this offers excellent value for money vs quality, there are many cheaper alternatives, but I have had many Sony products and always feel that paying a little more for them is worth it in the long run. This is not a multi-region drive.
CONNECTIONS
This machine has outputs and the back and a range of inputs at the front, and these are as follows:
Back of Machine - 2 scart leads so you can connect to a sky box and the television. There is an aerial input for connecting a rooftop aerial, plus aerial out to either connect to connect to the TV. There's component sockets for output i.e using the RGB lead for audio left, right and video, or for higher quality there is an SVHS video output. Finally, there is an output for digital audio so you can connect up to a sound system such as a sub-woofer.
Front of Machine - there is a drop down panel on the front of the recorder which provides access to a range of inputs, these will allow transfer of other audio/video material directly to the hard disc or to a DVD disc. On the left hand side are the analogue connections, so SVHS input, and Component inputs, i.e video, audio left & right. There are a few other buttons located under the panel including one to select the input channel and the record mode. Over on the right hand side is a digital input DV In, i.e iLink or Firewire, which will allow you to connect a digital video camera directly to transfer your videos to DVD, however editing options are limited.
IN THE BOX & SETUP
Open the box and you are confronted with the DVD recorder itself, which is surprisingly slim, it stands at about 7cm tall, so about 2.5". There is an instruction manual, remote control with batteries and an aerial connection lead along with the power lead.
Setup was really straight forward, hook up my Sky Box, connect to the TV with a scart lead, plug in the power, press the System menu button and follow the install instructions.
FEATURES
This model comes with a built in 80GB hard drive, digital television tuner and the ability to record to DVD +RW, DVD +R, DVD-RW and DVD -R, so everything except DVD RAM. Obviously with DVD HD and DVD Blu-Ray around the corner, this and all DVD recorders currently on sale will become obsolete, however not for some time until the prices of the newer technology falls.
The stated maximum recording time to the hard drive is 160hours of video and this is outlined on removable labels stuck to the front and top of the device. However this claim will depend upon the recording quality used. I have never recorded anywhere near this much and usually have the record setting on high quality. For example on SP (Short Play) setting a programme running at 56mins used exactly 2.0 GB.
The ability to connect a Sky box and a rooftop aerial means that you should be able to watch one digital channel whilst recording another, but I don't have a rooftop aerial at present so I currently have to watch the programme I am recording.
Most functionality comes from the well designed and comfortable to use remote control, however there are some buttons other than those already listed under connections that are on the unit itself, including power, eject, play, stop and record and record stop.
USAGE
My first criticism is a minor one, and that's the time it takes to turn the unit on and start recording. It's not an overly long time, probably about 45 seconds to a minute, that doesn't matter if you know in advance what you want to record, but it is a problem if you want to record something quickly and you haven't left the unit on full power all the time. I am sure most DVD recorders are the same.
Next you have to select which medium to use, so either insert one of the compatible DVD discs or use the Hard Drive. You have a choice - press the button marked HDD on the front of the unit or the one marked DVD, the HDD will light up blue when pressed, the DVD, yellow. This can also be done from the remote. What I think is quite neat is that you can record to HDD, and then if you want to keep the programme, transfer it to DVD later, and it doesn't take as long to transfer, so it doesn't take an hour to transfer an hour long programme.
My second criticism of this device is that it's not overtly clear when you are recording. On my old Phillips recorder, the whole front would light up red, but on this one, it seems that Sony's minimalist design has transferred to recording indication as well. This means that other than the on screen display, the only indication the unit is recording is a small red dot on the unit display, which isn't really visible from a distance.
The other thing I've not worked out how to do is to pause whilst recording, say to cut out the adverts, so instead I just insert chapter markers, so I can easily skip them later, otherwise you have to start and stop recording all of the time.
Changing record quality is easy, simply press the REC Mode button the remote control to run through the options, which run from HQ high quality to Short Play, Long play and others, the lower the quality, the more pixilation in the picture and the poorer the picture and sound.
To review the programmes you've recorded - simply press the Title list button on the remote and all the programmes appear in a scrollable list on the screen. I particularly like the on screen menus with this recorder they are really well presented, easy to navigate and above all, they are clear to read. Each programme is shown with a graphic icon plus details of length, time it was recorded, date, size it takes up on the hard drive and record format. Simply use the up and down arrows to select which programme to view and hit play.
DVD menus work in the same sort of way.
Timer functions - as well as simply pressing record, you can also setup the timer record function to record programmes when you are not around.
I have not yet used the ilink/firewire inputs because I prefer to edit my videos first, but it is a useful function to have.
CONCLUSION
I would have no hesitation in recommending this DVD recorder to anyone. It is typical of a Sony device in that it is very well made, excellent design features and simple menu systems. It's light, it's slim and looks the part with its silver/black finish. There are some minor issues, but for the price, for the brand and for the overall features, I am totally happy with my purchase. I hope this helps to inform your decision. Thanks for reading.
More details
Picture Quality
Excellent
Look & Design
Good
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