A review by derek-j-a on Sony RDRHXD890B.CEK November 23rd, 2008
Author's product rating:
Picture Playback
Excellent
Sound Level
Excellent
Ease of Use
Simple
Range of Features
Above Average
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Record to hard drive, DVD drive, watch and record at the same time .
Disadvantages:
I needed to read the instruction manual !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Last weekend our old video-recorder started chewing tapes, so it was about time that we upgraded. We already had a DVD recorder, but had been using it in tandem with our video recorder through an aerial booster that split the signal between the two machines without loss of quality.
When it comes to such gadgets, being the sort of person that likes to see what I am buying, I went off to Comet's to see what was available. Being a Sony lover I was impressed by the RDR-HXD-890, one of the latest hard disk drive/DVD recorders from Sony's Range. It seems that black is back in vogue which I have always preferred; when I bought the last recorder, all I could get was silver, but there is a choice of black or silver with the RDR-HXD-890.
When I got the machine home, I discovered that there were so many options on this machine that I had to sit down and study the manual closely. Not that it was complicated, but just a lot different to my last Sony machine.
The RDR-HXD-890 has a built in digital tuner for freeview, and an analogue connector for those who cannot yet receive a digital signal. It has two scart lead connections and HDMI output to connect to a high definition television.
The machine has a 160GB hard disk drive and a DVD Recorder. The hard drive will store a maximum recording of up to 455hours and 23hours in HQ+ recording mode. There is a button on the handset you need to push to select the hard drive, and then record as you watch, record by timer manually, or use the EPG menu, by pressing the guide button on the handset and simply select the program you want recording. With the press of the "enter" button, the machine will then tell you the timer is set and the program will be recorded.
Whilst you are recording to the hard drive, you can watch DVD or vice-versa (i.e. whilst recording to DVD, you can watch a program on your hard drive). Also whilst on the hard drive, you can playback your stored programs while new ones are being recorded and it is capable of freezing, rewinding and fast-forwarding real-time television, should your viewing be disturbed by a phone call or visitors.
If there are programs you want to keep, you can transfer them from the hard drive to a DVD disk. I have not tried this, but according to the handbook, due to copyright laws, a recording can only be transferred once and is removed from the hard drive once on a DVD disk.
HQ stands for Highest Quality EPG stands for Electronic Program Guide.
If you have other Sony products (we also own a Sony Bravia TV), the RDR-HXD-890 is designed to work seamlessly with all other Sony home cinema products, so that they can be controlled by just the one handset. However, I am still using separate handsets so that my brain can cope with what I am recording and where I am recording it, and what I am watching until I fully familiarize myself with the machine's capabilities.
What I have noticed but not yet attempted to use on the machine…
*A Series Link: With the touch of a button you can record automatically all episodes of your favourite soaps or series so that you will not miss anything during the season.
*PictBridge: This is a socket that I can connect to my printer that also has a PictBridge facility. That would be useful whilst viewing photos with friends that are stored on the hard drive or DVD. If they fancied having a copy of one, you can print it for them there and then without having to power up your computer.
*Enhanced Photo Slide Show: This is a feature that provides transition effects from one photo to another, and then there's the option to put frames around your photos and burn them later onto a DVD for sharing.
*USB and iLink Connection: There is a USB connection if you have a hard drive camcorder or camera that uses USB, or an iLink (firewire) connection if your camcorder uses this form of connection. This way your home videos and pictures can be copied over to DVD or the hard drive in the machine.
*Digital Music Jukebox: This is where you can store and playback up to 999 of your favourite songs.
I have only owned this machine for a short while so cannot comment on its durability, but I expect it to be like other Sony products that I have owned in the past. They may be a little more expensive than other makes, but I find them to be reliable and of a good build quality.
But having said that Sony products tend to be on the expensive side, I thought the price reduced from £250 to £230 for this machine was quite reasonable considering what its capabilities are. I did need though, to spend another £30 for a HDMI connection cable so that I could view in HD format where available. If you are prepared to buy from an Internet source, I should imagine there would be even better deals out there.
Advantages: good picture easy to record, lots of conectivity Disadvantages: The Price
from my experience I have not had any problems at all. the instillation is very simple as you are just walked through the options step buy step the hard work is done for you. The remote control is simple as well were as its all 1 press of a button to get where you need. The recording quality can be very good if you have it on the highest quality but will reduce the hours to record which is 80 Hours. can record upto 400 hours at that length the picture ... ...The playback of DVD is as good as you could expect from a DVD player it has realist colours and the sound is in stereo recordings can be copied from DVD to HDD or the other way around without having to watch them by 1 button press. The included free view receiver has everything a standard box including teletext and has a fine picture to it. It was easy to tune in as it searches for the channels its self. you will get all the channels you get on a ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Picture Playback
Sound Level
Ease of Use
Range of Features
Value for Money
helpful
13.06.2009
Quick review of Sony RDR-HXD890 Review ofSony RDRHXD890B.CEKby
Hyrundi
Have found these units excellent. Easy to use even without the manual. Quality seems good too.
They work fine with standard USB keyboard. F1=system menu, F2=Title Menu, F3- HDD or DVD, F4=Timer menu. The ENTER key used to confirm Arrow left/right to navigate through menus, arrow up/down to shuttle through Titles/chapters, ESC=EXit, DEL= erase.
They keyboard functions make it very quick to program events and search existing titles.
Very happy with the units performance so far, with so much of this unit i still need to explore. Burning and searching can also be done via keyboard control, searching within a title can be quckly done, eg, search for exact duration from start of title. Also usefull feature of TV model code entry to program as remote for use with your TV.
Hrundi_V_Bakshi (RC)
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
This is an excellent product that has given me a lot of pleasure in the two weeks I've owned it.
I use it for recording from two satellite boxes (one Sky) and it's connected to a Panasonic TV. I don't have Freeview so I haven't been able to try the digital tuner. It's possible to control the Sky box using an IR transmitter that comes with recorder so that you can do timed recordings off Sky. (This isn't as neat a solution as having a Sky+ box but ... ...easy to set up and it works faultlessly.
The picture and audio quality is excellent for both DVD playback and HDD recordings.
The machine is a bit noisy when operating but no worse than the VCR it replaced. I suppose it does have a hard drive in it and it's therefore not going to be completely silent. It also does an automatic update when in standby which means that it switches itself on during the night. Probably not something that you want in ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It looks very smart, It's not hard to use, quiet when playing the DVD disc. Disadvantages: A little bit pricey
...play. I think that the Sony is a very good quality product to purchase. From my point of view I have always found that most Televisions and other electrical goods come with very complicated remote controls and buttons, but I found that the Sony wasn't so daunting after all. So over all in my opinion I think this is a good DVD player to go for if your looking to have the extra wow in your DVD player. Enjoy. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great picture quality Disadvantages: Unreliable, tuner faulty in two machines over three weeks.
...now! I always thought Sony was a reliable make, could this be a 'faulty batch' as JL have suggested. The picture quality was great but I still haven't worked out how to watch one and record another digital channel. The best EPG was my Matsui freeview box and the Sony one was taking a bit of getting used to. I didn't have long enough! My opinions are influenced by the fact that the machines only lasted a couple of days at a time. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
