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I did some research & narrowed down my selection to Panasonic, Toshiba & Sony. The Sony RDR-HXD860 got the best reviews in the press at the time but it wasn't cheap. Three versions were available with either 80 GB, 160 GB or 240 GB hard drives; I wanted a 160 GB version which retailed at ... Read review
Advantages: Features, quality of picture & sound, build quality, looks Disadvantages: Pricey, can be slow to respond
...Panasonic, Toshiba & Sony. The Sony RDR-HXD860 got the best reviews in the press at the time but it wasn't cheap. Three versions were available with either 80 GB, 160 GB or 240 GB hard drives; I wanted a 160 GB version which retailed at £399.00. I searched the internet & got one from Amazon with free delivery at £299.00 two weeks before Christmas 2006.
It wasn't the cheapest on the market but it was loaded with features I wanted & there is ... ...To record a TV programme, Sony couldn't have made it any easier. You simply press the control for TV guide & scroll through until you find a programme, click 'enter' & the page opens up to give you information on the programme & start & finish times. If you want to record it just press 'enter' a second time & that's it done, simple as that. You can still record via the normal method of inserting a start & end time but why bother with the simple system ... more
I was looking for a DVD recorder with a hard drive so that can watch programmes from the hard drive & erase them at will rather than have to record everything to a disc. I also wanted it to feature a built in tuner so that I could wire it into another tuner & be able to record a programme whilst watching another. I did some research & narrowed down my selection to Panasonic, Toshiba & Sony. The Sony RDR-HXD860 got the best reviews in the press at the time but it wasn't cheap. Three versions were available with either 80 GB, 160 GB or 240 GB hard drives; I wanted a 160 GB version which retailed at £399.00. I searched the internet & got one from Amazon with free delivery at £299.00 two weeks before Christmas 2006. It wasn't the cheapest on the market but it was loaded with features I wanted & there is Sony's reputation for making quality goods that also has to be considered.
Taking it out of its box you can't help being impressed with the look & feel of the machine, it has a minimalist look about it, no bells & whistles here to distract your attention, just a simple designed modern looking device. It didn't take long to 'hook up' considering the instructions don't explain how to connect to anything other than a TV or amplifier. I wanted mine wired to another tuner & a video recorder so that I could transfer old video recordings to discs. However it was all done in less than 20 minutes which included the built in tuner 'tuning in' all Freeview channels, the clock settings & being able to tune the Panasonic TV to the DVD recorder remote control. This means that I can dispense with the TV remote control & just use the DVD one along with the other Freeview tuner remote.
This machine will play a large selection of discs but it excludes photo CDs, CD-ROM, HD layer on Super Audio CDs, different region DVDs & DVDs recorded on other machines that haven't been finalized. It won't record on 8cm discs, DVD-R DL or DVD-RAMs.
All the DVD recorders/tuners functions works from the remote control with a back up on the machine, the tuner has a TV programme selection menu for watching programmes & is able to pause live TV. Very handy when the double glazing salesman knock at the door half through the cup final! From that menu, you have the option of excluding programmes that you don't want others such as young children to see. You can simply hide them, if later on you change your mind it is easy to insert them on the list again. The TV programmes are separated from the radio programmes which makes scrolling round the menus a lot easier.
To record a TV programme, Sony couldn't have made it any easier. You simply press the control for TV guide & scroll through until you find a programme, click 'enter' & the page opens up to give you information on the programme & start & finish times. If you want to record it just press 'enter' a second time & that's it done, simple as that. You can still record via the normal method of inserting a start & end time but why bother with the simple system works so well. The recorder doesn't have the option of programming numbers. You can record from the TV guide up to eight days in advance & there is a serial option which will automatically record programmes at the same time on a regular basis. However there is no option to delay a recording if the broadcaster puts it out late. Once recorded you can either simply watch the programme from the hard drive & then delete it or transfer it to a disc which in Sony 'speak' is called dubbing. Before you dub, you have the option of editing out all the unwanted material such as adverts & pre programme rubbish & inserting chapters etc. This is easily done with the remote control on screen & gives the finished recording a professional look. You can dub one programme onto a disc or a selection of programmes, before you start the machine will allow you to choose short play, long play, extended play etc & you cannot dub too much onto a disc as the machine will let you know in advance before dubbing starts. You can dub at normal speeds (one hour programme takes one hour to dub) or at high speed depending on the discs you use. I dubbed a 7 hour series of programmes on one disc just before I went to bed one night & awoke to find it was all nicely completed in the morning. Although you can watch a programme from the hard drive whilst recording another, you cannot record if you are dubbing. If you have already set the timer for a programme, it will not allow you to dub if the times are likely to clash. You can transfer material from a friends DVD to your hard drive & than dub it on to your discs without any loss of picture quality. You can also transfer from a digital camera to the hard drive & dub onto a disc. I recorded many old videos from my old video machine onto discs again without any loss of quality. The picture quality is first class & a league apart from a conventional video recorder. The tuner gives you access to teletext, interactive services & of course pause live TV. Some good points about the machine is that each time the clocks go forward or back the clock on the machine changes automatically. There is a favorites list of programmes that you often record & watch & there is no noisy external cooling fan like many DVD recorders humming away constantly, this one must be internal & can hardly be heard.
Any gripes? Two minor ones come to mind, because it has a hard drive like a computer, it can be slow to switch on, sometimes I have seen it take nearly one minute, the next time about 30 seconds. If you get impatient & try & hurry it, I have seen the recorder crash like a computer. All you do is switch it off at the mains & switch on again. Also sometimes when you eject a disc the drawer opens & just as come to remove it snaps shut & takes about 20 seconds to reopen. Also the remote control doesn't offer a quick switch off of sound like most TV remote controls. But these are minor issues that don't bother me that much.
This is not a cheap DVD recorder, but it is full of good features & records & plays with a crisp & vibrant picture with good sound quality. It comes highly recommended.
Advantages: Great all round Sony Functionality Disadvantages: None Really
Sony RDR HXD 860 - DVD Recorder with built in Freeview.
Easy to use - even my wife enjoys using it! This is really user friendy as per the usual sony standard.
The controls are sometimes a little slow to repond but nothing that is enough to bother me.
160 GB gives you ample storage - upto 250 hours! You can choose whether you record to hard disk or direct to cd - It's also easy to record from your hard disk to cd.
Pause live tv is a great function ... ...get when watching programmes with no adverts.
The series timer record function is also very easy to use and will assure you never miss one of your favourite soaps.
The only downside is that you can't watch a freeview channel and record another freeview channel simaltaneously.
You can turn the machine off at night but it will still record anything you have set to record.
Not the smallest macine out there at 43cm wide but it's pretty slim - Size ...
synchronise 23.07.2007 (25.07.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony RDR HXD 860
Advantages: Great quality, simple to use. Disadvantages: Can't think of any yet
I am happy to say that it was worth waiting for this model with its variety of connectivity (it was the HDMI bit I was waiting for) and technical quality. The included programme guide is extremely easy to programme (even girls can do it - oops sorry!) and can record a whole series of programmes with about 3 presses on the remote. The remote itself is also well laid out and it can control many TVs as well (thats one less remote to worry about!). Picture ... ...if you are picky, as I am, it will pay to experiment with different outputs depending on the signal source. Good quality DVDs played through the HDMI connector are very good but I believe that sports such as football look better using SCART. HDMI connection does not mean High Definition television however due to reasons which many people know but is probably to much to go into here. I would be happy to elaborate if requested. not the cheapest machine ...
markram 07.01.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony RDR HXD 860
Advantages: Great picture, simple menu, great looks, its a Sony Disadvantages: Slow to respond, complicated remote, broke down (even though its a Sony!)
...tells me that several of their stores have reported the same problem and so they are offering me my money back as they will not be stocking this model again. Pity. I really liked the machine while it worked and I thought Sony would be far more reliable. ...
Sawday29 20.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony RDR HXD 860
Advantages: Excellent picture / sound quality, easy to use, attractive design Disadvantages: Nothing of any significance
I bought this unit a couple of months ago, having been looking for some time for a new Freeview DVD/HD recorder. I already own a Pioneer analogue DVD/HD recorder and a Humax Freeview PVR.
Setting the machine up was easy and trouble-free and it's proved easy to operate ever since. I tend to record most stuff onto the hard drive using the high quality setting (HQ). At this setting the recorded pictures and sound are simply perfect - there is no discernable ... ...recording of BBC's Planet Earth, for example, was simply stunning and far superior to the results achievable on my Pioneer or Humax. The 160GB hard dirve allows up to 32 hours of recording using the HQ setting (or 1 hour on a standard single layer DVD). There is an even higher quality setting (HQ+) which I have yet to try which allows 20 hours worth of recording on the hard drive. Other settings include Standard (SP) - 61 hours on the hard drive ...
JP450 04.01.2007 (05.01.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony RDR HXD 860
...home cinema system, and my sony bravia LCD tv (via HDMI). I put in a dvd to test it and the picture quality is clear, and vibrant, and there is far more colour in the picture compared to my old sony dvd player, on the same bravia LCD. Secondly I thought I would try a cd with an avi movie on it, and I have to say I was very impressed with how well it upscales avi movies. They were clear, and not dull compared to the same avi movies on my high spec ... ...is being fed through a sony strda5200es home cinema reciever, so this is probably why!
The built in freeview was nice and easy to configure, just plug in a digital ariel, go into setup, and choose easy setup, and that was freeview up and running, fantastic. To record from freeview is nice and easy also. Just choose either dvd mode or hdd mode (there are 2 buttons on the front of the dvd player for this, simple), and then when you select the programme ...
cairch 07.02.2007 (08.02.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Sony RDR HXD 860
Sony's worldwide reputation for creating unique, attractive, high-quality, advanced technology products rests on a long line of innovations embraced by people from all walks of life. With a diverse product lineup serving a variety of lifestyles and industries, Sony continuously strives to introduce new products and technologies to meet changing market needs. PRODUCT FEATURES: Capacity HDD 160 GB; HDMI Output; Digital TV Tuner; Advanced Electronic Program Guide (EPG); DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW Recording (dual RW compatibility).
