DVD Recorders Test

Tests

"Panasonic DMR-EX769 DVD recorder"

1 DVD Recorder (approx. £270)

Published on 5/2009

On test: Panasonic DMR-EX769

Panasonic's DMR-EX769 plays many roles from DVD player to recorder and Freeview+ tuner, along with the requisite collection of ports including optical audio and aerial. Amidst all this, does it do any one thing well? Review details: Single Test → Test results

"Panasonic DMR-EX79 DVD / HDD Recorder"

1 DVD Recorder

Published on 4/2009

On test: Panasonic DMR-EX79

Panasonic's DMR-EX79 DVD / HDD Recorder continues from last year's model in providing easy recording and also serving as a home media centre. The middle part of a trio in this range of recorders, some things are still missing. Review details: Single Test. One DVD / HDD recorder was reviewed and rated on design, features, performance and value. An overall score out of 10 was given. → Test results

"Panasonic DMR-EX79 review"

1 DVD Recorder

Published on 4/2009

On test: Panasonic DMR-EX79

A 250GB hard drive and HDMI 1.3 for DVD upscaling are part of the features in Panasonic's DMR-EX79 DVD recorder. A range of connection ports and for TV tuners and automatic programme guide selection finishes this capable device. Review details: Single Test → Test results

"Philips DVDR5520H DVD/HDD Recorder"

1 DVD Recorder

Published on 5/2008

On test: Philips DVDR5520H

The Philips DVDR5520H is almost identical to the DVDR5570H but does it have as much pizazz as its pricier sibling? Review details: Single Test → Test results

DVD Recorders

For people who do not want to miss their favourite TV show while away, the DVD recorder is the perfect solution. Its almost unlimited recording capacity – blank DVDs can be interchanged when needed – and high quality recordings make it a much more appetising purchase when compared with older VHS video recorders.

DVD recorders offer a much higher resolution, and the nature of the medium means that DVDs won't degrade over time or lose any of this quality even after having been played back one hundred times. This also means that the films and programmes recorded onto DVD have an almost unlimited life span with bit for bit copying and there are even special archival quality disks, perfect for old home movie collections or documentary and concert footage, something which can not be said for video cassette tapes, which are a destructive medium. Every time a video is played the tape is slid across a magnetic contact and this can, over time, wear out and damage the actual tape.

Beside playing and recording DVDs a DVD recorder can also read and play audio formats such as CD from CD-R or even CD-RW. A good DVD recorder with a 5.1 surround sound system can therefore replace the HI-Fi, video recorder and, as digital pictures are normally viewable as a slide shows on most DVD recorders, the venerable old photo album as well. Some devices will be compatible with newer compression formats such as MP3 and DivX and are usually just as slim and well designed as a standard DVD player.

Modern devices should have a Firewire port for capturing data directly from a DV camcorder, but take care that this, and any other other relevant connections are on the front of the player, as this will save a lot of time and hassle when hooking up the device to camcorders or any other external sources.

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