- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 20 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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5 out of 6 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Works well but beware: NOT Hi Def"
Pros: big hard-drive, reasonable editing capabilities
Cons: Best output resolution is 480P, not good enough for Hi-def
Summary: I bought this unit primarily to convert my collection of VCR tapes to DVD and it is doing that just fine. You copy from the VCR to the hard drive, from there you can use some crude but effective editing capabilities. Basically you introduce chapter breaks whereever you want, you can then assemble playlists by combining your chapters. then you burn your playlist to DVD. I've had no problems with this and I'm happy with the performance. The one disappointment is that the highest resolution output is 480P. If you have a Hi-Def TV this is not good enough. Most commercial DVDs are 780P or better so you will not be happy with the playback resolution of regular DVD movies. I don't use it to record TV as I have a tivo, but I imagine there would be a similar problem with HD-cable broadcasts. So, it won't replace a standard DVD player, or even a standard tivo if you want hi-def TV, which means you need another component or two in addition to this, which is a bummer. The resolution is not really a factor for dubbing VCR tapes b/c the resolution of a VCR is not high def anyway. I don't notice any drop off in quality from the dubbing process (sometimes I think its even better). So in summary, its great for dubbing old VCR tapes but don't expect to get rid of your old DVD player.
- 3 replies to this review
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There are NO DVD Hi Def players on the US market. There are also NO UPSCALING DVD PLAYERS THROUGH COMPONENT. THE ONLY MEANS OF UPCONVERSION IS DVI OR HDMI
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I agree with Krusty46. I own 2 Panasonic DVD players (one 18 mo. old - the other, 3 yrs) and both are only capable of 480p. Look at Panasonic's website...the only DVD player that they have that is capable of 780p does it through an HDMI interface.
If you hold on to your old DVD player, it will give you the same resolution as this recorder. -
What standard DVD players are Hi Def? I have a 2 year old Denon and its only 480p. Just curious if you consider something that upconverts a standard DVD player.
As far as TIVO, what Hi Def units do they have besides the one for Direct TV? And whats offered that does Hi Def and a DVD recorder? I havent been able to find anything as of yet.
