Entered CNET Catalog: 02/26/2004
SKU: 0027242644328
Manufacturer: Sony Electronics, Inc.
Manufacturer description
Sony has pioneered home digital recording with the launch of the first full dual RW/R DVD recorder with massive hard disk drive capacities. The high-end model, RDR-HX900, not only offers dual RW/R format compatibility with high-capacity hard disk drive storage, but also longer video recording time at a much higher picture quality level. With massive hard disk drive capacities of 160GB, the RDR-HX900 enables users to store up to 204 hours of recordings in the longest recording mode (equivalent to 34 DVD discs). The RDR-HX900 is full dual RW/R compatible (recording and playback of both DVD+RW/-RW and DVD+R/-R), giving users the widest selection of recording and viewing choices and ensuring hassle-free sharing of recorded DVDs with friends and family. All in all, the RDR-HX900 is the "must have" digital recording solution to replace the VCR. Sony lets users create high-quality DVDs by making sure that its recorders recreate the video source signals as accurately as possible. The RDR-HX900 features recording in the new HQ+ mode. By recording on the hard disk drive at a rate of 15Mbps (normal rate: 9Mbps), users can achieve recordings at a higher quality level than standard DVD discs. By using Dynamic Variable Bit Rate (VBR) dubbing to a DVD disc, superior quality DVD recordings are obtained, as quick and complex motion images are captured more precisely. Two-Pass Encoder Technology used by commercial production companies to author pre-recorded DVDs has been adapted for the RDR-HX900's Dynamic VBR Dubbing. The RDR-HX900 is equipped with advanced technologies not only in the encoding process, but also in the "pre-/post-encoding processes". In pre-encoding stage, Time Base Correction, Pre Frame Noise Reduction and Pre Video Equalizer technologies are employed. In post-encoding stage, Frame Noise Reduction, Block Noise Reduction, and Video Equalizer are employed to create rich, balanced images and to minimize picture interference. Sony's proprietary Precision Cinema Progressive Technology, which incorporates Pixel-by-Pixel I/P Conversion and V-edge Compensation technologies are employed to augment and balance video elements. The RDR-HX900 is also equipped with a 12bit/108MHz D/A Converter to deliver exceptional picture quality. Users can record, playback, store and edit TV and home movie footage quickly and easily. It has never been easier to create users' own DVDs - perfect for would-be filmmakers. Sony's i.LINK technology lets users plug in a compatible camcorder and, with one touch of a button, transfer camcorder footage to the HDD or DVD. They can also select scenes on camcorder and then record their selection automatically to DVD and HDD. When transferring HDD recorded contents to DVD, users can select the best way of dubbing for ideal recording. High Speed Dubbing allows users to make copy quickly (up to 24 times speed) without any picture quality degradation. Rec. Mode Conversion Dubbing allows users to change the recording quality to archive the long time recorded title in one disc. The RDR-HX900 offers a user-friendly Advanced Graphical User Interface (GUI) and G-Code timer recording functions. Simultaneous record and playback enables users to record and play back from both the HDD and DVD (DVD-RW VR mode only). Chasing playback allows them to watch while they can record and even skip scenes to catch up with real time. The recorded titles are comfortably displayed with thumbnail images that make accessing content simple.Product summary
The good: Excellent recording quality; high-speed DVR-to-DVD dubbing; sleek design; cool animated menus; top-notch connectivity options.
The bad: Ballyhooed TV Guide programming guide doesn't work with digital cable or satellite; half-baked DVR functionality; no repeat modes; pricey.
The bottom line: Sony's slick, promising 160GB DVR and DVD recorder combo is hobbled by a well-nigh useless programming guide.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 12/22/2004
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.
The RDR-HX900 is about as large and deep as you'd expect for a DVR/DVD recorder combo, measuring 17 by 3.6 by 13.6 inches. We love the sleek front panel, which boasts a brushed-metal finished, controls for all of the recorder's major functions, and a circular five-way navigational control. A wide section of the front panel flips open to reveal even more recorder controls and a set of A/V inputs, complete with S-Video and FireWire hookups for a camcorder.Our spirits fell when we got ahold of the remote, however. We're usually pretty impressed with Sony's clickers, but the RDR-HX900's suffers from poor key placement, especially for the playback controls. Even worse, the recording controls are hidden behind a sliding cover and separate from the main controls; to stop a recording, for example, you have to use the hidden Record Stop button instead of the main Stop button.
Sony makes up some ground with its slick, intuitive setup and menus. A setup wizard guided us through the initial settings and channel search, and we got a kick out of the translucent animated menus, which slide across the screen and open to reveal the choices. The system was much easier to use than that of the Panasonic DMR-E95HS, but will still overwhelm newbies with its myriad options.
The RDR-HX900's combo of a DVR and a DVD recorder promises all kinds of cool playback and recording functionality, especially given its much-hyped TV Guide On Screen programming guide. So does it deliver? Well, yes and no.With the RDR-HX900, you can watch a recorded title while you're "taping" another show, but it doesn't always record like a TiVo does. That means you can't pause or rewind live TV, even if you happen to be recording the channel you're watching. And while you can chase playback--that is, watch an in-progress show from the beginning--and watch a recorded title while another show is being recorded, you can't record two shows at once, a feature found in DVRs available from satellite and cable providers but not in any standalone models.
Even more problematic is the fatally flawed TV Guide electronic programming guide, or EPG. On the plus side, the guide is free, the actual programming grid is serviceable (although we wish there were more than two columns of time slots), and the guide lets you browse--but not search for--programs by genre or alphabetically, while warning of recording conflicts. The guide's main drawback is a deal breaker, though: it doesn't work with digital cable or satellite receivers. See Performance for more.
The unit does offer a good selection of recording features, and it's one of the few models available that can record to any of the four major formats: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW. Besides one-touch recording and the ability to create playlists of your recordings (so that you can put video together without chopping up the original titles), you can also dub video recorded by the DVR onto a DVD. We dubbed some DVR'd snippets of Survivor onto a DVD+RW with no problems and with no noticeable loss in quality. You can also perform high-speed dubbing depending on the original recording speed, ranging from 2X for an HQ recording to a DVD-RW to 24X for an SLP recording to DVD-/+RW. Playback options were OK except for one surprising oversight: the Sony has no repeat options of any kind. No repeat all, no chapter repeat, no A-B repeat, nada.
The RDR-HX900 boasts an enviable collection of A/V connections. Everything is here: a component-video input, three S-Video inputs (two in the back and one up front), and a FireWire input for digital camcorders. Outputs are just as impressive, including a component-video out, two S-Video outputs, and coaxial and optical digital audio. Throw in the basic RF input/output, and you have a top-notch set of connections.
Like that of most DVD recorders we've tested, the RDR-HX900's recording quality was excellent. At its highest-quality recording setting, which gives you about an hour of recording time on a 4.7GB recordable DVD, the recorder captured crystal-clear, rock-steady images and delivered more than 450 lines of resolution. In the two-hour SP mode, the resolution held steady at about 450 lines, although we noticed some slight artifacts on the edges of our test patterns. We were pleased with the detail in our HQ and SP test recordings of Star Trek: Insurrection; the peasants fleeing from the attacking probes looked vivid and detailed, as did the smoky interior of the damaged Enterprise during the Riker maneuver. Recording quality plunged to a much softer 250 lines in the four- and six-hour EP and SLP modes, and we noticed blocky MPEG artifacts and juttery images, although we've seen much worse with other recorders.As advertised, the TV Guide EPG does not work with satellite receivers. Its biggest flaw in our experience, and one that's definitely not advertised, is that it doesn't work with digital cable feeds either. We hooked it up to our Time Warner New York digital cable connection and followed the instructions, inputting our zip code and other specifics, and waited the 24 hours for program information to appear. In short, it never did. We've seen this sort of failure with TV Guide-equipped gear before, and we attribute it to the fact that digital cable systems often strip out the layer of information that TV Guide uses to power its EPG. The result is a lack of listings or, at best, incomplete listings. Compared to the no-brainer EPGs of TiVo and satellite/cable providers, this system is unacceptable.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17out of 17 user reviews
Great, but not perfect
Pros: Quality of video, loaded with flexible features
Cons: Won't read disks from computer
out of 17 user reviews
Not good for digital cable and sattelite receivers
Pros: Beautiful design, good recordings
Cons: See my review please...
The RDR-HX900 does not work well with digital cable boxes and satellite receivers. I have the set the unit up to a Scientific Atlanta set-top box from Cablevision. From December '04, when I bought the unit, to March '05, it worked fine. It was a true blast to use. I recorded Police Acedemy and Naked Gun, amongst others. Then, suddenly, the TV guide system stopped updating. Now it hasn't worked at all since early April. I cannot look ahead and set the unit to record programs while I'm out, which is hugely upsetting.
I've tried RCA inputs, S-video inputs, different cable boxes, resetting the system, speaking to 50% of the Sony support staff, attempting to trick it with a different zip code. What it boils down to is this: Sony is not advertising this. It is quite a common problem and because of this they deserve a collective, high-turnbuckle elbow drop in the groin.
I will be selling this unit on Ebay, clearly stating that it is only good for people who watch TV without a set-top digital box or satellite receiver. The TIVO interface is highly recommended, I owned a Series-2 recorder before this but swtiched thinking I could get a unit that didn't require a monthly fee, but, alas, I will have to pay for a monthly fee. Why is this? Why is the TIVO system better for TV-guide interfaces? Is it the capital they have?
out of 17 user reviews
Unless you specifically want to record in DVD-RW, get a Panasonic instead
Pros: Handles high-speed motion, few artifacts
Cons: Lacks features that cheaper Panasonics have for less money
Actually, get use to the DVD-RW with this machine. The owners manual focuses primarily on the DVD-RW, and discusses use of the HDD to a much lesser extent.
In hindsight, this makes sense as with the exception of DVD-RW recording, this machine doesn't do a lot.
The postitives are that like the Panasonic DVD recorders, the Sony does capture with a variable bit-rate, and can handle high-speed motion without creating annoying picture-degrading artifacts.... Some makes can't say the same.
out of 17 user reviews
Fantastic unit with lots of capabilities
Pros: Extremely versatile, huge capacity, easy to learn how to use. Easy setup.
Cons: Wish editing features were a bit better.
This unit has shown a lot of flexibility. The memory on my Philips DVDR crapped out, so I could only record and finalize, no editing. Well, I had a few programs I had recorded with the Philips deck and couldn't finalize, when I put them in the Sony it allowed me to edit them and finalize them with no problem. With recordings made on a dvdr from a different manufacturer! Impressive!
My only slight dissatisfaction with this unit so far, is I haven't been able to find a good way to remove content from the very start of a timer recording. The A-B edit seems to be the only option, and you can't set the A point to the very start.
Other than that, the Sony RDR-HX900 has been all I hoped it would be. Very glad I bought it!
out of 17 user reviews
A really nice unit
Pros: Feature Rich! Excellent well built unit. Large HD. Sony quality and service is excellent compared to others.
Cons: Timer recording adds one minute at beginning and end of recording, very annoying. A - B delete does not allow precise editing. No DirectTV Sat guide or TIVO interface. Can not pass through HDTV signal through component inputs and outputs.
out of 17 user reviews
TV guide does work!
Pros: I read several user opinions about the TV Guide not working with the Sony RDR-HX900 and digital cable, and almost didn't buy this product. While it did take the better part of a day (as suggested in the manual) for the TV guide to sink with my digital ca
Cons: I haven't uncovered any.
out of 17 user reviews
A very useful product
Pros: Very easy to use. Hassle free recording. Easy editing and dubbing from firewire hanycam.
Cons: Can not divide a title up into smaller titles on HDD, only from CD-RW using playlists. Does not handle JPEG or Picture cd
out of 17 user reviews
Once again, Sony delivers quality
Pros: Ease of operation, once you learn how to use it. Excellant layout and varied size of remote control buttons, makes it easy to use without looking at buttons. Outstanding ease of onscreen menus. It works fine with my digital cable service
Cons: Initial cost is above average - typical of Sony products
out of 17 user reviews
No good for storing recordings on DVD
Pros: Good for people who record on VHS infrequently and do not want to mess with VHS tapes.
Cons: The Sony RDR-HX900 has some impressing specifications. * Supports DVD+/-R(W) * 160 GB Hard Disk Drive Being a DVD "plus" die-hard I have been waiting for a nicely priced DVD+RW with Hard disk drive. Finally got my hands on it a couple of days before Xm
out of 17 user reviews
Editing is very poor
Pros: Large HDD. DVD + and -R/RW.
Cons: Firewire is onely one way. Editing does not even allow to split a title into two (even the "cheap" <$300 ILO Wallmart units have better editing that this. Dubbing to DVD is very very slow (seed of watching the movie)to DVD+R/+RW. Way over priced
out of 17 user reviews
Quality Unit but expensive
Pros: High quality recordings. Flexible choice of recording media. Decent remote and menu system
Cons: Expensive. A digital tuner would be nice. No match for SKY+ 160 in terms of ease of recording but the SONY will be 150% more reliable.
out of 17 user reviews
Poor implementation of TV Guide feature causes other problems
Pros: Very satisfactory picture quality even at LP speed (3hrs per DVD). Cable box controller works well with timer (aside from channel switching problem outlined below). Limited ‘A-B Erase’ editing works well enough and recordings on DVD can be imported to a
Cons: TV Guide On Screen feature will NOT work with many (all?) digital cable boxes. Won’t work with any Time Warner NYC digital box (confirmed with Gemstar & TWC). Whenever the unit is powered off it will endlessly cycle through channels (+1 every 25 sec
out of 17 user reviews
excellent does all required with minimum of fuss
Pros: cheaper than the opposition and is multi format easy to use
Cons: havent found any yet, other than the heafty hand book
out of 17 user reviews
Excellent Sony Value
Pros: Easy and intuitive to use once you get used to it. Supports all formats of DVD. Contrary to a previous reviewer, you can copy direct to HDD, edit and dub to DVD.
Cons: I agree that the TV Guide is bascially useless. It is difficult to set up and only allows you to view the current day listings.
out of 17 user reviews
great quality no matter what...unless you lose power
Pros: large HDD with great quality recording, easy erasure of commercials, chasing playback, fast one-touch dubbing (from dv to hdd or dv to dvd, WITH commercial/A-B erase), easy as pie
Cons: when a dvd is burned, a sony dvd menu appears with the title of the selection(s) that was/were burned (rather than stating from black with no menu). when the power goes out, all data in the EPG is erased (and the 24-hour cycle must be repeated), does not
out of 17 user reviews
Will record from DV to HDD
Pros: IT Will record from DV via iLink to Hard drive or DVD. Component input cool
Cons: No Optical input
out of 17 user reviews
Missing Crucial Capability
Pros: Large HD, Firewire, both -R/RW and +R/RW capabilities.
Cons: I first have to admit: I do not own this product. My criticism is a result of reading the operations manual and correspondence & phone calls with both tech support and 'product specialists' at Sony. This is the first Sony unit to include the 2 most vi
