While I was working on this review, my friend Rob — a filmmaker who has a day job as a video editor at MTV — asked if I could recommend a DVD recorder to help him get rid of his bulky collection of VHS tapes. In true New York style, I started my reply with, “Have I got a deal for you . . . .” Actually, I have three DVD recorders for anyone who wants to free up some shelf space or preserve home videos on durable, easy-to-navigate discs. All three are capable decks with very similar recording quality (click to view "in the lab" PDF), and they share many essential features, like VCR Plus+ timer programming. But the Philips DVDR600VR ($500) and the JVC DR-MX1 ($1,000) also have VCRs, making it easy to dub from VHS tapes to DVDs. And the Sony RDR-GX300 ($400) makes up for its lack of a VCR with some surprising alternative capabilities.
Top to bottom: Phillips DVDR600VR DVD/VHS recorder ($500), JVC DR-MX1 DVD/VHS/hard-disk recorder ($1,000), and Sony RDR-GX300 DVD recorder ($400).
Sony RDR-GX300
Pick a disc, any disc
Neither the trim front panel nor the connections and controls hidden behind a flip-down door hint at this recorder's radical nature. To start with, it's one of the few decks that can record on all four of the most popular disc types — erasable DVD-RW and DVD+RW as well as write-once DVD-R and DVD+R. Beyond that, recording on a DVD-RW disc lets you watch a program from its beginning while it's still being recorded or a program you've already recorded on the disc while recording a new one. Before this and a previous Sony DVD±R/RW deck, you needed a hard-disk or DVD-RAM recorder if you wanted to record on a disc and play back from it at the same time.
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But to take advantage of these functions, you have to follow some rules. First, you must use 2 x DVD-RW discs. (For some reason, the Sony can't record on 4 x DVD-RW discs — or on DVD+RW discs “faster” than 4 x or DVD-R and DVD+R discs faster than 8 x .) Second, you have to format the DVD-RW disc for recording in the editable VR mode, which isn't as compatible with older DVD players as the alternative Video mode. Third, the simultaneous record/play features aren't available when you record in the highest-quality HS or HSP modes, or even when you play discs recorded in them. Fortunately, the image quality in the SP mode is excellent, and the recording time is 2 hours (compared with 60 and 90 minutes, respectively, for the HS and HSP modes).
Limiting simultaneous recording and playback to DVD-RW is only one example of the Sony's “unequal” treatment of disc formats — which the manual helpfully summarizes in a formidable table. Most of the restrictions and exceptions apply to the DVD-R and DVD+R formats.
The most versatile disc is DVD-RW used in VR mode, which allows not only simultaneous record and play, but also playlist editing (where the edits are stored in a list that rapidly cues up the various segments), manual entry of chapter markers during either recording or playback, and proper recording of anamorphic (16:9) programs so they're truly widescreen when viewed on a wide-screen TV (that is, without having to activate any “stretching”). But aside from high-definition TV shows downconverted to standard-def for recording, probably the only time you'll have to worry about anamorphic copying is when you dub DV camcorder footage shot in your cam's widescreen mode.
I'm surprised the RDR-GX300 doesn't have an i.Link (FireWire) input, which would allow you to transfer DV camcorder footage digitally and avoid the color smearing that even an S-video connection will introduce. But this is really an issue only if you've accumulated a library of DV tapes.
Sony supplies a feature that inveterate time-shifters will love — an infrared emitter for controlling a satellite- or cable-TV box. There are also video noise-reduction controls for both recording and playback that can improve the quality of VHS dubs and tame the MPEG encoding “artifacts” that tend to show up in recordings using the extended-time modes.
PDF: Features ChecklistPDF: In the Lab
Philips DVDR600VR
The VCR ain't dead yet
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Aside from that, the Philips recorder is actually easier to use than the Sony. It records only on DVD+R/RW discs, and the built-in VCR makes dubbing from tape to disc or disc to tape a breeze.
The DVD-editing features are so simple that they take up only two pages in the manual instead of the usual ten. You can delete commercials as long as you make the recording on a DVD+RW disc. Unlike the Sony and JVC, though, the Philips doesn't let you do playlist editing — which means you can't change the order of recorded scenes unless you rerecord from an edited DVD in the sequence you want and then remove any gaps. But only budding filmmakers are likely to miss this feature, and they'll probably want to do more complex editing on a computer anyway.
Philips's symbol-based onscreen menu system — which reminded me of the cryptic graphics in foreign airports — took some getting used to. But you have to make far fewer menu choices during setup than with many other recorders, including the Sony and JVC in this group.
Like the Sony and JVC remotes, the Philips remote is simple to use, with the buttons sensibly arranged. But the Philips deck's mechanics were klunky sounding, especially in the VCR section. And the fan was noticeably louder than those in the Sony and JVC decks, though it won't wake you up if that episode of CSI: Miami you recorded put you to sleep again.
PDF: Features Checklist
PDF: In the Lab
JVC DR-MX1
Have your hard disk and a VCR, too!
JVC's most expensive recorder takes us into another realm altogether — signaled by the classy fold-down faceplate. By far the most complicated DVD recorder I've tested, the DR-MX1 is actually three components in one: a DVD recorder, a VCR, and an 80-gigabyte hard-disk video recorder that can hold up to 147 hours in its lowest-quality mode. The 100-page manual treats each recorder section separately, which is probably the most logical way to approach such a versatile machine.
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Like the last JVC hard-disk/DVD recorder I reviewed, the DR-MV1 (see “Copy Cats” from the October 2004 issue), the hard-disk section of the DR-MX1 offers only some of the features that make TiVo and similar devices so popular. While the JVC provides simultaneous recording/playback functions, like being able to pause playback of whatever you're recording while the recording itself continues, it doesn't include an onscreen electronic program guide (EPG) to help you schedule your recordings — probably the most powerful feature that TiVo offers. The JVC allows only for manual or VCR Plus+ timer programming, which get the job done but are far less convenient or sexy than an EPG. Fortunately, being able to use the supplied infrared emitter to choose the channels on a satellite receiver or cable box makes up somewhat for this shortcoming.
The JVC's VHS section is likewise pretty basic. As with the hard disk, you're limited to manual programming or VCR Plus+. It plays S-VHS tapes at standard VHS resolution — which is an issue only if you have a lot of S-VHS recordings in your library. And like the Philips, it records only in standard-VHS mode.
The DVD section records on both DVD-RAM and DVD-R/RW discs, but you have to use DVD-RAM for simultaneous recording and playback. Those functions are similar to the ones you get on the hard-disk recorder, but the small differences in operation can be confusing.
Having three video recorders in a single chassis is an invitation to synergy, and JVC takes full advantage of it. As long as the material isn't copy-protected, you can use simple menu-based commands to dub from any medium to any other, giving you a total of six paths among hard disk, DVD, and VHS. And a high-speed dubbing mode lets you make bit-accurate transfers between the hard drive and a DVD.
Once your recording is safely on the hard disk, you can use the JVC's playlist-editing powers to cut, paste, rearrange, or shorten the segments. Or you can edit your masterpiece on a computer and then use the i.Link input to transfer it to the recorder's hard disk with little or no loss of image or sound quality. From there it's easy to make DVD and VHS copies.
Such versatility — and I'm only scratching the surface — comes at a price: the DR-MX1 is complicated to use. Major functions are simple to operate, but difficulties can arise when the individual quirks of one medium or format clash with those of another, and here you're dealing with six possibilities. This makes for a long, dense manual full of exceptions and caveats in small print.
The JVC's i.Link input can automatically start playback of whatever source you have plugged into it when you begin the DVD recording. This worked fine with a couple of DV camcorders but not with the i.Link output of another DVD recorder, even though it was playing test patterns that weren't copy-protected. But I discovered that I could “force” the JVC to record the test patterns — as well as the i.Link output from a computer — by starting the source playback and holding down the record button on the front panel until recording started.
PDF: Features Checklist
PDF: In the Lab
The Bottom Line
As usual, which of these decks will appeal to you will have a lot to do with the kind of video recording you like to do. If, like my friend Rob, you want to rid yourself of VHS tape and already have a VCR, the Sony might be the best choice. It's only $400, takes full advantage of four disc formats, and can give you simultaneous record/playback — as long as you follow the rules.
If your VCR is on its last legs, but you still want to record and watch VHS tapes, you should consider the Philips or the JVC. The Philips is less expensive than the JVC and a lot easier to operate, especially its editing functions. But because it lacks play-list editing, you won't be able to get too creative with your camcorder footage.
If you want the whole kit-and-caboodle and are willing to pay extra for it, get the JVC. With its record on-anything/from-anything design, the DR-MX1 is so versatile you can use either the hard disk or DVD-RAM for TiVo-like simultaneous recording and playback. While DVD-RAM discs are harder to find than the other formats, the JVC's hard-disk recorder means you don't really need them. You can do all your work on the big hard drive and permanently save it on cheap and easy-to-find DVD-Rs. Rob is not going to have an easy choice.