EmailExperts say you should consider the following when choosing a DVD recorder.
- If you're into time-shift recording, look for a DVD recorder with an IR blaster. An IR (infrared) blaster, either integrated or as a separate small box, controls your cable box so you'll be able to record on different channels while you're away. Without an IR blaster, you'll have to manually set the channel to be recorded while you're out, and you won't be able to record multiple shows on separate channels unattended. The Panasonic and Toshiba DVD recorders in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers have IR blasters.
- In that same vein, chase playback (or chasing playback) is the usual term for being able to begin watching a recording from the beginning, while the source is still being recorded. You can begin recording a two-hour movie on one channel while catching a sitcom on another, then start watching the movie while the broadcast is well under way. Both DVD recorders with built-in hard drives and those that record to DVD-RAM discs allow this.
- Check for MP3 or JPEG compatibility if that's important to you. Most DVD recorders can read MP3 files or JPEG photo files stored on CDs (or in some cases on removable media cards), but not all can.
- Peruse manuals of DVD recorders that interest you. It sounds tedious, but several reviews say it's not a bad idea -- especially since experts and users often complain about confusing and poorly written product manuals.
- Avoid a tunerless DVD recorder if you get TV over the air. While tunerless DVD recorders are less expensive than DVD recorders with built-in ATSC tuners, they can't tune in broadcast TV. If you get all of your programming through satellite or cable, however, a tunerless DVD recorder -- or even an older analog DVD recorder -- will work just fine.
Keep in mind that you will not be able to duplicate copyright-protected VHS tapes or DVDs, and to copy your own homemade DVDs, you'll need a separate DVD player to hook up to the recorder. In addition, content protection included in the latest generation of DVD recorders can make recording programs from certain cable TV stations -- especially premium services such as HBO -- more restrictive.
DVD recorders give you several recording quality settings, and much like a VCR, the best quality takes up the most space. The highest-quality setting on a DVD recorder will result in one hour of material on a 4.7 GB DVD. The second-best setting will give you two hours and so on. Reviews say the top two quality modes are generally best, and anything more than that exhibits a precipitous drop in image quality. However, reviewers say that Panasonic's four-hour mode (the third-best quality setting) is head and shoulders above that available on recorders from other manufacturers. Some reviewers say that recording at the lowest-quality setting, which nets about six hours of recorded programming, is worse than the EP setting on a VCR.