Timmsy Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Hi just wanting some thoughts or opinions. I'm going to get HD Panasonic plasma but would a Strong 5490 be better or worse than a Panasonic DMREX85 DVDrecorder. ps plasma will either be a pv60a or a px600a tv . cheers Timmsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossy@home Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Hi just wanting some thoughts or opinions. I'm going to get HD Panasonic plasma but would a Strong 5490 be better or worse than a Panasonic DMREX85 DVDrecorder. ps plasma will either be a pv60a or a px600a tv . cheers Timmsy. Hi Timmsy, Depends what you want, I guess. If you want to save a programme to watch once and then discard, a PVR sounds the way to go. If you want the ability to record to a dvd for 'permanent' archiving then a dvd recorder would be the way to go. I suggest a dvd recorder with a hard drive to get the most out of it. Good luck. Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton-P. Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 With the Strong you get hi-def but no dvd-rec, vice versa with the DMR-EX85 If you get the PV I'd suggest the Strong (you can add an external dvd-rec later if want to). If you get the PX already with a HD tuner built-in, and if you're happy with recording in SD only, then the DMR fits in better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigg Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Hi just wanting some thoughts or opinions. I'm going to get HD Panasonic plasma but would a Strong 5490 be better or worse than a Panasonic DMREX85 DVDrecorder. ps plasma will either be a pv60a or a px600a tv . cheers Timmsy. If you have the built in HD Tuner in the plasma, I would personally go for the SD DVD Recorder. Most HD PVR's have had endless trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgdownload Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Well a DVDR allows you to save an SD analogue recording to DVD. That's about its only advantage. A PVR is a otherwise a much better digital recording product. Since you're asking and since its obvious that DVD recording isn;t a PVR feature, then obviously this isn't a critical capability. Grab a PVR (Personally I'd grab a top ofthe line SD PVR for half the price, but that's another question for another day). PVR FAQ Regards Peter Gillespie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Downawell Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 I haven't wanted to record and keep anything since the days of Star Trek: TNG, and Blackadder... and even if there is something you want a permanent archive of, can't you download it and burn to DVD or (shock, horror) buy the DVD? Step back for a moment and think about your own needs. That's what matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton-P. Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Grab a PVR (Personally I'd grab a top of the line SD PVR for half the price, but that's another question for another day). PG, if the LG 160Gb HD-pvr can be had for $700 ($750 less $50 cashback) do you still recommend a top of the line SD-pvr? Just wondering if there are reasons other than price to favour the SD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozdoc Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 PG, if the LG 160Gb HD-pvr can be had for $700 ($750 less $50 cashback) do you still recommend a top of the line SD-pvr?Just wondering if there are reasons other than price to favour the SD. While the LG is reported to have a very good PQ, it is only a '1.7' tuner. This means that although you can record two things at once, one of the recordings has to be started manually (ie: you have to be there). On a true 2.0 PVR (such as Toppy, Mediastar, Arion, Humax) you can set two timers and go out for the night. Which in the end seems to be the reason to have a PVR in the first place.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton-P. Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 On a true 2.0 PVR (such as Toppy, Mediastar, Arion, Humax) you can set two timers and go out for the night. Which in the end seems to be the reason to have a PVR in the first place.. My reason to want to have a pvr is very different I don't watch enough TV to worry about having two recording timers available. For me able to record hi-def and playback in its full glory is more enjoyable. Not sure on the LG's pq though. I agree it's excellent with HD programs on HD channels, but with non-HD programs the LG doesn't compare to my no-name HD stb (well ... in fact it's DSE). I think the DSE must have a fantastic upscaler, very sharp & well-defined SD pictures on my Pana 768p screen. Earlier I mistakenly attributed it to the Pana's upscaler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgdownload Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 PG, if the LG 160Gb HD-pvr can be had for $700 ($750 less $50 cashback) do you still recommend a top of the line SD-pvr? Just wondering if there are reasons other than price to favour the SD.Didn't realise it had dropped so low actually (Still figuring about $900). I spent $1000 on a SD PVR a few years ago - an expensive leap of faith but definitely worth it - so spending the same on a HD PVR now days (Or even $700) is a good option for people with 42"+ HD screens. I guess the SD PVR 'arguement' boils down to generally being less buggy (miss firing of timers being the only one of real merit that counts IMO) they are more powerful for the $ (2.0 v 1.7 tuners etc.) and another big bonus of SD is that several have ICE and 7 day EPG capabilitys (and of course the Toppy has TAPs on top of that) In your situation (as an infrequent recorder with a HD TV) I'd definitly concur with your choices. Going a little OT, I'm basically seeing that future DRM seems to come down to protecting HD content. From what I can see SD will remain cheap and pretty much 'open source'. Its also half the file size and generally very managable. I have a good 36" HD CRT that provides a great SD image. My SD PVR is also very powerful in managing TV content, skipping ads etc. I'm happy with that setup and should be for years to come. For me the program content is much more important than filling half a wall with moving images. Hopefully this will mean my future viewing habits slip outside the gaze of Microsoft, DRM, HDMI, Pay per use, Law Enforcement etc. etc. and i get to watch what I want when I want (plus I also get to save a few $ along the way not trying to keep up with the HD bandwagon) Anyway that's sort of off the top of my head. I may yet be pleading with the SO for a big sceen SED TV in 2010 Regards Peter Gillespie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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