Originally posted by: Eug
Originally posted by: jjsole Any comments on what makes one better than another (beyond reliability of course) or what features you like that others may not have? Btw, how much video can fit onto a disk?
I like the DVD-RAM's PVR-like functionality, but you can get that in DVD-RW and DVD+RW models which have built-in hard drives. The other bonus is that with built-in hard drives, you can make multiple copies of recorded material. DVD-RAM and DVD-RW machines initially had the best image quality, but I'm told that DVD+RW recorders are similarly good. (The first ones weren't quite as good, but that was years ago.) DVD-RAM discs will not work in most DVD players though, and despite the fact that for DVD recorders it's the most common, the discs are harder to find (since not many people use DVD-RAM in their computers). DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs may work in DVD players, depending on the settings and the players. It shouldn't really matter that much though, since they do support write-once media - DVD+R or DVD-R for the important stuff you may want to give friends, etc. At max quality, a disc fits 1 hr of video. 2 hours is also very good. Image quality really starts to degrade after about 2 hours. Mine doesn't have a 90 minute setting, but some do. Some may even have adjustments in increments of 15 minutes. Some machines (like mine) also have a fit to disc function (which I think is probably more useful than 15 minute increments for recording quality settings). ie. If you're recording a 102 minute movie, you can set the machine to fit exactly 102 minutes on the disc. Otherwise you'd have to use the 2 hour setting, which would be slightly less good. Or if you have say half the disc left and want to record a 40 minute video, you can set the recording up to fit that space. Panasonic's DVD-RAM/-R machines are the most common and generally the cheapest, but prices from Pioneer (DVD-RW), and Philips (DVD+RW) have been coming down. I don't know what the latest prices are like though.
