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Thread ID: 88831	2008-04-10 11:47:00	HDD DVD Recorder - Panasonic DMR-EH67 or Pioneer DVR-650H?	dah (13609)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
657802	2008-04-12 22:17:00	Here is one. www.freeviewshop.co.nz :) Will these freeview things be incorporated in TV's?	Cicero (40)
657803	2008-04-12 23:16:00	I imagine you'll start to see televisions with in-built DVB-T tuners later this year (other countries already have them, although based on slightly different standards).	maccrazy (6741)
657804	2008-04-12 23:49:00	I imagine you'll start to see televisions with in-built DVB-T tuners later this year (other countries already have them, although based on slightly different standards). I take it the disc wont be any use for present kit,such as hd/dvd recorder? One will have to retain current ariel.?	Cicero (40)
657805	2008-04-13 02:27:00	I have a Sony RDR-HX750 and MySky and will upgrade to MySky2 as soon as it is available. I record most stuff on the MySky box and some stuff on the Sony. I can transfer from either MySky or the Sony to my PC, likewise record Freeview TV and HDTV to my PC and play it back to the Lounge TV. I have burned off a few DVD's off the Sony which seem fine. The MySky can flick through adverts just as good as the Sony. The features I like on MySky over the Sony is live pause and dual channel recording. Just got to talk wife into getting a decent TV to view it all on now. With HDTV, MySky2, and better TV's with built in Dual Tuners coming in the near future I will probably hang on a bit personally. According to a documentary I watched a while back the next two stages of TV is yet to come. Holographic TV in a few years time being worked on now.	Bantu (52)
657806	2008-04-13 02:42:00	I am in same boat as you re wife and TV,but happy to wait for another 12 months,due really to nothing much to watch anyway. At least thats my excuse.	Cicero (40)
657807	2008-04-14 07:58:00	Thanks for the comments. First thing I did was download the manuals for the Sony, Pioneer, and Panasonic and read them and check the multizoning. I have also searched the web and (this forum) extensively but have not found much direct comment from users (especially of the Pioneer). I discounted the Sony because it scored low in the Consumer test, because it doesn't do DVD RAM, and because the Pioneer seems to have all the features the Sony offered over the Panasonic, as well as most of the features the Panasonic offered over the Sony. <snip> Dominic I'll confess to not having read the Consumer test you're referring to but I wouldn't put too much weight on their ratings... while they can discuss in general about usability and design they are not specialists and so often don't pick up the subtleties of CE products... The Sony models literally have an identical feature set to the Pioneer (they use very similar firmware - just look at the menu), and the Sony also has the benefit of an auto scene chaptering feature which picks up ad breaks and lets you delete or skip straight past them (VERY useful feature) not found on the Pioneer. Also, no manufacturer is going to put the fact their players are multi-zoned in the manual as part of a 'gentleman's agreement' which prevents them from 'officially' marketing this. NZ is one of the few countries in the world where players are multi-zoned as standard.	joe_exception (2874)
657808	2008-04-14 23:16:00	I don't worry about the usability or features ratings, because every user will see those things differently, but I do put some stock in their picture quality tests, because they are able to measure that objectively, though it would help if they gave more details about exactly what they tested. Likewise the audio test. The error tracking test also seems to me to be fairly objective. Interestingly, the few PQ comparisons I've found on the net between recent Pioneer and Panasonic models also tend to give Panasonic a slight edge. Yes, I'm aware that the Sony and Pioneer models have similar (though not identical) features, and I'm also aware of rumours that Pioneer use Sony components in their recorders. The Pioneer actually does have an auto-chaptering feature which is advertised as picking up ad breaks - as I said, I have read and compared the manuals for all these models - but I don't know how well it works in practice. The multizoning I have double-checked with reps from the companies concerned. If anyone has answers to the following, I'd like to know: * The Pioneer has the 15Mb/s XP+ setting, but I've read that broadcast TV in NZ does not reach this quality anyway. Is this true? Do Sky or Saturn? * Is it worth it having the extra user settings the Pioneer has (YNR, BNR, MNR, white and black level, etc) or is this all automated in the Panasonic anyway (Panasonic used to have these settings but have dropped them, at least for this model).	dah (13609)
657809	2008-04-21 22:46:00	I don't worry about the usability or features ratings, because every user will see those things differently, but I do put some stock in their picture quality tests, because they are able to measure that objectively, though it would help if they gave more details about exactly what they tested. Likewise the audio test. The error tracking test also seems to me to be fairly objective. Interestingly, the few PQ comparisons I've found on the net between recent Pioneer and Panasonic models also tend to give Panasonic a slight edge. Yes, I'm aware that the Sony and Pioneer models have similar (though not identical) features, and I'm also aware of rumours that Pioneer use Sony components in their recorders. The Pioneer actually does have an auto-chaptering feature which is advertised as picking up ad breaks - as I said, I have read and compared the manuals for all these models - but I don't know how well it works in practice. The multizoning I have double-checked with reps from the companies concerned. If anyone has answers to the following, I'd like to know: * The Pioneer has the 15Mb/s XP+ setting, but I've read that broadcast TV in NZ does not reach this quality anyway. Is this true? Do Sky or Saturn? * Is it worth it having the extra user settings the Pioneer has (YNR, BNR, MNR, white and black level, etc) or is this all automated in the Panasonic anyway (Panasonic used to have these settings but have dropped them, at least for this model). I have done a heap of research over the past few weeks and recently purchased the Pioneer 550h. Some things based on other comments: It has the chapter setting and you can certainly skip and edit out adverts. The Extended Play which allows around 6 hours to be recorded to a standard single sided DVD is virtually indistinguishable from standard play. As described earlier it is very similar to the Sony with the only difference really being in price (most stores carry the Pioneer at a permanent sale price). One thing to consider is going into a store and find a reasonably honest salesman, once you have managed to find this rarity then ask which units get returned the most. The Phillips is ahead of the race by several lengths but the two guys I talked to had also had some panasonics returned. Sony and Pioneer both were low down the list. PVR is a little way off in NZ but once it arrives it will definitely be beneficial to get a PVR over a DVD/HDD recorder as the PVR will have a digital tuner. However at the moment with the number of freeview channels not really warranting purchasing a freeview box its not really an issue. Once NZ catches up with the likes of the UK you will find TV's will come with digital tuners (and most likely dual tuners) installed within the TV. My opinion for what its worth - I would have gone either way on the Sony or the Pioneer - the only thing that swung me was the price (I got the pioneer from Harvey Norman for over 50 dollars less than the Sony on a pretty good special - including some haggling and this included a 4 year warranty which is a must have when you consider that the item most likely to breakdown or get returned at Harvey Norman is a DVD/HDD recorder) and the retro 80's style of the silver Pioneer - it looks like my first VCR - very cool!	gmoney2323 (13610)
657810	2008-04-22 00:17:00	Did you get the 4 year warranty free. If you did so good on you. You don't really need the 4 year warranty though as you are covered by the CGA which is law. Don't let anyone till you anything differant. :)	Trev (427)
657811	2008-04-28 04:34:00	My Sony HRX 750 (3 years and 2 months) packed in - dead hard drive. Will cost nearly $300 for a new hard drive, can you believe. For under $600 for a 250 GB Panasonic it's a hard call to get it repaired.	Fishb8 (484)
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