My subscription to CR slipped while I was overseas, just in time to
miss the issue tests on VCR's, DVDR's etc.

I would be greatful if someone could list their top recommendations and
best buys in a few categories:
VCR,
DVDR (with, without hard disc), and finally,
recorders with hard disc alone, if such a thing exists.

You can renew your subscription and read the reports online.

http://www.consumerreports.org

"AKT" <akt@null.void> wrote in message
news:300320060326458924%akt@null.void...


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Also check out your nearby public library to see if they have the issue
you want.

Let us have a moment of memorial silence, with bowed head, for
brick-and-mortar institutions :-)

Gino

On 3/30/2006, Colon Terminus posted this:
--
Gene E. Bloch (Gino)
letters617blochg3251
(replace the numbers by "at" and "dotcom")

AKT wrote:
Besides CR, I'd also look at www.videohelp.com -> DVD players, DVD
recorders, and www.avsforum.com for their Very extensive user talk on
everything in this category (serious TV & video diehards here!!).

You will most likely find that these forums can not only provide you
with the top rated from CR just by asking, but also recommendations on
even better equipment far faster than any old issue of CR.

(Just don't go crazy reading these forums - you can suddenly spend
$$$$ after finding all those top ranked goodies there!)

-----

Basically, to sum it up: Pioneer or Panasonic DVD/DVD+HD decks are
among the best (for video quality) out there today. Solid, reliable,
and works great. Pioneer has solid models for DVD only; Panasonic for
the HD models. (Difference in choice often comes down to the features
included, or how confusing the menu system is on one system vs. another;
my preference is for the Pioneer DVD Recorder decks.)

For PVRs w/ just HDs, that's called a TIVO or ReplayTV box. TIVO is
pretty much it for now.

And for VCRs? What?!? Just go pick up any $20 VCR made today and
they'll work fine.

On 3/30/2006, Trevor posted this:
Well, there goes my advice :-(

I keep forgetting about (some) people...

Gino

--
Gene E. Bloch (Gino)
letters617blochg3251
(replace the numbers by "at" and "dotcom")

Yah, same here. Though I don't know why. Consumer Reports is worthless.
Every time I have bought something based on their reports it has been a big
pile.

R

David Chien ha escrito:


ROFL.

Hebee Jeebes <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:442c888c$0$58039$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
I only bought one thing based upon their recommendation: a washer and dryer.
The washer sounded like a herd of angry elephants stampeding through my
laundry room. The repair guy said it had a bad "snubber." I seem to recall
the dryer was OK though (but of course I only had it for a few weeks).

"Hebee Jeebes" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in
news:442c888c$0$58039$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:

I have never bought anything based on their recommendations
because I always found them to be bizarre to say the least. They
appear to be doing very thorough and seemingly unbiased work but
their conclusions are utterly baffling and totally inconsistent
with (at least my) brand experience.

Same here. The didn't like Emerson VCR's back in the day. I have two that I
got in 1988 and are still going strong. They basically called them cheap
trash (not in so many words, but with the conclusions and ratings).

R

I have to disagree.

I received a Panasonic DMR-EH50S for Christmas and love it. I don't
know what I would do without it now! There are no monthly fees
associated with it, and it receives the TV Guide over the air at night,
from which I do almost all of my programming from. I subscribe to
basic cable here.

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...s&displayTab=R

I saw one of these at Circuit City a few weeks ago for about $340 I
believe. My wife bought ours directly from Panasonic at list price.

I rejected the TIVO because of its dependance on their subscription
service. For me, the Panasonic was a superior choice.

Cheers...

Mark Burns wrote:

How noisy is that fan? I assume it has a built in tuner. How good
is the tuner? How good is the video noise reduction?

I havn't noticed the fan. Very quiet. Of course it is under a 52"
RPTV, which also has a fan. I simply don't notice it .

As far as the video goes, it is progressive scan. Very good DVD
playback, and broadcast playback is as good as the broadcast. The only
thing that I believe may be better for DVD playback is the Oppo
upconverter. But that is not a recorder.

For archiving, I copy to DVD-RAM and then sneaker-net it back to my PC
for VideoRedo and TDA. I see no video noice at all.

There are things that I quibble with it. The commercial skip button is
60 seconds. I would prefer 30 seconds. Some of the menu items were
confusing at first, but the unit has so many features that it is going
to be somewhat intimidating initially.

Cheers...

Mark Burns wrote:

How's the playback of rental DVDs?