DVD Recorders


The DVD recorder's ascent into consumer popularity has been as fast as acceptance of the DVD medium itself. This is partly because the prices of DVD recorders have been dropping steadily since they were first introduced.

Imagine being able to make a DVD of your favorite TV shows or movies recorded in the same high-quality MPEG2 format used in professional-grade DVDs. Most DVD recorders even allow you to choose a level of compression so you can fit more hours onto a single disc but at lower-quality video.
DVD recorders make it possible on rewritable media so you can reuse your old discs. Despite recent drops in price, the DVD recorder remains possibly the most expensive piece of your home theater system, so you must research before you buy.

Some rewritable discs won't play in some DVD Players. Yes, it's an old-fashioned format war. This only applies to re-writable DVDs; write-once DVDs (DVD-R) is almost universal.

DVD-RAM: Panasonic and Hitachi use DVD-RAM. Discs written in DVD-RAM will only play on a DVD player specifically designed to read this format. With only the narrowest support on existing DVD players, this format stands the greatest chance of going the way of the 8-track tape.

DVD RW: Philips and Sony are behind this standard that will probably play on most DVD players. Look for players that say they can play DVD RW for assurance, but this format is so similar to DVD-RW it might just play anyway.

DVD-RW: The safest bet if you're buying a new DVD recorder. The most widely accepted standard, even Sony makes DVD recorders that burn DVD-RW.

Hot DVD Recorders