HOME
TOPICS
SEARCH
ABOUT ME
MAIL

 
For more than basic video editing, use a current Apple Mac. They start at $500.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
Set-top DVD recorder: Why it might make sense for you and why you might need to check further


Jan. 16, 2005


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, The Post-Standard

   The idea of replacing your VCR with a set-top DVD recorder struck a consumer nerve last week when I wrote about a $140 DVD recorder from Walmart. I was flooded with mail from readers asking for more information.
   I bought the recorder, the ilo DVDR04 -- the odd spelling is something we'll have to get used to, I suppose -- for about $140 just before Christmas. The cheapest I had seen comparable recorders in December was about $200, and some stores are selling them even now for hundreds of dollars more.
   This prompted the two most unusual questions. One reader asked if I misread the price. Another told me the recorder couldn't be any good at that price. It was just too cheap, she said.
   No, I didn't misread the price. The current price from Walmart's online store is $149.67, a little more than what I paid. The catalog page is at www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3168469.
   DVD recorders are consumer electronics devices and will continue to get cheaper as they get better. You or your kids might be astonished to find out that my first CD player, purchased in 1983, cost me $1,200 -- on sale. It was a first-generation player and I paid a lot for the privilege of owning it. DVD recorders started out at thousands of dollars two or three years ago, then settled in the rage of $500 to $700 before starting their final plunge. In another year or two they will sell for about $60.
   I was also asked about compatibility. I had assumed that disks recorded on the DVDR04 would be playable on all DVD players and on all computer DVD drives. That might not be the case.
   A DVD+R disk that I made on the Walmart recorder played fine on my other set-top DVD players and on my wife's year-old iMac computer, but failed to play on my three-year-old Macintosh. Her iMac has a DVD burner (a "combo" drive) that's just enough newer than the one on my Mac to make the difference. Her combo drive is a Pioneer A06, while mine is a Pioneer A04.
   If you have a new Macintosh or new Windows PC, chances are the DVD+R and DVD+RW disks recorded on the ilo (and on comparable recorders) will play back OK on your computer. You can't be sure if your computer is a year or more old, however. If you regularly view DVDs on your computer, make sure you can get a refund on the DVD recorder if the disks turn out to be incompatible with your computer's playback drive.
   Many readers asked if the ilo or a similar component DVD recorder could be used to put edited camcorder videos onto DVD. It most surely can do that, as long as you don't have to change the sequence of scenes or edit the sound. For that kind of editing, use a current Apple Macintosh computer. Macs excel at video editing and most of them come with DVD burners built in. (Apple just announced the Mac mini at $500, too, so prices are coming down.)
   Other points:
      † No, a set-top DVD recorder won't make slide shows from images the way a computer can.
      † Yes, DVDs made on such a DVD recorder should be playable on all other component DVD recorders. Computer drives are the ones that might balk.
      † Maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to do a few things with the ilo DVDR04 that Walmart doesn't advertise. There's a hidden menu that you can get to by pressing buttons in a certain way on the remote, for example. Go to the ilo enthusiasts' Web site for more. It's at http://www.ss3f.com/ilo.