Sony RDR-GX3 DVD Recorder - any good?

DMT

I looking to get a DVD recorder, and after reading about reliability issues with the current Philips ones I'm looking to Sony.

The one that jumps out at me is the RDR-GX3, but I can't find any proper reviews of it except the one at amazon.co.uk.

Does anyone have any experience of this DVD recorder and is it any good?

:ninja:

byte

I have set one up for somebody but didn't get a chance to record on it. The menu's seem pretty self explanatory. The only annoyance I had was that the autotune was incredibly slow though of course, you'll only need to do this once, or else manual tune.

Still, I think it seems quite a good machine, though I cannot comment on reliability.

Guy:Incognito

i've used it a few times and am very impressed, plus it dropped from €699 to €599 last week sum time which is always good

DMT

Originally posted by Stekelly
plus it dropped from €699 to €599 last week sum time which is always good

Where did you see that price? It's €659 in powercity...

Guy:Incognito

try look outside of power****ty, sony centre has them for €599

neilc

I'm also interested in this player but am concerned about normal play back in my home cinema setup. I can't find any audio details in any review (5.1 DD or DTS). If anyone can clear this up it would be great. By the way the multi region version can be got for 576.442 EUR from here
At the moment I have a pioneer dv444. So I'm really looking for something with the same spec but with the recording feature. Any advice or help would be great.
neilc

DMT

The RDR-GX3 can output DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic. It has a coaxial digital output, but you'll still need the appropriate external decoder. It can convert Dolby Digital to D-PCM though....

Owenw

It also lacks the firewire (i-Link) port that it's older, more expensive GX-7 sibling has if you want to record digital video from a DV camcorder.
Still it is almost half the price of the GX7 (~€1399)

After using Sky+ for a while, I'd be inclined to wait a bit longer for new models which have a hard disk, EPG listings & DVD recorder. Also prices will drop even more now that they are becoming a mainstream item.
Also, AFAIK current DVD-R's can only record in Dolby 2.0 (2ch digital stereo) not Dolby Digital 5.1

On the plus side current models are probably better built with more quality components and useful features which will be dropped to cut production costs on future models.

You might also be interested in the new Sony PSX which is coming out later on this year

Guy:Incognito

[
Still it is almost half the price of the GX7 (~€1399)
[/B][/QUOTE]

not to nit-pick but the gx7 is €1199, the original RRP was €1299

John R

Originally posted by DMT
I looking to get a DVD recorder, and after reading about reliability issues with the current Philips ones I'm looking to Sony.

The one that jumps out at me is the RDR-GX3, but I can't find any proper reviews of it except the one at amazon.co.uk.

Does anyone have any experience of this DVD recorder and is it any good?

:ninja:

The newer Philips recorders seem to have better reliability, although being relatively new it is more difficult to be certain. I HOPE they are better since I just bought one. The main reason for my decision was the price, I got a DVDR 75 with digital input for just over €300.

neilc

I also have sky+ which I find great. The reason I want the dvd recorder is to be able to get a high qualiy transfer of recorded programs from sky+ to dvd. Is it possible to record a program to say DVD-RW, then transfer it to computer, play around with it, make proper menu's etc.. and then burn a finished article to DVD-R (I also have a PC DVD burner).

neilc

Owenw

Originally posted by Stekelly
[
Still it is almost half the price of the GX7 (~€1399)

not to nit-pick but the gx7 is €1199, the original RRP was €1299 [/B][/QUOTE]

Ahh right.
I couldn't remember the exact price (hence the "~" before the price )