Dvd/video player

Thorbar

Parents are looking to buy a dvd and video recorder/player for this christmas. Have no idea of what's a good system or what kind of price to pay. Anyone suggest a good piece of kit and where's the best place to try and buy it?

sceptre

Personal opinion: don't get a video/DVD combo. They are available but suffer from the same problem as TV/video combos - one part is likely to wear out first leaving you with a big box that only does half the tricks it used to. At least TV/Video combos have the size/portability advantage.

Just get nice separates.

Thorbar

Alright what kind of specs should I be looking at when shopping for a dvd player and vcr?

Hmmm, if you are going to be buying both, why not buy one piece of gear, a DVD recorder.
I have the pioneer DVR7000 and it's just the biz
It records onto a dvd disk in the same way as a normal video does onto vhs and obviously plays rented dvd's aswell.
mm

The panasonic dmr e3o is a séxy toy, specs are:

Records on DVD-RAM & lower cost DVD-R Video Blank Media

Chasing playback - watch the start of a program while still recording it

Simultaneous playback while recording (DVD-RAM)

Analogue TV tuner built in with RF pass through

Records on DVD-RAM & DVD-R Blank Media

Will make discs that will play in most existing DVD players (DVD-R)

Quick recording function automatically finds blank part of the disc

Built-in time base corrector

Records up to 6 hours per DVD-RAM disc

2 Scarts Full RGB in and out

Minidisc style Non-linear editing

Front A/V input

1 Optical out

Plays NTSC discs as PAL60/NTSC

430 x 79 x 306mm (WxHxD)

Weight 3.5KG
1 Year RTB Guarantee

It's £500 stg plus postage on www.homecinemaheaven.co.uk but you may find it cheaper elsewhere.
The only one on the Richer sounds site is the Phillips version at nearly €1800:eek: but they may have something better in the store.
The panasonic having DVD RAM recording much like a Sky plus Digibox is worth the money imho, in that you can record away up to a limit without disks.
mm
mm

Thorbar

No need for a dvd recorder tbh, Mainly want the video recorder because parents have a pile of old videos and they still want to use those. The old VCR died last month after 10-15 years of service.

Kali

A semi-decent nicam 4-head vcr will set you back about €135-150... at that price range a mitsubishi or sharp will do the job nicely. Don't be tempted to buy a cheap video player.. I've lost a lot of tapes that way

DVD-wise, for a branded machine €150-€180... if you're just plugging it directly into the TV then theres not really too much too look out for, quality-wise most people won't tell the difference between brands at that price range... and most have the exact same features anyway.

Thorbar

thanks kali.

daveg

If your on a budget for a DVD player then you should consider the pioneer DV350. You can get it from richersounds for €239.99 multiregion.

However if you not on a budget check out mine which I have for sale here