Reviews related to : Video Recorder
As old classic films have been digitised and transferred to modern media, so you can do the same with your treasured home video tapes.
You may have heard, read about, or actually participated in the upsurge in the sale of vinyl music recently – as old technology fights back in the marketplace. But, as the old saying goes “One swallow does not a summer make” and the rise in vinyl sales popularity does not necessary mean that other superseded technology, such as VHS recorded tapes, is about to make a comeback thus allowing you to access your treasured collection of old video tape-based recordings.
Maybe, like me, when you were a young child you were told not to be grabby when treats came around. Now Terratec wants you to ignore this advice as you use the companys product to convert your analogue VHS tapes into digital content stored on your hard disk or optical media. Appropriately enough this product is entitled Grabby.
Working in conjunction with Magix’s Movies on DVD software, the Terratec Grabby is a USB style flash stick device. The flash stick element measures 96 x 32 x 12mm. LED lights for power and recording feedback are provided along with a button to activate a quick record feature. Permanently attached to one end are leads for connecting to the audio left / right channels and Video In of your VHS player.
Having just spent time updating my sisters television set up, and getting different pieces of kit to work in harmony, in preparation for the digital switch-over, I just wish I had waited a little longer until this next product came along.
Like London buses or any other kind of public transport for that matter, there are some products which you do not see for ages and then two turn up in close proximity. No sooner had I completed my look at one set-top digital box than another one popped up to start vying for my attention. Developed by Digital Vision, this product is the DV-DTR1 Digital TV Recorder (Gigo to its friends) which combines Freeview channel access with recording capabilities using USB 2.0 technology.
This unit has a built in Freeview box so anyone with only an Analog TV can now move on and since it can play (and record) DVDs as well as record either to the HDD or direct to DVD you have the best of both in a single unit.
The LG RHT497H measures 43x30x5cm with leads inserted. The front has a four position circular control and two drop down flaps (more on these in a bit) while the front edge of the top has a button at each end. The sides, underneath and rest of the top are free meaning something else could be stacked on top. The rear has A/C input, HDMI out, two SCART sockets, the five Component sockets, S-Video, Coaxial, Optical and Aerial In and Out sockets. You can record to the HDD or to a DVD.
In February this year (23-2-09) I reviewed a pre production version of their 250GB version. Here I am looking at the resale version and the one I have is 500GB and it takes a long time with normal watching to fill this unit up.
The unit looks identical to and even having seen that previously it still takes a while to get used to the display on the unit being only three LED’s. The one dead centre can be either red or green dependant on if the unit is on or off. The right one only shows green when something is being replayed and the left one red when something is being recorded.
Adding to its current range of video capture solutions, Pinnacle has developed its Video Transfer kit which does not require the presence of a computer in order to work.
The Video Transfer solution can take content direct from a video source and transfer it to a range of USB enabled devices.
As we move from an analogue to digital environment. You may wish to take your home movie videos with you as you adjust.
Adding to its range of video capture and archiving devices, Pinnacle has released the Dazzle DVD Recorder (DVC100). This product acts as a conduit between a video source and whatever is your designated DVD destination. Adopting the same tear shape used by the other Dazzle products, the DVC100 is easily identified by its bright red colour.
I've been looking forward to reviewing this product - from a brief reading of the literatiure sent to
me I was hoping it would be an ideal product for my multimedia and data backup requirements. An
inexpensive video recorder and network attach storage unit with the ability to stream my video
across my home network.
Just after this review was published Emtec came back to us with answers to some of our concerns with this product in the form of a new software release.
This unit can record two streams at the same time, or as more likely to happen record one item and start a second recording before the first one finishes so its a twin tuner.
It is 30x25x5cm and black and grey in colours. You need another 4cm on the 25cm depth to allow for connection of cables. So unpack and plug your coaxial into the rear and the provided SCART lead also. Next plug the 13amp plug into the mains. Your TV should automatically tune to the SCART channel if not do so manually, you will now see a screen where you set the aspect ratio 4:3 or 16:9 and then tell it to search for channels.
The demise of
VHS video tape has left a big hole in convenient TV recording not filled by the promise of DVD.
This Thomson box from Top Up TV offers a rich set of features at an unbeatable price.
Hard disk recorders have been around for a little while - most famously pioneered by Tivio and
then, in the UK, by the Sky+ box. Great if you're a Sky subscriber. With the advent of FreeView
based Digital Television Recorders (DTR) this facility is available to the masses without
the expense or restrictions of a subscription-only services. have launched their own product in this space - the
" " - not quite as catchy as "sky+" - but don't let that put you off.
This is a dual tuner model, that means you can watch one Digital channel while watching another. Its size and shape make it something different from all other units I have seen, it only has LEDs on the face and is stated to use only 2.4watts in standby this is stated as much less than most other similar units.
It is a black box that works equally as well horizontally or vertically (cradle provided) The face is 18x6.5cm with around 23cm of depth required for cables etc to be plugged into the back. All the connections are on the back, there are two SCART connectors, the DC power input and an 'X' arrangement where top left is the aerial input, bottom right aerial outlet (if required) and the top right/bottom left being the externally connected pass through (RF-Loop).
The Humax PVR 9200TB is the equivalent of the Sky Plus box for those of us that don't want to be tied to monthly
subscriptions, but prefer the flexibility offered by FreeView.
It was with some trepidation that I plugged my very old TV aerial into the back of this Humax FreeView PVR. Having been on cable for the last 5 years with the aerial dangling in the garden I was expecting the worst! Luckily though the box sprang to life and discovered a good range of digital channels. The Humax PVR9200T provides everything you need to receive and record FreeView programmes onto it's internal hard-disk drive (HDD).
Blu-ray is one of two new DVD formats giving better sound and vision quality, of course to use it you will need an HD ready TV.
The black box of the Samsung BD-P1000 blu-ray player has a silver strip along the bottom half of the front, it is much the same size as a standard video recorder at 43x32x7cm. You will need to add around another 3cm to the 32cm depth for insertion of any cables in the rear of the unit. The front has some buttons but everything - apart from insertion of the DVD's - is possible from your armchair via the 49key remote control.
This is a small sized high quality twin tuner PVR, I have been happily using it for several months and in that time I have not had a single problem with it.
First let me explain - the is a twin tuner unit and not a twin recorder unit. You can watch one channel while recording another. You can playback something while recording another, however, you cannot record two programs at the same time. Goodmans GHD8015F2 It is very small in comparison to other such units in fact the width and depth are no more than a standard video recorder but the height is half that.
A new name to me and probably to you but Funai products are often sold under various other names, now as 2006 draws to a close they are marketing under their own name.
The is a video recorder, a DVD recorder and a hard disc recorder all in one unit. It is somewhat larger than other such units - not all of which also have video - at 43x37x10cm. Funai HDR-B2735 I suspect the main use - for most people - for the video recorder part will be to dub to DVD or hard disc. It is probably easier to dub to hard disc but I managed to do it both ways without problem.
From analogue and tape to optical and digital media is made a simple process with a new product from Pinnacle.
The Dazzle Platinum is generally no long available. You might like to read our review of
the latest product, the .
Dazzle DVD recorder According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, the word "Dazzle" means "Glitter" or "Confuse or dim with excess of light". Fortunately neither of these definitions applies to .
Converting content on VHS tapes to DVD media is within everybodys grasp with a product such as Grabster AV150.
Patience can sometimes be rewarded as my experiences with this next product proved. Grabster AV150 comes with the claim of being able to convert VHS tapes to DVD media. I must admit that my initial attempts to get this product to work were a complete failure. This is where the patience comes into the picture. Let me explain.
This is a twin tuner PVR (hard disc recorder) with built in Freeview so you can record two channels at the same time, or start watching something from the beginning after its started, and, lots more.
There are lots of hard disc recorders about, some are analogue, a few are digital but this unit marketed by Evesham Technology has built in Freeview (so no other box is required) and best of all it can record two separate channels at the same time. Because of the loop through you can still watch an analogue channel at the same time.
Having recently reviewed another such unit I immediately knew the difference between entry level and deluxe models, you do pay extra but you get so much more.
You notice the things you did not have immediately, then you realise other goodies
that your did not even think about. Basically this is a DVD and Hard Disc recorder and
player. On the DVD side it can record to DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD RAM discs. However I
am sure most people will record in the first place to hard disc. This means that you
can view and should you wish to keep it you can then dub it to DVD.
No tape involved you can record to DVD either R or RW - or to the built in hard disc certainly a vast improvement on the quality associated with VHS tape.
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