G'day guys.
Just found this: http://www.webprice.com.au/page/shop/flypa...yword//offset/0

isn't on the Sony (au) website so hunted a bit and this is the first review I found.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/review/2...deo-Recorder/p1

looks good and for a change, Sony have not just picked a competitor's price and doubled it!

Dual layer and good editing tips - I think I'll hunt about on some UK forums and see how the end user finds it.

Cheers, NS

whoh!

58 pages of reading on the av forums...!

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread....9840&page=1

Looks promising! Interesting that there is nothing about this in OZ.

Maybe sony are not keen to market this here yet, as it would not be a great seller. (most people are still struggling with the concept of a set top box)

Is it a PVR as well?

and whats with 160gb, hardly enough room if it is a pvr.....

Having read/scrolled through this, I would not buy one of these things myself.

Its not a pvr, has only one digital tuner and one analog tuner (like we need analog in the future)

Sounds buggy as well, if/when it is released here, I would wait a few months for firmware updated models.

Sounds like the HD pvr all over again, except using the UK for its beta testing this time lol

yeah, well I hope that they iron out the bugs in the UK before it lands here..

There will always be more people that post with bugs/grievences than those that are ok/happy with it and there were a fair few singing the praises for it so I'd be keen..

why isn't it a PVR?

Can be a subtle distinction but it really a hybrid DVDR (ie it has a digital tuner and analogue tuner). These inputs are compressed and converted as the device records (hence the 455 hours recording time). A 'proper' PVR records the exact digital signal with no PQ loss. These units have the davantage of offering digital performance with the ability to record PAYTV via analogue (which a PVR can't)

Regards

Peter Gillespie

What's the difference between this unit and the newly released Pioneer 550HXs?

They look identical in terms of features.

Agree, there will always be arguements as to its functionality.

I would expect by the time it was to be reeased here (if at all) there would be far more superior options.

I own and love my Sony HD PVR, and I wish I could say this new product would "replace" it or offer ME something more, but alas for me it doesnt look like anything that special or new.

For me to buy something new in this sort of product, it would need to have: 250gb minimum, true twin digital HD tuners, dual layer DVR, USB or Netowork port for updates and ice tv and the ability to use user written apps (like the toppy) (TAP's), it would need a "nice" user friendly interface and it would need to do this without bugs/errors/hicups etc.

I would pay over a grand for a unit like this, as long as it did everything without hassle.

I dont think its too much to ask, and i think we will see a unit such as this in a year or 2, from some manafacturer(s)

Too true. Its just a DVD recorder with Hard drive and SD tuner, isn't it like this? Not different to what Pioneer, LG, DGTEC, Panasonic et al are already offering.
Just Sony catching up.

yeah, it is sony just catching up - good point but: dual layer and a significantly lower price than we're all used to from Sony.

Typically, Sony ride on their name being 'trendy' and just pump their price to whatever they like. Just some things like their over priced memory sticks for example.

It's nice to get a competitive price out of them!


don't get me wrong - I own some Sony gear and it is great.

Any idea when or if we are gonna see DVD/Hard Disc recorders with HD Tuners?

Or will we have to wait for Blu-Ray recorders for that.

I would expect there will be an "in between" solution to this, but essentially if one wants to record true HD tv to a disc then blu ray is really the only way. A dvd will record tv, but from memory it is limited by write speed and capacity issues, it can only record about half an hour of HD tv or something, and even then, you need a pc to play it back as a dvd player will not play HD.

I hope that makes sense.

I am looking forward to seeing an "ultimate" solution to sit under the tv that incorporates all the things i listed above ( my earlier post in this thread) and more!!

Bring on the HD revolution!!!!!!

Er.. This is nothing new.
It just replced the previous model which was a good machine.(RDRHXD760)
The new 1 has jukebox use. i.e. store and organise music on HDD.
The new one also has HDMI. Upconversion to 1080p.

Dual layer has been on Sony players for years, aswell as all format compatable. (DVD-/+R/RW)

There is also a 250 Gb model released next month.

I got my copy of Sony's PULSE magazine (October 2007) in the post today.
The new HDD DVD recorders are on page 53.
RDRHXD870 RRP $699 160Gb Analogue and SD tuners
RDRHXD970 RRP $849 250Gb Analogue and SD tuners
It says "Available late October 2007"

From reading the specs, the RDRHXD870 seems similar to the Pioneer 550HXS but the Sony is cheaper at least comparing RRP.
The Pioneer RRP for the 160GB model is $849 (though according to the Pioneer thread people have got them for $640?)

I wonder if the "Advanced Intelligent Scene Chaptering" of the Sony is as good at finding ad breaks as the Pioneer?
see AVForums discussion Holding out for the Sony RDR-HXD870

It seems they can get them for around 200 pounds in the UK - wouldn't it be nice if they were around $450 here?

Sure does.

I just want a HD tuner in the recorder to store programs on the hard disk for viewing. DVD recorder Id still want to record stuff but mostly in anologue/SD.

Ill just keep waiting

seems too problematic for my liking. From the reports that I gathered from the UK forum, I've summarised the following points.

Up side

styling
good picture
competitive pricing
GUI similar to pioneer's

Down side

cannot dub to 16:9, format changes to 4:3 when dubbing HDD to DVD
converter downgraded from predecessor's 12bit to 10bit.
noisy
media incompatibilities/ problems with media not recognised by standalone players.


The following is just an observation, form your own judgement.

I am a bit of a SONY fan, (but certainly have an open mind for other manafacturers) and I would not buy this unit.

There will be much better options within the next 6 months, I would hold off.

I agree though that the best thing this unit would do is display a great picture, if only sony could get the rest right lol

Cheers.

yeah, well if it doesn't dub to 16:9, I wont buy it...

pity!

I see the new Panasonics state this in the product specs - obviously got through to them that the end user wants 16:9!

There seems to be some conflicting views on this unit that warrants a second look.

Check pages 57-59. Some of the comments made by owners that claim that this recorder is able to flag 16:9 aspect correctly.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread....840&page=57

They are now listed for sale on the Australian Sony website
RDRHXD870 DVD RECORDER 160GB SD DIGITAL TUNER $699.00
RDRHXD970 DVD RECORDER 250GB SD DIGITAL TUNER $849.00

Just picked up a RDRHXD870 from Retravision Knox for $525. Works great with my KVSA28M36 and as my first DVD recorder.

Please let us know how it performs.
In particular I'm interested in the following features
- EPG support in particular recording from the EPG and can it record a series?
- ad skipping ability - does it automatically put in chapter markers like the pioneer 550HXD?
- divx playback
- pausing live TV
- ease of DVD creation
- music playback - does it really only support MP3 but not WMA?

OK. I've recorded from the EPG no problem. Can do a series - if they're on at the same time - but I can't see an option to "copy each ep of this show". Had some trouble figuring it out but didn't get that desperate that I had to RTFM Pressing UP ARROW on the date allows you to select e.g. each Tuesday, every day, etc. But not each ep.

Not sure about the chapter marks. But a press of the "DAY+/>/||>" key takes you forward in 30 sec increments. Or after a few presses more than 30secs (60,90, 120, 180 etc). I'm sure all that's in the manual somewhere.

"While viewing a TV broadcast tuned in by the recorder's tuner, press TV PAUSE. The picture pauses, and the recorder starts recording the current TV channel to the HDD. It may take up to 10 seconds to start recording."


Woah! 10secs...


"The recorder can automatically divide a recording (a title) into chapters by inserting chapter marks. To select chapter mark intervals or disable this function, see Auto Chapter (HDD/DVR)," + "... you can edit chapter marks"

"Up to 99 chapters for one title recorded on the HDD". In Video Mode (DVD-RW/DVD-R) inserts chapter marks every 10 minutes or 15 minutes.

Oh, and it seems to be able to record subtitles too! Good for my deaf mother-in-law!

I'm only quoting from the manual - not actually done any of this yet

I'll try putting some mp3/wma/avi onto a SD card and use my funky SD/USB adaper and see what happens, and i'll try the plain ol USB stick as well. Would it be too much to connect the portable HDD... well maybe that's a this weekend job...

To anyone that has this recorder, does the Pause TV actually work? The manual states that anything connected to the AV1 terminal (which is a scart input) will not pause. If that's the case, its a useless feature, as aside from the front, that is the only input on the whole thing. It seemed a good replacement for my RDR-HX710 (which has an older, non hd scart based Sony recorder feeding foxtel into it, so 2 recorders), but if I can't pause from AV1 it's a bit of a joke. You'd have to switch to the rf tuned channels to pause foxtel....waste of time.

http://pdf.crse.com/manuals/3113760111.pdf

That's the manual link, then go to page 87. Highly, highly confusing, but it definitely seems to be black and white that it wont pause no matter what's used on AV1.

Hey i am think of buying this unit, well either this or the 250GB but i do have a few questions..

Have you tried dubbing to a DVD?? how did you find that? Do you know if it can dub in 16:9??
So you know if the Dolby Decoder a 2 ch or 5ch??

Will this Sony rec in NTSC and upscale NTSC analog input through hdmi? Is it dvd region free out of the box?

just bought one of these - quite good, will check to see if it is region fee - be surprised if it's not

can't check HDMI as my Sony CRT telly doesn't have it

unfortunately i posted a new thread about it, i'll link to it here

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtop...mp;#entry889972

Does anyone know whether it accepts RGB input over Scart on Line 1 in?

It does on the UK version which appears to have identical inputs. No manual on Sony website and and the guy on Sony's helpline didn't know.

Thanks.

Scott

It has 3 settings on Line 1 input (Composite, S-Video, RGB). I have tested it with composite and S-Video inputs (with SCART 3rd-party adapter) and both worked. Don't have any SCART devices to test RGB with but as it has a setting so it should work.

you know, it's unreal that I've seen some retailers advertising the "RRP" of this unit as $735 and $720 (for the 160gb 870 model)!

maybe that's their way of making you feel better by giving you a "discount" to $690 or somthing?

Thanks. Off to buy one now. My DSE twin tuner PVR has RGB out which I can feed into the DVD recorder via SCART and then HDMI into the TV.

Cheers

Scott

Thinking of getting the Sony recorder RDRHXD870 because of the $200 off promo. Can any user confirm if it is region free out of the box ? Can it do NTSC recording from S-video input ? Also can it pass NTSC signal from S-video input through hdmi? Thanks.

yes it's region free out of the box - that's the only question i can answer

I don't do any other input recording than it's own tuner input (my PC can and does take care of all other formats, i don't do them on these units). And it's the only thing i have that uses HDMI.

Thanks dddp. Just download the manual from Sony UK site and after some search it seems it can do NTSC alright. Hope ours is the same. Thanks again.

Bought one of these units last week : RDRHXD870 DVD RECORDER 160GB SD DIGITAL TUNER . I have to say found it very easy to set up. PQ is very good. User friendly and just works. My recording needs aren't too demanding. I just wanted something that was easy to use. Have set it up on my Harmony 880 remote, wife can press one button and it takes her to the recording set up screen and pretty easy to navigate from there. All in all very happy with this unit.

Cheers Bill

Bought the 870 for $350 because of the $200 rebate and someone bought a TV but pass the deal to me. It has everything I want, NTSC and multi region. Too bad it has only one input at the back for Foxtel and I have to plug my VCR/LD to the front. Also it looks like a repack with minor scratch. But with the price I paid I have no complaint.

Nice price!

Re the inputs, does your VCR have to connect to the Sony? If so shame you got to have the cables connected to the front of the unit. I guess you could always use one of those input switchers if you wanted the connections to be at the rear (sharing the input via rca/scart adaptors). Unless you get one that's remote controlled tho it's a PITA switching it manually.

I have a HDD video multiformat player (no tuner, used for files that i can't be bothered burning to disc to watch or for formats unsupported by anything else) connected to my Sony via a scart to 2 audio, 1 composite and s-video connection adapor. I use the s-video connection not composite - the picture quality is pretty good. I use the old HDD from my topfield PVR, 80gb fits a heap of stuff on.

Yes just can't pass the deal although it should be $300 but I have paid an extra $50 to make my friend happy. If the price is right I might consider a scart switch but for now I am afraid I have to stick with openning the front cover. Or just plug in when I want to watch my old Tape/LD. I must say I have not touch those in a very long time.

Pkk I have a SCART switch I'm not using and unlikely to want to use again so email me at j_coulson@[miss this out]bigpond .com if interested. I see you can get them on e-bay for around $13 + freight so you can have this 2 way one for $5 + postage if interested.

John