Sony RDR-HX900 DVD Recorder with 160 GB Hard Disk Recorder
Quick, Accurate, Easy, and Quality
I was at the #1 retail computer store the other week searching the aisles for the best DVD burner available.  I have a burner for my computer (which by the way a computer burner is much quicker and provides much greater flexibility) but needed one to record programs from TV without having to change the entire world to accomplish it (i.e. new video card, find a way to get my dish setup to the computer, etc.).  I figured that a component DVD burner would be the way to solve this.  I was right!!<br /><br />Yes it is pricey.  $700 for a burner is insane.  However considering that this player will allow you to burn in any format you wish including to the hard disk drive (HDD) if you wish makes this unit a gem.  I had the entire season of Smallville on my TiVo box (integrated box with DirecTV so no integrated burner or ability to connect to USB) and I had promised my cousin Ryan that I would get him the episodes he missed via DVD.  I also had another friend of mine in DC that needed a few episodes as well.  Here is the trick.  One needed it in DVD-R and the other needed them in DVD+R (when will format wars end??).  I first burnt the episodes to the hard drive and then burnt them at 4x speed to the DVD-R and then to the DVD+R.  I could have burnt them faster had I bought the more expensive 8x disks but didn't know that at the time of purchase.  The DVDs came out flawlessly and even have chapter markings every 6 minutes for easy navigation forward and backward through episodes.  I could have set the chapters myself if I had wished (like right at end of the commercials) but didn't want to take the man hours to do all of that.  I also removed the commercials flawlessly from a few of the episodes (but got tired of spending the man hours eventually).<br /><br />I have this burner connected to my Sony 36\\" Wega HD TV and it has a beautiful picture.  I have DirecTV w/ TiVo so I do not use the TV Guide function.<br /><br />I hope this review was helpful to you in deciding whether the extra couple hundred bucks for this burner is worth it.ther the extra couple hundred bucks for this burner is worth it.