Sony RDRHX715 DVD Recorder
Better than I expected
I was very hesitant on buying a DVD recorder because of all the bad reviews on the TV Guide System. I've been reading all kinds of reviews for the last couple of years. I've read about the Pioneers and the Panasonics, but there wasn't much out there about this Sony RDR HX-715. I did not want one with TV Guide on it, but I wanted one with a hard drive. I couldn't wait anymore, so I got this Sony and a Pioneer DVR-633 to compare them. Well the Pioneer didn't work at all, so I sent it back. I set up the Sony and the first thing I did was set it up with the Canadian zip code to disable the TV Guide System since I have Direct TV Satellite. It worked like a charm. I just used the manual record on it to record everything. It worked great, just like a VCR, but much better. When you use manual record to record Satellite on Line 1, you just have to manually name what you recorded, if you want. After using it that way for about a week, I thought I'd try using the TV Guide just to see how it worked. I set it up with my outside antenna through the RF connector, and my Satellite in Line 1. The TV Guide System works great with my antenna. You can just pick your local stations programming, and select any show you want to record, record it once, weekly, or regularly. Also you can have it start or end on time, 1 min. to 120 minutes earlier or later so you won't miss anything. It also automatically keeps the name of your recordings how they're named on the TV Guide. So you don't have to manually name them like you do when you record Satellite on Line 1. Someone also wrote that this Sony wouldn't record HBO on DVD. In the manual it says you can copy HBO with copy once protection on the hard drive or DVD-RW in VR Mode only. However, it might depend on what type of Satellite box you have. Because I can copy all HBO and PPV Movies on the hard drive and then dub them to DVD+RW's. The Sony doesn't have commercial skip, but you can hit next chapter or fast forward and it does the same thingpretty easily. You can record a show on Satellite or antenna to the hard drive and watch another recording on the hard drive or watch a DVD at the same time you're recording. You can start recording a show and start watching it while it is still recording. If you're watching a station live, and you get a phone call, or get interrupted somehow and you don't want to miss your show, you can hit pause, without recording, and it will pause your show up to 3 hours. So you just have to hit pause again or play, and you can finish your live broadcast. And another thing is this Sony is pretty quiet. It does not make a lot of noise like some other DVD Recorders, and it doesn't come on by itself to download the TV Guide either. I loved this Sony so much, that I bought another one for our bedroom. I record a lot of movies and shows, I keep some and erase most of them. I haven't done any editing with this Sony, so can't say how good that is. The recordings I do keep, I edit on my PC. It's so much easier and faster on a PC. I've been using my two Sony HX-715's for about a month now, and I haven't had a problem with either one, and the recordings look great. This thing is so easy to use. If you're looking for a good DVD HD Recorder, this one is the one to buy.