Sony RDRGX315 DVD Recorder
Horrible picture quality - will return this one
I needed to replace a $99 Apex DVD recorder and wanted something fairly cheap to replace it until the HD-DVD recorders hit the market. Well, this Sony seemed to be a decent unit for the price.  <br /> <br />I hooked it up and was totally disappointed by the pass through picture quality (I have satellite for the feed). I work with audio and video as a profession, and I wouldn't consider recommending this unit to anyone. I can record at the \\"3 hour\\" SP mode on my APEX and get better playback quality than the \\"1 hour\\" HQ mode on this Sony. The problem is the encoder chip in the unit.  <br /> <br />Your picture will look grainy and washed out compared to the live feed. Unfortunately, the low quality pass through signal (the encoded signal that is recorded to disk) is so bad, that even your best (HQ) mode recordings will appear grainy and washed out (lower contrast). I played back a \\"3 hour\\" mode DVD recorded on the Apex and it is STILL better than the \\"1 hour\\" DVD recorded on this Sony. I am returning this Sony tomorrow after wasting a few hours experimenting with it. It has a lot of convenience features, but if you are at all concerned with image quality, avoid the Sony. (playback of pre-recorded DVDs was ok) <br /> <br />If you want to copy movies (network/cable/sat feed) others have mentioned in reviews it won't do that either. I would expect that as Sony has been the strongest advocate of using advanced technology to \\"protect\\" digital content. That is why there are lots of lawsuits pending over the placement of a rootkit (virus type) installation when playing CDs on the Sony labels. (you can google for details). It seems they've also disabled the ability to record (time shift) movies with this unit according to other reviews. <br /> <br />Just avoid Sony altogether if that bothers you. Nevertheless, this unit has a noticably inferior picture quality and should not be considered by anyone concerned with image quality of the recorded material.