Sony RDR-GX7 DVD Recorder
Sony reduces DVD compatibility issues.
I havent used this product but have been doing plenty of reading about it. This recorder stands out from the others as it supports recording in 2 of the 3 major DVD recording formats. Much like the competition between betamax and vhs, there is competition between the (1)DVD-R/-RW, (2)DVD+R/+RW and (3)DVD-RAM recording formats. The RDR-GX7 records in DVD-R/RW and DVD+RW formats, thus helping to avoid potential compatibility issues in the future. Most DVD recorders record using a red laser (and pretty much all players use the red laser). However, there is now a blue laser format which is different again (of which there are 2 of these blue laser formats, 1 of which is supported by Sony and the other companies in the so called &quot;DVD+RW Alliance&quot;) and which stores between 5 to 10 times more data than red laser recorders such as this one. The first blue laser dvd video recorder to be released comes from Sony, which will only play DVD-R/RW discs (and will record to seperate 'blue-ray' discs). So the reason i like this recorder (the rdr-gx7 red laser recorder above) is because it supports 2 different dvd recording formats. The benefit of this is therefore that you are less likely to be purchasing a recorder that will be obselete in the near future, as no one can be sure whether DVD-R/RW or DVD+R/+RW will be the winning format of the future, and i believe (though don't quote me on this) that DVD-RAM for dvd video recording will not be a winner for reasons i won't go into. And with this recorder, you can also record to DVD-R/-RW that will be compatible with the new blue laser recorder (however blue laser recorders from other companies may support DVD+R/RW and/or DVD-R/RW). So if you want to straddle the fence on this issue, and not buy a burner only supporting one of the recording formats, this appears to be the recorder to buy. I choose it due to the fact that i have not seen any indicators as to which format is 'winning' the dominance contest. Also, the fact that Sony is part of the DVD+RW Alliance, yet doesnt support DVD+RW in its blue laser recorder, is even more evidence that you should get a recorder supporting both formats. Not having used the product, i decided to give it a rating of 3, but my guess is i would rate it higher if i had one.