Kit: Sony RDR-GX7 DVD+RW and DVD-RW recorder
Cost: £650
Company: Sony
Contact: 08705 111999
In the old days, different formats had different names. Betamax or VHS –
how easy was that? Nowadays, not only do rival recordable formats DVD+RW and DVD-RW
have just a tiny vertical dash to distinguish them, there’re not even alone,
with DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD+R all hovering on sidelines. A confusing free-for-all
like this needs a sensible grown-up to sort it all out, and Sony has been the
first to step forward. Their latest DVD video recorder straddles the digital divide,
capable of burning both DVD+RW and DVD-RW re-writable discs, as well as write-only
DVD-Rs.
Taking the widest view, this can only be a good thing, persuading consumers that
the fight is over and that both sides have won. But such fence-sitting has its
price. For a start, the GX7 is a monster of a unit, nearly 10cm deeper and two
kilos heavier than Panasonic’s neat DMR-E50 DVD-RAM recorder. And if you
thought programming your VCR was hard, wait until you see the GX7’s mammoth
manual.
More serious are the compromises Sony has made in order to shoe-horn two formats
into a single unit. Unlike DVD+RW, for DVD-RW discs to play on all players, you
have to sacrifice the ability to edit or overwrite the tail-end of existing recordings.
For the sake of simplicity, the GX7 dumbs itself down to the lowest common denominator.
So if you want to use more advanced editing and recording functions, you need
to record in the dedicated ‘VR’ mode rather than the backwards compatible
‘Video’ mode.
These issues aside, the GX7 is a typically polished Sony machine. Build quality
and usability are excellent, with helpful on-screen menus and a very low level
of disc noise – just a gentle rumble rather than the high-pitched whine
some players emit. Connectivity is superb, with S-Video, digital coaxial, optical
and component ports joined by that all-important FireWire input for camcorders.
You can trade image quality for extended recording time, but Standard Play offers
the best bet – two hours of sharp, colourful images with stereo sound on
a 4.7Gb disc. Image quality is outstanding, free from artefacts and almost indistinguishable
from broadcast digital TV, even on fast-moving scenes. Playback of commercial
DVD-Video discs is equally smooth, although we found the loading time longer than
a standard player.
Ultimately, whether you opt for the GX7 will depend on whether you really need
to create both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs. Most home users will be happy with a single
re-recordable format for their own use, and the ability to burn cheap DVD-R discs
for friends.
Verdict: The GX7 is an excellent recorder and a beacon of sanity in a world
of DVD confusion, but most of us simply don’t need the flexibility of dual
formats.
Key Features
Recording Technology: Real-time MPEG 2 recording to DVD+RW, DVD-RW (Video and
VR modes), DVD-R, up to 4.7Gb
Recording Modes: 6 modes from HQ (60mins/disc) to SLP (360mins/disc)
Audio: 2-channel Dolby Digital recording, NICAM decoding
Timers: Videoplus+, PDC, manual (8 events/1 month)
Playback: DVD-Video, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, Video-CD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW
Features: Video Mode for best compatibility,
Processing: 12-bit/108MHz video D/A converter
Networking:
Inputs: 1RGB SCART, i.Link (FireWire), 2 analogue line, 2 S-Video, 2 composite
Outputs: 1 RGB SCART, 1 analogue line, 1 optical, 1 digital coaxial, 1 component,
1 S-Video, 1 composite
Dimensions (width x depth x height): 430x381x89 mm
Weight: 5.7kg
Format Frenzy
The first re-recordable DVD format was DVD-RAM, which sold well to PC users and
has some great features (such as time slip recording) but has yet to make a big
impact in the UK. The next format, DVD-RW, grew out of the read-only DVD-R from
the official DVD Forum, and offers the best compatibility with standard DVD-Video
players. Lastly, DVD+RW was launched in 2001 by the rebel Alliance of HP, Sony,
Philips and others, with the advantage of a slightly faster and more efficient
writing technology. As many DVD-Video players had trouble playing DVD+RW discs,
the Alliance then launched the write-once DVD+R format, which has excellent backwards
compatibility. Nowadays, there's little to choose between re-writable formats
for video recording, especially as all the available recorders can also burn vanilla
DVD-R or DVD+R discs for playback on old machines.