dvdrecorder

DVD Recorder |Panasonic DMR-ES15 review

Panasonic has released their DMR-ES15 DVD recorder at the latest CES show.Where they want to make a difference is with their new HDAVI-control functions meaning getting rid of wires and multiple remote controls.

HDMI and Panasonic’s new HDAVI-Control function are integral parts of Panasonic’s solution focused approach. The digital connection allows consumers to connect multiple components, such as the award-winning Panasonic plasma television and Panasonic home theater receiver, permitting the user to move away from multiple wires and remotes and control their components with a single operation.

Panasonic is aiming for high picture quality  for the 2006 line of recorders. An example of the picture-enhancing feature is the new HD Resolution . When connected to an HDMI compatible display, the images are converted to 720p or 1080i the holy grail of HDTV picture quality. Which gives beautiful, high-resolution images that are perfect for HD flat TV.

Plays pre-recorded DVD's & CD's
Analogue TV tuner built in with RF pass through
Super Multi-Format Recording & Playback
4x Natural Gradation
2x LP Horizontal Resolution (500 Lines)
1 Second Quick Start for Recording,helps when you want to record straight away and having to wait for the the dvd recorder to read the disc which can be a pain.
Plays pre-recorded DVD's & CD's,pretty standard stuff
Chasing playback allows you to watch the start of a program while still recording it
Non-linear editing
MP3 Playback
2ch DVD-Audio Playback
Records on DVD-RAM & lower cost DVD-R,keep the cost down.
Auto DVD-R Finalizing
Auto recording from DV input
Will make discs that will play in most existing DVD players (DVD-R only)
Simultaneous playback while recording is possible (DVD-RAM)
Uses the single layer 4.7GB DVD-R (once only) system and DVD-RAM 4.7Gb systems
Records in real-time using MPEGII compression-Up to 8 hours per disc,but quality can decease when extending recording time.
Quick recording function automatically finds the blank part of the disc,better management of disc's
Variable Data rate settings
Flexible recording mode (VBR) for optimised bitrate for the type and length of recording
Built-in time base corrector that delivers highly stable, natural images
Front A/V input
DV input
Full RGB in and out
Flexible recording mode allows you to manually a time for recording and the player will set the best possible bit rate for that time, say 1 hour 15 minutes to fill a disc
PAL & NTSC Progressive Scan Output

Price will be about $249.95

HD-DVD Cases

Looks like the new HD-DVD and Blu-ray cases  differ from standard DVD cases typical , potentially making all your shelving and cases useless.

the most troubling bit is the red strip at the top, it adds a lip so it appears that they won't stack flat. you can't even pile them up straight. Lets hear it for brain-dead design they must shoot the designer and get in somebody with a bit of common sense.

info from theinquirer

CES HDDVD Blu-Ray news

HOSTILITIES have heated up in the next-generation high-definition DVD standards war. The rival formats each mounted shows of strength at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in

Las Vegas

.

HD television and DVD clearly took the spotlight at the show, which brought more than 2500 consumer electronics companies to

Las Vegas

to unveil their gadget offerings for the coming year.

Amid all the colourful displays of LCD, plasma and the soon to be launched SED (Surface-conduction Electron-emitting Display) television screens, it was the battle of the DVD formats that provided the show's undercurrent.

Since talks on bridging the divide between the rival HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats broke off last year, companies on both sides have been forging ahead with their respective plans.

At CES 2006 it was HD-DVD that seemed to have stolen the march, with its chief proponent Toshiba promising an imminent launch of HD-DVD recorders in the

US

.

The company showed off two models at $US499 and $799 ($662 and $1060) respectively, destined to hit stores in the

US

in March.

As well as touting HD-DVD's ability to convert existing standard definition (SD) DVDs to high-definition quality, Toshiba's HD-DVD push also got some heavyweight support from tech giants such as Microsoft and Intel, both of which are supporting HD-DVD in their new offerings.

Indeed, none other than Microsoft chairman Bill Gates came out slugging in HD-DVD's corner when he touted Microsoft's latest games console, the Xbox 360, as the breakthrough HD-DVD device when it gets an external HD-DVD drive later this year.

"High-definition DVD is coming on line this year," Mr Gates said in his CES keynote address as he and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer started trading virtual HD punches in a demonstration of the upcoming HD Xbox game, Fight Night Round 3.

In the CES demonstration of the game, which will ship in the first quarter of this year, Mr Gates and Mr Ballmer re-enacted a Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight, with Mr Gates as the eventually victorious Ali.

Mr Gates said he expected about 50 HD Xbox titles would be available by June.

"This is going to be a big year for digital lifestyle, and high-definition is one of the themes that really stands out," he said. "Xbox 360 is driving high definition."

HD-DVD would also be supported on the Media Centre edition of the company's Windows Vista operating system, and one of its chief advantages would be the ability to allow protected versions of HD-DVD movies to be copied to a hard drive, he said.

On Intel's part, HD-DVD found support in the company's VIIV technology platform for the digital home market.

While beaten to market, proponents of the rival Blu-Ray were not to the denied. Its supporters, grouped the Blu-Ray Disc Association, mounted a show of solidarity.

CES info from ITAustralia

Lite-on LVW-5045 DVD Recorder review

The beauty of Lite-on LVW-5045 is the flexibility you are given to transfer and record what ever you want with out paying any subscription plans other companies offer different ways to record your favorite shows such as Microsoft offering Video On Demand and TIVO but there is a cost associated with this freedom.

Lite-on LVW-5045 DVD recorder allows to you to either record to a hard drive or straight to a blank DVD ,If you decide you want to keep that particular episode or have your favorite sports team blow the competition away in a game you just transfer the movie/game straight to DVD no hassle no fuss.

Lite-on does not sell direct to the public but have a quick look on the internet for resellers there are thousands ,average price around $300,00 dollars.

LVW-5045 specifications

Recordable media Top of Page
Hard Disk Drive (Built-in 160GB)

DVD+R / DVD+RW

DVD-R / DVD-RW

CD-R / CD-RW


Video recording format Top of Page
MPEG2 : DVD+VR (HQ / SP / LP / EP mode) , SVCD

MPEG1 : DVD+VR (SLP mode) , VCD


Audio recording format Top of Page
MPEG2 (Dobly Digital 2 channel)

MPEG1 (Dobly Digital or MPEG2 Layer 3)

CD-DA (44.1KHz)

Tuner Top of Page
TV format  NTSC-M, PAL-B/G, PAL-D/K, PAL-I/I, or SECAM-L/L 
TV sound  Main (Stereo/Mono) SAP 

Recording functions Top of Page
One touch record (OTR) (30minutes interval)

Automatically/Manually insert chapter

Title editing (Rename, Erase, Protect, Overwrite, Split, Merge)

Chapter editing (Insert, Remove, Hide, Show)

Channel editing (Move up/ down, Insert, Swap, Decorder on/ off) 
Set Thumbnail 
Easy Guider 2 
Time Shift 
High speed copy from HDD to DVD 
DV control

Number of programs  16 programs
Record control  VPS / PDC 
Timer programming  Manual or SHOWVIEW 

DVD/CD Playback Top of Page
Fast forward/Reverse (2x, 4x, 8x, 16x)

Slow motion (1/2x, 1/4x, -1/2x, -1/4x)

Zoom (1x, 2x, 4x) 
Step forward 
Next / Previous (Title / Chapter / Trcak)
A-B repeat
Repeat
Time search


Fast forward/Reverse (2x, 4x, 8x, 16x)

Slow motion (1/2x, 1/4x, -1/2x, -1/4x)


Time display

Album and track selection

Slide show

Rotate
Album and picture selection
Video input  Cinch (yellow) 
Audio L/R input  Cinch (white / red) 
DV input  IEEE-1394 4-pin

Video output Cinch (yellow) 
Audio L/R output Cinch (white / red) 
Componentvideo output  Cinch (green / blue / red)
/Progressive scan output 576poutput
SCART out  CVBS / S-Video / RBG out 
SCART in  CVBS / RGB in, Decorder 
   
Digital audio output Coaxial
  Optical

General
Power Supply  AC 220~240V 50Hz
Power Consumption  Operation: Approx. 50W 
Operating Temperature  +5°C to +40°C (+36°F to +104°F)
Operating Humidity  5% to 80% RH
Dimensions (W / H / D):  430 x 66 x 316 mm
Net Weight:  Approx. 4.5kg 

New Pioneer DivX format

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. and DivX Inc., the digital entertainment company that created the DivX media format, announced at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that Pioneer will introduce a new line of DivX Certified DVD players and DVD recorder in the United States.

DivX Certified DVD players from Pioneer will offer high performance and versatile playback capability for a variety of encoded disc formats. The players are also ideal for individuals who want to listen to digital music through a home theatre system. A new Pioneer DVD recorder offers tri-format recording and playback capability. DivX Certified models to be available at major retail outlets include, the Pioneer DVR-640H-S DVD recorder, Pioneer DV-393-S, DV-490V-S and DV-696AV-K slim design DVD players.

"By incorporating DivX technology in Pioneer's DVD players and DVD recorder, we are offering consumers a feature-rich, versatile product that provides a true 'convergence' experience," said Gary Bauhard, director of product planning and marketing for home entertainment at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "Consumers can enhance their viewing capabilities to enjoy a wide variety of digital films in the living room, in a lean-back environment away from the computer screen."

Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure interoperability, security and visual quality. DivX Certified products enable consumers to create, play and share high-quality video content across a range of devices and platforms. Over 50 million DivX Certified devices from a variety of manufacturers are estimated to have shipped worldwide. Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. introduced its first DivX Certified model a year ago at CES 2005.

"Pioneer has always been a leader in the DVD category, and adding DivX to all of their new home entertainment products is very much in keeping with that leadership position," said Bill Holmes, vice president of consumer electronics at DivX Inc. "As consumer demand for DivX content and devices continues to grow, DivX Certification is quickly becoming a must-have feature across the consumer electronics ecosystem."

Pioneer will be demonstrating its new DivX Certified devices on the CES show floor at booth #9827 in the Central Hall. To learn more about the DivX Certification program for consumer electronics devices, visit www.divx.com/certified.

About DivX, Inc.

DivX, Inc. is a consumer-focused video technology company positioned at the center of multimedia convergence. The company's core offering is the DivX(R) video codec, among the world's most popular video compression technologies with over 200 million users worldwide. The patent-pending DivX video technology offers DVD-quality at 10 times greater compression than MPEG-2 files, enabling full length films to easily fit on a CD or be delivered over broadband connections. DivX video technology powers a range of applications that span the convergence value chain, from a secure IP-based video-on-demand solution to next-generation consumer electronics products and video software applications. DivX, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California.