Cables Unlimited - Audio cable - 2 pin digital audio (F) - 2 pin digital audio (F) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this cable to connect my NVIDIA GTS 250 video card to my motherboard's SPDIF output. This allows me to get sound out of the HDMI output of the card via a DVI-HDMI adaptor. The cable fit my motherboard perfectly, but was a bit wide for the graphics card, something that 10 seconds and a sheet of sandpaper fixed. Sound quality is great!

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Sony RDR-VX560 1080p Tunerless DVD Recorder/VHS Combo Player Review

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(More customer reviews)Finally, a DVD Recorder and VHS combination unit that allows you to view DVD and your old VHS through your HDMI connection. That's right, you read that correctly. One of the biggest drawbacks of earlier upscaling machines from a variety of manufacturers was that you STILL had to use primitive S or RCA cables to output VHS images onto your HDTV.
Like many folks, I still have a large collection of movies on VHS (for some films, it remains the only version in print), but I was not going to buy another VCR unless I could really view them on my Samsung HDTV. Some VCRs connect with component cables, but cost as much (if not more) than this combo unit, which is so feature laden that I'm glad I waited.
The upconversion is very impressive so far for both DVD and factory VHS releases (lets face it, grainy home recorded VHS copies of TV programs will never look sharp at 1080p, so keep that in mind) and the controls are no more complicated than the average machine (which, may in itself be a problem for some already).
I have yet to fully utilize all the features, including the use of my Sony HD digital camera or camcorder, but those were secondary parts of the purchase. For me, the fact that I can now view my VHS library (and non-Blue Ray DVD library) on my HDTV through HDMI with such impressive image quality is more than enough to satisfy me.
If you are in the market for a combo unit to use with your HDTV, then this may finally be what you and I have been waiting for. Stellar product.
Why 4 stars? Well, I've only had the product a week, so it is too early to throw a 5th star onto the score, but it certainly merits 4 right out of the box.

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Sony's new DVD Recorder/VCR - Just what your cable box ordered. Save your favorite TV shows, archive old VHS tapes, even burn photos and personal video from Sony USB based camcorders and digital cameras The RDR-VX560 brings the ability to record your content to DVD to your living room. Do you have old VHS tapes lying around? Well, now you can save space and make them last by burning them onto a DVD. The RDR-VX560 brings ease of use with One Touch dubbing from VHS to DVD, or even from DVD to VHS. It couldn't be simpler.

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Panasonic DMR-EZ47V Up-Converting 1080p DVD-Recorder/VCR Combo with Built In Tuner Review

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(More customer reviews)My setup: HD antenna directly into the Panasonic's coax input, then connected via HDMI, coax and component cables to the back of my LCD panel (a Sharp LC37D62U, a 1080P panel with HDMI inputs).
The tuner in the Panasonic unit, while capable of receiving HD signals, cannot output a full HD signal, but only 480P. If you are looking for a unit to act as a full-on HD tuner, this unit is not for you, but if your TV already has an HD tuner, then this unit offers some cool features. Before I start though, I want to point out that the unit does "pass" a full HD signal - that is, when using my TV's own tuner with the Panasonic set to "TV" (on the "TV/VCR" selection), the TV receives a pass-through of the HD signal coming in over the air to the Panasonic. Other descriptions of this unit had me believing that it would pass-through a 480P signal, but this is fortunately not the case.
Cool Feature #1: Recording HD TV shows over the air. This is one of the first of a new generation of DVD recorders that can record an HD signal onto a DVD disc (although only at the lower 480P resolution). Despite the lower resolution, the picture looks great, obviously not full HD but far better than analog TV. I have recorded "Lost" and "House" and both shows look pretty good. While the unit appears to be able to record on every DVD format known, DVD-RAM format provides some advantages. Using a DVD-RAM disc and the HDMI connection to the TV, the TV switches automatically to a full wide screen picture. Setting the unit on its LP recording mode, I can record 4 hours of HD programs on one disc, and the sound is great.
Cool Feature #2: Chase play. After starting a program recording, you can start watching the recorded program before the entire recording is complete - skipping past commercials and so on until you catch up to the "live" point in the recording. This works only with DVD-RAM discs, but is pretty nifty. By the way, the DVD-RAM discs can (according to the Panasonic manual) be re-recorded up to 100,000 times, so they are ALMOST like having a hard drive in the unit.
Cool Feature #3: Disc navigator. This allows you to see all the programs recorded on a DVD disc on a single screen - you can then use this to select which recorded program you want to watch. Nifty! No more hunting through VCR tapes for the program you recorded you can't remember when...
The VCR output is also fine (although obviously much less impressive that the DVD output). I can't comment on its ability to output upscaled 1080P as compared to other DVD units with a similar feature, but the outlook looks pretty darn good to me, no noticable "jaggies".
Complaints: The auto-channel setup missed one of my local HD stations, instead tuning a secondary station being broadcast on the same signal. Annoying! There appears to be no way to manually select which channels are tuned by the unit. I have been meaning to call Panasonic about this, but haven't gotten around to it. Also, long-ish startup time (like 15 seconds). Sometimes the DVD output seems a little washed out, but this can be taken care of by re-adjusting the TV's color settings. Having to turn the unit off in order to have it launch a scheduled recording.
Overall, quite happy with the performance.
FYI, the first unit I bought (from Amazon) arrived DOA, but they were great about returning it and I had a new unit two days later. They even paid for the shipping to return the first unit. Nice!

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Sony VRDMC3 DVDirect DVD Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)I received the Sony VC30 model for Christmas, and enchanged it for the MC3 to get the color screen (and glad I did). I was a bit leary after reading the reviews here, but I've just finished converting our entire collection of home movies from VHS, 8mm, hi8 and miniDV tapes to DVD.
I've used only Sony brand, single-layer blanks (both +R and -R, but +R seems to yield better playback) and have had no problems. I've made close to 200 DVDs with only two "coasters" that would not finalize after recording. I've done most of my recording on the SP mode, putting two hours on a DVD. After testing different settings, I couldn't tell any difference (viewed on 55" and 32" TVs) between the HQ and SP settings for my older videos (some 25 years old), but could definitely tell on the newer recordings, especially those with a lot of motion (such as water skiing and other sports). So for those, I chose only the HQ setting.
All recording is done in real time, and there have been weekend days when the thing has been going all day and evening. I've connected it to a VCR, and 8mm and miniDV camcorders. When using the VCR, the color screen on the MC3 is very handy. Using an S-cable yields slightly better picture than standard video cables. For the miniDV camcorder, I use firewire and this has an added benefit of recording only the recorded video on the camcorder, shutting off when the recorded video ends. (When using a VCR or older camcorder, you have to watch for it to end and manually turn off the burn.)
The menus the MC3 creates are fine for my purposes. It will create a new "title," which shows up as a separate "window" on the start-up menu, every time the MC3 is stopped (if you just pause it, it won't create a new title). I set the MC3 to create chapter stops every five minutes, which is handy when skipping through video on playback. If I'm burning a DVD of, say, my daughter's birthdays, I'll create a new "title" for every birthday. On playback, each "title" shows up separately on the start-up menu, but the entire contents of the DVD will playback at once, with a new "title" starting when another ends. For misc. tapes that have a variety of short segments, I've found it easier to record it all to a DVD, then view it and note the times of the various segments. Then I re-record it to DVD, creating separate "titles" by stopping the MC3 when a segment ends. (I'm keeping the first copies as backups.) I haven't found a way to create a chapter stop manually; there are some instances where this would be handy.
Overall, the MC3 has been fantastic. I've been putting off this project for years, not wanting to have to do it via computer, and now I have it all on DVD, at reasonable cost.

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Sony VRDMC6 DVDirect Compact Size DVD Burner with AVCHD Recording Review

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(More customer reviews)I've stopped using my old hitachi video camera(from 2001)awhile ago since I never liked dragging it out, setting it up, charging it, finding a tape or lugging it around etc. But, none the less, I still have at least 10-12 mini cassette(8mm) tapes that needed to be put on DVD, as well as some old VHS tapes too. I haven't seen any of these home movies in years because watching a VHS is aggravating(waiting for it rewind?! geez. hello old school). I was so excited to hear about this and figured it would be a great idea to finally transfer my stuff.
Out of the box, it will literally take you moments to set up and start recording. If you're taping from a VCR, make sure you plug into the line OUT on the back of the VCR.
It formats the DVD disc for you, and when you press play on your video camera(or VCR) you also hit the big main button on the DVDirect to begin recording. If there's snow in your video for more then a few seconds, it pauses recording and resumes when the video kicks back in. You can choose 5 min, 10 min or 15 minute automatic chapter inserts, so it's easy to navigate a long video. Sound is good, but only as good as it was originally. If you have crappy sound on your old video camera, it'll be crappy on DVD. I wasn't expecting it to turn my stuff HD or work miracles, so this is exactly what I wanted and expected.
The screen on the DVDirect is easy to see and tells you how long you've been recording, when it's stopped, it tells you how long is left on the DVD to record. Only a few buttons, so it's simple to stay on track and not get lost in countless options, which means it won't be hard to figure out even for someone who's not good with technology. It does record live time, so you have to have a little patience. Press play, record, and walk away. Also, amazingly simple to finalize the DVD and pop it in a player and begin watching. I also notice on the box it says you can make photo slide shows with music. Pretty cool! Definitely a great buy for anyone with tons of old VHS and mini cassettes.


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Sony VRDMC5 DVDirect DVD Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay - I love this item for what it can NOW do for me and how EASILY it finally ended up doing it. I gave it four instead of five stars because of what I had to DO to get it to work the way I needed it to.
I have fourteen years - wedding, holidays and 3 children - worth of Video Cassettes ranging from 1994 - Sony, HG120, NTSC, Video 8 tapes TO 2008 - Sony, Hi8MP Digital 8 tapes.
My old camera was a Sony and the current camera is also a Sony: Steady Shot Digital 8, Model DCR-TRV460.
The Sony VRD MC5 DV Direct DVID Recorder I have can, and NOW DOES, burn DVDs from my Sony Handycam with both types of tapes via a Sony DV Direct Cable. However - it did not, out of the box, purchased in December 2007, burn my old tape formats to DVD with Audio. The Audio was gone and I could not get it to burn!
I had to waste about ten DVDs trying to figure out what the heck I did wrong. I scoured the manual, I bought two types of DVDs, looked here on Amazon, went to the Sony site. NOTHING on WHY the audio was missing!
When I finally found a way to contact Sony - live chat did not work and I could not get anyone on the phone - via email they went back and forth with me in email telling me that the Software Version on the Recorder had to be updated. They gave me a link that I could not find by navigating the site on my own, thus needing their intervention. I found the download, and followed directions, I tried burning the file to CD in many different ways and STILL the software would not upgrade! They never called me or gave me a number, it took days to try to figure out what was happening and they finally told me how to call someone.
I did it again while I was on the phone with them. Still the Recorder did not recognize the CD I was burning or the file I downloaded from the site. They made me call back, I was transferred twice, someone took my info and it took from 1/11/08 to 1/22/08 to get a CD that they burned at Sony and shipped to me.
I just came up today, followed the very same directions just with their CD and the software upgraded without a hitch. I just burned a tape from 1994 and the audio is there!!
After spending three years and more than $700 in software for my computer, a DVD Burner for my computer and finally a standalone Sony VHS/Camera player and VHS/DVD burner but none, and I do mean NONE of them - were able to do the job. Even the standalone unit never consistenly burned quality DVDs from the Camera and you had to tie up your tv for hours while it burned to DVD only for the "finalization" of it to not "take" so you had an empty DVD which was not R/W. Waste of time!
Please note that I am a technical person so not ignorant. I am just short on time so I wanted something that would get all my old moves onto DVD with a PHD - Push Here Dummy - functionality and the Sony VRD MC5 device did it.
The struggles, aggravation, wasted time it took me to get to today were worth it but PUH-LEASE Sony. Get a grip and put the information out there. Be proactive! Make it available! Communicate! Tell the vendors that sell your product what they are going to have to tell their shoppers do to get it to work. Update your manual. Whatever you have to do - no consumer should have to hunt like I did for weeks to try to find a way to fix something Sony knew about when they shipped the devices.

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