Sony RDRGX315 DVD Recorder

• Easy to Use Graphic User Interface
• Non-Linear Editing (DVD-RW VR Mode)
• Child Lock for Locking the Disc Tray
• DVD+RW/+R, DVD-RW (Video Mode)/-R Recording and Playback
• DVD-Video/Video CD/SVCD/CD-DA (CD-R/-RW) Playback, MP3 on CD-R/CD-RW Playback

Before purchasing this item, ask yourself what you plan to use it for. If you want to use it like a VCR and time record a movie that comes on say, HBO, at 3:00 in the morning so you can watch it later, forget it, it WILL NOT RECORD COPY-PROTECTED MOVIES no matter what median they are on, Satellite, Cable whatever which is very disappointing as that is what 90% of the people used their VCR's for. The reason I bought this unit was to replace my VCR but can't do it, still have the old tape box sitting their. Another disappointing thing is erasing sections of say a sitcom if you want to get rid of the commercials. You can use the slow-search on the remote to find the start of the commercial, then pause it and hit the enter key to set the start of the commercial you want to erase but you can't do that at the end. In other words, you can't pause the unit at the end of the commercial and hit enter to mark the section you want to erase but you have to try and hit the enter key at the end of the commercial on the fly, very inconvient. The remote is awkward to use as the record and several other buttons are hid at the end of the remote and you have to slide down a door to access them which leaves you with a remote that seems about 14 inches long. While there are several features I haven't formed an opinion on yet, the one good thing I see is the abundance of recording options as far as time goes; you can set it to record in increments of 1, 1-1/2, 2, 2-1/2, 3, 4, 6 & 8 hours plus it will record dual-layer disks. Bottom line, if your looking for a DVD Recorder to replace your VCR, this most likely isn't the unit.

Buy Sony RDRGX315 DVD Recorder Now

(I'm not commenting on the recorder part just the player.)

I bought this mainly to replace an aging Sony player that was having trouble with long movies and well-used rental discs. The fact that it is also a recorder was nice, though I really haven't used it yet.

It had no trouble with the previously-troublesome discs, and gave me a beautiful, error-free picture.

But I'm returning it tomorrow. The reasons sound petty, but are really annoying for me, based on how I want my DVD player to work:

1. There is no screen saver if you pause the playback, it will start playing 10-15 minutes later. So if you have to pause to take a phone call (or for some other reason), be aware that you'd better be quick or the movie will go on without you.

This might not have been a deal-breaker for me if I could have just stopped it and resumed when I was ready. But...

2. There is really no Resume feature if you stop the disc, or eject it, you have to start over. The only way to get it do a resume is by powering down the player. This is not what I'm looking for.

3. The freakishly long delay on tray-opening from power-up and the even longer delay before playing a commercial DVD. I realize there's a lot of disc examination needed, so the play delay is understandable, if annoying. But the power-up empty-tray-opening delay is over the top.

4. There's gotta be something wrong with the remote. I often had to press the buttons twice and always had to point the remote directly at the Sony. It always seemed to take several seconds for the Sony to wake up and recognize the remote a real "mushy" feeling.

5. The display on the unit is tiny, uninformative, and very difficult to see from any reasonable distance.

These are not the ergonomics I expect from Sony especially in this price range. It may not be enough to affect your buying decision, but it affects mine. Sorry, Sony. It's the little things that count. You can do it right with your players. Why not with your recorders?

The good?

1. The player really does produce a wonderful picture and the controls for adjusting that are excellent.

2. The fan was nicely quiet.

Read Best Reviews of Sony RDRGX315 DVD Recorder Here

Here is my review:

Copyright Protection

You can't blame this on Sony. Most of the industry uses the same form of copy protection in their products--it's been around since the beginning of the DVD (). However, it's true--the GX315 will not record protected media, including PPV/HBO/SHO/etc. movies from most satellite/cable providers. Frustrating, but not limited to the Sony brand.

Recording/Playback Quality

I was surprised to not find any problem with the recording quality whatsoever. Perhaps Sony has revised the product recently. The reviews actually reminded me of the first DVD recorder (a Protron brand) we got for Christmas that I sent back because the quality was so poor (the Sony is the unit we bought to replace it). I am impressed with the recording quality, and like one of the previous reviewers, I too have a background in video production/graphics. The only complaint I have regarding the quality is that progressive scan playback is limited to 420p, which can get edgy. The playback quality is not quite as good as that of our Sony DVP-NS725P DVD player.

Pause; Resume-from-Stop

For those that have never owned or used a DVD player, resume-from-stop is a nice feature that remembers where you stop the playback and resumes from that point the next time you press play. Some units, like our Sony player, take it a step further by remembering the resume point for individual DVDs even after powering down or changing the DVD.

I tested the resume feature and found that it does work (as long as you only press stop once). If you press stop a second time, as with most other players, playback will start at the beginning of the DVD. However, powering off the unit or ejecting the DVD will erase the resume point.

Pausing the DVD for an extended period of time; I didn't bother testing this. I have never used pause on a DVD player since all or most players have resume on stop.

Remote

I had no issues with the remote. There is a slight delay (less than a second) for certain functions, but maybe I'm more patient than others. And yes, the buttons are somewhat spongy.

Delays, delays, delays

The tray does take its time opening. Loading a DVD is also a relatively lengthy process (about 10-12 seconds) when compared with our Sony DVD player. However, the speed is a 2x improvement over the Protron DVD recorder we returned. I can live with it.

Editing

I don't have any DVD-RW disks to test, but I did test some features with a Sony DVD-R (editing features are limited on non-RW disks, obviously). I found the menus very user-friendly and intuitive. I also like how the the video clip for the selected title will play in a small window, giving you a better idea of what is in that clip.

Screen Saver

There is no flashy screen saver. Instead, you are presented with a light gray screen. It's not pretty, but it does the job of preventing "burn-in." It gives the impression of being cheap, but screen savers annoy me all the same. I usually turn off the TV anyway.

Summary

I'd really like to give this model 3.5 stars, but that option isn't available. I chose to give it 4 since the quality, for the money, is very good in my opinion. The features are probably lacking over more expensive models, which makes perfect sense to me. For the price, I think it's a good value.

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After reading many of the reviews below I almost returned this unopened. I'm glad (so far, on day 2) that I didn't.

The reviews that concerned me most were about poor picture (pass through) quality, and an inability to copy "copy protected" movies from satellite.

Regarding the picture quality yes that was true at first very washed out. Then I found a "Picture Control" option in the set-up screen. Changing this from "Standard" to "Personal" and setting the contract & brightness gave me a great picture that also came through on record.

I have also recorded movies off satellite with no problem. Recording non-DRM VHS also worked great.

(I have it connected satellite box -> VCR -> DVD Recorder -> TV.)

What is said about the remote is true, It's a stupid remote and it's sluggish. I solved this by using my universal remote. To do this, I had to switch the "Command Mode" to "DVD 1" in the setup.

Also what is said about the long start-up times after a DVD is inserted is true. However I can live with that.

All in all, if this puppy keeps working like it is now, I will be a happy camper.

Ordered the recorder from Amazon. I had problems from day one.It would lock up. It would fail to record. etc. After about 90 days, I gave up and called customer service. Sony wanted me to send it to repaiar facility. Even though it was past the 30 day return period, Amazon listened to my problems and agreed to take it back and send me a new one. This was on a Friday. The new one arrived Monday. The next business day. That is pretty good service. Well, the new one played well for 1 day and then started messing up. I called Sony and they suggested using another brand disc.I was using Memorex. I used a Verbatim and it worked for about 30 minutes then problems again. I called Sony and they wanted me to send to a repair facility. Again I said no and called Amazon customer service. The gentleman listened and said they would be glad to take it back and refund my money so I could purchase another brand. I was looking at the Panasonic. He suggested one thing I might try. He said Sony is terrible about only working with Sony media. Today I got Sony +R and Sony +RW discs. The recorder works great. I have recorded, erased, time recorded etc. I believe it is going to be great. I really like the format showing what is on timer and what has been recorded. If I have other problems, I will add later.