Sony RDR-GX7 DVD Recorder

• DVD+RW/-RW/-R DVD Format Recording Compatibility
• Precision Cinema Progressive 480P for Recording and Playback
• One Touch Dubbing for DV/D8 Via i.LINK Interface
• User Friendly Graphic User Interface
• Variable Bit Rate for Adjustable Recording Times (60-360 Minutes)

I've had my Sony RDR-GX7 recorder for two weeks now, as of the date of this review. I decided to buy it in part because of the raves it got from consumers here on the amazon.com website. Let me tell you, they didn't steer me wrong! This recorder has already become an indispensible asset to my home theatre system.

As a devoted film fanatic, I've been wondering for years how I was ever going to replace some of the scarcer titles in my movie collection once my old hardware players die (I own movies in several now-defunct formats). It's no longer a worry I'm transferring everything to DVD-R discs! And the new DVDs look incredible, even on my 57" widescreen TV ... the Sony DVD recorder is cleaning up some of the video "noise" on my old software, and the results are amazing. I also have an extensive library of home movies featuring loved ones who are no longer alive, and it's such a relief to be preserving my cherished but fading VHS tapes onto DVDs! I'm even doing some re-editing with my new Sony Recorder, and although I'm strictly an untalented amateur, I'm very happy with the results I've achieved so far.

The RDR-GX7 has some very cool special features that I wanted, but didn't think it had when I bought it. You can set up the recorder to automatically make Chapter Stops on your DVDs, at either 6 minute or 15 minute intervals, making the discs easy to search. You can record several programs onto one DVD, and then create a menu including the names of each separate title using a simple feature on the remote control. There are six recording modes, allowing you to control the quality and total recording time of each disc you make. If you make a mistake while starting to copy something onto a disc, it's no big deal! Just "erase" the bad footage using your remote control, and start over your mistake will still be on the disc, but it will be permanently "hidden" and unplayable, so no one will ever guess you're not the perfect DVD-masterer. If you want to record raw footage and then edit it later, you can do so by using a DVD-RW disc and recording in a special editing mode.

The Sony RDR-GX7 is also very easy to set up ... I was afraid it might be a nightmare to integrate into my existing home theatre system, but the Quick Start Guide made it simple. I had never used a DVD-recorder before, but I had it hooked up to my DSS dish, AV receiver, TV, VCR, and LaserDisc player and was creating my first disc within an hour of unpacking the box!

I'm admittedly not familiar with all the other DVD-recorders on the market, so I really can't compare them all. However, I can tell you that I debated making this purchase for about four months while I debated formats and features and prices, and that I have aboslutely no regrets about choosing the Sony RDR-GX7. It's everything I hoped it would be ... and much, much more. Good luck making your product decision, and I hope that whatever your choice, you end up being as completely satisfied as I. Happy DVD recording!

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I bought the Sony DVD Recorder a couple of weeks ago and have thoroughly enjoyed working with it. Before I purchased the Sony unit, I captured video and burned DVDs via my computer, which was fun, but somewhat of a hassle as I had to hook up my VCR, video card and PC while sitting at my computer desk. I now have a VCR hooked up to the DVD Recorder in my bedroom and I can just relax on my bed and record my VHS tapes to DVD. Plus I don't have to worry about software glitches which can disturb video capture and/or DVD burning.

The Sony accepts three of the five primary DVD media for recording (DVD-RW, DVD-R and DVD+RW). It does not allow you to record on DVD+R and DVD-RAM discs, which almost caused me not to purchase this machine as I have quite a few DVD+R discs that I paid big money for my computer video editing needs. However, if you record a program on a DVD+RW disc, you can use your home computer (provided you have both a DVD-Rom drive and a DVD+RW drive) to copy the DVD+RW data to a DVD+R disc. That DVD+R disc is playable on the DVD Recorder. It's an additional step, but it is one I'll probably use until the DVD+R's are used up. You can then erase the DVD+RW disc for use in recording another program.

Video quality of the DVDs is quite good. So far, I have done all my recording at the 120 minute quality level as many people who have this machine state that this yields pretty good results. I have to agree that it does. You also have the ability to record in 60, 90, 180, 240 and 360 minute modes, so I assume that quality improves or diminishes with less or more time respectively.

For recording purposes, the DVD+RW disc provides only basic editing functions, primarily related to changing title names and deleting shows. If you overrecord something (say a commercial after the program), I don't think that you can edit the disc to remove the commercial. My understanding is that the DVD-RW discs provide more flexibility for editing than the DVD+RW, but I have not tried it yet.

Overall, this appears to be a great product in the Sony lineup. I suspect future generations will be even better and cheaper, but I'm happy with this purchase so far.

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After fruitlessly trying to set up a miniature movie and DVD burning studio on my computer, I broke down and bought this DVD Recorder. I absolutely love it so far, and I plan on eventually converting my massive sports event collection to DVD.

The product comes with a huge user manual, but I don't know why, because it is extremely easy to use. It is no more complicated than a new VCR. All of the menus and commands are intuitive. Most commands only require you to press three or four buttons to get to a command. To start using it, you just pop in a DVD, start recording, pause to edit out the commercials, and stop when you come to a natural break in the program. When you are done, you can name your chapters using the on-screen menus. I use DVD-R disks, and they are extremely cheap if you get them 25 or 50 at a time, which you will most definitely want to do.

This weekend I zapped a football game from my satellite to two DVDs using the HSP recording mode. I watched a few minutes of the DVD with a buddy of mine, and we both couldn't get over how wonderful it looked, and how crisp the recording was. I can get 90 minutes to a DVD on HSP mode, and it almost perfectly reproduces a satellite or digital cable picture (if you squint real hard, you can sometimes see rough edges around small objects on the screen when they are moving that's about it.) You can get up to 3 hours on a DVD with the LP mode, but you can see the slight decrease in quality from a satellite picture.

Before you buy, MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE RECORDING MODES! The technology does not allow you to reproduce a 150-minute movie yet on one DVD (it requires two). That is, unless, you want to take a quality hit. If you can get over this, then this is a product that you will want to get.

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The main purpose of my review is to provide the reader with information that will save him/her the trouble of enduring the ridiculous ordeal I have been through trying to find a good DVD recorder. Even if only one person is spared, it will have been worth it.

The formerly reputable European company 'Philips' has produced several DVD recorders which, as far as brand names go, are competitively priced. The first DVD recorder I bought was the Philips DVDR985. It died after 30 days of fairly heavy use and I had to return it. Amazon very promptly sent me a new one. It died after 2 weeks of moderate use and I returned it. I then purchased the Apex DVD recorder. Apex is a reasonably reliable low-end brand and they were selling the only other DVD+R recorder available at the time. (I had 150 unused DVD+R discs and needed a compatible recorder.) Its design flaws are too numerous to mention and I returned it the next day. At this point, I was forced to go back to Philips and buy the next generation model, the DVDR75. While an improvement over the DVDR985, it was still horrendous compared to the kind of products that brand name companies are usually committed to producing. It stopped recording +Rs after a couple of months, and I was forced to use the more expensive +RWs. I used it for about 8 months, got fed up and sold it. Never again will I consider buying any Philips product under any circumstances. I was now ready to shell out the money and switch to the Sony DVD-R format. The Sony has performed flawlessly under heavy use for several months. FLAWLESSLY! It is the simplest, most user-friendly DVD recorder I have ever used. Although there is nothing wrong with the DVD+R format, no one is offering a usable DVD+R recorder. If you are trying to decide what kind of DVD recordable format to purchase, forget about DVD+R. Stick with DVD-R.

I cannot emphasize enough that if you are serious about finding an acceptably reliable DVD recorder, this is your only choice at this point! Do not make the same mistakes I did! Now that the price has dropped to $499 on Amazon, there is absolutely no reason to purchase any other brand. A few months ago, I reluctantly paid $799 for it, and I would gladly do so again.

I decided to get a DVD recorder when my video deck died and I'm glad I did!! Picture and sound quality are improved at least ten times, and DVD has too many cool convinience features to count compared with VHS. The Sony RDR-G7X is as easy to operate as your familiar video recorder; just select your channel and push the record button that's it! Plus the unit gives you lots of versitility as it can handle DVD R; RW; and + RW. Basically, I use R for programs I want to keep as you can't rewrite this format (and are the cheapest to buy). I use RW Video Mode like I used to use VHS video tape as you can erase and rerecord on this disk. RW VR mode will give you lots of editing features (and is also rewrittable), and is compatible with newer DVD players. Unfortunately, + RW has been stripped of it's editing features, and seems identical to RW Video mode with this Sony unit. However, I'm still learning the ins-and-outs of this recorder, but so far have been very impressed by its quality, good looks, features, and performance. I shopped around a lot, did a ton of research, and concluded it to be the best consumer DVD recorder currently on the market.