Customer Reviews

Sony RDR-GX7 DVD Recorder

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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!

I purchased the Sony RDR-GX7 DVD recorder in June. Since June I have used the recorder daily, sometimes recording two or three shows a day. The more I use the RDR-GX7 the more I like it.

First, it is very convenient to use. Just pop a recordable DVD (+RW, -RW or -R) into the tray and set the timer. The timer is very easy to set (it even has the VCR+ feature.) The RW discs are used like VHS videotape because you just use them over and over again. Plus you never have to Fast Forward or Rewind the disc to find a place to record and you always know how much space is available with very nicely laid out on-screen displays.

Second, this unit has two noise reduction circuits. One for the incoming signal and one for the outgoing signal. This means that even if the TV signal coming into the tuner is not good, the recorded DVD is watchable. The recording is usually better than the incoming signal even when recorded in the SLP (6 hour) mode.

Third, the discs you record on this unit in the +RW mode are immediately watchable in another DVD player. I often watch one +RW disc I've recorded on my 'GX7 with my Sony DVP-NS700P player while my RDR-GX7 is recording something else. I've also used -RW discs formatted in VR mode to record on and that mode is great for editing the disc, but very few players will playback -RW VR mode. You can format the -RW discs in Video mode and they playback in other players. -R discs, once finalized, playback fine on most other players. Be aware that some older DVD players may not playback RW discs, regardless of format.

Fourth, recording from a camcorder or VCR is very easy and the final product is VERY good. I've already transferred several older family video tapes over to DVD and I'm very happy with the result. This unit is easier to use for dubbing VHS, Hi8, Mini DV, etc. to DVD than my computer. However, the computer does allow for fancier editing than is possible with the 'GX7.

Finally, this recorder is also a great player. It has progressive scan, Dolby Digital and DTS. It also plays back CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs. It has very flexible outputs so you should be able to hook it up to your system without difficulty. One note, however, there is no RF converter, so your TV must have video or component inputs or you will need to buy an RF converter. The RF input on the recorder is only used to receive the signal for the antenna feed and then pass the signal through to the TV and/or VCR. Also be aware that there is no hard disk drive in this unit but that it DOES have advanced editing features when used in conjunction with a miniDV camcorder. I'm very impressed with the flexibility and quality of this unit. Sure, you pay a little bit more for the Sony, but in this case it is worth it. I'm a long time Sony fan and customer and this unit continues to hold up their high standards of excellence. If you buy this unit, you should be very happy with it.

Happy DVD burning . . .

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.

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.

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.

pretty good recorder... i think it would be more useful for transferring VHS or DV to DVD rather than as a DVR.

Reasons:

1) No hard disk. So if you want to record in SP mode and you want to record a 1 hour program and a 90 minute program, then you got to drive home to change the disc. It will only accept 2 hours of DVD quality video on one disc.

2) Let's say you record a movie from 8pm to 10pm. You arrive home at 8:30pm. Tough luck, you can't watch the movie like you can with the Tivo or the Panasonic DVR. You have to wait until 10pm to watch the movie... from 10pm to 12am... and maybe tell your boss the next day the reason you are late for work is due to your DVR.

3) let's say you watch a program and it looks interesting and you press the Record button to record it. Ok, then you found that the record mode is set to EP, which is not so good quality. So now you press STOP to stop the recording and change the recording mode to SP. It feels like you have to wait 45 seconds for it to "write info" before you are allowed to change recording mode and record again... [for DVD-R. if DVD-RW it is only a few seconds]. on the Panasonic DVR with the hard drive, it is close to instantaneous.

4. Even if you record to DVD+RW, you can't edit the recording, such as taking out the blank or commercial at the end. To do that, you need to use DVD-RW (minus R) and in VR mode. DVD-RW in Video mode won't let you do that either. It is too complicated. With a hard disk in the other DVR models, you don't worry about any of those... just record and edit to your perfection and then transfer it to the DVD-R like DVD studio would produce them.

But recording VHS to DVD is good... you have several modes: HQ, HSP, SP, LP, EP, SLP... which is 1hr, 1.5 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr, 4hr, and 6hr. So you can choose whichever quality / length that you desire.

I highly recommend this DVD Recorder for people wanting to transfer their home movie tapes to DVD and to transfer television programs directly to DVD. Recording Quality is excellent from 8 mm VCR to DVD and from VHS to DVD. I gave it 4 stars because the price is high.

I would look to a DVD Recorder with a hard drive if you want to use the recorder for editing and/or recording Television Programs.

It is very easy to set up and very easy to use.

The on screen menu system is excellent.

I have worked in the electronics business for over 10 years and ease of use is important. This one has it.

It allows many editing features if you use DVD-RW in VR Mode. (Only basic with DVD+RW and DVD-R).

Finalizing Time isn't bad either. 5 minutes for a full 2 hour movie. It sure beats the hours upon hours of encoding time a Computer takes to make a movie DVD.

DVDs created on it in Video Mode play well in all the DVD players I tried. (One was a 3-4 year old very sensative basic player).

I don't usually review products but had to post because I'm very happy with this one.

This is a GREAT dvd recorder. When I first started researching dvd recorders, I was leaning toward the Philips because they were the first on the market. But after reading so many negative reviews here, I decided to look at other brands. I chose the Sony because of its great rating with Amazon, and also because of the Sony reputation. Two of my other dvd players are Sonys, and they both work really well. I also chose it because having a firewire input was very important to me, since I have a minidv camcorder. That narrowed my choices, I think, to Philips, Sony, and a Panasonic that uses Dvd roms, which I didn't want.

My only hesitation in purchasing this Sony(actually it was a Christmas present from my husband, but I told him which unit I preferred) was that it didn't record on DVD+R discs, and a salesperson at an electronics store told me those were the most compatible with other players. But I have three dvd players, and a dvd drive on my computer, and the dvd-r discs play in all of them. And one of the dvd players is over three years old!

One thing I wanted to put out there, which might help you if you purchase this recorder, is that the setup instructions skip an important step. When you connect to the video inputs in the back, you need to go into the "setup" screen and specify whether you are using the video inputs(the yellow cable), or the "s" inputs. You also may need to tell it to turn off black screen or something like that (I'm going from memory here). When I first hooked this up, I couldn't figure out why I could get sound but no picture with the rear inputs, but with the front input, I could get a picture (from my Directv broadcast, I mean, not from a dvd). Nowhere in the setup instructions does it tell you to go to the setup screen and specify which input you are using. I actually exchanged my first unit for another one because I was convinced the video inputs were faulty. When the same thing happened with the 2nd unit, I decided to read the instruction book cover to cover to figure out the problem. Somewhere toward the back of the 100+ page instruction book, it told me what to do.

Once I got a video signal from all my inputs, I had absolutely no problems operating this machine, and the dvds came out beautifully. I dubbed an old sp speed vhs tape that was made from a cable broadcast with the 90 minute dvd speed. The dvd picture was better than the picture on the tape from which it was dubbed! Then I dubbed another old tape, this one ep speed, at the 120 minute speed. The picture might not have been better than the original tape, but it certainly wasn't any worse. Mostly, I have been transferring old 8mm camcorder movies to dvd, and they come out beautifully at the hq 1 hour speed. I tried doing this with the dvd burner on my computer months ago, and the quality was awful. The picture quality was poor, and the sound was out of sync. My computer burner did a great job with the newer digital minidv tapes, but the old analogs just didn't work well there. With the Sony recorder, the 8 mm dub is flawless; the dvd looks and sounds as good as the original tape.

Another plus with the Sony is that it uses 3 different dvd formats. I've tried them all, and I really have no preference, except that +rw is nice because it doesn't need to be finalized at the end, which saves about 5 minutes of your time. Though the rw discs are rerecordable, I don't need this feature because I have Tivo. My dvd recorder is strictly for archiving, not time shifting, so I won't be erasing. So I'll buy whichever disc format is on sale or cheapest. It's nice to have three formats to choose from when you're shopping!

In summary, this is a top notch dvd recorder that should meet all your recording needs.

I bought the Sony RDR-GX7 just before XMAS 2003 as a present for my wife and I after having researched it to death and procrastinated over it endlessly. Ultimately, we felt it was the best buy out there. While I have been highly impressed with the many capabilities and picture quality of this DVD recorder, one of the major reasons that I paid the top price for it was its iLink capability using "One Touch Dubbing". Using this function one is supposed to be able to digitally record an entire DV tape and then later edit it with little loss of picture & sound quality. However, using the iLink has revealed either an Achille's heel of this DVD recorder or, hopefully, an isolated problem. It will not record - via the iLink port - a complete miniDV tape playing in a digital camcorder. I am using my less that two year old Canon ZR45 miniDV camcorder. After an unpredictable and variable amount time the RDR-GX7 just stops recording from the camcorder and starts to "Write Info" - meaning that as far as it is concerned all of the tape has been copied and it is saving other associated data to the DVD disc. When this happens, the camcorder, however, has not reached the end of the tape and still has large part of the tape still left to record to the DVD disc. I have tried to copy the miniDV tapes to all types of recordable DVDs from different manufacturers (TDK, Verbatim, Imation, Memorex) all to no avail. I thought that perhaps the problem lay with the firewire cable that I was using but, using a second new one, did not solve the problem either. It does not matter which recording quality setting one uses, the problem remains. So finally in frustration, I returned RDR-GX7 to Circuit City for repairs and was told that because the Sony 90 day Warranty had passed, and not withstanding having the Circuit City extended warranty, the machine would have to be sent out for repairs and, pending the outcome, then we would see what to do next. So I am waiting for it to return. I bought the extended waranty because of a previous bad experience with a Sony CD player which failed withing a week of the expiry of its warranty period - but that's another story. I have read of no comments on the the iLink function and how it works for people but anyone considering this recorder certainly needs to test this capability very quickly after purchasing it.

Update2/1/2005

OK. So this update is a little overdue:-) I still have the digital problems mentioned above. After I got the recorder back from Circuit City, who sent it to Sony for "repairs", it still would not carry out the "One Touch Dubbing" from my Canon Digital camcorder. I can only surmise that there is probably an incompatibility with the Canon and Sony digital recording formats. Having said this the formats that the two use are supposed to be the same - I checked both their DV recording format information in their manuals.

Apart from this, and after hundreds of hours of recording DVDs of all varieties and from all sources (TV & VHS tapes), I am still very happy with the recorder and would recommend it to anyone considering purchasing a DVD recorder. I see that the latest trend has gone toward offering DVD/VHS recorders - perhaps the best option for those wishing to copy their old VHS tapes. And Sony has a model in that category too!