DVD recording for the masses explained

OK, SO the VCR is dead, or haemorrhaging blood terminally in some badly-lit back alley. What now? How do you plan to record those all important episodes of "I'm a Celebrity….get a gun and blow my brains out, please"? Wishful thinking, I know, but it's nearly Christmas, so fingers crossed. Since the faithful and humble VCR has been consigned to the scrap-heap by Dixons, many of you, like myself, will be hunting around for the next generation of recording device.

Part of the research for this piece involved a little bit of IT terrorism and sheer malice at one electronics store on a London High St. Locating the first spotty twat in a monogrammed shirt, I performed the Three Minute Test of Terror. I asked five questions about DVD recorders on the shelf behind him. What's the difference between the recording formats? How much can I record on a disc? Will they work in my PC? Will they work in my existing DVD player? Do you have any DVD-Ram recorders? After the first question, it was clear he was in trouble.

No matter how many times he turned the DVD recorder's box around, the answers eluded him. Questions 2,3,4,and 5 all resulted in the same little juggling exercise but nothing else beyond a furrowed brow. Despite having been as much use as a porno mag at a Eunuch convention, I do have to salute his sales instincts. After failing to answer a single question he still managed to dimly recall his 10 minute Sales Training course. Reaffixing his professional face he boldly asked: "So sir, are you interested in buying a DVD recorder?

Right now, the choices are essentially DVD recorders, DVD hard disk drive (HDD) recorders, a combination of both, or personal video recorders like Tivo, Pace Freeview, or Sky+ etc. For those of you wanting to stroke your VCR nostalgia, you can also get VCR/HDD combinations. Since these represent a tiny fraction of the overall recorder segment, a mention that they exist at all is enough.

Right now, I'm just going to look at DVD recorders. There are a number of reasons to pick one of these up. Firstly, you can snag a decent brand name DVD recorder for around £150 now (Philips, LG). The next price band comes in at around £190-£250. After that, prices can rise to around £300-400 before coming across models that also house a HDD. These come in at around £400 and rise to a knee-trembling £1,000. If you have the cash to spare then recorders that also bundle a HDD is the way to go.

Prices for around £400-£500 may seem a bit steep now but wait until March 2005 and you will be picking them up for under £300. Most combi-recorders boast HDDs ranging from 40-80GB, although Samsung has announced a 120GB model for £580 while Toshiba has announced one - wait for it - with a 600GB HDD. That's over 1,000 hours of high quality recording capacity. That said, it seems only the tech-mad Japanese are getting a look in for the moment.

Apart from not breaking the bank, why bother with a DVD recorder? The key benefits of DVD recording is that the resolution is much higher than VHS, the media is cheaper, smaller and more durable, and the recorders have less movable parts and are generally more reliable than VCRs. There are other good points, but these are the main ones. Also, if you're a bloke, it's a gadget so ‘nuff said. So, picking a DVD recorder should be simple then? Not really. There can be some pitfalls for the unwary since not all DVD recorders are created equal. In fact, DVD recorders can be a real headache unless you're armed with the right information. So listen up.

You would have thought that after the Betamax/VHS debacle that vendors would have learned to get along and just, make money. When it came to DVD players, that's exactly what they did. One format, great picture, no messing, sell hundreds of millions of them to the extent that you can now get one cheaper than most toasters.

However, the communist approach to capitalism failed when it came to DVD recorders, or more precisely the disc formats. Right now, there are three types of disc media that recorders write to - although nobody supports all three. That would be just too damn sensible. The media generally refer to the scenario as 'Format Wars'. The vendors have downplayed such inflammatory references by saying that the different disc formats are not so much competing but just different approaches to recording, each with their own merits.

As Father Jack in Father Ted would have eloquently put it: "Arse! Competing formats = consumer confusion". That's it. A simple mathematical equation that even multinational electronics companies should understand. What the consumer is left with is a confusing array of acronyms for different formats which are not compatible with each other and which may not play on your DVD player. So, what are they?

DVD-R and DVD-RW: These were the first discs to arrive, back when DVD recording was all PC-based. Often referred to as DVD 'minus' or 'dash' media they have a standard disc size of 4.7GB. The -R disc is write-once and cheap as chips (around 50p or less) while -RW stands for rewriteable and these can be had now for the grand sum of £1 each or less. The -RW discs are good for 1,000 rewrites. They both allow for around 120 minutes of high quality recording (much better than VHS) but DVD recorders let you choose the quality settings so you can fit more on. Editing is not the easiest unless you use the Video Recording (VR) mode of recording but the downside is that this makes the discs less compatible with existing DVD players.

DVD+R and DVD+RW: The DVD 'plus' media arrived a few years after and represent Philips contender in the format wrangle. The 4.7GB discs (both +R and +RW) come in at a fraction more expensive as -R and -RW discs - we are talking pence here, not pounds. DVD+RW discs can also be used 1,000 times. Disc editing and erasing is generally easier with the +RW format.

DVD-RAM: Developed by Panasonic parent company Matsushita, this is probably the most reliable format but also the least supported. The discs are all rewriteable, around 12cm wide and unlike the others they can be used up to 100,000 times. They come as one-sided 4.7Gb or two-sided 9.4Gb discs costing an average of £2 and £4 respectively, depending on how many you buy. Like the name implies, the discs operate more like removable hard disk drives when storing data, meaning editing is very easy. This also allows for ‘time slip' or ‘time-shifting', where you can start watching a programme that is still being recorded from the beginning without interrupting the process. Just remember though that you will not be swapping all those recorded moments with mates since the discs cannot be used in most DVD players. That said, most DVD-Ram recorders also support DVD-R and DVD-RW media.

So, there you have it. Print this out and brandish it like some techie manifesto in your High Street electronics store of choice. If you manage not to get arrested for terrorising the mono-browed, slack-jawed sales assistants you'll be well on your way to a slice of DVD recording heaven. µ

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