While DVD-Video recorder prices have been falling steady since their launch, the format war seems to be a main obstacle that is putting off many consumers from replacing their VCR. DVD recorders seem to prove more popular with those who own a digital camcorder and wish to preserve their recordings over a long period of time or are replacing their old worn out VCR. Those that record programmes just for later playback are either content with their existing VHS equipment and others use a TiVo HDD based system or other hard drive based recorder for short-term recordings.
DVD video recorders have been a big seller over the Christmas period due to Gateway's low price of around $ 300 with a rebate. This is a considerable drop compared starting prices of $ 600 the year before. Even DVD recordable media prices fell considerably over the year from around $ 10 to just $ 1 per blank disc.
While most PC DVD recorder drives are now multi-format, most set-top DVD-Video recorders are still either DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW or DVD-RAM. Another problem is playback compatibility. Some DVD players including many early models are picky with playing back DVD recordable media. Some may play only one format while others may not be able to play any DVD recordable media. Finally, some DVD recorders have copyright copy-protection measures which will refuse to record certain content such as rented/purchased movies and some television programmes such as pay-per-view movies. GristyMcFisty submitted the following news from Yahoo via our news submit :
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While DVD recorder prices are indeed falling, there are still technological hurdles in preserving home movies and television programs as pristine digital copies. Until those obstacles can be overcome, videotapes will still be the norm, experts say. "DVD recorders are more for the person who either needs a new VCR anyway, but doesn't have a library of VHS tapes, or for somebody who has a digital camcorder and wants to digitally dump the information from the camcorder" onto DVDs, said Mike Wood, editor-in-chief of Digital TV magazine. It may be many years before videotapes go the way of the 8-track tape and vinyl records. The longevity of DVDs and their ease of use, including the ability to create "chapters" to organize the content, make them an attractive storage medium for things like home movies. The advent of TiVo (news - web sites) and other TV program search services also makes it easier to find and record favorite television shows and movies. 'COLOSSAL FORMAT WAR' But, while consumers are renting DVDs in droves, they are being deterred from recording their own by the lack of a single standard for the disc technology, he said. "There is a colossal format war going on," Wood said. "The compatibility issue will prevent it from becoming a mass-market thing" for a while. There are five different recording formats: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM, which is used mostly on personal computers. While rented or purchased DVDs will play on any DVD player or recorder, a TV program or home movie recorded onto a DVD may only be compatible with certain formats. Consumer electronics makers, however, are beginning to offer devices that are compatible with several of the formats, Wood said. There are also restrictions on the type of content that can be recorded. For example, technological copyright protection mechanisms prevent people from making copies of purchased or rented films in an attempt to halt the sort of free-wheeling piracy that has allowed people to expand their music collections by burning downloaded or borrowed CDs. Similarly, certain television programs cannot be copied, according to Wood. "Just because you can see it on your TV doesn't mean you can record it on your DVD recorder," he added. Read the full source article here. |
DVD-Video recorder pricing is what I still find as a main barrier to getting a set-top DVD recorder. Pricing is around three times that of a typical good quality VCR and many consumers are happy recording their daily Soap episode for later playback on VHS. For those that actually own a camcorder, PC based DVD-Recorders are generally more popular as the consumer can edit their recordings more easily prior to recording on DVD.
Feel free to discuss and read about different recordable media on our Media Forum. Recording hardware discussions can be accessed on our Recording Hardware Forum.
Source: Yahoo Technology News
