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For many people the superb audio and visual quality of a DVD recorder is not reason enough to ditch their VHS video, since it can play pre-recorded movies and record the latest Dark Angel series.
However, Philips thinks it has come up with a solution to this problem in the form of the DVD+RW-based DVDR-1000.
The DVDR-1000 works just like a standard VHS recorder, allowing you to record from both analogue or digital TV, but storing the information on rewritable DVD+RW discs rather than VHS tapes.
There are several advantages to this, the first being the quality of the recordings. It's unlikely that anyone would deny that VHS image quality is pretty awful, whereas the DVDR-1000 produces crisp and clear images that look as clean as the original TV signal.
The recording quality can be altered to change the amount of footage you can get on a disc. At best quality you can only record one hour, while the lowest quality gives you four. That said, even the lowest quality looks better than VHS.
Another plus point is that you don't have to waste time rewinding or fast forwarding like you do with a tape-based system.
Each time you record something on a disc, it creates its own file which can then be selected from the menu when the disc is inserted.
Even more impressive is that you can play back your recorded DVD+RW discs in most standard DVD players as well, so you can lend recordings to friends who don't have a DVDR-1000 but do have a DVD player. Compatibility isn't 100 per cent, but you can find a list on the Philips website of all the players that can read the discs, and see issue 103 of Computeractive for our guide to DVD formats.
If the DVDR-1000 has one shortcoming it's a lack of time shifting - the ability to watch the beginning of a program while you continue to record the rest, which is a compelling reason to replace your VHS recorder.
Philips says that this is a feature that will be implemented in later models. That niggle aside, this is a superb product with only its high price likely to put off potential buyers.
Contact
Philips: 020 8665 6350 www.philips.co.uk
ALSO CONSIDER
Panasonic DMR-E20
A recorder based on DVD-RAM which has time shifting but lacks the compatibility of the Philips deck.
£1,000
Not yet reviewed.
See also:
A flexible, well-rounded internal DVD+RW drive with a full set of utilities. 23 May 2002
As a DVD rewriter, the DVDR 1000 does a very good impression of a VCR. 23 Oct 2001
The latest model in the Panasonic DVD-RAM series is here, and combines both DVD-RAM and DVD-R capabilities in one drive. 17 Oct 2001All Optical Drives (CD/DVD Drive)
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