new DVD player?

[supervij]

Are there such things as universal players that come with a hard disc drive for DVD recording?

My five year old DVD player has finally called it quits; or rather, I suspect it will very shortly. Layer changes have been taking longer and longer -- about a full second, which is getting very distracting. And just today it hit a spot on Blade II (fortunately during the credits) where it just wouldn't advance, sticking on one frame for about ten to fifteen seconds, then jumping ahead ten seconds and playing normally. "Unacceptable" as they would say in The Terminal.

So my next purchase is obviously a new DVD player. But I'm having a tough time deciding what kind.

Option One: I could get a universal player and take advantage of SACD and DVD-A technology. I already have one DVD-A (The Polyphonic Spree "We're Heavy Now", which sounds great on DTS!) and I sorta do want to hear more stuff. Of course, for the artists I like, there are very very VERY few discs available, and I don't know if this will change in the future. The problem is that I've been reading that while some universal players are great for audio, they're not so great for video, or vice versa. If I do pick up a universal player, it'll be primarily a DVD-V player and just occasionally an SACD/DVD-A player.

Option Two: I could get a DVD player/recorder with hard disc drive. I usually record TV programs before watching them (why spend an hour watching a show when you could spend only 45 minutes watching it?) and therefore the VCR gets a lot of use, as do the blank tapes. It would be nice to have all recordings on the hard drive so that I can hang on to stuff a bit longer if need be. But I've read conflicting things about DVD player/recorders similar to the Option One problem: great for recording and watching TV shows, but not so hot at playing DVD movies. I realize that doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's what I've been hearing. If I do pick up a DVD player/recorder, obviously both playback and recording will get tons of use.

Option Three: I could get a universal player that also is a recorder with a hard disc drive. But I don't know if these exist yet.

So my questions to the wise ones of the Audioholics forums is this: is there, in fact, a machine as described in Option Three? And if not . . . ummm . . . so whaddaya think I should get?

I mean, it's not like my VCR is dead on its feet. But I won't necessarily be picking up tons of SACDs and DVD-As, as the prices are pretty killer. Sigh. I just haven't decided what I'm gonna do. Maybe a few opinions from this forum will help me decide. I'm so divided on this; I'm almost tempted to get one of each. Not that I'm rolling in cash these days.

Okay, enough rambling. Any opinions?

cheers,
supervij

PS: This is such a ridiculous post. I'm well aware of that. I feel like such a dork for asking basically, "What do you guys think I'll like?" which is such a stupid thing to ask. Oh well. I'll still take the opinions anyway. Cheers.

 

[Mort Corey]

AFAIK, Option three isn't an option as I don'[t think there is such an animal. I don't believe that the DVR's with a built in DVD burner will transfer DD or DTS soundtracks to a DVD....but I could be mistaken (happened once before). DVD audio and SACD may be on their deathbed. Great format and some really good material recorded but they're no longer even stocked on the shelves at any of my local retailers. They may go the way of D-VHS.

I'd purchase a decent player (with or without the hi-res audio) and make do with it until the advent of HD-DVD/Blue-Ray.

Mort

 

[supervij]

AFAIK, Option three isn't an option as I don'[t think there is such an animal. I don't believe that the DVR's with a built in DVD burner will transfer DD or DTS soundtracks to a DVD....but I could be mistaken (happened once before). DVD audio and SACD may be on their deathbed. Great format and some really good material recorded but they're no longer even stocked on the shelves at any of my local retailers. They may go the way of D-VHS.

I'd purchase a decent player (with or without the hi-res audio) and make do with it until the advent of HD-DVD/Blue-Ray.

Mort

So basically you think it's not even worth getting into these two hi-res audio formats. Hmmm . . . I have to admit, my local HMV and Sam's both have pretty small sections for them, and a lot of time at other stores, the sales clerks give me a blank look when I ask them for the SACD section. Does anyone else feel this way -- that it's not even worth getting into hi-res audio? I feel that the cost and scarcity of titles make it a little daunting. And frankly (although the Pink Floyd fans will want to tie me to a stake for this) yesterday I got a kick out of listening to Dark Side of the Moon on PLIIx. Yes, it wasn't true surround, but it did give the music a very immersive feeling. I've been using the PLIIx with a lot of my old CDs lately; brought back the excitement of those old albums.

Okay, so Option Three is off the list (darn!), and Option One is a maybe right now, wavering towards a no. Option Two is still something I would consider. Does anyone know if these DVD players/recorders offer excellent picture for DVD movies? For some reason, I imagine that while they function well as "digital VCRs", they give just average output for store-bought movie DVDs. Is this so?

cheers,
supervij

 

[Mort Corey]

So basically you think it's not even worth getting into these two hi-res audio formats.
cheers,
supervij

It depends I think they're as far along with title availability as they're going to get. Local BB, CC, etc have taken them off the shelf in my area. I bought a player (Denon 2900) last year and to date only have abut 20 or so titles. They're awesome (and DSOTM can't compare in PLII vs SACD) but you'll find yourself hunting on line.

Mort