Humax DMR-E55, DR-M1 User Manual

56 ESSENTIAL HI-FI & HOME CINEMA

Does JVC’s fine first entry into the DVD Recorder market mark the death of VHS?

£400

JVC DR-M1

I

N ADMITTING DEFEAT IN THE BATTLE TO
keep its invention, the video cassette, alive, JVC
has done the DVD Recorder market a big favour.

Where we do have a few gripes with the UK’s first
combined -RW and RAM recorder is its connections,
which include a RGB enabled Scart and separate S­Video and stereo audio outputs. However, the second
Scart at the back of the unit, which connects set-top
boxes, cannot handle RGB sources – it will only accept
composite or S-Video sources. An i.Link terminal on
front panel allows digital dubbing from camcorders.

Its ‘living memory playback’ feature – watching a

recording while it’s still being made – is unique to
RAM compatible machines or those with hard drives
(and some DVD-RW machines). Recordings can be
made onto almost universally accepted DVD-R discs.

DVD-RW disks can be formatted in video-mode or
VR-mode. The latter allows free editing of contents
but the former is more widely compatible. That’s made
up for by satellite control (only with Sky digiboxes)
and the great ‘free rate’ (FR) recording mode, which
calculates time left on the disc in various recording
modes. This means you can chop and change between
bitrates on one (recordable or rewritable) disc.

Picture quality in XP and SP mode recordings is
clear, while the DR-MI’s progressive scan playback
works with recordings and PAL software.

With a such a low street price, JVC’s DR-M1 is only
a hard drive and a RGB input away from perfection.

Great features and a familiar VCR look and make this perfect for the newly converted

£300

Panasonic DMR-E55

I

T MAY BE AT THE LOW END OF PANASONIC’S
DIGA range, but what the DMR-E55 lacks
(hard drive, DV input) it makes up for in great

picture, sound and a myriad of recording functions.

That’s largely down to its compatibility with DVD­RAM and DVD-R formats – but be aware that DVD­RW discs cannot be used for recording. Its four
recording modes, XP, SP, LP and EP, range from one to
eight hrs of recording time. Picture quality on XP
mode is outstanding – as it is with pre-recorded DVDs
– while the more flexible SP mode is excellent. Other
modes are still better quality than VCR recordings.

Timer recordings can be made manually or with

VideoPlus, and there is also a PDC facility. The DVD­RAM format offers extensive editing and is perfect
for daily recording and deleting. It also enables
‘chasing playback’, allowing you to watch the start of
a recording while it continues to record, as well as
‘time slip’, which means the last 30 secs of live TV
can be replayed – a boon for sports fans.

Playback functions include Direct Navigator, which
displays full-motion thumbnails of all recordings on a
disc, while Playback NR reduces picture noise and
Virtual Surround Sound mode does what it says –
with only two speakers.

Expansive connectivity comprises component

video output for PAL and NSTC progressive scan,
RGB Scart input and output, S-video support, an
optical digital audio out and front panel AV inputs
for connecting a camcorder. Missing features, like a
memory card slot, i.Link digital video connection and
hard drive can be found on other Panasonic models.

What’s good

Satellite control
Prog scan

What’s bad

No RGB input
Satellite control won’t work with Freeview or Sky+

What’s good

Versatility of DVD-RAM recording
Attractive design

What’s bad

DVD-RW recordings would have been useful
No DV input

DVD Recorders

039 EHC 08 DVD REC G.Test 21/9/04 5:31 PM Page 56

MAKE CYBERHOME GOODMANS HUMAX JVC LG LOEWE MICO
MODEL CHDVR750 GDVD300R DRP-560 DR-M1 DR4810 CENTROS ESPEJO R311

SPECIFICATIONS

Price £250 £200 £315 £400 £300 £450 £200
Recording formats DVD+R, DVD+RW DVD+R, DVD+RW DVD+R, DVD+RW DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW DVD+R/+RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW

DVD-RAM DVD-R/-RW
RGB recording NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
DVD-Audioplayback NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Video CD/Super Video CD YES/NO YES/YES YES/YES YES/NO YES/YES YES/YES YES
CD-R/CD-RW playback YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES
MP3/JPEG playback YES/NO YES/YES NO/NO YES/YES YES/NO YES/YES YES/NO
Tel [phone] 8730080 020 8547 4240 0870 3305000 0870 6075544 0800 0276465 0852 2951 4538
Web www.cyberhome-europe.de www.goodmans.co.uk www.humaxdigital.com www.jvc.co.uk www.lge.co.uk www.loewe.de www.micoelectric.com

FEATURES

VideoPlus/PDC YES/YES YES/NO YES/YES YES/YES NO/YES YES/YES YES/YES
GuidePlus NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Variable bit-rate recording NO NO NO YES NO YES NO
Non-linear editing NO NO NO YES YES YES NO
Playlist editing NO NO NO YES YES YES NO
Timer 6-event 8-event 6-event 8-event/one month 7-event YES 6-event
No of recording modes 5 6 5 5 3 4 5
Trick-play functions YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Zoom YES NO NO YES YES YES NO
Progressive scan playback NO NO NO YES NO NO NO

CONNECTIONS

RGB Scart in/out NO/YES NO/YES NO/YES NO/YES NO/YES NO/YES NO/YES
Component video out NO NO NO YES YES YES NO
DVI or HDMI out NO NO NO NO NO NO YES/YES
S-video in/out YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES
Composite video in/out YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES
Stereo audio out YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
Optical digital audio out NO YES YES YES YES YES NO
Electrical digital audio out NO YES YES NO YES YES YES
i.Link in/out NO/NO NO YES/NO YES/NO NO YES NO/NO
Photo card slot NO NO NO NO NO YES NO

VERDICT

Ease of Use ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★
Features ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★
Looks ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
Picture ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★
Sound ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
Valu e ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★★★

We say: Easy to install
with a good remote
which controls many of
the functions, but has
fairly basic features

We say: Onscreen user
interface is easy to
navigate, while DVD
playback is difficult
to fault

We say: RAM compati­bility means fantastic
editing options and
progressive scan gives a
great picture

We say: Menus and
scans through DVD
chapters are smooth,
and editing on DVD-RW
discs in VR mode is easy

We say: Editing features
combined with dual-RW
format support are great
but the lack of progressive
scan is a disappointment
at this price

We say: Offers fewer
editing options than the
Philips deck it was
cloned from

We say: It’s a bit light on
features, especially RGB
recording for digital TV
and it can’t divide
DVD+RW recordings

We say: Not RGB ready
and only supports
composite and S-video
so set-top boxes can’t
be connected

We say: This budget
recorder lacks RGB input

We say: No RGB input is
a letdown but
recordings made from a
good S-video source
look excellent

We say: The lack of inputs
makes this virtually useless
for making quality
recordings from digital TV

We say: Neither Scart
supports S-video or RGB
input, so decent quality
digibox recordings require
plugging an S-video cable
into its front!

We say: No RGB input
is bad for digibox users,
and there’s no RGB
out if you select
S-video input

We say: You can’t make
RGB recordings from
digital TV sources but you
can do DV dubbing from
digital camcorders

OVERALL

★★★★ ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★

We say: This retro
looking model is at the
lower end of the market
and comes with what
you would expect in the
way of features. A
budget Philips clone
with limited editing
options, it’s nevertheless
a good performer when
it comes to sound, while
recordings made in SP
mode are as good as the
original broadcast.
Better, though, to spend
a bit more and get an
RGB input and more
flexible editing capability.

We say: It may be a
budget DVD recorder but
this smart model is the
equal of many more
expensive units. DVD
playback picture quality is
more than adequate while
sound too is very reliable.
Recordings made in SP
mode are near-DVD
quality, although sounds
quality is fairly weak. All
in all a great value
recorder for the price, just
don’t expect miracles.

We say: Fantastic audio
(although there’s no
manual control of
recording levels) and
very good picture
quality, combined with
an attractive street
price, equals a good
value unit. Slight pulling
noticeable with captions
but overall it can’t be
faulted as a DVD player.
The combination of
DVD-R and DVD-RAM
gives you freedom while
editing. All it needs is an
RGB input.

We say: It might be
available at a decent
price, but there’s a
good reason. Despite
attractive casing this is
a fairly mediocre
recorder that suffers
from limited editing
options and a poor array
of inputs. Fewer
recording modes than
most models and a
bland picture make this
a limited, albeit easy to
use, deck that is worth
avoiding: better units
are available, and
much cheaper.

We say: A disappointing
case of style over
substance. Lacking even
rear S-video input let
alone RGB, there’s no
proper way to get good
recordings from digital
TV, which is daft, and
there’s no progressive
scan playback. Dual
format recording is handy
but apart from the
excellent editing features
it’s quite tricky to use.

We say: There are too
many cut corners here
for the budget price to
overcome. It’s too easy
to mistakenly record
over a partially recorded
disc, the remote lacks
any class and DVD+R
recordings can’t easily
be edited. We do like the
audio output, which is
good on both surround
sound sources and CDs,
and the picture quality is
excellent. What a shame
it has no RGB input for
recording digital
TV sources.

We say: By no means a
bad DVD recorder at
Humax’s first attempt.
Quite easy to use and fine
for recording analogue
terrestrial TV but, sadly, not
digital. Its eye-catching
design, complemented by a
stylishly thin remote
control, is let down by a
sluggish menu system and,
above all, the price. A
good unit but other
recorders offer just as
much for the money. A
sizeable drop in price may
be needed if Humax is to
keep up with its rivals.

58 ESSENTIAL HI-FI & HOME CINEMA

DVD Recorders

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