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   1. DVD Recorder
   2. Plasma Television

DVD Recorder

The DVD recorder is becoming almost as popular as the dodgy reality TV shows it's actually being used to record. We live in a twisted world, don't we?

You shouldn't get confused between a DVD recorder and a DVD burner though - they aren't the same thing. It's the same with an optometrist and an optician - you'd be forgiven for thinking both provide spectacles, and you'd actually be right, but there is a difference between the two - one is licensed to prescribe lenses, the other just sells them. You see, clear as mud

Back to the subject - DVD recorders and DVD Burners both create DVDs by "burning" via a laser to a blank DVD disk (not literally setting fire to it of course, that would be silly, and hazardous). However, a DVD recorder typically refers to a standalone unit that resembles and functions very much like an old VCR. Like a VCR, DVD recorders all have AV inputs as well as onboard TV tuner for recording TV shows. What all these abbreviations basically mean is that you can record off the telly or from a music CD. Simple really.

A DVD burner, on the other hand, refers to a unit that is either an external add-on or internal DVD drive for a computer that can record video, but can also read and write computer data and store it on a blank DVD disc. Without getting too complicated and sending you to sleep, it's like having two girlfriends - one is good at washing up and likes sugar in her tea, the other is good at ironing and only drinks black coffee, but both are good at cooking. So they have a similar function, but actually operate differently.

DVD Burners used in this manner are also sometimes referred to as DVD Writers.

On the other hand, standalone DVD recorders have no ability to read or write computer data. DVD recorders cannot be used to connect to a computer for recording of data files and can only record video from analog video inputs and, on most DVD recorders, from a digital camcorder (if you want to show those naughty recordings on the big screen)

Now one question you may have (no, we don't have any naughty home videos to show you) is whether you can play your recorded DVDs in other DVD players. There is no guarantee that any DVD you make with your DVD recorder will play in all DVD players. It depends on how old your DVD players is (post 2000 should be okay) and what format you recorded on to, but you should be able to play it.

If you're asking us whether you should run to the shops and buy one - we'd say don't run, especially if you're near the road, and look both ways before crossing. Whether or not you should purchase a DVD recorder depends on your needs. If you like the idea of recording with the best video and audio quality currently possible, preserving old family videos in a more permanent format, making your own short films or videos, and need to replace an aging VCR anyway, a DVD recorder may be an option to consider. Prices are coming down fast - you can ones for under £100 these days.

One final note, if you are going to buy a DVD recorder, think twice about using is to record those 'intimate' camcorder moments, you never know when a curious nephew accidentally presses play in front of the in-laws.

swot

- To study hard, especially for an examination.

 Doing business without advertising is like doing business in the dark. You know what you're doing, but no-body else does. 

Dr Steuart Henderson Britt