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New Recorders Offer High-Quality Video Michigan

Living-room DVD recorders from Pioneer and Panasonic top our chart this month.

1. Local Companies

2. Introduction

3. Skip the Ads

4. Specialties

1 . Local Companies

Plot 1
(248) 348-8844
22241 Roethel Dr
Novi, MI

K L Enterprises
(269) 694-6167
10543 Ab Ave
Otsego, MI

Staples
(989) 358-0310
1064 M 32 W
Alpena, MI

Interactive Business Solutions
(810) 720-2210
G5154 Miller
Flint, MI

Azentac
(810) 694-9300
G6070 Saginaw
Grand Blanc, MI

Cartridge World
(616) 532-1717
1717 28th St SW
Grand Rapids, MI

Consultations Plus Llc
(616) 667-4044
Jenison, MI

Foxberry Inc
(734) 243-6655
2074 S Custer Rd
Monroe, MI

Gratiot Office Supply Inc
(313) 839-3505
11009 Whittier St
Detroit, MI

D & J Computers
(810) 648-5088
262 S Custer St
Sandusky, MI

Are the format wars finally over? Thankfully, almost. Compared with the hard-drive-equipped DVD recorders we reviewed a year ago, twice as many now support both the +R and -R formats. The only exception here is the Toshiba RD-XS55, the priciest model on the chart at $700.

All of the recorders delivered high-quality video. Every model regardless of its cost (the units we reviewed range from $340 to $700) earned a Very Good score for recording quality in our tests.

We recorded a variety of content in four quality modes, and found the results almost indistinguishable among the devices. And though we noticed some subtle differences in the artifacts that marred video recorded at the lower-quality modes, they weren't enough to affect our scores.

As for the recorders' features, however, they couldn't vary more--while some of the models offer a range of useful extras, others lag behind.

3 . Skip the Ads

If you don't like TV ads, select a recorder that can skip commercials. The Panasonic DMR-EH55S, Pioneer DVR-640H-S, and Toshiba RD-XS55 each offer a commercial-skip button on their remote controls for nixing jingles before they're stuck in your head.

Two recorders, the Lite-On and the Pioneer, have jukebox functions for playing music files and JPEGs. The Pioneer earned our Best Buy nod in part because it comes with a wonderful remote control and works well as a jukebox; it allows you to select multiple albums or a particular genre to play. The Lite-On, by contrast, doesn't let you play a selected folder or play by genre or artist. The unit doesn't even display the title of the currently playing song.

4 . Specialties

The pioneer is the only model here that can write to 8.5GB discs (both double-layer DVD+R and dual-layer DVD-R), and it's one of three units that write to DVD-RAM discs. The Toshiba RD-XS55 does not write to DVD+RW--and though it's the only device here with an ethernet port, you can't download video to its hard drive or display video on your TV over a network.

For scheduling recordings, the Panasonic and Toshiba (the two costliest models we tested) offer the TV Guide On Screen Interactive Program Guide, while the other models work with VCR+ codes.

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Business Services	Fashion	Industrial Goods & Services	Retail & Consumer Services
Career	Financial Services	Insurance	Software
Cars	Food & Beverage	Internet	Technology
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Construction	Health	Miscellaneous	Trade Shows
Education	Holidays	Nightlife	Travel
Entertainment	Home Appliances	Online Database	Weddings
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New Recorders Offer High-Quality Video Michigan

1 . Local Companies

2 . Introduction

3 . Skip the Ads

4 . Specialties