Humax DMR-E55 DVD Recorder User Manual


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MAKE SONY SONY THOMSON TOSHIBA YAMADA HITACHI
MODEL RDR-GXD500 RDR-GX700 DTH 8005 DR-1 DVR-8000 DV-RX7000
SPECIFICATIONS
Price £500 £500 £400 £400 £200 £279
Recording formats DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/RW DVD+R, DVD+RW DVD-R/-RW, DVD-RAM DVD+R, DVD+RW DVD-RAM. DVD-R,
DVD-RW
RGBrecording YES YES YES NO YES
DVD-Audioplayback NO NO NO NO NO NO
Video CD/Super Video CD YES/YES YES/YES NO/NO YES/NO YES/YES YES/YES
CD-R/CD-RW playback YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES
MP3/JPEG playback YES/NO YES/NO YES/YES YES/NO YES/YES
Tel 08705 111999 08705 111999 01732 520920 0870 4424424 0870 9063304 01628 643000
Web www.sony.co.uk www.sony.co.uk www.thomson-europe.com www.toshiba.co.uk www.umax.co.uk www.hitachidigital.com
media.com
FEATURES
VideoPlus/PDC NO/YES YES/YES NO/YES YES/ NO/NO YES
GuidePlus SOMETHING SIMILAR NO NO NO NO NO
Variable bit-rate recording YES YES NO YES NO NO
Non-linear editing YES YES NO YES NO YES
Playlist editing YES YES NO YES YES YES
Timer YES YES 16-event YES YES
No of recording modes 6 6 6 3 4 4
Trick-play functions YES YES YES YES YES NO
Zoom NO NO YES YES NO NO
Progressive scan playback YES YES NO YES YES NO
CONNECTIONS
RGB Scart in/out YES/YES YES/YES YES/YES YES/ YES/ YES
Component video out YES YES YES YES NO
DVI or HDMI out NO NO NO NO NO NO
S-video in/out 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
Stereo audio out YES YES YES YES YES YES
Optical digital audio out YES YES YES YES YES YES
Electrical digital audio out YES YES YES YES YES
i.Link in/out NO/NO YES/NO NO/NO YES/NO NO YES/NO
Photo card slot NO NO NO NO NO NO
VERDICT
Ease of Use ★★★ ★★★★ ★★
Features ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
Looks ★★★ ★★★ ★★★
Picture ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★
Sound ★★★ ★★★ ★★★
Value ★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
We say: The only UK DVD
recorder with a built-in
Freeview digital terrestrial TV
tuner
We say: Similar to the
GXD500 but with no
Freeview tuner - has DV
camcorder inputs instead
We say: Use of DVD-RAM
opens-up editing
possibilities, but watch
cross-compatibility with
other DVD players
We say: Navigation display is
long-winded and of all the
recording modes, only HQ is of
any notable quality
We say: Not yet reviewedWe say: The high price tag
does not include the picture-
enhancing progressive scan
function
We say: Sports a built-in
Freeview digital terrestrial TV
tuner
We say: A pity the i.Link is an
input only as you can’t output
edited DV footage to a
camcorder
We say: Neither of the two
Scart inputs will accept an
RGB video signal
We say: Lacks a DV input
but generally well-endowed
with connections
We say: Not yet reviewedWe say: Included on
Thomson’s earlier media
recorders, USB memory card
readers for MP3s or digital
pictures have been left out
from this model
OVERALL
★★★ ★★★★ ★★★
We say: Not yet reviewed We say: Not yet reviewed We say: With hard disk
recorders DVD still relatively
expensive, this deck makes a
good substitute. Thanks to
DVD-RAM compatibility, its
editing features are many
and extras like ‘pause live TV
are possible. DVD playback
is good and much better
than most entry level decks
We say: It looks chunky and
the remote is clunky, but it
boasts excellent connectivity
if not editing options, being
DVD+RW compatible. The one-
hour HQ recording mode is
great, so this deck is for people
who need to archive and is not
the best for daily use
We say: Not yet reviewedWe say: With a very muted
playback of commercial
DVDs, this is an average deck,
although, even coupled with
its underwhelming audio, it
would serve a basic surround
sound system adequately.
Lack of digibox control and
memory card or DV-input for
camcorders ensures a
conclusion that this is a no-
frills unit aimed squarely at
the gadget-unconscious
60 ESSENTIAL HI-FI & HOME CINEMA
DVD Recorders
039 EHC 08 DVD REC G.Test 21/9/04 5:34 PM Page 60
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