Hard Drive DVD Players

250GB Hard Drive DVD Players

LG RH200MH
LG Dvd recorder with 250gb hard drive - £408.99

SAMSUNG DVD-HR738/XEU
SAMSUNG DVD RECORDER WITH 250GB HARD DRIVE - £449.99


160GB Hard Drive DVD Players

TOSHIBA RDXS24
Save £150 on this Toshiba DVD recorder with a massive 160Gb hard drive - the ultimate in digital recording and storage - previously £399.99

HITACHI DVDS161EUK
HITACHI Dvdr with 160gb hard drive

SONY RDRHX725
GREAT SAVING on this Sony DVD recorder with 160GB hard drive - record and archive all your TV favourites.

TOSHIBA RD85DT
TOSHIBA Dvd recorder with 160gb hard drive

SAMSUNG DVD-HR737/XEU
SAMSUNG DVD RECORDER WITH 160GB HARD DRIVE

PANASONIC DMREX75EBS
PANASONIC DVD RECORDER WITH 160GB HARD DISK DRIVE

JVC DRMX10SEK
JVC Dvdr/vcr with 160gb hard drive

80GB Hard Drive DVD Recorders

LITE-ON LVW-5027HC
LITE-ON DVD RECORDER WITH 80GB HARD DISK DRIVE - £169.99

LG RH177
LG DVD RECORDER WITH 80GB HARD DRIVE - £204.89

SAMSUNG DVD-HR730/XEU
Record all your favourite TV moments to DVD or hard drive with this Samsung DVD recorder featuring 80GB hard drive - £217.79

PIONEER DVR-440HX-S
PIONEER DVD RECORDER WITH 80GB HARD DRIVE AND BUILT-IN FREEVIEW - £327.04
SONY RDRHXD560
SONY DVD RECORDER WITH 80GB HARD DRIVE AND BUILT-IN FREEVIEW - £369.99

ARCAM DiVA AVR350 HD Cinema Reciever

Arcam have added a new model to their range with the HD Ready AVR350. Information from Aracam states that it is "built for HD movies and tuned with music".

Here's the feature list:

• Two HDMI inputs - for Sky HD, HD DVD, Satellite, etc.
• One HDMI output - to HD TV, HD projector, etc.
• 5 composite and 5 S-Video inputs
• 3 composite and 3 S-Video outputs
• Video upconversion - composite to S-Video; composite and S-Video to interlaced component video
• Analogue audio: 100 watts per channel continuous power output
• Audiophile quality components for best sound quality, including new OP2134 op-amps, 1% metal film resistors, polypropylene film capacitors, OSCON electrolytic capacitors & double sided, fibreglass circuit boards
• Multi-channel 7.1 analogue input for DVD-A or SACD sources
• Digital audio: State of the art Crystal Semiconductors CS49400 DSP (24 bit)
• Audio formats include Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic
• Adjustable global audio delay to compensate for video processing delays
• Supplied with back-lit CR80 learning remote control with support for up to 7 other components

Manufacturer's info: Arcam

Samsung Takes on Market with Dual HD Player

With the two types of HD format confusing the market and with the war taking hold, you're probably wondering which type of HD player to buy?

Well Samsung is looking to simplify to help consumers and take a large market share potentially with a dual HD Player.

With their BD-P1000 Blu-Ray player launched recently the concern that not all HD movies will not be available in all formats. It's damn annoying that the studios can't work together to work out a consistant approach in that all their releases will be available in both formats.

HDD Players

Below we've listed a selection of HD Players. Quite often they're called HDD Players.

Shinco Portable 7" Media Player with 40GB HDD supports ASF AVI DIVX MPEG 1/2/4 Audio MP3 WMA MS MMC SD CF Card Reader USB2.0 Silver.
Brand: Sigmatek Shinco Portable 7 Media Player with 40GB HDD supports ASF AVI DIVX MPEG 1 2 4 Audio MP3 WMA MS MMC SD CF Card Reader USB2.0 Silver.
£252.16 from Micro Direct

H&B AV-612LCD Portable Multimedia Player 20GB HDD 3.5inch LCD display MP3 MPEG-4 HDTV remote control
Brand: Cambridge Audio Orientated towards product development that combines cutting-edge technology with well thought out design H&B adds to this the functionality that is necessary for the evolution of hi-fi and video products whilst operating a pricing policy that makes its products very attractive. PRODUCT FEATURES: AV-612LCD HDD-based Portable Multimedia Player with 3.5inch TFT-LCD high definition display...
£266.02 from Micro Direct

VR-558 300GB HDD Digital Video Recorder DVR
Brand: Digital Antenna
£469.99 from Savastore - Watford Electronics

Inverto IDL7000T Freeview + 80GB HDD 14 Day EPG
Brand: Digital Antenna Inverto IDL7000T Set Top Box With 80GB HDD
£184.98 from Savastore - Watford Electronics

Sagem PVR6280T Freeview Box + 80GB HDD + 7Day EPG
£152.99 from Savastore - Watford Electronics

DP-1504 Wireless DVD Player with 40GB HDD
Brand: Kobe KiSS DP-1504 - DVD player with HDD digital multimedia receiver
£152.99 from Savastore - Watford Electronics

Kiss DP1504 / SlimLine DivX DVD Player with 40GB HDD
Brand: Kobe 40GB hard drive HDD SlimLine design Full DVD, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, CD, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, CD-RW, DVD+ -RW compatibility JPEG picture CD viewing PC-link software for PC Firmware upgradable WebRadio Ethernet connection PC card slot for wireless connection (PC card not included) Progressive scan Dolby Digital MPEG 5.1 digital output Remote control
£213.56 from 24-7 Electrical

Shinco Portable 7" Media Player with 40GB HDD supports ASF AVI DIVX MPEG 1/2/4 Audio MP3 WMA MS MMC SD CF Card Reader USB2.0 Silver
Brand: Sigmatek
£252.16 from Micro Direct

H&B AV-612LCD Portable Multimedia Player 20GB HDD 3.5inch LCD display MP3 MPEG-4 HDTV remote control
Brand: AMC Multimedia
£266.02 from Micro Direct

H&B AV-512 Portable Multimedia Player +40GB HDD MP3 MPEG-4 HDTV USB2.0 remote control
Brand: AMC Multimedia
£134.42 from Micro Direct

Panasonic Blu-Ray Disc Players Delayed

The new Panasonic Blu-ray Disc player - DMB-BD10 which inclused the EZ-Sync HDAVI control function which allows user to control any HDMI connected device from a single remote control will now be released in the US in October which is believed to coincide with the release fo their first 1080p plasma TV. Pricing in the UK hasn't been established yet.

Toshiba HD-XA1 Review

The HD-XA1 has a built-in multi-channel decoder that support Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD (2 ch.) and DTS. The transfer rate is an amazing 36.55Mbps which can be compared to a standard DVD which has an average bit rate of less than 10Mbps.

Here are the technical specs:

Video

• Disc Playback: HD DVD, HD DVD-R, DVD, DVD-R/-RW/-RAM, CD, CD-R/-RW
• HD Content Output via HDMI (Disc Native Resolution)
• 11-bit / 216MHz Video DAC
• Video Up-Conversion for SD DVD (720p/1080i)
• Enhanced Black Level (0IRE / 7.5IRE Selection)
• Letterbox / Pan & Scan Support
  

Audio

• Built-in Dolby® Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS® and DTS-HD Decoders
• Dolby Pure HD Compatible (2 Channel)
• Four 32-bit Floating Point Digital Signal Processors
• Multi-Channel 24-bit/192kHz Audio DACs
• HDMI Audio support up to 5.1 L-PCM
• 5.1 Channel Bass Management
• Speaker Size
• Speaker Distance
• User Selectable Crossover (80Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz)
• Channel Level Adjustment
• Dynamic Range Control
• MP3 and WMA Playback

Convenience

• Motion Activated Backlight Remote Control
• Tri-Lingual OSD (English, French/Japanese)
• Bit Rate Display
• FL Dimmer
• Fast Forward
• Fast Reverse
• Slow Play
• Step Play
• Time Search
• A-B Repeat
• Screen Saver
• Parental Lock

Inputs Front Panel

• 2 USB Terminals

Inputs Rear Panel:

• 1 High Definition Multimedia Interface (ver. 1.1)
• 1 ColorStream Pro Component Video (gold plated)
• 1 S-Video (gold plated)
• 1 Composite Video (gold plated)
• 1 Stereo Analog Audio (gold plated)
• 5.1 Multi-Channel Analog Audio (gold plated)
• 1 Coaxial Digital Output (gold plated)
• 1 TosLink® Optical Digital Output
• 1 Ethernet 10/100 Port
• 1 RS-232C
  

Why HD DVD?

The formats are changing again. A new gadget will creep its way into your living room and you won't be able to get away from the fact that if you've got a hdtv, you'll need a HD DVD.

With a new HD DVD you'll not only be able to witness the supreme picture quality that it offers but also increased functionality over traditional dvd players.

At the moment most of the indices of the dvds we get these days are pretty poor. When you think of the amount of effort that the film companies but into their promotional websites, they should, in my honest opionion, make the menus more interesting and with the new HD DVD they won't have an excuse.

Which HD Player will win the DVD War?

Two formats of high-definition (HD) video disk will vie for market dominance just as Betamax and the c60's did back along. The two combatants in this war are HD DVD and Sony's Blu-ray disc.

But do the ordinary public know this? My view is that ordinary people will be confused by the two versions and end up not buying either. There's been significant talk also about potential incompatibility issues between HD TV's and the players which could also prove a disaster as people avoid purchasing units so they can wait and see which will succeed.

There are many vocal organisations such as the Electronic Engineering Times which are being very proactive in attempting to sort the issue out. They're dissatisfied that attempts to digitally copyright protect the devices will lead to significant degradation in the quality of the output. They're not happy that because some will try and copy the disks, the rest of us will loose out. And that the tactics to be employed won't work anyway.

It looks like it good get messy! Stay tuned.

HD TV / HD Players Anti-Privacy Protection

TV Predictions offers a stark warning for people who have, or intend to get HDTV. They comment that Sony and Toshiba are planning to release new HD DVD players later in the year but will come with copyright protection software as standard.

But who'd really want to watch HDTV on a pc monitor or a non hdtv? The website says this could be an issue for up to 12 million homes. Copyright protection, it says will decrease picture quality by 75% - eek! To get the full information (I don't want to be sued) can be found here.