Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony RDR-HXD995 Freeview+ 250GB Hard Disc Drive DVD Recorder

Coming from tape, it's a dream - even people who can't make all the bells and whistles work will find it good value for around £200. I thought the thick instruction book was (like so many) in half a dozen languages - but no, those 167 pages are all in English - so be ready for some serious reading if you want to make the most of it... One tip here - download the manual from the Sony support website as a PDF and you can search for key words etc.

Pros -

You can watch a recorded programme while recording another - brilliant! Maybe they can all do this, but coming from tape, it's amazing. (If you want to record one live programme and watch another live programme, then you need a second tuner - either in the TV or eg cable TV).

I like the fast-forward with sound - you can pause the TV while you (eg) answer the phone, then press Play and the fast forward, which then enables you to catch up again - they just speak a bit faster (but it's not in a squeaky voice!). Then when it catches up, it tells you and slows down to normal speed. (But don't forget to stop the record, as this continues)

I chose it over Panasonic because it can take an analogue input and I plan to copy from an old analogue camcorder (to maintain quality, rather than copy these from the VCR tapes they were copied to originally). Not tried it yet, but the box certainly seems to have the right connections.

Cons -

If you've got cable, then be ready for a challenge.. You need to get your head round the connections and what you might call the protocols of operation. I've linked the cable box to the TV and to the Sony (using scarts), then I've got a terrestrial aerial connected to the Sony, which enables me to use the freeview tuner in the Sony. But with the tendency for modern kit to change its input to seek a signal, the challenge is knowing what it is you are watching - the cable or freeview! But a quick press of a button on either the box remote or Sony remote will tell you.

No mute button on the remote!!! How can they miss something so basic??? Instead of being able to `zap' the sound (eg while the adverts are on), you have to press and hold the volume down button, then the volume up button when you want it back again - a mute button is such a simple feature that all remotes have, don't they?? It's not the sort of thing you think to check on when doing your research.. (The mute button on the cable remote still works if the input to TV is direct from that, but of the two scart outputs from the cable box, the one marked `VCR' is unaffected by the mute / volume control, presumably so you don't find you've muted your recordings by mistake - as we mainly watch the signal that comes via the Sony (to enable pausing live TV), I could reverse the scart connections, but don't want to risk that very possibility..)

I couldn't get it to control the cable box and have given up - supposedly it will control the box using the Sony remote, then be able to change the channels to record something on the preset timer, but I can't get it to. I read a whole load about the `Red-eye' converter that some cable boxes need (about £35 to buy online), but it made it clear that my Samsung box (supplied by Virgin) didn't need one. But there may be a benefit here - by keeping a clear head and being aware of which unit is reading which input, I can play `remote jockey' and use the full capabilities of the cable box as well and the freeview. And if I want to record something in the future, I use the freeview guide to set it up - I can't record cable channels on a forward planning basis, but having cut back to the free channels on this (the rest are not worth the extra I was paying anyway), this is not a problem.

I bought a Sony HXD 870(160gb)last year after much research and I am so pleased with it that I instantly bought the upgraded HXD 995(250gb) recently without any hesitation when I needed another one. And again I am not disappointed.For the little difference in cost I thought that for the extra HDD recording time it would be worth it.I have had no problems whatsoever with any of the DVD recorders and would recommend this model highly.Yes the instruction manual is a bit of a minefield at first but after reading it through, any one 'including myself' will get to grips with its mass of features if you require them all.Personally I dont.Of course it was easier second time round ,but don't be put off ,it's straight forward enough.Always use a HDMI cable in preference to a Scart, there certainly is a difference.I've got one between my new TV(Sony)and my HXD 995.I can't fit one on my first recorder because my older TV hasn't got a HDMI connection so I could see the difference straight away.Once again Amazon were the most competitive with prices and you also get their excellent service thrown in for nothing.So don't go paying high street prices, you wont get any better service once they have your money.

Decided to get this as my father having problems recording on an old VHS so thought I would see how this worked.

Plugeed in Freeview aerial into machine then lead from machine to TV and then ran the installation to discover the TV channels - which worked fine and took a few minutes.

Recording to either HDD or DVD is a doddle - you pick the program from the Freeview listing then pick quality of recording - HQ (High Quality) is excellent and then click - dead easy.

Once recorded you can watch it playback from the hard disk (HDD) or copy it to a DVD to watch on another telly.

If you a new to DVD Recorders with HDD then get this model - so easy even my gran could use it.

I am very impressed with this recorder.

Plus points:
It gives high quality pictures.
It is very quiet.
It has separate analogue and digital tuners.
It can accept input from a set top box (Sky or Cable) and control its channel selection.
The set top box input can be RF or composite.
The Guide Plus+ feature lets you select any channel and view or record it. It can be customised to select a channel from analogue, digital or set top box as required.
The 'easy setup' is straightforward.
It's very to use.
It's got lots of more advanced options if required.
The instruction book is comprehensive.

Minus points (nothing serious)
Customising the initial setup can take a while.
You can't watch another channel on this unit whilst it's recording, even via a different source (e.g. record digital and watch analogue).
If you have analogue, digital and a set top box, the connection diagram doesn't cover that option. Just connect all three, it works without a problem.
If you have analogue and digital, there is a connection diagram showing this but it needs a second male-female RF lead to link the tuners; only one is supplied. (The G-Link cable to control a set top box is supplied even though Sony's web site says it isn't)
Power on and Power off is very slow - initially you think it hasn't worked.

Like all DVD recorders (I believe) it has no RF output. You can't watch it in another room via your aerial system.

I've reconsidered my initial understated review and now consider this *range* (see Sony response below) of recorders to be faulty. See below for details. Sony say that it is broadcast fault, but until its sorted why take the risk if you have an alternative?
BEWARE

I won't re-iterate previous glowing reviews - this is an excellent product but ...

A warning, I've just got mine and have found an issue whereby some freeview dtv channels do not show in the correct format - i.e. they should be 16:9 but change and stretch with a second or two of choosing the channel.

I've contacted Sony via their web site to see if there is a solution but only just in the last few hours. So until they can resolve this please be aware of this.

I have also found reference to this issue on some discussion web sites and therefore confident that it isn't merely my mistaken configuration.

**UPDATE**
**********

I have just received a response from Sony.
They state the following;
1. The issue is with the broadcasting of the signals.
2. My TV is not affected because it has some way of handling it.
3. However they go on to state that none of the Sony RDR DVD recorders have this function.

I can only derive from this that the upshot is (regardless of where the problem lies) this range of products does not show many of the Freeview channels correctly at this current time.
Given that this product's main selling point is the quality of the picture I have to conclude that this is ruined if you wish to watch these channels.

If I get further updates I will relay them...

I was very pleased to see (something not mentioned anywhere in litrature) that it can view DVD-RAM recordings which I have created with my old panasonic DVD recorder, which had not been finalised - which was something I wasn't looking forward to having to sort out - GREAT.

Thanks.