And with the built-in PictBridge support, it's possible to plug some cameras in directly to the front panel inputs and view and/or transfer digital images directly from the camera. The photo slide show capability was very cool - a great way to view megapixel digital pics: on a large high resolution screen. I would have liked a "random" mode for music - let the player be the DJ - but this was not available. The user interface for music and photo playback is pretty rudimentary, but it gets the job done. The front panel features two handy USB ports for connection of a flash drive, digital camera or external hard drive, plus an additional analog A/V input (for a total of three A/V inputs). You can then copy the files over to the hard drive using a USB drive, CD-R or DVD-R. But you'd be better off ripping your CD collection on a computer: it's faster and you can take advantage of file naming conventions to transfer over song-names to the MP3 or WMA files. You can then add in an album title, but not individual track titles - these stay as track numbers. The recorder even lets you "rip" a CD to the hard drive in real-time. They can either be played directly from a CD or DVD, from a flash drive or external USB hard drive plugged into the front-panel USB port, or the music and image files can be transfered over to the hard drive and played back from there. That's right, unlike most DVD recorders, which concentrate solely on video programming, the DVR-640 can be used to store and play your music collection (MP3 and WMA files) as well as your digital photos (JPEG files) through your television or home theater system. It covers everything from basic recording and playback, to tweaking the video recording rate to squeeze every last bit of quality into available disc space, to using the built-in hard disk drive as a virtual jukebox or photo gallery. And the manual is pretty hefty at 135 pages. In fact, I only cracked the manual toward the tail end of the review cycle just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Initial set-up, recording, viewing, editing, dubbing - all of it was accessible in a few clicks either from the "home menu" or "disc navigator" buttons on the remote. My first test of any component is to ask myself, "self, you clever devil (and modest too), how far can you get without opening the manual?" The answer, with the Pioneer DVR-640HS? Extremely far. The DVR-640's generous jack-pack features two A/V outputs, 2 A/V inputs, antenna/cable in/out, one component video output, a coax digital audio output and a control jack for integration with integrated control systems. The programs transfered over fairly quickly (limited in speed only by the DVD-RAM format itself), and with no loss as the copy was done entirely in the digital domain with no format conversion or re-encoding. I put this compatibility to the test by dumping a few shows from my Panasonic DVD recorder's hard drive onto a DVD-RAM in high speed dub mode, then using the Pioneer's high speed copy in the other direction to transfer the programs to the Pioneer's hard drive. But just as Bob the Builder can build virtually anything, so the Pioneer DVR-640HS can record on virtually any format DVD including DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM. My 3-year-old son loves "Bob the Builder." His taste in television clearly hasn't matured yet. Happily, these two issues are non-existent in the Pioneer, and as technological advancements force prices down, the Pioneer sells for less than half the Panasonic recorder's original price. That was the Panasonic DMR-E100H, a fine recorder in its own right, if a bit limited in its compatibility (DVD-R and DVD-RAM recording only) and in its operation (dubbing to disc suspends all other operations). What does this have to do with Pioneer's DVR-640HS DVD Recorder? Well, this recorder allows me (and my sister) to enjoy these compelling examples of television art once, or many times, with the convenience and ease of use of a VCR, but the superior quality, form factor and navigation of a DVD.Īdmittedly, this is not the first DVD recorder I've brought home. Sad? You bet! Entertaining? Hell ya! And I've got a sister (in Germany) who has similar taste in shows (yes, insanity is known to run in families, as is bad taste in television). "The Amazing Race," "Survivor," "The Biggest Loser" - these are the high points of my week. Admission is the first step in 12-step programs, right? But the fact is, I don't want to kick the habit. Addiction Fulfilled I'm addicted to reality TV.
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