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Now that CD-R and CD-RWs are breaking the $600 and $500 price barriers, along comes DVD-R. Yes, that’s right, some time this year or perhaps next, for about $2,500, you can start recording on DVD media. Unlike the DVD-Video playback format with dual layer/dual side capability, the DVD-R counterparts use only a single-sided, single-layered recording medium, with a maximum storage capacity of 4.7GB. Like a VCR, these units have different recording times. You can only record one hour (approximately 10.08MBPS) on a single disc at DVD-level quality. Now if you want to get an entire movie on a single disc, you have to increase the data compression, thus reducing overall resolution. Still, two or three hours recorded at a higher compression on a DVD medium would beat the hell out of any analog videotape. The maximum time is six hours with a considerably lower transfer rate of 1.73MBPS. Pioneer has been the leader in the CD-Recorder category, so it’s no surprise that they had a prototype of their first DVD-RW. Stepping beyond the DVD-R category, they jumped to DVD-RW, which can write over the same media 1000 times. As someone pointed out, in reality that might really mean 400 times. Who cares? Rewritable DVD for about $2,500 to $3,000 before 2001 is pretty damn awesome. By the way, this unit is already being sold in Japan. They love their technology even more than we do. Offering both Dolby Digital and DTS playback, it can only encode Dolby Digital when recording. It incorporates an MPEG2 A/V encoder and decoder and employs 24bit/96kHz DACs. As you’d expect, component video output terminals are standard. Samsung showed a very similar unit called the DVD-R2000 that may actually get released before the Pioneer for an estimated $2,000. Sharp showed a player that is already available in Japan, though other Sharp DVD players require a software upgrade to play anything recorded on their DVD-R. There was no information about potential industry-wide compatibility. Panasonic, however, showed a VDR-1000 that uses the incompatible DVD-RAM format. Basically, what you record on this machine you play on this machine or a computer equipped with a DVD-RAM drive. Up until now, DVD-RAM was a computer format used primarily for back-up purposes due to its generous 4.7GB storage capacity. Converting it for the possibility of home recording seems like a cheap R&D move, offering no real value or convenience to the consumer. The Panasonic has more of an industrial feel, whereas the Pioneer and the Samsung in their gold-brushed aluminum chasses, bear the stance of special high-end audio products. It’s obvious that Panasonic is going after a different customer than the other two.

For the present, CD-R and CD-RW are here to stay and being incorporated into stereo components in unique and different ways like these: JVC’s XL-R5000BK and Pioneer’s PDR-W739 are 3-CD changers with a CD-R/RW recording deck. They allow you to record tracks from three different CDs without swapping the disks out. Assuming you are only recording a compilation from these three CDs, your end product could be programmed and recorded without any hassle or changing of discs between songs. Both provide 2x times high-speed dubbing and finalization, plus a sampling frequency converter for digital-to-digital recording of sources such as MD, DCC and DAT. However, each has special unique features. The automatic level control on the Pioneer PDR-W737 prevents varying level fluctuations from different source materials. Additionally, it identifies the brand of the blank disk and optimizes the laser output for the best possible recording. The Pioneer also seems to have come up with a "legal" way to get around the serial copy management system that prevents the recording of a copy. When a clone is place in the PDR-W737, it automatically recognizes the original digital tracks, reads it as analog and then converts it back to digital through the A-to D converter. Tricky, but how much resolution do you lose? The JVC XL-R65000BK provides the ability to mix in narration using a microphone or another line audio source, such as a turntable or cassette deck. Also, a pitch controller (+ or – 12%) allows deejays making custom CDs to add special effects during the recording process. The XL-R65000BK is compatible with other JVC products that incorporate COMPU LINK. TEXT COMPU LINK allows text or programmed title information to be displayed on other COMPU LINK equipment. The Pioneer is currently available for $725 and the JVC should hit the shelves in April for $650. In January, Pioneer also delivers the X-MR7, a complete shelf system that provides a CD-R/RW recorder. The integrated system has a three-disc changer, AM/FM tuner and a 30-watt (x2) amplifier with two bookshelf speakers. All this for $975. Now that’s an executive system. Kenwood has the dual-well DRF-W7020 CD-Recorder for $550, which provides a ram buffer in the 2x dubbing speed to ensure true bit-to bit recording.

CES 2000 Front Page | Ultimate Home Theater | Loudspeakers | TVs & Rear Projectors | 2-Channel Electronics | Affordable AV | Internet Audio & MP3 | DVD, PTV & DSS | Recordable CDs & DVDs | Accessories & Miscellaneous

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