Sony RDR-HXD890 160GB Storage, Upscaling DVD Recorder Reviews

+ once set up it is very easy to use with a clear picture and good sound

- the instruction book is a nightmare and not being very techno minded we found it very confusing. It took us ages to set the machine up and we were very unsure we were doing it right. This book could be made much easier to read too much information on eachpage

+ Seems to be excellent value for money, not had it too long but does all I hoped for.

- Instructions to set up a nightmare however, with some common sense managed to get it set up.

+ Easy to set up and quiet when running. Picked up all digital channels with no glitching. No messing about setting timer, recording via epg means you just need to select desired programs with a couple of presses on the remote, has auto extend if your program starts late it can also be set to record a complete series.

- none so far, epg recording did let me down once but this was the fault of the transmission not the recorder,
If you where recording something really important might be advisable to use the normal timer function instead of relying on epg.

+ Excellent playback quality on DVDs and Freeview HDD recordings in standard mode. Great for storing, displaying & printing digital photos, although it doesn't display them in Hi Def nor does it auto rotate them. Overall, a very versatile and capable product.

- Unecessarily complicated menu system and not very intuitive. Quite hard for technophobes to operate, I would think. If you struggled to use a VCR, then avoid this.

+ General quality of the product and the picture quality. Easy to use when set up. I like the programming guide. Even the wife can record programmes - brilliant!!!

- Took a bit of setting up. The users manual was very comprehensive but where I encountered a problem, the solution was not there. Still having problems getting the recorder to record onto DVD when on timer. Seems to keep defaulting to HDD.

+ Timer recording to HDD easy to use, as is playback of recording. Aesthetically pleasing. Will probably never use all facilities that this machine has to offer. However, buying it as a replacement for my broken video player, it has impressed me (i know, easily pleased ! ! !)

- Took several attempts to get the 'freeview' to install properly. Manual would benefit from an "idiots easy set up guide". However, just 'playing' with the thing has brought more to light.

+ Very easy to set up and use

- Only contains one digital tuner - it is not possible to watch one digital programme whilst recording another (you have to add an external tuner such as a digital TV or set-top-box

+ Play DVD and record TV on HDD at the same time
Good freeview picture quality
Very good upscaler

- Channel guide could be better like sony tv
Annoyingly long load time

+ So pleased with it, has revolutionised our tv viewing! Really easy to use - but I did need to consult the manual as it does so much!

- The only improvement would be if it came with a dual digital tuner so that you can watch and record at the same time. However this doesn't matter if you have a digital tv but we haven't upgraded yet!

+ Once set up very user freindly to tape onto hard drive.

- User manual does run through all the machine can do. However some of the functions are by no means straight forward, and it is not very apparant how to do it when reading the manual.Almost you need to be a bit of a techno geek to get by.

+ its simple to use and reliable. worth every penny

- there are no bad points

+ Does exactly as it says on the box! Easy to set up, good quality recording, good playback. No probs so far!

- Instruction manual so detailed that it took some time finding the relevant bits I needed. Having said that, once I'd read it several times and actually tried all the various options I now feel quite at home with it.

+ Everything does exactly what it's supposed to .. picture quality and dvd playback is excellent.. and the freeview picture is actually better than my Virgin Media V+ box. I've now told Virgin that I'll be cancelling my contract in January... because of the unreliability of their product.. this Sony Product is Excellent.

- None I've come across so far.

+ Built in digital tuner makes recording from the guide easy and really useful having the series link feature.

- The only thing that annoys me about this system is that when you change the channel, the on screen display only shows what programme is on now, i had previously been used to a stand alone set top box which showed up 'now and next' when flicking through the channels.

+ Easy to use menu system. Very good quality sound and vision. Quiet operation.

- None, so far