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

+ It just works.

- quite complicated, not intuitive but the manual is reasonably clear.

+ Very effective once it is set up

- Difficult to set up. Confusing instructions

+ ease of use
record one whilst watching a recorded programme
i now have spare wires, due to digital sound lead to amp and hdmi to tv

- even more chanels of rot to watch !

+ good features and picture

- instruction book would confuse an old person

+ Digital tuner + EPG series link

- HDD / DVD button illuminations a bit too bright

+ Good build quality the EPG guide is not as slow as other reviewers state

- Not as easy to record as it could be, still not worked out if or how to record without adverts

+ Ease of use, oustanding image quality

- Instructions could be better

+ Well made, very quiet and easy to edit out the adverts before dubbing to disk.

- Non that I have found

+ Good Upscaling to 1080p and picture quality
The RDRHXD8890 came with Multi Region facility which is a boon for the DVD's I have from the US

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Ease of use for recording and the value for money.

- None found yet.

+ Smart looking piece of technology. Easy to use.

- Not found any yet

+ Good quality at a reasonable price

- The handbook is large and complicated, there should be a simple guide for the basic instructions

+ very easy to set up and use. i bought it mainly to transfer videos to dvd and you can do this very simply.

- has to be on standby to get the tv guide so i cant record on the timer, but this could just be me as i turn it off when not using it.

+ good clear non-reflective picture.Plenty of adjustment available to get both sound and vision exactly how we want it.

- Rather complex manual .This is probably due to the multitude of functions this one unit can perform.

+ Easy to use - we especially like the series link which is easy to turn off or on.
No more fiddling with videos or DVDs but great to have DVD option especially if you want to have 'hard copy' of something to watch in other locations.
We have it linked to old TV at the moment which is not a Sony yet remote easily programmed to operate both Sony product and the TV. A great recorder - competitively priced so is also excellent value for money!

- Not really a bad point as its probably us not getting around settings menu yet but the digital update function comes on when machine is turned off. When it was in our bedroom we did find it disturbing us.

+ General technical features and design

- Complexity and presentation of instructions

+ easy to program, high degree of connectivity, classic understated styling,

- program guide layout is a bit naff but functional

+ SHOWS MARKERS FOR ADVERT INTERLUDES MAKING IT EASIER TO EDIT. VARIED RANGE OF RECORDING QUALITY LEVELS.

- NOTHING, REALLY.

+ When you get to grips with the manual the product very good

- The manual is not the easiest to use, you seem to have to skip from page to page. Thw epg is not as good as oldd recorder

+ Great quality product and easy to use.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ for the price an excellent purchase, well worth the rave reviews, just how far in front is blu-ray?

- bland looks.

+ Ability to store programmes in high volume and access them easily

- Takes a bit of time to learn how to use the remote

+ The picture and sound are excellent. The design is good to. It sits very nicely on the chest of draws and is not obtrusive.

- The manual is difficult to understand. I am having difficulty getting the hard drive to record.

+ once all connected to other systems works like a dream

- need more info on set up as we do have more than 3 systems like ie sky+, dvd&video hi fi need info in plain talk and pictures

+ value for money

- rubbish manual

+ Good manual/user instructions. Easy set-up. No apparent 'bugs' - it does exactly what you expect it to.

- HDMI output not good quality, but that could be down to poor quality cable or other set-up error.

+ Excellent quality picture & sound

- Needlessly complicated manual. DVD recorder doesn't maintain widescreen on realtime dubbing. (It does on highspeed). This is a problem with HDMI as I can't use zoom with my TV on this setting.

+ very good features

- menu system poor

+ Clear instructions, easy to use. Good quality picture and sound. Versatile.
Too soon to comment on reliability.

- None

+ Ease of use with a new product

- none to date

+ Reviewer left no comment

- 1. Too complicated 2. Whilst recording one cannot view another channel

+ good value for price

- can not watch another programme while recording

+ Easy to use, slim design works well .

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Ease of use

- None

+ easy to use

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Great machine.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Everything about this product is good.

- Have not found any bad points so far...

+ Versatile. Easy to use.

- None

+ got everything you need, freeview, hard drive easy to use and good picture and playback quality

- non that i can find at the moment

+ Straight forward to set up, despite the mass of information in the manual.

- Perhaps a list of meanings of certain activities. e.g. DUBBING I thought this meant changing text, instead of recording on to a DVD disk or have I still got this wrong?.

+ All good so far

- Text on menu screens is a little small

+ Typical Sony quality

- Need to be rocket scientist to operate it.

+ Usual slick Sony design, good coonectivity, clear instructions.

- The User Interface (Programme guide; Title list, and System menu) is not as easy to use as that on my Sony RDR-HXD710 which I bought about three years ago. Although the two machines are very similar (the 890 has some extra features), the old 710 is much easier to use. I can't see why Sony changed this.

+ Series Link is a good feature

- appears to dislike any disks that are slightly scratched or dirty.

+ Easy to use TV guide with series link facility makes it simple to add programmes into the planner. You can record DVD's, play CD's, look at your digi photo's and loads more. Very responsive remote. Sound and picture quality is excellent. Good digital picture with hardly any interruptions even though we live in a relatively poor area for digital reception. Overall we are really pleased with it.

- It's a complicated piece of equipment so the instructions are a bit daunting but once you get the hang of it, it's excellent. You can only watch or record one channel at a time (unless you have a second digi box or similar, or can still get analogue) although you can watch a previously recorded programme whilst recording another programme at the same time. Some of the screens are a bit "busy" but it may just be a case of getting used to what you are looking at. Good points far outweigh these minor "bad" points, though.

+ the recording of tv is very good and simple with the built in tv guide.

- none i can think of.

+ Excellent sound through a 7.1 speaker system.

- Not found any problems with this unit yet, but I don't think this will happen.

+ Fast response, easy to set up. Well built, Good remote control. Quiet.

- Wife fills the hard drive with cookery programmes...

+ Its a Sony!

- Not the easiest instruction manual

+ Excellent peice of kit - would recommend the player

- None that I have found

+ A high quality product with lots of features.

- The manual is difficult to understand. I learnt how to operate the recorder through trial and error.

+ Point and go, it's that simple

- Reviewer left no comment

+ For a non technical person like myself this was an easy machine to use for the basic uses.The hand book is clear and easy to follow.It is very easy to use the recording and storing system and that was my main objective.Im extremely happy with it so far and am gradually adding new functions bit by bit.It is agreat machine--buy it if you want one.

- As yet I have not found any bad points.

+ Easy to set up and get going.
great picture and sound

- Daunting instruction manual. OK so it covers every eventuality but not easy to find your way around it

+ Relatively easy to use once set up

- Manual needs some interpretation

+ does what it ays on the tin

- The handbook is verry bad. Please include a quickstart card. I had to discuss with a friend with a similar machine to get going! The handset could do with a redesign with the features used most of the time given more prominance - e.g volume control.

+ Easy to set up.
Good picture and sound.
Good price.

- Too complicated.....most will only use the basics.
Display is poor in colour and the text is to small to read from a distance...even on 46 inch screen.
Menu system is not clear for dubbing,hard to read documentation on most topics.

+ Fast dubbing,plenty of hdd space. Seems to be of decent quality. I prefer Panasonic. I could not, however purchase a comparable Panasonic recorder for the same price.

- epg downloads on standby-however we cannot receive epg!!!!! Clock display is not very bright. Design is rather boring. Instruction manuel can be "heavy going". Does not down load direct from Panasonic HD Camcorder to hard drive by HDMi cable.

+ Great pictures even when not in HD

- Sound not good at times but could be present-day mumbling in films that the director allows. 1940s and 1950s films okay as are BBC news announcers

+ handbook hard to follow, had help from local Sony centre, does every thing the book says....when you can understand the book

- not clear instructions,, takes a lot of getting used too

+ It does everything i was looking for

- Its a bit tricky to get used too,a whole bookful of information to digest

+ Easy to set up and like the chase function when recording

- some dvd's don't fill the widescreen tv when watching it.

+ Speed of program and series selection good. Quiet operation at all times. Smart appearance.

- The manual is not easy to understand from a non techno persons perspective, although I have a reasonable knowledge of TV, Video recorders and other HDD recorders this one wasn't straight forward. But when time was spent reading the product forum, answers to my 'Q' were found. Perhaps a re-write of the manual could be done.

+ Everything about this product is superb. Recordings on HD at high quality are excellent.

- None that I have detected so far.