dvd recorder

A DVD recorder records video onto blank writable DVD media, creating digital discs that are usually suitable for playback in normal DVD players.

When the DVD recorder first appeared on the Japanese consumer market in 1999, these early units were very expensive, costing between $2500 and $4000 USD. However, as of early 2006, DVD recorders from notable brands are selling for $250 USD and £69 or less, with even lower "street prices". Early units supported only DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs, but the most recent units can record to all major formats DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R DL, and are now often coupled with hard-disc based Digital video recorders (DVRs) to improve ease of use.

Some believe that DVD recorders will supersede the Videocasette recorder (VCR), while others believe that they will remain specialty items as digital video moves to network distribution.

DVD recorders have several technical advantages over VCRs, including:

• Superior video and audio quality
• Easy-to-handle and smaller form-factor disc media
• Random access to video chapters without rewinding or fast-forwarding
• Onscreen multilingual subtitles and labeling not available on VCRs
• Reduced playback wear and tear
• High-quality digital copying, without generation loss
• Improved editing
• Playlisting
• No risk of accidentally recording over existing content or expected running out of space during recording

Nonetheless, DVD recorders remain costly compared to VCRs, and may require extra steps to initially format the disc for recording^{citation needed]} and to finalize the disc to view in other DVD players. (This disadvantage does not apply to DVD-RAM discs, which require no finalization due to their 'random access' nature.)

A number of manufacturers have combined DVD recorders with hard-disk based Digital video recorders, allowing for simple recording to large fixed disks, and the ability to spool these recordings off the DVD at a later date.

See also

• DVD
• DVR
• VCR
• Digital video