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Any opinions on the Sharp DV-HR300?
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Silver64
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1. March 2005 @ 10:12 |
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Malaysia, USA, UK, Australia, France, Spain, Norway, Germany, WOW! A proper little UN this forum is. It sure is good to be part of a Sharp 300 worldwide brotherhood and to be able to share help where needed and our ideas to make the 300 and the 350 even better! What is it about this machine that seems to have generated more posts than any other brand. It's the only piece of Sharp electronic equipment I've ever owned. Pity Sharp doesn't realise just how much interest we've generated and recognise it by sharing with us their help where needed! I guess that would be too much to ask! Anyway lets keep it goin' and as Manny would say "Keep the shiny side down"! Silver
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andyloc
Junior Member
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2. March 2005 @ 11:28 |
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Hi I was about to purchase a 350H here in the UK when the price went up, I had to hold off a while because of other financial commiments, but I now am back.
However I see that JVC have announced some new HDD/DVD units with a built in EPG guide. This is the only thing I think the HDD/DVD world needs extra, and it looks like the next gen equipment are all going to get them, I know there is a Philips that currently has a EPG but they are really expensive.
What I want to know is is it worth getting a 300/350H or wait for a new unit with a EPG guide built in?
cheers
Andyloc
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Silver64
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2. March 2005 @ 12:21 |
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Hi Andyloc
If you want to wait long enough I guess DVD Recorders with the ability to do all sorts of hitherto unknown things will be available. Like PC's they'll soon be cheap enough to get one for free in Corn flakes packets! At the end of the day it's your decision. I am sure JVC dvd recorders are excellent. For what my Sharp 300H cost me and for what it does I am more than delighted Silver64
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mannycam
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2. March 2005 @ 17:02 |
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"cheap enough to get one for free in Corn flakes packets!"
LOL..Silver you crack me up ole buddy, thats so true though. In regards to Andyloc, don't even mention Philips around me ..lol
Andyloc, I had a very expensive lesson taught to me about Philips products. If you've read earlier posts, I had a terrible experience with their supposedly at the time "top of the line" DVD Recorder the infamous 985. At the end of it, I had coasters that reached across the Atlantic to Silver's part of the world. In only 8 months that sucker went from bad to a permanent door stop. I could even get it to burn a simple DVD+RW I got so mad one day, that I literally yanked it out of my entertainment center and threw it in the trash dumpster at my apartment. And I wasn't about to pussyfoot with customer service about it. I will never buy another product from Philips ever again. If it was just mine it wouldnt have been to bad, but countless buyers of this lemon complained about the same very thing I was experiencing, with no satisfactory results from Philips on the issue. Some even replaced it with new ones, only to find it working for 6 to 8 months and then repeating the very same errors. WOOOO...never again.
In any case, do your homework but Silver is right, for the price and so far the reliability of this machine you can't go wrong.
Kind regards, MannyCAM
MannyCAM
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raywong
Newbie
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3. March 2005 @ 22:44 |
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Guys,
Don't mean to be a 'traitor' here, but in view of budget (as I'm getting a couple of things together), the vendor is proposing the Toshiba RD-XS32. Now, what I really need to know is, any reason why I shouldn't go for this & stick to the Sharp instead?
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andyloc
Junior Member
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3. March 2005 @ 23:59 |
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WHat I was meaning when i said about added features is, that I think that all DVD/HDD recorders should have them.
I agree you can wait and wait for something to be added but then you'll never get one, I would just like this one extra feature for ease of use.
I didnt know about the Philips drives, are they all like this? or just that one? the 725 unit looks really nice.
Anyways, are Sharp going to bring out any more DVD/HDD players? in the future?
thanks
Andyloc
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Silver64
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4. March 2005 @ 01:58 |
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Raywong/Andyloc Hi There, First Raywong The Tosh looks like a nice machine. I'm surprised that it is less expensive than the Sharp. In the UK the Sharp is cheaper. As I've already said in a post to Andyloc in the end the decision as to which brand you purchase is your personal choice. The Sharp 300H I have is excellent but as it's the first DVD/HDD recorder I have owned I can't say if it's better than or worse than others (unlike Mannycam)
As for Andyloc asking if Sharp are going to make any more DVD recorders. I haven't a clue. I don't work for Sharp and I haven't seen any newer model than the 350H advertised. My guess is they will!
As this relatively new technology progresses there will undoubtedly be better, bigger, slimmer, faster, all- singing and dancin' and MOST CERTAINLY cheaper machines produced.
Maybe we'll all be recording to a different media entirely. Remember VHS? Cheers Silver
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andyloc
Junior Member
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4. March 2005 @ 03:54 |
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indeed Sliver,
CAn you tell me where you got your Sharp from in the UK, i live in UK too.
I would prefer to get the 350H for a bit more space, I nearly bought it, but went to order it on the night and it had increased by £100!!
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wiersbr
Newbie
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4. March 2005 @ 04:14 |
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Been some time since I last posted. But wanted to leave you with an update. Sent my recorder into Sharp for repair. They said it had a bad hard drive. Put in a new one and sent it back. In all, I think it cost me $50.. but now it is finally working like it should have when I purchased it.
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Silver64
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4. March 2005 @ 04:17 |
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mannycam
Member
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4. March 2005 @ 04:20 |
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Andyloc I don't mean to scare you concerning Philips products. I am quite sure they are now aware of the 985's shortcomings and most definitely have made positve strides with their other units. Its only my personal experience that left a bad aftertaste for Philips products. Not only was I defending the 985 in the beginning, since it worked flawlessly for the entire first 8 months but I was totally thrilled with the unit. It was always a bit bulky looking but it did have nice editing features. It was my very first Dvd recorder so it was truly a special thing for me. In the end I had paid about 850 bucks for the unit and about 100.00 more for the coasters it produced continually produced. Not to mention the frustration of failed burning attempts. I was not a happy camper:(
In regards to which brand to buy, remember guys this forum simply gives visitors a some-what "hands on" look at the Sharp Recorder thru the experiences of others. But it doesn't mean that the Sharp is the best recorder out there. Many other companies have produced some great machines, but this forum can only address machines used by others before buying the Sharp and not all of the ones out there. In my case "the 985"
MannyCAM
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mannycam
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4. March 2005 @ 04:26 |
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Hi wiersbr,
Nice to hear from you again, there is always a bad one in the bunch, the nature of all things electrical. But hey I'm so glad to hear you were able to get a repair from Sharp. Now maybe you can sit back and enjoy what it has to offer. What I don't understand is why you had to shell out the 50.00 bucks???
MannyCAM
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kennyhibs
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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4. March 2005 @ 07:48 |
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first problem in ove a year hope someone can help.
I was going through my recordings to back them up to DVD, I deleted a recording on the HD original but forgot i had it on a play list.
now when i try and delete the play list it locks up, cant even add a new playlist as it locks as well
ideas?
kenny
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mannycam
Member
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4. March 2005 @ 08:05 |
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Kenny, I can tell you that the playlist is not really the actual video clip you originally recorded. In other words the playlists only works if the original clip is still on your HHD. Without the playlist is useless. Your hardrive locking up is teeling you something's amiss. I would wager that the playlist has already been deleted. You most likely will see this when you create a new one of material you currently have on your HHD. But as far as your old content, say goodbye...it's history.
regards, Manny
MannyCAM
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mannycam
Member
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4. March 2005 @ 08:13 |
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One more thing, if it simply doesn't let you, try unplugging the unit giving it a few minutes and turn it back on. Then try creating a new playlist on some saved material. But again remember the original must be on your HDD for the playlist to work. If all else fails you may need to reformat. But unplugging it should do the trick.
But remember reformatting will erase the HHD completely. It will put it back to its factory settings.
Manny
MannyCAM
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petomane
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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4. March 2005 @ 08:16 |
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I had a similar problem a while ago caused by the same thing - deleting the actual recording before the playlist - and the only way out I could find was by clearing out the hard drive by dubbing everything onto DVDRW, going the "HDD Initialize" route and redubbing back onto the hard drive. Luckily, I didn't have TOO many items to bother about! Many someone has an easier fix, but this one certainly works.
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kennyhibs
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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4. March 2005 @ 08:33 |
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petomane, thats exactly what happened got loads to put on disk and some stuff will not fit on 1 disk so can i span the bigger files over multiple disks
kenny
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. March 2005 @ 08:42
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andyloc
Junior Member
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4. March 2005 @ 13:12 |
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I am tempted, very tempted. I want one I know, the Sharp looks a nice unit as well, as I say it seems to do everyting that I want it to do, apart from a EPG/Guide system (as others dont have either mind)
Dunno whether to wait a bit to see if they come down (Philips is too expensive for me at mo)
WHat is it like to timer record now, do you use videoplus, or the old fashioned step by step timer start, timer finish, channel etc etc?
like to know how asy it is.
Also do you think the extra 40Gb on the 350H is gonna be worth paying £60 for, how much extra hours at a good quality would I get?
Another question, I want to be able to switch cable channels over (I live in UK and have Telewest cable TV). I know I will need a red-eye converter for the TW cable box, but does the Sharp include a cable for the switching? if so does it work well on both cable boxes and Sky TV boxes.
cheers
Andyloc
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. March 2005 @ 13:16
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Silver64
Member
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4. March 2005 @ 15:56 |
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Andyloc
You can use either videoplus or manually set timer. It's your choice. Either is as easy as setting atimer on a VCR, The 350H wasn't available when I got my 300H. If you read earlier posts some folk would like even more than the 120Gbytes HDD that the 350 has onboard. Personally I haven't had a problem with having only 80 Gb. Don't forget you can also record from TV to DVD-R and RW media! Don't understand your question vis a vis Cable TV. I am with NTL cable and if I wish to record from a Cable program I use channel 6 on the Sharp remembering to set the set top box to the appropriate channel number that I want to record from. N.B.I don't have NTL digital, I am still with their analogue service. Normal terrestial channels 1 - 5 will be tuned into the Sharp automatically when you set it up for the first time. Again as suggested on this thread earlier if you want to know everything about the recorder, read the Sharp 300/350 manual you can download on your PC by clicking http://www.sharp.co.uk/customersupport/manual/showmanuals.asp?Model=DV-HR350H&SAPModel=DVHR350H
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VMG
Newbie
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5. March 2005 @ 10:46 |
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This isn't related to the most ercent conversations, but I have noticed a problem w/my 300 & was wandering if anyone else was having the same problem and/or what a solution might be. The last high-speed dubs (from HDD > DVD) I've made have an intermittnent (sp?)
"stutter", almost looks like slo-mo. No rhyme or reason. The problem is sporadic and it doesn't seem to matter at what setting the original or dub ( i.e. Fine-SP, etc.) or what type of video (indoors, fast action or stationary). I'm about to do a big run for my church & certaihnnly don't want that kind of (actually lack of) quality being associated with me or my church. Any ideas? FYI-I have most recently been using Maxell DVD-R's. Thanks in advance. VMG
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Silver64
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5. March 2005 @ 14:27 |
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VMG, Hi Don, I seem to recall you were/are still using the 300H for more than just domestic use. quote " I'm about to do a large run for my church ". Could be the 300 is just protesting with the overload of work! Seriously though I haven't any idea about the stutter on dvd recordings you are getting. It seems to me that rather than using the Sharp for mass duplication you would be much better doing a single dvd from your camcorder via the hard drive using the Sharp and then doing your large amount of copies using a 16x DVD writer (external or internal) in your PC such as the Pioneer 108 or 109. These can be purchased for GBP 50 or less and you can turn out dups far faster than the Sharp ever will Cheers.
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mannycam
Member
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5. March 2005 @ 16:31 |
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I can't say that I have encountered anything like that either "VMG" Don. Sorry couldn't provide you with more. Silver may have the right idea about mass producing. A PC burner is better suited for the rigors of mass duplication. Of course it also depends on how many and how close those burnings are. If youre burning for more than 6 to 8 hrs, let's say, without giving it a rest. That could be a bit much. Are you seeing the problem after many hours of operation or on the very first copies? Are the surroundings where your deck is set up, a cool area, providing plenty of ventilation? Might be able to at least see a pattern..
regards, Manny
MannyCAM
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norisk
Account closed as per user's own request
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5. March 2005 @ 18:28 |
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Anybody thinking about buying a Sharp or any other HDD recorder, I'd say go right ahead. Although the menu system on the Sharp could be WAY easier (separate screen to delete a film I just watched, anyone?) and I'd like to be able to split recordings, the editing is pretty good and it looks much better than those Pannys/Pioneers, which look like the original top-loading VHS recorders from the 70s.
On the other hand, if you're thinking of upgrading I wouldnt bother right now because it would be a small-beer incremental upgrade compared to what's coming. I just spoke to a bloke from Sony who are expecting their laptops to be incorporating BluRay by year-end. That, combined with (probable) 5-600gig hard drives by xmas means that the next 9 months should see home HDD machines capable of saving HiDef TV at full resolution. If you're in the UK that might not mean much right now but for Oz & the US (I think UK by 2007), any machine having this capability shouldn't be supersceded for quite a few years. These things are already available in Japan, for a price.
I think HiDef BluRay recorders will be the VHS recorders of the new millenium - they'll have a long lifespan and any immediate improvments will just be "tinkering".
Just my 5 cents, and completely off-topic.
Norisk
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Silver64
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6. March 2005 @ 00:06 |
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Hi Norisk, I quite agree with all you've said. Technology never sleeps and the old saying that your PC is obsolete when you open the box it comes in is not so far from the truth. It's when I look back at my first PC and my first VCR that I appreciate the advantages and technological advances I enjoy today. The Sharp 300H is my first DVD recorder with HDD (apart from my PC) and I think it's great. I'm quite sure that there may be other "better" machines out there but anyone buying a Sharp300 or 350 just now, I'm sure will be delighted. Especially if they are migrating from VHS to DVD! regards
Silver
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andyloc
Junior Member
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6. March 2005 @ 11:55 |
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what I mean by switching the channels is some recorders come with a IR blaster thing, to be able to switch over the cable channel automatically, ie you wnat to record 2 different stations on cable in 1 night.
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