Which of the two do you think is better? http://sonystyle.co.nz/products/product/dvd-and-home-theatre/dvd-recorder/rdrhx750s.jsp http://panasonic.co.nz/product-detail$product$869$.html#tabs The Sony RDRHX750S or the Panasonic DMR-EH57GN-S? They're both the same price.
Considering the two machines are so similar i think we should try and think out of the box a little bit and perhaps not choose either of them. 1) I notice neither of them have a digital tuner, If you are in the UK you will need a method of being able to record digtal TV after 2012 when they switch analogue off. 2) What make of TV do you have (or intend to buy). I say this because usually to get the HDMI connection to auto switch the TV (like scart does) they will need to be the same make). Also having the same brand keeps the remote control issues down to a minimum. 3) Does your TV accept 1080P signals. Some will accept proper HD 1080P signals but not an SD picture scaled to 1080P at a differnet frequency. Therefore do you need 1080P upsaclling?? 4) Is region free important to you? Can you find any region hacks for either of these.
I have a Sony Bravia S Series LCDTV (1080i only) for it to be used with. Most of my DVDs are duplicates so region free won't be used much. For DVB I will get an external box and connect it with S-Video. I am in NZ. Thx
Well, I can speak for the quality of panasonic regarding DVD playback which has traditionally been one of the best, (outside of high end , arcam, denon £1000 plus stuff). However, in recent reviews Sony have been doing very well too. In your case, Id match up with the TV and buy the Sony.
These units have digital audio (coaxial/optical) outputs. Does this mean they can play dvds with 5.1 surround output?
your assumptions are correct regarding the 5.1 audio output via an optical or co-axial output. Of course, this means you connect to a surround sound decoder / Amplifier system which has matching inputs (optical or co-axial) and that can decode dolby 5.1
