Sony RDRGX7

OK – Despite some of the 'cons' outlined above, it wasn't a bad recorder - and the virtual quick start record feature allowed accurate VHS transfer to DVD. It was a good editor, and no electrical breakdowns of any kind in the 3+ years I owned it; it never failed to read the correct types of discs, and, unlike other branded recorders this one allowed 3 hour long play per DVD-R or +/-RW. The lack of full disc medium/file format support and no tuner with this model, makes it less appealing today, but the record/edit/finalise features work, but still a good performer despite its simplicity and limited functionality. Looked good in 2004 as a new model in Radio Rentals. Although a bit heavy and bulky, it appeared to do the job of recording DVDs just fine, and finalising them for use in other players was perfect. Did not support JPG or MP3 and would not record DVD+R. No inbuilt tuner of any kind, had to connect one externally (in my case a stereo VCR connected to L4 (rear input i believe from memory) gave me TV channels to record. I was also told by the saleswoman this model had a HDD (which turned out to be false advertising on her part) - not that I was concerned. There were things not mentioned in the manual that should have been - such as 'this recorder will not play MP3' - it loses 2 points (out of 5) for not being able to recognise MP3 or JPG like other brands of the time could do. It also couldn't read CD-RW, only CD-R finalised audio discs; useless really, since this deck overall retailed for over $1300 new in '04. You'd expect more for that sort of money. DixX wasn't an issue back then; I consider that a 'luxury extra'.

Good – I love this recorder, any DVD's i have made are able to be played on 3 different makes of DVD players that I own, love the fact it records both + and - as not sure which will win in the end, this way I am covered by both, I record a lot on long play and play back on a giant 160cm TV and the quality is pretty good and this way I get 6 hours on a DVD, I am constantly reusing my DVD's but would advise to periodically reformat them for better performance very easy to set timer to record tv programs, love the menu set up which allows you to type in name of program and how it lets you know how much time is left to record, quality of recordings is great unlike the other sony recorder review, it only takes 30 seconds to load a dvd ready to record on, have had some trouble with DVD's not working, must remember not to get finger marks on them as it makes them dirty and unusable

Good – A well made, easy to use, high quality hifi unit. A real value for money product. The audio output is fantastic. I upgraded from a Samsung DVD player [a new one] to achieve 6.1 Dolby EX, which few support. Not only did I achieve 6.1 sound but ALL sound output was dramatically improved in clarity and richness. I was impressed with the ease of setup for digital input direct from Foxtel, as well as output through my Sony AV Receiver. Recording from free-to-air or Foxtel is a snap. Some noticable vibration when readind DVD disks.