DVD Recorders Buying Guide
DVD Recorders
DVD recorders are fast taking over from VCRs as the best way to record your favourite TV programmes and movies. With DVD recorders you can watch normal DVDs, listen to audio CDs and play back your recorded discs. There are three main different kinds of machine to choose from. Our DVD Recorder Buying Guide helps you understand the differences between them.
Buy a DVD recorder from Tesco.com
Why buy a DVD recorder?
The VCR era is drawing to a close. Now that you can record digital TV and movies onto DVDs, you can enjoy all the benefits of digital technology. The advantages include:
- Perfect picture and sound - with no deterioration over time.
- No fast-forward and re-winding to find what you're looking for. Recorded DVDs offer a "track list" of what they contain.
- Play audio CDs and rented DVDs
- Record once and keep forever, or use DVD-RW discs to re-record as many times as you like.
Different kinds of DVD recorder
There are three main types of DVD recorder that all work in slightly different ways.
- DVD-R/RW DVD-R/RW allows you to record onto use-once DVDs or rewritable discs - which you can record over as many times as you like. Blank discs are getting cheaper all the time, and you can fit several hours of TV onto one disc. The machine automatically records over any free space on the DVD. One drawback is that the disc can only be used on compatible DVD-R/RW players.
- DVD+R/RW >Very similar to the previous type of recorder, DVD+R/RW machines work with rewritable and use-once DVDs. However, DVD+R/RW recorders are more likely to be compatible with other DVD players, and they offer a few extra features. The on-screen menu shows a little thumbnail picture of each recording, making it easy to skip from programme to programme.
- DVD-RAM DVD-RAM is unlike the other two forms of DVD recorder mentioned above. Closer to a removable computer hard drive, with DVD-RAM you can pause live TV, watch another programme on the disc at the same time as recording, and even start watching your show while it's still being recorded. You can also edit your DVDs and remove unwanted sections. It's perhaps the most flexible of the three formats. However, they are generally less compatible with other DVD players than the DVD+R/RW above.
Additional navigation
*Tesco Bank Buy Now Pay later available on selected products. Available to over 18s and UK residents only, subject to status.