Although 2004 was a mixed year for CE retailing, that didn't stop manufacturers from introducing new products for the consumer. Despite the Iraq war, economic doom sayers, and a controversial presidential election, the U.S. economy proved itself resilient. As a result, technology and product innovation continued unabated across all consumer electronics categories. Check out some of the newsworthy home theater highlights from 2004 and preview of what may be ahead in 2005.
The Year of the DVD Recorder
As I predicted in my 2003 retrospective, DVD recorders were indeed the "products of the year" in 2004. Not only did the DVD recorder finally become affordable for the average consumer (some with street prices as low and $199), but came in several types of configurations.
Multi-Format DVD Recorders
The single DVD recorder that deserves the most mention was the LiteON LVW-5005. This DVD recorder was unique in that it was the only one at the beginning of 2004 that could not only record DVDs in four out of the five DVD recording formats (DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/+RW), but still remains the only DVD recorder than can also record CD-R/CD-RWs as well. Sony also released their RDR-GX300 late in the year, which can also record in DVD-R/-RW/DVD+R/+RW, but does not record CD-R/CD-RWs. LG also introduced its LGXBR446, which is a DVD Recorder/VCR combination that features DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW as well as VHS tape recording, but it does not include CDR/CDRW recording. However, as a result of both LiteON's, Sony's, and LG's efforts, perhaps other makers will get the message.
DVD Recorder/Hard Drive Combos
In terms of other DVD recorder configurations, DVD recorder/Hard Drive combo units also made an big impact in 2004. Units, such as the Pioneer DVR-810H, which in includes TIVO service and Panasonic's lineup of DVD recorder/Hard Drive combos, gave the consumer more flexibility on how they record and edit their DVD recordings.
DVD Recorder/VCR Combinations Added Flexibility
Lastly, perhaps the most significant development in DVD recorders, was the availability of the DVD recorder/VCR combo. Although there have been DVD Player/VCR combos on the market for a couple of years, at this time last year there were only of a couple of DVD recorder/VCR combinations available for the consumer. Now, there are over a dozen available from manufacturers such as Sony, GoVideo, Panasonic, LG, Philips, and JVC. The one DVD Recorder/VCR combination that caught my attention was the JVC DRMV1S, which sported two great features: Separate tuners for the DVD recorder and VCR section, and ability to upscale VHS output to 480p. All DVD recorder/VHS VCR combos should have these features. Although the fate of the VCR is all but sealed, expect the DVD recorder/VCR combination concept to be here for a while as the ability to play old VHS tapes and the ability to copy old home videos to DVD without a lot of hassle is greatly appreciated by the consumer.
Be sure to check out my resources on DVD recorders, which are updated periodically:
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