The Bottom Line
However, added HDMI/DVI connectivity, SACD/DVD-Audio playback, as well as a little more refinement in the owner's manual, user interface, and less cluttered remote would be desirable.
The Pioneer DVR-533H DVD recorder/Hard Drive combination is definitely worthy of consideration. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Pros
- Performs well as both a DVD recorder and DVD/CD player, very good video quality.
- Runs cool and quiet, slimline design is attractive and practical for installation.
- Extensive recording and playback options.
- Simultaneous Record/Play in DVD-RW VR mode and One Touch Copy work well.
- Includes DVD-R DL (DVD-R Double Layer) disc recording capability.
Cons
- Owner's manual can be somewhat confusing.
- TV Guide programming feature requires long intital setup time.
- No DVD+R/+RW format or audio-only CD-R/RW recording.
- No HDMI or DVI output
- No SACD/DVD-Audio playback compatibility - Dual Disc playback not gauranteed
Description
- DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW (Video Mode), and DVD-RW (VR Mode) recording in tandem with 80GB Hard Drive.
- Playback formats: DVD video, DVD-R/DVD-R DL/DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CD/-R/RW/-MP3/WMA/JPEG, and VCD.
- Video Inputs - 3 composite video/S-Video, 1 RF, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire/iLin/DV) input.
- A/V Outputs - 2 S-video, 1 component, 2 composite, 2 analog stereo, Digital Optical Output.
- Progressive scan with 3:2 pulldown is supported via the component video outputs.
- Dolby Digital and DTS pass through via the digital optical audio output.
- TV Guide Channel listings/Programming system built-in - works with over-the-air/cable TV systems.
- Real time dubbing from DVD to Hard Drive, High Speed Dubbing from Hard Drive To DVD.
- Chase Play (Simultaneous Recording and Playback) supported when recording in DVD-RW VR mode.
- Disk Backup allows dubbing home made DVD back to hard drive for re-dubbing to additional DVDs.
Guide Review - Pioneer DVR-533H-S DVD Recorder/Hard Drive Combination
1: Video image quality was very good using the 80GB hard drive or direct-to-DVD recording option. At the one and two-hour record modes, I found little visual difference between the source material and finished recording. I found that recording to the hard drive first, then dubbing to DVD was yielded slightly less dropped frames than recording to DVD directly, based on the blank media I used.
2: The Chase-Play feature (simultaneous recording/playback) with the DVD-RW VR format worked well. It was easy to toggle between monitoring the current recording and playback of earlier segments while recording on the same disc.
3: The 533 performed well both as a DVD recorder and as a DVD/CD player. Dolby Digital/DTS pass through was excellent, as well as the standard and progressive scan component video output. The video/audio quality was definitely on par, or better than, comparison units.
4:The 533 easily played DVDs made on other DVD recorders; DVD-Rs made on a Pioneer DVR-7000 and several PC-DVD drives played without difficulty, as did DVD+RW discs made on a Philips DVDR985 DVD recorder. By the same token, DVD-Rs made by 533 played without difficulty on other DVD players.
5: The TV Guide programming feature took a long time to initially set-up and wasn't very intuitive to use at first, which may intimidate some users. However, I found once I got used to the user interface, recording TV programs became fairly easy.
