Sony RDR-HXD710 Review

Overall Rating

Ease of use
Advance dubbing and editing options
Freeview tuner
Clear EPG
Build quality

Slow to start-up
Doesn't pause live TV like a PVR
Only one tuner

With its integrated Freeview tuner, hard disk and DVD recorder, the Sony RDR-HXD710 promises to offer all the benefits of a PVR and DVD recorder in one box. And boy does it deliver! I've had my HXD710 for just over four months, and I'm can honestly say that I am completely delighted with it.

I bought it after considering a twin-tuner PVR to replace my existing Humax single-tuner PVR, but I decided on the Sony primarily because it offered the chance to archive digital recordings from the hard drive directly to DVD. Which it does with ease. It can also record digital video directly from your camcorder using I-Link, and it will accept analogue sources through the scart input.

But what the Sony does most often is record digital TV onto the 160Gb hard disk. The electronic programme guide makes it easy to view and record from the TV schedule with its clear layout and category search facility. The choice of recording qualities and the large capacity of the disk mean that you should never have to worry about finding space for a recording.

Existing recordings can be accessed easily through a title list, which includes the name of the program and a thumbnail of the content to help you remember which is which.

The editing options allow you to trim and split recordings, which is great if you want to delete adverts from a film before archiving to DVD, or take the boring bits out of your home video clips!

The video output is first class, especially from the component video connections. I have mine connected to a top-notch AV amp in order to get the benefit of the digital audio output.

The only bad point worth talking about is the speed of operation. It can take quite a few seconds to start-up, and DVD operations can be slow too.

On the negative side, there are some features missing on the Sony which are included on other digital recorders costing half the price: Two tuners and automatic buffering of live TV for example. However, I've kept my Humax PVR (which is now connected to my TV through the Sony), so this doesn't bother me because I've now got the best of both worlds.

The only negative which does affect me is the speed of operation. It's pretty slow to start up, and it seems to take an age to eject DVD's, but these are minor quibbles.

Overall, I think the Sony is excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone for recording Freeview, especially those who are upgrading from an existing digital recorder.