DVD recorder + hard drive vs DVD RAM

[tracy6697]

Can someone please explain the difference between a DVD recorder with a hard drive or one with DVD RAM. What are the pros and cons of each and which would you recommend?

[rccatnap]

Check the following link for all the DVD formats. A DVD recorder with a hard drive is just exactly that. DVD RAM is an additional format that allows you to use a DVD -RW disc much like a huge floppy disc. However, being an electro-mechanical unit, it is much slower than the normal solid state RAM, which as you probably know, are plugged into the (up to 4) DIMM or SIMM slots on a PC motherboard. < http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=26 91965&postcount=2 >.If you're not going to connect the recorder to a computer, then don't bother to get one with DVD RAM capability. Hope this helps.

[jake-the-peg]

The DVD RAM format allows inserted disks to be accessed much like a hard disk.

This is most commonly a Panasonic. I had an early one without a hard disk and it was very useful as you could "timeslip" on it (Watch the start of a program while you are recording the end).

Now though I've got a similar unit with a hard disk and I've never used the RAM format. I record to the hard disk and if I want to keep it I burn it to a DVD-R which almost all DVD recorders can read.

Get a hard disk recorder that can burn to a dvd.

Incidently I replaced the first because after a couple of years it stopped recognising the RAM disks and playing up although pre-recorded DVDs and DVD-Rs were OK.