DVD recorders and hard-disk video recorders are taking the place of VCRs in an increasing number of homes. Both types of digital recorders offer plenty of advantages over VHS recording, but what's it like to use these newer technologies? Barry Montgomery tried out Pioneer's DVR-510H DVD recorder/hard drive combo, and has the details.

I'm going to begin this review with a confession: I'm not a videophile. And, in terms of video technology, I'm a bit behind the times. Until now, the only home video recording I'd ever done was accomplished with my once-fashionable but now sadly outdated VCR. The opportunity to review the Pioneer DVR-510H, however, gave me a great opportunity to catch up on several of the recent advances in video recording that I've been missing out on.

Offering the superior video quality and convenience of digital technology, both hard disk video recorders and DVD recorders offer a wealth of advantages over the VCR. But each one has its limitations as well — hard drives offer no permanent storage for archiving your "keeper" recordings, while DVD recorders limit your recording options to the few hours of video that a single disc can hold. The innovative DVR-510H overcomes these drawbacks by combining an 80GB hard drive and a DVD burner in one unit. The result is a digital video recorder with remarkable power and flexibility.

The DVR-510H's slim chassis packs a wealth of digital video recording, viewing, and editing possibilities!

Incredible recording convenience
After hooking the DVR-510H up to my A/V system, I played around with it for half an hour before even looking at the manual. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to record TV programs. Especially when recording to the hard drive, absolutely no preparation is required — there are no tapes or discs to load, and there?s no scrambling to find a "blank spot" that hasn't been recorded on yet. Simply press ?Record? and the hard drive immediately begins capturing whatever channel you're watching. It never records over other saved programs, and it keeps careful track of everything you've recorded. Video recording has never been so easy, or so glitch-free!

It turned out that recording to a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc was very nearly as easy. Of course, you have to have a recordable disc loaded in the DVD well, but other than that, you get almost exactly the same hassle-free, one-touch recording convenience as you do with hard disk recording. The '510H automatically knows where to begin recording on the disc, and with a press of the "Display" button on the remote, you can quickly find out how much recording time is left on the disc.

The '510H also offers timer recording capabilities similar to those on a good VCR — but of course when you?re recording to an 80GB hard drive, you've got far more storage space than a VHS tape could ever afford. Recording times can be set with an on-screen interface that is self-explanatory and simple to use. An even easier method is to simply punch in the TV Plus+ codes found in many TV listings. You can set the timer to record either to the hard drive or a recordable DVD. A cool feature: if you've programmed a DVD timer recording and there isn't enough room left on the disc you've got loaded, the ?510H will automatically record the program onto its hard drive instead.

The '510H's on-screen menus refer to the basic unit of recording a "title." How much material is included within an individual title is up to you — the length can vary anywhere from one second up to six hours. Titles can also be subdivided into "chapters" for editing purposes (more on this later).