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Digital video recorder buying guide

A/V recording modes

Most DVRs employ stereo Dolby Digital and MPEG-2 (DVD-grade) compressions for recording audio and video, respectively. To squeeze in more footage per gigabyte, there are normally four recording modes available for user selection. These vary the captured video resolution and/or MPEG compression to compensate for storage space limitation.

Some brands such as Pioneer allow even finer levels of adjustment with up to 32 different recording modes, while most if not all offer a variable bitrate function for on-the-fly mode adjustment based on available disc space. Another alternative approach undertaken by Samsung for this matter is the deployment of the updated MPEG-4 encoding.

The past two generations of Panasonic DVRs also have enhanced Long Play (LP) recording capability. This, as the Japanese company claims, delivers 500 lines of resolution comparable to the quality of the space-hungry SP equivalent.

To preserve sound clarity, the High Quality (HQ/XP) mode records audio in CD-quality LPCM (Linear pulse code modulation), but at the expense of twice the recording space required. This is despite a similar video resolution employed between this and the stepped-down Standard Play (SP) mode.

Recording mode: XP/HQ | SP | LP | EP

 MODE  DESCRIPTION  PICTURE QUALITY  SOUND QUALITY  RECORDING HOURS  VIDEO RESOLUTION (NTSC/PAL)
XP/HQ  High Quality DVD CD 1 hour 720 x 480/576
SP 
 Standard Play DVD MP3 2 hours 720 x 480/576
LP 
 Long Pay VCD MP3 4 hours 480 x 480/576
EP 
 Extended Play VHS MP3 6 to 8 hours 352 x 240/288
DVD recordable compatibility »

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