For the last couple of years I’ve been arguing that the multitude of recordable DVD formats (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM) do not threaten a repeat of the Beta/VHS wars of two decades ago. To put it simply, unlike the competing VCR formats, all recordable DVD formats fit into the same hole. All the rest is details.
Previously my point has been partially proven by Sony’s DVD recorders, the RDRGX3 ($AUS1,399) and the RDRGX7 ($AUS1,699), which support DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW, and the Toshiba D-R1 ($AUS1,499 — DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM), and any number of multi-format DVD burners for computers. But today a new consumer DVD recorder from LG Electronics has just lobbed into my office. The LG DR4812W supports four formats: DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW. By ‘support’, I mean it will record to all four of them. I haven’t opened the box yet, so I don’t know how well it does this, but this remains an impressive achievement. The price looks good too, at $999, and this includes a DV input which many entry level models don’t have. Okay, I just got it out of the box and it looks a lot more attractive than my picture implies, with a mirrored lower half. One downside on facilities: the back panel video input is composite video only. There is S-Video, but this is only on the front panel, which leads to ugly cabling if you want to leave it permanently connected to a digital TV receiver for recording.
Come 20 May, LG’s DR4922W will come out at $1,099. This one adds a slot for various flash memory cards.