- HDMI output w/ up to 1080p upscaling for DVD/VHS
- Line Input Recording (Non-Tuner)
- BRAVIA Sync for Theater
- Compatible w/ DVD-RW/-R/+RW/+R/+R DL, & DVD RAM media
- DVD-Video/Video CD/SVCD/CD-DA (CD-R/-RW) playback
The Sony RDR-GX257 DVD Recorder is the perfect companion for your digital video recorder. Line Input Recording (non-tuner) lets you record your favorite TV shows from your cable or satellite set-top box. You can also use the One Touch Dubbing function to copy your photos and home video from compatible USB2 or i.LINK-based digital cameras and camcorders3. Additionally, experience your DVDs in near HD-quality with HDMI upscaling (up to 1080p). You can also enjoy music and digital images from CD and DVD media encoded with MP3 audio or JPEG image files.
Buy “Sony RDR-GX257 Recordable DVD Player with HDMI Upscaling, Black” For Only $129.99
March 5, 2010
#1
Don’t waste your money on this recorder. It says it will record from the satelite but you always get a protected code and it won’t let you. I contacted Sony but they didn’t see fit to respond back to me. I have seen others having the same problem. I took it back and will do research before buying another one.
March 5, 2010
#2
It is important to note that this recorder does not have any tuners, limiting its usefulness.
Whether this is right for you, depends on how you are going to use it. If you just want to transfer VHS tapes on to DVD, then this would be OK.
You won’t be able to record TV shows without some sort of external tuner. This could be a digital TV tuner for over the air broadcast or a cable box or a dish box.
But, in any case, you will not be able to record a high quality video picture. You will only be able to record in standard definition and not in widescreen.
For copyright protection (so people can’t copy high defintion signals), no commercial DVD recorder comes with component or HDMI inputs. They only have composite inputs and in some cases, like with this player, S-video inputs. But, composit and S video are lower qualify.
I prefer a DVD recorder with digital ASTM and QAM tuners. With these, you can take direct digital signals from either over the air, or directly from a cable and record higher definition DVDs in widescreen.
March 5, 2010
#3
Day before yesterday, I bought an RDR GX257 expecting to record HDMI signals via my TV. After connect everything, I discovered that the HDMI connector on the RDR GX257 is output only. There is not mention of this on the box; it just has the HDMI logo. Isn’t two-way operation was part of the HDMI standard?
All my signals, including the computer are connected to my Samsung LN46A650 TV, which has no video output except the HDMI. I can’t record anything but audio with this machine.
To top it off, I had my old Magnavox MWD 200GA DVD player’s output connected to the RDR GX257′s Line 1 input for a few seconds, and it blew out the left channel of the Magnavox player.
Needless to say, I’m taking it back to Walmart to get my money back. Serves me right for shopping at Walmart!
March 5, 2010
#4
I thought I could pop it out of the box, plug it in and like all my other Sony appliances, it would work. Not so. No where on the box does it say that you must plug it into a converter box. The directions tell you to contact your cable company. Suppose I don’t have a cable company but want to record over the air shows? Well, you just can’t do it with this system. Back to store it goes…
March 5, 2010
#5
This dvd recorder is somewhat hard to use, BUT it switches the cable box for you on a timer. The Toishiba 420 does not do that. That makes this recorder 100x more useful than the Toshiba, because I often want to record on several different channels in advance.