This revision seems to indicate that the Sony boffins have really put their thinking caps on, and it shows what they can do when the use their heads. DVD playback is without issue here, which is pretty much taken for granted – the main reason buyers look for DVD recorders is to replace a long in the tooth VCR and maybe a cheap, but adequate, DVD player. So the concentration on recording capabilities, functions, and features is the primary focus of this review.

First up, the Sony is one of the first DVD recorders out of the to support dual layer discs, which means if there are shows you want to archive from the HDD they were recorded on, you can now fit more on to the one disc, or have them at a higher quality than you would if it were a standard DVD being used.

Sony also offer a HQ+ resolution, which records the signal at a steady bit-rate of 15 Mbps instead of the regular 9-10 of the HQ mode and that of competing brands’ highest quality recording level. Of course, usage of this feature will result in its already modest 80 GB capacity hard disk drive being eaten up at an almost alarming rate.

In testing, I wasn’t really able to notice anything more than what the equally impressive HQ was serving up – which to my eyes, was easily the identical twin of broadcast quality. Speaking of recording quality, the various modes provided by the Sony HX510 cater for a wide range of tastes. Quality doesn’t really tail off until you start getting into the lower 3, of which the higher one was equal to VHS, the second lowest somewhere between VHS in SP/LP mode, and the lowest match for VHS LP recordings.

The type of screen you use will likely dictate the lowest quality setting you’re happiest with – LCD/Plasma owners will probably not drop below HSP unless they have to. Standard CRT TV owners will not notice any difference between HQ and LSP, so it’ll either be SP or LSP for the best use of the HDD’s size or least number of times archiving needs doing – that’ll depend on how many programs get recorded and if in a series like Stargate SG-1, Lost, House MD, etc, for example.

When it comes to removing adverts, the in-built editing is truly superb. In conjunction with smart chapter marking – something it nearly always gets right when advert breaks occur (only the odd trip-up), you can fairly easily and quite quickly sail through editing a program. A major plus point of the Sony HX510’s editing is that upon playback, you will find no pausing at the edit points – the program plays straight through. This is a flaw of some other DVD recorders for some reason, and not the lower end ones without HDD's. Those disc only based recorders using –RAM discs for instance, can be happily edited without this temporary pausing happening. Said same machines can freeze whilst recording and playing back at the same time, but a quick jump back sorts that out.

The picture quality on both HDD based recordings and pre-recorded DVDs is excellent. There are little if any issues with colour bleed, banding, noise, or artefacts, and as such, shows the HX510 to be a bit of a thoroughbred. It’ll not be found wanting against most standalone DVD players, at least not until you start comparing against ones costing £300 or more – but then you’d expect that since it’s a recorder first and foremost, a DVD player secondly. So on that basis, it thoroughly deserves to be on any shortlist you may have.

In fact, the HX510 produces images so well from both DVDs and broadcast recordings, that it’s easier to talk about other aspects of it’s design and practically consign the picture quality to being a given. That’s how impressed I was, and I could see me living with it, minor foibles and all, very happily.

Also lacking is a DV input – but that will only affect or be of importance to DV camera owners who are not into using their PC/Mac for turning their video footage into slick looking DVD creations. For VHS upgraders, with a collection of tapes they want to convert to DVD, then the Sony HX510 (as will others) with it’s RGB Scarts, will allow them to record onto the HDD, then edit the material, if needed, before burning to DVD. The editing function within the HX510 is one of the best I’ve seen, and so simple to do, it’s laughable that other companies aren’t the same.

The list in inputs and outputs is impressive and perfect for all users tastes and intentions – analogue RF in/out, twin RGB Scarts in/out, Component video out, S-Video in/out, digital optical and co-axial audio out (5.1 surround), and analogue audio in/out (stereo only).

One idiosyncrasy with the Sony HX510 is the record button, or rather buttons, on the remote control – there are 3 of them, all under the flap at the bottom of the handset, one for recording, one to pause the recording, and the third to stop the recording. I’m going to call this as I see it – DAFT! If the likes of JVC, Panasonic, even the Sharp I reviewed and slated, can do with one record button, and the pause and stop buttons function as they do normally, and as per VCRs, then why can’t the HX510 just follow suit?

I would have loved to have been at the design brief meeting that that design was taken in – sounds like the sake was flowing instead of bottled water! Another quirk is the skip forward button – instead of the usual jump of 30 seconds upon each pressing, the playback merely fast forwards. I don’t know why, probably due to usage of the way other DVD recorders do it, but I found this too to be another head-scratching aspect of the designers’ brief or idea as to what makes sense. Possibly in the pursuit of being different, Sony has been too different for their own good. Still, it’s a minor gripe that over time may become accepted as is and the difference forgotten about.

Even so, aside from the poor thought given to the recording button location and superfluous ones for pausing and stopping whilst recording, there’s no getting away from the fact the Sony HX510 is a superb DVD recorder, and one Sony can justifiably be proud of. It hits all the right spots, I especially like the dot matrix style display, and the cool blue light of the HDD button on the front fascia – not so hot on the orange DVD one, but at least it’s a visual indication of which media you’ll be using if recording or which section of the player is being used for the playback you’re watching – in case you forgot.

Lastly, and by no means least, the graphical user interface (GUI) is very nicely done, but again could’ve been just a touch better. One example is when setting up a manual timer recording, but wanting to use VPS/PDC – that aspect could’ve been better implemented, if only for easiness and quickness sake. The rest of the design is very well executed and lends itself to easy-to-use status very quickly – almost instinctively after only a few hours usage.

So, if you’re in the market for a new video recorder, possibly to partner the new LCD/Plasma TV you’ve just bought, then have a good and serious look at the Sony RDR-HX510 – it could be just what puts the finishing touch to your AV/Home Cinema set-up. I’ll guarantee you will not be disappointed if you do.

If only it had a 160 GB HDD – then it would be practically perfect for the price. Ah well, can’t have everything I suppose!

More Sony Reviews

Features

 ·    DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW Recording (dual RW compatibility) ·    Compatible with +R double layer disc (8.5 GB Disc) ·    Low Capacity HDD: 80 GB ·    High Picture Quality: HQ+ recording and Dynamic VBR dubbing using HDD ·    Chasing Playback ·    Pause Live TV ·    Sophisticated GUI and Quick Response GUI ·    D-Matrix Noise Reduction System ·    Precision Cinema Progressive with 12-bit/108MHz Video DAC ·    DVD Video/CD/Video CD Playback and DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD+RW Playback ·    MP3 Playback & JPEG Playback (CD-R/RW) ·    Intelligent Scene Chaptering & Visual Search (HDD & DVD-RW VR Mode) ·    Fast Playback with Sound (HDD): x1.5 ·    High Speed Dubbing: Up to x64 (x8 Drive) ·    VIDEO + and VPS/PD ·    A/V Synchro and STB Synchro REC ·      Automatic Program Naming of your recorded programs (names extracted from Teletext).

Review by - PJ Skelton

Published - 11/02/2006

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