LG RC797T DVD Recorder / VCR Combo
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- Number of Discs: 1
- Progressive Scan: With Progressive Scan
- Playable Disk Types: DVD Video DVD-RAM DVD-R DVD-RW DVD+R DVD+RW
- Playable File Formats: MP3 WMA JPEG
- DVD Type: DVD Recorder / VCR Combo
- Video Upconversion: 1080i (HDTV)
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A solid combo dvd recorder/vcr
Pros
A compact combo that does +DL recording exceptionally well.
Cons
No flexible record mode and limited support for +rw media.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
It is the best performing recorder I have tried with double layer media. The layer change is not descernible at all.
This unit has a ATSC tuner for high definition TV, a NTSC tuner for standard broadcast, and a QAM tuner for receiving unencrypted, high definition TV from basic analog cable. Cable companies must provide free local HD channels on basic analog cable by law apparently. It can record to either the vcr or to dvd from the tuner. The tuner is a bit slow changing channels. It can take a long time for the automatic search for available channels. It took about 25 minutes at this location.
The RC797T does not passthrough an HD input signal to its outputs.It downconverts to 720 by 480 and upconverts to 1080i at the HDMI output so it does not make the best tuner for a HD monitor. The "output to TV" coax connector has the same signal as the "input from ANT" but to get that signal to the TV, the recorder must be off.
It is very easy to use in transferring vhs tapes to dvd. Just set the tape to the start position and "pause", then use the "dubbing" button on the remote to select the record mode and select the onscreen "dubbing" to start.
Recordable media:
Dvd-r/-rw, dvd+r/rw, dvd-ram,and dvd+r(double layer). This looks better than it is. The LG supports "minus" media better than "plus". For example, -rw can be recorded in video or VR mode but +rw only in +VR mode. The edit functions for -rw allow "delete part" for removing commercials. The +rw edit menu is completely different and has no equivalent function. I could not find any way to delete a commercial without creating a new title. +rw has a "divide" title function but it is very slow.
One feature that I liked was that the RC797T displays thumbnails of all the chapter markers it puts in when recording. The highlighted thumbnail has motion. Chapters can be put in every five or ten minutes or "none" can be selected. Unfortunately, any media that requires finalizing causes the thumbnails to disappear after that step.
A great feature is the dvd+r DL performance. This is the only recorder I have seen that can burn a +DL disk and not show the layer change. It was not discernible.
Recording times:
Limited to XP(one hour), SP(two hour), LP(four hour), EP(six hours), and MLP(11 hours). This was a bit disappointing after using other recorders that allow setting the recording times to whatever you like in a flexible recording mode.
A four VHS tape was copied to a dvd+r DL, resulting in a 3 hour, 40 minute transfer in SP mode, but selecting LP mode for those few extra minutes would have dropped the resolution from 720 by 480 down to 356 by 480.
Outputs:
It has composite, S-video, component, and one HDMI output.
Inputs:
It has composite inputs, DV, USB, but no S-video.
USB port:
It has a USB port which can be used for viewing jpeg's. I tested this with a USB adapter for a SD memory card. The performance was poor. The displayed jpeg's did not look good and the loading time was much slower than the same device loading to the computer. The same jpeg's looked much better and loaded faster burned to a dvd. The advantage of USB is that a USB adapter can be had for virtually any kind of memory card.
Adjustments:
Unlike a Pioneer and Panasonic I have owned, the LG has no input or output adjustments for black level or noise reduction.
Miscellaneous:
1. Only a antenna coax and composite cable comes with the unit, no HDMI or S-video.
2. The smoked plastic, flip down front panel is so dark that the clock and readouts become almost unreadable, especially if the unit is in an entertainment center with yet another smoked glass front. There is not adjustment for intensity.
3. The clock can only be manually set unlike other brands which get the information from a TV channel.
4. It finalizes faster than the time it reports onscreen. I measured two minutes when the RC797T said nearly six minutes on the display.
5. The unit is very compact. It is lower than my Panasonic combo and three inches less deep.
6. Unlike my Panasonic combo, the LG cannot be used with external hardware like a color corrector. The Panasonic is set up so that the composite output goes out to the color corrector, then out of the color corrector back into an input such as IN1. The color corrected video can then be recorded to dvd. I tried it with the LG but the LG prevents switching back to the vcr side once the dvd side is recording which is the only way to get the vcr output to the composite output jacks.
7. There is no separate rewind button for the vcr side, but the "backward" button on the remote does it.
The RC797T does not passthrough an HD input signal to its outputs.It downconverts to 720 by 480 and upconverts to 1080i at the HDMI output so it does not make the best tuner for a HD monitor. The "output to TV" coax connector has the same signal as the "input from ANT" but to get that signal to the TV, the recorder must be off.
It is very easy to use in transferring vhs tapes to dvd. Just set the tape to the start position and "pause", then use the "dubbing" button on the remote to select the record mode and select the onscreen "dubbing" to start.
Recordable media:
Dvd-r/-rw, dvd+r/rw, dvd-ram,and dvd+r(double layer). This looks better than it is. The LG supports "minus" media better than "plus". For example, -rw can be recorded in video or VR mode but +rw only in +VR mode. The edit functions for -rw allow "delete part" for removing commercials. The +rw edit menu is completely different and has no equivalent function. I could not find any way to delete a commercial without creating a new title. +rw has a "divide" title function but it is very slow.
One feature that I liked was that the RC797T displays thumbnails of all the chapter markers it puts in when recording. The highlighted thumbnail has motion. Chapters can be put in every five or ten minutes or "none" can be selected. Unfortunately, any media that requires finalizing causes the thumbnails to disappear after that step.
A great feature is the dvd+r DL performance. This is the only recorder I have seen that can burn a +DL disk and not show the layer change. It was not discernible.
Recording times:
Limited to XP(one hour), SP(two hour), LP(four hour), EP(six hours), and MLP(11 hours). This was a bit disappointing after using other recorders that allow setting the recording times to whatever you like in a flexible recording mode.
A four VHS tape was copied to a dvd+r DL, resulting in a 3 hour, 40 minute transfer in SP mode, but selecting LP mode for those few extra minutes would have dropped the resolution from 720 by 480 down to 356 by 480.
Outputs:
It has composite, S-video, component, and one HDMI output.
Inputs:
It has composite inputs, DV, USB, but no S-video.
USB port:
It has a USB port which can be used for viewing jpeg's. I tested this with a USB adapter for a SD memory card. The performance was poor. The displayed jpeg's did not look good and the loading time was much slower than the same device loading to the computer. The same jpeg's looked much better and loaded faster burned to a dvd. The advantage of USB is that a USB adapter can be had for virtually any kind of memory card.
Adjustments:
Unlike a Pioneer and Panasonic I have owned, the LG has no input or output adjustments for black level or noise reduction.
Miscellaneous:
1. Only a antenna coax and composite cable comes with the unit, no HDMI or S-video.
2. The smoked plastic, flip down front panel is so dark that the clock and readouts become almost unreadable, especially if the unit is in an entertainment center with yet another smoked glass front. There is not adjustment for intensity.
3. The clock can only be manually set unlike other brands which get the information from a TV channel.
4. It finalizes faster than the time it reports onscreen. I measured two minutes when the RC797T said nearly six minutes on the display.
5. The unit is very compact. It is lower than my Panasonic combo and three inches less deep.
6. Unlike my Panasonic combo, the LG cannot be used with external hardware like a color corrector. The Panasonic is set up so that the composite output goes out to the color corrector, then out of the color corrector back into an input such as IN1. The color corrected video can then be recorded to dvd. I tried it with the LG but the LG prevents switching back to the vcr side once the dvd side is recording which is the only way to get the vcr output to the composite output jacks.
7. There is no separate rewind button for the vcr side, but the "backward" button on the remote does it.
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