Page 1 of Kwik Save COMPACKS DVD-101 RECORDER £69.99!!!

I went to buy one of the £89.99 ones at my local branch (stirchley in Brum) and they didn`t have any left. They offered me an alternative one that scanned for £69.99!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No idea how good it is but the model is called COMPACKS DVD-101. Does anyone know if it is any good?

Stay well away from it. Kwiksave/Woolworths and whoever else sells the 101 should be ashamed of themselves for selling such junk.

Below info taken from HERE

It burns only DVD+R/RW media;

Won`t playback media recorded in the DVD-R/RW format;

It playbacks CD-R/RW, commercial DVDs, supports MPG and JPG files;

Needs a SCART to RCA cable to connect with your TV box;

It doesn`t perform a "Pause Recording" function;

Available outputs: Component, Composite and S-video;

Available inputs: Composite and S-video;

Available upgrades: on the Compacks` website, firmware upgrade and multi-region;

Connection cables are not supplied; be sure to buy Scart to Composite or Scart to S-video adapters;

Playback in "progressive scan" mode is good.

You can choose among five recording modes: HQ, SP, LP, EP, SLP.

On this unit you cannot apply any editing functions to your recordings. The DVD+R/RW discs need to be finalized in order to playback. Finalizing a DVD+R means that no more recordings can be added on it, whether there is free space left or not. A finalized DVD+RW can be re-recorded, but all the previous content will be lost.

Clearly, this machine is not mind-blowing and performs only the most basic functions of a DVD recorder. The firmware upgrade available on Compacks` website has been often reported by users to mess up the machine`s functions.

This item was edited on Friday, 15th July 2005, 20:43

Quote:
It burns only DVD+R/RW media

That`s what most budget DVD Recorders (and a few top of the range machines) do.

Quote:
Finalizing a DVD+R means that no more recordings can be added on it, whether there is free space left or not.

That`s what "finalizing" means.

In fact most of your points can be applied to any DVD Recorder (other than the smug Panasonic machines - you`re not Paull or Phelings in disguise, are you?) ;) . The only down points are the inability to playback -R discs (but then why should you be using them?) and the lack of a record pause.

J Mark Oates

Quote:
It burns only DVD+R/RW media; Won`t playback media recorded in the DVD-R/RW format;
Could you please explain what is wrong with this? Are you suggesting that they sell original copy DVD- dvd`s in the shops that will not work on this machine. Could you also explain what the adavantage would be to record the TV with the DVD- format? I assumed that all commercial dvds are DVD+ so why doesn`t everyone just use DVD+. Is it just the case that if someone made a pirate copy of a film in DVD- format then it wouldn`t work on all players but if it was done in DVD+ format then it would work on all?

Sounds about the same as the Philips DVD recorder that was a pile of poo for £450 some three years ago. But I bet it doesn`t break-down as much!! :D

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It burns only DVD+R/RW media; Won`t playback media recorded in the DVD-R/RW format;

It means it exclusively uses + format writable and re-writable discs, and won`t recognise - format discs.

Concensus on www.videohelp.com is that the Compacks 101 is a piece of sh*t. Pay a bit more and get a CyberHome from ASDA.

J Mark Oates

Quote:
I assumed that all commercial dvds are DVD+

huh ? sorry dude, but could you clarify what you mean by that ? commercial dvd`s are pressed, whilst recordable dvd is "generaly" dvd- or dvd+ (not using ram for the purposes of this conversation ;) ) & in point of fact dvd- is the "recognised" dvd format (not that it is any better or worse than +r, just not "official"

[quote][/quote] I assumed that all commercial dvds are DVD+

As the Ogster says, commercial DVD`s are not DVD+.
DVD+ is just another format for PC DVD burners to use. It`s fighting its war with DVD- and DVD RAM.

Commercial DVD`s are DVD ROM`s and as said, they are pressed in ultra clean rooms - an entirely different manufacturing process to laser burning.

Hope this clarifies things.

This item was edited on Monday, 18th July 2005, 22:43