Rated 
The Humax DRT800 is a wonderful device for the exi ...
Plenty of space to record shows Power/Convenience of the Tivo service Ability to easily and quickly burn shows to DVD Built-in DVD Player Easy to use
DVD Recorder is very loud when burning DVDs Selection "rocker" button on remote inaccurate at times No support for recording Digital Optical audio
Posted Jan 3, 2005 - The Humax DRT800 is a wonderful device for the existing Tivo fan or a newbie to Tivo and it's power to change your TV viewing life. The DRT800 is my second Tivo unit. My first Tivo unit made me instantly became a huge fan of the DVR. When the Humax unit became available, I knew that it was the next step in being in total control of my TV viewing. I had been struggling with my obsessive collection of programs on my Tivo and how to get them to a DVD for watching later. Recording to VHS just didn't cut it, both in quality and by the fact that you had to do so in real-time. If the program is 2 hours, it would take you 2 hours to record it to your VHS. And, you could not change channels or interrupt the process. Enter the Humax DRT800. At around 82 hours of Basic Quality (more with higher compression settings), it has all of the power of a standalone Tivo unit, including fun Series 2 features like the Home Media Option, and grouped sorting in the Now Playing list. (HMO has recently become free to Series 2 owners, a bonus.) It can record programming from most any source, including Over The Air (Antenna), Satellite recievers, or Cable TV (both directly or through a Cable Box) And, the best part is its ability to record DVD-R and DVD-RW discs for offsetting your favorite shows. This is where the real power of the unit, and the thing that makes it worth every penny, comes into play. Instead of shuffling programs, choosing lower recording quality, offsetting to a VHS tape, or just deleting items that you really would like to keep around... just burn them! DVD burning is quite simple, and you are guided through each step with the typical Tivo style. After you have inserted a blank DVD-R or DVD-RW, you choose to burn programs to a DVD. Then your entire Now Playing list comes up. From here, select any programs you wish to burn to the DVD, and in the order you wish to record them. When you have reached the limit of the DVD, it no longer lets you select anything else. It also shows you how full the DVD is as you are selecting items, as well as each item itself telling you what percentage of the DVD it will take. When done you tell it to record and that's it. It goes about its business and you are now free to watch Live TV. I have seen burn times from 15 minutes up to 30 minutes, even though it tells you it will be around 57 minutes. This time varies based on the number of items you have chosen and their recording quality. Also, the recording quality of the original affects how much will fit onto a DVD. At Best Quality, you will get 1 hour on a single DVD, High Quality gives you 2 hours, Medium Quality around 4 hours and Basic is 6 hours. I find that for most programming, Medium is more than acceptable for playback both on the Tivo itself and on a burned DVD. Once the DVD is recorded, any DVD player should play it back, complete with Tivo-like menus and show descriptions. My only complaint with recording to a DVD is a small one. The DVD recorder drive itself is rather noisy when burning a DVD. But this is hardly heard if you are watching TV while it's doing its thing. And it doesn't make this sound when playing back DVDs, recorded or commerical. The unit also has the ability to record outside sources from either the front input panel, or from the rear inputs. The front includes a FireWire/iLink port, Super Video and RCA video inputs and RCA L/R audio inputs. Perfect for recording old home videos or moving content from an older Tivo. This process is relatively easy as well. You choose to record content from one of the inputs, enter a recording time, enter a name for the item, select a starting point and then tell it to record. When it's done, the item then appears in your Now Playing list. These items can also be recorded to a DVD. Please note that the recorder does have copy protection, so it will not let you copy commercial movies, movies from VHS that are commercial and some other content. Then of course there is the built-in DVD player, which supports Dolby Digital, DTS, widescreen 16:9 and progessive scan playback. Very easy to use, and since it's built in, that's one less remote to fuss with and one less device to own. Overall, I have found the Humax DRT800 to be a great value, especially if you watch a lot of TV and wish to revisit shows frequently. No need to fill up your unit's harddrive, or feel guilty for erasing that show you recorded a month ago. Just record it to a DVD and watch it anytime you want.
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