DHR or Digital Hard drive Recorder is Samsung’s term for a new device they have just released. The DVD-H40A is the same size as a VCR but contains a DVD player and a 40GB hard drive. You record your TV programmes to the hard drive, thus dispensing with video tapes. I believe this is the first machine of its kind to be released in New Zealand.
After test-driving one of these machines I can truthfully say they will change the way you watch television. Samsung are really on to a winner with the DVD-H40A. Having said that, there are several things that they need to correct or include in future DHRs.
Switching on this device the first thing you notice is the noise caused by the hard drive and cooling fan. Initially distracting, you get used to this after a while.
Setting up this magical machine was not easy. If you have trouble getting to grips with a VCR, get the help of someone who knows what they are doing.
After plugging the TV aerial, Sky decoder or Saturn box into the antenna input, you then have to decide how you are going to connect the DHR to your TV. You can choose from a normal RF (aerial) connection, S-Video, Component, RCA or digital connections via coax or optical. This allows you to make full use of the NICAM stereo, Dolby Digital and DTS sound.
Tuning in the TV channels is not as simple as it sounds. There is an automatic station finding option, but you end up with TV One on something like channel 7. Renumbering the channels is possible, but not easy. There is a facility allowing the naming of each channel, eg ONE, TV2 etc, but when you are programming the timer, or changing channels, this name is not used. There is no channel display on the front of the machine, which makes it difficult to know what channel you are viewing.
Operation of the CD/DVD function is fairly straightforward. Put the disc in the drive and it starts playing automatically. You control play via a panel on the machine, or the supplied remote control, and on-screen menus. Sound and picture quality seemed perfect. Both CD-Rs and CR-RWs played with no problems. The playing of MP3 CDs was easy, following the on-screen menus. Using the same functions it is also possible to view photo album CDs.
It is the addition of the hard drive that makes this machine interesting. You can either have 40 hours of video, 250 MP3s and 10,000 JPGs (photos); or 30 hours of video, 2500 MP3s and 10,000 JPGs. No function is provided to convert your CDs to MP3s for storage onto the hard drive. To get MP3s and JPGs onto the hard drive you have burn them to CD-R or CD-RW on your own PC and then copy them to the DHR’s hard drive. There is also no way to connect a digital camera allowing direct copying of your photos. Once you have your JPGs and MP3s on the hard drive you can use the photo album and jukebox features to view or play them.
There is no way of backing up the hard drive. So if it fails you would loose your precious photos and MP3s, so keep the CD-Rs you used to make the transfer.
It would be simpler if the machine connected to your own PC and the Internet to allow for an easier transfer of MP3s and JPGs. An Internet connection would allow several more functions to be added, for instance the titles of CDs and their songs titles could be downloaded from the CDDB or FREEDB databases.
Lets turn to the TV and video funtions provided.
There are two RCA line connections allowing connection of video cameras and VCRs so that home videos can be transfered between the camera, VCR and hard drive. Editing features are also available allowing you to combine recordings into one, split a recording up into multiple ones, and delete parts of, or the whole recording.
Recording of TV programmes is possible, directly to the hard drive, using the timer feature. You can set the timer to record up to 15 programmes, either on a one-time, weekly, or daily basis. This procedure is made easier by the G-code facility.
A programme-naming feature allows you to keep track of your recordings. However you can only enter the name of the programme once it has finished recording. It would have been nice to do this at the time you set the timer.
Ever missed what an actor has said, or the action in a game and want to see it again? This is where Live-TV, as Samsung call it, comes in. It is the best feature of all in this machine, and it will change your viewing habits.
By setting the Live-TV buffer to 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes, you watch the programme slightly delayed. While you are watching, the DVD-H40A records the programme in real time. As it records, you can rewind, play in slow motion, or pause the play, without affecting the recording process. With enough programme recorded in the buffer you can even watch a whole nights TV, fast-forwarding through all the adverts. Using Live-TV, and watching after the buffer had recorded one hour of the programme, it was three hours before playback caught up with the live broadcast.
When you get nagged to mow the lawn while you are trying to watch the cricket, you can just leave Live-TV recording while you pause the playback. Come back after you have finished, press play, and miss none of the action.
I would like to be able to set a timer so that Live-TV could start at a specific time. So, if you are still struggling home on Tranz Metro while the news at six is on, the timer would start recording for you. When you arrive home, just fast-rewind to the start, and press play.
Live-TV is very different from recording a programme to video tape. You don’t have to wait for the recording to finish before you start watching. The Live-TV buffer works like a tape loop. Visualise a piece of video tape in a loop on which you record the programme, and then start to watch before the beginning of the programme gets recorded over.
It would be nice to be able to watch via Live-TV and set the programme timer to record another channel normally. I realise that this function would only be available by the addition of a second tuner, but I believe that Live-TV is the biggest attraction in this player.
Should you rush out and buy one of these machines?
If you have trouble working out how to program a VCR, you will certainly have problems driving the DVD-H40A. It took sometime for me to become familiar and comfortable with using it. It would have been made easier if the manual had been translated into English correctly, and had enough clear, concise information on all the functions.
If your VCR is on its last legs and you’re thinking of replacing it with a DVD player or player/recorder, I would definitely consider purchasing the Samsung DHR. The price is under $1600, which makes it attractive when compared to DVD recorders, and think of the money you’ll save on blank tapes.
