I already have a 420 but have got a new 630 in order to record CCTV.
However,I'm not sure the new range is an improvement over the old one.
Firstly,why complicate matters with Video Mode HDD recording and VR mode DVD-R recording?
I suspect the Video Mode on the HDD is not in the true sense of the system,that is,you can't edit.
But -R VR mode?Whats the point?
You only need VR mode for editing,and you can't edit -R at all.
And the super new dual layer discs cannot even be used with VR mode,and the layer change creates a new title even if you don't want one.
Selecting the thumbnail was easy before.Just click a button while playing a title,now you have to mess about going into another sub menu and select there.
And how do you create chapters on a HDD recording?
Before you pressed a button while playing.
But I can't even see if its possible now.
The book says maximum timer recording to HDD is 24 hours.Why?
It then goes on to say maximum recording will be 12 hours so a 24 hour recoding is split in 2,no problem with that,but it then goes on to tell you how to set the timer and the max time is 6 hours.
Whats going on?
A brief perusal of the manual and a little play after setup and it looks like Pioneer have gone backwards here.
The jukebox is a nice idea,but who can be bothered to manually enter the titles and artists?
The manaula also mentions something I liked the sound of.Basically,if the HDD fills up then it will delete the first recording and start again if you select the right setting.
But then there's no mention of where it is or how to set it.
Answers on a postcard.......

As far as I can figure out, VR HDD mode allows you to use the extra resolutions of VR mode discs. It may also switch between frame accurate / keyframe accurate placement of chapters. It is safe to say most people will leave this firmly in the Video mode, given the different resolutions are incompatible with Video mode Hi-speed copy.

It was my understanding that they can be freely edited, but because the edit data builds up over time, eventually you have to stop.

Presumably it's useful to people who want to store archive recordings that can be re-edited and hi-speed copied later.

Since commercial discs span the layer without having to create a new title, this is kind of lame.

Ah, now this is interesting; I was planning to buy one of these recorders to replace my DVR 5100H, but if it can't do these functions directly, I'll leave it. I'll check the manual again tonight.

Ah, that's an easy one; the limit for single titles used to be 6 hours, but now it's 12. That part of the manual hasn't been updated (it's not the only mistake; the manual still claims chapter marks will not be copied when copying DVD Video to HDD, but they always have been!)

The answer I think is on page 86 of the manual.

Using the normal editor screen (with the PiP showing you the footage) and the time bar along the bottom, you press Enter at the point at which you want to divide the current chapter into two.

I'll give it a go.
But no,-R cannot be edited in anyway,once its recorded thats it.You can add if there's space,but editing whats there is not possible

I agree that some of the changes from the previous range seem odd/retrograde - the change to the thumbnail setting is just one of them.

My biggest gripe is that when I edit the adverts out of a HDD recording on my 720 the sound plays perfectly when the title is replayed - however, if I do the same on my 530 the sound is cut off for a couple of seconds each side of the edit. Transferring to DVD, the sound is intact once more so it would seem to be a change in the processing done to skip the edited material.

Just me having a grumble - some of the changes are good, the option to finalize a disc after you record it I find very useful.

I'd still like to see a PS2 keyboard socket to speed up the title changing as well!

Pete F.

Looking at page 89 of the manual, it states that a build up of information (which, of course, can't be deleted) will eventually stop you from being able to edit DVD-R VR mode discs, which means that editing must usually be possible!

It sounds to me as if you haven't manually initialised the disc to VR format before recording onto it for the first time, and are in fact recording in Video format.


Thanks to everybody who mentioned that this recorder has no chapter add or navi-mark button. I never thought to look for basic functions being removed when reading the manual! I now won't be considering this DVD recorder as a replacement for my own. I'd love to know what the guys at Pioneer where sniffing when they thought nobody would miss those buttons!

-R cannot be edited.Its a write once format and the manual makes no explanation as to why VR mode would be needed on a -R disc.
Strangely,the NAVIMARK button on the 420 remote WILL select your thumbnail on the new range although the new remote has no button for it,but the old remotes button for adding chapters does not function.It appears you need to enter the recording edit menu and need to divide the recording at chapter points in the same way you need to do when you divide to create new titles.
You should be able to delete titles on -R as usual,but the space is not reclaimed.
But the manual is unclear in places and the machine is over complicated compared to the 420 I have and the 5100 I had.
Having to divide the recording to create chapters is stupid when previous models all had a simple button push to add chapters.
I decided to make use of the Jukebox and while its clear how to title the albums,I can't find any reference to titling tracks,apart from the Jukebox intro which tells you that you can retitle later.But where does it explain how to do it?
On top of that,if you want to quickly check what your timer set recordings are,you need to go through too many pages and button pushes to check for my liking.
Manual timer setting is also a trial compared to previous models.
The whole unit relies on Guideplus too much

Erm, it amounts to the same thing doesn't it? It's just a different way of phrasing it.

You push a button to add a chapter mark. This creates two chapters out of the one chapter you're currently in - one before the mark and one after the mark.

You push a button to divide a chapter. This creates two chapters out of the one you're currently in - one before the mark and one after the mark.

It doesn't divide the title. It just splits a chapter into two by putting a chapter mark in.

To create chapters before you simply watched the recording and pushed one button during playback.
Now you need to enter navigator,then select the spot,then divide,slightly more effort than before needlessly.
Any idea on the Jukebox track naming?
And I know it does not divide the title,but its the same basic process of menus and buttons

Yes, the previous models allowed not only 1 button access to the timer list but you could also easily set the recording bitrate in the manual mode from the timer screen. To get anything other than current default mode or XP, SP etc on the 530 series you now have to come out of the timer edit screen and alter the manual setting via the 'record mode' button to the one you wish to use e.g MN26 and then go back into the timer menu to change the timer you wish to adopt this setting. The 420 series also allows you to alter the end time once a recording has started - very useful if a program is delayed by an unusually large amount - the 530 wont let you do this.

Pete F.

If you're certain editing is not possible, the only advantage would be high speed copying back from the DVD later. In fact, is there any technical reason hi-speed copying from Video mode is not possible? Are Pioneer just trying to push the use of VR?

To be fair, the manual is more up front now in many ways (it actually explicitly tells you the resolutions of each recording mode). There are also some nice features, such as automatically naming and finalizing a DVD after copying is complete.

Yeah, the easy timer isn't so easy now that its button is gone, too.

Still no luck on the renaming Jukebox tracks then?
I have not read the bit about auto finalising and titling.
That sounds good

The thing is, on the 420/720 models you could press "chapter mark" whilst watching the recording, then when you come to edit out the adverts you just move to the next chapter instead of having to forward through the recording looking for them.

On the 630 it seems that you cannot add the chapters whilst watching, so you then have to find all the adverts again when you come to edit it

The 530 has a button "Timer Rec" on the remote - does the 630 not have this? I used to trawl through the Guideplus menu options to get to my scheduled recordings till I found out that this button takes you straight there.

And I agree, it seems daft to remove the option to add chapter marks on the fly if this was available before.

It does.
I found that by accident today.
Just press TREC and you instantly access the timer settings.
But still nothing on the track titling,and I can't find any reference to this auto finalising.
Where is it?
Moving the disc tray from the centre to the left looks bad too.
But on the whole I am pleased with it.
Having to copy cd's in real time is a bit of a pisstake though.
Why is it not possible to copy them at high speed like you can with dvd's?

It's not really automatic but when you use the copy menu the last page has the option to name and/or finalize the disc after recording, select this and you are asked to select the menu you want to use after you press 'copy'. From then on it all happens with no further user intervention.

Pete F.

Actually, the machine is able to "erase section" etc as usual even on -R disk. The sole difference to the user is that the files themselves are not deleted from the DV. Instead, I believe that the pointers are updated to start/stop the program from mid-way through the recording. This gives the impression of an erasable format, but without the disk space being released.

As for "VR-mode" on the hard disk, I never use it myself, but it does allow frame-accurate editing of titles (and possibly also the merging of titles). If I remember correctly, mongosito, you mentioned that you always edit a title on the hard disk before copying to DVD in real time. If so, then "VR-mode" on the hard would be better for you, since you won't be limited to editing points exactly on keyframes.

Because it stores the "stop time" as a simple time, without a date. How would you make a distinction between recording for 25 hours, and recording for 1 hour?

It's worth bearing in mind that a lot of the timer stuff is software provided by Guideplus, and Pioneer aren't likely to have direct input into the interface. There are various issues here (the "typewriter" for the 2 interfaces is difference; the titles are automatically back-filled with spaces, etc)

Yes, I thought the GuidePlus system was probably uniform over all devices: it was a bit of a givaway when the interface shown on the GuidePlus website was exactly the same as the one in the Pioneer manual!

It seems odd to specify the interface so closely. Actually, can anyone answer me this: I've never seen a recorder with VideoPlus that can automatically pad programmes start and end times. Is it part of the licence with GemStar that devices must use the times as provided by the VideoPlus system?

I got the impression that the maximum amount of Timer set recordings is 24 hours,not just 24 hours per recording.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong.
The manual takes a bit of deep delving to spot some references.
The HDDr setting is ,as far as I can see,mentioned only in one place.
The auto delete feature is mentioned specifically on one page ,but fails to mention how to do it and what page instructions are on.
I hate having to read every little bit when I already know 99% of it