HDD recorder advice

[Coligny]

Soon it's birthday of Dad'in law. Coolest guy evar, but he need his daily fix of samourai drama before bed time.

He's quite smart (like 10 times me and my cats teamed together) but he will not waste time with details like... reading a manual... So in your opinion which current HDD line have the most straightforward/usable interface ? (please... don't mention sony, kthxbye)

[FG Lurker]

I'd avoid Sony and Panasonic. Panasonic quality is good but I find their usability tends to be pretty bad across the range of their products.

I'd check out http://www.kakaku.com and look at the user ratings for the different devices that match your budget. You can also hit the stores and play around with the demo units on display. Salesmen can be hit-and-miss but if you find a good one they can be a great source of insight about usability.

[wuchan]

japan needs tivo.

[omae mona]

I'd avoid Sony and Panasonic. Panasonic quality is good but I find their usability tends to be pretty bad across the range of their products.

I have a Panasonic combo HDD / cable decoder box. Find it pretty easy to use but I'm a geek anyway, and I haven't compared to other brands. I don't doubt FGL if he says Panasonic is inferior to the others. In a more promising sign, though, Mrs. Omae Mona is also able to navigate the Panasonic unit just fine.

She figured out all on her own how to watch channels, play back recordings, and set the timer to make new recordings, which are the main things people care about.

[FG Lurker]

I have a Panasonic combo HDD / cable decoder box. Find it pretty easy to use but I'm a geek anyway, and I haven't compared to other brands. I don't doubt FGL if he says Panasonic is inferior to the others. In a more promising sign, though, Mrs. Omae Mona is also able to navigate the Panasonic unit just fine.

She figured out all on her own how to watch channels, play back recordings, and set the timer to make new recordings, which are the main things people care about.

I'm glad it is working out for you.

Every Panasonic product I have bought recently has been infuriatingly non-intuitive to use and/or has had controls that could be oh-so-much better than they are. Washing machine, phone/fax/cordless unit, rice cooker, and a rather expensive car navigation system. They all work just fine but could be so much better than they are.

The car navi is by far the worst and was a huge mistake.

Miles ahead of anything Sony makes but I'm definitely not a Panasonic fan any longer.

[canman]

Whatever you do don't buy a Toshiba Vardia, without a doubt the most complicated and difficult machine to work. I made that mistake at New Years and really hate the machine. It has a lot of cool features etc. But when my tech crazy son has no idea how to use it, you know it is a bad machine.

[GuyJean]

Sort of Related Threads:

DVR

TIVO / PVR type device in Japan???

Japan Gets The Slingbox

(Most info probably not up to date..)

As mentioned previously, I'd check the ratings on Kakaku.

GJ

[FG Lurker]

As mentioned previously, I'd check the ratings on Kakaku.

For a direct link this one might be more what Coligny is looking for.

[Taro Toporific]

Every [color="Red"]Japanese[/color] product I have bought recently has been infuriatingly non-intuitive to use and/or has had controls that could be oh-so-much better than they are.

There, I fixed that for ya.
[color="Gray"]
(Why is it that Japanese products are getting worse rather than better in their interfaces?)[/color]

[FG Lurker]

There, I fixed that for ya.

Well, in fairness the rest of the car (also Japanese but thankfully not Panasonic ](Why is it that Japanese products are getting worse rather than better in their interfaces?)[/QUOTE]
I think good interface design is very undervalued. It's not only the Japanese who muck things up though, have you seen BMW's iDrive system?

[GuyJean]

For a direct link this one might be more what Coligny is looking for.

Yeah, actually I had that link originally.. But then, I realized he asked specifically about HDD recorders, not DVD recorders. I guess we got him covered, both ways.

GJ

[Coligny]

[quote="GuyJean"]Yeah, actually I had that link originally.. But then, I realized he asked specifically about HDD recorders, not DVD recorders. I guess we got him covered, both ways. ]


Thanks a lot people...