Having just purchased your AWARDS 2007 magazine I flicked straight to the DVD-Recorders section to see the results, since I'm currently looking to buy one, and was disappointed to see that the over £250 category had been won by the Sony RDR-HXD970.
Don't get me wrong I'm sure the Sony has many virtues and is a decent piece of kit, and it is on my list of options, but what disappointed me about the award was that it was seemingly handed to Sony without testing their product up against what seems to be their most worthy challenger, Panasonic's DMR-EX87.
I don't know what you did test the Sony against, but since you have no entry for the DMR-EX87 in your Buyer's Guide section I have to assume it didn't get a look-in, and that astounds me. Both products sport 250Gb Hard-Drives, both have multi-format DVD-Recorders, both have Freeview tuners, both have full 1080p upscaling via HDMI, both have EPG...the direct comparisons are there for all to see. So why no place in the awards tests for the Panasonic?
What's even more baffling about its omission is that in the under £250 category Panasonic's DMR-EZ27 not only won but by your own admission "completely thrashes the competition". You praise it for its stellar tuner, vibrant pictures, user-friendly EPG, great DVD playback performance, and even its well-laid out remote. Given that the inards of this model are almost certainly all used in the DMR-EX87 but with the addition of a 250Gb HD surely the DMR-EX87 would've been a serious contender to give the Sony a good kicking if included?
Your review also implies in the 'Savvy Shopper' section that the Sony supports all DVD formats, when in fact it does not support either of the +/- Dual-layer or RAM format discs, whereas the Panasonic does. The Panasonic can also read DVD-A and SACD dics, whereas the Sony cannot. Finally, without wanting to stoop to base reasons for supporting a product, the Panasonic is generally £50 or more cheaper than the Sony even with all those things going for it, no small matter for the man on the street!
So, why did the Sony get a clear run at the coveted title of Product Of The Year when the panasonic would've fought it on every count?
Don't get me wrong I'm sure the Sony has many virtues and is a decent piece of kit, and it is on my list of options, but what disappointed me about the award was that it was seemingly handed to Sony without testing their product up against what seems to be their most worthy challenger, Panasonic's DMR-EX87.
I don't know what you did test the Sony against, but since you have no entry for the DMR-EX87 in your Buyer's Guide section I have to assume it didn't get a look-in, and that astounds me. Both products sport 250Gb Hard-Drives, both have multi-format DVD-Recorders, both have Freeview tuners, both have full 1080p upscaling via HDMI, both have EPG...the direct comparisons are there for all to see. So why no place in the awards tests for the Panasonic?
What's even more baffling about its omission is that in the under £250 category Panasonic's DMR-EZ27 not only won but by your own admission "completely thrashes the competition". You praise it for its stellar tuner, vibrant pictures, user-friendly EPG, great DVD playback performance, and even its well-laid out remote. Given that the inards of this model are almost certainly all used in the DMR-EX87 but with the addition of a 250Gb HD surely the DMR-EX87 would've been a serious contender to give the Sony a good kicking if included?
Your review also implies in the 'Savvy Shopper' section that the Sony supports all DVD formats, when in fact it does not support either of the +/- Dual-layer or RAM format discs, whereas the Panasonic does. The Panasonic can also read DVD-A and SACD dics, whereas the Sony cannot. Finally, without wanting to stoop to base reasons for supporting a product, the Panasonic is generally £50 or more cheaper than the Sony even with all those things going for it, no small matter for the man on the street!
So, why did the Sony get a clear run at the coveted title of Product Of The Year when the panasonic would've fought it on every count?
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