Reprinted from a Thomson press release:
Aimed at attracting a wider audience to the latest innovation in DVD technology, Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453) (NYSE: TMS) is introducing an RCA DVD + RW/+R recorder with a suggested retail price of $599 in August. Designed for simple consumer DVD recording and playback, the DRC8000N includes a no-fee, on-screen program guide, multiple recording modes, USB input and progressive scan playback.
“Consumers have quickly embraced the DVD format, making it the fastest growing consumer electronics product in industry history, and we expect fast acceptance for the advantages that recordablity affords,” said Mark Redmond, Vice President, Worldwide Audio and Video. “With the DRC8000N, we are targeting a wider range of consumers, not just early adopters. The advanced convenience features of the DRC8000N make it an exciting product for video buffs looking for a better way to store their home video recordings and favorite television programs.”
Backward Compatibility and Free On-Screen Guide Provide Added Convenience
Combining the recording ability of a VCR and the digital quality of a DVD player, the RCA DVD recorder allows consumers to record their favorite television shows and home videos onto a DVD disc that can be played in most DVD players currently on the market. The DRC8000N also incorporates the free, easy to navigate GUIDE Plus+ interactive TV guide that makes recording off air programs simple with the one-touch record function.
Key advantages of the +RW/+R format include the ability to append and edit video right on the disc and support of editing, overwrite, partial overwrite and append, thus enabling users to record video using the DRC8000N recorder and data using a DVD+RW/+R PC drive on the same disc (requires compatible DVD+RW PC drive and appropriate software). Finalization time for a DVD+R disc is the fastest of all DVD recording formats.
Digital Photo Playback and SmartRecord
The DRC8000N incorporates mp3 decoding and Digital PhotoView, which enables playback of digital photo files from a CD-R/RW disc in a rotating slide show format with mp3 playback during the slide show. A USB input connects to a flash card reader for transfer of digital photos or mp3 files and can decode from a flash card without copying to disc for playback and preview.
The unit offers six record modes: one, two, three, four, six and eight hours. In addition, when using the timer record function, the SmartRecord function automatically sets the quality level to the best quality that fits the available space on the disc.
The recorder has progressive scan capability when playing prerecorded DVDs and plays DVD video, DVD +RW/+R, CD, CD-R, CD-R/W, CD-ROM, and multisession CD, VCD and SVCD. The unit has Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS passthru, SRS TruSurround, satellite and cable box control, and includes a high quality time base corrector with digital noise reduction to significantly improve the quality of copies made from VHS tape to disc.
DVD Disc Editing and Picture-in-Picture Playback
The RCA DRC8000N incorporates several convenience features, enabling consumers to easily record and catalog up to eight hours of video onto a DVD disc. The disc library can store data for more than 400 recorded titles (assuming an average of five titles per disc), catalogued by title, genre and disc number, which can be searched and sorted by title and genre. The disc menu function helps consumers quickly locate a specific title on the disc in the recorder. After the user highlights a specific program title, playback preview automatically begins in a picture-in-picture window.
Other features include chapter hide/unhide, which allows the user to automatically skip playback of selected sections of a recording. Additional features are text title labelling, user selectable disc write protection and quick disc erase.
Rear connections include one set of YPrPb component video outputs, S-Video input and output (one each), composite video input and video output (one each), analog audio in and out (one each), optical digital audio out and coax digital audio out. Additional inputs for S-Video, composite video, and analog audio are available on the front panel.
High-End Design for New Progressive Scan RCA DVD Players
Four new RCA progressive scan DVD models with ultra-thin designs are being added to the line up. Two models, the RCA DRC310N (available June, suggested retail price $119) and the DRC312N (available June, suggested retail price $129) incorporate a slot load design, a new feature for set-top DVD players and one that is typically found in more expensive models. The DRC105N (available May, suggested retail price $89) and DRC230N (available May, suggested retail price $99) have drawer load mechanisms.
All four models play DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD, DVD +RW/+R, mp3 and WMA discs, offer DTS Passthru and feature Digital PhotoView with rotation, slide show, and zoom/pan capability. Playback features include multi-speed fast and slow motion (forward and reverse), jitter free still picture, frame-by-frame advance (forward and reverse), user selectable aspect ratio selector in 4:3, 16:9 and letterbox modes, screen fit, forward and reverse skip, Scene Again (one button instant replay), bookmark functionality, repeat, random play, IntroScan (CD only), zoom-still running on DVD and VCD, and full multi-angle playback.
Convenient Hard-Disc Recording
Continuing in the line is the RCA Scenium Personal Video Recorder DRS7000N – the industry’s first combination DVD player and personal video recorder, offering more than 30 hours of recording time and a convenient, no-fee GUIDE Plus+ interactive TV Guide. This progressive scan player incorporates a Gemstar GUIDE Plus+ interactive TV Guide with one-touch recording for easy time shifting of favorite shows. Other key functions include the ability to pause a live TV program for up to 45 minutes, one button fast forward, 10-second review and the ability to watch one previously recorded program while recording another.
The RCA Scenium DRS7000N Personal Video Recorder offers audio, video and photo album capability and can store thousands of digital images with RCA’s Digital PhotoView. In addition, the unit can hold 1,000 mp3 audio files on the hard drive. The player has component video, S-Video, composite video, and analog audio outputs; two sets of S-Video, composite video and analog audio inputs; a USB input, optical and coaxial digital output jacks and a headphone jack. The DVD player is compatible with DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, mp3, VCD, DVD+R/RW, and DVD-R/RW (if recorded in compatible mode) playback discs.
The RCA Scenium Personal Video Recorder has a suggested retail price of $499.
