Customer Reviews
What a GREAT device! 
2008-10-03
Can I say how much I LOVE this? My friend Lee, who lives back east bought one & told me about it. I was looking for a DVD recorder so I could import all my old analog 8 mm videos without hooking it up to a computer.
This is JUST SUCH A MACHINE.
It's only drawback is there is no option to monitor audio from it.
I've worked around this by monitoring audio from my camera.
As I said, my friend Lee told me about it, I bought mine, & after I showed mine to a co-worker, he too, bought one.
For under $200, this item rules!
sony VRDMC5 DVDirect DVD Recorder 2008-09-30
I just came from a trip to Alaska,I inserted the memory card of my camera into this machine'memory card slot,it created a great dvd with all my pictures and a backgoround music,it was truely excellant work,just what you expect from pro.
One of the best multipurpose video DVD archival units available 
2008-09-26
Whether you're looking for a way to quickly free up tapes and memory cards so you can take more pictures, want to archive old footage on VCR tapes, or master videos and photos quickly onto DVD, the VRDMC5 is a versatile Swiss Army knife that can take a wide variety of inputs and chuff out finalized DVDs rapidly.
I recently became overwhelmed with all of the video and photos I had on my various cameras and I also didn't want to clog up my computer hard drive with everything that I've recorded recently. If there is a lesson of the HD era, it's that high definition eats up storage space like nothing before it. This great device, extremely usable without a computer, is just the answer to the video and photo archival/backup problems more and more of us are facing.
Here's how the VRDMC5 breaks down:
PROS:
* Simple to set up and use, especially for a Sony product. The menus aren't perfect but they can be figured out rapidly enough.
* An excellent match for AVCHD format videos, an increasingly popular format for storing HD video on solid state (i.e. non-tape) devices, particularly Sony HD video cameras. Made nice DVDs that were recognized as cameras in iMovie with no problem.
* Fast, simple downloading of photos from memory cards of all the most common makes and types. The VRDMC5 can handle photos as well, and though making slideshow DVDs can take a while, if you just want to download to disc, it's a very fast, simple process.
* Solid feel and construction overall, though perhaps a little too bulky and not strong enough for frequent travel. I will test this on my upcoming 20 day road trip and post an update.
* One button operation for most purposes. There's a big red button on the front of the device and when you connect your camera/media and insert a disc, the most common operation is invoked by the button and it's usually the right one. Very iPod-esque for Sony and a smart feature that really works.
* Works with and records on 8cm blank DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs with no trouble (just don't insert them into your MacBook, which *doesn't* support them; I found out the hard way.)
- Transcribed video from S-Video or regular RCA cable nicely and with decent quality. I felt the output onto DVD, even in fine mode, is just a little too blocky looking and pixelated when viewed for my taste, but it does work; you can just connect and record any video signal with this device and burn directly onto DVD, live. This good for capturing all sorts of pre-recorded or live events onto DVD media without the use of a computer.
- You can use DVD-RW or DVD+RW for recording most content (the latter recordable disc format is generally much better, though a tiny bit more expensive) so you can re-use DVDs over and over again (I archive most of my videos and photos online to flickr.com, vimeo.com, and Amazon's S3 service using Jungle Disk, then reuse the recordable DVD media with this device.)
- Works great on the Mac and iMovie except when making regular video DVDs. In other words, AVCHD recorded discs came across just fine with no problem and no extra software of any kind was needed, but movie DVDs created by the VRDMC5 won't import without significant gyrations. This is an iMovie limitation though, NOT the device.
CONS:
- Does NOT work digitally with Sony's MicroMV cameras I'm sad to report. It reports the device as unknown when you connect the USB cable. MicroMV tape formats require an S-Video translation that takes as long as it takes to play the movie back and there is considerable loss of video quality. You can take the digital transfer route but then this device is not very useful any more since you have to do everything on your computer.
- Does NOT work via USB with any hard drive camcorder I tried (though I don't have a Sony HDD camcorder). This is not a huge deal but was something I'd would expect to work given how standard the USB interfaces tend to be on HDD camcorders. I tried many times but the VRDMC5 always reported it as an unknown USB device.
- Can't use double-layer discs for photo archival. Not critical but it's a weird omission. Some people have reported that this actually works but just takes a long time. I haven't tried it but the manual says it doesn't work.
- Too bulky. It feels like there is lots of empty space in the unit's case and it could have been made smaller. This device is perfect for taking on the road when you're not near your home computer and mass storage devices, but it's going to be a stretch to take with you since the device and power supply take up a great deal of room. There's also no carrying case I can find for this.
- Screen is tiny (though very clear) and can't be angled. Some people have reported this a problem and I've just ended up holding the unit in my lap so I can see better. Not a huge deal but it would have been nice to have a hinge on the LCD.
Perfect for fast turn around 2008-09-18
I sometimes record football games for our local high school. One of the requirements is to hand over a dvd of the game for coaches to trade by next morning. Anyone with experience in editing knows that this can be a time consuming task, even more so if you record in HD. I was taking the video home, then capturing it to my editing software and then rendering it out to a DVD compatible format and then burning the DVD. This can take hours. I also had the option to record direct to hard drive using software the school purchased but I had to lug around a laptop and the software still took about an hour to convert and burn. So with all that said the Sony VDR-MC5 has been a life-saver. If you have a Sony HandyCam with a built in hard drive or memory stick you can save ALOT of time (I have the SR-11). The MC5 will burn your video directly to a DVD in about 20 minutes in HD (AVCHD Blu-Ray) format BUT you can only play the DVD on a Blu-Ray compatible DVD player. I found that changing my HandyCam to SD(HQ) mode still gives me great video quality, burns the DVD in about 15 minutes (this is about 1 hour of video I'm using mind you) AND the finished DVD will play on any DVD player. I can hand the coaches a trade DVD within 30 minutes of the last whistle. The MC5 is perfect for fast turn-around.......I love it! Oh and it does so much more but I only covered what I really needed it for. Now I can get to sleep at a reasonable hour. That alone is worth the price!
Saved my bacon 2008-09-15
I had a client who required me to shoot 20 minute segments at an event and then provide the person we shot with a DVD within 10 minutes. I was trying to figure out how to do this and ran across this little device. While in general I do not recommend Sony products because of issues like the "root kit", I will recommend this one because it's the only product I found at a decent price out there.
You basically can plug your DV camera into this and record live right to DVD and then at the end of the shoot, take about 5 minutes to finalize the disk and you go a very compliant DVD to either give away or duplicate.
I bought two of them and had a dual camera shoot going on and these worked like a charm. Client was happy so I was happy.
Works great w/ Sony Handycams 2008-09-15
records high-definition video to DVD from select Sony AVCHD hard drive and Memory Stick® camcorders * playback of high-definition recordings requires an AVCHD-compatible Blu-ray Disc player -- not possible on a standard DVD player * records from Sony hard disk drive Handycam camcorders at up to 6X speed * records digital photos to DVD from Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, SD Memory Card, xD Picture Card, and CompactFlash® memory cards * 2-1/2" LCD screen for previewing digital photos and video *
Easiest solution to digitalize your videos in NTSC or PAL 2008-09-08
For all those people who are concerned about the system compatibility. This device supports both NTSC and PAL. I have successfully recorded DVDs from my American camcorder (NTSC) and my European one(PAL). All you have to do is change the settings in the menu from NTSC to PAL. It is that easy.
Super User-Friendly Sony DVD Recorder 2008-09-06
I am not a computer geek by any means, so the Sony DVD recorder is an excellent choice for anyone seeking an easy-to-use recording device. I just simply inserted my memory card from my digital camera(and my camera is considered old by today's standards) and the device prompted me along the way. I like that you can record your pictures with sound, although I really wish there was more than one tune to select from. My family enjoyed viewing my pictures over the TV screen, but it became a joke when each DVD played the same tune over and over. All in all, I am thoroughly pleased with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone seeking to store photos and videos on DVD without the necessity of a PC.
Very good so far 2008-09-01
I bought this for an application which is probably fairly unusual - recording football games directly from a digital video camera for the coaching staffs of several local colleges. It works perfectly fine so far for that purpose. A very light, portable piece of equipment, simple to use, doesn't require a remote control or a video monitor; goes in and out of pause almost instantaneously; takes up very little space in a camera bag; makes high quality recordings; and for my purpose, doesn't need the audio outputs it doesn't have, because audio is immaterial, since the football coaches don't want their voices recorded during the games anyway! The only reason I can't give it five stars is that I don't know yet how it's going to hold up in a torrential rainstorm. :-)
Best DVD Recorder I ever use 2008-09-01
This recorder is pretty simple and user friendly . With only 3 steps and your DVD is recorded from any sources like DVR, camcorder,VCR and even live program from TV in HD format. I'm very happy with this product and I will highly recommend it.
