The RDR-GX7's sophisticated camcorder control capabilities lets you manage a range of dubbing and editing functions when you connect a Digital Handycam or Digital8 camcorder through the i.LINK (IEEE 1394) interface. One-touch dubbing fosters easy tape-to-disc conversion, and you can delete unwanted scenes or make a compilation of your favorite scenes with flexible editing functions such as program edit and advanced program edit.

Several picture-enhancing technologies are aimed at creating high-quality recordings, especially when transferring images from video sources such as VHS or 8 mm camcorders. The unit can play back DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, CD, CD-R and CD-RW discs--offering a wealth of musical enjoyment alongside its extensive video capabilities.

The playback capability of the DVD recorder is said to be comparable to the high-end DVD players in Sony's acclaimed ES line. The player/recorder delivers stunning home-theater effects through a variety of high-performance features that optimize picture quality and effectively remove noise, such as a 12-bit, 108 MHz video digital-to-analog converter with Noise Shaped Video technology, motion-adaptive field noise reduction, pre-frame noise reduction, and pre-video equalizer technologies. Variable bit-rate MPEG encoding ensures maximum efficiency and recording time (60 to 360 minutes) for all applicable DVD media.

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the RDR-GX7 stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Using Sony's Precision Cinema Progressive technology, the recorder also encodes your DV (digital video) input sources in pristine 480p formatting.

During playback, the RDR-GX7 also performs 3:2 pulldown. DVD mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24-frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion, removing the redundant information to display a film-frame-accurate picture. Top-of-the-line component-video outputs help minimize digital and line-scan artifacts on compatible advanced televisions, while composite- and S-video outputs bring compatibility with nearly any television.

Two sets of left/right analog-audio inputs and one set of outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio outputs (one each of RCA coaxial and Toslink optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.

Despite its advanced functionality, the RDR-GX7's intelligent onscreen graphical user interface (GUI) is entirely user-friendly, helping you create personal DVD titles with thumbnail pictures and operate the recorder through the sophisticated Remote Commander remote control. There's no need to cue or rewind tape here, so accessing precise points in your programming is nearly effortless.