4 comments about Broksonic DVD Recorder/VCR (DR-VCR900) (DVCR-900).

1. I originally bought a Samsung Combo Recorder only to have it come out of the box broken! I then bought this Broksonic on the reccomendation of a friend that owns the exact same model. WHAT A GREAT MACHINE!!! Not one error, one messed-up disc, or one bad thing to say about it! I HIGHLY RECCOMEND IT if you want a quality recorder at a great price! Circuit City carries this model and I bought mine there last week for $229 plus tax! So far I am very happy with it. My friend has had his for about six or eight months and just raves about it! He says that it works better than his $1000 Phillips and that it performs flawlessly EVERY TIME! What else is there to say?



2. oh boy where do i begin..i had more problems with sound transfer than anything else.pretty much all the dvds i made had a static sound in the background.and a couple the sound would go up and down.now lets not forget this is a vcr/dvd recorder combo so theres no wires connecting the two
   also the were other problems when sometimes the dvd would not play on my other dvd player.i did not forget to finalize the disc and it would in fact play on my computers dvd player proving that.
   other times when i was done recording in slp for 6 HOURS!!! when i would press stop to stop recording it would pop up on the screen "disc error" basicly meaming i had just wasted 6 hours of my time.and it would not just do that in slp but sp mode as well. also when it would do this the dvd recorder would just freeze.i could not eject the dvd,turn off the power or anything.i would have to unplug it and plug it back in to get it going again.
   there was one last problem with this combo.it was way to sensitive.if my video would flicker just a little bit the dvd recorder would stop recording thinking the tape was at the end. come on there are no perfect video tapes out there.once they get a year or so old vhs tapes begin having problems.thats why dvds were created.so if your old family home video is not perfect your screwed basicly.
   i never finished my recording project with this piece of junk. insteed i got a refund and used the money to buy a sony rdr-gx300 . it was a tad bit more money (like 40 dollars more) but well worth it as i've had no problems and i am infact done with my recording project
   lesson for today is .... stick with brands you've heard of and are well respected..i gave the new guys a chance and was burned.. i think dealing with it gave me high blood preasure:)



3. I only have good things to say about this piece of equipment. It has superb recording quality, it looks good, and it works flawlessly everytime I use it. I got mine for Christmas and I am doing some serious recording of my favorite shows and movies. I won't even have to buy the Seinfeld dvd collection because it comes on tv 4 times a day and all I have to do is pop in a dvd-r and hit record! After finalizing my discs, I have been able to play them in every dvd player in my home, including my computer. It took a little time for me to understand all the directions in the user's guide but other than that, the basic recording features of this machine is simple to follow. All I have used so far are dvd-r's, Fuji brand and TDK brand (because to my knowledge, dvd+r won't work with this equipment). Plus dvd-r's are relatively cheap nowadays(Circuit City and Best Buy run weekly ads for $6.99 - $7.99 for a 25 pack). A dvd-rw comes in the package so it gives you a little something to practice with, so if you make a mistake, the dvd-rw can be erased! I love my dvd recorder/vcr combo.



4. I cannot figure out how to go about finalizing my discs.
   
   Frank

5 comments about LG LRY-517 - DVD recorder/ VCR combo.

1. I have owned Sony, Toshiba, and recently a JVC DVD/VHS combo system. NOTHING, absolutely nothing comes close to comparing with this LG product in quality, flexibility, capability, cross system use, EASE of USE, and every other thing the average consumer wants but can't get in one machine.
   
   Not only is the quality of the picture HD quality but by routing my cable TV through the LG unit my television picture is also equally enhanced. Sharp colors, clear, brilliant.
   
   The chips slots to down load digital camera pictures directly into the LG is an incredible feature. It has every other feature you can image, and it is heavy! No plastic cost cutting with this piece of equipment.
   
   Tremendous value for $350, well worth the cost based upon quality and the almost endless way you can use it to get the most from all your digital products - as well as watch beautiful HD quality ordinary cable TV.



2. This is my first LG product and I'm impressed. The DVD Recorder supports many advanced features such as title split and custom thumnails for +RW discs. Dubbing VHS tapes to disc works flawlessly. Formatting and finalizing is also fast with all disc types.
   
   My only complaint is the lack of recording modes. LG only offers 1, 2, 4, and 6 hour recording. The quality difference between 2 and 4 hour recording is dramatic. I wish LG offered a 3 hour mode, like Sony and RCA recorders.



3. I've owned this product for a couple of years and have had nothing but trouble with it. Early on it seemed to work okay, although it was always finicky about discs. As time goes by, however, it recognizes fewer and fewer of the discs I put into it, to the point where now about the only thing it will read is a CD. That's right, this super multi-format DVD reader/recorder is now little more than a gigantic CD player for me.



4. I had nothing but problems with this recorder. It worked fine at first; a little quirky with certain types of discs. Over time, however, it became more and more picky about the discs it would read. Now it won't even recognize your basic single-layer commercially pressed disc--let alone DVDs it recorded itself!



5. It plays fine on both DVD and VCR. I have only recorded VHS and it does fine on that but tracking problems when swapping tapes between the LG and the Samsung and the LG is difficult to correct tracking. It is probably the Samsung... yet, the only time I have tracking problems on the Samsung is when I play a tape recorded on the LG.
   
   Worst problem is NO BACKUP Battery for clock and programming. Just a tiny power glitch and you lose the clock and everything else and have to reprogram it. It did this when it was brand new. This failure is inexcusable since every electronic device and computer have had backup batteries for more than 15 years. Perhaps it is just my unit which has no battery backup... but it could be a generic issue.
   
   It is also noisy on rewind... it is not a glitch... rather a very fast, powerful rewind motor... but definitely an issue if your spouse is a light sleeper. And the power of the motor can be an issue when you are simply trying to get past the commercial. It runs so fast, you always go past your intended stopping point.
   
   I will give it credit that it was the only DVD unit that would play 3 oddball DVD's which no other unit would play. This will play virtually anything including non-US regions, homemade videos of any format... even poorly made copies from some Amazon seller that sold homemade pirated copies (bad ones at that) and passed them off on some unsuspecting customers as new original DVD's. Beware of those Northern Texas DVD dealers....
   
   So, if you don't mind reprogramming your clock and memory every time you have a power hit and you are not having tracking issues from poor tapes.... it is actually a very good DVD-VHS player and VHS recorder. It might be a good DVD recorder too, but since I have not used that function, I cannot pass judgement.
   
   Some pointers:
   If you want to see what time it is on the panel display, don't use the power saver mode. You'll also have to manually change the daylight savings times due to the new dates, otherwise, it will do it on the original dates. Be sure to slide open the hidden panel on the bottom of the remote for additional button features. It was a few weeks before I noticed the panel. It also keeps coming up displayed as mono even though I keep resetting it to stereo and it promptly says mono whether you have any stereo movies in it or none at all nor whether you have a stereo feed or not through the video & stereo audio jacks or Coax from a stereo source.
   
   The menus are also funky. Be sure to hit OK to set the recorder timer or it will lose your programming. Other menus are even more dysfunctional.... but I still can't knock the quality of the basic functions. (I was an electrical and electronic technology engineer for 30 years and have had video recording equipment for 24 years....so none of these issues are operator error related, so be forewarned on these minor problems).
   
   I would buy another one of these units, considering the quality of the recorders and players left on the market for those of us who have no intention of giving up our thousands of DVD's and VHS tapes for the ever changing formats. I'll buy a lifetime supply of equipment to maintain the viability of my 6000+ DVD & VHS movie collection rather than succumb to the 10 year format changes designed to keep you rebuying your videos and music over and over again or those RAM recorders designed to keep you from collecting TV taped movies instead of buying the DVD set, etc. I could buy a warehouse full of recorders & video equipment for the money it would cost to keep changing formats.... not to mention inflation. Once you are trapped in a format, watch the prices double on all of the movies. Eventually, you will no longer be able to buy a tangible media for your video and music. You will all be relagated to downloads which are only viable for a preset time period and you will be forced to pay more to expand the viewing time on each download. The entire entertainment industry is moving toward the day when your only option for movies, music and TV shows will become a perpetual pay-per-view, intangible download with an expiration. You will see this in the very near future.
   
   It is a 10 year preplanned obsolescence for any recorded media you will ever buy and each time you will be besieged with how the next technology is better than the last. Remember how music went from records, reel to reel, 8 track, cassette, metallic tape, CD's (and those many formats) DVD's (and all of those formats), wav, Mpeg 1-3, Ipod, downloads, mp3 players, blueray...how many sets of the same songs do you really want to buy?
   
   Same with video. Started with kinescope, a vast assortment of filmstrip types, reel to reel video recording tape, Laser disks, Beta, VHS, DVD, DVR, HD-DVD, Blueray, IMAX, dozens of different regions and formats, analog, digital, quicktime, realone, avi, NTSC, online movie downloads, etc.... how many times do you plan to buy the same movies?
   
   Just remember when you think you have to have the latest and greatest and look at previous technologies with disdain... one day, your collections will be out of date because at least once every 10 years, the preplanned obsolescence will catch up with you. It is an intentional ploy used for entertainment, computers (although their obsolescence rate is annual), phone systems, cell phones, air conditioning, vehicles, etc.) And as new software emerges... have you ever noticed how it always requires more and more computer memory so you have to keep upgrading to the next model of computer to accommodate the software which you "must have" like the Vista fiasco and watch out for those "checking for recent updates" to eat up some memory in the name of protecting the security of your system... but the computers only increase memory in small stages... just barely enough for the previous software requirements? And now your cell phone features are the same. More features, more capabilities... need newer cell phones and higher usage fees.
   
   Welcome to the industry-planned merry-go-round of marketing ploys, propaganda and perpetual format & media design changes to force new surges of sales & revenue boosts and to set up all entertainment media like a never-ending vending machine you will never stop pumping money into. You'll catch on when you reach your mid-40's and wish you had purchased spare equipment to accommodate supporting your entertainment media collection.

2 comments about Samsung DVD-R100 DVD Recorder.

1. I actually have an earlier model Samsung DVD player, and it, along with other Samsung models at the time, and models STILL BEING PRODUCED, had a horrible skipping problem on many DVDs (just check out some of the other cusomter reviews here on Amazon). Samsung's support was almost non-existant -- I found out there was a firmware upgrade for the player, but not through their website (where I couldn't find any help whatsoever), but through a friend with the same problem. HOWEVER, the firmware upgrade did not resolve the problem, and the last I heard, there was a class action suit filed here in Pennsylvania (which I received an invitiation to be a part of, but could not participate in, I think because I no longer had the receipt). Considering their lackluster customer support, I would advise anyone against buying any DVD player from this company. Players are much cheaper nowadays anyway, and you can get an excellent Sony or Toshiba for a modest price.



2. This has to be the most frustrating thing I've bought. The first one I had was aweful - wouldn't play a disc or anything - so I return it and get a new one, which worked fine for about two months and then starts with noise in the screen on playback - and now won't record or playback. I'd return it for service - but that has to be a waste of my time. Don't buy this. I've ordered a Toshiba.

5 comments about Sylvania DVR90VE DVD Player/Recorder and Hi-Fi VCR Combo.

1. I've had this dvd/vcr combo for two years. It has been a great dvd player and vhs player and recorder.
   
   The problem is the dvd recorder doesn't last long.
   
   I have older vcr's and dvd players that still work fine. But this dvd recorder stopped working. I tried early on to give disks it could burm without trouble: TDK, Memorex, Verbatim. Some other brands would not work.
   
   Then a couple months ago, every disk I tried would not be recognized by the DVDR90VE. No dvd writing at all, just the dreaded E25 error. Every disk was "bad."
   
   I took the machine to a local electronics repair shop. They've fixed things for me before; they're pretty good. They said it couldn't be fixed and called it cheap.
   
   Though I've owned this machine a long time, I've made perhaps 20 dvds with it. So it was not a good purchase as a dvd recorder.
   
   Look for a better brand. I have an LG I like now. (Not a combo unit, it handles just dvds.) After I burn 25 or 50 disks, I'll let you know how it holds up.
   
   Maybe dvd recorders are temperamental devices and after a while, they stop working. Nevertheless, I would be wary of this brand.



2. Bought this for my mother-in-law to convert those old VHS classics to DVD for longer shelf life. Once you read the instructions, it is fairly simple to use. Quality of the DVD is based on the quality of the VHS. We are going to buy another in the future for our own home.



3. Dont even bother. Purchase something that actually records with DVD's that are available. Big thumbs down.



4. Have had the recorder for three years. Use it infrequently. Have to reread the manual carefully each time I want to use it. Have made extensive notes in the manual that are a MUST, things I learned through trial and error. This item is not easy to use but does everything it says it will do if you follow the directions.
   Last time I found I had run out of 4X DVD-R blanks, could not find them anywhere fast or at a reasonable cost. Read the reviews here and saw the firmware upgrade to 8X. Called and found out in April 2008 they are charging $17 plus $6 shipping, NOT FREE as stated in many earlier reviews.



5. I was able to make 20 or so dvds from this machine, none of which will play in any other dvd players, despite my completion of the "finalizing" process.
   
   Also, although I'd already made 5 or so dvds out of a 25-pack, it is suddenly giving me an error message. These dvds are all the same, if they worked before, why not now? I'm reluctant to waste more money purchasing different dvds to try after reading these reviews, it seems as though the recorder may have simply stopped working.
   
   Total piece of crap. Don't waste your money.

No comments about Toshiba D-KR2 D-KR2 DVD Recorder.

5 comments about JVC DRMV77S Tunerless DVD Video Recorder & VHS.

1. I got this machine for christmas.
   There is no screwed coax cable port! I don't have a cable box, I just have a cable coming out of my wall.
   There is nothing in the back of this machine to accommodate this. I need some sort of adapter to get from the cable to red, yellow, and white split cables.
   
   What's up with that, anyone know what this adapter is called?
   Phil



2. I've had it for a short time but so far it's pretty good. It works just fine. I had to use a dvd cleaner to watch a brand new dvd today for the first time. It's cool to be able to record on a dvd though!



3. I recommend buyers look at the Amazon reviews for defunct JVC VHS/DVD
   dual deck products before they purchase any current dual deck model.
   They have a proven history of extremely poor build quality. JVC keeps
   rapidly changing model numbers, which makes this more difficult for
   the consumer to discover. However they all look very similar with
   only slight cosmetic differences.
   
   Search on these item numbers and see for yourself:
   
   JVC SR-MV40US
   
   * Built Defective, I bought and returned three of these units (12/2007)
   * Faulty DVD Drive is a known inevitable problem on every unit (11/2007)
   * Worked well while it worked (10/2007)
   * Disk Error on most discs after 5 months of owning the unit (08/2007)
   * No luck with this (06/2007)
   * Problem unit (05/2007)
   
   JVC HRXVC27U (5 1-stars out of 8)
   
   * 1yr and 1/2 and it died (02/2005)
   * Worst home electronic device I've ever owned (03/2006)
   * Barely outlived the warranty (10/2005)
   * the J must stand for Junk (05/2005)
   
   JVC DRMV5S (8 1-stars out of 16)
   
   * Do Not Buy The JVC DRMV5S DVD ... (09.2007)
   * JVC DRMV5S is defective! (03/2007)
   * Total Junk and they Know it ! (12/2006)
   * There's got to be something better (03/2006)
   * JVC should be ashamed! (01/2006)
   * Died after two weeks (10/2005)
   
   
   
   A search on "Jvc Hi-fi Vcr/DVD Combo" search yields the following models:
   
   JVC HRXVC29S
   
   * I had the unit for under a year, and one day ... it just froze (04/2006)
   * What a disapointment after only 2 years (03/2006)
   
   JVC HRXVC15S (1 1-star, 1 2-star out of 2 reviews)
   
   * Factory Defect....Look Elsewhere (09/2007)
   
   
   
   Here are some model numbers that WILL NOT come up on a search but CAN be
   accessed by working through "see all of my reviews"
   
   JVC DRMV1S (>>> FIFTY-TWO <<<< 1-stars out of 63 reviews)
   
   * Worst purchase decision ever!! (11/2007)
   * Unit has never been right (10/2007)
   * total piece of junk!!!!!! (02/2007)
   * Nothing But Trouble (07/2006)
   * poor reliability (10/2006)
   * Don't buy the JVC DRMV1S (01/2006)
   * What a piece of junk!!! (01/2006)
   * Avoid this unit or you WILL be sorry (01/2006)
   * Total loss (01/2006)
   * Worst piece of electronics I've ever seen (12/2005)
   * Possessed by Demons (10/2005)
   * For the sake of your sanity, do not buy this!!!!! (12/2005)
   ... it just goes on and on.
   
   JVC HR-XVC20U (10 1-stars out of 19 reviews)
   
   * Very disappointed - Not a good buy (10/2004)
   * I will never buy a JVC product again (07/2004)
   * In the shop (05/2004)
   * DON'T BUY IT!! (05/2004)
   * Pathetic (05/2004)
   * I bought it in october of 2003 - going bad in april 2004
   * Do not buy this unit! (04/200)
   * A regrettable purchase (02/2004)
   
   JVC HRXVC26U (6 1-stars out of 14 reviews)
   
   * Awful (08/2007)
   * 2 Units same problem ... freezing (09/2004)
   
   JVC HRXVS44U (6 1 or 2-stars out of 10 reviews)
   
   * VCR drive died after one year (10/2004)
   * Third straight reviewer to have a problem (01/2005)
   * This is junk...avoid (09/2004)
   * Durability is questionable, after 9 months ... (05/2004)
   * unit was terrible out of the box (12/2003)
   
   JVC HR-XVC33U (5 reviews out of 10 3-stars or less)
   
   * Returned Item (03/2004)
   * Problems from the start (02/2004)
   * I am on my third one and it's going bad too (12/2003)
   
   
   JVC HRXVC16B (3 1-stars out of 3 reviews)
   
   * I'll never buy another JVC product again. A month after ... (04/2007)
   
   
   Buyer Beware !!!



4. Here is a list of things I do NOT like about my JVC dr-mv77s:
   
   This unit is VERY DARK gray - almost black, not light silver like shown in all the online photos. The dark gray matches none of my components!
   
   The ON SCREEN TV DISPLAY only stays on for a few seconds - no way to leave it turned on. You are constantly having to turn it back on. What a nuisance!
   
   The FRONT PANEL DISPLAY is small with very small letters and numbers. Difficult to tell when you are recording unless you are two feet (or closer) from the unit.
   
   The REMOTE IS NOT UNIVERSAL. Remote has volume and channel buttons but only for JVC TVs!
   
   The ON SCREEN TV DISPLAY is small and hard to see across room and I have a 46" TV!
   
   When you fast forward a DVD you have 6 fast forward levels. The first three advance very slowly the forth level jumps in 5 or 10 minute increments. What's up with that? FAST FORWARD is almost worthless!
   
   Last but not least when you do a timer record like 30 or 60 minutes the unit SHUTS DOWN after recording. I am constantly having to turn the unit back on again!
   
   The think a bunch of CLOWNS must have designed this unit. I am very displeased with this unit. I should have stuck with SONY or PANASONIC.
   
   HEED THE WARNINGS about this unit and similar JVC units from the other reviewers and you won't waist your money on these poorly engineered pieces of junk.



5. Had my set for 3 days now. Super easy set up. All the features work great. Quick formating after record. Good quality image and the sound seems better than my old dvd recorder.
   Only ONE DRAWBACK which is: you can NOT record 'nothing' having a copyright including old VCR movie tapes, tv movies, not even old black and white movies if the tv channel broadcasts a copyright signal on their station.
   But if you want to copy VCR tapes you made yourself, it works great. If you want to tape a tv movie that is not protected, the quality is super.

5 comments about Samsung DVD-VR335 DVD Recorder.

1. I had my doudts if the hd up function actually work, but to my suprise it takes a standard dvd makes it appear to be hd. The only thing I notice that I don't care for are TV show played through the unit, the picture size shrinks. The same thing happens with TV recordings. I may have a setting incorrect, I'll contact samsung.



2. This recorder has many excellent features as described above, but if you want to have the up-converting to 720p or 1080i feature ALONG WITH 5.1 AUDIO then an annoying in-your-face error message saying "HDMI Audio not supported" pops up in the center of the screen for several seconds. It can also pop up in the middle of a movie at the layer change. The only way to get rid of this message is to switch to 2.0 PCM audio and lose your 5.1 surround or not use the HDMI output and stay at 480p.
   What's so frustrating is that the unit WILL supply 5.1 audio out of one of its other jacks along with the HDMI video - it just bugs you constantly with this stupid message.
   
   Another smaller annoyance is if you have a DVD that uses different angles then the word "Angle" appears onscreen with no way to remove it.
   I have read online that Samsung issued a firmware fix for one of its other units to cancel all on-screen messages (that you have to reset whenever you re-start the unit) but they went ahead and included the message in the VR335 anyway!
   
   Since upconverting was one of the major reasons for choosing the DVD-VR335, I am seriously considering returning it.



3. Easy to set up & works great. The remote is a bit confusing at first. Easy one-touch recording to DVD.



4. I'vw owned a -335 for about 2 months now, and really like it. it features some nice options for the recordings that it makes, like the ability to "split" one show into two (yes, you get ot choose WHERE the split happens).
   the only two disappointments that I've founds are (1) it will only record on the free space at the END of the disc. if you have 3 shows on a disc, and erase the first 2 (on an RW disc), you still can't record on the newly freed space. only when you erase the last show on the disc can it recognize the space at the start of disc. in fairness, the manual warned me of this, so it is no suprise. just REALLY inconvinient, it turns out.
   and (2), there doesn't seem to be any way to disable automatic time-syncing w/ cable. since the gov't decided to move DST this year, that was quite annoying for a few weeks. the manual suggests nothing for this, but I've gotten reasonable results from having it sync to a non-station. clumsy, but not a deal-killer.
   
   all-in-all, I can happily recommend this unit.



5. It works, I'll give the designers that. But it's one of the most frustrating pieces of gear I've ever bought...maybe the MOST frustrating for a unit that works.
   
   The remote is impossible! It's made up of tiny buttons that require an inordinate amount of pressure to activate, and the remote has to be aimed pretty much straight at the unit to work. With so many excellent remote controls to inspire and educate the designers (such as the TiVo remote) why does anyone still design a remote that's so hard to use?
   
   The basic operations of recording a DVD have many steps and are almost totally non-intuitive. Everything has to be "just so" in order to do something as simple as, say, retitling a recording or finalizing a disc. Even the "one-step" controls don't work intuitively when I try to do something as simple as recording from the built-in VHS deck to the DVD.
   
   I can not imagine that Kun-Hee Lee (the Chairman and CEO of Samsung) has ever tried to operate this piece of gear. If he had, he would have fired his engineers, right after tossing this unit into the Han River.
   
   I really hate this unit and regret buying it and look forward eagerly to the day when it dies and I can replace it. But I give the unit two stars because it does work...if you can figure it out (keep the manual handy) and get your fingers around that godawful remote.

4 comments about Pioneer DVR-520H-S - DVD recorder / HDD recorder.

1. For many years, I have VCR taped all of our favorite television programs for later viewing. As juggling the different tapes is cumbersome and viewing quality ranges from acceptable to poor, I have been closely watching the DVD/HD recorders for some time as a replacement for VCR taping and to put all our family VHS tapes onto long-lasting DVD.
   
   I liked the features and generally good reviews of the Panasonic models, but was hesitant to buy into the DVD-RAM technology as it seems very limited and likely to become more so as the DVD standards continue to evolve.
   
   I chose the Pioneer DVR-520 because I liked the unit's features and have had great success with Pioneer products in the past.
   
   While only using it for about two weeks... I really like it. Very easy to set up and simple to tape from TV to either the HD or DVD-R/DVD-RW. I have done all my recording on SP which allows approximately 40 hrs of HD programming and 2 hrs per DVD.
   
   Picture quality has been terrific and the "easy record" feature makes it a snap to record television programs.
   
   The manual is a bit tedious, so I generally just review the section headings in the table of contents and then dive into the onscreen menus. These are easy to navigate and each feature that is highlighted includes a thorough descrition of what it does.
   
   Overall, I find the Pioneer DVR 520-H, quiet, simple to operate, produces excellent recorded picture quality, and so far, does everything it claims to - and quite well at that!



2. I've had the unit for about two weeks now, so am still exploring, but am happy with it so far, especially after the saga of purchase. Originally bought a Hitachi, discovered it wouldn't work without activating TIVO, then went through TWO Panasonic EH-85s without either one ever working right (tech support finally hypothesized that the factory got a bad batch of chips, installed them in consecutive units, and shipped a bad batch to the retailer).
   
   I bought this primarily to archive home movies -- some going back 25 years to when my Navy son was taking his first toddling steps. The VHS tapes are deteriorating, so I wanted to get the footage digitized, and it's now cost-effective to do so. And though the editing functions are tedious, I've been happy with the results so far. The machine also really shines at time-shifting broadcast TV for later viewing and if that were the only purpose for the purchase it would have still probably been worthwhile.
   
   Good points: very easy to use for timed recordings and it will record over 100 hours at the lowest quality (which is fine for us for time-shifting; it's about the same as 6-hour mode VHS recording on a good machine). The "fine" and SP modes (1 hour and 2 hours per DVD, respectively) offer less recording time but much higher resolution and less graininess -- the SP mode is virtually indistinguishable from a commercial DVD. Editing of video is straightforward, moderately intuitive, and easy to learn as it's menu-driven. The machine has a couple of neat features I didn't expect -- if the TV channel provides the info, the 520 will automatically title what it records off the air with the name of the show, making it very easy to find the shows we want to watch a day or two or ten after broadcast. It also plays back JPEG CDs made on a home computer, so we can show friends our digital photos on the TV instead of on the computer.
   
   Less-than-good points: I haven't yet been successful in getting the VCR+ to work despite help from tech support, but we've got another couple of things to try and the lack of VCR+ is trivial, since it's so easy to set the manual timer. The editing functions are EXTREMELY tedious -- it uses hierarchical menus which require the user to go to all the up to the top level and back down several other levels to change functions. Editing out a commercial, choosing a frame to use as a title thumbnail, and then titling the segment require about 15 thumb presses instead of 3 or 4, due to the multiple trips up and down the menu hierarchy (plus many more thumb presses to actually input a name using the "arrow key cursor" with the on-screen virtual keyboard). It made me long for keyboard and mouse inputs on the recorder! Lastly -- the disks it makes in SP (2-hour) mode have played on all the machines with which I've tried them. The disks made in slower modes only play on about half of the other players, so I guess I'll just buy a few extra blank disks and use SP mode when I make copies of home movies to share with family.
   
   Overall -- I'm glad I bought it and like it so far. For heavy-duty editing, I'd probably be happier doing it on computer. For light-duty editing, such as archiving old broadcast tapes or digitizing home movies, it's tedious but works just fine. For time-shifting broadcast TV to view later, it's a HUGE leap forward from a VCR with 6 hours of capacity requiring linear searching to find the desired program. I'm pleased with unit, feel I got my money's worth, and recommend it.



3. It took me a few months to decide which DVD Recorder I would buy. Pioneer, of course, has an excellent name and their products are usually reliable and are top quality. I have DVD Players by Pioneer and also external DVD/CD recorders for my PC, so after much research I gave the 520H-S a shot. And I'm very satisfied -- everything worked right away: the hook up, the recording quality and all the features of this DVR are just excellent. You will need to read through the manual in order to understand the onscreen menues and commands, etc. As other users mentioned, the editing functions are a little tedious and you'll need the manual right beside you.
   But it's easy to record TV shows, old videos to the 80GB harddrive and then make edited copies to a DVD-R. The finalized DVD-Rs that I've recorded played in all my DVD players and the quality is excellent. It took me about a couple of hours for the complete setup for my home theater system with satellite receiver, video player, other DVD player, etc., so that everything worked perfectly. And it took me about a day to record the last 12 years of home videos that we had and burn the DVDs. The 80GB harddrive comes in handy with a capacity of approx. 36 hours for SP mode (excellent quality) recording. The burning of the DVDs is fast -- it takes about 5-7 minutes for a 2-hour DVD to burn and finalize.
   Compared to the other models out there and considering all the features, etc., at this price I think the Pioneer DVR 520H-S is hard to beat, and it's a solid top quality unit with lots of features. Also, it has a DV input (i-Link) which lets you hook up your digital camcorder right into this DVD recorder and record unto the harddrive or a DVD. It's not an absolute perfect machine though, because e.g. it converts film-like 24P fps into 60i with a so-called Pure Cinema feature and it's okay, but don't think of this machine as a substitute for PC computer editing if that's something you'd like to do, because the editing features are just not extensive and/or sophisticated enough on this machine to do so. But it's probably the best DVD Recorder out there at the best price and I really enjoy it, and I'm glad I bought it.



4. I bought as copy of the pionerr DVD recorder from Best Denki in Singapore and the recorder can do feature like simple edit after recording, record TV programme, copy non protected disc, writing bad disc, record from camcorders, line in recording from any deivce like VCR by using program L1 (line 1) and the playback could play multiregional purchased DVD and play RCE disc of code 1 (columbia tristar/sony picture based disc). This gives user a chance toi select any titles they wished to view which add more viewing experience and entertainment.
   
   Review by:
   
   Dr, MR Franc MBBS (PhD) GPS Ang Poon Kah
   Director 'lou Ye' - Ang Poon Kah for film summer palace.

5 comments about JVC DRMV78B Tunerless DVD Video Recorder & VHS.

1. We have 7 of the JVC DR-MV78 dvd/vcr combos in use in a department in our hospital. They get used about 5 times/week each. In 6 months 4 have failed. I have had this problem with all JVC products that I have purchased from car stereo (2 failed within 1 year), home stereo (2 failed within 1st year after turning audio volume up to 2/3). Never buy JVC again!!!!!!!



2. Completely broken down after a year. DVD door will not open, will not play.



3. I've had my unit for 8 months, and it has ceased to function entirely. It will not even play a dvd, much less record one. Calling JVC customer support was a waste of my time. As only the parts are warrantied, I will probably end up just throwing the thing out. One thing for sure, I will not be buying anything with the JVC name on it ever again.



4. Unfortunately, I did not do my research before buying this JVC. Mine didn't even last a week before I began having problems with no sound and disk errors.



5. This unit, JVC MV78BUS, purchased 6 months ago gave great upconvert performance on both DVD and VHS. But now it has stopped working and will not read the DVD. After six tries it locks up and will not even shut off--so I have to pull plug. Putting it back in later -still does not work.
   I was treated very poorly by Square Trade warranties. As this was an ebay purchase I was assured that Square Trade is a greeat deal. But they just shifted me over to JVC to have it fixed. And then I find that to be a bogus deal as well because it is not fully covered. So at this point I feel it is a complete train wreck.

4 comments about Samsung DVD-R157 Tunerless DVD Recorder.

1. This is my first dvd recorder. It plays divx fine and I play dvds on the hdmi out to my hdtv. The best quality in is svideo. The best quality out is hdmi or svideo.
   The biggest problem is recording from the hd cable drv box- IF I use a svideo cable to the hdtv it will record any channel to dvd but if I have a hdmi cable plugged in to the hdtv the recorder won't record nothing- all the channels say copy protection. So basically I have to swap cables so that I can watch dvds in the best quality(hdmi) or if I want to record to dvd(svideo).
   It won't remove commercials during recording.
   What I have recorded, looks great and plays fine.



2. I bought this DVD to use with my HDTV. Image is great ! It upscales old dvds to 1080, very good. The recorder works very fine too, with very good quality when recording in 2 or 4 hours.
   For me the only problem is that I cannot unlock it to region free...



3. After recording a few DVDs it broke. It freezes in the middle of recording. Has all the features one may not use but it lacks reliability. Currently awaiting a replacement shipped to me. It may only be limited to one defective unit I received out of bad luck or may be a general problem. Will know after receiving and using the replacement unit.



4. The DV input broke. Send for repair got it fixed but broke again while buring DVDs. I get screen freez after few minutes of recording.
   
   Samsung is sending brand new uunit model DVD-R160. Will have to see how it works.