DVD Recorders

Makes your TV copying choices for you: obnoxious

The recorder is one of the newer ones and would otherwise be a great one, but its fatal flaw is built-in anti-copying technology that makes it so you're unable to record many TV programs that are broadcast with a certain signal. I attempted to record several episodes of Breaking Bad last night, but it only recorded two second snippets.

As it turned out, this DVR comes with a copyright protection software that shuts down the recording function if you record the wrong program. It does not give you the freedom of choice to make up your own mind as to whether your recording constitutes fair use (recording television in order to watch privately later) or duplication for showing to the public. It just imposes the choice of the TV program's producers on you.

I kept my receipt, so I'll be returning this recorder soon and getting one by a different company that trusts ME to make the decision about what I record and how I use it. If I get caught violating copyright, it is on me, not Philli  more

Call me naive. Call me old. But please don't call me stupid.

Here's my story:
- I finally realize what all that talk about copyright protection is about. I purchased the Samsung DVD-VR375 1080p Up-Converting VHS Combo DVD Recorder to dub my personal VHS tapes to DVD. When I tried to copy my VHS movies (like Heavy Metal which I purchased from a store about a decade ago) to DVD, it stopped a few seconds in saying that it can't dub because of the copy protection signal endcoded on it.

I am now learning that is because I am trying to copy video that has embedded macrovision protection. Taping over the hole on the cassette doesn't help because that hole is only designed to tell your VCR not to allow you to accidentally record over the cassette. This is one of the reasons the Samsung DVD-VR375 1080p Up-Converting VHS Combo DVD unit is useless because all it allows me to copy is my own home movies. From what I am told one needs to incorporate a Digital Video Stabilizer.

To add annoyance to the above problem I also had to contend with the fact that  more

After Many Tries, Still Doesn't Work

I've had this Samsung DVD-VR375 for about 3 weeks now. I give up and will be returning it!

To clarify, my reason for buying a VCR/DVD burner was very simple: I wanted to convert my old VHS tapes to DVDs that would be able to be played in OTHER machines, not just this Samsung unit.

Here's the problem with this Samsung unit: Every DVD I have burned so far has sound-sync problems. The sound is off by a few seconds. If you fast-forward or chapter-search, then the sound goes REALLY off and the DVD is unwatchable because of this.

I have tested my newly-burnt DVDs on two players in my home: My iMac computer DVD player, and my Sony DVD player, which is hooked up to my TV. Both players give me the same problem: the sound is out of sync.

I have tried every imaginable iteration of dubbing on this machine to see if I could produce ONE USABLE DVD ... to no avail. I have used DVD-R, DVD+R, and DVD-RW discs. All produce the same sound problems. I have used the "Simple dub" option as well  more

PRODUCT STINKS

The system worked perfectly for 30 days (about 40 hours) then it would no longer play VHS videos. The audio came through but no picture. What a disappointment! Thanks goodness Amazon has given me a refund. Be careful if you buy and be sure to give it a lot of operation before the return date expires.

As for Samsung, I will never make the mistake of buying one of your products again.

Great Product

I wish I had more time to write this review about the Philips DVDR3576H/37. Other reviews have sometimes found fault with some or many aspects of this machine. I've had this DVR/HD combo for 9 months and it has worked flawlessly. The only issue that I agree with from other reviews is that changing the title of a recorded program on the hard drive is rather tedious. So I don't bother. I just start the recording with the banner description of the TV show or movie and that is how I tell them all apart. Pretty low tech and it works. I use this unit with DirecTV and the timer programming is thus pretty simple. Electronics are my toys, and this is the best toy I've purchased in a long time. My TV is a 52 inch Sony 1080p/120 Hz and the recorded material looks fantastic. I hope people will keep buying this unit so Philips will keep investing money to make it better and better.

e-waste special

I bought this four months ago, expecting something solid but not spectacular. All things considered, I'd have been better off setting my $120 on fire. At least then I wouldn't have to find some place to recycle this piece of trash.

My D-R410 now does a fine job of wasting a few minutes in each futile attempt at reading a variety of pre-recorded DVDs and CDs, as well as blank DVD-Rs. It is equally adept at failing with all of those formats.

While I realize my experience may be an exception, take this for what it's worth. Something that doesn't work out of the box may be a hassle to return, but when the fine Chinese craftsmanship holds up just long enough to pass the 90 day warranty period it's a complete waste.

Good Purchase

Of all the DVD type electrical equipment I own the DR-560 is my favorite. It does a fine job of recording and is easy (that I'm able to do it is all the proof you need). I like the playback on DVD's, the picture is very good and the resume function works after the player is turned off and turned back on. What impressed me the most was the improved TV reception with the DR-560 digital tuner, I have one on my TV but the 560 tuner made quite a difference. I would recommend this product, it's quality and price make it a good buy.

DVD/VHS recorder great

I had a pile of VHS tapes that I was able to throw away after copying them with this brilliant product. Although I no longer keep VHS copies of anything, the player still works fabulously to simply play DVDs. I was a genius to have purchased this product.

Major Disappointment

Over the past two decades, I have purchased and owned five Samsung video products: three televisions and two VCR's. All were outstanding, long-lasting performers. That's why, when reading through the mixed reviews for this product, I put my faith in the most positive ones. Unfortunately, I lived to regret that decision.

It's par for the course that the product manual is inadequate, incomplete and sometimes incomprehensible. That's unfortunate because not all the features of this machine are intuitive. For example, one of the reviewers mentioned that his recorded DVD's auto-finalized. That's because the machine is default set to EZ Record, which finalizes disks automatically. You must turn off this feature if you do not want auto-finalize. Where in the manual is this explained? Nowhere. I had to search through the almost equally baffling FAQ on the Samsung website to unearth this important information.

Once I mastered the idiosyncracies of the machine, the few DVD's I recorded  more

Very satisfied

Works as advertised. Easy to set up every-week recording. Configurable skip/rewind makes it easy to skip over commercials (so easy that I don't foresee using the editing feature very often). 12X dubbing to DVD is great to take content with me while traveling.

My only wish-list item would be for the input-only USB port to be output also for dubbing to flash drive or even external hard drive - but that would probably raise the price significantly.

I heard that the device is not profitable for Philips and will be discontinued in 2009 so anyone interested in it should not wait too long to decide.

So far so good

I've been using this product for two weeks, dubbing VHS tapes to DVD. I find it very easy to operate, and I have no complaints on the quality of the image or audio. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because of the DVD title menus, which are just and ugly blue screen with my recording, and an "Empty" track which I cannot hide. Maybe there are solutions for this, but I haven't found them.

EXCELLENT, VERY HAPPY !!!!!

I had a very bad experience with another manufactures DVD combo recorder !!
This TOSHIBA unit is excellent.. great features... great everything...
Order it ... YOU WONT BE SORRY...
Also I'm in the television/video industry so I'm more critical...
This is a great unit for the money!!!!!!

Samsung DVD-VR375

I have had the recorder about 3 weeks and so far have been very pleased. I have connected it to a Samsung DLP LED widescreen TV with an HDMI cable. Resolution of upconverted DVD movies is terrific. The AnyNet+ feature allows control of both Samsung devices with a single remote. But I was naive to think I would be able to copy movies to DVD from premium satellite channels for later viewing; it will not duplicate 'copy protected' movies; but it is possible to record them using the VHS function of the recorder(obviously resolution suffers). I assume recording standard TV programs to rewritable DVD's for later viewing will not be a problem. Although it does not have a tuner, the TV picture has defintely improved (I am not yet receiving HD broadcasts). I'm not sure of the reason, but it is an undeniable and unexpected bonus. Finally, dubbing old VHS home movies to DVD is extremely easy and the results are good. All in all, I am very happy with this purchase.

Avoid SONY DVD recorder

I bought this recorder to record programs while I'm not home. Isn't that why everyone buys them? It won't let me record cable programs to a dvd. I get a message saying that I am not allowed to record copyrighted material, but it lets me record the same program to the built in VHS recorder, which is NOT in high definition. So I spent all this money on high-def cable and the best SONY tv, and I have to watch grainy video for anything I can't be home to see at broadcast time. Buy some other brand folks. Now I see on-line that not all brands do this.

Defect or Lemon??

I bought this in June thinking it would be perfect for recording and playback. I struck out on both counts. The biggest glitch is when ANY pre-recorded (store bought) DVD gets to the point of "dual layer" transition-the player freezes and wont move. Now, a lot of DVD players pause/freeze momentarily at this point, but this thing just sticks. Im sending it back for repairs. Stay tuned.
The recorded discs seem to play only on some DVD players-which is par for the course with home-made DVDs. BUYER BEWARE!

Toshiba DVD/Recorder

So far this has been a great product. Set-up is easy and I have not had any problems putting old VHS recordings onto DVD. I think this is a great product.

I love Samsung

Compared to the balky panasonic that died just one month after the warranty expired, this SAMSUNG stands head and shoulders above it and all others I have owned. So far I have transferred 300 hours of video tape to DVD and this Samsung has never refused or garbled my instructions. The buttons on the remote were probably designed for smaller fingers than mine but it is a minor inconvenience compared to what it delivers. Four stars today and five if it lasts 3 years.

Didn't work on timer when using daily recording

This product only works if you don't use the "daily" timer programing. For instance I wanted to tape a soap that comes on M-F at the same time each day. I programmed it and it taped the show and when I went to watch it, I couldn't get it to turn on because it was programmed for everyday and nothing worked except to unplug and manually remove my tape.

I returned it and had a replacement sent, but I have not tried to use the multi-day timer, but for a single program it works ok. That is only the VCR portion of this recorder, I have yet to try the DVDR recording option.

DVD Recorder/player with VHS capabilities + Cable tuner works out OK

I bought this Sony mainly for dubbing VHS archival material onto bullet-proof DVD's. For the most part, I am pleased.

Hook-up and set-up are about as time-consuming as any other electronics toy, but it sure helps if you are reasonably familiar with back-side TV connections and cable paraphenalia. The sketches in the instruction manual did not match my unit. Channel-seeking was speedy and trouble-free, less than twenty seconds.

As for the main reason I got this unit: it helps to use SONY blank DVD's; generic blanks frequently hung the recorder. My computer had no problem with such generics; they recorded just fine.

I do have one complaint, due to my advancing age and declining visual acuity. The remote is silk-screened white on black, in very tiny letters. Getting familiar with control functions took a while. Back-lighting of strategically-placed button functions and better ergonomics would really help in getting fumble fingers properly oriented.

There are limited special effects  more

DO NOT BUY!!!!!

This DVD player is awful. For these reasons:

Slow reacting remote. - Press it and take a break cause it will be a few minutes, terrible for channel surfing!!!

DVDs get corrupted - Go ahead and get the DVDrw discs and think you've outsmarted your friends paying a premium for DVR. Until you find your favorite show did not record because of an unknown error- the disc got screwed up even though they are rated to be used up to a 1,000 times!!!

Tuner- Unless you use a cable provider that has not gone digital you do not need a TV tuner. This thing will not play all the channels and if Murphy has anything to do with it then it will be your favorite.

Other than that I am having audio issues with it but I have not isolated that to the machine, maybe just a bad cable.

DO NOT BUY THIS HUNK OF JUNK!!!!!!