DVD Recorders

Great DVR

The TiVo was really easy to set up. This model was much better than the prior generation which I also own. A surprise and delight were the ability to link my older TiVo to this one and view recorded shows anywhere. Also enjoy the internet features as well as the ability to view my Netflix selections.

You will be on the "bleeding edge"

Here in Central NY and in many other areas of the country, cable companies are providing many of their digital channels using Switched Digital Video (SDV). The TiVo can not receive any of these switched channels without an external box called a Tuning Adapter. Tuning Adapters are provided by cable companies for free but there are an incredible number of problems with them - all across the country. Go to www.tivocommunity.com, type "tuning adapter" in the advanced search box and then select a thread for your cable company or your part of the country. There are thousands of posts here - all bad.

My particular problem is the one called "missing channels." Rather than include details here, you can find them on the forum above. Essentially, the problem makes it impossible to reliably record on all but a very few of the digital channels that I pay my cable company to provide. And, usually I can't even watch them live without restarting the Tuning Adapter and waiting for it reboot - a  more

It's a TiVo - It's awesome!

It's a TiVo. It's a really good TiVo. What more can I say? Works great, relatively easily upgradeable (tho this voids the warranty), and (with an 'M' cablecard or two 'S' cablecards) can still record two shows while watching a third (prerecorded).

$.01

Don't buy, manual worthless throw it in the garbage and write down the 800 number, you will being using it a lot. Never have had so much trouble trying to get a recorder to work, most ot the time I don't even have to look at the manual. Should of taken it back but was busy at the time and my 30 day return ran out, big mistake. If this represents Life Good (LG) products it is a real bad sigh. I would list all the problems however I do not have the time,
just do not buy this product, any other choice you make will be better.

Worst Device I have ever owned

I should have read the other reviews before I purchased this. with 46 years in the electronics industry it's the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned. Bought in Feb. Went to service in March and May, finally sent me a replacement unit, just died today. When it works it's slow to respond to anything and has to be "reset" often. SAVE YOUR MONEY. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!

works

didn't see in the fine print that it required two cable cards to be fully functional. So add the cost of the cable cards, the cost of the tivo fee (not included) and it gets to be really expensive

Affordable DVD recorder that works

This device works as a DVD recorder as an upgrade from the VCR with the successful transition to digital TV from analog TV. The benefit of this recorder includes
a digital tuner for the price,
has many input capabilities,
HDMI output for ease of connection,
fairly good upconversion to 1080p,
records onto many DVD formats,
and fairly easy to understand.

This device is NOT intended as a digital tuner upgrade for analog TVs as it is EXTREMELY slow to switch between channels.

The issues I have with this device includes the fact that the remote lacks an eject button,
the remote lacks extensive control of the TV making it fairly useless as a multi-device remote,
the DVD recorder freezes once in a while when faced with unsupported video formats with few user friendly remedies to reset the recorder (ie hold the ON button for 30+ seconds, hit the reset button with a paper clip, or unplugging the device completely),
the player doesn't play MPEG  more

good buy at best buy

easy to use, should start faster when requesting instant record. picture is so good it seems like you are watching program live and not on a recording.

Too complicated!!!

I bought this 18 months ago and have only used it about 6 times because it always gets stuck in whatever mode that I DON'T want to use. If I want to play a tape, only the DVD player works. If I want to play a DVD, it will only play tapes. And it is impossible to turn on subtitles - by the time I get them turned on I'm so mad that I don't want to watch the dvd anymore.

The clock always runs fast - within a month it is 10 minutes off, and I cannot figure out how to reset it because it is so complicated. I finally decided that I didn't care since I never use it anyway - relying on my 5 year old tape player and 8 year old dvd player.

But the worst is the whirring noise since the day I brought it home. Doesn't bother me when the TV is on, but late at night it gives me the creeps because it kind of moans. I finally unplugged this machine and the blessed silence was such a joy!

Tomorrow I'm giving it to my friend (who owns this model and showed me how to set it up).  more

very simple

I bought this to transfers my movies to a DVD. It is very simple to use and I can do it anywhere since I can see what I am transfering. I am very happy.

A practical alternative to a rented DVR

This machine provides a practical alternative to DVR's rented from the cable company, and it eliminates the associated recurring monthly charges. Compared to the alternative, it pays for itself in a matter of months. It is easy to set up and easy to use. It can record off its own digital tuner or from external input sources. It is easy to program, which makes it convenient for time-shifting programs from broadcast or cable sources. On playback, recordings are indistinguishable from the original HD broadcast when viewed on an HDTV. Sound quality is excellent when fed through a home stereo system. The unit can also play CD's for home listening, with CD sound quality superior to MP3's. With this machine, re-writable DVD's can be used for time-shifting, and single-use DVD's can be used for archiving. It's very convenient if you wish to view recorded programs in other locations, as the DVD's can be played anywhere. (An advantage, compared to DVR's with only a hard disk.) A few caveats:  more

TIVO service plans have big problems

A TIVO DVR like the TiVo TCD652160 HD Digital Video Recorder is useless without a TIVO service plan. There are some very nasty features of TIVO service plans that you should be aware of. If you buy a $300 3-year TIVO service contract up front LOOK OUT! After three years you are back at square one on TIVO service pricing. You will then have been paying an average of $8.33/month over the last 36 months, but going forward, you will pay 12.95/month. Like a new customer, you can buy another three-year plan for another $300, but there is no month-to-month option to extend the price you have been paying. Suppose your cellular provider said your rate will go up more than 50% after your first 3-year service contract completes! Watch out for another major TIVO service plan problem. Currently, you can buy a lifetime TIVO service plan for $400, BUT it is for the lifetime of a particular machine. When that machine is no longer viable, you may forfeit your whole investment and be back at square  more

Great DVD Recorder

Great DVD Recorder, even recording at slower speeds, compared to the competition. I own three different DVD Recorders, from major brands, and this is the best,

the least of the evils

this is the best of what is available to me, but that does not say much.
you need to push a lot of buttons to do very much.
unable to pause more than 30 minutes of a recorded show that is still playing live. tivo says it is the cache (it has a 30 minute capacity), but the playback has to be coming from the hard drive if it is earlier than 30 minutes from live.
unable to select a specific time for a recording - set season pass to record a news show which replays 2 or 3 times much later. these seldom indicate that these shows are repeat and thus you need to delete either the future recording or delete after it is recorded.

i don't have time to continue with all the ease of use issues (they call them features) i dislike.

when fast forwarding a recorded program and you hit play, it starts immediately so you don't skip what you wanted to see. the box i got rid of had a delayed restart and i could miss a couple of football plays. this is the only thing i like about  more

Not what a good quality product should be

I must say that any DVD recorder that Panasonic has made over the years will not last long. This unit is the 5th one I've purchased in 2 years. I bought two DMR-ES40VSs and two DMR EZ47s and have had the same issue with them. After recording about 25 discs or more, the machines start making "grinding or rubbing" noises, disc errors increase and ultimately you can't continue recording DVDs unless you want to waste them. It doesn't matter which format you use. It's almost a guarantee the product won't work after a while. I have had one unit that lasted the longest out of the bunch (the last EZ47) at 6 months. It also started giving me the usual "U61" trouble code after it would lock up.

There's got to be a better product. If so, let me know. Otherwise consider buying an extended warranty with this. You'll need it to get your money back.

If you wish to buying a product that you know is going to last more than a few months, you might try looking at another brand.

I'm  more

A good value choice

This unit was easy to set up. The Scheduled programing is intuitive and works just like a VCR for those who are familiar with that. My wife can hear a very high pitch frequency coming from the front panel. I called Toshiba and Vanns and they where not aware of it being a known issue. We also intitally had some trouble getting it to do a schedule recording if there was already something recorded. Even though there was space left on the disk. We called Toshiba and they recommended the usual a reboot. I did that and it has now worked for several weeks. The so called title menu is a little confusing. It allows you to delete titles. It leaves you wondering if you are deleting the recording or just the title. A call to Toshiba did not clearify. They seemed as confused as the manual. In reallity it does delete the entire recording if using a RW disk. The tuner is fast to switch and works well. I have a Panasonic EZ485 and the tuner is really slow on it and quite often locks up if you punch in  more

I love this machine

I bought this product from the web site. It came very quickly. It is my second one. The first one has been in repair three times. But that is not a deterrent to purchase another one. I really can't think of anything I don't like about it. It is beautiful and easy to set up and use. L.G. has been wonderful and fast responding in the customer service and very fair. I have no qualms in purchasing another L.G. product or purchasing from Best Buy on line or in the store.

I still like Samsung but,

I switched from Sony to Samsung because I wanted the LED TV. I like the TV and wanted to stay with the Samsung product line, though I read all the reviews, which are bad, I still thought what the heck they just got lemons. I connected the unit to the TV pluged it in and it in the unit came on and the TV then came on without me pushing any power buttons anywhere. Though I played a DVD and it worked fine, the idea of a power outage when the power would come back on, the player and TV would all come on and stay on untill I got home or woke up thinking I had a burglar, was unacceptable. I took it back and got just the Samsung Upconvert Player DVD-1080P9/XAA.
Read the reviews before you buy.

I can't live without a DVD Recorder!!

I had a previous generation of this Panasonic DVD Recorder. It did great for 2 years, and then one day, I put a disk in and there was a funny noise, and kaput! I knew that I wanted another Panasonic because I was hoping that the disks that I hadn't finished would still work in a new DVD Recorder, and they did! I hope that this one lasts for at least 2 years. I think this one has a new special feature for when there is a disk problem, which happened on the second or third disk. Other then that, it has performed wonderfully, and I expect that it will continue to do so.

Just No Good

When we first saw this VCR/DVD with a digital tuner AND in silver we thought our dreams of replacing our old one was answered. Too bad the unit didn't cooperate. The VCR side just had no idea how to play a tape. At first I thought it was a tracking problem, but discovered there was no way to do manual tracking. I then tried to record on a DVD and found that half the recording was cut off as the machine decided the two-hour recording was too long for this disc despite the fact I set the recording on SLP.In other words, it was just no good. Too bad - a good brand name destroyed by either bad refurbishing or bad construction in the first place.