Toshiba DR17DT DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner
Integrated digital tuner. Playable formats: DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-RAM, CD, CD-R/-RW, VCD, SVCD, DivX.

Customer Review: not that impressed (yet)
I’ve only had this player 2 days but I must say my first impressions are not that great. On paper this machine seems to do everything, but I took a risk buying it as I couldn’t find any reviews for it online. My first comment is that it’s so s……l……o…….w. Put in a DVD movie and it takes an age for the menu to appear. Once playing a movie things are not much better. The 1080p upscaling (via HDMI) seems to work - however Iam not sure it’s any better than the xbox360 over VGA.

The user interface looks dated and again is very slow to nativate around. I’ve yet to attempt any recording, but I hope it will score better in that area! So far only 3 stars (for HDMI output and styling).

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Technical DataDimensions & Weight / Widthcm43.5Technical DataDimensions & Weight / Depthcm32.4Technical DataDimensions & Weight / Heightcm4.3Technical DataDimensions & Weight / Weightkg5.8Technical DataHeader / Product LinePhilipsTechnical DataHeader / ModelDVDR3570HTechnical DataHeader / ManufacturerPhilipsTechnical DataHeader / Packaged Quantity1Technical DataMD System / TypeNoneTechnical DataCassette System / TypeNoneTechnical DataDVD / TypeDVD recorderTechnical DataDigital Storage Media / TypeHard disc driveTechnical DataDigital Storage Media / CapacityGB160Technical DataTelevision / Television TypeNoneTechnical DataCombined Device / TypeDVD recorder / HDD recorderTechnical DataCD System / Device TypeNoneTechnical DataCD Recorder / Device TypeNoneTechnical DataVCR / Device TypeNoneTechnical DataVCR 2nd / Device TypeNoneTechnical DataDigital Player (Recorder) / Device TypeNoneTechnical DataRadio System / Device TypeNone
Used Price: ?104.99
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DV971 is a super thin and stylish DVD player, fully packed with great functions. The player supports formats like JPEG, MP3, DivX and much more. BBK DV971 supports prograssive scan, also PAL and NTSC standards. Regionfree BBK DV971 is regionfree and is be able to play DVD from all over the world.
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Dazzle DVD Recorder is the simplest and most cost-effective videocapture archiving and DVD creation solution available today.Dazzle DVD Recorder combines the user-friendly interface of thePinnacle Instant DVD Recorder software with the plug-and-play
List Price: ?39.99
Amazon Price: ?35.99
Customer Review: Doesn’t work for me
Like a previous review, I have to add the same comments, this “thing” doesn’t work for me either. I have tried all the different connections that the device takes and I either get no picture at all in the preview window or it’s in black and white only. I telephoned the helpline and after listening to all the recorded messages it then cut me off telling me to go online for help. I e-mailed support and despite their automated e-mail telling me a reply would be sent within 1-2 business days, four days later I’m still waiting. Anyone with videos that need converting are sure to have an old VCR and the Dazzle just doesn’t work with it.
Customer Review: Pinnacle Dazzle
Unreal. It`s like going back 15 years when it was generally accepted that badly writted glitch infected sotware was the norm & we all just had to grin and bear it. I can`t quite believe that Pinnacle are still punting out rubbish like this and getting away with it. Don`t touch this or any other of their dreadful products with a barge pole.
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Sony RDRHXD970 - 250GB Hard Drive DVD Recorder
You can record hours of films and TV programmes on the 250 GB internal hard drive of the RDR-HXD970 player! This DVD player from Sony employs Bravia Theatre and Theatre Sync technology to give you high-definition images through upscaling to 1080p for all your DVDs. Its also plays DivX formats, as well as DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, and includes a digital tuner so you can watch free digital TV channels. It stores JPEG images and MP3 files and transfers them quickly to your computer via its built-in USB 2.0 port. The RDR-HXD970 is also PictBridge compatible, so you can print your pictures really easily. With the RDR-HXD970, you can make copies of your video creations and receive data from your digital camcorder thanks to its DV input. Enjoy your favourite TV programmes in digital quality with this DVD player!

Customer Review: Dissapointed and Disgusted
I ordered this item on 13th January 2008,that date has most certainly been unlucky I as yet have not received the item.

Amazon are still advertising the item as available and in stock, I have lost count of the amount of E Mails I have sent demanding an answer from them,I get auotomated replies from Amazon and the occasional name added to the response, but no commited answer from Amazon.

They have even taken the antisipated delivery dates off my account notification.

I have demanded a confirmed date, but I never get a reply.

The service is disgusting,they are advertising the product still, and I have asked many times for them to send the items they are advertising as in stock,no answer!! By the way, the item they now advertise is more expensive than the item I ordered, I think that tells you something “con” is the term I would use.

WHERE IS MY STUFF??????

Customer Review: Great product - highly recommended
I installed this yesterday mornining, and after one day of use I’m here writing this review. It’s easy to set up and so easy to use it’s unreal. My wife was a bit hesitant about using it to record stuff, but programming via the electronic programme guide is a sinch, after about 5secs she had the idea.

It’s important to ensure that you get a NEW model, don’t buy secondhand or you could end up with having to run a firmware upgrade to make the EPG programming work properly- visit sonyeurope.com to download the firmware upgrade if you have made that mistake.

Upscaling to 1080p is superb, I tried it out with Casino Royale and A Scanner Darkly. I had my neighbour round as I was trying it out, she was so gobsmacked by the quality that she decide to stay and watch for a while!

This little box is a winner. The only downside is that for DATA DVDs you are limited to the DivX codec, whereas most internet downloaded TV stuff is XViD, hopefully there’s a way round that. But hey I’ve only had it a day.

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List Price: ?20.95
Amazon Price: ?13.82
Used Price: ?3.12
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Enjoy digital TV channels in complete freedom and record up to 272 hours of programmes with the DVD-SH853 from Samsung! The DVD-SH853 comes with a Freeview tuner and a 160 GB hard drive so you never run out of memory! You can programme it to record your favourite TV programmes and watch them in your own time without the trouble of rewinding or fast forwarding through those annoying adverts. Plus, the DVD-SH853?s HDMi connection ensures that images and sound are transmitted clearly and in their original quality. The DVD-SH853 makes transferring data from your camcorder easy too, thanks to its DV input and two SCART connectors. With the DVD-SH853, you?ll discover a whole new way of watching television.
Amazon Price: ?169.99
Used Price: ?144.99
Customer Review: Great piece of kit….. except
Note that it apparently does not record one Freeview channel while you watch another. This point could be made clear in advertising. Not everyone is a ‘techie’. The handbook is vague in some areas and complicated in others, so usually getting back to the shop or speaking to SAMSUNG via the customer service number is recommended. I found them very helpful and the phone was answered quickly on the 3 occasions I rang. Inviting people to comment is asking for certain folk to criticise only. For some reason some cannot bring themselves to praise, but find it easy to nit-pick. I still find this a great piece of kit, with the above reservations. Kit 5-stars, handbook ‘1′ would be , for me a fair appraisal. The problems I thought I had were badly articulated in the handbook and simple to overcome. The machine does have lots of services and is bound to involve a little thought and experimentation. I suppose this being the case the handbook has to appear complex. But simple needs I found hard to satisfy. I found a problem recording but found out that the STANDBY BUTTON had to pressed to switch the unit off. The flashing red recording light means it is not recording for example. I am still trying to find out the use of the TV/STANDBY button. I thought that it meant TV on, record any channel! WRONG. Still I have Freeview integrated in my TV, so no problem. For me the picture quality is outstanding. Those with problems might check their connectivity, or signal. It has always been exemplary for me.
Customer Review: Not great, but does enough for me
I’ve read the other reviews, and I can see why some people are frustrated with this unit. But I am only using the very basic DTV, DVD player and HDD record/replay functions and for that, I’m having few problems, mainly due to my needing to use the machine a bit more before I learn the operational differences between this and my old machine. The main grouch I have is the short pause-time before a DVD is stopped, as mentioned earlier. My old DVD recorder (a staggeringly unreliable LG) had such a clunky interface that, perhaps, I have never got used to expecting anything better. On the other hand, it played a DVD that neither my old recorder, my multiregion player or my PC would even recognise as a disc, which was a positive. What I’d like to have had is a card or CAM slot, so I could ditch my old set-top box for recording from Setanta. Otherwise, the picture quality’s excellent (lousy reception where I live permitting) and the sound is good (once you de-select the default sound compression). I even managed to get the HDMI (referred to often as the Highly Disappointing Much-hyped Interface) connection to work!
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80GB Hard Drive DVD Recorder model with Digital Tuner.
Used Price: ?123.99
Customer Review: Super piece of kit but slow menu system.
Having previously owned the excellent non-freeview forerunner to this model I didn’t hesitiate in choosing this freeview model so as to cut down on the number of remotes confusing my wife! Absolutely no problems with setup. Made a positive choice for 80GB rather than 160GB - you’re not going to leave stuff you want to keep on the hard drive - you’ll want that on DVD so having more disk just delays that initial cleanup you have to do when the disk is full and you want to record something. 80GB gives plenty of HQ recording time IMO. My only disappointment is with the speed of response when starting up and from the remote. When in standby, pressing any function will wake it but takes about 30 seconds. Operating the menu system is inexplicably slow when compared to the previous model - e.g. each down-scroll through the title list takes a second or two whereas the non-freeview version was pretty much instantaneous. This is true of any command issued from the remote so can become tedious. Other than that it is an excellent machine: - Superb EPG, weeks in advance. - Series timer that works properly. - Well designed menu system. - High speed dubbing and automatic re-formatting if the source is too big for the DVD capacity (4.6GB = 1.5hrs in high quality). - Low/no noise. - Separate TV controls on remote. - Even my wife can program it (no offence ladies) - just make sure you’re clear which device is the target i.e. hard drive or DVD!
Customer Review: Switches off every 5-10 minutes - stay away from this!
It is too late for me to return the product to Amazon, but I will see what I can do with the Sony customer services. I have used it for a month and, with a few minor problems, it has worked OK for 3 weeks. In the last week, however, it keeps switching off VERY frequently. It does so when I watch TV and also when I am watching TV. On the TV, it freezes for a few minutes, so you lose 5 minutes every time it switches off - frozen image, switch off, switch on again and bring it back to the right channel. I am going back to my cheap freeview box + dvd player. If I cannot return the dvd recorder, I will only use it for the occasional recording, but then it is far too expensive for this!
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Used Price: ?199.99
Customer Review: THE CORRECT MULTIREGION HACK IS…
Amazon list an incorrect multiregion hack for this machine. The correct way I have discovered after trial and error is: 1.Machine powered on, no disc in tray 2.Press 0 five times at approx 1 second intervals 3.Press the “REPEAT” button (NOT the “repeat a-b”) 4.Enter the following sequence - 5,7,5,3,8,9 [2 flashes on screen when you press 8 - pressing 9 makes this multiregion]. 5. Now open and close the disc tray TWICE. 6. Power the machine on & off and it is now multiregion. Enjoy!
Customer Review: Misleading features
First the good news: quiet in operation; good quality reproduction at LP speed (4 hours can be saved to DVD-R); attractive; RGB output. Minor bad news: cannot splice two programmes together; editing commands slow to respond; difficult to load MP3 files onto HDD. However, it has a major fault: several features such as automatic chaptering, watching a programme currently recording, or watching one previously recorded programme while recording another — will not work during timer recordings. As most recordings are based on the timer, this is such a significant failing (not mentioned in the promotional information) that in essence these features are unavailable. I am returning it to Amazon.
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Samsung DVD-SH855M - DVD Recorder 250Gb Hard Drive - With Freeview & HDMI
Access all your digital TV channels and record up to 425 hours of programmes with the DVD-SH855 DVD player/recorder.Samsung has equipped this device with a Freeview tuner and a 250 GB hard drive, so you?ll never run out of memory to record. You can programme this player to record your favourite programmes, which you can watch later without having to rewind or fast forward through adverts!The DVD-SH855 has an HDMi connection to preserve sound and image quality during transmission, so your DVD and DivX films appear perfectly restored on your TV screen.The DVD-SH855 player from Samsung is also equipped with 2 SCART sockets and a DV input to connect to and transfer data from your camcorder.

Customer Review: I wish I read these comments before I bought one!
As so many people have discovered this unit is RUBBISH. It is very difficult to use (complicated by the fact that the Samsung TV and DVD remotes look so similar!).

I can reiterate everything everyone else has said.

My main problem is that my unit will not record from Digital without freezing juddering - and worst of all - making a horrendous noise straight from the bowels of Satan.

It will be going back on Monday. Avoid.

My Samsung LCD TV however is awesome. No faults whatsoever.

Customer Review: Is it just me ?
I tried to setup this machine for a friend last night and hit 2 problems. First is that it doesn’t appear to allow “series recording”. Second is that after recording, the title doesn’t appear to be placed in the program library, just the date and time of recording. This may be because I just did an instant recording however I would be interested to know if it does actually store the titles of timer-recorded items, imagine the difficulty of looking through 400 hours worth of library and trying to remember when something was recorded. I have a Sony RDRHXD970 and it’s a dream compared to this !!

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Amazon Price: ?172.67
Used Price: ?129.99
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THE ITEM IS BRAND NEW BUT THE BOX IS DAMAGED!!! A simple, affordable and fast way to quickly archive your home videos on DVDs for sharing with family and friends. A plug and play USB 2.0 device that allows for easy capture of home videos and TV recordings directly to DVD via VCRs, camcorers or other video equipment. Burn your video directly to a DVD without first copying files to the PC hard drive, saving both valuable time and space. PC connection: USB 2.0. Video inputs: Composite video (RCA), S-Video (mini-DIN). Audio inputs: Stereo audio (RCA x 2). System requirements: Windows XP, Pentium or AMD 2GHz CPU, 512Mb RAM, USB 2.0 port and DVD burner. Includes: Dazzle DVD recorder capture device, instant DVD recording software, and quick installation guide.
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Used Price: ?20.70
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Panasonic DMR-ES20DEBS DVD RAM Disc Recorder
Customer Review: 6 months then bang
I purchased the Panasonic recorder because it had good reviews and also did all the things I wanted - play DVDs’ ,record plus freeview all in one neat box. But all I had is trouble.

From the start the machine would not keep any preferences when it is turned off, so it has to remain on all the time unless the machine decided to turn it self off - for a self check - which it does, often.

Now 7 months since purchase it no longer records or plays any disk!

DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE - YOU WILL WASTE YOUR MONEY!

Customer Review: Clever but complicated
This is a very clever machine with all these recording options but it takes a while to understand how to do things. I don’t find the remote or the menus very intuitive and had to read the manual several times to find out how to do things.

Panasonic’s bumph convinced me that RAM disks were a great idea so I bought loads but then found out they don’t work in other DVD players! Am I expecting too much? If Apple can make computers easy to use why can’t someone make DVD recorders easy to use?

Still it works fine and it’s great to have Freeview built in.

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Used Price: ?279.01
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Able to record more than 280 hours of video on its 160 GB hard drive, the DVD DMR-EX77 player from Panasonic provides you with exceptional quality for all your films and television programmes. It uses the latest technological innovations to display clear and true-to-life images, and comes with an SDHC and SD card-compatible reader so you can play your JPEG files or video sequences on your television. The DVD DMR-EX77 is also HD ready and has an HDMI connection!
Amazon Price: ?203.00
Used Price: ?139.99
Customer Review: Freeview recording issue
This machine is fine, but - like others it seems - I stupidly did not realise that if you are recording a freeview channel then you are locked into watching that channel. A bit of a drawback, though one that is apparently shared by all (non-Japanese???) DVD recorders. It seems there is a solution, involving using a separate freeview box and connecting it to a second scart socket on your TV. However, I only have one scart socket on my TV, which needs to be connected to the DVD recorder. Does anyone know a way where I can set up both the DVD recorder and a separate freeview box, even though I only have one scart socket on my TV? Many thanks for any assistance
Customer Review: Beware JPEG quality
I will send mine back. One of the reasons I chose this HDD recorder was because I have a Panasonic camera, and a Panasonic HDTV. You would think that jpeg pictures coming from my camera via this unit to the Panasonic TV look great.. well, they do not. Staight lines turn into jagged lines, and colours start bleeding. It is almost as if they are trying to upsample the thumbnails. I tried from SD card, I tried different image manipulation programs, nothing worked. I wrote to Panasonic and they advised me to lower the resolution on my Panasonic camera.. joke. I took the same pictures to a Sony shop and their HXD870 unit displayed them without problem (on a CD generated with Photobase, a program supplied by Panasonic with my camera). So this is the first time I will send a Panasonic device back, it is disappointing. Other than that, it is a brilliant HDD recorder, and the 1080p picture quality from standard DVD and even from material recorded from Freeview is stunning.
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DVD Players:DVD Recorders
Customer Review: Avoid - Awful recorder and player
I brought this machine with the best of intentions to keeping it for the rest of its life but the machine turned out to the be the worst recorder iv ever had and the worst stand alone player iv ever had! * When recording the controls were fiddly. * If I connected via RGB scart a purple/red colour was pulsing on the screen - even after i invested in top of the range scart leads. * When playing DVD’s whilst connected to my av3 scart socket on the tv the colour was in VCR format. * Moving it to AV2 scart improved it a bit but then i ran into a whole new set of problems… The colour didnt seem as vibrant as my previous player but it seemed vibrant enough and didnt seem to be in VCR format so I put in a copy of Revenge of the Sith to double check everything was ok, after all, I may as well see how my favourite star wars films play on there eh? Well after viewing the 20th century fox logo I knew something was amiss. The edge of the text on the logo was all pixelated and showed signs of anti alliasing. Nevertheless I started the film and when the ships move about they actually looked CGI and had visible anti alliasing going on. ok, so people say the effects aint believe in star wars but I plugged my Pioneer DV370 back in and the problems disappeared! The 20th Century Fox logo was as I remember it without any pixelatted edges and the ships looked like ships. Avoid this DVD player at all costs. You get what you pay for and in this instance, my ?70 Pioneer plays dvd’s better than this player which cost ?100. Ok, its a recorder as well but it even does that rubbish. Complete rubbish.
Customer Review: good piece of kit
After much deliberation about which dvd recorder to buy I decided to go for the liteon DD A500GX..Have to say this is a brilliant piece of equipment. Didnt want to spend a fortune as this was my first DVD recorder,got it for ][..].. the instruction manual isnt very clear but am not going to let that detract from how impressed I am with the machine. It is a brilliant piece of equipment which records and even upscales the picture using HDMI. I recommend this to everybody who wants to buy their first dvd recorder.
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Panasonic DMR-EX77 - 160gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Silver
Customer Review: DVD playback
On the whole have been very happy with the machine, agree with the comments on slow start but we are learning to be patient! We haven’t gone too much in to detail but have found one big problem with DVD playback- it doesn’t do Region 2 (which is what Europe comes under). Being not technically minded and checking the manual there doesn’t seem to be any reference to dealing with this. Can anyone tell us how to change this or have we been completely ignorant and not paid attention to the details and it isn’t possible? Just took it for granted that it would automatically play DVDs from UK when we bought it.

Customer Review: freeview - would recommend
Spent ages deciding which DVD recorder player to buy as wanted one which would record freeview while I was also watching freeview.

Would definitely recommend this, to record and view another freeview station at the same time you will need a separate digital set top box. Took me a while to work out how to do this as doesnt explain in the manual, but by pressing AV in the TV part of the handset it switches from the DVD freeview to the separate set top box so when recording from the DVD recorder you need to watch through the separate set top box. Also wasnt sure whether to get one with hard drive but am glad I did as don’t have to bother with DVDs. Have option to record from hard drive onto DVD if you wish though - and if you can work out which type of DVD to buy!

Really clear screen shows what you have recorded. Can set programmes to record easily by going into TV guide and clicking on the programme you want.

A big advantage is that while a programme is recording you can watch it from the start - even while its still recording. So if you have to miss the first part of a programme you can press record then just press play when you are ready to watch, even if its not finished recording the programme.

Have had same problem as last reviewer and havent worked out how to set timer on recorder. Tried what it suggested in manual but didnt work. Anybody else had any luck?

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Toshiba DR160 DVD Recorder
Amazon Price: ?108.88
Used Price: ?82.99
Customer Review: Adequate basic recorder
I was looking for a second entry-level -R/RW recorder, having already got a Funai 2737 (which does the job fine). Decided to try the Toshiba as it had the benefit of Chase Play. In actual fact, this Toshiba seems to be the same underlying chassis as the Funai, with a different (somewhat more attractive) fascia. All rear ports and the user interface are all identical. The only difference is the addition of chase play. If you are drawn to this machine because of this feature then beware. Chase play can only be used when recording in quality setting of long play, or lower. This is tolerable on a small screen TV, but the quality when viewed on a large screen is barely acceptable, more or less making chase play a feature you will never use anyway. Apart from that, the unit looks and works fine, however, it might be worth considering the Funai and saving yourself ?25.
Customer Review: Not a bad machine, just too noisy
This machine has some very good points, but its too noisy to be used in a living room. Ours was RMAed. On the plus side: - Discs are initalised quickly, you can be recording on DVD-R within 20 secs. - The menu system is clear and easy to use - The DVD playing machanism is very quiet, you can’t hear the disc spinning at all - The DVD-R disc recorded played perfectly in Pioneer DVD (Dv464), Argos in Car DVD and PC. - It can play CDs of Jpegs. However the downsides out weight these good features: - Its very noisy, there is case fan at the back, that is always on when the recorder is. Watching Planet Earth with the DVD recording is, unconfortable, there is a constant whiring. Its 3 or 4 times noisyer than my AV reciever and I thought that was noisy! - remote control is “boxy” and square, hence unconfortable in the hand. - DVD-R take a LONG time to finalise, over 20 Mins. - It cannot play DVD-R discs of photo JPEGs burnt on my PC, that my Pioneer DVD player plays fine. Hence only 3 stars I’m afraid ….

Samsung DVD Recorder Silver DVDR128
• Ultra slim DVD recorder compatible with DVD/DVD-RAM/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/DVD+RW/VCD and SVCD (without logo) /MPEG4/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/JPEG/WMA• Records in DVD-R/-RW formats• Drive record speed x 2• MPEG2 recording upto 8 hrs per disc in EP• XP/SP/LP/EP modes.

Panasonic DMR-EX75EB-S - DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Disk - Freeview Tuner - and HDMI With 1080i Upscaling
With the DMREX75 DVD player you can save up to 248 hours of TV or video programmes on its hard disk that has an internal capacity of 160 GB.The DMREX75 has a built-in digital tuner so that you can receive digital television programmes as well.If you wish to file on DVD support, the DMREX75 has a multistandard writer that accepts all writable standards.You could also view images from your digital camera as the DMREX75 has an SD memory card slot as well as a camcorder DV input.The DMREX75 has a TimeSlip function on hard disk and incorporates a progressive PAL mode for better picture quality.In order to give you exceptional picture quality, it has High Definition images thanks to the digital HDMI connection.The DMREX75 DVD writer player is your complete digital entertainment partner.
Used Price: ?195.00
Customer Review: Over-rated and very annoying to use
This is my 5th dvd player having previously used 2 Pioneer DVD-Rs, a Mitsubishi Black Diamond and a Chinese generic brand. All the ratings and mags rave about Panasonics, but this machine has been disappointing. I use this side-by-side with a Pioneer DVD-R and am consistently unimpressedd. The upscaled picture is not what I expected - I run DVDs through my old Pioneer using component cables and it is better than the Panasonic though the HDMI. The on-screen menus are horrible - very hard to follow and not intuitive at all. It takes forever to do anything like editing a recording, or trying to record from HDD to DVD. The Pioneer is much clearer and easier to use - a real delight of sensible design. The controller is also awful - very clunky and stiff. Buttons often do not respond until they have been depressed firmly for the 10th time. It takes ages to do anything using the controller as it is so poor. It is also very badly set out and requires constant reference to the guide book to know what to do. It is also unattractive to look at, though this is a minor point, but is consistent with the poor design throughout.
Customer Review: Remember playback
I love many features on this recorder the hard drive is brill, I have a few problems though but a no one has mentioned them so am not sure if it is just me not able to find them. This machine always starts a DVD from the beginning it does not remember where I was up to some machines remember the last 20 DVDs that were played so when you put them in it starts where you left off and gives you the option to go to the start if you wanted to. I can’t find how to turn on the VPS/PDC, I find the manual not very good not as good as the recorder.

Ellion DTR-850D 160GB HDD DVD Recorder with DivX and Freeview
Amazon Price: ?164.99
Customer Review: Great Spec - Appalling Implementation
The user interface is one of the worst I have ever had the misfortune to use. 4 separate button presses and 40 sec wait to get to a Freeview channel from standby. The 7 day EPG takes 7 minutes to load - for each channel!!! Persistent random freezes and hangs. Totaly unusable. Returned to supplier within a week.
Customer Review: No technical support
As with other reviews this looks great on paper but doesn’t live up to its billing, especially in the DTV area - continually freezing, loss of digital channels, etc. At first only occasionally, but recently it happens all the time. Per the warranty sheet I called Goodies Enterprise who told me they no longer support these machines if they are bought from Amazon, and that Amazon themselves will support them. I wonder if Amazon know this, as there appears to be no technical support pages or contacts on the web site. The callback facility just gets you through to a non-technical call centre in the USA. They arranged a replacement and hopefully this will work a little better, but the lack of support is worrying.

Panasonic DMR-EX87 - 250gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Black
Customer Review: Fab
From a girly point of view…….it’s fab! Very easy to use - can record whatever I want when I want. Easy to use remote - point and press for immediate recording. Really is the dogs b………ks of DVD recorders! We bought one off Amazon and it was missing the Panasonic logo which really wouldn’t do but they took it back and there was no problem with the second one. Can’t recommend the DVD enough or Amazon. Buy with confidence (no - I don’t work for Amazon … honest).

Customer Review: Very Impressed
Thought long and hard about replacing our DVD player, VCR and Freeview box as they all worked perfectly - if it ain’t broken don’t fix it, but after getting a HDD TV we are so pleased with the Panasonic. Picture quality is superb with upscalling through HDMI, it was easy to install and simple to use and without all the old kit we have installed 2 extra storage shelves into our TV cupboard. Love the facility where you can start recording a program and start watching it before it has finished recording, also watching another recording whilst recording another. The unit is quiet when in use. Would highly recommend this to anyone. Why didn’t we change earlier?

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Practical, stylish and specifically designed to accommodate LCD and Plasma TV with sufficient shelf space for full-size hi-fi or mini separates plus DVD player, video recorder, satellite receiver or home cinema system
Amazon Price: ?79.99
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Customer Review: Can a machine be more UN-user friendly?
This machine is truly dreadful. It is slow and very complicated to use. Even a professional I had to call to look at it gave up! I have wasted so many DVD-RW disks because despite the book saying it is DVD-RW compatible it so obviously isnt unless it is a particular brand - the most expensive (what a surprise!). The machine is going back for a refund! Can’t get rid of it quick enough! 0/10
Customer Review: Hmmmmm
This is now the third unit i have had and this one has now gone faulty. The sound from this unit is terrible. The picture from this unit occasionally goes to a blue tint. The unit is VERY Noisy. In fact i’m sure my warranty is not yet up so I think i will replace this one. In other words avoid buying this!!
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Sony RDR-HX525 DVD Recorder with 80GB Hard Drive
Customer Review: The HX-525 is RUBBISH !
Bought the HX-525 18 months ago, it has been nothing but disappointment. The manual is a nightmare to understand, the operation of it has always been incredibly slow, and after using it literally about 10-12 times since new, it has now developed an HDD Error which is impossible to fix using the troubleshooting instructions. My local Sony dealer says he has seen the same fault on this model before, and reckons an uneconomic ?150 to replace the disc. So throw it away and start again - only this time it won’t be a Sony.

Customer Review: Very disappointing
The hard drive on my similar machine RDR-HX560 packed up after 13 months,

shattering my faith in Sony.The cost of repairing was uneconomic. When it was working,it was fine, apart from niggles like saying the disc was dirty when I tried to record on hard drive. Switching off and rebooting solved this.

The program synopsis for each program did not appear in the list of recorded programs, unlike my Thomson DHD 4000.Although you could pause live TV, you can’t rewind. I doubt whether I’ll buy another Sony.

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Forget about the running out of recording space. With the built in160GB HDD (Hard Disk Drive) you may record up to 198 hours (SLPmodes) of quality video programs on it. The co-existence of theoptical disc drive and the built-in HDD on LVW-5045 doesn
Used Price: ?186.99
Customer Review: OMG - They actually make you pay for this?
I bought one of these machines a week ago, having owned reliable Lite-on machines before. It arrived (from Germany) and worked superbly for 36 hours! It then refused to eject the disc I was playing, and just taunted me with ‘HELLO’ constantly! I emailed the supplier 3 times, and have yet to receive a reply from them. If I do not receive a reply by 10 Feb, I will be making a complaint and a claim to Amazon asking for a full refund! AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID UPDATE! Having made my claim through Amazon, the seller almost immediately made contact with me and arranged to pick up the Recorder. I have now had a full refund (from Amazon) and am awaiting the collection of this overpriced doorstop!
Customer Review: Liteon 5045 - too many problems
My liteon is barely 2 years old - numerous problems. On a number of occasions the hard disc has reformated itself without warning. But the bigger problem is that it will no longer record from hard disc to a DVD of any type. Liteon technical support have not answered a single email to date - and I am informed by a technician that it will be cheaper to just buy a new DVD recorded instead of have it repaired. Shame because the functions were actually quite good.
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Used Price: ?175.99
Customer Review: No fast forward when viewing AVI/DivX movies
One killer feature this recorder has is DivX playback, which in my mind makes it different from the usual supermarket combos. But unfortunatly you cannot fast forward when you are viewing an AVI/DivX movie!!! You would be better off with one from Asda!
Customer Review: Lot of Effort on behalf of MKA.
The company did a first class job in getting to grips with the carriers that evevtually found and delivered a good piece of gear, superb for what I wanted the unit for. Now lots of time is needed in gradually turning my VHS recordings into DVD. There seems nothing that MKA will do to get a satisfied customer.
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Dazzle DVD Recorder (PC)
Dazzle DVD Recorder is the simplest and most cost-effective videocapture archiving and DVD creation solution available today.Dazzle DVD Recorder combines the user-friendly interface of thePinnacle Instant DVD Recorder software with the plug-and-play

Customer Review: Doesn’t work for me
Like a previous review, I have to add the same comments, this “thing” doesn’t work for me either. I have tried all the different connections that the device takes and I either get no picture at all in the preview window or it’s in black and white only. I telephoned the helpline and after listening to all the recorded messages it then cut me off telling me to go online for help. I e-mailed support and despite their automated e-mail telling me a reply would be sent within 1-2 business days, four days later I’m still waiting. Anyone with videos that need converting are sure to have an old VCR and the Dazzle just doesn’t work with it.

Customer Review: Pinnacle Dazzle
Unreal. It`s like going back 15 years when it was generally accepted that badly writted glitch infected sotware was the norm & we all just had to grin and bear it. I can`t quite believe that Pinnacle are still punting out rubbish like this and getting away with it. Don`t touch this or any other of their dreadful products with a barge pole.

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Stunning recording & playback
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The RDR-HXD870 player/recorder can record hours of high-definition video in resolutions of up to 1080p! With Sony’s technologies such as Bravia Theatre and Theatre Sync, this player/recorder lets you discover the new face of digital videos, as it incorporates a Freeview tuner that allows you to tune in and record free digital television channels. It can also record high-quality images onto DVD-R and DVD-RW discs or CDs, and is compatible with Pictbridge and other multimedia applications, thanks to its USB port. You can store your JPEG images and MP3 files on its hard drive and make DVD backups of your home videos. You can even increase the quality of your creations by connecting your camcorder to its i.Link input. Also equipped with an HDMI output, the RDR-HXD870 will set off your audio/video system a treat!??
Amazon Price: ?209.99
Used Price: ?159.99
Customer Review: Don’t see why some people have a problem.
Having owned this machine now for 2 weeks I can not understand why some people have problems setting this up. From opening the box to recording programs took me 20 minutes, thats cabling it all up from my Sky HD box and through my surround sound using scarts, hdmi cables and coaxes. The machine is really easy to use with the on screen guides explaining what each function does. I can not comment on the EPG as I don’t use it, I only bought this machine so I can copy programs from my planner on the Sky HD box to the dvd recorders hard drive and then on to dvd if needed. Picture quality on burnt dvd’s is good - depending on the quality used to burn it and sound seems ok, have not noticed any problems. Bought dvd’s do look better thanks to the upscaling capability. Cracking piece of kit, can not argue about the price and the on screen functions are really good, it even alters the quality settings for you if the program you have recorded does not fit on the disc you are trying to burn to - it even gives you a option to ignore this and pick your own setting. Well worth 5 stars - really happy with the product.
Customer Review: Absolutely Brilliant!
Purchased about a month ago and extremely pleased. Brilliant picture quality, good instructions & the machine is very intuitive to use anyway. Copied many of my old video recordings onto DVDs - superb picture. Able to watch a DVD while recording live TV to the hard disk too. Yes, you can only watch the (digital or otherwise) “live” channel which you’re recording & not watch another “live” channel at the same time with this machine - in the same way that you can only watch the channel that you’re recording when using a VCR… if you want to watch 1 digital channel while recording another, then buy a cheap set top box!
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Dazzle DVD Recorder is the simplest and most cost-effective videocapture archiving and DVD creation solution available today.Dazzle DVD Recorder combines the user-friendly interface of thePinnacle Instant DVD Recorder software with the plug-and-play
List Price: ?39.99
Amazon Price: ?35.99
Customer Review: Doesn’t work for me
Like a previous review, I have to add the same comments, this “thing” doesn’t work for me either. I have tried all the different connections that the device takes and I either get no picture at all in the preview window or it’s in black and white only. I telephoned the helpline and after listening to all the recorded messages it then cut me off telling me to go online for help. I e-mailed support and despite their automated e-mail telling me a reply would be sent within 1-2 business days, four days later I’m still waiting. Anyone with videos that need converting are sure to have an old VCR and the Dazzle just doesn’t work with it.
Customer Review: Pinnacle Dazzle
Unreal. It`s like going back 15 years when it was generally accepted that badly writted glitch infected sotware was the norm & we all just had to grin and bear it. I can`t quite believe that Pinnacle are still punting out rubbish like this and getting away with it. Don`t touch this or any other of their dreadful products with a barge pole.
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LG DR275 DVD recorder
The DR275 DVD/DivX player/recorder archives your favourite films and TV programmes onto DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW discs. The DR275 has 5 different recording speeds for variable recording times. In play mode, the DR275 has excellent audio/video quality thanks to the progressive scan and 3D Surround Sound. Connectivity-wise, the DR275 includes a frontal audio/video input and 2 scart sockets. The DR275 DVD/DivX player/recorder lets you build your own user-friendly digital video library.

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Ellion DVR-950S Slimline Dual Format Multi-region Capable DVD Recorder with 160GB Hard Drive, MPEG4 Playback
Amazon Price: ?159.99
Customer Review: You Get What You Pay For
Initially this was a good buy. Yes the blue light was annoying, but it worked, was easy to record to HDD and then from HDD to DVD. However I started getting problems with the sound, it took a while to come on when it booted up. Then after 10 months it has now failed completely. Also the remote control burnt out and I couldnt find a replacement for it. Basically it served me well for a number of months, but I wouldn’t say it is A1. I bought a Daewoo dvd player a few years ago from Amazon and that was fine. Therefore I have just ditched this and ordered a Daewoo DHR 8100P and so far so good. I believe the fan is fairly noisy, but when you have the TV on you dont notice it. If you put it in standby mode then you dont hear it either. Therefore for an extra ?60 I would recommend the Daewoo.
Customer Review: Spend more if you can
I had to return my unit as it caused considerable interference on my TV screen. I also found the picture quality to be poor and the remote control very awkward to use, even with the few features the unit has. You get what you pay for and I would recommend you spend an extra 100 quid and go for something like the Panasonic 75 like I did.

Dazzle DVD Recorder DVC 100
Dazzle DVD Recorder is the simplest and most cost-effective video capture, archiving and DVD creation solution available today. Dazzle DVD Recorder combines the user-friendly interface of the Pinnacle Instant DVD Recorder software with the plug-and-play power of the Dazzle video capture device. Quickly record your videos directly to DVD without first copying them to your hard drive, saving both time and space. With just a few mouse clicks, capture your home videos and TV recordings directly to DVDs, complete with menus and chapter marks. With Dazzle DVD Recorder, your precious memories are conveniently preserved on DVD for sharing with family and friends.

TopField TF5800 160gb hard drive PVR with freeview
Freeview with 160GB Hard Drive
Customer Review: Adverts, what adverts?
This is a great alternative to a Sky+ box for all us Freeview viewers. We’ve had ours a year and a half and it’s performed superbly, especially since an over-the-air firmware update a few months back. With no fan the disk heads make the only noise from it. It takes a little bit of learning but then you wonder how you managed before. It’s great too, the way it automatically resizes the picture (we’ve got a 26″ LCD widescreen) so you don’t get distorted fat little figures waddling around. I turned off the pause feature (thrashes the disc just in case you might miss something) but we often record two things at once and frequently watch what’s still recording - you can then pause when you like or whizz through the adverts. We rarely see an advert and tend to record most things we watch now. If you’re thinking about a PVR don’t even consider any that cannot record two programmes at once and let you watch something else at the same time, eg something you recorded earlier or else one of the programmes being recorded. I have been meaning to send some favourite films to the PC to make DVDs but haven’t got round to it yet. And I haven’t felt the need to download any of the ‘TAP’ extensions - it’s pretty good out of the box.
Customer Review: Simple the Best!
If you are a techno whizz you simply can not beat this gadget as it’s configurability is limitless (see toppy.org.uk for the most comprehensive forum covering every aspect of this PVR). You can even have this PVR use a wireless router in order to have access to your recording archive wirelessly! WARNING: However, if you are the kind of person who is not prepared for a bit of adventurous experimentation and want EVERYTHING the way you expect out-of-the-box then this is NOT for you. It is a complex machine which needs to be adapted and fine-tuned to your nee