Samsung Multi Format DVD Recorder DVD-R149/XEU

October 19, 2007 | By Doug In DVD Recorders |

Samsung Multi Format DVD Recorder DVD-R149/XEU
Fantastic value dvd recorder from Samsung

Customer Review: Samsung DVD R149/XEU
I have had two examples of this recorder. The first one turned itself off at random when viewing a pre-recorded disc. It wouldn’t record on ram disc using the timer. It would not format ram discs but kept coming up with ‘System error is found’, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound, after exactly 10% of the disc had been formatted. The machine locked up after this and had to be unplugged to reset it.

Hughes direct sent me a replacement. This had almost exactly the same faults. It didn’t turn off as often as the first one. Their technical dept sent me a firmware update which did nothing except cause less loud buzzing when the formatting error came up after 10%.

I shall be contacting Hughes about this shortly. I have to say Hughes have been very easy to deal with and I am sure the matter will shortly be resolved.

Generally picture quality was good, better on the first machine I had but still good on both machines. Remote was good and had lots of easy to use features. It is just a pity about the randon switch off and the inability to timer record on ram disc. It will play ram discs made on my Panasonic recorder.

Sony RDRHXD560S 80GB HDD DVD Recorder with Freeview
80GB Hard Drive DVD Recorder model with Digital Tuner.
Used Price: ?119.99
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!
Customer Review: Sony DVD recorder just keeps powering off
Bought this recorder in March 2007. Initially thought it was fantastic but after a few weeks started powering off at random times. This week, despite putting everything to the factory defaults I am now trying to return it to Amazon. It can be ok and then will power off and try to restart. My wife has missed loads of programmes and is not happy. We have loads of Sony gear, telly, camcorder etc and always thought Sony was great. First Sony product I have had which has been faulty (replaced a Sony video recorder which was brilliant) I think I am being harsh but I expect a really high standard from Sony - might have expected this from some unknown brand.

Panasonic DMR-EX77EB-K - 160GB Hard Drive DVD Recorder - With 1080P Up-Conversion & Freeview - Black
Panasonic DVD and 160GB HDD Recorder in Black
Amazon Price: ?222.60
Used Price: ?208.99
Customer Review: Great Machine, but you need to Understand what you are buying first.
A previous comment said it doesn’t perform like a PVR. that’s because it isn’t a PVR! it cannot automatically buffer like Sky+ because it was never designed to. and the “Time Slip” function on the Panasonic is nothing to do with Pausing Live TV, Time Slip on this machine is only a fancy name for being able to advance through a recording in 10-minute increments (e.g. if you stop watching a 2-hour movie half way through, instead of fast-forwarding to get back to the point at which you left it, you can jump ahead to 50 or 60 minutes (or however many you want). It doesn’t say it can Pause Live TV, so a buyer shouldn’t be upset when they discover it doesn’t have that feature. if you want an automatic buffer and PVR functionality, then buy a PVR or get Sky+! and yes, the lack of divx compatability is a licence issue, Panasonic felt that the UK wasn’t using this medium as much as other countries, so saved on paying the licence and omitted it from the UK models. and another reviewer said it was something out of the dark ages because you have to press the button on the unit itself, to automatically record for 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. it is made like that so you don’t accidentally alter the recording period if you press something on the remote without knowing it (you might be manually recording a movie or sporting event, but unknown to you, you might have pressed the button on the remote which will stop the recording in 30 minutes. having it only work by pressing the button on the unit itself, you can’t mess up a manual recording). if a little research is done beforehand, and you download and look at the instruction manual in PDF format, you won’t be disappointed or under the wrong impression of what a machine like this can do. PS, no dvd recorders outside Japan have twin digital tuners, so don’t be harsh on the Panasonic for not having them, they’re all like that. the most you can currently get are just 1 digital and 1 analogue tuner, but the analogue tuner will be redundant in a couple of years when the analogue signal is switched off anyway. the Panasonic doesn’t have an analogue tuner, but it’s no big loss as the analogue signal in my area is very poor. my tip is to go for the EX87, the 250GB version of this same machine, as you can never have too much hard disc space. ive owned the 77 and it was fantastic, but sold it to buy the 87 and love it, i recommend it to everyone, as long as you don’t need to play divx material on it.
Customer Review: Competent Recorder
I bought this along with the 37″ plasma from Panasonic that is getting all the rave reviews (TH37PX70CAB). Having owned an LG HDD recorder previously, this machine was a major step up. One reviewer complained about the interruption to the TV signal when turning on the HDD recorder to record. This can be minimised by turning off the power save feature. So, save the planet, or save start up time. You can’t have it both ways. One excellent feature is the independence of the built in digital tuner. Unlike the LG recorder I owned, you can use the DVD drive to watch discs while the tuner is recording other programs. Cool! And it remembers where you were in a recorded show if you watch it in sections. The upscaling feature is also very good as it also upscales the signal from the HDD recorder’s digital tuner too. I don’t require some of the features other reviewers complain are missing from this machine, so I don’t miss them at all. The SD slot is a nice bonus as it is the format used by my digital camera. With the lower price available via Amazon, this is truly an excellent value purchase. And it looks great too.