Toshiba DVR17 - DVD Recorder & VHS Combi - Black
Toshiba DVR17 - DVD Recorder & VHS Combi - Black
Recordable formats: DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW VHS.
Customer Review: Excellent at first sight
I have only recently bought this model, so any comments are subject to revision.
The Toshiba (Region 2) does everything it claims, with good picture and excellent sound. Setting up and using is about average difficulty for the beginner, dead easy for anyone used to it. The handbook is detailed and not hard to follow. Unlike some, it is not written in appalling translator’s English. There are set-up diagrams and instructions on how to link with a sat box, and the unit has the usual range of output and input sockets.
This unit will record on VHS tape and all usual discs, including DVR+RW and DVD+R. You can dub non copyright-protected material from VCR to DVD and vice versa. It does not, however, support recording on double layer discs.
If you are new to DVD recording, take some time to study the differences between the various types of discs before you go out and buy media: there are lots of important variations in how to use them and what they can/can’t do.
One thing I don’t like is the illuminated display on the front panel: very hard to see, especially the little red “clock” for “timer set”. One other tiny niggle: in VCR mode,the unit is also a bit noisy on fast wind and clunky as it performs operations.
A word of warning abut SCART leads: I had to buy two new ones - fully screened, more expensive type, with gold-plated sockets and full RGB wiring - because my old thin ones allowed some form of signal leakage/interference, causing ghosting when unit switched to VCR mode. These thin ones have very poor screening: OK with my last combo, not this one.
At under ?130 from some sources, this looks like a good bargain.
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3 YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY - DVD RECORDER ?150-?500 
Pioneer DVR-440HX-S 80GB HDD DVD Recorder - Silver 
Customer Review: brilliant, simply the best!
I bought this recorder on amazon 12 mths ago after much time spent sussing the different ones available. Quite simply it turned out to be the best money I’ve ever spent! it is absolutely superb,Even now all this time later I am over the moon with it! My only regret is that I didn’t go for the next model up with the bigger hard drive but mine is fine.If your looking for a good recorder, honestly, this is it! Also of all the articles I have bought via amazon, I have only ever had a problem once, and amazon sorted it immediatly! They are good to deal with, and cheap.Finally, my recorder is now down to half of what I paid for it! So what further encouragement do you need!
Customer Review: BRILLIANT!!!…(erm, mostly)
I’ve had this for a while now and definitely don’t regret buying it. Like all the best technology it doesn’t get in the way of what you want to do - setting up a program from the epg is a doddle - no faffing around with discs; just press a few buttons, go out and come back to a perfectly watchable recording (I’ve only ever used Standard Play - I haven’t even bothered to use the highest XP quality so I guess that tells you something). However there are a few things that do bug me; once a timed recording has started the machine is locked and there seems to be no way to set another recording. Also of mild irritation is the remote - the two buttons that (for me at least) get the most use - the FF and Rewind buttons - are two of the smallest and tucked away under the slide-back cover, which makes things real fiddly when viewing in the dark. Also the FF speeds aren’t quite right; when FF’ing through adverts X3 is too slow and X4 is too fast. It needs a X3.5!!! Apart from these minor operational foibles I feel this is good bit of kit and I recommend it.
Samsung DVD VR330 - DVD recorder/ VCR combo 
Used Price: ?125.00
Pioneer DVR550HX DVD & HDD Recorder. 2 Years Warranty. MultiRegion. 
# Pioneer DVR-550HX-S DVD / HDD Recorder # The 550HX has an integrated digital (DVB-T) tuner and a 160GB hard disk drive, which will give you up to 455 hours of recording time # You can play, record and store almost every kind of media format, including DVD-R (Dual Layer) and DVD+R (Double Layer), DVD+RW and DVD-RAM # If you frequently download film content from the web, it also meets the DivX Home Theatre certification standard to provide high quality playback of compressed video. You can also copy and edit footage from your digital camcorder via the DV-In # The 550HX enables a scaling option up to 1080p via HDMI. So you?re guaranteed the highest viewing resolution, regardless of the source # Time Shifting: Pause live TV, or use Chase Play ? which allows you to playback the programme you?re recording ? while you?re recording it # One-touch recording makes it easy to record ? but the system also has an Electronic Programme Guide, which allows you to browse through the multitude of TV channels on screen ? making it even easier for timer setting and recording the specific programmes you?re looking for # 1 x HDMI, 1 x Component & 1 x Scart # 7 recording modes: XP, SP, LP, EP, SLP, SEP and Manual # Supports WMA, MP3, JPEG & DivX # 108 MHz / 12-bit Video DAC # MultiRegion included # 2 years warranty with this product
Customer Review: Very good picture quality
I bought this nearly a year ago to go with my 50″ pioneer plasma screen and have not been dissapointed. The picture quality using HDMI is excellent from both the hard drive and DVD playback. The pictures recorded using the built-in Freeview tuner are indistinquishable from the live one’s and it’s very useful being able to play back one program while recording another. The Freeview menu works well, although adding extra time to the end of a program involves several more steps. Editing pictures recorded on the hard drive is a bit fiddly but the results when copied to DVD are very good. It has frame accurate editing so you can take out the adverts or just save the bits you want! It’s well worth reading the Manual all the way through to make the most of this excellent machine. (You can download a copy from the Pioneer website) I would give the overall build quality, features and picture quality 5 stars. However, it’s not that it doesn’t do everything I want, it’s just that I know the remote control and the operating system could be so much better and easier to use, so I have awarded it an overall 4 stars.
Customer Review: Nice machine Shame About The Remote!
Make no mistake, this is a very nice machine but I was very disappointed with the remote; it’s horrible. If this was a cheap Chinese product I would expect a cheap control but not from Pioneer. It is a pity that I can’t control the Pioneer with the Panasonic TV remote or does anyone know a way? It is very poorly laid out and even changing channels is a chore. The sliding flap is a strange design choice. The on-screen menu also seems poorly presented and not very user friendly. In hindsight, this alone would have pushed me towards the Panasonic machine. One of the attractions of this machine was the music/photo storage/playback. Unfortunately, the mp3 music tracks can only be loaded off a CD rather than an MP3 player. Very time consuming and laborious - I won’t bother. In time I hope it will grow on me and I have yet to use it with my camcorder so maybe there are some really nice aspects to be revealed. On the plus side it does play DVD’s beautifully so at least the core performances are there.
