Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder
By: Philips Average Rating: 2.0 Total Reviews: 32
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by: Anonymous On: 2007-02-25
This seems to be one of the older DVD recorders, when the kinks were still getting worked out. Theyre much cheaper now and hopefully better, because if theyre still made like this, I have no idea why anyone would buy them. Ive had it for over 2 years, and I will give it credit, it still works and has never given me any error messages or not recorded. It is, however, VERY annoying knowing it only uses +R discs; I cant tell you how many times Ive wanted to desperately record something and only had perfectly good -R DVDs. The machine also loses points for being bulky, sluggish, and super ugly. But my biggest gripe with this recorder is that NONE OF THE DVDS I RECORD ON THIS WORK IN ANY OTHER DVD PLAYER. Period. I am forced to sit and watch them on this unit, and I dont use cheap DVD players. They can play DVD-\\+R\\RW, VCD, SVCD, Audio, and image CDs, anything but a DVD recorded on this piece of crap right here. I have tried the discs on numerous DVD players other than the 3 in my home, and in different computers equipped with dvd drives. And I dont use cheap DVD+Rs. Please, if you are considering buying a dvd recorder, do yourself a favor and steer clear of this disaster.
 On: 2006-09-22
I even bought this as a refurbished item here at Amazon and have had no problems. The only issue Ive found has been that I usually use DVD-RWs or DVD-Rs per my video recorder, but forgot that this only uses DVD+Rs.....etc.
I purchased this for less than 1/2 the original price and have no regrets. I must admit that I purchase too many electronics and stay away from brands such as Emerson and Coby..............but stick with Magnavox and Sanyo..........etc. You get what you pay for.
I cant relate to the "hung-up" problem of other buyers, but will vouch that Ive had this refurbished recorder for over a year and have had no problems whatsoever. I often record onto VHS and mostly used this component to transfer it onto DVD. Worked well..........took some time to get used to..........but always did the trick for me.
I only hope it works as well for the next buyer..............
 On: 2006-07-09
Read the other reviews and take them to heart. This unit is a boatanchor. It played fine until it completely quit, giving the "blocked" message that seems to be a running issue, and that was all she wrote. As for recording, there were several times I thought it was programmed properly, but it failed to record. Since I always reviewed my settings, I now doubt it was my fault after reading other reviews. On the successful recordings, many were fine, but others would suddenly pixelate, and would then pick up a few seconds into the program later, or maybe a few minutes later. You could watch an hour program in about 40 minutes in some cases just due to the missing content. Name brand DVD discs, too. Meanwhile, the remote suffers from the same problem virtually all DVD devices have, the buttons are laid out by someone that has no clue what the device even does, and so youre continually hunting for the frequently used ones, while the ones you need once a year are scattered right in with the rest. Utterly unintuitive, although truthfully, no worse than any other DVD device. Ovbiously I never really got to the buttons I needed once a year, because the unit died in six months, after approximately 12 hours of recording time and maybe 20 hours of play time. That worked out to about $5.00 per hour of use. While its a worthless piece of junk, I will admit its the purty-est unit in my setup. They should have spent some more time on the interior of the box.
 On: 2006-06-12
If you just want to record on demand, nothing fancy or in special formats, it certainly gets the job done for a great price. Paid $51+shipping for this used. The 1st owner couldnt figure it out (either the installation or use of it), so it was virtually unused. I havent encountered any problems with simple recording on +R disks, and thats all Ive tried so far. Everything Ive recorded plays on my other DVD players as well.
However the major problem that even the lightest of users will encounter: the manual is horrendous. Although well organized and thorough it what it covers, the actual content is terrible. There is 1 tiny paragraph on installing it in conjunction with a cable or satelite box. I mean who doesnt have one of these - isnt that a rather important topic? I had a bear of a time getting it set up and Im an electronics professional. The manual omits information about the remotes monitor button until about chapter 10-zillion; thats the button that lets you toggle between the recorders menu/image and the cable signal. No wonder I thought I had it hooked up wrong, I couldnt view any cable signal! Of course its filled with grammatical and typographical errors, but even if it werent, the content is junk. Dont demand much of this, do the simplest tasks, get ready to read the manual cover to cover, and youll be just fine.
On: 2006-06-01
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID MAGNAVOX AVOID MAGNAVOX AVOID MAGNAVOX AVOID MAGNAVOX Avoid this Magnavox DVD recorder. First it started losing content which I thought was operator error. Then I went to open the tray to replace the DVD and I get a "Blocked" message. Well if you get "Blocked" according to the owners manual the show is over. The end. FINIS Omega Nothing you can do about it. Opening and closing a disc tray is so very basic. All my CD players have managed to do this. All my computers do it. All our DVD players do it. My cars can handle it at 105 degrees F or minus 10 degrees F over rough road or off road. But MAGNAVOX gets hung up just sitting still in a cool room in a basement and can do no more than tell you its " BLOCKED ". I got mine as a gift and it was purchased at Radio Shack. Im surprised they carry this lemon of a product. So now I have the hassle of having to try to get it fixed but to save you time with reading the next 27 messages. ITS NOT WORTH IT. Dont buy it. Look at the star ratings and know that most of its owners would never buy another one again. Have a Great Day !
On: 2006-05-22
I have always had a high opinion of Magnavox products - but this one is a lemon. Highly recommend you find another machine. Mine just concluded its warranty for parts - and is a very large paperweight. Every once in a while a glitch would happen, and I would reset the machine and I would be able to use it.
This week the whole thing crashed and I have maybe a half a dozen dvds of tv shows that I had not "finalized", which means I wont be able to unless I buy another one of these dreadful machines!
Stay away from this product. You will be much happier!
Michelle
On: 2006-04-25
Heads up.
I too, agree with many posters here, this machine is very flakey. Too bad, the features are great for the price.
Bought it from best buy in 2005 aug. Out of 20 dvds I recorded, 2 hung up and wouldnt finalize. During a timer recording, on number 21, the machine went into a stop mode, and had the door blocked message as others have described here. Keep in mind, Im 6 months into the 1 year manufacture warranty.
I did not buy an extended service plan.
I called customer support, and after they talked my through the trick of cutting the paper on the bottom of the machine, and releasing the drawer and removing the disc, I sent the unit back, at my expense, (about $15.00 ups).
10 weeks later, they sent me another unit. It may have or have not been new, I dont know, but it looked in pretty good shape, visibly.
The new machine is worse than my original. After recording 8 dvds, it sometimes goes into pause mode whenever it feels like it, and will not recognize its own discs it recorded. Forget about finalizing and play on other dvd players. All 8 dvds are now coasters for my coffee!
In the meantime, I bought a small Liteon, and it is working 100% of the time like a champ.
Magnavox has got some severe problems here with this machine.
As other posters have said, dont even pay 5 bucks for a used one, it will give you more headaches than you can imagine.
On: 2006-02-23
I just recieved my DVD recorder and after experiencing some initial set up problems (my own)......you need to go through the channel search even if you have a satelite or cable source...... I tested the recording mode, playback mode and timed recording and all worked just as the manuel says they were suppose to. I havent recorded from an outside source (VCR or Camcorder) nor have I used any of the more "advanced" options it has. My intent is to record some old family VCRs and programs from the TV so I dont expect to test (or use) most of the options.
Since it does what it said it would do and thats all I expect it to do Im satisfied with the product.
On: 2006-02-21
Remember when the cheap stuff was made in Japan and everyone would laugh at that label? Now apparently it is the "made in China" label that is the curse.
This is a very basic recorder that works a little when it feels like it, as you can see below. The one I had for a day would start itself up when it felt like it. Seriously, Id be sitting there and all of a sudden it would display "startup", do its little cycle and then proclaim there was no disc. No one likes a ghost in their machine.
And it only likes DVD+R discs. Dont know the difference between DVD+R and DVD-R? You should check it out, because you wont find an explanation here and your friendly local "geek squad" have no more understanding than a loose doorknob. "Duh, yeah, dis one works with everything, dude." No it doesnt.
Apparently Amazon can get these things at a very low wholesale price and mark em up 75% -80% and move em out, while calling it a sale! Sounds like the jeweler in my local Mall.
Look at Sony and Pioneer; all DVD recorders are a little challenged. And take your time checking the features available. If you cant look at the manual first, dont buy. This manual aint too good.
One final thought. This is an ugly unit, with uncovered hookups on the front, a Red Stripe across the DVD drawer, and a piece of mirror (!) stretched across as a faceplate. Maybe they figured looking at your reflection was better than looking at this design disaster.
I bet that the Red Stripe has something to do with this being made in China....
On: 2006-01-31
I read through a few reviews here AFTER my experience, and 4 or 5 told my story for me.
99 times out of a 100, Im meticulous about doing my research on consumer electronics before I buy, and of course, this happened to be the one out of a hundred where I found my self at Best Buy with money in my pocket but no reviews in my head.
Like others who bought this recorder, I did so for the price, but avoided the no-name brands, thinking paying $40-50 more for a well-known name brand is worth the peace of mind. Well, long story short, Im headed to get one of those no-name brand recorders after work today.
I was initially impressed with the variety of inputs and features it had. The menu was complex, but I figured I could get used to it. After 3 weeks of minimal use, however, it wouldnt read a disc- DVD+R or factory. Thats all it took for me to throw it back in the box. Luckily for me, I was still under the 30 days return policy and was able to get a refund without a problem. Ill definitely think twice before paying for a reputable name brand machine when I can get a cheapo that does the same thing and will last at least a month.
Im happy for the people who have favorable things to say about this recorder, but I have to think theyre in the minority for sure.
On: 2006-01-28
I bought the MRV640 DVD Recorder. It has all the jacks and formats one would desire on the recorder. The first night out of the box, the message "BLOCKED" was displayed right after the disk stopped playing. You cant restart the unit by recycling power or get the disk out. BTW, the booklet indicates there is a problem but no way for the consumer to fix it. I took it back to Best Buy and got another unit. That one lasted a month - same problem. The service was very kind and asked if I would like another. No thanks, So I bought a Panasonic.
If Philips/Magnavox knows there is a "BLOCKED" problem, then get it fixed before the unit is ready for the public. There is nothing blocking the cd drawer, so this is a quality control problem not a user issue.
Dont waste you time, choose another brand.
On: 2006-01-15
(1) The clock loses one minute per week, so you dont have the sit through the unrecorded beginnings of TV shows. (2) It records disks that inexplicably freeze-frame and jump forward when fast-forwarded on playback. (DVDs recorded on a different DVD Recorder behave normally.) (3) Nine months following purchase, any new attempt to record a DVD instead display a "DISC ERR" message. This last feature relieves the user from wasted hours spent watching recorded shows when he could better spend his time writing this acerbic product review.
On: 2005-12-09
Ive sent mine in for repair once already. Now it is up to a new bag of tricks. It appears to be recording but wont finalize the disk saying nothing is there. OR it stops recording with no warning. OR it records for half the disk then says its unreadable.
I would never buy one of these again.
Pam
On: 2005-08-12
I only wish I hadnt kept to my usual smart consumer ideals of researching a product before buying it. Alas, I was far from home and found it on sale at BestBuy.
I agree with all the other reviews here. My greatest problem now is that after buying a large pack of DVD RW+ discs, I tried one this morning and it worked fine for one set of recordings. After that things simply went down hill. Now it tells me that there IS NO DISC even after inserting brand new quality ones.
And who has ever heard of having to access functions through a menu which the simplest of DVD Players would have you access through the remote? As if it werent bad enough how long itll make you wait before even showing you the menu itself!
As for recording, WELL, when it DID work...even then...sometimes results were choppy that is if you chose to do stop and go recording of any kind. The only time it ever worked smoothly is if you had one single long recording planned out (such as a feature length film) and that is all. Otherwise you were stuck with a bloody mess.
Im sad to have wasted money and so much time with this substandard product. Its been a real headache and its beyond that time for me to be able to return it.
MY ADVICE: STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT!!!! DONT EVEN SPEND $20 ON A USED ONE IF YOU CAN FIND IT SINCE EVEN THEN ITLL BE NOTHING BUT A HEADACHE FOR YOU!!!!!!
On: 2005-06-19
I like the DVD recorder but I cannot play the recorded DVD on my computer. I finalised the DVD, I can play it from another player but not on my computer... Can someone help me please? fhscott_100@hotmail.com
On: 2005-06-07
I purchased this thing for $150 at Best Buy and brought it home, thinking I got a great deal. How wrong I was. It worked fine for about 30 minutes until I tried to play a second disc. The display said "blocked" and then cycled between "opening/closing/blocked" on the display. This happened without the drawer ever opening up. I gave up and took it back to the store the next day and exchanged it. I used this new one for about two weeks with only one issue. It didnt like my second disc of Dave Chapelles second DVD set. It would lock up while playing and skip like a scratched record. Overall it recorded great. I loved the DVD edit features and the menu ability was pretty cool. BUT - Once again the drawer became "stuck". I put in a blank disk today and the display said "reading","disc error" and then back to "blocked/opening/closing". All without ever actually opening the drawer. Im done with this thing. Apparently you cant get a good quality DVD recorder for a good price. It goes back to Best Buy tomorrow.
On: 2005-04-14
This DVD recorders life began when I purchased it at Circuit City about 6 months ago, and tomorrow, or shortly after, will be ending in the same place. I have had this thing, and I know personally one other individual that has this same recorder. The thing sucks. It constantly shuts off at VERY random times. Disc Warning and Disc Error are DAILY visuals displayed on the Television screen and on the display menu of the recorder itself. This product freezes countless times when you hit stop or want to scroll up and takes forever for menu to load. Beyond all of this, which is actually the last straw, the Timer will not stop auto-setting itself. I have set the timer before, and if I didnt need it to record for the duration of which I actually set it to, all I have had to do was hit power, and off it went, and could resume recording. This is not the case tonight, this thing is on the chance (of many) I have given it. I went under my regular "TImer" activity, hit power, and instead of it totally depleting any information on Timer Record as usual, it now continues to auto set itself sychronized with the clock, and will NOT stop! I have turned the power off, un plugged it, re set the timer to let it run its course and it will not stop, and everytime I try to record something now, it says disc error!!!!!!! No changing of discs will help! I cant even explain the hell I have gone through this evening! This review may be out of a fit of rage, but that does not make it any less false or any more embellished. I have had NOTHING but problems with this. And, on a rare occassion, when the timer does work, in the middle of recording, it displays "Disc Error" and shuts off. On top of the random shutting off completely, it erases anything that I had previously recorded! As I said earlier, I know of two people in my "world" that have this item, and we both experience the same inconvenient problems with it, to me, that is 100% of the people that I know that have this thing, and that is far too high of a rating to keep using this. While it may have worked fine for the first month, I do NOT SUGGEST BUYING THIS ITEM FROM ANYWHERE. I, like many other users, THOUGHT Magnavox was a reputable company with great products hand in hand. I have NEVER been so disgusted and disappointed with an item. I would like to burn the thing in a bon-fire. If any Magnavox Representatives read this, I hope you know this product needs never to be reproduced or manufactured again. If all of your products function like this one, your company should cease any business transactions and sink to the disturbing depths of functionality this product has.
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OTHERS MAY BE MORE EXPENSIVE BUT IM SURE AT THIS POINT IT WOULD BE WORTH IT!!!!!!!!
On: 2005-03-14
I originally wanted a non-brand DVD recorder but a well-known store had an open box version of this one. It came with no power cord which was easily purchased at a local electronics store. However, when I arrived home, the remote was no where to be found. Since we just moved I thought I might have misplaced it. After a week of searching, I decided to buy a universal remote which might work AFTER you get past the initial installation process (!?!) However you CAN NOT get past the original set-up without the original remote. I didnt read the reviews on this machine until I got home because Magnavox is typically a pretty good brand. My mistake. Im going to take it back and stick with my original decision to buy the well-reviewed non-brand.
So in summary, who knows how the machine really works. Who ever heard of having to INSTALL a stand alone DVD recorder? My last final 2 cents--DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. It was discontinued for a REASON!
On: 2005-02-28
I had been reading the previous reviews, so I was very skeptical about this recorder...even though it was priced just right for me. Thus...I have been drilling this thing for one week...playing dvds, and recording for long hours. I have yet to get this to freeze up yet. (i suppose there still is time) So far, for the price, it had everything I need and makes fine recordings. Even in the eight hour mode, it has good quality. Definitely better than VHS. Like others said, the only drawback, is getting used to the on-screen menus and symbols. But...if you read the manual closely, it explains everything. For $200, you cant beat it!
On: 2005-02-09
This recorder is a good deal for the capability it has. There are a few tips I came up with that will help you get the most out of it:
1. Stick to using it for recording and dont use it very often to play dvds. Not only do movies tend to freeze up on this thing but it will save on the life of the machine.
2. DVD+Rs are the standard this was designed to use, the dvd+rws work well also but cost more usually. Ive burned over 40 discs so far and have had no problems, the brands I used were Memorex and Philips. Buy them in spindles and you will pay only half as much as w/cases (buy cheap cases separately).
3. Dont over-work the thing. After a couple hours burning, put it on stanby and let it cool off. This is true of any electronic device. Also a good idea is to cover it from dust while not in use.
4. It has the potential to lock up for no apparent reason. When this happens unplug it and go through the set up again. This is a hassle but at least you can fix it.
5. Always refer to the manual, especially if a problem comes up. The trouble shooting section in the back will likely solve the issue. This is good to remember before returning it or getting upset.
This recorder has worked great for me, it performs basic operations well. One thing to keep in mind before buying is this doesnt seem to have a lot of the convenient features that other more expensive ones might. Its a bit slow and youve got to read up on how to do some of the more complicated tasks such as editing.
Its ultimately simple though once you have used it a few times, all you have to do to transfer camcorder/vhs tapes is hook up the cables and press record (not much different than a vcr). For this reason Im favoring it over dvd burners, which have a lot more going on. However you cant burn a dvd in 10 minutes with this. Shop around and get a good deal, you will get a lot for the money.
On: 2005-02-05
For the life of me I havent been able to get the edited DVD+Rs to play its edited version on any other machines but the recorder. The other machines read the disc but only as one file/chapter wheres the recorder reads the edited version with all chapters intact. Can anyone help me with this please?? BTW, this review has the potential to got up to 4 stars because Im very satisfied with the picture quality (Ive only used the 3 hour speed) and everything else was very easy to use.
On: 2005-02-02
This is not a bad DVD rec but it isnt wonderful either.
Lets start with the remote - I have three other DVD players who have an extra button to FWD and RWD. This one, is like all DVD players before they invented proper buttons, you have to hold down the |<<, and >>| buttons down for it to scan.
The manual I dont have a problem with, its decent enough, though they could give it an overhaul. Read the whole thing before using the DVD player!
Now the player itself. Its nice looking, thin. But, it does have issues. More often than naught, it will show a "DISC WARNING" while recording and you hear the DVDR making a weird noise, almost like its spinning the disc because it can not read it. Twice the whole system has shut down in the middle of a recording. Ive always used DVD+RWs for there deleting factor. Dont want what you recorded? Just kill it. Lovely, but dont over use that feature, eventually the disc will just quit on you. However, on occasion, some of the discs will not play on other machines. (Note: read the manual, depending on your record mode, you have to record x amount of minutes in order for it to play on other machines) The machine is very slow to turn on, change channels and even stop recording.
Now that whole 8 hr recording thing, while it can record for that long, I dont suggest it. The playback is horrible past 3hrs.
So, all in all 2 stars from me, as soon as I can I am getting myself a more suitable DVDR.
On: 2005-01-07
I have had this unit for about a month and have had no hardware/operational problems. I use it for recording from analog cable and Ive found that the 3-hr recording speed looks identical to the source material. I record to Memorex +RWs, which work fine and play fine on my Samsung DVD player. I use an after-market remote, so I cant vouch for the one that comes with this.
The on-screen menu is fairly easy to learn and the user manual does tell you the info you need. Note that this unit does not have Optical audio-out, only Coax-digital-out. Other than that, it does have a nice selection of Inputs and Outputs. It is worthless as an MP3 player because there is no GUI menu system to select folders from your MP3 disk - you can only go forward or back track-by-track.
This unit seems slow responding to commands sometimes, but as it is my first DVD recorder, most others may do the same thing.
On: 2005-01-05
Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder
When I first got this DVD+R I thought I was going to have to bring it back day one. Then I figured out that the DVD+RW that came with thing unit was either bad or the unit just doesnt like to record onto a DVD+RW. On a hunch I went out and bought some DVD+Rs. These seemed to work better at first. I recorded a fair amount of stuff until a problem started to show up. Ive burnt about 8 DVDs at this point and 3 of them have been coasters. After spending the time to record what Im trying to transfer, work with the menus and such out of the blue when I hit the stop button the thing hangs with UPDT MENU listed on the LCD screen. The unit will not respond to anything after this, Ive let it sit for hours on end hoping my hours of editing had not been lost. So far the only way I have found to get it out of this state is to unplug the thing and create a coaster out of the DVD+R I was working on. I tried going to the Magnavox website to reach customer support, but the page only has a front up that says: "A smarter site coming soon"
I wish they had left the older less intelligent site up so I could find an email address for customer support, since I really have no time at all to sit on a phone and wait for customer support that way.
If I could find a solution for this problem the unit would get 3 stars. The interface is a bit hard to navigate, the remote is pretty bad, you have to hold down the track forward and track back buttons to fast forward and rewind, so there are plenty of times I change the track when Im only attempting to fast forward. Play and Pause are the same button, so you cant really stop fast forward/rewind without actually pausing the playback. Text entry for DVD menus is very cumbersome, you can use the letters assigned to numbers on a telephone, but they did not print them on the remote, so you have to get a phone and use it as a reference. While all this kinda sucks once you get used to the stuff it can make some fairly nice DVDs. I really liked being able to set index pics and a background picture for each the I recorded (this is my first DVD-R, so I didnt know that sort of thing would be a feature, it may be on every one for all I know)
At this point Im hoping I can take the unit back and find a better product, but Im thinking I will be stuck with this one. Anyone know why I keep getting stuck updating the menu, let me know please.
On: 2005-01-04
When I bought this recorder back in October, I was extremely happy with it. Yes the interface sucks and the manual isnt much better, but once you figure it out, it rocks. So, why only two stars? The unit began locking up and refusing to either record from the timer, or eject the disc. After calling Customer Care, I was informed to send it back for repair. What I got back was a dented, scratched unit with missing parts that has now been labeled "renewed" (even though I bought it brand new) and the warranty has been shortened from 1 year to 90 days. Repeated calls to customer care only yields
"Im sorry weve escalated the problem and you should receive a call from us" Well guess what, its been a month now, and I still
have the damaged unit and no calls from Magnavox. Next stop, BBB.
On: 2004-12-27
I haved this unit for 2 days now and still cannot get it to record. Looks like A costly DVD player to me.
On: 2004-12-26
I have had this dvd recorder for about 3 weeks now. I program it to record a few shows every day. On about every 3rd or 4th one, the screen will have a blue tint to it. But my MAJOR complaint is, it is very picky about the discs. It wont play most of my store bought movies. Today I tried to watch my 2nd season of the Gilmore girls, watched the 1st disc, when I out the second one in, it kept saying disc error. Or it would show no disc at all, tried with 3 and 4 as well, same problem. This has happened on several occasions with many different movies. Even worse is sometimes I will be about 20 mins into a movie and it will freeze, I take it out, put it back in then get disc error. I am returning this DVD recorder in the morning. It is junk.....
On: 2004-12-08
Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder
There are pros and cons about the Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder. However for me, Ive not experienced any problems with it while playing DVDs, CDs, and recording DVD+R,+RWs. I like that you have a choice of up to 8 hours recording (depending on what discs you use), Ive had no problems using the audio and video inputs and outputs. Ive been able to hook up the Magnavox MRV640 DVD Recorder to my Panasonic VCR with ease to make back-up copies of my beloved, wearing VHSs.
The cons of the recorder are its manual, remote control, and the color of its interface. The manual is black and white with few photos. It has in it what you need to learn how to use the Recorder however its not excellent. Theres a lot to read. The remote control is easy to use once you get a hang of it. There are buttons that do more than one task, which the manual also fails to point out. Last is the Magnavox picture interface that appears on you television screen. The con about this is the colors are blue on blue, which can make it a tad bit difficult viewing the menus, as theres not much contrast. Also the font on the screen is small.
The pros of the Magnavox MRV650 DVD Recorder are that its a good price for the features it includes, such as progressive scan, up to eight hours recording time, Front-panel inputs. It burns DVDs and finalizes them quickly. It doesnt take long at all to turn it on. It begins recording almost instantly. Also its not a hassle to set up physically. You can record from television your favorite shows. Ive called Magnavoxs customer care phone number several times and they were helpful. Its not fancy, if I were wanting fancy I would not choose this. However over all Id say this is an Ok DVD Recorder. Im happy with it.
On: 2004-11-26
The designers, in a moment of sheer stupidity, left off the fast-forward and rewind buttons standard in most designs. A couple of days later I finally figured out that you have to hold down the chapter forward/reverse buttons to search through the DVD. The manual is difficult to read, so it contributed to the problem.
More importantly, I tried to edit out commercials using the "hide chapter" feature, but they showed up anyway when I tried to play the DVD back on my good Samsung DVD player. Also, while the recordings play back OK on this machine, they periodically skip on my Samsung DVD player, which normally plays DVD+R disks fine when I create them on my computer. Disks seem to play OK on an older Toshiba DVD player, so it is probably hit and miss whether or not the disks will play on other devices. Im not willing to put up with this, so Im going to pay more for a Toshiba with a built-in hard drive and can really edit out the commercials.
On: 2004-11-23
Well, I waited a long while to make the foray into dvd recording and missed years of using a vcr because I was tired of those tapes that were the size of a house. So I finally bought this thing at Best Buy for a pretty good price and I am satisfied.
For all those out there who are going-What the heck is all this DVD+-_!@#$%^&**()":<>? Rs? I hate that crap too. But all you need to do is buy DVD + Rs from any store and they should work- JUST REMEMBER, THIS ONLY RECORDS ON DVD+RS AND DVD+RWS-ITS REALLY SIMPLE AND IT ALWAYS SAYS IT IN BIG EASY TO READ LETTERS ON THE BOX/CASE/WHATEVER...
I read the earlier review and I havent had any problems like that yet. Although once it did freeze once and I had to unplug it once to get it to reset or whatever. If you understand that its kind of like a computer and freezes like one than its no big deal. I have only bought 1 set of DVD+Rs by memorex and they have worked flawlessly. And yes you can record anything that a vcr can also. And if you still have your vcr and those Gigantic VCR tapes and you want to transfer to digital for good, you can do that with ease (If you need help dont hesitate to ask).
It is a good looking gadget with pretty user friendly controls (except for that Phil guy! What the h@#$!)I record all my disposable shows (Seinfeld,JJudy,60 minutes) on my one supplied DVD+RW and I record and erase-just like a tape. And it says that you need to finalize your DVD+Rs to play them on most dvd players(You cannot finalize DVD+RWs) but I tried to play the unfinalized DVD+RW in my cheap AMD DVD player and it played! I record on the lowest quality which is adequate for me and I get 8 hours of recording on one disc. This thing has 6 recording settings so you can adjust the quality accordingly-M1 for highest quality(1 Hour) and M8 (8 Hours) So far so good, and for the price you cant beat this deal if you are making the jump into digital recording. DONT BE AFRAID!
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STILL GOING STRONG!
This is a 2nd review...
Well, I have had this thing for about 5 months now, and I am pleased. I still cant for the life of me believe all that has been happening to the other reviewers, but perhaps a portion of these DVD recorders were just lemons. I have never had a disc warning problem, I have had to reset it once, and most of the other various problems have never happened either.
If it is discontinued, I guess this review is moot, but I want to defend the reputation of this machine.
Anyways, I have recorded hundreds of shows on Imation DVD+Rs, and the one supplied Memorex DVD+RW-which recently stopped playing and recording altogether...but after I recorded dozens of favorites. If you do still find them new, you cant beat the price-I highly recommend it! You have to remember, you cannot expect perfection frow the lowest tier DVD recorders! But at this point it is close and I am still pleased.
On: 2004-11-16
Just bought mine for $175 and spent 3 hours hooking it up to tv and dvd/vhs recorder. Most of it was my fault, have to admit to being a little behind the curve on the tech scale. DO HAVE extra cables and connections on hand if you are connecting to more than just a tv. Manual is dense and of little use until you actually use the machine for a while. THEN it makes sense. (Might be that lack of tech stuff though) Recordings of tv (I only have an antenna) are great and one I made of an old vhs tape were better than the tape. Little slow to start recording. Have to adjust to that Im afraid. I think this is a great deal moneywise and so far so good in the recording. No problems with discs and otherwise easy to use.
This is a second review after six months. Works great. I have burned about 300 dvds (you wont believe how much space I have now that the tapes are gone) and its like a little work horse. I have had a very few discs that seize things up. Very few. And you do have to "re-boot" once in a while, like a computer. I dont do a lot of timed recording, Im a movie buff not a TV fan, so that is a feature I dont use. I cant believe how this thing just keeps going. Im really happy with it over all and would give it a four star simply because of the few problems Ive had and its durability. A lot of lemons out there, yes, but I got a good one. And I havent yet had to call the no help whatsoever line!
On: 2004-11-15
Just bought mine for $175 and spent 3 hours hooking it up to tv and dvd/vhs recorder. Most of it was my fault, have to admit to being a little behind the curve on the tech scale. DO HAVE extra cables and connections on hand if you are connecting to more than just a tv. Manual is dense and of little use until you actually use the machine for a while. THEN it makes sense. (Might be that lack of tech stuff though) Recordings of tv (I only have an antenna) are great and one I made of an old vhs tape were better than the tape. Little slow to start recording. Have to adjust to that Im afraid. I think this is a great deal moneywise and so far so good in the recording. No problems with discs and otherwise easy to use.
This is a second review after six months. Works great. I have burned about 300 dvds (you wont believe how much space I have now that the tapes are gone) and its like a little work horse. I have had a very few discs that seize things up. Very few. And you do have to "re-boot" once in a while, like a computer. I dont do a lot of timed recording, Im a movie buff not a TV fan, so that is a feature I dont use. I cant believe how this thing just keeps going. Im really happy with it over all and would give it a four star simply because of the few problems Ive had and its durability. A lot of lemons out there, yes, but I got a good one. And I havent yet had to call the no help whatsoever line!
On: 2004-10-15
This was my second attempt at a DVD recorder and this one was actually worse than the first one (see my review on the GoVideo). First, the manual is terribly written and the on-screen hyroglypics are horrible. Very user un-friendly. After first hooking it up, it wouldnt recognize ANY disc; R, RW, or pre-recorded concert DVDs. Finally, I got it to recognize everything except recorded +Rs, so I tried to record something using the timer. After supposedly recording the programs, I couldnt get the machine to turn on! I had to unplug it to get the disk out, and then there wasnt even anything on it. I tried it again...saw that it was recording...and when it was done, still couldnt get it open! Very frustrating...so Im taking it back ASAP!. I decided after reading reviews that all DVD recorders have problems of one kind or another, so Im only buying locally, to save the hassle of return shipping. I may try Sony next, since I have a regular Sony DVD and it works fine.
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