Lite-On LVC-9016G DVD + VHS Combo Recorder (Silver)
By: Panasonic Average Rating: 2.5 Total Reviews: 11
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 On: 2008-01-07
I got this as a gift and read the instructions and with some small trial and error figured out how to use this to record tons of old VHS tapes that were deteriorating by the minute... and managed to quickly burn DVD backups for all of them ( spent the weekend cataloging them into a file album) and it went very easy. the Easy Guider way is the best it is sooo simple. I wont use it to tape VHS since VHS is wayyyyy history and I have learned how the quality is lousy on any VHS tapes as compared to DVDs. I am getting ready to learn how to burn dvds off of tv shows from this and looking forward to it. This has a really short learning curve so for people who want a quick in and out and set up, its the way to go. I am getting a 4pin to 4pin cable to use on this to hook up my video camera and burn dvds directly from it since its going to be faster than using my computers which seem to take forever. Lookinf forward to trying it out soon. For the money, this is a good worker bee/machine.
 On: 2007-11-08
I purchased this product on a reputable website for electronics. When the product arrived, the dvd door would not open. The website I purchased I from told me I had to go through Lite-on. Lite-on told me I had to go through the original web site. Lite-on told me, based on the serial number, the product has already been refurbished once. After showing them the email from the original site stating the product was under Lite-on guarantee, Lite-on on finally agreed to fix the product. I had to pay for shipping and I followed the return instructions exactly. A few weeks later I called Lite-on and they said they they never received it and there is nothing they can do. So I am out the price of the DVD/VCR, the original shipping cost and the shipping cost to Lite-on, plus I have no product! Pay a little more and avoid having to deal with their customer service.
 On: 2007-10-17
Received the product. Needed to replace the VCR that blew up with Coax Connection (entertainment center is packed). Didnt really need a 5th dvd player in it (best dvd player is phillips dvp642 and cheap). Turns out RF Out only works for passthru cable box. Will not play DVD or VHS tapes through RF Out. Would be nice if it had said that somewhere online, instead of finding out the hard way. Copy to copy is simple, but playback from PC made DVDs gives Disc Load error.
On: 2007-06-12
Purchased from Costco last year, it was ok but VHS to DVD was very bad quality even manufacture issed VHS tape.
Few months back, DVD recorder simply wont record anymore with any empty DVD. Reading new DVD took 1min then big "FAIL" came out on small screen. So work as Play only DVD. I paid nearly $[...] and only work as play VHS and DVD. Very Disapointed.
Took too long to reading DVD before play. Copied DVD will skip all the time. If the DVD inside, not able to play VHS. Everytime when you want play VHS, you need remove DVD so machine can understand which one can is on !?
Anyway considering to move to childrens room, not good at main room to use because too much stress! too late to return.
On: 2007-06-11
Purchased from Costco last year, it was ok but VHS to DVD was very bad quality even manufacture issed VHS tape.
Few months back, DVD recorder simply wont record anymore with any empty DVD. Reading new DVD took 1min then big "FAIL" came out on small screen. So work as Play only DVD. I paid nearly $[...] and only work as play VHS and DVD. Very Disapointed.
Took too long to reading DVD before play. Copied DVD will skip all the time. If the DVD inside, not able to play VHS. Everytime when you want play VHS, you need remove DVD so machine can understand which one can is on !?
Anyway considering to move to childrens room, not good at main room to use because too much stress! too late to return.
On: 2006-12-20
I have owned this unit for 4 days now. So far I have copied 3 vhs tapes onto DVD-R disks, and one on the editable DVD+R disk that came with the unit. All are perfect. I have had a couple of minor problems. In one case the tape started at fast speed and I had to dump the first DVD, but that was right at the start. I didnt waste any time. In the second case, I tried to change the display while the disk was recording and it locked immediately. So, I chalk that up to learning how to use the unit.
This pretty much does everything it says it will do, so Im happy. Now I have both a VCR and DVD player hooked up to my TV, giving it more flexibility. This is a real money saver and definitely worth the price. My local camera store wanted $45 per tape for transfer. So, I figure Ive already made that back and still have about 30 tapes to copy. Havent tried making a DVD from my 8mm video tapes yet, but the instructions are pretty clear so I dont anticipate problems.
The unit gives you 3 possible ways to duplicate and they all work. You can play the tape and start to record when you get to the right spot, you can go to the guider program using your remote, or you can push the one-touch copy button on the unit.
Overall, a good experience so far.
On: 2006-12-07
It was time for the Luddite to try another DVD recorder. My primary reason for buying was to transfer all the 8mm videos of the kids to DVD. It did a good job of this and I was able to finish the job I started with a Toshiba recorder. Once I finished that I started converting the big stack of VHS tapes. A binder of 25 DVDs takes up a lot less space then the tapes. This went well. The big glitch is the Macrovision copy protect on some of the movies. I was able to transfer quite a few and get rid of the tapes, anything Disney of course will have Macrovision and wont copy. I have done about 30 DVDs so far and no coasters like the Toshiba would occasionally produce.
I did try timed recording on a DVD a few times and that seems to work fine.
I read a review that complained that DVDs made with this machine could not be imported to a PC for editing. I tried one and it was a success.
I did try timed recording on a DVD a few times and that seems to work fine.
On: 2006-09-12
I have been in the computer field a number of years. So, it isnt very difficult for me to understand and operate most any equipment. I have had plenty of hands on experience with DVD/RW technology. This particular unit promises a lot of service, but seriously fails to deliver. First, I agree that set up was very easy. It would have been even easier if LiteOn has put all the parts they promised in the box. Second, the manual that accompanies this product was written by some one who has little or no command of the English language. Third, it will play and a VHS tape fairly well. So will any cheap VCR. The unit is extremely slow to play or record. Fourth, Copying to a DVD is a complicated process. The recorder will often skip in time, or speed up. That is of course the system doesnt crash. Fifth, the noise it makes while recording is similar to having a small gerbil trapped inside the machine. Sixth, there is no room for human error on the DVD recording. Once you start recording it is impossible to shut down. In addition, you can not record with the VCR in this unit even though its implied. Seventh, the system is set up to accept only certain manufactures DVDs. The unit simply wouldnt accept anything else with out failing. Eighth, there is no instant record. Its a lengthy complicated process that has severe limitations. Finally, calling Tech support is a joke. The 800 number has been changed to a long distance number. I am suspicious that it is out side the U.S. It takes a very long time to get to actually speak to some one. After that it was very difficult to get a straight answer to technical questions. Save your self the aggravation. Look for another combo. This one is not worth it.
On: 2006-08-24
Id been debating getting a DVR, a DVD recorder, a HD recorder, etc. for a while when the VCR broke. As it turns out, I need a VCR for work so I picked up the LiteOn VCR/DVD-recorder.
I love it. Easy to set up, easy to use. Clear, well designed graphical interface.
Heres our situation: low tech. We had a videotape that I had labeled the "poor mans TiVO" that we would record on and watch our weekly programs. I wanted something that would be easy to set recording times on and this machine is it.
Speaking of low tech: all the reviews of these things talk about how to hook up satellite and cable boxes. No thanks, we are still watching broadcast TV. The tuner on this unit is very clear and one feature I appreciate is the "search for channels" set up. As it went through the channels, it showed what signals it was getting in a "picture in picture" type box.
Similarly, when setting up a timer record, it shows the channel that you have selected. This is useful for us because sometimes the bunny ears get knocked and a high UHF channel gets fuzzy and we miss our UPN or WB broadcast.
Its easy to record to a DVD-RW disc (our new "TiVO"). Playback is clear and easy to fastforward and skip ahead or watch in slow motion.
The remote is not cluttered and pretty easy to use. At first, I worried that I didnt see the "Audio" or "Subtitle" buttons on the remote, but theres a "Navi" button that opens a pretty unobtrusive onscreen menu that lets you pick these things quickly. I appreciate the lack of buttons now.
I know, our tv watching sounds pathetic compared to the home theater yakkety yaks in all the other reviews, but hey, its just the boob tube. This is a great "replacement VCR" with a step up in quality.
(Four stars because Im a hard grader)
On: 2006-07-18
Whatever you do, dont buy this. It has a laundry list of problems:
1. Its almost impossible to read the tiny button symbols
2. After playing several older tapes the color left, then came back after I turned it all off.
3. Very slow, takes 5 seconds to play, 15 seconds to record on the VCR/DVD, 20 seconds to stop recording a DVD, takes a minute to load a DVD, and sometimes it never ejects a DVD unless you turn it off and on
4. It crashes and stalls.
5. After you stop recording on the DVD it makes a loud reverberating sound that you cant control, even on mute.
6. When you copy something to the DVD it sometimes skips a minute ahead
7. When you copy something to the DVD it sometimes speeds up to make a "chipmunk" sounding video. Its funny to hear, but its hell to try and go threw the deathly slow DVD menu to try and erase the mistake.
8. While its reading a DVD, EVERYTHING else stops working. It wont turn off, it wont record on the VCR
9. It randomly says "FAIL" on certain blank discs while it allows others to work for no reason.
10. Its complex to understand.
If you can, avoid this product. There are many better ones.
 On: 2006-05-20
I own this unit. I purchased it originally because it had both a VCR and a DVD and could record from the TV, from my Tivo, and from my VCR tapes AND it was touted as being user friendly. The unit worked flawlessly. I now have a functioning VCR and DVD player in one, that also can easily record from VCR to DVD and/or vice-versa. Its just great. The interface is very easy to understand. You dont have to wade through a technical manual to know what to do; its all laid out for you on the screen. The one hesitation I had was whether it would record and/or playback captions. Captions are a necessity in my household. I am happy to report that it does indeed record and play back captioned programs. I am so happy with this unit that I intend to buy a second one for my bedroom.
On: 2006-04-05
Had high expectations on this Lite-On LVC-9016 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo. Ive used plenty of Lite-On DVD/RW drives for various computers with absolutely no problems whatsoever, so I was expecting to have a good experience with the VHS->DVD recorder feature. Coupled with the fact that it had a built-in firewire socket in it for ease of transferring digital video from a camcorder to the unit for editing / recording, I was sold. Lots of good features came with the unit (one-touch DVD->VHS or VHS->DVD recording, easy setup-menu, ability to record to DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW), though the remote isnt the most user-friendly remote that Ive used (text is hard to read).
Before I could even try the recording features on this unit, I already had one severe functional problem: the unit would freeze unexpectantly while on tuner mode. The unit would be on a TV channel, and a few minutes later, the screen would turn blank, audio would be cut off, and the unit would become unresponsive to any user input from the remote or the buttons on the unit itself. The only way to get the system to power down would be to press the "Power" button on the remote. (The "power" button on the unit does nothing to remedy this situation, which I found to be really odd). I tried to look on their website for any information regarding this problem, but none is available. I did try updating the firmware on this unit with what was on their website. Though updating the firmware was a breeze, the problem still remained, so I think it might be other software-related issues with the unit. Im not sure whether this is an isolated incident, but after reading some of the reviews for the previous model (LVC-9006), I will most likely be returning this defective unit for a full refund and be looking at purchasing a combo unit from another manufacturer.
On: 2006-04-04
Had high expectations on this Lite-On LVC-9016 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo. Ive used plenty of Lite-On DVD/RW drives for various computers with absolutely no problems whatsoever, so I was expecting to have a good experience with the VHS->DVD recorder feature. Coupled with the fact that it had a built-in firewire socket in it for ease of transferring digital video from a camcorder to the unit for editing / recording, I was sold. Lots of good features came with the unit (one-touch DVD->VHS or VHS->DVD recording, easy setup-menu, ability to record to DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW), though the remote isnt the most user-friendly remote that Ive used (text is hard to read).
Before I could even try the recording features on this unit, I already had one severe functional problem: the unit would freeze unexpectantly while on tuner mode. The unit would be on a TV channel, and a few minutes later, the screen would turn blank, audio would be cut off, and the unit would become unresponsive to any user input from the remote or the buttons on the unit itself. The only way to get the system to power down would be to press the "Power" button on the remote. (The "power" button on the unit does nothing to remedy this situation, which I found to be really odd). I tried to look on their website for any information regarding this problem, but none is available. I did try updating the firmware on this unit with what was on their website. Though updating the firmware was a breeze, the problem still remained, so I think it might be other software-related issues with the unit. Im not sure whether this is an isolated incident, but after reading some of the reviews for the previous model (LVC-9006), I will most likely be returning this defective unit for a full refund and be looking at purchasing a combo unit from another manufacturer.
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