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DVD Recorders Reviews
Updated November 2007
DVD recorders are home-theater components that can record TV shows onto DVD discs, replicating the functions of your VCR. Some models combine a DVD recorder with a VHS player/recorder, making it simpler to convert a collection of home-movie VHS tapes to DVD. DVD recorders also function as regular DVD players and can play audio CDs -- many can play JPEG photos and MP3s on CDs as well. Keep in mind that none of these devices are high definition. Toshiba has unveiled an HD-DVD recorder with a 1-terabyte (TB) hard disk in Japan, but that unit is unlikely to make it to the United States anytime soon. Be aware that if you don't need to record TV shows to discs, a DVR is a better option. Reviewers say TiVo has the best interface of all. Almost all cable and satellite companies also offer a DVR for a monthly fee. These all allow you to record programs internally for later playback, and many allow you to record in high definition, but you can't record shows to a disk. See our report on DVRs for more. As of this past March, all devices that can receive TV signals -- including DVD recorders -- are required to include a digital ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) tuner. This law is designed to ease the transition to the all-digital TV broadcasting system that will debut in February 2009. When it comes to DVD recorders, manufacturers have finally begun complying with the requirement in earnest, bringing a fair selection of DVD recorders to market. However, they have also thrown some unsuspecting consumers a curve ball. The FCC requirement regarding ATSC has a loophole -- it only
pertains to devices that contain a tuner. Some low-cost DVD recorders -- and
even some DVD recorder/VCR combo decks -- have no tuner at all. Those are
fine for dubbing from a VCR or DVR. But if you also want to record live broadcast
television, you'll need to rely on the tuner in another device such as a satellite
TV receiver or cable box. In addition, setup and operation are more difficult
since you'll need to coordinate things on two separate boxes. While we saw
no signs that manufacturers or retailers are trying to hide the fact that
some DVD recorders lack a tuner, judging from the complaints we saw there
clearly are a number of new owners who didn't discover this "detail" until
they had their DVD recorders at home. All of the DVD recorders in Fast Answers
include an integrated ATSC tuner. As a category,
DVD recorders are among the most maligned types of consumer electronics products.
Common complaints include failure to record programs (either through user
or player error), hard to understand instructions, confusion over recordable
disk formats and more. That hasn't changed in the latest generation of DVD
recorders, unfortunately, Still, some players are clearly worse than average.
A case in point is the Insignia NS-1DVDR (*est. $100), a house-brand DVD recorder
available only at Best Buy. While a couple of users seem happy with the NS-1DVDR,
most are anything but. This recorder lacks a tuner, but that's not the source
of the discontent. Reliability seems to be a major issue, and we saw several
complaints about overheating. Connectivity is also lacking, and near necessities
such as an S-video or digital audio output are missing. That last omission means you probably won't be
able to listen to Dolby Digital or DTS surround-sound tracks on a pre-recorded
DVD. Many users say that there are better choices. While
manufacturers have been busy introducing lots of new DVD recorders with the
required ATSC tuner (or no tuner at all), reviewers have been a little slow
to catch on. However, Consumer Reports has a recent and very up-to-date review
of 24 DVD recorders. Although it doesn't provide an in-depth discussion of
each DVD recorder's strengths and weaknesses, the review does say which important
features are lacking on each model. CNet.com's reviews are much more detailed.
The editors at CNet test each DVD recorder with a standardized series of read-and-write
tests, and they give subjective evaluations of each deck's feature set and
ease of use. However, CNet has only evaluated two current DVD recorders to
date. Big Picture Big Sound has a great single product evaluation of a Panasonic
DVD recorder.
Owner-written DVD recorder reviews are also extremely helpful. Reviews from owners at CNet, Amazon.com, CircuitCity.com, BestBuy.com and Epinions offer insight into products' performance after they’ve been in use for months. AVSForum.com and Videohelp.com also offer user reviews, but their real benefit lies in the technical information. These sites offer user-to-user help, workarounds, tricks and techniques that can be found in few other places on the Internet, along with reviews written by those with a little more technical savvy than typical consumers. ... Continued
Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
Users find many problems with DVD recorders, and the most recent generation of products are no better. Confusion generated by tunerless products and frustration due to new copying restrictions on some cable and satellite TV programming has created lots of angry consumers. That said, there are a few DVD recorders that fare better than others. The Philips DVDR3575H/37 is one of the few DVR recorders equipped with a hard disk drive. Though it is not as user friendly as some earlier models, performance is generally good. Among DVD recorder/VCR combo machines, the Panasonic DMR-EZ47VK rates well. The Panasonic DMR-EZ27K is a basic DVD recorder without the VCR deck. Advertisement
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© 2008 ConsumerSearch, Inc. A service from 
, a part of The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
ConsumerSearch and ConsumerSearch.com are registered trademarks of ConsumerSearch, Inc. Other trademarks or service marks on this site are the property of their respective owners. ConsumerSearch is not sponsored by any source reviewed, and we accept no consideration or payment for including, excluding, or ranking any reviews, products or services in our reports.
* Pricing information is approximate as of the time this report was written and is based on observed market selling prices and/or list prices. Actual selling prices may differ.
