Combined AV Devices > 350 GBP and more Combined AV Devices

Advantages: Full-Speed USB Mass Storage support, large HDD
Disadvantages: flaws in DivX playback, slow startup, menus, copy, stupid 'features'

...- remote controller cooperates with Samsung televisions - can handle most USB mass storage devices, and play/record movies on it. - full speed USB2.0 support - you may watch DVD/HDD while recording - automatic power-off: you may choose that the recorder automatically goes to sleep after 2 or 8 hours of inactivity. This feature is off by default. Cons(-): -DivX playback has minor problems: screen often flickers here and there, sometimes even ...
...previous experience from the cheapo Samsung P355 player, which plays DivX OK. Hopefully Samsung will release a firmware upgrade later. - slow when navigating through menus, changing channels, and power-on sequence is a pain (about 25 sec). - disturbingly bright blue power-on indicator LED - vibration caused by HDD, one has to apply isolation layer between unit and surface to prevent noise. - copy from DVD/USB to HDD speed: about 1.5-2Mbytes/sec, ... Read review

Advantages: Size 750 Gb
Disadvantages: DVD files not read, menu not active, user interface poor, remote control buttons not active

...to find the next file. The DVD's menus are also not active. Don;t expect as well any support at all from iomega and so far I can't get anyone in iomega to tell me where to send back this crap product. Save your money, don;t buy this. ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to use, quick operation, good quality playback
Disadvantages: Remote control buttons small, front panel display small and basic

The Samsung DVD-V6700S (UK version) comes in attractive silver and is quite a wide unit as it supports both DVD playing and video tape recording/playing. The unit height is low, giving a slim appearance, but make sure you have room for the width. A good number of digital/analogue I/O (including on the front panel) allows it to be connected in many combinations to other equipment. Video/sound quality is good, including tape recording/playback. ...
...to see from across the room, though there's not much information on it. Remote control buttons are small with the legends difficult to see if your eyesight is not so good. Operation is straightforward though. The on-screen menus aren't too well arranged but it doesn't take too long to understand them. TV channel setup is automatic and works really well. The NTSC (North American TV) setup didn't correspond with the manual, so I'm not sure how this ... Read review

Advantages: records straight from VHS to DVD, acutally real dual tuner!
Disadvantages: cannot edit unless you use DVD-RAM discs, not freeview

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reasons for purchasing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had about 300 recorder video tapes of some key moments that I wanted to keep. Having had them stored in cardboard boxes for about 5-10 years, I was worried about the degradation of their quality so decided to invest in a dvd-recorder rather than a dvd-writing service..After some research between this and a hitachi model I opted for this. My primary requirement was to copy ...
...is real time which means you cannot use either function as you have to play the video tape in order to write it to the dvd for permanent retention. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Unit ~~~~~~~~~~ The unit is a matt silver colour with the DVD unit on the left and the VCR unit on the right. The respective load/unload buttons are the the right of each of these units. The on/off button (A big silvery button) is located on the bottom left along with a hidden panel ... Read review

Advantages: Own internal tuners, easy to use and quiet.
Disadvantages: 250gb might not be big enough but there is the 500 gb version.

An excellent DVD recorder. I am transferring my VHS tapes to DVD as well as recording new TV programmes. It is fairly easy to use and the quality is excellent. I particularly like the way you can list your recordings by category (film, documentary etc) making it easy to find what you are looking for. Recording using the Electronic Programme guide is very simple and there is a facility to time slip programmes if your viewing is interupted by a phone ...
...a different programme to the one you are watching. The DVD recorder employs upgrading of DVD playback using the HDMI connection. So, if you have one of the HD ready TVs you will enjoy a better picture. One further attribute of this machine is that it is very quiet in operation. ... Read review