The combo states it will record anything from the HDD to either VHS or DVD. Not strictly true. If your TV channels come digitally by cable or satellite this machine is not for you. Any digital sourced material can only be recorded in VR mode (incompatible with most DVD players and some other similar combos) on to DVD-RW discs only. The only workaround is to record to another VCR and then to this making the VHS deck a useless accessory. Some other brands have the same limitations. If you want to keep the recorded quality (mbps) you can only burn a maximum of 8 programs to a DVD. more than 8 and you have to accept a much lower quality. My HDD went sour after 3 weeks of use and was in the service center for 3 weeks. There is no easy short cut switching between HDD, VHS and DVD - you have to exit all menus (often 3 or 4 steps) before you can access something else. High speed dubbing (4x) can only take place if you've done no editing (e.g. trimming the first and last few minutes from a film) so all dubbing is in real time. I thought this was the whole point of the HDD? The limitations are not explained clearly in the manual and I've needed to call the service center many times to get explanations. DVD titling is very clunky. It is impossible to record bi-lingual DVDs or VHS even though the HDD recording can be bi-lingual. The front cover is hinged with no practical use (this was pulled off and binned on day 2), likewise the RC has a poorly hinged cover (junked soon afterwards). Media can only be ejected manually from the machine itself. The manual was written by morons for morons apparently - everything is fully detailed to the extent of making it difficult to follow - this is the only machine I've needed to keep the manual with me after a months use.
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Hi and welcome to Ciao – A good start although more info would have been useful. If you want any help or want me to re rate, leave me a message in my guestbook - Cat x x
May 3rd, 2006
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