Combined AV Devices > DVD recorder/ VCR combo Combined AV Devices

Advantages: Good range of features for the price
Disadvantages: not HD ready, no Freeview, I've seen sexier machines

Around Christmas time DH and I decided it was time to give up on using the old VHS to record things, and this was compounded by the integral-to-the TV DVD player packing up (review available - DMTech LQ 20X). Since we've just taken out a subscription to LoveFilm.com (Review also available LOL) we needed a DVD player, and with all those great films on over Christmas (er, shome mishktate shurely, ED), one that recorded seemed the perfect answer. Why ...
...so you can still watch those old Bond movies ....It cost me £180, but I think you can get it cheaper now. It records to DVDs, but doesn't have a hard drive. It doesn't support HD. But then I don't have an HD telly or box, so that doesn't worry me at the moment. It's black and grey (like brushed aluminium things best myself) but is not offensive to look at. Being dual purpose it is quite bulky compared to a straightforward DVD player. It doesn't ... Read review

Advantages: Value, quality, ease of use
Disadvantages: None to mention at this price

Excellent value for money and good performance. The DVD section is a breeze to use and it copes with just about anything you can throw at it. As a player it is happy with disks that have never played properly in other machines. The VCR section seems to work fine and is very quiet and picture quality seems good by VCR standards. Shared settings like setting the timer that can be used for both the DVD recorder and VCR and with room for 16 entries ...
...Good buld quality and a reasonbly good looking unit. Best of all, it was about 25% cheaper than similar models on sale at the time I bought it.. This is old technology with a VCR recorder, but a really simple way to transpose VCR to DVD and get rid of those old decaying tapes. ... Read review

Advantages: Low cost
Disadvantages: Dodgy menus, very disk fussy, lousy DVD burner that will fail.

...eventually replaced the DVD burner in mine with a Liteon 20X unit for about £16. This solved the problem, and for the moment, it's been working perfectly. Fitting a replacement burner is straightforward enough, though getting it to neatly fit into the existing front fascia is a bit more challenging. ... Read review

Advantages: Looks, sound, originality
Disadvantages: battery life, loudness of speakers

The Samsung YP K5 mp3 player is immediately striking. Its sleek design and black finish would seamlessly fit into Batman's arsenal of gadgets. When I first bought the product it was immediately noticed by friends and strangers and as an aid to 'street rep' it works wonders. I was at first dubious of the sound of the speakers - I bought it over the internet and so had no way of trying out the player to check the sound capacity. However, my worries ... Read review

Advantages: The media center interface, decent codec support, HD movies stream really well.
Disadvantages: The DVD player is terrible.

Okay, the big pull of this DVD player is the built in Media Center Extender software, which once set up runs really well. You need to have vista installed on a PC (which needs to be on for it to work) and you also need a good network connection between the two. I have tried both a 200mbps powerline ethernet network and a wireless N network and for me the wireless network performed better for HD movies, but this will differ for most people so just ...
...wifi connection. The built in DVD play is poor to say the least, it doesn't scale DVD's out to widescreen it simply takes the DVD's basic resolution and outputs it to the middle of the screen. I tried watching an old cracker and had to stop as it was displayed as a 640x480 picture in the middle of my 720p HDTV, believe me this looks terrible. Its worth it for the media center as it works seemlessly and is a lot easier to access than the XBOX 360 ... Read review