DVD Recorders > Samsung DVD Recorders > $150 - $200

Advantages: 367 hours recording, TV guide
Disadvantages: Sometimes fails with cable box

This beauty makes recording with a VCR seem like 100 year old technology. Let's start with a hard drive capable of recording 367 hours on EP (extendeded play to get the most out of it with lowest quality which is still great). A lot of recorders from a cable/satellite company only go 60-80 hours for a monthly fee. But they have a TV guide right? Well, so does this machine. All you do is tell it on setup if you have cable, cable with a box or satellite ...
...listings then once they show up the search happens to keep them updated. You can scroll through listings 7-8 days in advance, programming shows to record once, daily or weekly similar to how you would on another device such as TiVo. Descriptions of the shows are available and it will tell you if your programs overlap. This works with a cable box through your local American cable/satellite company although I would say 5% of the time the signal will ... Read review

Advantages: Great quality on picture and sound and easy to use
Disadvantages: Have to watch the channel you are recording from if recording cable

...and chose to purchase the Philips DVDR3480. The player in terms of style is very sleek - it has a black finish on the cover with the DVD slot on the left hand side and the display bit next to this. On the far right hand side is a small flap that covers the ports for the usb, audio and the connections for the scart to connect to a games console or camcorder. To install is very simple with a quick set up guide supplied in the box - the only thing ...
...music from USB flash drives Philips DVD Recorders support 'dual media'™ recording - the ability to create recordings on DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD+R DL discs. Now you can buy any disc and the Philips 'recorder will always create fully compatible recordings, which can be played by any DVD player. We haven't had the chance to try out such things as connecting a camcorder to check the quality of this feature but have used the USB port to view pictures ... Read review

Advantages: Copies VHS to DVD, HD Picture
Disadvantages: Can't Record TV Programs

Very impressed with the quality of the product and the resulting video picture quality. However, I find there to be a major problem with not being able to download video pictures from my camera and then making more copies for others in my dubbing machine. I also think it is unfair not to be able to record movies from the TV. I needed to know this before I made the decision on a new machine. So far I have not been able to record off my tivo'd recording ... Read review

Advantages: Quick formatting, ease of use
Disadvantages: Basic menu features and font

This is our first stand-alone DVD recorder and we are quite impressed. I have been able to hook up the vcr to the aux jacks and make dvd's of all of our home movies in real time. The quality is just as good as the original vhs tapes. I also hooked up the DVR to the dvd recorder and have been able to copy all of our favorite television shows in real time. I like the fact that it does convert in real time and does not take several hours to transcode ...
...hour movie. It also plays avi formats which is quite handy if you happened to have a video in avi format. You can also edit the titles of your features and split them up into smaller segments based on how many scenes you may want in your movie. I give this DVD recorder an A+. ... Read review

Advantages: easy to use, great picture and sound quality
Disadvantages: none

I love my dvd recorder. It is very nice to have to record some tv shows that you have to miss on tv or even movies that you want to keep to watch at a later time. It does not have too many features or functions. It is really easy to use and comes with a remote. It is light to pick up. It is very easy to install and does wonders. It has very nice clear picture quality and the sound is really clear as well. I have never had any kinds of problems with ... Read review