Magnavox - Refurbished DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW Recorder/VCR Combo with HD Upconversion

I bought this unit refurbished and I've put it through quite a bit of recording both on video tape and dvd as well as recording vhs to dvd. The recordings have been outstanding on the dvd side but as expected, the vhs side is standard definitiion so the picture just doesn't present well. VHS to dvd is easy once you've read the manual and practiced. Setting up is easy, finishing the dvd with menus has been a challenge. The dvd recording actually presents a better picture on the hdtv than the tape does due to the upscaling of the dvd. One issue I have is that there is no hdmi input, only an hdmi output but since this is not a blue ray recorder I suppose the point is moot. The unit does have component input so I am able to record a clear video feed from my hd directtv receiver. The dvd player is also a little noiser than I'd like but is easily drowned out by more tv volume. If the unit lasts a couple of years past the 90 day warranty I'll be happy. So far, it's done what it was supposed to do.

Much better than the Toshiba brand VHS-DVD recorder I recently purchased and 60 dollars cheaper too. For less than 100.00 this is a very solid deal if you have lot of videos to dub into DVD for backup and storage. Pros: -Very good picture transfer. Not shakey VHS reader like the Toshiba brands. Just to clarify what I mean: The video is very shakey with the Toshiba recorder. It's bad enough VHS video is poor, but to add the shakiness ruins the experience. Magnavox minimizes this shakiness (not the tracking). -Very easy to use and set up. -Pretty easy, but tedious edit menu where you can name your dubbed clips, splice/cut them, label them, etc. Nothing fancy, but it works. Cons: -Can not pause during a dubbing. For instance, if you're recording two tapes and want to pause the dub to put the other tape in, you can't. You'll need to stop and have the DVD record the tape 2 as a clip 2. Might be able to splice the clips into one, but I haven't figured out how. -Biggest disappointment is during the transfer dubbing, the video quality is significantly reduced. The picture becomes grainy so you're not capturing the exact quality of the VHS--maybe about 87% of the video quality. That's a bummer if the video quality isn't super clear to begin with.

I have had so much fun copying some of my old VHS tapes to DVD. As long as it's not write protected, you hit one button and it's done! How simple is that??? I tried the very expensive Panasonic and it didn't work with the "one click to copy". The Magnavox price was right and does a great job. I still have many more disks to copy, but look forward to having everything on DVD.

I bought this recorder to make my kids 20 year old home videos into dvd's. Got the first one. You could hear the vhs but you couldn't see anything. Tried the tracking but still nothing. Even checked the vhs in another vhs player to make sure that i was working. So I returned it and ordered another. This time the only way to turn this unit on was with the remote, After i finally get it turned on you couldnt get the vhs or dvd player to play. There was nothing in the display box showing anything. So needless to say it went back as well. I guess thats what happens when you buy Refurbished. I'm pretty disappointed about it. I do not want to spend 300.00 for new DVD recorder/VHS combo.

I wanted a machine to convert home videos to DVDs and this product certainly does the job. My product arrived in good condition and has done everything I have asked it to do. It will do many things besides what I bought it for. I have started the enormous task of converting my MANY vhs tapes to DVDs and this machine allows simple conversion and the ability to add indexes to the DVDs i create. Obviously, if I wish to add these the operation of the recorder get more complicated than simply conversion. The manual is BIG, but the instructions are followable. If you are not able to read and follow instructions this machine may not be what you want, but if you want a machine that can create great DVDs and preserve your memories: BUY ONE!!!

If your worried about the word refurbished, you don't have to. This DVD/R-VCR is a good as any new one. The set up and simplicity of how to convert from DVD to VCR or VCR to DVD is so easy a caveman could do it. (sorry too much TV) I didn't expect it to be this good for this low a price. Anybody wanting to convert old tapes to DVDs, this is what you need.

This was purchased for our church - we record the sermon each week and then make the DVDs available for those of our members who are not able to attend on that particular Sunday. The DVD recorder we used before died after about 4 years of use. This looked like a good deal and so far it's been doing the job perfectly. We don't use it to dub VHS to DVD, this is strictly used to record from a remote camera - it was a little tricky to set up with the external video and audio input and video and audio output to a monitor for viewing while recording, but it is was as easy as any other set-up on another machine would be. The recordings are perfect - we have the choice of setting the amount of time each disk can hold so we select the 2 hour - very good quality at that "speed". The finalizing of the disk is a little tricky - you have to go into the set-up menu and go to "disk edit" to finalize each disk, but again, that's pretty much par for most of these recorders. We also take the disk and "rip" a copy onto a computer and convert the video to a format that is iPod ready so the video can be streamed/downloaded from our church website for those of our members want a "podcast" of the latest sermon. The quality of the DVD allows for very good quality iPod podcasts so all in all this is a decent machine for less than $100. In addition, the video and audio, when "ripped" from the DVD has perfect sync which is not always the case with all DVD recorders. I believe that it is because of the way that it finalizes the disk - it takes a while to finalize but the end product is very compatible with other recorders and computers. I have a Toshiba DVD recorder that has real problems with Audio/Video Sync on a iPod rip from the DVDs recorded on it. I like it this Magnivox enough that I'm going to purchase one for my home use as well.

I bought this item to convert old family movies from VHS to DVD. The dubbing instructions are straight forward and easy to use. I'm using DVD-R's and they are working perfectly. They are playing in my DVD, Blu-Ray, and computer. It's also easy to edit the titles and finalize the discs after a few trials and playing around with the machine. The instruction manual is good but not great. It is very broad and the pictures are small to see (for on-screen instructions). I tend to favor manuals that are larger and very specific but that is my personal preference but this one does the trick. As long as you have time to experiment and try things out you can get quite creative with everything. Overall, I was hesitant to buy the item because I read all these negative reviews of "refurbished" items, but this one is very good and I'm pleased with it. I originally planned to keep this machine just to do the necessary VHS to DVD conversion of home movies, but now I am really thinking about keeping it for future recordings. Plus the HDMI output in the back makes it great if I want to record future programs in HD quality straight to DVD. I'm very glad that I bought this machine instead of the Roxio software that had a lot of negative comments.