Sony RDR-VXD655 VHS DVD Recorder Combo with Built In HD Tuner by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony RDR-VXD655 VHS DVD Recorder Combo with Built In HD Tuner
Digital camera Review: DVD-R/VCR/HD Tuner Combo
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this product for 3 reasons: 1)DVD recorder, 2)HD Tuner and 3)it's a Sony. This product has met and exceeded my expectations. Right out of the box it's been an excellent product. It immediately found all the HD and analog stations in my area with just the rabbit ear antenna on my tv. I've already recorded with the VCR and dubbing from VHS tape to DVD and the picture and sound quality are wonderful. Everything plugs into this box: the satellite dish, the stereo receiver and even my 6-disk CD/DVD changer. This is important, especially for the older tv's that don't have many input and output options in the back.
If I have to find any drawbacks it would have to be ease of use. You have to read the owners manual carefully! This is a very complicated machine and you have to follow the steps carefully for results. Anyone who is intimidated by this sort of technology may want to do more homework with other like products in case there is an easier to use one. However, once you read and follow the steps in the manual you'll be pleased with the results.
Digital camera Review: DVD/VCR Recorder
Summary: 5 Stars
The device arrived on time and in great shape. It seems to be working well.Digital camera Review: Defective Sony DVD/VCR unit.
Summary: 2 Stars
The Sony unit would not put out a color picture, only B&W. When fast forwarding a VHS tape, the TV screen went blank.
Seller is now trying to fix the unit.
Digital camera Review: Difficult to use remote control for the RDRVXD655
Summary: 3 Stars
The remote control record operation is a big pain to use. When you think you are recording a particular TV station, you may, in fact, be recording another. Here is the problem:
Selection of the station is done by pressing INPUT. Then you have to cycle the INPUT button until you see a TV channel indicated. If that channel is not the one you want to record, then you must enter the desired channel, and quickly hit the SET button. Should you be slow to hit SET, the selected source reverts back to the original. Then you have to start off with the INPUT cycle, the channel selection, and the SET operation. Annoying! I have recorded the wrong channel several times because I was not fast enough on the SET button as needed to lock in my choice.
In addition to this problem, the remote has dark buttons on a dark background. Reading the button labels in the dark is very difficult. If you take too long in selecting a button, the remote returns to the original setting. Then you have to do the selection procedure all over again.
As far as I can tell in the 4 months I have been using this recorder, the machine itself is all you expect it to be. But operation of the remote is totally mucky. The better remote should be sold with a good recorder.
Digital camera Review: Digital tuner has problems
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this product because it has a digital tuner. After setup, I found that it did not display properly the digital signal from major networks like CBS and NBC. On my analog 4:3 TV, the image appeared as a small box, surrounded by 4 black bars. There is no way to change this.
Also, be warned that it takes almost 40 minutes to scan the analog and digital channels; probably, it missed some. Also, it cannot record closed captioning from a digital channel (this info is buried in the manual).
I have no idea how this product works as a VCR or DVD player-recorder. After encountering the above problems during setup, I put it back in the box, to be returned.
A sad comment on Sony. I'm surprised this product got so many positive reviews.