Toshiba DR420 DVD Recorder, Black
by Toshiba
Our Price: $199.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Home Theater
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: ToshibaBrand: Toshiba
Edition: Electronics
Model: DR420
Color: Black
Publisher: Toshiba
Studio: Toshiba
Music Label: Toshiba
Product features:
- Records -R/-RW, +R/+RW Formats
- Playback:MP3, VCD, JPEG, Kodak Pic
- 1080P Upconversion and DV Input
- Auto-Finalization
- HDMI connection
- AmazonBasics 3RCA Component Video Cable (6 Feet)
- AmazonBasics Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable Braided (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Braided Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)
- AmazonBasics 700 MB 52x CD-R (100-Pack Spindle)
- AmazonBasics 700MB 52x CD-R (50-Pack Spindle)
Digital camera reviews of Toshiba DR420 DVD Recorder, Black
Digital camera Review: 4-star preliminiary review, but watch for later update
Summary: 4 Stars
This review covers three things - the seller, the delivery service, and the product. Since it's going to get a little wordy, I'll start with a quick one sentence review of the product before going into detail.
It plays every disk I've put in it, seems to record OK, and responds very slowly to the remote, which has gray on black lettering, making it hard to use.
Now, on to the seller, Electronics Expo, which is based on the east coast (I'm in California). I have no serious issues with this company, but they do not understand customer service in the modern age. They have no on-line contact method, just a phone number. Most companies send an Email when a product is shipped, giving the shipping date, expected delivery date, and tracking number. This company did none of these. I ordered the product on July 1, knowing I was going to be gone for a week starting July 12, and assuming that was plenty of time for delivery. When my Amazon confirmation showed a shipping date of July 7, I knew it would not arrive before I was gone, so I called the company. I was told it had been shipped July 2 and would arrive July 9. I stayed home most of July 8 and all of July 9 and 10, but no delivery. Just before leaving on July 12, I called the company, and was told it would be delivered that day, and that the shipper would leave the product if no one was home. I give this company a B for lack of on-line contact and a C+ for failure to send shipping information.
The shipper was UPS, a company that has gone downhill in the last few years and no longer has any understanding of what constitutes good customer service. I had arranged to have my grandson come over and put the package inside. I was dismayed, but not surprised, when he reported that UPS had DROPPED the package over my back fence, a seven foot drop onto a brick patio. They had done this with deliveries twice before. He said the box appeared OK, and so far I have had no problems with the recorder, but I have not tried every feature, and who knows what problems may develop in the future. I give UPS an F and from now on if a company insists on shipping via that carrier, I will shop somewhere else.
The DVD recorder has to stand up to comparison with two other units I've had (and still own). My first DVD recorder was a Sony RDR-GX7 which I bought in 2003, and as far as I can tell, it is the best such device ever made. The reviews were largely positive, it was easy to use, and I have made several hundred DVDs for permanent use on it. Unfortunately it has developed some problems, and repair parts are no longer available. The repair service agrees with me that no other unit has matched the quality and convenience of this one.
Its one drawback is that it does not "finalize" DVD-RW disks so that they can be played on a playback only unit. Therefore in 2007 I got a Sony RDR-VX530 DVD/VCR unit to copy some of the RW disks. This unit was so inconvenient to use that I abandoned this project after a few disks, and loaned it to my grandson, who used it for playback only.
Recently I discovered that the GX7 would no longer play any of my DVD-RW disks, so my grandson returned the VX530 so I could make copies. However, the GX7 showed other signs of unreliability, and I decided it was time for a new DVD recorder. I thought I would get another Sony, but current models all pretty much get bad reviews, so I did further research, and settled on the Toshiba DR420, which got mostly positive comments.
When I set up the recorder, my first surprise was a pleasant one - it readily played all the DVD-RW disks that my Sony could no longer handle. In fact, except for unfinalized disks I'm working on in the Sony, it has played every disk I have tried - homemade, commercial, disks of unknown origin that I've received in trade.
I have not had a chance to fully test its recording ability; so far I have only used it to copy disks from another DVD player, but I have had no problems with this. I will try to post an update when I get it set up to record from my DVR, which is my primary use for a DVD recorder.
Not surprisingly, it does not have as much functionality as the GX7 - only two lines in and one line out, instead of three and two. It does have S-video in and out and component video out, but I have not tried them yet.
It has a clunky sound when the disk drawer opens and closes. The response to the remote seems very slow compared to the GX7, and the remote itself is a study in horrid design. It has tiny gray letters on a black background, requiring a bright light to identify buttons whose location I have not yet learned. I record my DVDs with the complete opening theme, but usually fast forward through it when watching them. The slowest fast forward speed is too slow, but the second step up is too fast.
It has five choices of recording mode (60, 120, 240, 360 and 480 minutes). The GX7 offered a 90 minute mode which I used a lot for music programs, and a 180 minute mode that I used for day to day recording of sitcoms. Now I will have to use either a slower or faster speed than I prefer. Since the 360 and 480 modes are guaranteed to give a poor quality picture, it would have made more sense to add the 90 and 180 modes instead.
The manual lacks an index and is not well organized - for example, in one section it describes the modes, but does not tell how to select them; you have to dig around elsewhere for this information. Overall there seems to be a lot of flipping back and forth to figure things out, but I think I had the same issues with the GX7 when it was new.
The titling system is almost as good as the GX7 and far better than the VX350, although the menu system for disk protection, titling and finalizing is not as intuitive. I'm sure once I get used to the main operating steps, it will seem easier to use than it does right now.
Keep in mind that I am comparing a $99 unit to one that cost over $600 seven years ago. The Sony would probably be less today, but nothing of its quality seems to exist today. Overall I am satisfied with the Toshiba at the price I paid. I give it a conditional B- for now; we'll see how it stacks up after a month or so of use.
Summary of Toshiba DR420 DVD Recorder, Black
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