Toshiba DR560 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder with Built-in Tuner by Toshiba
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Our Price: $329.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Toshiba DR560 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder with Built-in Tuner
Digital camera Review: Audio died within one week of the parts warranty expiring
Summary: 1 Stars
I own a Toshiba laptop and this DVR. Never again.
The labor warranty on this model is good for only 90 days... in this day and age, if you can believe it. The parts warranty is good for only a year. But, they don't do repairs. They offer a replacement-- for cash-- less a credit for the unused portion of the warranty.
Now, why in the heck would anybody buy a second unit? Really. Are these people nuts?
Do not buy this model. Do not have anything to do with Toshiba. They make garbage, and their warranties are garbage.
And if Toshiba wants to contact me directly to make an issue of this, by all means do. I won't take back what I just wrote unless you replace this unit free of charge!
Digital camera Review: Auto-clock feature not usable after February 17
Summary: 4 Stars
I am generally satisfied with the recording capabilities of this unit, although I have only used DVD-R blank disks, which are much cheaper (about 20 cents each when purchased on sale in bulk) than DVD-RW, although they can only be used once. I cannot speak to the reliability of this unit after only one month of ownership -- I purchased the 3 year replacement plan, having had a disappointing experience with a Panasonic DVR.
This unit features an auto-clock, which will not be usable after February 17. I posed the following question in an email to Toshiba.
"DVD Video Recorder D-R560KU: Setting the clock on Page 29: Note at bottom of page states that only the analog PBS channel signal is effective for auto clock setting. What happens after February 17 when there are no longer any analog signals? How will the clock stay accurate and how can it be auto-set after that date?"
Toshiba promptly replied, but was only partially responsive. I recontacted Toshiba and asked the following question:
"In other words, the auto-clock feature will no longer be usable after February 17, right? Is there a firmware update to fix this?"
Toshiba again promptly replied as follows:
"Regrettably, that is accurate. The auto clock feature can only use an analog signal. There is a note on page 29 of your Owner's Manual that confirms this. As far as firmware upgrades, no firmware upgrade for the D-R560 is available at this time nor do we have any information about what issues would be addressed in a future firmware upgrade if one is released."
I do applaud Toshiba for prompt and honest customer service.
Digital camera Review: Awesome value!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to replace a Samsung DVD Recorder (which was the 2nd Samsung recorder I have had break down shortly after the warranty expired; my advice: stay away from Samsung DVD Recorders! Their TVs are great, but the have a multitude of problems with the DVD technology).
I had bought a Toshiba DVD Recorder about 2 years ago and was impressed by how reliable it was, how easy it was to use, and the quality of its recordings even in LP (4 hr) mode. So when my Samsung broke down, I knew exactly what to buy. I read the reviews first, of course, but those just reinforced what I already knew. This is a very good, inexpensive, reliable recorder, and even better than the one I bought 2 years ago.
The PRO's:
* Durable. Granted, I've only had this D-R560 for a few weeks, but my previous Toshiba D-R400 still works beautifully, and a Toshiba DVD player I received as a gift about 7 years ago still works great as well.
* Reliable. Just as important is how reliable your recordings will be. My Samsung would sometimes quit in the middle of a recording, and the menu system was not quite as intuitive as the Toshiba's, on which I've never accidently recorded only the first half of a 2-hour movie. Also, on the Samsung, I'd record 4 episodes of Burn Notice (killer show on USA Network) onto a DVD-RW. I'd watch one while working out, then remove the title so I'd not accidently start watching it again, and also to make room for another recording. Samsung didn't handle this well, and would usually render the rest of the disc unwatchable. I'd have to reformat it without watching anything else. Never had that problem with either of my Toshibas.
* Easy to use. I've read reviews about how how worthless and confusing the printed user guides are. I don't get it. If you take the time to read through it, not only will you understand how the features you knew you were purchasing work, you'll discover other features as well, like editing out portions of shows; combining two episodes of a show into one "movie;" or how cool "time chasing" can be (watch part of what you've already recorded while it's still recording!). Really, instruction manuals tend to be written by professional technical writers (which doesn't mean they are actual "users"), and often written in another country and then translated so, yes, they are imperfect. But you can't learn everything just from reading about it anyway; you've got to get your hands on it and try it out.
* Digital Tuner. Very strong tuner, picked up a lot of digital signals I wasn't otherwise getting. NBC in my area, for some reason, is a little fuzzy, and considering that "Chuck" is on that network, that's a real problem for me! This Toshiba picks up a digital version of the station that is so much clearer and is in HD. Why is that important? Two words: Yvonne Strahovski.
* Quality of recordings. LP mode (4 hrs per disc) on the Samsung had too much pixelation, and also resembled a VHS recording, but much better on the Toshiba. Try to cram any more than 4 hours on a disc, and you're looking a serious degradation. My advice, just buy a spindle of inexpensive DVD-RWs (or DVD-Rs working out to less than a quarter apiece). Then if you don't need to watch the -Rs again, they can be re-used as coasters, or dangle them on strings in your fruit trees; the sunlight reflecting on them scare away the birds better than our scarecrow (in which a family of wrens made a nest; no kidding; but I digress.)
The CON's:
* Have to remember to turn it off after setting the timed-recording. Okay, so this is a biggee, especially if you didn't first read the user guide. Seems like an unnecessary step, and I would hope they change this in the future.
* Only one tuner. Some other brands have a dual tuner so you can watch one show while recording another. Not a deal breaker for me as we have two TVs and recorders, and I never seem to have enough time to watch everything I record anyway. But it would be a nice feature.
* Very basic title menu. No frills here; just give your recording a title, and then finalize your disc. You'll have a menu with titles. Period. No flashy backgrounds. No customized thumbnails with user-provided background mp3 clips. But that's not really why you have a home recorder; if you want a fancy DVD menu, buy the movie instead of ripping it from HBO. And if you want to make customized home videos of your toddler splashing in the pool or being power-licked by the family dog, capture the clips onto a PC and get some decent video editing and DVD mastering software (the Roxio suite has a lot of nice features for the price, but that's another review entirely).
And actually that's it. I really can't think of anything else missing. It's not nearly as pricey as a Sony, not quirky like a Samsung, upconversion does make the picture a little better (although you only get that with an HDMI cable, as with any upconverting player), and this recorded just flat-out works.
And don't worry about compatibility. If you record onto DVD-R and finalize the disc, they should be watchable on pretty much any fairly recently manufactured players (it'll also take +R; I just never use +R so I can't speak to that). And if you use DVD-RW (or probably +RW, but same comment there), just remember to format the disc in "Video" mode for the greatest compatibility with players (and of course you should always finalize the disc if you'll be playing it in another player; you can even unfinalize later if you want to remove something and re-record on it). I've had no problems with Video mode. "VR" mode gives you a few more features, but then the disc is not as compatible with other players (although they'd work just fine on another Toshiba).
In sum, well worth the price. Can't find a better recorder at a better price, unless you buy it off the street out of the back of a truck after a sales pitch that starts with "Psst! Buddy! Over here!" But I'm not sure about their returns policy...
Digital camera Review: BAD EXPERIENCE
Summary: 1 Stars
MADE ONE RECORDING. THEN IT QUIT. LOAD THE DISC,IT READS AND THEN
SHUTS OF THE UNIT. DOES THIS WITH RECORDED MOVIES ALSO.
I HAVE TO PAY FOR SHIPPING IT TO TOSHIBA THAT SUCKS.DOESN'T SAY
MUCH FOR THE "WARRANTY".
Digital camera Review: Better than the last one!
Summary: 5 Stars
This Toshiba DVD recorder does all that I want it to do. I can use several different media (my last one was very picky about what it would read). I have Dish and a DVR and can record in many different combinations of inputs.