Akai DVDRW120 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder
Decent Product
I bought this unit from Amazon for $189.99 when it was on sale for couple of days for Labour day, It is a nice product so far here are the pros and Cons<br /><br />Pros:<br /><br />1. Good price $189 {better than buying a PC and Capture cards to Capture Video and Burning VCD's or DVDs}.<br /><br />2. Nice Recording image Quality (Even at EP mode 4hrs) (SP recommended for better image quality)<br /><br />3. Good build of the machine, feels solid, Small Fan included for extended periods of use, this unit remains cool inspite of running 16+ hours of continuous use.<br /><br />4. Nice array of inputs and outputs, Firewire is an added bonus<br /><br />5. Remote control is well laid out, Easy Guide menus provided for people with less knowledge to Burn DVDs.<br /><br />6. AC 110/240v capable works everywhere in the world, PAL /NTSC capable.<br /><br />7. DVD Component Output is great (Must have HDTV Capable TV), SVideo and RCA outputs also available for Non HDTVs<br /><br />8. Progressive Scan Output is also available.<br /><br />9. Accepts virtually any cheap DVD+R media, and DVD+RW media, tried with Cheap GQ DVD+R and Memorex DVD+RW works great.<br /><br />10. Plays commercial DVDs okay, But do not expect it to play all badly scratched Rental DVDs, Plays cheap VCD 2.0 (PBC ON/OFF), 1.1 and 1.0 Flawlessly<br /><br />UPDATE !! -- Converts and plays cheap PAL VCD/SVCD to NTSC TV output easily and displays on NTSC HDTV capable TV without change in Aspect Ratios or color mangling.<br /><br />Cons:<br /><br />1. It is very basic DVD recorder, No fancy Editing is possible, Even the Title name does not go beyond 8 characters!!!<br /><br />2. Does not play WMA media. No ID tag display for MP3s, No menu structure for MP3 playback selection like Panasonics DVD players.<br /><br />3. JPEG image viewing produces little darker pictures no aspect ratio is maintained if the image size is small (It streches picture to fit the screen)<br /><br />4. Included TV tuner induces noise on TV channels when connected to CableTV on certain channels when the unit is on, I had to connect the unit seperately rather than the pass thru' option to avoid this interference, Looks that the powersupply in this unit is producing noise which interferes with TV tuner.<br /><br />5. As most of the reviewers on this site have observed, the unit takes sweet time to obey commands, do not expect it to be fast when you press buttons, It does it's job, But you will have to be patient.. and wait..<br /><br />6. Limited editing capablities once recording is done, the only option is to delete and or edit the title name and or finialize the VR to DVD video.<br /><br />7. Do not attempt to fill the disk to the brim, It will surely confuse the player, It might hang on you if you do not enable chapter markings, If you enable Chapters (5-15 mins) it does not hang but the last chapter is lost, Remember, After the DVD recorder fills the DVD, It must have atleast some space left to write the Index mark, Lead-in Lead-out, hence plan ahead to avoid Coasters.<br /><br />For the price, I would say it is good product, It is too early to comment on the reliability of the unit, However, the unit looks well built, Hope it lasts long. I do recommend it for people who looks for cheap and decent unit.n, I had to connect the unit seperately rather than the pass thru' option to avoid this interference, Looks that the powersupply in this unit is producing noise which interferes with TV tuner. <br />5. As most of the reviewers on this site have observed, the unit takes sweet time to obey commands, do not expect it to be fast when you press buttons, It does it's job, But you will have to be patient.. and wait.. <br />6. Limited editing capablities once recording is done, the only option is to delete and or edit the title name and or finialize the VR to DVD video. <br />7. Do not attempt to fill the disk to the brim, It will surely confuse the player, It might hang on you if you do not enable chapter markings, If you enable Chapters (5-15 mins) it does not hang but the last chapter is lost, Remember, After the DVD recorder fills the DVD, It must have atleast some space left to write the Index mark, Lead-in Lead-out, hence plan ahead to avoid Coasters. <br /> <br />For the price, I would say it is good product, It is too early to comment on the reliability of the unit, However, the unit looks well built, Hope it lasts long. I do recommend it for people who looks for cheap and decent unit.