CyberHome CH-DVR 1500 Progressive-Scan DVD+R/+RW Recorder and Player , Silver
Clunky; I hope future software updates make it more reliable
I have all available updates and have the following observations:<BR>1. Power-on or even just changing disks always resets the Source to the Tuner input.  It should remember that I left it at S-Video In 1<BR>2. I never use DVD+R recording anymore.  Too many disks wouldn't finalize even after only using recommended media brands.  I record to DVD+RW and copy to +R or -R on my computer.  That works 99% of the time.<BR>3. Contrary to some reviews, there is a menu command to set the clock to 12 hour mode.  Only problem I've had there is occasional problems if I try to set a timer to end between 12 noon and 1 PM.<BR>4. One reviewer said that there was no way to erase words when editing a title.  Navigate to the end of the word and use the \\"C\\" button on the remote.  I would like it if the C-Skip button doubled as a \\"Change case\\" button when editing.  Editing titles is cumbersome, but gets the job done.  I'd like to be able to edit the record date and time.  The 0 through 9 keys are a convenient way to insert characters in the middle of a title or quickly navigate to near the start of the upper-case or end of the lower-case series.<BR>5. I've never been able to get another DVD Player or computer to recognize Chapter marks that I've inserted on DVD+Rs.  Also, inserting Chapter marks and the Title thumbnail is a hit-or-miss proposition.  They seem to land about 1-3 seconds later than what you thought you set.  Trying too many times to change the picture or Chapter marks seems to make finalizing less reliable, also.<BR>6. Lockups are a constant annoyance.  Make sure you keep the wall-cord or back panel switch where you can get at it.  I agree with another reviewer who said that Eject should override any other command.<BR>7. When I was using DVD+R disks, the \\"Edit Title\\" command was the first item in the Edit menu.  The first time I recorded to a DVD+RW disk and went to the Edit menu, I discovered to my horror that \\"Erase Title\\" was the first menu item.  \\"Erase Title\\" means erase the recording, not just clear the title of the recording so it can be re-entered from scratch.  There was no confirmation message and the 4 hour recording I had just made that couldn't be re-recorded was lost forever.  Was I upset?<BR>8. Would I buy it again?  Probably not.  I'd look for something with more editing features and more reliable.<br />Update on 6/15/2004:<br />I recently installed the U0407200401XA firmware update.  So far, it seems to have corrected the lockup problem if you tried to leave Standby mode with a disk in the drive.  My unit had totally locked up before I upgraded the firmware.  Fortunately, I found the instructions on-line for forcing the disk to eject so I could update the firmware.  It involves taking the cover off.  See <BR>[...]<BR>(If address is split into 2 lines, they will need to be combined in your web browser address window.)  I found I didn't need to unplug the ribbon cable to get it to eject.<br />It still doesn't reliably finalize DVD+Rs for me.  I don't know if others are having that problem, but since I'm past the 90 day labor warranty, I'm going to live with it.  I learned my lesson not to buy anything with less than a 1 year parts and labor warranty.<br />It's also added a new \\"feature\\" that leaves a small yellow rectangle on-screen if you edit a title.  That goes away if you toggle between \\"Live\\" and \\"DVD\\".<br />Also, I just bought a new HDTV receiver.  What I thought was an OK picture from the Cyberhome is now noticably lower resolution than what I get directly from my Dishnetwork receiver (not HDTV), even when I use component output and progressive scan.  <br />My next unit will probably be a Pioneer DVR-520 or DVR-720, scheduled for release soon.